We present the results of a study with the Swift Burst Alert Telescope in the 14 – 195 keV range of the long-term variability of 5 low mass X-ray binaries with reported or suspected super-orbital periods — 4U 1636-536, 4U 1820-303, 4U 1916-053, Cyg X-2 and Sco X-1. No significant persistent periodic modulation was detected around the previously reported periods in the 4U 1916-053, Cyg X-2 or Sc...

The clinical need for novel bronchodilators for the treatment of bronchoconstrictive diseases remains a major medical issue. Modulation of airway smooth muscle (ASM) chloride via GABAA receptor activation to achieve relaxation of precontracted ASM represents a potentially beneficial therapeutic option. Since human ASM GABAA receptors express only the α4- and α5-subunits, there is an opportunity...

[1] The question of whether the cross polar cap potential drop in the Earth’s ionosphere saturates under conditions of extreme electric field in the solar wind has been tested observationally during the past several years. The challenge to proving the existence of this phenomenon is that periods of such extreme electric fields in the solar wind are relatively rare. The three superstorms of Octo...

The complete sequences of RNA1, RNA2 and satellite RNA have been determined for a South African isolate of Grapevine fanleaf virus (GFLV-SACH44). The two RNAs of GFLV-SACH44 are 7,341 nucleotides (nt) and 3,816 nt in length, respectively, and its satellite RNA (satRNA) is 1,104 nt in length, all excluding the poly(A) tail. Multiple sequence alignment of these sequences showed that GFLV-SACH44 R...

HIV-1 entry into cells is mediated by interactions between the envelope (Env) gp120 and gp41 proteins with CD4 and chemokine receptors via an intermediate called the viral fusion complex (vFC). Here, mAbs were used to find the dynamic changes in expression of antigenic epitopes during vFC formation. A CD4-specific mAb (R275) and anti-vFC mAbs, designated F12-1, F13-6 and F18-4 that recognize th...

We report on the long term monitoring of X-ray dips from the ultracompact low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) XB 1916-053. Roughly one-month interval observations were carried out with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) during 1996, during which the source varied between dim, hard states and more luminous, soft states. The dip spectra and dip lightcurves were compared against both the broadband lu...