Antennal arnpullary glands of Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera : Noctuidae)

In adult moths, the cephalic aorta terminates in an apical sack from which extends a pair of optic and antennal vessels that lie on either side of the esophagus, at the dorsoanterior surface of the brain. The base of each antennal vessel is dilated to form an ampulla that contains an oval mass of tissue, the antennal ampullary gland (AAG). An ultrastructural study revealed that the AAG of the corn earworm moth, Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae), is composed of a single type of 40-50 parenchymal cells that produce secretory granules. The secretory material is released into the lymph channel of the ampullary vessel, suggesting that the AAG is an endocrine gland. Unlike the prothoracic gland and the corpus allatum, the AAG does not receive direct neural innervation; however, portions of the aortal muscle, associated with the ampullary wall, contain neurosecretory terminals and some of their products may also affect the AAG. No morphological differences were found between the AAG of males and females, with the exception that the glands in males were slightly larger. The function of the AAG remains unknown at this time. Because the AAG is located within the ampulla of the antennal vessel, one could assume that the product(s) of this gland may influence the response of the antennal sensory neurons to external stimuli

Widespread recombination, reassortment, and transmission of unbalanced compound viral genotypes in natural arenavirus infections.

Arenaviruses are one of the largest families of human hemorrhagic fever viruses and are known to infect both mammals and snakes. Arenaviruses package a large (L) and small (S) genome segment in their virions. For segmented RNA viruses like these, novel genotypes can be generated through mutation, recombination, and reassortment. Although it is believed that an ancient recombination event led to the emergence of a new lineage of mammalian arenaviruses, neither recombination nor reassortment has been definitively documented in natural arenavirus infections. Here, we used metagenomic sequencing to survey the viral diversity present in captive arenavirus-infected snakes. From 48 infected animals, we determined the complete or near complete sequence of 210 genome segments that grouped into 23 L and 11 S genotypes. The majority of snakes were multiply infected, with up to 4 distinct S and 11 distinct L segment genotypes in individual animals. This S/L imbalance was typical: in all cases intrahost L segment genotypes outnumbered S genotypes, and a particular S segment genotype dominated in individual animals and at a population level. We corroborated sequencing results by qRT-PCR and virus isolation, and isolates replicated as ensembles in culture. Numerous instances of recombination and reassortment were detected, including recombinant segments with unusual organizations featuring 2 intergenic regions and superfluous content, which were capable of stable replication and transmission despite their atypical structures. Overall, this represents intrahost diversity of an extent and form that goes well beyond what has been observed for arenaviruses or for viruses in general. This diversity can be plausibly attributed to the captive intermingling of sub-clinically infected wild-caught snakes. Thus, beyond providing a unique opportunity to study arenavirus evolution and adaptation, these findings allow the investigation of unintended anthropogenic impacts on viral ecology, diversity, and disease potential

Bilateral primary renal lymphoma treated by surgery and chemotherapy.

Abstract not available

Minimal spontaneously broken hidden sector and its impact on Higgs boson physics at the Large Hadron Collider

We have studied a hidden sector of the SM with spontaneous symmetry breaking that opens many different scenarios for Higgs physics. We have shown that this hidden sector can affect the SM Higgs detection. In some speci c regimes it is still possible to detect the Higgs; in other scenarios the hidden sector would completely eclipse it

A global fit to determine the pseudoscalar mixing angle and the gluonium content of the eta' meson

We update the values of the eta-eta' mixing angle and of the eta' gluonium content by fitting our measurement R_phi = BR(phi to eta' gamma)/ BR(phi to eta gamma) together with several vector meson radiative decays to pseudoscalars (V to P gamma), pseudoscalar mesons radiative decays to vectors (P to V gamma) and the eta' to gamma gamma, pi^0 to gamma gamma widths. From the fit we extract a gluonium fraction of Z^2_G = 0.12 +- 0.04, the pseudoscalar mixing angle psi_P = (40.4 +- 0.6) degree and the phi-omega mixing angle psi_V = (3.32 +- 0.09) degree. Z^2_G and psi_P are fairly consistent with those previously published. We also evaluate the impact on the eta' gluonium content determination of future experimental improvements of the eta' branching ratios and decay width.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures to submit to JHE

Measurements of the Absolute Branching Ratios for the Dominant KL Decays, the KL Lifetime, and Vus with the KLOE Detector

From a sample of about 10^9 Phi mesons produced at DAFNE, we have selected KL mesons tagged by observing KS->pi+pi- decays. We present results on the major KL branching ratios, including those of the semileptonic decays needed for the determination of Vus. These branching ratio measurements are fully inclusive with respect to final-state radiation. The KL lifetime has also been measured.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Lett.

Charged kaon lifetime at KLOE

Preliminary result on the charged kaon lifetime, obtained by the KLOE experiment operating at DA$\Phi$NE, the Frascati $\phi$-factory, is presentedComment: 3 pages, 3 figures, to appear in the proceedings of 42nd Rencontres de Moriond on Electroweak Interactions and Unified Theories, La Thuile, Aosta Valley, Italy, 10-17 Mar 200