ABSTRACT: We report on a strategy for achieving negative phase velocity (NPV) in a homogenized composite medium (HCM) conceptualized using the Bruggeman formalism. The constituent material phases of the HCM do not support NPV propagation. The HCM and its constituent phases are isotropic dielectric–magnetic mediums; the real parts of their permittivities/permeabilities are negative–valued wherea...

P74, an envelope protein of the occlusion-derived virus (ODV) of Autographa californica M nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV), is critical for oral infection of Trichoplusia ni larvae. The role of P74 during primary infection, however, is unknown. Here we provide evidence that P74 facilitates binding of AcMNPV ODV to a specific receptor within the larval midgut epithelia of another host species, Heli...

A large fraction of the genome of the lepidopteran Antheraea pernyi consists of interspersed single-copy sequences and repetitive DNA sequences of 300 nucleotide average length. Most of the single-copy sequences are about 800 nucleotides long and a minority are considerably longer. Thus, the organization of the DNA sequences of this insect is similar to that of most higher organisms and differe...

Open reading frame17 (Bm17) of Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus is a highly conserved gene in lepidopteran nucleopolyhedroviruses, suggesting that it performs an important role in the virus life cycle whose function is unknown. In this report, we describe the characterization of Bm17. Reversed transcriptive-PCR (RT-PCR) and Western blot analysis demonstrated that Bm17 was expressed as a late ge...

In this report we present data on biology, gross pathology, ultrastructure, and host range studies of a naturally occurring nucleopolyhedrovirus from the mosquito Uranotaenia sapphirina (UrsaNPV). Development of this virus was restricted to nuclei of epithelial cells in posterior midgut and distal gastric caecum. Occlusion bodies contained numerous singly enveloped rod-shaped virions. Early occ...

Laboratory studies were initiated to determine the relationship between virus concentration and radiation-caused inactivation of NPVs from Helicoverpa zea (HzSNPV) and Spodoptera exigua (SeMNPV). In the laboratory, a UV-B/UV-A system was used for inactivation studies. For both viruses inactivation was dependent upon both length of UV exposure and virus concentration. At all virus concentrations...

The effects of a nutrient-based feeding stimulant, Coax, and a stilbene-based optical brightener, Blankophor P167, on the activity of the nucleopolyhedrovirus of the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (SfMNPV) on transgenic sweet corn, Zea mays L., expressing a CryIA(b) toxin from Bacillus thuringiensis (Berliner), were studied in the laboratory. Both Coax and Blankophor P167 in...