Institut Universitaire de France

About: Institut Universitaire de France is a education organization based out in Paris, France. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Catalysis. The organization has 1905 authors who have published 9042 publications receiving 309878 citations.

Planck 2015 results - XII. Full focal plane simulations

Abstract: We present the 8th full focal plane simulation set (FFP8), deployed in support of the Planck 2015 results. FFP8 consists of 10 fiducial mission realizations reduced to 18 144 maps, together with the most massive suite of Monte Carlo realizations of instrument noise and CMB ever generated, comprising 104 mission realizations reduced to about 106 maps. The resulting maps incorporate the dominant instrumental, scanning, and data analysis effects, and the remaining subdominant effects will be included in future updates. Generated at a cost of some 25 million CPU-hours spread across multiple high-performance-computing (HPC) platforms, FFP8 is used to validate and verify analysis algorithms and their implementations, and to remove biases from and quantify uncertainties in the results of analyses of the real data.

Preferential Recognition of Self Antigens Despite Normal Thymic Deletion of CD4+CD25+ Regulatory T Cells

Abstract: T cell tolerance to self Ags is in part established in the thymus by induction of apoptosis or anergy of potentially autoreactive thymocytes. Some autospecific T cells nevertheless migrate to peripheral lymphoid organs but are kept under control by the recently identified CD4 + CD25 + regulatory T cell subset. Because these cells inhibit autoimmunity more efficiently than useful non-self Ag-specific immune responses, they are probably autospecific, posing important questions as to how they develop in the thymus. In this study we show that significantly more peripheral CD4 + CD25 + regulatory T cells recognize self than non-self Ags. However, we also show for a large panel of endogenous superantigens as well as for self peptide/MHC complexes that autospecific CD4 + CD25 + thymocyte precursors are normally deleted during ontogeny. Combined, our data firmly establish that the repertoire of regulatory T cells is specifically enriched in autospecific cells despite the fact that their precursors are normally susceptible to thymic deletion.

Structural, Physicochemical, and Reactivity Properties of an All-Inorganic, Highly Active Tetraruthenium Homogeneous Catalyst for Water Oxidation

Abstract: Several key properties of the water oxidation catalyst Rb8K2[{RuIV4O4(OH)2(H2O)4}(γ-SiW10O36)2] and its mechanism of water oxidation are given. The one-electron oxidized analogue [{RuVRuIV3O6(OH2)4}(γ-SiW10O36)2]11− has been prepared and thoroughly characterized. The voltammetric rest potentials, X-ray structures, elemental analysis, magnetism, and requirement of an oxidant (O2) indicate these two complexes contain [RuIV4O6] and [RuVRuIV3O6] cores, respectively. Voltammetry and potentiometric titrations establish the potentials of several couples of the catalyst in aqueous solution, and a speciation diagram (versus electrochemical potential) is calculated. The potentials depend on the nature and concentration of counterions. The catalyst exhibits four reversible couples spanning only ca. 0.5 V in the H2O/O2 potential region, keys to efficient water oxidation at low overpotential and consistent with DFT calculations showing very small energy differences between all adjacent frontier orbitals. The voltammet...

Direct evidence of dust growth in L183 from mid-infrared light scattering

Abstract: Context. Theoretical arguments suggest that dust grains should grow in the dense cold parts of molecular clouds. Evidence of larger grains has so far been gathered in near/mid infrared extinction and millimeter observations. Interpreting the data is, however, aggravated by the complex interplay of density and dust properties (as well as temperature for thermal emission). Aims. Direct evidence of larger particles can be derived from scattered mid-infrared (MIR) radiation from a molecular cloud observed in a spectral range where little or no emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is expected. Methods. We present new Spitzer data of L183 in bands that are sensitive and insensitive to PAHs. The visual extinction AV map derived in a former paper was fitted by a series of 3D Gaussian distributions. For different dust models, we calculate the scattered MIR radiation images of structures that agree with the AV map and compare them to the Spitzer data. Results. The Spitzer data of L183 show emission in the 3.6 and 4.5 μm bands, while the 5.8 μm band shows slight absorption. The emission layer of stochastically heated particles should coincide with the layer of strongest scattering of optical interstellar radiation, which is seen as an outer surface on I band images different from the emission region seen in the Spitzer images. Moreover, PAH emission is expected to strongly increase from 4.5 to 5.8 μm, which is not seen. Hence, we interpret this emission to be MIR scattered light from grains located further inside the core, and call it ”coreshine”. Scattered light modeling when assuming interstellar medium dust grains without growth does not reproduce flux measurable by Spitzer. In contrast, models with grains growing with density yield images with a flux and pattern comparable to the Spitzer images in the bands 3.6, 4.5, and 8.0 μm. Conclusions. There is direct evidence of dust grain growth in the inner part of L183 from the scattered light MIR images seen by Spitzer.