Chemiluminescent Tags for Tracking Insect Movement in Darkness: Application to Moth Photo-Orientation

The flight tracks of Manduca sexta (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) flying toward a 5 watt incandescent light bulb were recorded under low light conditions with the aid of a camera-mounted photomultiplier and a glowing marker technique. Small felt pads bearing a chemiluminescent (glowi ma­erial, Cyalume®, were affixed to the abdomens of free-flying moths. insects orienting to a dim incandescent bulb were easily visible to the naked eye and were clearly captured on videotape. On their initial approach to the light source, M. sexta were found to orient at a mean angle of -0.220 ± 2.70 (mean ± SEM). The speed of the initial approach flight (OA ± 0.03 m/s) was significantly faster than the speed immediately after passing the light (0.29 ± 0.02 m/s; t =6.4, PM. sexta initially fly approximately at a light source and only after passing it, do they engage in circular flight around the source. M. sexta flight to lights does not entirely match any paths predicted by several light orientation mechanisms, including the commonly invoked light compass theory

Overview of Currently Approved Serological Methods with a Focus On Diphtheria and Tetanus Toxoid Potency Testing

AbstractVaccines are biological products made from living organisms. The natural complexity of biological molecules along with the inherent uncertainties of product manufacturing introduces the likelihood that random alterations can impact the quality of the vaccine each time it is made. The factors that can affect the final product are often unknown. Testing for potency of vaccine bulk or product dispensed into final containers was designed with the hope of ensuring that a vaccine is effective when used during its approved dating period and that its protective activity was not inadvertently altered during any phase of production. Ideally, potency testing measures a biological or biochemical property of the vaccine that is related to its ability to elicit protective immunity in the target population and provide some assurance that consistent clinical benefit is derived from each lot of product. Potency methods vary depending on the nature and composition of the vaccine. In vivo potency testing might entail immunizing groups of laboratory animals and then challenging them directly to measure survival, or involve serological potency assays in which sera from immunized laboratory animals are tested for the ability to neutralize pathogens or toxins. In the U.S., diphtheria toxoid and tetanus toxoid potency tests have customarily involved a serological method. This approach uses fewer animals than would have been required using a direct challenge method, while providing satisfactory evidence that each toxoid lot could induce protective immunity. This paper will discuss the details of the original U.S. test method for diphtheria and tetanus toxoid potency and present issues that must be considered when developing and validating non-animal-based approaches to refine or replace these tests

The Legislative Privilege to Judge the Qualifications, Elections, and Returns of Members

In Stephenson v. Woodward, the Supreme Court of Kentucky functionally affirmed a quo warranto against a sitting member of the senate. Although a respectable argument can be made that the person in question was in fact not qualified to serve, the senate itself had deliberated on the issue and had reached its own respectable conclusion that she was qualified. More importantly, the Constitution of Kentucky, like the Constitution of the United States and that of virtually every other state, authorizes each house of the legislature to be the judge of its members\u27 qualifications, elections and returns. According to the Court, the senate\u27s authority did not apply because a lower court had found the person unqualified in a separate action litigated before the senate convened. What the Court never really explained was how this earlier ruling could supersede the senate\u27s authority without contradicting the language of the constitution. This extraordinary reasoning, which defies longstanding tradition and precedent, is inconsistent with legislative independence, which the Court itself has recognized as a critical facet of separation of powers. The decision is also a blow to textualism, which the Court has frequently identified as an important ground for interpreting the constitution. Because of these apparent defects, and because the opinion will quite likely produce uncertainty in the areas of elections and separation of powers, the Court should consider limiting or overruling it as precedent at the first opportunity. This Article proceeds in three parts. In Part I, we set forth the factual background for the case. In Part II, we discuss the various historical and legal principles that underlie the legilsative privilege at issue in Stephenson. In Part III, we examine the case in light of these principles, noting that the Court appears to have reached its holding in error. Our criticism of the Court\u27s analysis takes two specific forms. First, we criticize the Court\u27s implication that the general assembly could delegate to the judiciary irrevocable authority to resolve disputes over the qualifications of legislatives-elect. Second, we criticize the Court\u27s indication that the legislative privilege to judge the qualifications, elections, and returns of members applies only to individuals who have already been admitted to service

First Science Results From SOFIA/FORCAST: Super-Resolution Imaging of the S140 Cluster at 37\micron

We present 37\micron\ imaging of the S140 complex of infrared sources centered on IRS1 made with the FORCAST camera on SOFIA. These observations are the longest wavelength imaging to resolve clearly the three main sources seen at shorter wavelengths, IRS 1, 2 and 3, and are nearly at the diffraction limit of the 2.5-m telescope. We also obtained a small number of images at 11 and 31\micron\ that are useful for flux measurement. Our images cover the area of several strong sub-mm sources seen in the area -- SMM 1, 2, and 3 -- that are not coincident with any mid-infrared sources and are not visible in our longer wavelength imaging either. Our new observations confirm previous estimates of the relative dust optical depth and source luminosity for the components in this likely cluster of early B stars. We also investigate the use of super-resolution to go beyond the basic diffraction limit in imaging on SOFIA and find that the van Cittert algorithm, together with the "multi-resolution" technique, provides excellent results

Electrophysiological activity from over the cerebellum and cerebrum during eye blink conditioning in human subjects

