Introduction The immunopathogenesis of TRAPS is thought to centre on activation of the innate immune system resulting in episodic inflammation. The adaptive immune system, Tregs and Th17 T cells, has not been studied in TRAPS. Different anti-TNF agents have different clinical effects on TRAPS i.e. etanercept has benefits but adalimumab and infliximab may trigger flares of TRAPS. It has been sho...

We describe a class of diffractive optical elements intended for use in holographic optical trapping systems that project ring-like optical traps. Unlike optical vortex traps, which carry orbital angular momentum, these ring-like traps implement a force-free one-dimensional potential energy well for micrometer scale objects. Also unlike most optical vortices or ring-like Bessel beams, these rin...

We examine the dephasing rate of a Josephson charge qubit system due to background charge fluctuations. We consider single qubit and two-charge traps. The transition probability was controlled to a state where two traps were occupied. The transition probability was affected by the Coulomb blockade effect that occurs between two charge traps. To obtain the dephasing rate, we computed the spectra...

This work presents the effects of electron traps in organic light-emitting diodes using a model which includes charge injection, transport, and recombination. For electron-only devices, the electron current is reduced by the traps for several orders of magnitude at fixed voltage, and the traps strongly increase the transient time. For bipolar devices, due to negative trapped charges, traps enha...

We present experimental results and modeling on the efficacy of dielectrophoresis-based single-particle traps. Dielectrophoretic forces, caused by the interaction of nonuniform electric fields with objects, have been used to make planar quadrupole traps that can trap single beads. A simple experimental protocol was then used to measure how well the traps could hold beads against destabilizing f...

We report the use of inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy ~IETS! as an effective tool in studying traps in high-k gate dielectrics, particularly the electrical stress-induced traps, in metal–oxide– semiconductor ~MOS! structures. Two kinds of traps may be identified by the IETS technique: ~1! those that contribute to trap-assisted conduction mechanisms and ~2! those that contribute to trap...

The traps of many carnivorous plants are red in colour. This has been widely hypothesized to serve a prey attraction function; colour has also been hypothesized to function as camouflage, preventing prey avoidance. We tested these two hypotheses in situ for the carnivorous plant Drosera rotundifolia. We conducted three separate studies: (i) prey attraction to artificial traps to isolate the inf...

Five adhesive traps and the Nzi cloth-target trap were compared to determine their trapping efficiency and biases for stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae). Two configurations of the BiteFree prototype trap, constructed of polyethylene terephthalate, were most efficient for trapping stable flies, whereas the EZ trap was least efficient. The two Alsynite traps, Broce and Ols...

Verbenone interrupted the attraction of mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, to baited multiple-funnel traps at a distance of <4 m. Catches of beetles in traps placed 24 m from traps with verbenone were not significantly lower than catches in control traps. These results are consistent with the short-range phenomenon of “switching” exhibited by mountain pine beetle in the form...

Aspergillus fumigatus is the most important airborne fungal pathogen causing life-threatening infections in immunocompromised patients. Macrophages and neutrophils are known to kill conidia, whereas hyphae are killed mainly by neutrophils. Since hyphae are too large to be engulfed, neutrophils possess an array of extracellular killing mechanisms including the formation of neutrophil extracellul...