A single amino acid defines cross-species reactivity of tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri) CD1d to human invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells

P>The non-classical major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecule CD1d presents lipid antigens to invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells, which are an important part of the innate immune system. CD1d/iNKT systems are highly conserved in evoluti

Structure, organization and expression of common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) NKEF-B gene

Natural killer (NK) cell enhancing factor (NKEF) belongs to the newly defined peroxiredoxin (Prx) family. Its functions are to enhance NK cell cytotoxicity and to protect DNA and proteins from oxidative damage. In this study, a partial cDNA sequence of carp NKEF-B was isolated from thymus cDNA library. Subsequently, the full-length cDNA of carp NKEF-B was obtained by means of 3' and 5' RACE, respectively. The full-length cDNA of carp NKEF-B was 1022 bp, consisting of a 73 bp 5'-terminal untranslated region (UTR), a 355 bp T-terminal UTR, and a 594 bp open reading frame coding for a protein of 197 amino acids. Carp NKEF-B contained two consensus Val-Cys-Pro (VCP) motifs and three consensus cysteine (Cys-51, Cys-70 and Cys-172) residues. Sequence comparison showed that the deduced amino acid sequence of carp NKEF-B had an overall similarity of 74-96% to that of other species homologues. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that carp NKEF-B forms a cluster with other known teleost NKEF-Bs. Then, by PCR we obtained a 5.1 -k long genomic DNA of carp NKEF-B containing six exons and five introns. Realtime RT-PCR results showed that carp NKEF-B gene was predominantly detected in kidney and head kidney under un-infected conditions. Whereas under SVCV-infection condition, the expression of NKEF-B gene was significantly increased in blood cells, gill, intestine and spleen, but maintained in liver, and decreased significantly in kidney and head kidney. Finally, the rNKEF-B was constructed and expressed in Escherichia coli. By using an antibody against carp rNKEF-B, immunohistochemical study further indicated that NKEF-B positive cells are mainly some RBCs and a few epithelial cells in gill and intestine, and that under SVCV-infection condition, these positive cells or positive products in their cytoplasm were mainly increased in gill and spleen sections of carp. The results obtained in the present study will help to understand the function of NKEF-B in teleost innate immunity. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Alterations of immune functions induced by 12C6+ion irradiation in mice

Purpose: To estimate the biological risks to the immune system of the type of space radiation, 12C6+, encountered by cosmonauts during long-term travel in space. Materials and methods: The Kun-Ming strain mice were whole-body irradiated by 12C6+ ion with 0, 0.01, 0.05, 0.075, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 0.75, 1 or 2 Gy, at a dose rate of 1 Gy/min. At 35 days after irradiation, the thymus and spleen weights were measured, the natural killer (NK) cells activity of spleen was determined by 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT), and the interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) levels in serum and thymus were detected with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Results: The results showed that the thymus weight, IFN-gamma levels in serum and the activity of splenic NK-cells had significantly increased at a dose of 0.05 Gy. With further dose increase, the weight of spleen continued to increase but the weight of thymus, IFN-gamma level and NK-cells activity declined. Conclusions: These results suggest that the dose of 0.05 Gy irradiation has a stimulatory effect on mouse immunity; this effect declined with increasing dose.

