CpG-ODN-induced sustained expression of BTLA mediating selective inhibition of human B cells.

BTLA (B- and T-lymphocyte attenuator) is a prominent co-receptor that is structurally and functionally related to CTLA-4 and PD-1. In T cells, BTLA inhibits TCR-mediated activation. In B cells, roles and functions of BTLA are still poorly understood and have never been studied in the context of B cells activated by CpG via TLR9. In this study, we evaluated the expression of BTLA depending on activation and differentiation of human B cell subsets in peripheral blood and lymph nodes. Stimulation with CpG upregulated BTLA, but not its ligand: herpes virus entry mediator (HVEM), on B cells in vitro and sustained its expression in vivo in melanoma patients after vaccination. Upon ligation with HVEM, BTLA inhibited CpG-mediated B cell functions (proliferation, cytokine production, and upregulation of co-stimulatory molecules), which was reversed by blocking BTLA/HVEM interactions. Interestingly, chemokine secretion (IL-8 and MIP1β) was not affected by BTLA/HVEM ligation, suggesting that BTLA-mediated inhibition is selective for some but not all B cell functions. We conclude that BTLA is an important immune checkpoint for B cells, as similarly known for T cells

The 3-5 semiconductor solid solution single crystal growth

Techniques used for liquid and vapor phase epitaxy of gallium indium arsenide are described and the difficulties encountered are examined. Results show that the growth of bulk III-V solid solution single crystals in a low gravity environment will not have a major technological impact. The float zone technique in a low gravity environment is demonstrated using cadmium telluride. It is shown that this approach can result in the synthesis of a class of semiconductors that can not be grown in normal gravity because of growth problems rooted in the nature of their phase diagrams

Non-malleable encryption: simpler, shorter, stronger

In a seminal paper, Dolev et al. [15] introduced the notion of non-malleable encryption (NM-CPA). This notion is very intriguing since it suffices for many applications of chosen-ciphertext secure encryption (IND-CCA), and, yet, can be generically built from semantically secure (IND-CPA) encryption, as was shown in the seminal works by Pass et al. [29] and by Choi et al. [9], the latter of which provided a black-box construction. In this paper we investigate three questions related to NM-CPA security: 1. Can the rate of the construction by Choi et al. of NM-CPA from IND-CPA be improved? 2. Is it possible to achieve multi-bit NM-CPA security more efficiently from a single-bit NM-CPA scheme than from IND-CPA? 3. Is there a notion stronger than NM-CPA that has natural applications and can be achieved from IND-CPA security? We answer all three questions in the positive. First, we improve the rate in the scheme of Choi et al. by a factor O(λ), where λ is the security parameter. Still, encrypting a message of size O(λ) would require ciphertext and keys of size O(λ2) times that of the IND-CPA scheme, even in our improved scheme. Therefore, we show a more efficient domain extension technique for building a λ-bit NM-CPA scheme from a single-bit NM-CPA scheme with keys and ciphertext of size O(λ) times that of the NM-CPA one-bit scheme. To achieve our goal, we define and construct a novel type of continuous non-malleable code (NMC), called secret-state NMC, as we show that standard continuous NMCs are not enough for the natural “encode-then-encrypt-bit-by-bit” approach to work. Finally, we introduce a new security notion for public-key encryption that we dub non-malleability under (chosen-ciphertext) self-destruct attacks (NM-SDA). After showing that NM-SDA is a strict strengthening of NM-CPA and allows for more applications, we nevertheless show that both of our results—(faster) construction from IND-CPA and domain extension from one-bit scheme—also hold for our stronger NM-SDA security. In particular, the notions of IND-CPA, NM-CPA, and NM-SDA security are all equivalent, lying (plausibly, strictly?) below IND-CCA securit

Towards the Prediction of User Actions on Exercises with Hints Based on Survey Results

Proceedings of: 6th European Conference of Technology Enhanced Learning, EC-TEL 2011, Palermo, Italy, September 20-23, 2011.The actions a user performs on exercises depending on the different hinting techniques applied, can be used to adapt future exercises. In this paper, we propose a survey for users in order to know their different actions depending on different conditions. The analysis of preliminary results for some questions of the model shows that there is a correlation between some survey questions and the real student actions, but there is a case in which there is not such correlation. For the cases where that correlation exists, this correlation leads to think that some prediction of users actions based on survey results is possible.Work partially funded by the Learn3 project TIN2008-05163/TSI within the Spanish “Plan Nacional de I+D+I”, and the Madrid regional community project eMadrid S2009/TIC-1650

Economic Research on Ethanol Feed-Use Coproducts: A Review, Synthesis, and Path Forward

During the mid-2000s to the early 2010s, the domestic ethanol industry witnessed substantial growth, with ethanol coproducts emerging as vital elements for plant profitability and livestock feeding. Initially serving as supplementary revenue streams, coproducts from ethanol production have evolved into diverse value-added offerings, bolstering revenue streams, and sustaining profit margins. This study reviews existing economic research on ethanol coproducts, detailing methodologies, product focus, and research locations. Initially gathering 972 articles from 9 databases, 110 articles were synthesized. We find that most studies primarily examined the growth and future of the ethanol industry with a limited focus on specific coproducts. Feed-use distillers’ grains, especially dried distillers’ grains, were the most widely published while newer coproducts like pelletized, deoiled, and high-protein distillers’ grains were relatively understudied. Non-feed-use products were notably overlooked, highlighting the need for exploration beyond conventional applications. The evolving market landscape for ethanol co-products has surpassed published academic understanding of the economic tradeoffs necessitating further research into product dynamics, pricing, marketing, market structures, and regulatory frameworks. This highlights and underscores the importance of investigating value-added grains across diverse commodities and geographic contexts to inform strategic decision-making and policy formulation

