Serological survey of toxoplasmosis Transvaal

Thirty-seven per cent of 605 samples of human sera collected from four ethnic groups in South Africa gave a positive Toxoplasma indirect fluorescent antibody test at a dilution 01 1/16 or higher. The incidences in Indians (58%) and Coloureds (43%) were significantly higher than in Blacks (29%) and Whites (32%). These differences were regarded as being due to cultural rather than to socioeconomic factors. Some evidence for the importance of contact with felines in the epidemiology of toxoplasmosis is presented.S. Afr. Med. J., 48, 1707 (1974

Reflecting on Fifty Years of Progress for Women in Science

Like young women today, 50 years ago I too assumed that gender discrimination in science was a thing of the past. Girls who grew up in America in the Sputnik era, as I did, were encouraged to become scientists. By 1964, when I graduated from college with a major in biology, I thought it entirely possible I’d win a Nobel prize. Why not? Dorothy Hodgkin won one that year. At Harvard, my professors had strongly encouraged me to go to graduate school. When I finished my postdoc in 1973, I was actively recruited to the MIT faculty. What were those feminists complaining about

Electromagnetic transition rates in the Ν = 80 nucleus 138/58Ce

The half-life of the I?=6+ yrast state at Ex=2294 keV in 138Ce has been measured as T1/2=880(19) ps using the fast-timing ?-ray coincidence method with a mixed LaBr3(Ce)- HPGe array. The excited states in 138Ce have been populated by the 130Te(12C,4n) fusion-evaporation reaction at an incident beam energy of 56 MeV. The extracted B(E2;61+?41+)=0.101(24) W.u. value is compared with the predictions of truncated basis shell model calculations and with the systematics of the region. This shows an anomalous behavior compared to the neighboring isotonic and isotopic chains. Half-lives for the yrast 5-, 11+ and 14+ states in 138Ce have also been determined in this work. � 2013 American Physical Society

Doping dependence of the resonance peak and incommensuration in high-TcT_{c} superconductors

The doping and frequency evolutions of the incommensurate spin response and the resonance mode are studied based on the scenario of the Fermi surface topology. We use the slave-boson mean-field approach to the $t-t^{\prime}-J$ model and including the antiferromagnetic fluctuation correction in the random-phase approximation. We find that the equality between the incommensurability and the hole concentration is reproduced at low frequencies in the underdoped regime. This equality observed in experiments was explained {\it only} based on the stripe model before. We also obtain the downward dispersion for the spin response and predict its doping dependence for further experimental testing, as well as a proportionality between the low-energy incommensurability and the resonance energy. Our results suggest a common origin for the incommensuration and the resonance peak based on the Fermi surface topology and the d-wave symmetry.Comment: 5 pages, 4 PS figure

Upper critical field for underdoped high-T_c superconductors. Pseudogap and stripe--phase

We investigate the upper critical field in a stripe--phase and in the presence of a phenomenological pseudogap. Our results indicate that the formation of stripes affects the Landau orbits and results in an enhancement of $H_{c2}$. On the other hand, phenomenologically introduced pseudogap leads to a reduction of the upper critical field. This effect is of particular importance when the magnitude of the gap is of the order of the superconducting transition temperature. We have found that a suppression of the upper critical field takes place also for the gap that originates from the charge--density waves.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Cortisol does not mediate the suppressive effects of psychiatric morbidity on natural killer cell activity: a cross-sectional study of patients with early breast cancer

Background. There is evidence that depression impairs natural killer cell activity (NKA); this could have implications for anti-tumour immunity. Our aim was to examine the role of the hypothalamicâpituitaryâadrenal (HPA) axis in suppressing NKA in a population of patients with early breast cancer, screened for depression. Secondary aims were to study the relationship between psychological, endocrine and immune variables and baseline tumour characteristics. Methods. A cross-sectional population of female patients (n=55) with early breast cancer was sampled prior to primary surgery. Structured interview and psychometric instruments measured psychological distress. Flow cytometry was used to enumerate NK cells and lymphocytes were cryopreserved for use in a 51Cr-release assay, to estimate NKA. Midnight and three early morning saliva samples were collected to measure free cortisol levels. Tumour characteristics were obtained from hospital laboratory data. Results. A high rate of psychological morbidity (40%) was observed in the population. NKA was reduced in those with past or current psychiatric illness compared to those without (344 v. 553 LU20 and 455 v. 569 LU20 respectively, p<0·05 for both). Cortisol was not related to psychological status but was modestly positively correlated to NKA. A positive correlation was observed between the Fighting Spirit subscale of the Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale and tumour size (r=0·383, p=0·012) Conclusions. Our data support the evidence that psychological morbidity is associated with immune dysfunction; however, the most obvious candidate mediator of this effect, the HPA axis, does not appear responsible for this effect. Possible reasons for this are discussed

Cortisol does not mediate the suppressive effects of psychiatric morbidity on natural killer cell activity: a cross-sectional study of patients with early breast cancer

Background. There is evidence that depression impairs natural killer cell activity (NKA); this could have implications for anti-tumour immunity. Our aim was to examine the role of the hypothalamicâpituitaryâadrenal (HPA) axis in suppressing NKA in a population of patients with early breast cancer, screened for depression. Secondary aims were to study the relationship between psychological, endocrine and immune variables and baseline tumour characteristics. Methods. A cross-sectional population of female patients (n=55) with early breast cancer was sampled prior to primary surgery. Structured interview and psychometric instruments measured psychological distress. Flow cytometry was used to enumerate NK cells and lymphocytes were cryopreserved for use in a 51Cr-release assay, to estimate NKA. Midnight and three early morning saliva samples were collected to measure free cortisol levels. Tumour characteristics were obtained from hospital laboratory data. Results. A high rate of psychological morbidity (40%) was observed in the population. NKA was reduced in those with past or current psychiatric illness compared to those without (344 v. 553 LU20 and 455 v. 569 LU20 respectively, p<0·05 for both). Cortisol was not related to psychological status but was modestly positively correlated to NKA. A positive correlation was observed between the Fighting Spirit subscale of the Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale and tumour size (r=0·383, p=0·012) Conclusions. Our data support the evidence that psychological morbidity is associated with immune dysfunction; however, the most obvious candidate mediator of this effect, the HPA axis, does not appear responsible for this effect. Possible reasons for this are discussed