低剂量12C6+辐射对小鼠免疫系统损伤和抗氧化剂氮乙酰半胱氨酸的保护作用研究

实验目的：随着科技的发展，人类活动范围已经逐渐向外太空扩展，对于人类太空探索的最大威胁是太空中的各种粒子辐射。这些辐射包括太阳辐射（质子和电子）和银河辐射（质子占85%，氦离子占14%，重离子占1%）。众所周知，重离子与常规X和γ射线相比有较高的传能线密度（linear energy transfer, LET）和相对生物学效应（relative biological effectiveness, RBE），对机体组织和器官有较强的影响。放射治疗是肿瘤治疗的重要手段之一，由于肿瘤细胞的异质性，其对放、化疗的反应相差悬殊。本研究的目的是： 1评估辐射对健康机体产生的生物学风险； 2研究抗氧化剂氮乙酰半胱氨酸（NAC）对机体辐射损伤的保护作用 3不同肿瘤细胞辐射敏感性的差异。实验方法： 1 X射线或12C6+离子对小鼠进行不同剂量的全身辐射。NAC处理组小鼠在照射前1小时腹腔注射200mg/kg的NAC，对照组注射等体积的生理盐水。照射后不同时间点取样，利用流式细胞仪检测小鼠免疫细胞周期和凋亡情况，单细胞电泳检测淋巴细胞DNA损伤，MTT法（3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide）检测脾脏NK（natural killer，NK）细胞活性，微核法检测淋巴细胞染色体损伤情况，小鼠体内干扰素－γ（Interferon-γ，IFN-γ）由ELISA方法得到，小鼠血清中超氧化物岐化酶(Surperoxide dismutase SOD）由分光光度法测定，并观察胸腺和脾脏指数变化。 2 不同剂量X射线和12C6+离子辐射人肺腺癌细胞H1299和A549，用细胞克隆法检测照射后细胞存活曲线，流式细胞仪检测细胞周期和凋亡，Western-blot 检测A549 细胞P53蛋白表达。 结果： 1小鼠外周血淋巴细胞、胸腺细胞和脾脏淋巴细胞周期随着X射线照射剂量的增大而被阻滞在了G0/G1期，相同剂量的12C6+离子辐射时外周血淋巴细胞周期被阻滞在S期，分次连续X射线照射时，外周血淋巴细胞周期随着累积剂量的增加被阻滞在G2/M期；细胞凋亡比例随着照射剂量的增加而增加。小鼠血清中IFN-γ水平和脾脏中NK细胞活性在重离子照射剂量为0.05Gy时有显著增加，脾脏NK细胞活性随着照射剂量的增加而减弱。 2重离子照射后，小鼠淋巴细胞DNA和染色体的损伤随辐射剂量和照射后时间的延长而加剧。脾脏NK细胞活性在照射后各个时间点减弱，血清中IFN-γ水平和SOD酶活性随着重离子照射剂量的增加而降低。预防性给予NAC，12C6+离子辐射对淋巴细胞DNA和染色体所致损伤，胸腺细胞周期和凋亡，脾脏NK细胞活性，血清中IFN-γ的水平和SOD酶的活性的损伤与盐水组比较均有显著改善。 3 X射线照射对肺腺癌H1299细胞周期和凋亡率未产生明显影响，重离子照射后随着照射剂量的增加细胞周期被阻滞在G2/M期，细胞凋亡率也呈剂量依赖性；X射线和12C6+离子照射A549细胞后，细胞周期均被阻滞在G2/M期，凋亡率剂量依赖性增加。A549细胞P53蛋白的表达水平随着重离子照射剂量的增加而增加。结论： 1重离子辐射造成细胞DNA和染色体损伤随着照射剂量的增加和照射后时间的延长而增加，比X射线辐射损伤复杂和难以修复，产生这种现象的机理为辐射导致活性氧分子簇的产生，细胞因子和与细胞氧化反应有关的酶活性的变化，同时这种损伤对胸腺细胞周期、凋亡和胸腺、脾脏指数以及机体免疫系统都有影响；低剂量重离子辐射（0.05Gy）对小鼠机体的免疫力有刺激作用，机体免疫能力随着照射剂量增加和照射后时间的推移而减弱，不同的免疫器官对辐射的敏感性也不同； 2 200mg/kg 的NAC对辐射所致小鼠免疫系统损伤有很好的保护作用； 3 肺腺癌细胞H1299比同系A549具有较强的辐射敏感性，A549细胞凋亡的增加与P53蛋白表达水平升高有关

Immunomodulation and antitumor activity of kappa-carrageenan oligosaccharides

The modulation of carrageenan oligosaccharides from Kappaphycus striatum on the immune system in S 180-bearing mice was investigated. The mice inoculated with S180 cell suspension were treated p.o. with carrageenan oligosaccharides (50, 100 and 200 mu g/g) for 14 days. The effects of carrageenan oligosaccharides on transplantable tumors and macrophage phagocytosis, quantitative hemolysis of sheep red blood cells (QHS),. lymphocyte proliferation, the activity of natural killer cells (NK), production of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) were studied. Carrageenan oligosaccharides could significantly inhibit the growth of transplantable sarcoma S180 and increase macrophage phagocytosis, the form of antibody secreted by spleen cells, spleen lymphocyte proliferation, NK cells activity, serumal IL-2 and TNF-alpha level in S 180-bearing mice. Considering all these results, it is suggested that carrageenan oligosaccharides exert their antitumor effect by promoting the immune system. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of heat-treatment processes on the electroless Ni-B coating and its natural aging mechanism

A Ni-B coating was prepared with EN using potassium borohydride reducing agent. The as-plated micro-structure of the coating was confirmed from XRD to be a mixture of amorphous and supersaturated solid solution. Three kinds of phase transformation were observed from the DSC curve. Different from the previous works, the formation of Ni4B3 and Ni2B was found during some transformation processes. The key factors which influence the variation of micro-hardness and micro-structure in deposits are the formation, the size and amount of Ni3B, Ni4B3 and Ni2B. Aging of the deposits treated under some heat treatment conditions occurred at room temperature. Changes of the micro-hardness indicated aging phenomena evidently. the natural aging phenomena are concerned with various kinds of decomposition of borides, especially with Ni4B3 phase. The extent of natural aging depends on the formation and the quantity of Ni(4)B3 and Ni2B.

Numerical Simulation of Nox Formation in Coal Combustion with Inlet Natural Gas Burning

A full two-fluid model of reacting gas-particle flows and coal combustion is used to simulate coal combustion with and without inlet natural gas added in the inlet. The simulation results for the case without natural gas burning is in fair agreement with the experimental results reported in references. The simulation results of different natural gas adding positions indicate that the natural gas burning can form lean oxygen combustion enviroment at the combustor inlet region and the NOz concentration is reduced. The same result can be obtained from chemical equilibrium analysis.

