Rescue with an anti-inflammatory peptide of chickens infected H5N1 avian flu

Chickens suffering from avian flu caused by H5N1 influenza virus are destined to die within 2 days due to a systemic inflammatory response. Since HVJ infection (1,2) and influenza virus infection (3,4) cause infected cells to activate homologous serum complement, the systemic inflammatory response elicited could be attributed to the unlimited generation of C5a anaphylatoxin of the complement system, which is a causative peptide of serious inflammation. In monkeys inoculated with a lethal dose of LPS (4 mg/kg body weight), inhibition of C5a by an inhibitory peptide termed AcPepA (5) rescued these animals from serious septic shock which would have resulted in death within a day (6). Therefore, we tested whether AcPepA could also have a beneficial effect on chickens with bird flu. On another front, enhanced production of endothelin-1 (ET-1) and the activation of mast cells (MCs) have been implicated in granulocyte sequestration (7). An endothelin receptor derived antisense homology box peptide (8) designated ETR-P1/fl was shown to antagonize endothelin A receptor (ET-A receptor) (9) and reduce such inflammatory responses as endotoxin-shock (10) and hemorrhagic shock (11), thereby suppressing histamine release in the circulation (12). Thus, we also administered ETR-P1/fl to bird flu chickens expecting suppression of a systemic inflammatory response

Myocardial clearance of technetium-99m-teboroxime in reperfused injured canine myocardium

Background: Recent technical developments using solid-state technology have enabled rapid image acquisition with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and have led to a renewed interest in technetium-99m-teboroxime (Tc-99m-teboroxime) as a myocardial imaging agent. Tc-99m-teboroxime has demonstrated high myocardial extraction, linear myocardial uptake relative to flow even at high flow rates, rapid uptake and clearance kinetics, and differential clearance in the setting of ischemia. However, the myocardial clearance kinetics of Tc-99m-teboroxime in a model of myocardial injury has not been previously reported. Thus, the purposes of this study were to use a canine model of ischemia-reperfusion to (1) compare Tc-99m-teboroxime clearance kinetics in normal and ischemic-reperfused myocardium and (2) assess the utility of Tc-99m-teboroxime clearance kinetics in determining the severity of injury following ischemia-reperfusion. Methods: Thirteen dogs underwent left circumflex coronary artery (LCx) occlusion for either 30 min (IR30, n = 6) or 120 min (IR120, n = 7), followed by reperfusion, and finally Tc-99m-teboroxime administration 120 min after reperfusion. Microsphere blood flows were determined at baseline, during occlusion, after reperfusion, and before euthanasia. Post-mortem, area at risk was determined using Evans blue dye, and viability was determined using triphenytetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining. The hearts were then subdivided into 24 pieces and Tc-99m activity was measured in a well counter. Results: TTC-determined infarct area as a percentage of total left ventricular myocardium was 1.1% ± 0.3% for the IR30 group and 7.5% ± 2.9% for the IR120 group (p < 0.05). During coronary occlusion, both the IR30 and IR120 groups demonstrated decreases in percent wall thickening in the ischemia-reperfusion zone (IRZ) as compared with the normal zone (NZ). In the IR30 group, percent wall thickening in the IRZ recovered during the reperfusion phase as compared with the NZ. In the IR120 group, percent wall thickening in the IRZ remained depressed during the reperfusion phase and through the end of the experiment as compared with the NZ. Final Tc-99m-teboroxime myocardial IRZ/NZ activity ratio was 0.94 ± 0.01 for the IR30 group, compared to 0.80 ± 0.01 for the IR120 group (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Tc-99m-teboroxime demonstrates moderate differential clearance in a model of severe injury with 120 min of ischemia-reperfusion, but only minimal differential clearance in a model of mild injury with 30 min of ischemia-reperfusion. Thus, Tc-99m-teboroxime clearance kinetics may be helpful in differentiating normal and minimally injured from severely injured myocardium

High Spectral and Spatial Resolution Observations of the PDR Emission in the NGC2023 Reflection Nebula with SOFIA and APEX

