Ground-based Parallax Confirmed by<i>Spitzer</i>: Binary Microlensing Event MOA-2015-BLG-020

Wang, Tianshu,Zhu, Wei,Mao, Shude,Bond, I. A.,Gould, A.,Udalski, A.,Sumi, T.,Bozza, V.,Ranc, C.,Cassan, A.,Yee, J. C.,Han, C.,Abe, F.,Asakura, Y.,Barry, R.,Bennett, D. P.,Bhattacharya, A.,Donachie, M. American Astronomical Society 2017 The Astrophysical journal Vol.845 No.2

<P>We present the analysis of the binary gravitational microlensing event MOA-2015-BLG-020. The event has a fairly long timescale (similar to 63 days) and thus the light curve deviates significantly from the lensing model that is based on the rectilinear lens-source relative motion. This enables us to measure the microlensing parallax through the annual parallax effect. The microlensing parallax parameters constrained by the ground-based data are confirmed by the Spitzer observations through the satellite parallax method. By additionally measuring the angular Einstein radius from the analysis of the resolved caustic crossing, the physical parameters of the lens are determined. It is found that the binary lens is composed of two dwarf stars with masses M-1= 0.606 +/- 0.028M(circle dot) and M-2= 0.125 +/- 0.006 M-circle dot in the Galactic disk. Assuming that the source star is at the same distance as the bulge red clump stars, we find the lens is at a distance D-L = 2.44 +/- 0.10 kpc. We also provide a summary and short discussion of all of the published microlensing events in which the annual parallax effect is confirmed by other independent observations.</P>

Inbred 마우스 수정란을 이용한 형질전환마우스 생산에 있어서의 효과적인 수정란 이식 방법에 관한 연구

Wang A. G,S. U. Kim,Y. H. Han,S. K. Kim,D. Y. Yu 한국동물생명공학회(구 한국동물번식학회) 2003 Reproductive & developmental biology Vol.27 No.1

본 연구의 목적은 inbred 마우스 (C57BL/6J)의 수정란을 이용하여 형질전환마우스를 생산할 때, 수정란이식의 효율성을 증진시키기 위한 것이다. C57BL/6J 및 BCF1 마우스로부터 과배란처리 방법에 의해 수정란을 얻고, DNA를 1 세포기 수정란에 미세 주입한 다음, 1세포기 또는 2 세포기의 수정란을 가임신된 마우스의 한쪽 또는 양쪽 난관에 각각 이식하였다. 1세포기의 수정란을 0.75 d.p.c. 가임신된 마우스의 한쪽 난관에 이식했을 때, 임신율이 C57BL/6J는 68.8±7.83%, BCF1은 48.3±14.22% 이었고, 이식한 수정란 당 산자의 발달율은 C57BL/6J가 11.9±5.51%, BCF1은 10.5±8.03%로 성적이 저조하였다. 그러나, 2세포기의 수정란을 0.5 d.p.c. 가임신된 마우스의 양쪽 난관에 이식했을 때, 임신율이 C57BL/6J는 94.4±9.64%, 13CFl은 100±0% 이었고, 이식한 수정란 당 산자의 발달율은 C57BL/6J가 22.1 ±0.4%, BCF1은 21.8±0.38%였다. 따라서 C57BL/6J 마우스의 2세포기 수정란을 0.5 d.p.c. 가임신된 마우스의 양쪽 난관에 이식하는 것이, BCF1마우스와 유사한 성적을 얻어 경쟁력이 있는 것으로 판단되었다. 이러한 결과에 영향을 미치는 인자가 여러 가지 있을 것으로 판단되지만, C57BL/6J 마우스의 2세포기 수정란을 0.5 d.p.c.가임신된 마우스의 양쪽 난관에 이식하는 방법이 다른 방법보다 형질전환마우스를 생산하는데 효율성이 더 높은 것으로 본 실험에서 확인되었다. The objective of this study is to improve the efficiency of embryo transfer in generation of transgenic mice using inbred mouse (C57BL/6J) embryos. The embryos of C57BL/6J and BCF1 mice were superovulated by the standard protocol. One-cell stage of embryos were microinjected and the resulted one-or two-cell were transferred into one-or two-side oviducts of foster mother, respectively. When one-cell stage of embryos were transferred into one-side oviduct of 0.75 d.p.c. foster mother, the results were not ideal because of showing pregnancy ratios of 68.8±7.83% for C57BL/6J and 48.3±14.22% for BCF1, and development ratios of pups vs transferred embryos of 11.9±5.51% for C57BL/6J and 10.5±8.03% fur BCF1 . However, when two-cell stage of embryos were transferred into two-side oviducts of 0.5 d.p.c. foster mother, we got better results of 94.4±9.64% and 100±0% pregnancy ratio, and 22.1±0.4% and 21.8±0.38% development ratio for C57BL/6J and BCF1, respectively. Therefore, transferring two-cell stage of C57BL/6J embryos into two-side oviducts of 0.5 d.p.c. foster mother may be competitive to the result in BCF1 embryos. Even if there are a lot of other factors affecting these results, we conclude from these experiments that transfer of two-cell embryos into two-side oviducts of 0.5 d.p.c. foster mother is a more efficient and safe method than others in generating transgenic mice using inbred mice embryos.

