2,283 research outputs found
Blood-feeding in the young adult filarial worms litomosoides sigmodontis
In this study with the filarial model Litomosoides sigmodontis, we demonstrate that the worms ingest host red blood cells at a precise moment of their life-cycle, immediately after the fourth moult. The red blood cells (RBC) were identified microscopically in live worms immobilized in PBS at 4 degrees C, and their density assessed. Two hosts were used: Mongolian gerbils, where microfilaraemia is high, and susceptible BALB/c mice with lower microfilaraemia. Gerbils were studied at 12 time-points, between day 9 post-inoculation (the worms were young 4th stage larvae) and day 330 p.i. (worms were old adults). Only the very young adult filarial worms had red blood cells in their gut. Haematophagy was observed between days 25 and 56 p.i. and peaked between day 28 and day 30 p.i. in female worms. In males, haematophagy was less frequent and intense. Similar kinetics of haematophagy were found in BALB/c mice, but frequency and intensity tended to be lower. Haematophagy seems useful to optimize adult maturation. These observations suggest that haematophagy is an important step in the life-cycle of L. sigmodontis. This hitherto undescribed phenomenon might be characteristic of other filarial species including human parasites
Interactions between nutritional and opioidergic pathways in the control of LH secretion in male sheep
Our aim was to determine the role of opioidergic processes in the effects of nutrition on the secretion of LH pulses in the mature male sheep. In the first of three experiments, adult Merino rams were acclimatised to a maintenance diet and then allocated to one of three dietary groups (n = 5): continuation of the maintenance diet (Group M); reduction to half of the maintenance allocation (Group HM); or supplementation of the maintenance diet with lupin grain (Group HD). An initial administration of naloxone (2 mg/kg body weight, i.v.) was followed at 40-min intervals by three further administrations (1 mg/kg). Blood was sampled every 20 min for 12 h before the initial naloxone administration and then for a further 6 h. LH pulse frequency after naloxone treatment was significantly higher in Group HD than in Group HM (P < 0.05). The second study tested whether the response to naloxone depended on calcium status. We used 22 adult Merino rams in two consecutive experiments, one in which the rams were fed a maintenance diet, and one in which the rams were fed with the maintenance diet plus 1 kg lupin grain for 5 weeks. In both experiments, rams were allocated to groups that received one of the following treatments: (a) 0.02 g/kg calcium borogluconate + 0.2 mg/kg naloxone hydrochloride (Nal + Ca2+; n = 6); (b) 0.2 mg/kg naloxone hydrochloride (Nal; n = 6); (c) 0.02 g/kg calcium borogluconate (Ca2+; n = 5); (d) 0.1 ml/kg NaCl 0.9% (Saline; n = 5). All treatments were given as a single i.v. administration daily for 5 days. Blood was sampled every 20 min for 24 h during the acclimatization period (Day 0) and on the last day (Day 5) of treatment. In the first study (under maintenance), none of the treatments affected LH pulse frequency. In the second study (the lupin-supplemented rams), LH pulse frequency was significantly increased (P < 0.05) by the administration of naloxone + Ca2+, naloxone alone and Ca2+ alone. Overall, rams on a low plane of nutrition showed the smallest response to naloxone, suggesting that an opioidergic mechanism is not involved in the suppressive effect of restricted nutrition on the gonadotrophic axis. Rather, because testosterone secretion was increased on the high plane of nutrition, the LH responses to naloxone are better explained by the effects of testosterone on opioidergic mechanisms. Finally, we failed to observe any interaction between opioids and calcium in the control of LH secretion
In-situ monitoring for CVD processes
Aiming towards process control of industrial high yield/high volume CVD reactors, the potential of optical sensors as a monitoring tool has been explored. The sensors selected are based on both Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and tunable diode laser spectroscopy (NIR-DLS). The former has the advantage of wide spectral capability, and well established databases. NIR-DLS spectroscopy has potentially high sensitivity, laser spatial resolution, and the benefits of comparatively easier integration capabilities-including optical fibre compatibility. The proposed technical approach for process control is characterised by a 'chemistry based' feedback system with in-situ optical data as input information. The selected optical sensors continuously analyze the gas phase near the surface of the growing layer. The spectroscopic data has been correlated with process performance and layer properties which, in turn establish data basis for process control. The new process control approach is currently being verified on different industrialised CVD coaters. One of the selected applications deals with the deposition of SnO2 layers on glass based on the oxidation of (CH3)2SnCl2, which is used in high volume production for low-E glazing