Inside Organizations: Pricing, Politics, and Path Dependence

When economists have considered organizations, much attention has focused on the boundary of the firm, rather than its internal structures and processes. In contrast, this review sketches three approaches to the economic theory of internal organization—one substantially developed, another rapidly emerging, and a third on the horizon. The first approach (pricing) applies Pigou's prescription: If markets get prices wrong, then the economist's job is to fix the prices. The second approach (politics) considers environments where important actions inside organizations simply cannot be priced, so power and control become central. Finally, the third approach (path dependence) complements the first two by shifting attention from the between variance to the within. That is, rather than asking how organizations confronting different circumstances should choose different structures and processes, the focus here is on how path dependence can cause persistent performance differences among seemingly similar enterprises

Long term functional and morphological characterization of muscle cell cultures

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1995.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 54-47).by Michael E. Gertner.M.S

Glamorous Prose as Supertext: An Attempt at Linguoaxiological Interpretation

Поступила в редакцию 27.11.2017. Принята к печати 09.01.2019.Submitted on 27 November, 2017. Accepted on 09 January, 2019.В статье рассматриваются произведения современной женской гламурной прозы, составляющие в совокупности особый сверхтекст. Для анализа привлекаются тексты, объединенные ценностной доминантой и сквозным мотивом спланированного замужества. Типичная героиня — девушка-«охотница», которой удается завоевать сердце миллионера. Сверхтекст объединен также образом автора, целевой читательской аудиторией, хронотопом. Автор — конкретное лицо — молодая женщина, носительница культуры гламура, обладающая имиджем «светской львицы». Она делится с читательницами личным опытом, дает конкретные рекомендации, способствующие завоеванию мужа-миллионера. Ориентированные на целевую женскую читательскую аудиторию, тексты монологичны: в них безоговорочно господствует точка зрения автора — знатока гламурной культуры. В ряде случаев калькируются каноны жанра практического пособия. Дидактическая константа мотивируется впечатляющими жизненными историями, демонстрирующими женское превосходство. Целевая аудитория — девушки, стремящиеся «правильно» выйти замуж. Они получают возможность, изучив предлагаемое «практическое пособие», овладеть «профессиональными» компетенциями, необходимыми для удачного замужества. В гламурной прозе отображается текущее время в реальном пространстве и реальных ситуациях. Как показывает анализ, сверхтекст произведений гламурной прозы нацелен на трансляцию гендерных ценностей и моделей поведения, не соответствующих традициям русской культуры: духовно-нравственные ценностные предпочтения вытесняются материальными. Отмечается тенденция к прагматизации женского мировосприятия. Главной целью девушек, стремящихся проникнуть в мир гламура, становится не обретение семейного счастья, не «рай в шалаше», а богатство, замещающее любовь, — ключевой концепт традиционной русской культуры. Особо подчеркивается непосредственная связь стилистики гламурной прозы со стилистикой глянцевых журналов. Как и в глянцевых журналах, на первый план читательского восприятия авторами выдвигаются внешние характеристики вещного мира — мира роскоши.This article discusses works of contemporary women’s glamorous prose that constitute a particular supertext. The author refers to novels united by the axiological dominant and end-to-end motif of a planned marriage. Their typical character is a “huntress” girl who manages to win over the heart of a millionaire. In such novels, supertext is also unified by the author, the readership, and the chronotope. The author is a specific person, a young woman, a representative of glamorous culture having the image of a “socialite”. She shares her personal experience with the reader, giving specific recommendations with regard to conquering a millionaire. Aimed at female readership, the novels are monologous: the author is an expert in glamorous culture, which makes her point of view dominant. In some cases, authors use the canons of the genre of practical guide. The didactic constant is motivated by impressive real-life stories, demonstrating women’s superiority. The target audience is girls who want to get married to the “right” man. They get such an opportunity, having examined the “practical manual” to master “professional” competencies which are necessary for a successful marriage. In glamorous prose, the current time is reflected in real space and in real situations. The analysis shows that the supertext of glamorous prose aims to transmit gender values which are different from the traditional ones typical of Russian culture. Spiritual and moral values are replaced by material values. The article points out a tendency for a pragmatic approach to women’s perception of the world. The main goal girls seeking to enter the world of glamour pursue is not family happiness, not “love in a cottage”, but wealth, replacing love, which is the key concept of Russian culture. The author of the article emphasises a direct connection between the glamorous style of the prose and the style of glossy magazines. Similar to glossy magazines, the writers of such prose draw the reader’s attention to the external characteristics of the world of things and the world of luxury

Specifics of geological composition, geochemistry and geochronology of rocks from the Kresty alkaline-ultrabasic massif (Maimecha-Kotui province, Polar Siberia)

In this work, we demonstrate new data that allows us to accurate geochronological ranges of formation of the Kresty alkaline-ultrabasic massif, which is considered to be a satellite of the Gulinian giant pluton. We also interpreted geological, geochemical and isotope-geochemical data obtained earlier for major varieties of this volcanic-plutonic association taking into account new geochronological results, as well as considered new aspects/information on matter source of alkaline-ultrabasic massifs from this province. One of the main aspects is interaction of Siberian super plume matter with hosting substrate of Siberian craton continental crust