Evidence for the presence of components of the alternative (properdin) pathway of complement activation in respiratory secretions

Activation of the alternative complement pathway by respiratory secretory IgA was demonstrated by incubating purified, aggregated preparations of serum and secretory IgA with neat human serum. No depletion of the early components (C1-4) was observed, but 63 and 70% of C3-9, respectively, were consumed. The C3-9-consuming capacity of heat-aggregated nasal secretions from an IgA-deficient volunteer was compared with heat-aggregated nasal secretions from a normal volunteer known to have secretory IgA. The deficient secretions consumed C3-9, whereas the IgA deficient secretions did not. Reconstitution of the nasal secretions from the IgA-deficient volunteer with purified secretory IgA produced alternative pathway activation. Factor B of the alternative complement pathway was found to be present in 16 of 18 bronchoalveolar lavage samples (BALF) from normal volunteers. Simultaneous measurement of lavage and serum albumin and Factor B concentrations rendered it unlikely that Factor B was merely a transudative product from serum in half the samples but rather suggested that it may be a component of lower respiratory tract secretions. The presence of an intact alternative complement pathway in BALF was indicated by showing that cobra venom factor and endotoxin cleaved functionally pure human C3 when mixed with BALF, but had no effect on C3 in the absence of BALF.     

Attraction of a free-living nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, to foodborne pathogenic bacteria and its potential as a vector of Salmonella poona for preharvest contamination of cantaloupe

Caenorhabditis elegans was studied to determine the potential role of free-living microbivorous nematodes as vectors for preharvest contamination of fruits and vegetables with foodborne pathogens. The propensity of C. elegans to be attracted to seven strains of Escherichia coli O157:H7, eight serotypes of Salmonella, six strains of Listeria monocytogenes, and cantaloupe juice was investigated. Twenty to 30 adult worms were placed on the surface of K agar midway between a 24-h bacterial colony and 10 microl of uninoculated tryptic soy broth (TSB) or cantaloupe juice positioned 1.5 cm apart. The numbers of nematodes that migrated to the colony, to the TSB, and to the cantaloupe juice within 5, 10, 15, and 20 min at 21 degrees C were determined, and then the plates were incubated at 37 degrees C for up to 7 days to determine the ability of C. elegans to survive and reproduce in bacterial colonies. The nematode was attracted to colonies of all test pathogens and survived and reproduced within colonies for up to 7 days. C. elegans was not attracted to cantaloupe juice. The potential of C. elegans to serve as a vector for the transport of Salmonella Poona to cantaloupe rinds was investigated. Adult worms that had been immersed in a suspension of Salmonella Poona were deposited 1 or 3 cm below the surface of soil on which a piece of cantaloupe rind was placed. The rind was analyzed for the presence of Salmonella Poona after 1, 3, 7, and 10 days at 21 degrees C. The presence of Salmonella Poona was evident more quickly on rinds positioned on soil beneath which C. elegans inoculated with Salmonella Poona was initially deposited than on rinds positioned on soil beneath which Salmonella Poona alone was deposited. The time required to detect Salmonella Poona on rinds was longer when the rind was placed 3 cm above the inoculum than when the rind was placed 1 cm above the inoculum. Free-living nematodes may play a role in the preharvest dispersal of incidental human pathogens in soil to the surfaces of raw fruits and vegetables in contact with soil during development and maturation, as evidenced by the behavior of C. elegans as a test model.     

High-spectral-resolution lidar with iodine-vapor filters: measurement of atmospheric-state and aerosol profiles

A high-spectral-resolution lidar can measure vertical profiles of atmospheric temperature, pressure, the aerosol backscatter ratio, and the aerosol extinction coefficient simultaneously. We describe a system with these characteristics. The transmitter is a narrow-band (FWHM of the order of 74 MHz), injection-seeded, pulsed, double YAG laser at 532 nm. Iodine-vapor filters in the detection system spectrally separate the molecular and aerosol scattering and greatly reduce the latter (-41 dB). Operating at a selected frequency to take advantage of two neighboring lines in vapor filters, one can obtain a sensitivity of the measured signal-to-air temperature ratio equal to 0.42%/K. Using a relatively modest size transmitter and receiver system (laser power times telescope aperture equals 0.19 Wm(2)), our measured temperature profiles (0.5-15 km) over 11 nights are in agreement with balloon soundings to within 2.0 K over an altitude range of 2-5 km. There is good agreement in the lapse rates, tropopause altitudes, and inversions. In principle, to invert the signal requires a known density at one altitude, but in practice it is convenient to also use a known temperature at that altitude. This is a scalable system for high spatial resolution of vertical temperature profiles in the troposphere and lower stratosphere, even in the presence of aerosols.     

Variable impedance actuators: A review

Variable Impedance Actuators (VIA) have received increasing attention in recent years as many novel applications involving interactions with an unknown and dynamic environment including humans require actuators with dynamics that are not well-achieved by classical stiff actuators. This paper presents an overview of the different VIAs developed and proposes a classification based on the principles through which the variable stiffness and damping are achieved. The main classes are active impedance by control, inherent compliance and damping actuators, inertial actuators, and combinations of them, which are then further divided into subclasses. This classification allows for designers of new devices to orientate and take inspiration and users of VIA’s to be guided in the design and implementation process for their targeted application.     

