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The 2007 Decadal Survey for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration recommended an Aerosol/Cloud/Ecosystems (ACE) mission with a new advanced cloud profiling radar. In this letter, we describe ACERAD, a radar design that could meet the goals for the ACE mission. ACERAD has 35 GHz (Ka-band) and 94 GHz (W-band) channels. It would scan at Ka-band and be nadir looking at W-band. The scanning antenna geometry is a classical Dragonian illuminated by a feed array; a reduced-size prototype of the antenna has been successfully fabricated and tested. ACERAD also uses a quasi-optical transmission line at W-band for low-loss routing of the signal from the transmitter to the antenna and from the antenna to the receiver. This letter briefly describes the ACERAD instrument design and test results for some of the major technologies needed for ACERAD implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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The effect of the intensity of infection (eggs per gram faeces, epg) on the production of inteferon-γ (INF-γ), interleukin (IL)-10 and IL-13 by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from individuals living in a Schistosoma mansoni-endemic area was evaluated. In vitro stimulation of PBMCs with soluble egg antigen (SEA) resulted in significantly higher secretion levels of IFN-γ in egg-negative individuals compared with those with an intensity of infection of more than 100 epg. In contrast, the egg-positive group produced significantly higher amounts of IL-10. Levels of IL-13 did not differ significantly between egg-positive and egg-negative groups. These findings suggest that IL-10 is an important cytokine in the control of the T helper cell (Th) type 1 responses during human S. mansoni infection, shifting the immune response from Th0 in egg-negative individuals from an endemic area to a Th2 polarization in chronic infected individuals. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The vector aperture field of classical offset Dragonian dual-reflector antennas is derived using geometrical-optics concepts. This field then yields the equivalent paraboloid of the geometry. From these results, the conditions for an axially symmetric equivalent paraboloid, when a circular aperture is assumed, are obtained. A complete step-by-step geometrical-optics-based design procedure for optimum classical offset Dragonian antennas with circular apertures is then presented (i.e., zero geometrical-optics cross-polarization and minimum spillover). This procedure is demonstrated by two design examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The antibody response to a 38,000-dalton schistosomular surface antigen, defined by a rat protective monoclonal antibody and specific for Schistosoma species, has been studied in a group of 125 Brazilian patients with schistosomiasis. Antibodies binding this particular antigen were detected in 97% of patient serum samples, a result suggesting that it could represent a potent immunogen. Quantitative studies of the amount of isolated antigens were performed in relation to the age of patients. Results showed a maximal response in the second decade of life and correlated with previous observations on the prevalence and intensity of schistosomiasis. However, in the present study no relationship was shown between the binding capacity of sera and the number of schistosomal eggs in individual patients. These data suggest that the antibody response to the 38,000-dalton schistosomular antigen could be a marker of infection by schistosomes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Describes the finding of unizoic cysts of Isospora belli infection in lymphoid tissues of a Brazilian patient with AIDS. Discussion on the possibility of Isospora belli's drug resistance; Indication for the existence of intermediary or paratenic animal hosts; Cause of the infection's relapse.