Ixodes ricinus L.: mast cells, basophils and eosinophils in the sequence of cellular events in the skin of infested or re-infested rabbits

Some information on acquired resistance of rabbits against Ixodes ricinus ticks has been obtained by comparing tissue changes and cellular infiltration during 2 successive infestations, with particular emphasis on the cells involved in immediate type hypersensitivity reactions: mast cells, basophils and eosinophils. More degranulated mast cells were observed in tick lesions 2 h after the beginning of re-infestation than in the first infestation and more degranulated basophils were present on the 5th day of re-infestation. Numerous eosinophils infiltrated the dermis, especially on the 5th day of the second infestatio

Infection of red foxes with Echinococcus multilocularis in western Switzerland

In the Jura mountains, Plateau and Alps of western Switzerland important variations in the prevalence of Echinococcus multilocularis infection in red foxes were observed between geographical areas from 1990 to 1995. The Jura mountains and the Plateau had higher mean prevalence levels than the Alps with 30.6, 32.4 and 18.8%, respectively. The highest rate was recorded in the Plateau in the canton of Fribourg with a prevalence of 52.3%. The prevalence of E. multilocularis infection in foxes in the alpine canton of Valais was the lowest (7.1%). Juvenile foxes were found to be more susceptible to E. multilocularis than adults. Adult foxes were less heavily infected in summer and autumn, while the prevalence in juveniles (less than 1 year old) increased between the spring and winter, when they are more than 6 months old. The retrospective data relate to the beginning of the 1990s, since when a drastic prevalence increase of E. multilocularis infection in foxes has occurred in several regions of Europe. Nevertheless, the study is a major contribution to the epidemiological situation of E. multilocularis in central Europe, in that it contains valuable information on spatial distribution and seasonal differences in different age groups of foxe

Construction of the probe beam photo-injector of CTF3

JACoW web site http://accelconf.web.cern.ch/AccelConf/e06This paper describes the HF (High-Frequency) and dynamic beam modelling performed onto the 3 GHz / 2,5 cells photo-injector of the future CTF3 (CLIC Test Facility 3) probe beam linac. The latter provides the beam to demonstrate the feasibility of the 30 GHz accelerating sections in the framework of the CLIC project. The Probe Beam Photo-Injector (PBPI) is inspired from the Drive Beam Photo-Injector (DBPI) already designed by LAL and actually tested in our laboratory. However, the design of PBPI has been simplified with respect to the previous because the charge per bunch is 4 times lower and the number of bunches several orders of magnitude smaller. The internal geometry and the coupling system of the PBPI have been designed with 2D (SUPERFISH*) and 3D (HFSS**) codes. Based on the modified design, PARMELA and POISSON simulations showed that the technical specifications are fulfilled. The vacuum issue has been also carefully investigated, and NEG (Non Evaporated Getter) technology has been adopted in order to reach the $10^–10$ mbar pressure inside the structure. This work is done in deep collaboration with CEA/Saclay, which is responsible of the CTF3 Probe Beam Linac design and construction [1]

Skew-Product Decomposition of Planar Brownian Motion and Complementability

International audienceLet $Z$ be a complex Brownian motion starting at 0 and $W$ the complex Brownian motion defined by $W_ t = \int_0^\cdot \frac{Z_s}{|Z_s|} dZ_s$. The natural filtration $\mathcal{F}_W$ of $W$ is the filtration generated by $Z$ up to an arbitrary rotation. We show that given any two different matrices $Q_1$ and $Q_2$ in $O_2(\mathbb{R})$, there exists an $\mathcal{F}_Z$-previsible process $H$ taking values in $\{Q_1,Q_2\}$ such that the Brownian motion $\int_0^\cdot H \cdot dW$ generates the whole filtration $\mathcal{F}_Z$. As a consequence, for all $a$ and $b$ in $\mathbb{R}$ such that $a^2 + b^2 = 1$, the Brownian motion $a \mathrm{Re}(W) + b \mathrm{Im}(W)$ is complementable in $\mathcal{F}_Z$

4D Emittance Measurements Using Multiple Wire and Waist Scan Methods in the ATF Extraction Line.