Magnetohydrodynamic evolution of magnetic skeletons
The heating of the solar corona is likely to be due to reconnection of the
highly complex magnetic field that threads throughout its volume. We have run a
numerical experiment of an elementary interaction between the magnetic field of
two photospheric sources in an overlying field that represents a fundamental
building block of the coronal heating process. The key to explaining where, how
and how much energy is released during such an interaction is to calculate the
resulting evolution of the magnetic skeleton. A skeleton is essentially the web
of magnetic flux surfaces (called separatrix surfaces) that separate the
coronal volume into topologically distinct parts. For the first time the
skeleton of the magnetic field in a 3D numerical MHD experiment is calculated
and carefully analysed, as are the ways in which it bifurcates into different
topologies. A change in topology normally changes the number of magnetic
reconnection sites.
In our experiment, the magnetic field evolves through a total of six distinct
topologies. Initially, no magnetic flux joins the two sources. Then a new type
of bifurcation, called a global double-separator bifurcation, takes place: this
bifurcation is likely to be one of the main ways in which new separators are
created in the corona (separators are field lines at which 3D reconnection
takes place). This is the first of five bifurcations in which the skeleton
becomes progressively more complex before simplifying. Surprisingly, for such a
simple initial state, at the peak of complexity there are five separators and
eight flux domains present.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figure
Spatio-temporal structure of cell distribution in cortical Bone Multicellular Units: a mathematical model
Bone remodelling maintains the functionality of skeletal tissue by locally
coordinating bone-resorbing cells (osteoclasts) and bone-forming cells
(osteoblasts) in the form of Bone Multicellular Units (BMUs). Understanding the
emergence of such structured units out of the complex network of biochemical
interactions between bone cells is essential to extend our fundamental
knowledge of normal bone physiology and its disorders. To this end, we propose
a spatio-temporal continuum model that integrates some of the most important
interaction pathways currently known to exist between cells of the osteoblastic
and osteoclastic lineage. This mathematical model allows us to test the
significance and completeness of these pathways based on their ability to
reproduce the spatio-temporal dynamics of individual BMUs. We show that under
suitable conditions, the experimentally-observed structured cell distribution
of cortical BMUs is retrieved. The proposed model admits travelling-wave-like
solutions for the cell densities with tightly organised profiles, corresponding
to the progression of a single remodelling BMU. The shapes of these spatial
profiles within the travelling structure can be linked to the intrinsic
parameters of the model such as differentiation and apoptosis rates for bone
cells. In addition to the cell distribution, the spatial distribution of
regulatory factors can also be calculated. This provides new insights on how
different regulatory factors exert their action on bone cells leading to
cellular spatial and temporal segregation, and functional coordination.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures; v2: Completed model description after Eq. (16),
clarified discussion/description after Eq. (23), between Eqs. (29)-(31), and
in 2nd bullet point in conclusion
Effet de l'augmentation de l'alimentation calorique et du traitement au lasalocid sur la sécrétion des gonadotrophines chez les béliers