Velocity feedback for controlling vertical vibrations of pedestrian-bridge crossing. Practical guidelines

Xidong Wang,Emiliano Pereira,Iván M. Díaz,Jaime H. García-Palacios 국제구조공학회 2018 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.22 No.1

Active vibration control via inertial mass actuators has been shown as an effective tool to significantly reduce human-induced vertical vibrations, allowing structures to satisfy vibration serviceability limits. However, a lot of practical obstacles have to be solved before experimental implementations. This has motivated simple control techniques, such as direct velocity feedback control (DVFC), which is implemented in practice by integrating the signal of an accelerometer with a band-pass filter working as a lossy integrator. This work provides practical guidelines for the tuning of DVFC considering the damping performance, inertial mass actuator limitations, such as stroke and force saturation, as well as the stability margins of the closed-loop system. Experimental results on a full scale steel-concrete composite structure (behaves similar to a footbridge) with adjustable span are reported to illustrate the main conclusions of this work.

Search for D0 decays to invisible final states at Belle

Lai, Y.-T.,Wang, M.-Z.,Adachi, I.,Aihara, H.,Al Said, S.,Asner, D. M.,Aushev, T.,Ayad, R.,Badhrees, I.,Bakich, A. M.,Bansal, V.,Barberio, E.,Berger, M.,Bhardwaj, V.,Bhuyan, B.,Biswal, J.,Bobrov, A.,Bo American Physical Society 2017 Physical Review D Vol.95 No.1

<P>We report the result from the first search for D-0 decays to invisible final states. The analysis is performed on a data sample of 924 fb(-1) collected at and near the gamma(4S) and gamma(5S) resonances with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e(|) e(-) collider. The absolute branching fraction is determined using an inclusive D-0 sample, obtained by fully reconstructing the rest of the particle system including the other charmed particle. No significant signal yield is observed and an upper limit of 9.4 x 10(-5) is set on the branching fraction of D-0 to invisible final states at 90% confidence level.</P>

Extraction of bridge aeroelastic parameters by one reference-based stochastic subspace technique

F.Y. Xu,A.R. Chen,D.L. Wang,R.J. Ma 한국풍공학회 2011 Wind and Structures, An International Journal (WAS Vol.14 No.5

Without output covariance estimation, one reference-based Stochastic Subspace Technique (SST) for extracting modal parameters and flutter derivatives of bridge deck is developed and programmed. Compared with the covariance-driven SST and the oscillation signals incurred by oncoming or signature turbulence that adopted by previous investigators, the newly-presented identification scheme is less time-consuming in computation and a more desired accuracy should be contributed to high-quality free oscillated signals excited by specific initial displacement. The reliability and identification precision of this technique are confirmed by a numerical example. For the 3-DOF sectional models of Sutong Bridge deck (streamlined) and Suramadu Bridge deck (bluff) in wind tunnel tests, with different wind velocities, the lateral bending, vertical bending, torsional frequencies and damping ratios as well as 18 flutter derivatives are extracted by using SST. The flutter derivatives of two kinds of typical decks are compared with the pseudo-steady theoretical values, and the performance of H_1^*, H_3^*, A_1^*, A_3^*is very stable and well-matched with each other, respectively. The lateral direct flutter derivatives P_5^*, P_6^* are comparatively more accurate than other relevant lateral components. Experimental procedure seems to be more critical than identification technique for refining the estimation precision.

SLC45A2: A Melanoma Antigen with High Tumor Selectivity and Reduced Potential for Autoimmune Toxicity

Park, Jungsun,Talukder, Amjad H.,Lim, Seon A.,Kim, Kwanghee,Pan, Ke,Melendez, Brenda,Bradley, Sherille D.,Jackson, Kyle R.,Khalili, Jahan S.,Wang, Junmei,Creasy, Caitlin,Pan, Bih-Fang,Woodman, Scott E AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR CANCER RESEARCH 2017 Cancer Immunology Research Vol.5 No.8

