The reinforcing effects of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are investigated for aluminum matrix composites. The composites present a strong bonding between CNTs and the aluminum matrix using a controlled mechanical milling process, producing a network structure of aluminum atoms around CNTs. At the same time, CNTs that are dispersed during the milling process can be located inside aluminum powders, thereby providing an easy consolidation route via thermomechanical processes. A composite containing 4.5 vol% multiwalled CNTs exhibits a yield strength of 620 MPa and fracture toughness of 61 MPa·mm1/2, the values of which are nearly 15 and seven times higher than those of the corresponding starting aluminum, respectively.
The rise in natural and man-made disasters in recent years has led to an increased interest in emergency evacuation planning. Athough the vast majority of the existing evacuation planning models assumes system optimal (cooperative) behavior, recent research has shown that during large evacuations people tend to exhibit selfish (noncooperative) behavior. This article presents a hybrid bilevel model that balances both behavioral assumptions (in the upper level, shelter assignment occurs in a system optimal fashion, whereas evacuees are free to choose how to reach their assigned shelters in the lower level), hence providing a model that is more in line with the current state-of-the-knowledge of human behavior during disasters. The proposed model is solved using a simulated annealing algorithm. A hypothetical evacuation scenario in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, illustrates the proposed model. We demonstrate that the resulting evacuation strategies can be significantly different from conventional system optimal evacuation plans.
PD-1 is overexpressed in IL-17A-producing T cells in both imiquimod-treated mice and patients with psoriasis. Moreover, recombinant PD-L1-Fc alleviates psoriatic inflammation in imiquimod-treated mice.
During immune responses antigen-specific T cells are regulated by several mechanisms, including through inhibitory receptors and regulatory T cells, to avoid excessive or persistent immune responses. These regulatory mechanisms, which are called 'immune checkpoints', suppress T cell responses, particularly in patients with chronic viral infections and cancer where viral antigens or tumor antigens persist for a long time and contribute to T cell exhaustion. Among these regulatory mechanisms, cytotoxic T lymphocyte associated protein-4 (CTLA-4) and programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) are the most well-known receptors and both have been targeted for drug development. As a result, anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1 (or anti-PD-L1) antibodies were recently developed as immune checkpoint inhibitors for use in cancer treatments. In this review we describe several receptors that function as immunological checkpoints as well as the pharmaceuticals that target them.
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