The cytokine genes of Oncorhynchus masou formosanus include a defective interleukin-4/13A gene

Oncorhynchus masou formosanus (Formosa landlocked salmon) is a critically endangered salmonid fish endemic to Taiwan. To begin to understand how its drastic change in lifestyle from anadromous to exclusively river-dwelling is reflected in its immune genes, we characterized the genes encoding six cytokines (IL-2A, IL-2B, IL-4/13A, IL-4/13B1, IL-4/13B2, and IL-17A/F2a) important for T cell responses as no genomic data is available for this fish. Interestingly, all genes appeared homozygous indicative of a genetic bottleneck. The IL2 and IL17A/F2a genes and their products are highly similar to their characterized homologs in Oncorhynchus mykiss (rainbow trout) and other salmonid fish. Two notable differences were observed in IL4/13 family important for type 2 immune responses. First, O. m. formosanus carries not only one but two genes encoding IL-4/13B1 proteins and expansions of these genes are present in other salmonid fish. Second, the OmfoIL4/13A gene carries a 228 bp deletion that results in a premature stop codon and hence a non-functional IL-4/13A cytokine. This suggests a reduced ability for T cell responses against parasitic infections in this species.

Wideband monitoring and measuring system for optical coatings

A wideband system, controlled by an IBM PC/XT computer, has been established for monitoring and measuring optical coatings in vacuum. With supporting software, it is adaptable to various monitoring methods, which include using merit functions as criteria for terminating deposition, and the simultaneous display of transmittance functions T, partial differentialT/ partial differentialt, and partial differentialT/ partial differentiallambda at a particular wavelength. It can also be used in the measurement of optical constants of dielectric layers in vacuum. The design considerations of the system are discussed, and experimental results are given.

Determining optical constants using an infrared ellipsometer

In the infrared region high refractive index coating materials, such as PbTe and Ge, are normally semiconductors. Their optical constants n, k, and d are strongly dependent on the deposition process. For the most practical coating designs, the layers are usually not very thick, of the order of a half or quarter wavelength, and are weakly absorbing. To determine the optical constants of such thin films using an infrared ellipsometer, some problems exist which must be solved: (1) the precision of n, k, and d and (2) multiple solutions. In this paper these problems are solved by theoretical analysis and experimental arrangement. Experimental results are given and an experimental measurement method is presented.

Experimental study of substrate temperature

Substrate temperature is one of the most important processing parameters for optical coating deposition. The distribution of substrate temperature during deposition has been measured and calculated. Two kinds of heating method have been compared. The experiments show that the use of halogen lamps in a front surface heating system can achieve better uniformity of temperature distribution and diminish the influence of the evaporating source. The experiments provide some very useful production processing parameters.

Extension of nasopharyngeal carcinoma and otitis media with effusion

In 35 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma that occupied the fossa of Rosenmüller, the relationship of the tumor, assessed by computed tomographic scans, to otitis media with effusion and ventilatory function of the eustachian tube was examined. Incidence of otitis media with effusion was low when the tumor was limited to the fossa of Rosenmüller (stage I), and high when the tumor extended from the fossa to the parapharyngeal space (stage II). Passive opening of the eustachian tube remained normal until the tumor occupied the parapharyngeal space (stage III). However, active tubal opening was impaired in stage I and the impairment increased with the tumor stage. These results indicate that tumor extension from the fossa of Rosenmüller to the parapharyngeal space and resultant poor active tubal opening cause the development of otitis media with effusion in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.