Recently it was shown that circulating Ly6C(+) monocytes traffic from tissue to the draining lymph nodes (LNs) with minimal alteration in their overall phenotype. Furthermore, in the steady state, ...Ly6C(+) monocytes are as abundant as classical dendritic cells (DCs) within the draining LNs, and even more abundant during inflammation. However, little is known about the functional roles of constitutively trafficking Ly6C(+) monocytes. In this study we investigated whether Ly6C(+) monocytes can efferocytose (acquire dying cells) and cross-present cell-associated antigen, a functional property particularly attributed to Batf3(+) DCs. We demonstrated that Ly6C(+) monocytes intrinsically efferocytose and cross-present cell-associated antigen to CD8(+) T cells. In addition, efferocytosis was enhanced upon direct activation of the Ly6C(+) monocytes through its corresponding TLRs, TLR4 and TLR7. However, only ligation of TLR7, and not TLR4, enhanced cross-presentation by Ly6C(+) monocytes. Overall, this study outlines two functional roles, among others, that Ly6C(+) monocytes have during an adaptive immune response.
Ultrawide‐bandgap (UWBG) semiconductors, with bandgaps significantly wider than the 3.4 eV of GaN, represent an exciting and challenging new area of research in semiconductor materials, physics, ...devices, and applications. Because many figures‐of‐merit for device performance scale nonlinearly with bandgap, these semiconductors have long been known to have compelling potential advantages over their narrower‐bandgap cousins in high‐power and RF electronics, as well as in deep‐UV optoelectronics, quantum information, and extreme‐environment applications. Only recently, however, have the UWBG semiconductor materials, such as high Al‐content AlGaN, diamond and Ga2O3, advanced in maturity to the point where realizing some of their tantalizing advantages is a relatively near‐term possibility. In this article, the materials, physics, device and application research opportunities and challenges for advancing their state of the art are surveyed.
Ultrawide‐bandgap (UWBG) semiconductors, with bandgaps significantly wider than the 3.4 eV of GaN, represent an exciting and challenging new area of research in semiconductor materials, physics, devices and applications. This article surveys and presents an enumerated list of the materials, physics, device and associated application research opportunities and challenges important for advancing the state of their science and technology.
The effect of atmosphere turbulence on light's spatial structure compromises the information capacity of photons carrying the Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM) in free-space optical (FSO) ...communications. In this paper, we study two aberration correction methods to mitigate this effect. The first one is the Shack-Hartmann wavefront correction method, which is based on the Zernike polynomials, and the second is a phase correction method specific to OAM states. Our numerical results show that the phase correction method for OAM states outperforms the Shark-Hartmann wavefront correction method, although both methods improve significantly purity of a single OAM state and the channel capacities of FSO communication link. At the same time, our experimental results show that the values of participation functions go down at the phase correction method for OAM states, i.e., the correction method ameliorates effectively the bad effect of atmosphere turbulence.
Women genetically predisposed to breast cancer often develop the disease at a young age when dense breast tissue reduces the sensitivity of X-ray mammography. Our aim was, therefore, to compare ...contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CE MRI) with mammography for screening.
We did a prospective multicentre cohort study in 649 women aged 35–49 years with a strong family history of breast cancer or a high probability of a
BRCA1,
BRCA2, or
TP53 mutation. We recruited participants from 22 centres in the UK, and offered the women annual screening with CE MRI and mammography for 2–7 years.
We diagnosed 35 cancers in the 649 women screened with both mammography and CE MRI (1881 screens): 19 by CE MRI only, six by mammography only, and eight by both, with two interval cases. Sensitivity was significantly higher for CE MRI (77%, 95% CI 60–90) than for mammography (40%, 24–58; p=0·01), and was 94% (81–99) when both methods were used. Specificity was 93% (92–95) for mammography, 81% (80–83) for CE MRI (p<0·0001), and 77% (75–79) with both methods. The difference between CE MRI and mammography sensitivities was particularly pronounced in
BRCA1 carriers (13 cancers; 92%
vs 23%, p=0·004).