<P>T cell–based immunotherapy against melanoma-associated antigens can result in on-target/off-tumor cytotoxicity. SLC45A2, a protein overexpressed in melanoma compared with normal melanocytes, was identified as a T-cell target that may be less prone to inducing autoimmune side effects.</P><P>Cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL)–based immunotherapies have had remarkable success at generating objective clinical responses in patients with advanced metastatic melanoma. Although the melanocyte differentiation antigens (MDA) MART-1, PMEL, and tyrosinase were among the first melanoma tumor-associated antigens identified and targeted with immunotherapy, expression within normal melanocytes of the eye and inner ear can elicit serious autoimmune side effects, thus limiting their clinical potential as CTL targets. Using a tandem mass spectrometry (MS) approach to analyze the immunopeptidomes of 55 melanoma patient–derived cell lines, we identified a number of shared HLA class I–bound peptides derived from the melanocyte-specific transporter protein SLC45A2. Antigen-specific CTLs generated against HLA-A*0201- and HLA-A*2402–restricted SLC45A2 peptides effectively killed a majority of HLA-matched cutaneous, uveal, and mucosal melanoma cell lines tested (18/25). CTLs specific for SLC45A2 showed significantly reduced recognition of HLA-matched primary melanocytes that were, conversely, robustly killed by MART1- and PMEL-specific T cells. Transcriptome analysis revealed that SLC45A2 mRNA expression in normal melanocytes was less than 2% that of other MDAs, therefore providing a more favorable melanoma-to-melanocyte expression ratio. Expression of SLC45A2 and CTL sensitivity could be further upregulated in BRAF(V600E)-mutant melanoma cells upon treatment with BRAF or MEK inhibitors, similarly to other MDAs. Taken together, our study demonstrates the feasibility of using tandem MS as a means of discovering shared immunogenic tumor-associated epitopes and identifies SLC45A2 as a promising immunotherapeutic target for melanoma with high tumor selectivity and reduced potential for autoimmune toxicity. <I>Cancer Immunol Res; 5(8); 618–29. ©2017 AACR</I>.</P>

Deformation behavior of Mg-8.5wt.%Al alloy under reverse loading investigated by in-situ neutron diffraction and elastic viscoplastic self-consistent modeling

Wang, H.,Lee, S.Y.,Gharghouri, M.A.,Wu, P.D.,Yoon, S.G. Elsevier Science 2016 Acta materialia Vol.107 No.-

<P>The EVPSC-TDT model for polycrystal plasticity and in-situ neutron diffraction have been used to investigate the behavior of a Mg-8.5wt.%Al alloy with two starting textures: 1) a typical extrusion texture in which a majority of the grains are oriented favorably for extension twinning via compression perpendicular to the basal pole, and 2) a modified texture in which extension twinning can be activated via tension parallel to the basal pole in a majority of the grains. Using a small number of adjustable parameters, and only two macroscopic tensile stress strain curves for calibration, the model is able to capture, quantitatively, the trends in multiple data sets, including grain-level elastic lattice strains, and diffraction peak intensity changes due to lattice re-orientation associated with twinning. For twinning, the model assumes a polar critical resolved shear stress activation criterion and assigns the stress and hardening of the parent crystal to a newly formed twin. The model allows twinning to be driven either by the stress in the parent crystal (matrix reduction), in which case all of the twin transformation strain is assigned to the matrix, or by the stress in the twin (twin propagation), in which case all of the twin transformation strain is assigned to the twin. A detailed comparison between the model predictions and the neutron diffraction data reveals that assigning all of the twin transformation strain either to the matrix or to the twin is too one-sided, leading to excessive relaxation and hardening effects. A more equitable partitioning of the twin transformation strain is necessary. It is suggested that the stress and hardening assigned to a newly formed twin is of less importance to the performance of the model than the partitioning of the twin transformation strain. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Acta Materialia Inc.</P>

Influence of Soil Characteristics and Proximity to Antarctic Research Stations on Abundance of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Soils

Wang, Fang,Stedtfeld, Robert D.,Kim, Ok-Sun,Chai, Benli,Yang, Luxi,Stedtfeld, Tiffany M.,Hong, Soon Gyu,Kim, Dockyu,Lim, Hyoun Soo,Hashsham, Syed A.,Tiedje, James M.,Sul, Woo Jun American Chemical Society 2016 Environmental science & technology Vol.50 No.23

<P>Soil is an important environmental reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), which are increasingly recognized as environmental contaminants Methods to assess the risks associated with the acquisition or transfer of resistance mechanisms are still underdeveloped. Quantification of background levels of antibiotic resistance genes and what alters those is a first step in understanding our environmental resistome. Toward this goal, 62 samples were collected over 3 years from soils near the 30-year old Gondwana Research Station and for 4 years before and during development of the new Jang Bogo Research Station, both at Terra Nova Bay in Antarctica. These sites reflect limited and more extensive human impact, respectively. A qPCR array with 384 primer sets targeting antibiotic resistance genes and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) was used to detect and quantify these genes. A total of 73 ARGs and MGEs encompassing eight major antibiotic resistance gene categories were detected, but most at very low levels. Antarctic soil appeared to be a common reservoir for seven ARGs since they were present in most samples (42%-88%). If the seven widespread genes were removed, there was a correlation between the relative abundance of MGEs and ARGs, more typical of contaminated sites. There was a relationship between ARG content and distance from both research stations, with a significant effect at the Jang Bogo Station especially when excluding the seven widespread genes; however, the relative abundance of ARGs did not increase over the 4 year period. Silt, clay, total organic carbon, and SiO2 were the top edaphic factors that correlated with ARG abundance. Overall, this study identifies that human activity and certain soil characteristics correlate with antibiotic resistance genes in these oligotrophic Antarctic soils and provides a baseline of ARGs and MGEs for future comparisons.</P>

A nanophotonic solar thermophotovoltaic device

Lenert, A.,Bierman, D. M.,Nam, Y.,Chan, W. R.,Celanović,, I.,Soljad,ić,, M.,Wang, E. N. Nature Publishing Group 2014 Nature nanotechnology Vol.9 No.2

The most common approaches to generating power from sunlight are either photovoltaic, in which sunlight directly excites electron-hole pairs in a semiconductor, or solar-thermal, in which sunlight drives a mechanical heat engine. Photovoltaic power generation is intermittent and typically only exploits a portion of the solar spectrum efficiently, whereas the intrinsic irreversibilities of small heat engines make the solar-thermal approach best suited for utility-scale power plants. There is, therefore, an increasing need for hybrid technologies for solar power generation(1,2). By converting sunlight into thermal emission tuned to energies directly above the photovoltaic bandgap using a hot absorber-emitter, solar thermophotovoltaics promise to leverage the benefits of both approaches: high efficiency, by harnessing the entire solar spectrum(3-5); scalability and compactness, because of their solid-state nature; and dispatchablility, owing to the ability to store energy using thermal or chemical means(6-8). However, efficient collection of sunlight in the absorber and spectral control in the emitter are particularly challenging at high operating temperatures. This drawback has limited previous experimental demonstrations of this approach to conversion efficiencies around or below 1% (refs 9-11). Here, we report on a full solar thermophotovoltaic device, which, thanks to the nanophotonic properties of the absorber-emitter surface, reaches experimental efficiencies of 3.2%. The device integrates a multiwalled carbon nanotube absorber and a one-dimensional Si/SiO2 photonic-crystal emitter on the same substrate, with the absorber-emitter areas optimized to tune the energy balance of the device. Our device is planar and compact and could become a viable option for high-performance solar thermophotovoltaic energy conversion.

Effects of Moisture and a Saponin-based Surfactant during Barley Processing on Growth Performance and Carcass Quality of Feedlot Steers and on In vitro Ruminal Fermentation

Wang, Y.,Gibb, D.,Greer, D.,McAllister, T.A. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2011 Animal Bioscience Vol.24 No.12

Feedlot and in vitro ruminal experiments were conducted to assess the effects of saponin-containing surfactant applied during tempering of barley grain on cattle growth performance and on ruminal fermentation. In the feedlot experiment, treatments with three barley grain/barley silage based diets were prepared using barley grain at 7.7% moisture (dry, D), after tempering to 18% moisture (M), or after tempering with a saponin-based surfactant included at 60 ml/t (MS). Each treatment was rolled at settings determined previously to yield optimally processed barley. A total of 180 newly weaned British${\times}$Charolais steers were fed three diets in 18 pens for a 63-d backgrounding period and 91-d finishing period to determine feed intake, growth rate and feed efficiency. Cattle were slaughtered at the end of the experiment to measure the carcass characteristics. Tempering reduced (p<0.001) volume weight and processing index, but processing characteristics were similar between MS and M. Tempering increased (p<0.05) growth during backgrounding only, compared with D, but did not affect feed intake in either phase. During backgrounding, feed efficiency was improved with tempering, but during finishing and overall this response was only observed with the surfactant. Tempering did not affect carcass weight, fat content or meat yield. Surfactant doubled the proportion of carcasses grading AAA. In the in vitro experiment, barley (500 mg; ground to <1.0 mm or steam-rolled) was incubated in buffered ruminal fluid (40 ml) without or with surfactant up to 20 ${\mu}l/g$ DM substrate for 24 h. Surfactant increased (p<0.05) apparent DM disappearance and starch digestibility but reduced productions of gas and the volatile fatty acid and acetate:propionate ratio, irrespective of barley particle size. Compared with feeding diets prepared with non-tempered barley, tempering with surfactant increased the feed efficiency of feedlot steers. This may have arisen from alteration in processing characteristics of barley grain by surfactant rather than its direct effect on rumen microbial fermentation.