Development of Onchocerca volvulus in humanized NSG mice and detection of parasite biomarkers in urine and serum.

BACKGROUND: The study of Onchocerca volvulus has been limited by its host range, with only humans and non-human primates shown to be susceptible to the full life cycle infection. Small animal models that support the development of adult parasites have not been identified. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We hypothesized that highly immunodeficient NSG mice would support the survival and maturation of O. volvulus and alteration of the host microenvironment through the addition of various human cells and tissues would further enhance the level of parasite maturation. NSG mice were humanized with: (1) umbilical cord derived CD34+ stem cells, (2) fetal derived liver, thymus and CD34+ stem cells or (3) primary human skeletal muscle cells. NSG and humanized NSG mice were infected with 100 O. volvulus infective larvae (L3) for 4 to 12 weeks. When necropsies of infected animals were performed, it was observed that parasites survived and developed throughout the infection time course. In each of the different humanized mouse models, worms matured from L3 to advanced fourth stage larvae, with both male and female organ development. In addition, worms increased in length by up to 4-fold. Serum and urine, collected from humanized mice for identification of potential biomarkers of infection, allowed for the identification of 10 O. volvulus-derived proteins found specifically in either the urine or the serum of the humanized O. volvulus-infected NSG mice. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The newly identified mouse models for onchocerciasis will enable the development of O. volvulus specific biomarkers, screening for new therapeutic approaches and potentially studying the human immune response to infection with O. volvulus

Quantum marking and quantum erasure for neutral kaons

Entangled K0 anti-K0 pairs are shown to be suitable to discuss extensions and tests of Bohr's complementarity principle through the quantum marking and quantum erasure techniques suggested by M. O. Scully and K. Druehl [Phys. Rev. A 25, 2208 (1982)]. Strangeness oscillations play the role of the traditional interference pattern linked to wave-like behaviour, whereas the distinct propagation in free space of the K_S and K_L components mimics the two possible interferometric paths taken by particle-like objects.Comment: 4 RevTeX page

Assessment of processing technologies which may improve the nutritional composition of dairy products – Overview of progress

Among consumers there is a growing demand for food products with a natural nutritional-physiological advantage over comparable conventional products. As part of an EU funded project, ALP is examining the possible impact of processing on nutritionally valuable milk components, using the example of conjugated linoleic acids (CLA). The extent to which processing influences the CLA content of the end product was determined by literature research and own investigations of organic and conventional butter. Furthermore, new chemical, sensory-based and bio crystallization methods were evaluated by ALP and the University of Kassel to determine the oxidation stability of butter. In a further step the storage stability of CLA enriched and conventional butter was examined and the different methods will be compared. As a third objective a process for low-input CLA enrichment of milk fat (with a focus on alpine butter) has been developed. Since the process selected for the work is a physical enrichment process, it is accepted by international organic farming and food groups. Among the many benefits ascribed to CLA, it is believed to be an effective agent against cancer. The demand for foods with properties that promote human health is growing. The dairy industry has the opportunity to meet this demand by developing new dairy products with a nutritional-physiological function for the functional food market

Evolving outer heliosphere: Large-scale stability and time variations observed by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer

The first all-sky maps of Energetic Neutral Atoms (ENAs) from the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) exhibited smoothly varying, globally distributed flux and a narrow ribbon of enhanced ENA emissions. In this study we compare the second set of sky maps to the first in order to assess the possibility of temporal changes over the 6 months between views of each portion of the sky. While the large-scale structure is generally stable between the two sets of maps, there are some remarkable changes that show that the heliosphere is also evolving over this short timescale. In particular, we find that (1) the overall ENA emissions coming from the outer heliosphere appear to be slightly lower in the second set of maps compared to the first, (2) both the north and south poles have significantly lower (similar to 10-15%) ENA emissions in the second set of maps compared to the first across the energy range from 0.5 to 6 keV, and (3) the knot in the northern portion of the ribbon in the first maps is less bright and appears to have spread and/or dissipated by the time the second set was acquired. Finally, the spatial distribution of fluxes in the southernmost portion of the ribbon has evolved slightly, perhaps moving as much as 6 degrees (one map pixel) equatorward on average. The observed large-scale stability and these systematic changes at smaller spatial scales provide important new information about the outer heliosphere and its global interaction with the galaxy and help inform possible mechanisms for producing the IBEX ribbon