Our findings indicate that CE MRI is more sensitive than mammography for cancer detection. Specificity for both procedures was acceptable. Despite a high proportion of grade 3 cancers, tumours were small and few women were node positive. Annual screening, combining CE MRI and mammography, would detect most tumours in this risk group.
We demonstrate the contrast enhancement of images within a ghost-imaging system by use of nonlocal phase filters. We use parametric down-conversion as the two-photon light source and two separated ...phase modulators, in the signal and idler arms which represent different phase filters and objects, respectively. We obtain edge enhanced images as a direct consequence of the quantum correlations in the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of the down-converted photon pairs. For phase objects, with differently orientated edges, we show a violation of a Bell-type inequality for an OAM subspace, thereby unambiguously revealing the quantum nature of our ghost-imaging arrangement.
This study addressed two hypotheses regarding the relationship between stream temperature response to shade removal and streamflow: (a) that temperature response increases as flow declines and (b) ...that the relationship can be complicated by shifts in dominant streamflow sources and pathways during low‐flow periods. The study was based on a paired‐catchment design in rain‐dominated headwater catchments in the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, and focused on the effect of a 50% thinning treatment on daily maximum temperature in June, July and August for three sites within the harvest treatment. At the two upstream sites, the treatment response exhibited a negative relationship with daily mean streamflow, especially for days with high incident solar radiation. This result suggests that the effectiveness of forest practice rules for protecting cold‐water habitat may be reduced under future climatic conditions characterized by more frequent extended drought. However, stream temperature response at the most downstream site exhibited a pronounced inverted‐U‐shaped relationship with streamflow measured at a weir. It is hypothesized that the response at the most downstream temperature logger was controlled by the existence of a stable, relatively cool inflow just upstream of the logger, which represented an increasing fraction of flow as streamflow generated higher up in the catchment declined through time. There was a lack of convergent surface topography upstream of the logger, and it is hypothesized that localized inflow may have been controlled by the topography of the soil‐till interface and/or originated as hyporheic discharge.
Stream temperature response to forest thinning exhibited a negative relationship with daily mean streamflow at two sites, especially for days with high incident solar radiation, while a third site had an invertedU‐shaped relationship. It is hypothesized that the inverted‐U‐shaped response was controlled by the existence of a stable, relatively cool inflow just upstream of the logger, which represented an increasing fraction of flow as streamflow generated higher up in the catchment declined.
We observe entanglement between photons in controlled super-position states of orbital angular momentum (OAM). By drawing a direct analogy between OAM and polarization states of light, we demonstrate ...the entangled nature of high order OAM states generated by spontaneous downconversion through violation of a suitable Clauser Horne Shimony Holt (CHSH)-Bell inequality. We demonstrate this violation in a number of two-dimensional subspaces of the higher dimensional OAM Hilbert space.
Purpose
As a further step to elucidate the actual diverse spectrum of oncofertility practices for breast cancer around the globe, we present and discuss the comparisons of oncofertility practices for ...breast cancer in limited versus optimum resource settings based on data collected in the Repro-Can-OPEN Study Part I & II.
Methods
We surveyed 39 oncofertility centers including 14 in limited resource settings from Africa, Asia & Latin America (Repro-Can-OPEN Study Part I), and 25 in optimum resource settings from the United States, Europe, Australia and Japan (Repro-Can-OPEN Study Part II). Survey questions covered the availability of fertility preservation and restoration options offered to young female patients with breast cancer as well as the degree of utilization.
Results
In the Repro-Can-OPEN Study Part I & II, responses for breast cancer and calculated oncofertility scores showed the following characteristics: (1) higher oncofertility scores in optimum resource settings than in limited resource settings especially for established options, (2) frequent utilization of egg freezing, embryo freezing, ovarian tissue freezing, GnRH analogs, and fractionation of chemo- and radiotherapy, (3) promising utilization of oocyte in vitro maturation (IVM), (4) rare utilization of neoadjuvant cytoprotective pharmacotherapy, artificial ovary, and stem cells reproductive technology as they are still in preclinical or early clinical research settings, (5) recognition that technical and ethical concerns should be considered when offering advanced and innovative oncofertility options.
Conclusions
We presented a plausible oncofertility best practice model to guide oncofertility teams in optimizing care for breast cancer patients in various resource settings.
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