We have mapped the NGC 2023 reflection nebula in [CII] and CO(11--10) with the heterodyne receiver GREAT on SOFIA and obtained slightly smaller maps in 13CO(3--2), CO(3--2), CO(4--3), CO(6--5), and CO(7--6) with APEX in Chile. We use these data to probe the morphology, kinematics, and physical conditions of the C II region, which is ionized by FUV radiation from the B2 star HD37903. The [CII] emission traces an ellipsoidal shell-like region at a position angle of ~ -50 deg, and is surrounded by a hot molecular shell. In the southeast, where the C II region expands into a dense, clumpy molecular cloud ridge, we see narrow and strong line emission from high-J CO lines, which comes from a thin, hot molecular shell surrounding the [CII] emission. The [CII] lines are broader and show photo evaporating gas flowing into the C II region. Based on the strength of the [13CII] F=2--1 line, the [CII] line appears to be somewhat optically thick over most of the nebula with an optical depth of a few. We model the physical conditions of the surrounding molecular cloud and the PDR emission using both RADEX and simple PDR models. The temperature of the CO emitting PDR shell is ~ 90 -- 120 K, with densities of 10^5 -- 10^6 cm^-3, as deduced from RADEX modeling. Our PDR modeling indicates that the PDR layer where [CII] emission dominates has somewhat lower densities, 10^4 to a few times 10^5 cm^-3Comment: Accepted by A&

Impeded Growth of Magnetic Flux Bubbles in the Intermediate State Pattern of Type I Superconductors

Normal state bubble patterns in Type I superconducting Indium and Lead slabs are studied by the high resolution magneto-optical imaging technique. The size of bubbles is found to be almost independent of the long-range interaction between the normal state domains. Under bubble diameter and slab thickness proper scaling, the results gather onto a single master curve. On this basis, in the framework of the "current-loop" model [R.E. Goldstein, D.P. Jackson and A.T. Dorsey, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 3818 (1996)], we calculate the equilibrium diameter of an isolated bubble resulting from the competition between the Biot-and-Savart interaction of the Meissner current encircling the bubble and the superconductor-normal interface energy. A good quantitative agreement with the master curve is found over two decades of the magnetic Bond number. The isolation of each bubble in the superconducting matrix and the existence of a positive interface energy are shown to preclude any continuous size variation of the bubbles after their formation, contrary to the prediction of mean-field models.Comment: \'{e}quipe Nanostructures Quantique

The one-loop renormalization of the MSSM Higgs sector and its application to the neutral scalar Higgs masses

The structure of the Higgs sector in the minimal supersymmetric standard model is reviewed at the one-loop level. An on-shell renormalization scheme of the MSSM Higgs sector is presented in detail together with the complete list of formulae for the neutral Higgs masses at the one-loop level. The results of a complete one- loop calculation for the mass spectrum of the neutral MSSM Higgs bosons and the quality of simpler Born-like approximations are discussed for sfermion and gaugino masses in the range of the electroweak scale.Comment: 32 pages, report KA-THEP-5-199

The CP properties of the lightest Higgs boson with sbottom effects

In the framework of the recently proposed gluino-axion model, using the effective potential method and taking into account the top-stop as well as the bottom-sbottom effects, we discuss the CP--properties of the lightest Higgs boson, in particular its CP--odd composition, which can offer new opportunities at collider searches. It is found that although the CP-odd composition of the lightest Higgs increases slightly with the inclusion of the sbottom effects, it never exceeds %0.17 for all values of the renormalization scale Q ranging from top mass to TeV scaleComment: 24 pp, 12 eps fig

Background light measurements at the DUMAND site

Ambient light intensities at the DUMAND site, west of the island of Hawaii were measured around the one photoelectron level. Throughout the water column between 1,500m and 4,700m, a substantial amount of stimulateable bioluminescence is observed with a ship suspended detector. But non-stimulated bioluminescence level is comparable, or less than, K sup 40 background, when measured with a bottom tethered detector typical of a DUMAND optical module

The Higgs Sector in a U(1)′U(1)^\prime Extension of the MSSM

We consider the Higgs sector in an extension of the MSSM with extra SM singlets, involving an extra $U(1)^\prime$ gauge symmetry, in which the domain-wall problem is avoided and the effective $\mu$ parameter is decoupled from the new gauge boson $Z^\prime$ mass. The model involves a rich Higgs structure very different from that of the MSSM. In particular, there are large mixings between Higgs doublets and the SM singlets, significantly affecting the Higgs spectrum, production cross sections, decay modes, existing exclusion limits, and allowed parameter range. Scalars considerably lighter than the LEP2 bound (114 GeV) are allowed, and the range $\tan \beta \sim 1$ is both allowed and theoretically favored. Phenomenologically, we concentrate our study on the lighter (least model-dependent, yet characteristic) Higgs particles with significant SU(2)-doublet components to their wave functions, for the case of no explicit CP violation in the Higgs sector. We consider their spectra, including the dominant radiative corrections to their masses from the top/stop loop. We computed their production cross sections and reexamine the existing exclusion limits at LEP2. We outline the searching strategy for some representative scenarios at a future linear collider. We emphasize that gaugino, Higgsino, and singlino decay modes are indicative of extended models and have been given little attention. We present a comprehensive list of model scenarios in the Appendices.Comment: 49 pages, 17 figure