Suppression of immunization to tuberculosis and diphtheria by an extract of lymphoid tissue

Zusammenfassung Dank einer neuen Anwendung von Lymphknotenextrakten (statt Röntgenextrakten, Corticosteroiden, Antilymphozytenserum usw.) wird eine erhebliche Reduktion der immunologischen Reaktion erzielt, wenn die Tiere mit diesen Extrakten vorbehandelt und gleichzeitig mit Antigenen behandelt werden.

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This investigation was supported in part by U.S.P.H.S. Research Grant No. CA-02624 from National Cancer Institute; and in part by an institutional grant to Detroit Institute of Cancer Research from United Foundation of greater Detroit allocated through Michigan Cancer Foundation and the Detroit General Hospital Research Corporation, and Newaygo County Cancer Society.     

Unit responses of the lateral geniculate body to light flashes in free moving unrestrained cats

Riassunto È stata eseguita la registrazione di singole unità della parte dorsale del corpo genicolato laterale, in gatti non anestetizzati liberi di muoversi. Si dimostra che nella maggiore parte dei casi, le risposte ad un lampo di luce espresse in «spikes»/sec sono minime nel sonno sincronizzato, aumentano nella veglia e sono massime nel sonno desincronizzato. Qualora le risposte vengano riferite all'attività «spontanea» precedente il flash, il rapporto risposta-attività spontanea è maggiore nella veglia rispetto agli altri stati.

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The research reported in this document has been sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research through the European Office of Aerospace Research (OAR), United States Air Force Grant AF EOAR 67-7 and by the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche.

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Moscow University, Chair of Higher Nervous Activity Physiology. Exchange Fellowship of the Italian Ministero degli Affari Esteri.     

Inhibition of phosphoglucomutase by galactose 1,6-diphosphate

Zusammenfassung Chemisch synthetisiertes Galaktose-1,6-Diphosphat wird als Hemmer dès Glukose-1,6-Di-phosphats in der Phosphoglukomutase-Reaktion bestimmt.     

Controlling the dynamics of spontaneous emission from quantum dots by photonic crystals

Control of spontaneously emitted light lies at the heart of quantum optics. It is essential for diverse applications ranging from miniature lasers and light-emitting diodes, to single-photon sources for quantum information, and to solar energy harvesting. To explore such new quantum optics applications, a suitably tailored dielectric environment is required in which the vacuum fluctuations that control spontaneous emission can be manipulated. Photonic crystals provide such an environment: they strongly modify the vacuum fluctuations, causing the decay of emitted light to be accelerated or slowed down, to reveal unusual statistics, or to be completely inhibited in the ideal case of a photonic bandgap. Here we study spontaneous emission from semiconductor quantum dots embedded in inverse opal photonic crystals. We show that the spectral distribution and time-dependent decay of light emitted from excitons confined in the quantum dots are controlled by the host photonic crystal. Modified emission is observed over large frequency bandwidths of 10%, orders of magnitude larger than reported for resonant optical microcavities. Both inhibited and enhanced decay rates are observed depending on the optical emission frequency, and they are controlled by the crystals' lattice parameter. Our experimental results provide a basis for all-solid-state dynamic control of optical quantum systems.     

Effect of trace metal availability on coccolithophorid calcification

The deposition of atmospheric dust into the ocean has varied considerably over geological time. Because some of the trace metals contained in dust are essential plant nutrients which can limit phytoplankton growth in parts of the ocean, it has been suggested that variations in dust supply to the surface ocean might influence primary production. Whereas the role of trace metal availability in photosynthetic carbon fixation has received considerable attention, its effect on biogenic calcification is virtually unknown. The production of both particulate organic carbon and calcium carbonate (CaCO3) drives the ocean's biological carbon pump. The ratio of particulate organic carbon to CaCO3 export, the so-called rain ratio, is one of the factors determining CO2 sequestration in the deep ocean. Here we investigate the influence of the essential trace metals iron and zinc on the prominent CaCO3-producing microalga Emiliania huxleyi. We show that whereas at low iron concentrations growth and calcification are equally reduced, low zinc concentrations result in a de-coupling of the two processes. Despite the reduced growth rate of zinc-limited cells, CaCO3 production rates per cell remain unaffected, thus leading to highly calcified cells. These results suggest that changes in dust deposition can affect biogenic calcification in oceanic regions characterized by trace metal limitation, with possible consequences for CO2 partitioning between the atmosphere and the ocean.     

Fine-scale phylogenetic architecture of a complex bacterial community

Although molecular data have revealed the vast scope of microbial diversity, two fundamental questions remain unanswered even for well-defined natural microbial communities: how many bacterial types co-exist, and are such types naturally organized into phylogenetically discrete units of potential ecological significance? It has been argued that without such information, the environmental function, population biology and biogeography of microorganisms cannot be rigorously explored. Here we address these questions by comprehensive sampling of two large 16S ribosomal RNA clone libraries from a coastal bacterioplankton community. We show that compensation for artefacts generated by common library construction techniques reveals fine-scale patterns of community composition. At least 516 ribotypes (unique rRNA sequences) were detected in the sample and, by statistical extrapolation, at least 1,633 co-existing ribotypes in the sampled population. More than 50% of the ribotypes fall into discrete clusters containing less than 1% sequence divergence. This pattern cannot be accounted for by interoperon variation, indicating a large predominance of closely related taxa in this community. We propose that such microdiverse clusters arise by selective sweeps and persist because competitive mechanisms are too weak to purge diversity from within them.     

The binary progenitor of Tycho Brahe's 1572 supernova

The brightness of type Ia supernovae, and their homogeneity as a class, makes them powerful tools in cosmology, yet little is known about the progenitor systems of these explosions. They are thought to arise when a white dwarf accretes matter from a companion star, is compressed and undergoes a thermonuclear explosion. Unless the companion star is another white dwarf (in which case it should be destroyed by the mass-transfer process itself), it should survive and show distinguishing properties. Tycho's supernova is one of only two type Ia supernovae observed in our Galaxy, and so provides an opportunity to address observationally the identification of the surviving companion. Here we report a survey of the central region of its remnant, around the position of the explosion, which excludes red giants as the mass donor of the exploding white dwarf. We found a type G0-G2 star, similar to our Sun in surface temperature and luminosity (but lower surface gravity), moving at more than three times the mean velocity of the stars at that distance, which appears to be the surviving companion of the supernova.     

Population density drives the local evolution of a threshold dimorphism

Evolution can favour more than one reproductive tactic among conspecifics of the same sex. Under the conditional evolutionarily stable strategy, individuals adopt the tactic that generates the highest fitness return for their status: large males guard females, whereas small males sneak copulations. Tactics change at the status at which fitness benefits switch from favouring one tactic to favouring the alternative. This 'switchpoint' is expressed in many species as a threshold between divergent morphologies. Environmental and demographic parameters that influence the relative fitness of male tactics are predicted to determine a population's switchpoint and consequently whether the population is monomorphic or dimorphic. Here we show threshold evolution in the forceps dimorphism of the European earwig Forficula auricularia and document the transition from completely monomorphic to classical male-dimorphic populations over a distance of only 40 km. Because the superior fighting ability of the dominant morph will be more frequently rewarded at high encounter rates, population density is likely to be a key determinant of the relative fitness of the alternative tactics, and consequently the threshold. We show that, as predicted, population density correlates strongly with the shift in threshold, and that this factor drives the local evolution of the male dimorphism in these island populations. Our data provide evidence for the origin of phenotypic diversity within populations, through the evolution of a switchpoint in a conditional strategy that has responded to local population density.