TUPC087International audienceEmittance measurements performed in the diagnostic section of the ATF extraction line since 1998 lead to ver- tical emittances three times larger than the expected ones, with a strong dependence on intensity. An experimental program is pursued to investigate potential sources of emit- tance growth and find possible remedies. This requires ef- ficient and reliable emittance measurement techniques. In the past, several phase-space reconstruction methods devel- oped at SLAC and KEK have been used to estimate the ver- tical emittance, based on multiple location beam size mea- surements and dedicated quadrupole scans. These methods have been shown to be very sensitive to measurement er- rors and other fluctuations in the beam conditions. In this context new emittance measurements have been performed revisiting these methods and newly developed ones with a systematic approach to compare and characterise their per- formance in the ATF extraction line

Consequences of transformation of native Cerrado in pasture land on the porosity of a clayey-sand red latosol

In the Brazilian savannah (Cerrados area), about 60 % of the surface area is used as pasture land and 30 % of the latter is cultivated pasture. Many studies have reported that pastures degrade quickly and degradation would be more intense when the soil was tilled prior pasture sowing. Pasture degradation (decrease in the pasture quality and yield, weed invasion) would be partly a consequence of the soil structure evolution (Balbino & Di Stefano, 1999). Origin of pasture degradation is still under discussion and analysis of the literature showed that there is a lack of quantitative data. The aim of this study is to perform a detailed analysis of the porosity in a low productivity cultivated pasture and to compare the results with the porosity of a similar soil still under native vegetation (Cerradão, i.e. Scierophylous forest)

Change in the hydraulic properties of a Brazilian clay Ferralsol on clearing for pasture.

32 ref. doi: 10.1016/j.geoderma.2003.08.017Ferralsols under native vegetation have a weak to moderate macrostructure and a well-developed microstructure corresponding to subrounded microaggregates that are usually 80 to 300 μm in size. The aim of this study was to analyze how the hydraulic properties of a clay Ferralsol were affected by a change of structure when the native vegetation is cleared for pasture. We studied the macrostructure in the field and microstructure in scanning electron microscopy. The water retention properties were determined by using pressure cell equipment. We determined the saturated hydraulic conductivity, Ks, by applying a constant hydraulic head to saturated core samples, and the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, K(Ψ), by applying the evaporation method to undisturbed core samples. Results showed a significant decrease in the water retained at −1 and −10 hPa from 0- to 40-cm-depth when the native vegetation is cleared for pasture. That decrease in the water retained was related to a smaller development of microaggregation and greater proportion of microaggregates in close packing. For smaller water potential, there was no difference of water retained at every depth between native vegetation and pasture. Pedotransfer functions established earlier for Brazilian Ferralsols and using clay content as single predictor gave pretty good results but the precision of the estimation decreased when the water potential increased. This decrease in the precision was related to the lack of predictor taking structure into account. Ks and K(Ψ) showed an upward trend with depth under native vegetation and pasture. Except at 0–7-cm depth between the Brachiaria clumps in the pasture where smaller Ks and K(Ψ) than at the other depth was recorded whatever land use, we did not record any significant difference of Ks and K(Ψ) at every depth between native vegetation and pasture. The upward trend shown by the hydraulic conductivity with depth was related to the increase in the development of microaggregation with depth

Strongly coupled single quantum dot in a photonic crystal waveguide cavity

Cavities embedded in photonic crystal waveguides offer a promising route towards large scale integration of coupled resonators for quantum electrodynamics applications. In this letter, we demonstrate a strongly coupled system formed by a single quantum dot and such a photonic crystal cavity. The resonance originating from the cavity is clearly identified from the photoluminescence mapping of the out-of-plane scattered signal along the photonic crystal waveguide. The quantum dot exciton is tuned towards the cavity mode by temperature control. A vacuum Rabi splitting of ~ 140 \mueV is observed at resonance.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure