A phase I, randomized study of combined IL-2 and therapeutic immunisation with antiretroviral therapy

Background  

Fully functional HIV-1-specific CD8 and CD4 effector T-cell responses are vital to the containment of viral activity and disease progression. These responses are lacking in HIV-1-infected patients with progressive disease. We attempted to augment fully functional HIV-1-specific CD8 and CD4 effector T-cell responses in patients with advanced chronic HIV-1 infection.     

Unitarity in “Quantization Commutes with Reduction”

Let M be a compact Kähler manifold equipped with a Hamiltonian action of a compact Lie group G. In this paper, we study the geometric quantization of the symplectic quotient M // G. Guillemin and Sternberg [Invent. Math. 67, 515–538 (1982)] have shown, under suitable regularity assumptions, that there is a natural invertible map between the quantum Hilbert space over M //G and the G-invariant subspace of the quantum Hilbert space over M.Reproducing other recent results in the literature, we prove that in general the natural map of Guillemin and Sternberg is not unitary, even to leading order in Planck’s constant. We then modify the quantization procedure by the “metaplectic correction” and show that in this setting there is still a natural invertible map between the Hilbert space over M // G and the G-invariant subspace of the Hilbert space over M. We then prove that this modified Guillemin–Sternberg map is asymptotically unitary to leading order in Planck’s constant. The analysis also shows a good asymptotic relationship between Toeplitz operators on M and on M // G.     

One-step green route to narrowly dispersed copper nanocrystals

We report a total “green” chemical method in aqueous solution for synthesizing stable narrowly distributed copper nanoparticles with average diameter less than 5 nm in the presence of Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a stabilizer and without any inert gas protection. In our synthesis route, ascorbic acid, natural vitamin C (VC), an excellent oxygen scavenger, acts as both reducing agent and antioxidant, to reduce the metallic ion precursor, and to effectively prevent the common oxidation process of the newborn pure copper nanoclusters.     

High-sensitivity vibrational imaging with frequency modulation coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (FM CARS) microscopy

We demonstrate a new approach to coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy that significantly increases the detection sensitivity. CARS signals are generated by collinearly overlapped, tightly focused, and raster scanned pump and Stokes laser beams, whose difference frequency is rapidly modulated. The resulting amplitude modulation of the CARS signal is detected through a lock-in amplifier. This scheme efficiently suppresses the nonresonant background and allows for the detection of far fewer vibrational oscillators than possible through existing CARS microscopy methods.     

Polar Fourier transforms of radially sampled NMR data

Radial sampling of the NMR time domain has recently been introduced to speed up data collection significantly. Here, we show that radially sampled data can be processed directly using Fourier transforms in polar coordinates. We present a comprehensive theoretical analysis of the discrete polar Fourier transform, and derive the consequences of its application to radially sampled data using linear response theory. With adequate sampling, the resulting spectrum using a polar Fourier transform is indistinguishable from conventionally processed spectra with Cartesian sampling. In the case of undersampling in azimuth--the condition that provides significant savings in measurement time-the correct spectrum is still produced, but with limited distortion of the baseline away from the peaks, taking the form of a summation of high-order Bessel functions. Finally, we describe an intrinsic connection between the polar Fourier transform and the filtered backprojection method that has recently been introduced to process projection-reconstruction NOESY data. Direct polar Fourier transformation holds great potential for producing quantitatively accurate spectra from radially sampled NMR data.     

Slow light in bacteriorhodopsin solution using coherent population oscillations

Slow light is demonstrated in liquid phase in an aqueous bacteriorhodopsin (bR) solution at room temperature. Group velocity as low as 3 m/s (all the way to c) is achieved by exploiting the photoisomerization property of bR for coherent population oscillations. Slow light in the liquid phase offers several advantages over solids or vapors for a variety of applications: (i) shorter lifetimes of the M state facilitate slow light at higher modulation frequencies, (ii) convection makes it possible to obtain large signal delays even at high input powers, and (iii) solution concentration is another convenient parameter to vary the signal delay over a wide range.     

Equivalent Theories and Changing Hamiltonian Observables in General Relativity

Change and local spatial variation are missing in Hamiltonian general relativity according to the most common definition of observables as having 0 Poisson bracket with all first-class constraints. But other definitions of observables have been proposed. In pursuit of Hamiltonian–Lagrangian equivalence, Pons, Salisbury and Sundermeyer use the Anderson–Bergmann–Castellani gauge generator G, a tuned sum of first-class constraints. Kucha? waived the 0 Poisson bracket condition for the Hamiltonian constraint to achieve changing observables. A systematic combination of the two reforms might use the gauge generator but permit non-zero Lie derivative Poisson brackets for the external gauge symmetry of General Relativity. Fortunately one can test definitions of observables by calculation using two formulations of a theory, one without gauge freedom and one with gauge freedom. The formulations, being empirically equivalent, must have equivalent observables. For de Broglie-Proca non-gauge massive electromagnetism, all constraints are second-class, so everything is observable. Demanding equivalent observables from gauge Stueckelberg–Utiyama electromagnetism, one finds that the usual definition fails while the Pons–Salisbury–Sundermeyer definition with G succeeds. This definition does not readily yield change in GR, however. Should GR’s external gauge freedom of general relativity share with internal gauge symmetries the 0 Poisson bracket (invariance), or is covariance (a transformation rule) sufficient? A graviton mass breaks the gauge symmetry (general covariance), but it can be restored by parametrization with clock fields. By requiring equivalent observables, one can test whether observables should have 0 or the Lie derivative as the Poisson bracket with the gauge generator G. The latter definition is vindicated by calculation. While this conclusion has been reported previously, here the calculation is given in some detail.     

GABRIELA setup for nuclear spectroscopy of the transfermium element isotopes at the VASSILISSA separator

The JINR (Dubna)-IN2P3 (France) Collaboration project aimed at the α, β γ, spectroscopy of the transfermium element isotopes using heavy-ion beams of the U-400 cyclotron and the modernized recoil separator VASSILISSA was launched at Dubna. During the first full-scale experiment in September–October 2004, nobelium and lawrencium isotopes produced in the ⁴⁸Ca + ^207,208Pb → ^255,256No* and ⁴⁸Ca + ²⁰⁹Bi → ²⁵⁷Lr* reactions were studied. The text was submitted by the authors in English.