Peculiarities of the Weyl - Wigner - Moyal formalism for scalar charged particles

A description of scalar charged particles, based on the Feshbach-Villars formalism, is proposed. Particles are described by an object that is a Wigner function in usual coordinates and momenta and a density matrix in the charge variable. It is possible to introduce the usual Wigner function for a large class of dynamical variables. Such an approach explicitly contains a measuring device frame. From our point of view it corresponds to the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. It is shown how physical properties of such particles depend on the definition of the coordinate operator. The evolution equation for the Wigner function of a single-charge state in the classical limit coincides with the Liouville equation. Localization peculiarities manifest themselves in specific constraints on possible initial conditions.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figure

Entanglement without nonlocality

We consider the characterization of entanglement from the perspective of a Heisenberg formalism. We derive an original two-party generalized separability criteria, and from this describe a novel physical understanding of entanglement. We find that entanglement may be considered as fundamentally a local effect, and therefore as a separable computational resource from nonlocality. We show how entanglement differs from correlation physically, and explore the implications of this new conception of entanglement for the notion of classicality. We find that this understanding of entanglement extends naturally to multipartite cases.Comment: 9 pages. Expanded introduction and sections on physical entanglement and localit

Morphologic and molecular characterization of new Cyclospora species from Ethiopian monkeys: C. cercopitheci sp.n., C. colobi sp.n., and C. papionis sp.n.

In recent years, human cyclosporiasis has emerged as an important infection, with large outbreaks in the United States and Canada. Understanding the biology and epidemiology of Cyclospora has been difficult and slow and has been complicated by not knowing the pathogen s origins, animal reservoirs (if any), and relationship to other coccidian parasites. This report provides morphologic and molecular characterization of three parasites isolated from primates and names each isolate: Cyclospora cercopitheci sp.n. for a species recovered from green monkeys, C. colobi sp.n. for a parasite from colobus monkeys, and C. papionis sp.n. for a species infecting baboons. These species, plus C. cayetanensis, which infects humans, increase to four the recognized species of Cyclospora infecting primates. These four species group homogeneously as a single branch intermediate between avian and mammalian Eimeria. Results of our analysis contribute toward clarification of the taxonomic position of Cyclospora and its relationship to other coccidian parasites

Violations of local realism with quNits up to N=16

Predictions for systems in entangled states cannot be described in local realistic terms. However, after admixing some noise such a description is possible. We show that for two quNits (quantum systems described by N dimensional Hilbert spaces) in a maximally entangled state the minimal admixture of noise increases monotonically with N. The results are a direct extension of those of Kaszlikowski et. al., Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 85}, 4418 (2000), where results for $N\leq 9$ were presented. The extension up to N=16 is possible when one defines for each N a specially chosen set of observables. We also present results concerning the critical detectors efficiency beyond which a valid test of local realism for entangled quNits is possible.Comment: 5 pages, 3 ps picture

The X1Σ+^1\Sigma^+ and a3Σ+^3\Sigma^+ states of LiCs studied by Fourier-transform spectroscopy

We present the first high-resolution spectroscopic study of LiCs. LiCs is formed in a heat pipe oven and studied via laser-induced fluorescence Fourier-transform spectroscopy. By exciting molecules through the X$^1\Sigma^+$-B$^1\Pi$ and X$^1\Sigma^+$-D$^1\Pi$ transitions vibrational levels of the X$^1\Sigma^+$ ground state have been observed up to 3cm^{-1} below the dissociation limit enabling an accurate construction of the potential. Furthermore, rovibrational levels in the a$^3\Sigma^+$ triplet ground state have been observed because the excited states obtain sufficient triplet character at the corresponding excited atomic asymptote. With the help of coupled channels calculations accurate singlet and triplet ground state potentials were derived reaching the atomic ground state asymptote and allowing first predictions of cold collision properties of Li + Cs pairs.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures. Submitted for publicatio