The SNS Liquids Reflectometer
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, installed as one of the first instruments at the Spallation Neutron Source, has now been functional for more than a year. This instrument is designed to view liquid ...and solid surfaces in specular, off specular, and near-surface small angle scattering geometries. The guide system supplies 2 Å < λ < 16.5 Å neutrons at vertical incident angles ranging from 0° < α
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< 5.5° for free liquid surfaces and up to 45° for solid surfaces. Three bandwidth choppers, synchronized with the spallation source and operating at 15-60 Hz, provide neutrons in bandwidths ranging from 3.5-14 Å at a fixed incident angle onto a sample. The sample stage enables all of the motions necessary for positioning liquid and solid surfaces, while the detector arm directs a position-sensitive detector to view the sample at specular or off specular angles up to 90° and can scan out of the specular plane by up to 30°.
Seasonal dispersal and diversity of aphid species were monitored on pepper farms in St. Catherine, Jamaica throughout 1998 and 1999 to identify the most likely vectors of tobacco etch virus (TEV) in ...pepper fields. Flight activity was monitored weekly on five farms using water pan traps. More than 30 aphid species were identified, 12 of which are new records for Jamaica. Ninety-two percent of the aphids captured from October 1998 through July 1999 belonged to only seven of the >30 species identified. Of these seven species, Aphis gossypii Glover and those in the Uroleucon ambrosiae (Thomas) complex comprised more than two-thirds of the total. Five known vectors of TEV were captured: A. gossypii, Aphis craccivora Koch, Aphis spiraecola Patch, Myzus persicae (Sulzer), and Lipaphis pseudobrassicae Davis. Generally, more aphids were collected from mid-September through mid-May than from mid-May through mid-September. The influence that rainfall and temperature had on periods of aphid flight activity also was investigated. Results indicated that flight of some species increased 3–4 wk after a rainfall event, whereas temperature did not appear to affect flight activity. High populations of A. gossypii as well as the presence of four additional known TEV vectors were encountered in October and November, which is the period that significant acreage is transplanted to pepper for harvest to coincide with the winter export market. Because pepper is most vulnerable to yield loss when young plants become infected with TEV, pepper production in Jamaica may be threatened if commonly abundant species such as A. gossypii are carrying TEV. Based on this information, implications for management of pepper viruses and their aphid vectors in Jamaica are discussed.
Ovum transport in mammalian oviducts involves two main effectors: ciliary motility and muscle contractility. To study the
relative contribution of cilia to ovum transport in the rat, we blocked ...smooth muscle activity with isoproterenol, a beta-adrenergic
agonist, and measured transport rates of surrogate ova in situ. Transport rates before isoproterenol administration were 0.04
mm/s in the cephalic ampulla and 0.03 mm/s in the caudal ampulla; rates were unchanged after administration of isoproterenol.
To determine if isoproterenol affected ciliary activity, we measured ciliary beat frequency with laser-scattering spectroscopy
over the effective isoproterenol dosage. Isoproterenol did not cause a significant change in ciliary beat frequency. Our results
show that in the rat oviductal ampulla, ciliary motion is capable of transporting ova in the absence of muscle contractility.
Biopsy specimens were obtained from the distal end of the Fallopian tubes of 62 women with tubal infertility and examined by light and electron microscopy. Ciliary beat frequency (CBF) measurements ...were obtained using laser light spectroscopy. Neither demographic nor behavioural characteristics nor serological evidence of past chlamydial infection were associated with CBF measurements. In contrast, CBF were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in tissues with oedema compared to tissues without oedema (6.7 versus 12.9) and in tissues with erythema compared to tissues without erythema (9.2 versus 13.7). Furthermore, CBF measurements did vary by chlamydial serotype pattern, with lower values observed among the tissues of women with antibodies to serotype C or E (without D) as compared to the tissues of women with other serotypes (P < 0.04). However, these data must be interpreted with caution as the numbers of subjects with chlamydial antibodies to serotype C (n = 3) or E without D (n = 5) were few in number and serotyping of IgG antibodies in blood is not as accurate as it is in bacterial isolates. Confirmation of the suggested association between chlamydial serotype and risk of adverse sequelae could indicate potential new avenues for vaccine research.
Adenosine kinase is ubiquitous in eukaryotes and is a key enzyme in the regulation of the intracellular levels of adenosine, an important physiological effector of many cells and tissues. In this ...paper we report the cloning of cDNAs encoding adenosine kinase from both rat and human tissues. Two distinct forms of adenosine kinase mRNA were identified in human tissues. Sequence variation between the two forms is restricted to the extreme 5′-end of the adenosine kinase mRNA, including a portion of the coding region, and is consistent with differential splicing of a single transcriptional product. We have expressed both forms inE. coliand produced soluble active enzyme which catalyzes the phosphorylation of adenosine with high specific activityin vitroand is susceptible to known adenosine kinase inhibitors.
