Protective role of gamma interferon during the recall response to influenza virus

During secondary immune responses to influenza virus, virus-specific T memory cells are a major source of gamma interferon (IFN-gamma). We assessed the contribution of IFN-gamma to heterologous protection against the A/WSN/33 (H1N1) virus of wild-type and IFN-gamma-/- mice previously immunized with the A/HK/68 (H3N2) virus. The IFN-gamma-/- mice displayed significantly reduced survival rates subsequent to a challenge with various doses of the A/WSN/33 virus. This was associated with an impaired ability of the IFN-gamma-/- mice to completely clear the pulmonary virus by day 7 after the challenge, although significant reduction of the virus titers was noted. However, the IFN-gamma-/- mice developed type A influenza virus cross-reactive cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) similar to the wild-type mice, as demonstrated by both cytotoxicity and a limiting-dilution assay for the estimation of CTL precursor frequency. The pulmonary recruitment of T cells in IFN-gamma-/- mice was not dramatically affected, and the percentage of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells was similar to that of wild-type mice. The T cells from IFN-gamma-/- mice did not display a significant switch toward a Th2 profile. Furthermore, the IFN-gamma-/- mice retained the ability to mount significant titers of WSN and HK virus-specific hemagglutination-inhibiting antibodies. Together, these results are consistent with a protective role of IFN-gamma during the heterologous response against influenza virus independently of the generation and local recruitment of cross-reactive CTLs.     

Comparative analysis of methods for determining the metabolic rate in order to provide a balance between man and the environment

The incorrect determination of metabolic rate can be linked to discrepancies between the model of the PMV (Predicted Mean Vote) and real thermal sensation collected in field studies. Aiming to improve the correlation of the PMV model and the real thermal sensation, this work established new values for the metabolic rate: one way being called “calculated” using Newton's Method and the other called "measured" using a metabolic analyzer. Welder's activities were evaluated, through the measurements of environmental and personal variables. New values of metabolic rate were determined for this activity. The values found for the calculated form and the measured one were, respectively, 178.63 and 145.46 W/m², different from the range provided by the table of ISO 8996 (2004) for this activity (75–125 W/m²). In order to verify which of the values of the metabolic rate was closer to the real thermal sensation of PMV, a linear regression was made between the PMV and the real thermal sensation in three ways: S × PMV_tabulated (R² = 0.1749), S × PMV_calculated (R ² = 0.7481) and S × PMV_measured (R² = 0.7854). It was found that the values measured by the instrument gave a higher coefficient of determination which was chosen for the correction of the table. The correction of the table provides a value of M_predicted, that is a value of metabolic rate that corrects the values provided by the tables of ISO 8996 (2004), by means of a correction coefficient. For the welder's activities in a metal-mechanics industry, tabulated values can be multiplied by the correction coefficient 1.4648 in order to minimize inaccuracies. The PMV_predicted, obtained through the M_predicted, when related to the actual thermal sensation, provides a coefficient of determination of 0.7511, thereby improving the model of the PMV.     

Stay with the flow: How macroinvertebrate communities recover during the rewetting phase in Alpine streams affected by an exceptional drought

Droughts are affecting an increasing number of lotic ecosystems worldwide due to the combined effects of climatic and anthropogenic pressures. Unlike naturally intermittent rivers, where the drying phase is a part of the annual flow regime, water scarcity in Alpine rivers represents a relatively recent phenomenon and, therefore, a major threat for the biodiversity of these lotic ecosystems. However, Alpine stream community response to drought is still poorly investigated. Here, we assess the recovery of macroinvertebrates in two Alpine streams after a supraseasonal drought. As water returned, a total of 10 sampling sessions were carried out, and temporal patterns in diversity, density, and taxonomic composition of benthic communities, as well as in the percentage of functional feeding groups, were investigated. We found that the resistance of invertebrate communities in Alpine streams is generally low: drought markedly reduced the diversity and density of macroinvertebrates. Conversely, our results suggest that the passive dispersal by drift from the upstream river sections seems the most probable mechanism promoting the post‐drought recovery. Nevertheless, this resilience ability appears to be stream specific and influenced by intrinsic stream characteristics, including the flow permanence and distance from the nearest upstream perennial reach. This work sheds light on the ecological consequences of droughts on macroinvertebrate communities. As flow intermittency in Alpine areas is expected to intensify under current global change scenarios, results of this study provide important information to predict changes in the taxonomic composition and diversity of macroinvertebrate communities.     

Arrays of anamorphic phase-matched Fresnel elements for diode-to-fiber coupling

A method for designing microlens arrays that inherently takes into account application requirements and fabrication constraints is presented. Elements with numerical apertures of up to 0.5 have been designed and fabricated by laser beam writing in photoresist and replication in plastic material. In a laser-diode-to-fiber array coupling experiment, an overall optical throughput of 60% was achieved. By means of anamorphic microlens arrays, correction of the laser-diode longitudinal astigmatism and circularization of the image-plane irradiance distribution are demonstrated.     

Simultaneous Localization and Mapping Using Rao-Blackwellized Particle Filters in Multi Robot Systems

In this paper we investigate the problem of Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) for a multi robot system. Relaxing some assumptions that characterize related work we propose an application of Rao-Blackwellized Particle Filters (RBPF) for the purpose of cooperatively estimating SLAM posterior. We consider a realistic setup in which the robots start from unknown initial poses (relative locations are unknown too), and travel in the environment in order to build a shared representation of the latter. The robots are required to exchange a small amount of information only when a rendezvous event occurs and to measure relative poses during the meeting. As a consequence the approach also applies when using an unreliable wireless channel or short range communication technologies (bluetooth, RFId, etc.). Moreover it allows to take into account the uncertainty in relative pose measurements. The proposed technique, which constitutes a distributed solution to the multi robot SLAM problem, is further validated through simulations and experimental tests.     

A computational model for developing semantic web-based educational systems

Recently, some initiatives to start the so-called semantic web-based educational systems (SWBES) have emerged in the field of artificial intelligence in education (AIED). The main idea is to incorporate semantic web resources to the design of AIED systems aiming to update their architectures to provide more adaptability, robustness and richer learning environments. However, the construction of such systems is highly complex and faces several challenges in terms of software engineering and artificial intelligence aspects. This paper presents a computational model for developing SWBES focusing on the problem of how to make the development easier and more useful for both developers and authors. In order to illustrate the features of the proposed model, a case study is presented. Furthermore, a discussion about the results regarding the computational model construction is available.     

Simflowny: A general-purpose platform for the management of physical models and simulation problems

Simflowny is a software platform which aims to formalize the main elements of a simulation flow. It allows users to manage (i) formal representations of physical models based on Initial Value Problems (hyperbolic, parabolic and mixed-type partial differential equations), (ii) simulation problems based on such models, and (iii) discretization schemes to translate the problem to a finite mesh. Additionally, Simflowny generates automatically code for general-purpose simulation frameworks. This paper first presents an introductory example of such problems. Then, formal representations are explained. Afterwards, it summarizes the platform’s architecture. Finally, validation results are provided.     

Improvement of processing and mechanical properties of polyetherimide by antiplasticization with resorcinol bis(diphenyl phosphate)

This article describes the antiplasticization of a commercial polyetherimide ULTEM® series 1000 [poly(bisphenol A‐co‐4‐nitrophthalic anhydride‐co‐1,3‐phenylenediamine) by resorcinol bis(diphenyl phosphate)] (RDP) and its implications on the thermomechanical processing, namely extrusion and injection molding, as well as on the thermal and mechanical properties of the formulations. This antiplasticization effect allows the processing of polyetherimide formulations at lower temperatures in comparison with neat polymer due to the progressive decrease of the glass transition temperature with increased RDP concentration, as observed by differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical analysis. The decrease of T_g occurs concomitantly with the overlap of the glass transition and β relaxation and with the shift of the γ relaxation to higher temperatures. These changes in the relaxation spectrum of polyetherimide formulations are possibly responsible for the increase of the tensile strength and Young's modulus and changes in the fracture mechanism, as observed by stress–strain tests and by scanning electron microscopy, respectively. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40619.     

FCC反应过程的CFD模拟进展

流化催化裂化（fluid catalytic cracking,FCC）工艺是石油炼制中的重要转化工艺,用于生产汽油、柴油、轻质烯烃等重要化工原料。FCC反应过程的CFD模拟有助于理解FCC反应器中流动和反应行为,辅助设计和优化FCC工艺设备,最终指导工业生产和实现虚拟调控和放大。从与FCC反应模拟相关的多相流动模型、反应动力学模型以及流动与反应之间耦合等方面做了回顾和总结。在流动与反应耦合研究方面,从湍流模型的使用、流动结构的影响、精细化模型的发展以及原油汽化模型的重要性这4个角度做了分析比较及总结。基于已有的研究工作,认为虽然很多研究表明CFD模拟能较好地揭示工业FCC提升管反应器内的流动和反应行为,但缺乏采用同一方法实现从小试到工业反应器模拟放大的实例,从侧面反映了当前的FCC理论模型和模拟技术还远未达到可以代替实验的水平。展望未来的FCC反应模拟,建议从模型精细度和计算效率上加强研发,并在此两方面寻求平衡,最终实现虚拟调控。     

Analytical and experimental characterisation of high-precision flexural pivots subjected to lateral loads

This work addresses the parasitic motion of high-precision rotation mechanisms based on flexural pivots subjected to lateral loads. This case has great importance from the mechanical design point of view, since generally flexural pivots support mechanical elements of considerable weight and their rotation is obtained by loading the pivot with a force instead of a pure couple.

From an analytical point of view, the problem is approached by studying the large deflections of an elastic frame. The equilibrium equations are considered and a solution based on the Newton–Raphson method is proposed. This approach is compared with other theoretical approaches. An experimental assessment performed by using laser interferometric techniques is presented. It is shown that the proposed solution allows the influence of lateral loads to be clearly established and proves to be adequate when the most common cases of limited lateral loads and rotations are considered.