北美最知名的石油天然气流量标定与研究机构——美国科罗拉多工程实验室简介

科罗拉多工程实验室的历史 美国科罗拉多工程实验室(以下简称CEESI)运营始于1951年,作为工程实验室,是科罗拉多大学工程学院的一项计划,用于研究、开发和测试军用火箭.1966年,这个非盈利机构从大学分离出来并迁址到现在的地址,改名为科罗拉多工程试验室(有限)公司.CEESI一直保持非商业性研究机构的状态,直到1986年两位知名计量权威Walt Seidl和Steve Caldwell收购了实验室,将它作为独立的商业性实验室开始运营.在其创立后的50多年间,CEESI一直是北美最知名的石油天然气流量标定和研究机构之一.     

Non-lithographic SERS substrates: tailoring surface chemistry for Au nanoparticle cluster assembly

Near‐field plasmonic coupling and local field enhancement in metal nanoarchitectures, such as arrangements of nanoparticle clusters, have application in many technologies from medical diagnostics, solar cells, to sensors. Although nanoparticle‐based cluster assemblies have exhibited signal enhancements in surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensors, it is challenging to achieve high reproducibility in SERS response using low‐cost fabrication methods. Here an innovative method is developed for fabricating self‐organized clusters of metal nanoparticles on diblock copolymer thin films as SERS‐active structures. Monodisperse, colloidal gold nanoparticles are attached via a crosslinking reaction on self‐organized chemically functionalized poly(methyl methacrylate) domains on polystyrene‐block‐poly(methyl methacrylate) templates. Thereby nanoparticle clusters with sub‐10‐nanometer interparticle spacing are achieved. Varying the molar concentration of functional chemical groups and crosslinking agent during the assembly process is found to affect the agglomeration of Au nanoparticles into clusters. Samples with a high surface coverage of nanoparticle cluster assemblies yield relative enhancement factors on the order of 10⁹ while simultaneously producing uniform signal enhancements in point‐to‐point measurements across each sample. High enhancement factors are associated with the narrow gap between nanoparticles assembled in clusters in full‐wave electromagnetic simulations. Reusability for small‐molecule detection is also demonstrated. Thus it is shown that the combination of high signal enhancement and reproducibility is achievable using a completely non‐lithographic fabrication process, thereby producing SERS substrates having high performance at low cost.     

Thermal Annealing and Propagation of Shockley Stacking Faults in 4H-SiC PiN Diodes

Stacking faults within 4H-SiC PiN diodes are known to be detrimental to device operation. Here, we present electroluminescence (EL) images of 4H-SiC PiN diodes providing evidence that electrically and optically stimulated Shockley stacking fault (SSF) propagation is a reversible process at temperatures as low as 210°C. Optical beam induced current (OBIC) images taken following complete optical stressing of a PiN diode and that lead to a small number of completely propagated SSFs provide evidence that such defects propagate across the n–/p+ interface and continue to grow throughout the p+ layer. These observations bring about questions regarding the validity of the currently accepted driving force mechanism for SSF propagation.     

Isolation of the acidic and basic lectins from winged bean seed (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC)

The acidic and basic lectins of the winged bean were isolated from seed extracts by affinity chromatography on lactose-Sepharose 6B and melibiose Bio-Gel P150, respectively. The lectins isolated from six varieties of Psophocarpus tetragonolobus, collected from different regions of south-east Asia, showed no significant differences in their properties; their subunit M_r and amino acid compositions were the same as those of the acidic and basic lectins isolated by non-affinity methods. On isoelectric focusing the affinity purified acidic lectins showed two major protein components (isolectins) while the affinity purified basic lectins had four protein components. The acidic lectins showed a preference for β-D-galactosides and they agglutinated trypsinised human type A, B and O erythrocytes but not trypsinised rabbit erythrocytes. The basic lectins showed a preference for α-D-galactosides and they agglutinated trypsinised rabbit and human type A and B erythrocytes but not trypsinised human type O erythrocytes.     

High Performance Liquid Chromatography–Size Exclusion Chromatography for Rapid Analysis of Total Polar Compounds in Used Frying Oils

Analysis of used frying oil samples by high performance liquid chromatography–size exclusion chromatography (HPLC–SEC or HPSEC) was compared to AOCS Official Method Cd 20-91 (silica gel column chromatography) for the purpose of developing a rapid analysis of total polar compounds (TPC). In a direct comparison of the two analytical methods using four different sets of used frying oils (21 total oil samples) ranging from fresh to discard quality (4.3 to 35.4% TPC by column chromatography), the weight percent total polar compounds (%TPC) determined by HPLC–SEC averaged 0.71% higher than the values by silica gel column chromatography. Reproducibility of the HPLC–SEC method of s _r = 0.30 and RSD_r% = 1.22 compares to the variability of s _r = 0.29 and RSD_r = 1.3 for samples of approximately the same %TPC, reported in AOCS Method Cd 20-91. Because the rapid method does not separate pure (non-polar) triacylglycerol (TAG) and polar, oxidized TAG (OX-TAG), a high concentration of OX-TAG will quantitatively affect the results. This places practical limits on the types of studies to which the method may be applied if a separate analysis for the OX-TAG is not performed. Advantages of the HPLC–SEC method include the following. It uses about 75% less solvent than standard column chromatography methods for determination of %TPC. This HPLC–SEC method is very similar to AOCS Official Method Cd 22-91, and thus, also separates and quantifies polymerized triacylglycerols. The HPLC–SEC method determines both TAG polymer concentration and %TPC of used frying oils in about 1 h.