The effects of repeated infections with Chlamydia trachomatis, serovars F, D, and J, were examined in pig-tailed macaques. The fallopian tubes of three experimental monkeys were inoculated at the ...middle of the menstrual cycle on three consecutive months. Monkey 1 received homologous F; monkey 2 received heterologous F, D, and J; and monkey 3 received homologous inoculations in the right and heterologous inoculations in the left fallopian tubes. One control monkey (4) received repeated inoculations of HeLa cell materials only and remained normal throughout the experiment. Infection was confirmed by isolating the microorganism from both the endosalpinx and endocervix. Antibody to the infecting strains was demonstrated in sera, tears, and cervical secretions by using microimmunofluorescence. Mild chronic salpingitis developed in monkeys 1 and 3, and chronic follicular salpingitis developed in monkey 2. Peritubal and periadnexal scarring and endosalpingeal adhesion formation were produced after reinfection. The right fallopian tube of monkey 3 was distally obstructed (confirmed by hysterosalpingography). Systemic complications, including perihepatitis and conjunctivitis, were also documented in these monkeys. We conclude that repeated infections produced extensive tubal scarring, chronic salpingitis, and distal tubal obstruction, findings not apparent in primary infection.
We examined two groups of infertile women who underwent microsurgical repair of their fallopian tube(s) for distal tubal obstruction, one with a history of salpingitis (overt pelvic inflammatory ...disease) (N = 34) and one without (silent pelvic inflammatory disease) (N = 25). Nine women with normal tubes undergoing hysterectomy and salpingectomy served as controls. Tubal biopsy specimens were studied by light, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy to assess tubal damage. Morphologic damage was scored 0-9, with 0 representing normal tubal architecture and 9 assigned to severe tubal damage. The mean score (+/- SEM) in women with overt pelvic inflammatory disease was 4.2 +/- 0.4; in women with silent pelvic inflammatory disease, 4.3 +/- 0.4; and in the control group, 0.76 +/- 0.2 (P less than .001). Fallopian tube abnormalities seen in women with overt and silent pelvic inflammatory disease included flattened mucosal folds, extensive deciliation, and degeneration of secretory epithelial cells, morphologic changes that are similar to the cellular changes observed in our experimental Chlamydia trachomatis infections in monkeys. Laser light-scattering spectroscopy was used to measure the ciliary activity of the epithelial cells. Ciliary beat frequency was significantly reduced in women with overt pelvic inflammatory disease (N = 13; f = 6.4 +/- 1.2 Hz) and in women with silent pelvic inflammatory disease (N = 11; f = 7.2 +/- 1.2 Hz) as compared with the controls (N = 5; f = 23.4 +/- 1.5 Hz) (P less than .001).
Intravascular monitoring of arterial blood gases provides the means to detect precipitous change in cardiopulmonary function almost instantaneously, promising major improvement in the ability to ...manage critically ill patients. Attempts to miniaturize and repackage conventional electrodes for continuous intravascular use have met insurmountable problems, and only the application of new technology involving fiber-optic chemical sensors (FOCS) has proved that in vivo monitoring of blood gas chemistry is truly feasible. Although a wide range of analytes of clinical significance may potentially be monitored by using FOCS technology, the analytes of choice for the management of the critically ill patient are pHa, paCO2, and paO2, because of their dynamic nature and importance for critical-care diagnosis and monitoring. Although intravascular FOCS blood gas monitors currently under clinical investigation exhibit promising performance, clinical acceptance and commercial success will depend on the creative solution of several problems, the most challenging of which are related to physiological factors at the interface between the sensors and their intravascular sensing environment.
Seasonal dispersal and diversity of aphid species were monitored on pepper farms in St. Catherine, Jamaica throughout 1998 and 1999 to identify the most likely vectors of tobacco etch virus (TEV) in ...pepper fields. Flight activity was monitored weekly on five farms using water pan traps. More than 30 aphid species were identified, 12 of which are new records for Jamaica. Ninety-two percent of the aphids captured from October 1998 through July 1999 belonged to only seven of the >30 species identified. Of these seven species, Aphis gossypii Glover and those in the Uroleucon ambrosiae (Thomas) complex comprised more than two-thirds of the total. Five known vectors of TEV were captured: A. gossypii , Aphis craccivora Koch, Aphis spiraecola Patch, Myzus persicae (Sulzer), and Lipaphis pseudobrassicae Davis. Generally, more aphids were collected from mid-September through mid-May than from mid-May through mid-September. The influence that rainfall and temperature had on periods of aphid flight activity also was investigated. Results indicated that flight of some species increased 3-4 wk after a rainfall event, whereas temperature did not appear to affect flight activity. High populations of A. gossypii as well as the presence of four additional known TEV vectors were encountered in October and November, which is the period that significant acreage is transplanted to pepper for harvest to coincide with the winter export market. Because pepper is most vulnerable to yield loss when young plants become infected with TEV, pepper production in Jamaica may be threatened if commonly abundant species such as A. gossypii are carrying TEV. Based on this information, implications for management of pepper viruses and their aphid vectors in Jamaica are discussed.
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