Chez le bélier adulte, la complémentation alimentaire par les grains de lupin ( Lupinus angustifolius ) stimule la secrétion des gonadotrophines. Pour tester la reproduction de cet effet par des rations alimentaires differentes, des béliers ont été soumis à une ration de base (1 kg de foin, 10% grain de lupin et 2,5% minéraux) ou une ration à niveau énergétique élevé (50% foin de luzerne, 27.5% foin broyé, 20% orge fourrager et 2,5% minéraux) au taux quotidien de 2.5% du poids vif pendant 7 jours. À la fin de cette période, la moitié du premier groupe a reçu 750 g/tête • jour alors que la moitié du deuxième groupe a reçu une dose orale de l'ionophore lasalocid (45 mg/kg d'aliment) pendant 10 jours. Le reste des béliers a continué à reçevoir leur ration alimentaire de départ. Des prises de sang ont été faites toutes les 20 min pendant 24 h à 0, 7 et 17 jours par rapport au début des traitements et ont été utilisées pour le dosage de l'hormone luté inisante. Des prises de sang toutes les 2 heures ont servi au dosage de l'hormone folliculo-stimulante (Jours 0, 7 et17), de l'insuline et du glucose (Jours 7 et 17) .. Des échantillons de liquide ruminaI, pris sur les béliers sous régime riche en énergie à 7 et 17 jours, ont été utilisés pour l'analyse des acides gras volatiles. Les résultats montrent que l'alimentation à base de lupin ou d'autres aliments riches en énergie est suceptible de stimuler les secrétion de la LH et de la FSH. Ces effets sont généralement associés avec des concentrations plasmatiques élevées de glucose et d'insuline
Comparison of Bond Character in Hydrocarbons and Fullerenes
We present a comparison of the bond polarizabilities for carbon-carbon bonds
in hydrocarbons and fullerenes, using two different models for the fullerene
Raman spectrum and the results of Raman measurements on ethane and ethylene. We
find that the polarizabilities for single bonds in fullerenes and hydrocarbons
compare well, while the double bonds in fullerenes have greater polarizability
than in ethylene.Comment: 7 pages, no figures, uses RevTeX. (To appear in Phys. Rev. B.
Interannual variability of Alexandrium fundyense abundance and shellfish toxicity in the Gulf of Maine
Author Posting. © The Authors, 2005. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B. V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 52 (2005): 2843-2855, doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2005.06.020.Six years of oceanographic surveys of Alexandrium fundyense concentrations in the Gulf of Maine are combined with shellfish toxicity records from coastal monitoring stations to assess covariations of these quantities on seasonal to interannual time scales. Annual mean gulf-wide cell abundance varies by less than one order of magnitude during the time interval examined (1993-2002). Fluctuations in gulf-wide annual mean cell abundance and shellfish toxicity are not related in a consistent manner. This suggests that interannual variations in toxicity may be regulated by transport and delivery of offshore cell populations, rather than the absolute abundance of the source populations themselves.We gratefully acknowledge the support of the US ECOHAB Program, sponsored by NOAA, NSF, EPA, NASA, and ONR
Scaling analysis of a divergent prefactor in the metastable lifetime of a square-lattice Ising ferromagnet at low temperatures
We examine a square-lattice nearest-neighbor Ising quantum ferromagnet
coupled to -dimensional phonon baths. Using the density-matrix equation, we
calculate the transition rates between configurations, which determines the
specific dynamic. Applying the calculated stochastic dynamic in Monte Carlo
simulations, we measure the lifetimes of the metastable state. As the magnetic
field approaches at low temperatures, the lifetime prefactor diverges
because the transition rates between certain configurations approaches zero
under these conditions. Near and zero temperature, the divergent
prefactor shows scaling behavior as a function of the field, temperature, and
the dimension of the phonon baths. With proper scaling, the simulation data at
different temperatures and for different dimensions of the baths collapse well
onto two master curves, one for and one for .Comment: published versio
Convergence of the stochastic Euler scheme for locally Lipschitz coefficients
Stochastic differential equations are often simulated with the Monte Carlo
Euler method. Convergence of this method is well understood in the case of
globally Lipschitz continuous coefficients of the stochastic differential
equation. The important case of superlinearly growing coefficients, however,
has remained an open question. The main difficulty is that numerically weak
convergence fails to hold in many cases of superlinearly growing coefficients.
In this paper we overcome this difficulty and establish convergence of the
Monte Carlo Euler method for a large class of one-dimensional stochastic
differential equations whose drift functions have at most polynomial growth.Comment: Published at http://www.springerlink.com/content/g076w80730811vv3 in
the Foundations of Computational Mathematics 201
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