Experimental investigation on the chaotic phenomena in the wake of a natural thermal convection flow

Chaotic phenomena in the wake of thermal convection flow fields above a heating flat plate were investigated experimentally. A newly developed electron beam fluorescence technique (EBF) was used to simultaneously measure density fluctuation at 7 points in a cross section above the plate. Correlation dimensions, intermittence coefficients, Fourier spectrum have been obtained for different Grashof numbers. Spatial distribution of correlation dimensions are presented. The experimental result shows that there is a certain relationship between the density fluctuation and the Gr number. And time-spacial characteristic of chaos evolution is also given.

Effects of Natural Convection on the Characteristics of a Long Laminar Argon Plasma Jet Issuing Horizontally into Ambient Air

Three-dimensional modeling results show that the appearance of the long laminar plasma jet is less influenced by natural convection even as it is issuing into ambient air horizontally. However, plasma parameter distributions may deviate from axi-symmetry

Analysis of Temperature and Pressure Changes in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Cryogenic Tanks

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is being developed as a transportation fuel for heavy vehicles such as trucks and transit buses, to lessen the dependency on oil and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The LNG stations are properly designed to prevent the venting of natural gas (NG) from LNG tanks, which can cause evaporative greenhouse gas emissions and result in fluctuations of fuel flow and changes of fuel composition. Boil-off is caused by the heat added into the LNG fuel during the storage and fueling. Heat can leak into the LNG fuel through the shell of tank during the storage and through hoses and dispensers during the fueling. Gas from tanks onboard vehicles, when returned to LNG tanks, can add additional heat into the LNG fuel. A thermodynamic and heat transfer model has been developed to analyze different mechanisms of heat leak into the LNG fuel. The evolving of properties and compositions of LNG fuel inside LNG tanks is simulated. The effect of a number of buses fueled each day on the possible total fuel loss rate has been analyzed. It is found that by increasing the number of buses, fueled each day, the total fuel loss rate can be reduced significantly. It is proposed that an electric generator be used to consume the boil-off gas or a liquefier be used to re-liquefy the boiloff gas to reduce the tank pressure and eliminate fuel losses. These approaches can prevent boil-off of natural gas emissions, and reduce the costs of LNG as transportation fuel.

Refractive index and thickness analysis of natural silicon dioxide film growing on silicon with variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry

The refractive index and thickness of SiO2 thin films naturally grown on Si substrates were determined simultaneously within the wavelength range of 220-1100 nm with variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry. Different angles of incidence and wavelength ranges were chosen to enhance the analysis sensitivity for more accurate results. Several optical models describing the practical SiO2-Si system were investigated, and best results were obtained with the optical model, including an interface layer between SiO2 and Si, which proved the existence of the interface layer in this work as described in other publications.

Comparative Study Of The Influence Of Natural Convection On Directional Solidification Of Al-3.5 Wt% Ni And Al-7 Wt% Si Alloys

We present numerical simulations of thermosolutal convection for directional solidification of Al-3.5 wt% Ni and Al-7 wt% Si. Numerical results predict that fragmentation of dendrite arms resulting from dissolution could be favored in Al-7 wt% Si, but not in Al-3.5 wt% Ni. Corresponding experiments are in qualitative agreement with the numerical predictions. Distinguishing the two fragmentation mechanisms, namely dissolution and remelting, is critical during experiments on earth, when fluid flow is dominant. (C) 2007 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Approximate theory of natural-convection with small grashof number

To gain some insight into the behaviour of low-gravity flows in the material processing in space, an approximate theory has been developed for the convective motion of fluids with a small Grashof number Gr. The expansion of the variables into a series of Gr reduces the Boussinesq equation to a system of weakly coupled linearly inhomogeneous equations. Moreover, the analogy concept is proposed and utilized in the study of the plate bending problems in solid mechanics. Two examples are investigated in detail, i. e. the 2-dimensional steady flows in either circular or square infinite closed cylinder, which is horizontally imposed at a specified temperature of linear distribution on the boundaries. The results for stream function ψ, velocity u and temperature T are provided. The analysis of the influences of some parameters such as the Grashof number Gr and the Prandtl number Pr, on motions will lead to several interesting conclusions. The theory seems to be useful for seeking for an analytical solutions. At least, it will greatly simplify the complicated problems originally governed by the Navier-Stokes equation including buoyancy. It is our hope that the theory might be applicable to unsteady or 3-dimensional cases in future.

Simulation of Natural Gas Production in Hydrate Reservoirs

This paper simulates a one-dimensional physical model of natural gas production from hydrate dissociation in a reservoir by depressurization. According to the principles of solid hydrate decomposition in stratum and flow of natural gas in porous medium, the pressure governing equations for both gas zone and hydrate zone are set up based on the physical production model. Using the approximation reported by N. N. Verigin et al. (1980), the nonlinear governing equations are simplified and the self-similar solutions are obtained. Through calculation, for different reservoir parameters, the distribution characters of pressure are analyzed. The decline trend of natural gas production rate with time is also studied. The simulation results show that production of natural gas from a hydrate reservoir is very sensitive to several reservoir parameters, such as wellbore pressure and stratum porosity and permeability.