Pilot optical alignment

PILOT (Polarized Instrument for Long wavelength Observations of the Tenuous interstellar medium) is a balloonborne astronomy experiment designed to study the polarization of dust emission in the diffuse interstellar medium in our Galaxy. The PILOT instrument allows observations at wavelengths 240 μm and 550 μm with an angular resolution of about two arcminutes. The observations performed during the two first flights performed from Timmins, Ontario Canada, and from Alice-springs, Australia, respectively in September 2015 and in April 2017 have demonstrated the good performances of the instrument. Pilot optics is composed of an off axis Gregorian type telescope combined with a refractive re-imager system. All optical elements, except the primary mirror, which is at ambient temperature, are inside a cryostat and cooled down to 3K. The whole optical system is aligned on ground at room temperature using dedicated means and procedures in order to keep the tight requirements on the focus position and ensure the instrument optical performances during the various phases of a flight. We’ll present the optical performances and the firsts results obtained during the two first flight campaigns. The talk describes the system analysis, the alignment methods, and finally the inflight performances

Common Genetic Denominators for Ca++-Based Skeleton in Metazoa: Role of Osteoclast-Stimulating Factor and of Carbonic Anhydrase in a Calcareous Sponge

Calcium-based matrices serve predominantly as inorganic, hard skeletal systems in Metazoa from calcareous sponges [phylum Porifera; class Calcarea] to proto- and deuterostomian multicellular animals. The calcareous sponges form their skeletal elements, the spicules, from amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC). Treatment of spicules from Sycon raphanus with sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) results in the disintegration of the ACC in those skeletal elements. Until now a distinct protein/enzyme involved in ACC metabolism could not been identified in those animals. We applied the technique of phage display combinatorial libraries to identify oligopeptides that bind to NaOCl-treated spicules: those oligopeptides allowed us to detect proteins that bind to those spicules. Two molecules have been identified, the (putative) enzyme carbonic anhydrase and the (putative) osteoclast-stimulating factor (OSTF), that are involved in the catabolism of ACC. The complete cDNAs were isolated and the recombinant proteins were prepared to raise antibodies. In turn, immunofluorescence staining of tissue slices and qPCR analyses have been performed. The data show that sponges, cultivated under standard condition (10 mM CaCl2) show low levels of transcripts/proteins for carbonic anhydrase or OSTF, compared to those animals that had been cultivated under Ca2+-depletion condition (1 mM CaCl2). Our data identify with the carbonic anhydrase and the OSTF the first two molecules which remain conserved in cells, potentially involved in Ca-based skeletal dissolution, from sponges (sclerocytes) to human (osteoclast)

Microscopical observations on the excretory organs of the hydrothermal mussel <i>Bathymodiolus thermophilus</i> (Mollusca: Bivalvia)

The pericardial gland of the deep-sea hydrothermal mussel Bathymodiolus thermophilus (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Mytilidae) differs from other mytilids by (1) a narrow lumen and (2) conspicuous polyhedral inclusion bodies in large cytoplasmic vacuoles of the epithelial cells. These inclusions do not contain metals as revealed by microanalysis but are possibly made of proteins. The cells of this gland exhibit a fenestrated basal border which indicates a site of haemolymph ultrafiltration. The kidney is histologically comparable to that of the coastal mussel Mytilus edulis.</jats:p

Genotypic characterization of five subspecies of Mycobacterium kansasii.

Different molecular typing methods including restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis with the major polymorphic tandem repeat (MPTR) probe and the IS1652 probe, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis, and PCR restriction analysis of the hsp-65 gene (PRA) were applied to clinical and water isolates of Mycobacterium kansasii. RFLP with the MPTR probe, PRA, PFGE, and AFLP analysis revealed five homogeneous clusters which appeared to be subspecies. RFLP with the MPTR probe and PRA gave patterns specific for each cluster, whereas PFGE and AFLP analysis gave polymorphic patterns. IS1652 was present in two of the five clusters and provided polymorphic patterns for one cluster only. The two IS1652-positive clusters were Accuprobe negative (Accuprobe test; Gen-Probe Inc.), and only two other clusters were Accuprobe positive. A PCR test based on the detection of a species-specific fragment (M. Yang, B.C. Ross, and B. Dwyer, J. Clin. Microbiol. 31:2769-2772, 1993) was positive for all M. kansasii strains. This PCR test is an accurate, rapid, and specific M. kansasii identification test. No subspecies was particularly more virulent, because all clusters contained clinical strains, from AIDS patients and non-AIDS patients, and environmental strains

Genotypic characterization of five subspecies of Mycobacterium kansasii

Different molecular typing methods including restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis with the major polymorphic tandem repeat (MPTR) probe and the IS1652 probe, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis, and PCR restriction analysis of the hsp-65 gene (PRA) were applied to clinical and water isolates of Mycobacterium kansasii. RFLP with the MPTR probe, PRA, PFGE, and AFLP analysis revealed five homogeneous clusters which appeared to be subspecies. RFLP with the MPTR probe and PRA gave patterns specific for each cluster, whereas PFGE and AFLP analysis gave polymorphic patterns. IS1652 was present in two of the five clusters and provided polymorphic patterns for one cluster only. The two IS1652-positive clusters were Accuprobe negative (Accuprobe test; Gen-Probe Inc.), and only two other clusters were Accuprobe positive. A PCR test based on the detection of a species-specific fragment (M. Yang, B.C. Ross, and B. Dwyer, J. Clin. Microbiol. 31:2769-2772, 1993) was positive for all M. kansasii strains. This PCR test is an accurate, rapid, and specific M. kansasii identification test. No subspecies was particularly more virulent, because all clusters contained clinical strains, from AIDS patients and non-AIDS patients, and environmental strains.</jats:p