Solid Cherenkov detector for studying nucleosynthesis in inertial confinement fusion.

Measuring gamma rays emitted from nuclear reactions gives insight into their nuclear structure. Notably, there are several nuclear reactions that produce gamma rays at ∼1 MeV-3 MeV energies such as T(4He, γ)7Li, 4He(3He, γ)7Be, and 12C(p, γ)13N, which may solve questions lingering about big-bang nucleosynthesis and stellar nucleosynthesis. To observe 1 MeV-3 MeV gamma rays in an inertial confinement fusion system, a new style of the Cherenkov detector was developed using aerogel and fused silica as a Cherenkov medium. Utilizing the OMEGA laser facility, both aerogel and fused silica media were compared with the existing gas-medium Cherenkov detector to validate the concept. Gamma ray measurements from high yield inertial confinement fusion implosions (deuterium-tritium and deuterium-3He) demonstrated that aerogel and fused silica were viable Cherenkov media, paving the way for a potential optimized detector to make these cross section measurements on OMEGA or the National Ignition Facility.

Dynamic gut microbiome changes following regional intestinal lymphatic obstruction in primates.

The pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been linked with lymphostasis, but whether and how lymphatic obstruction might disturb the intestinal microbiome in the setting of Crohn's Disease (CD) is currently unknown. We employed a new model of CD in African Green monkeys, termed 'ATLAS' (African green monkey truncation of lymphatics with obstruction and sclerosis), to evaluate how gut lymphatic obstruction alters the intestinal microbiome at 7, 21 and 61 days. Remarkable changes in several microbial sub- groupings within the gut microbiome were observed at 7 days post-ATLAS compared to controls including increased abundance of Prevotellaceae and Bacteroidetes-Prevotella-Porphyromonas (BPP), which may contribute to disease activity in this model of gut injury. To the best of our knowledge, these findings represent the first report linking lymphatic structural/gut functional changes with alterations in the gut microbiome as they may relate to the pathophysiology of CD.

Cutaneous protothecosis in association with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

We report a case of protothecosis that occurred in the skin over the left tibial region of a 25-year-old man with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The lesion was noticed a few months after he swam in a lake in south Alabama. Biopsy and culture revealed Prototheca wickerhamii. We believe this is only the second reported case of cutaneous protothecosis in association with AIDS.

Polypoid scrotal calcinosis: an uncommon variant of scrotal calcinosis.

Scrotal calcinosis is a rare condition characterized by multiple calcified nodules within scrotal skin. To our knowledge, only 67 cases have been reported to date. The etiology has been widely disputed and is viewed by many to be idiopathic. We describe a case of "idiopathic" scrotal calcinosis that not only presents a distinctly unusual clinical appearance, but also shows that at least some cases of this disease occur in association with dystrophic calcification of epidermal (follicular) cysts.

Soft tissue oncocytoma.

We describe a case of a novel soft tissue neoplasm, composed of a monotonous population of cells. Their cytoplasm was parked with mitochondria, and had no immunohistochemical or ultrastructural evidence of differentiation. The neoplasm, located within the thigh of a 50-year old man, was well-circumscribed but unencapsulated. The patient was clinically free of neoplasm at 1 year follow-up, after complete local excision. We propose the term "soft tissue oncocytoma" for this lesion, because of the similarity of this neoplasm to oncocytomas of other reported sites.

Invariant characteristics of gait initiation.

Studies were undertaken first to describe the invariant characteristics of gait initiation and second to better understand the function of each limb in the process of gait initiation. Analysis of variance indicated significant main effects for speed for time to onset of EMG activity and force plate recordings, time to swing toe-off and heel-strike and stance toe-off. However, when the dependent variables were expressed as a percentage of the initiation cycle, no significant main effects were noted. For the second study, two force plates were utilized, and reflective markers were placed on the sacrum and anterior superior iliac spines. The timing of heel-strike of the swing limb and toe-off of the stance limb showed a high degree of coordination in both experiments (r = 0.95 and 0.98). It was concluded that the relative invariance of selected parameters indicates that gait initiation is centrally programmed. It also appears that the swing limb, although forces were very small, is responsible for the initial weight shift to the stance limb and that the stance limb is then primarily responsible for the generation of momentum.

The Chaetopterus vitelline envelope is not necessary for the gamete interactions that lead to fertilization.

It has been recently shown that, in several genera of annelids, including Chaetopterus, fertilizing sperm attach to and fuse with egg microvilli which penetrate the vitelline envelope. This suggests that the annelid vitelline envelope may have no direct or obligatory role in normal fertilization. The present study was undertaken to investigate the involvement of the vitelline envelope in fertilization in Chaetopterus experimentally, by examining the fertilization of vitelline envelope-free eggs quantitatively and qualitatively. Brief exposure of the eggs to isotonic sucrose-EDTA removed the vitelline envelope as determined by both phase-contrast and electron microscopy, rendered the eggs more sensitive to polyspermy and substantially reduced the binding of supernumerary sperm to eggs but did not decrease fertilizability as determined by sperm dilution assay and did not make the eggs more sensitive to cross-fertilization. The events of fertilization were examined by electron microscopy and found to be very similar in vitelline envelope-free eggs to those in intact eggs. We conclude that the vitelline envelope in Chaetopterus has binding sites for sperm but that it has no obligatory role in fertilization and is primarily involved in the prevention of polyspermy.

Improved temperature control of the Technicon tissue processor paraffin bath.

Modifications of the Auto-Technicon Tissue Processor Paraffin Bath are described. The modification are a combination of electrical and mechanical changes that will ensure long-term reliability of the unit and dependable temperature maintenance of the paraffin. Extensive testing has verified that modified units are able to stabilize temperature within a range of 0.25C over many months of continuous operation.