We report the results of an experiment in which electrophysiological activity was recorded from the human cerebellum and cerebrum in a sample of 14 healthy subjects before, during and after a classical eye blink conditioning procedure with an auditory tone as conditional stimulus and a maxillary nerve unconditional stimulus. The primary aim was to show changes in the cerebellum and cerebrum correlated with behavioral ocular responses. Electrodes recorded EMG and EOG at peri-ocular sites, EEG from over the frontal eye-fields and the electrocerebellogram (ECeG) from over the posterior fossa. Of the 14 subjects half strongly conditioned while the other half were resistant. We confirmed that conditionability was linked under our conditions to the personality dimension of extraversion-introversion. Inhibition of cerebellar activity was shown prior to the conditioned response, as predicted by Albus (1971). However, pausing in high frequency ECeG and the appearance of a contingent negative variation (CNV) in both central leads occurred in all subjects. These led us to conclude that while conditioned cerebellar pausing may be necessary, it is not sufficient alone to produce overt behavioral conditioning, implying the existence of another central mechanism. The outcomes of this experiment indicate the potential value of the noninvasive electrophysiology of the cerebellum

Geometrical theory of diffraction and spectral statistics

We investigate the influence of diffraction on the statistics of energy levels in quantum systems with a chaotic classical limit. By applying the geometrical theory of diffraction we show that diffraction on singularities of the potential can lead to modifications in semiclassical approximations for spectral statistics that persist in the semiclassical limit $\hbar \to 0$. This result is obtained by deriving a classical sum rule for trajectories that connect two points in coordinate space.Comment: 14 pages, no figure, to appear in J. Phys.

Mucosal Infections and Invasive Potential of Nonencapsulated <i>Streptococcus pneumoniae</i> Are Enhanced by Oligopeptide Binding Proteins AliC and AliD.

Nonencapsulated &lt;i&gt;Streptococcus pneumoniae&lt;/i&gt; (NESp) is an emerging human pathogen that colonizes the nasopharynx and is associated with noninvasive diseases such as otitis media (OM), conjunctivitis, and nonbacteremic pneumonia. Since capsule expression was previously thought to be necessary for establishment of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), serotype-specific polysaccharide capsules are targeted by currently licensed pneumococcal vaccines. Yet, NESp expressing oligopeptide binding proteins AliC and AliD have been isolated during IPD. Thus, we hypothesize AliC and AliD are major NESp virulence determinants that facilitate persistence and development of IPD. Our study reveals that NESp expressing AliC and AliD have intensified virulence compared to isogenic mutants. Specifically, we demonstrate AliC and AliD enhance murine nasopharyngeal colonization and pulmonary infection and are required for OM in a chinchilla model. Furthermore, AliC and AliD increase pneumococcal survival in chinchilla whole blood and aid in resistance to killing by human leukocytes. Comparative proteome analysis revealed significant alterations in protein levels when AliC and AliD were absent. Virulence-associated proteins, including a pneumococcal surface protein C variant (CbpAC), were significantly downregulated, while starvation response indicators were upregulated in the double mutant relative to wild-type levels. We also reveal that differentially expressed CbpAC was essential for NESp adherence to epithelial cells, virulence during OM, reduction of C3b deposition on the NESp surface, and binding to nonspecific IgA. Altogether, the rise in NESp prevalence urges the need to understand how NESp establishes disease and persists in a host. This study highlights the roles of AliC, AliD, and CbpAC in the pathogenesis of NESp. &lt;b&gt;IMPORTANCE&lt;/b&gt; Despite the effective, widespread use of licensed pneumococcal vaccines over many decades, pneumococcal infections remain a worldwide burden resulting in high morbidity and mortality. NESp subpopulations are rapidly rising in the wake of capsule-targeted vaccine strategies, yet there is very little knowledge on NESp pathogenic potential and virulence mechanisms. Although NESp lacks a protective capsule, NESp lineages expressing AliC and AliD have been associated with systemic infections. Furthermore, higher antibiotic resistance rates and transformation efficiencies associated with emerging NESp threaten treatment strategies needed to control pneumococcal infections and transmission. Elucidating how NESp survives within a host and establishes disease is necessary for development of broadened pneumococcal prevention methods. Our study identifies virulence determinants and host survival mechanisms employed by NESp with a high pathogenic potential. Moreover, our study also identifies virulence determinants shared by NESp and encapsulated strains that may serve as broad prevention and therapeutic targets

Requirements for a Software Maintenance Methodology

Software maintenance, although widely recognized as the most costly period in the life of a system, is given only passing consideration in life-cycle models. An extensive literature review shows the relationship between the development and maintenance phases to be ignored to a large extent. The Abstraction Refinement Model (ARM) describes the dependency of software maintenance on the quality of the documentation and depicts the adaptive and perfective maintenance forms as relying on earlier design and requirements documents to a greater degree than corrective and preventative maintenance. The ARM is effective in laying the foundations for a software maintenance methodology, particularly in explaining the role of reverse engineering. Coupling the ARM with the Objectives/Principles/Attributes procedure for the evaluation for software development methodologies proves effective in drawing the contrast with maintenance requirements. which are specifically identified for further study and assessment

Development of an AEGIS Maintenance Methodology Task 2: Models of the AEGIS Maintenance Process

Covering the Task 2 effort in the development of an AEGIS software maintenance methodology, the derivation of requirements from maintenance principles is summarized. Three models of the maintenance process provide the basis for identifying points of application. The mid-level (aggregate) model is the major focus of the methodology definition. Recommendations address the potential uses of different modeling perspectives, better balance between products and process assessment, use of metrics, and the selection of maintenance tools