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We use 4 yr of Kepler photometry to study the non-eclipsing spectroscopic binary KIC 10080943. We find both components to be γ Doradus/δ Scuti hybrids, which pulsate in both p and g modes.We present an analysis of the g modes, which is complicated by the fact that the two sets of l = 1 modes partially overlap in the frequency spectrum. Nevertheless, it is possible to disentangle them by identifying rotationally split doublets from one component and triplets from the other. The identification is helped by the presence of additive combination frequencies in the spectrum that involve the doublets but not the triplets. The rotational splittings of the multiplets imply core rotation periods of about 11 and 7 d in the two stars. One of the stars also shows evidence of l = 2 modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The antiviral nucleoside derivative zidovudine (3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine) previously has been shown to be an effective antibacterial agent in animals infected with Escherichia coli or Salmonella typhimurium. Since HIV infection can alter the course of human syphilis with serious consequences, it was of interest to determine if the noncultivable spirochaetal agent of syphilis, Treponema pallidum, is susceptible to this compound. The progression of experimental rabbit syphilis over a three week period was unchanged in animals receiving either 50 or 150 mg/kg oral zidovudine daily. In addition, a number of cultivable pathogenic and nonpathogenic spirochaetes were tested for susceptibility to zidovudine in vitro. At a concentration of 100 mg/L, zidovudine had no detectable effect on spirochaete growth, morphology, or motility. Thus it appears that spirochaetes are generally not susceptible to this compound, and that long-term zidovudine therapy will not be of benefit in preventing or controlling syphilis or other spirochaetoses in HIV-infected humans receiving this drug. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A serological test for tuberculosis (TB), based on competitive inhibition by human sera of antigen binding by a murine monoclonal antibody (TB72) has been performed using solid phase radioimmunoassay. The test was evaluated on sera from patients with pulmonary or extra-pulmonary active TB as well as from control hospitalized patients-half of whom had various chest complaints. Positive values were found in 74% of all or 55% of untreated active pulmonary TB. Patients with extrapulmonary TB segregated, whereby antibody titres were increased in cases of pleural, peritoneal, pericardial or bone infection but only marginal or negative values were found in the majority of patients with lymphatic and genitourinary infection. None of the subjects with suspected but excluded tuberculosis or sarcoidosis had demonstrable TB72 antibodies. Generally there was a positive correlation between the levels of TB72 like and 'total' Mycobacterium tuberculosis sonicate binding antibodies. In particular, the titre of sonicate binding antibodies did not exceed background levels in patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis who were negative in the TB72 competition test. None of these false negative patients received drug therapy whereas most patients with the highest antibody levels were under chemotherapy for 1-8 months prior to serum testing. The serodiagnostic value of the TB72 based competition test has been discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four soluble antigens of Mycobacterium leprae have been identified using 12 murine monoclonal antibodies. Their specificity, taxonomic distribution and molecular nature were analysed by radioimmunoassays and by immunoblotting from polyacrylamide electrophoresis gels. A protein antigen MY1 (12K) reacted with one antibody (ML06) without demonstrable cross-reactivity for any of the other 20 tested species of mycobacteria. Another four antibodies which identified antigen MY2 revealed only a marginal degree of cross-reactivity with three other species of mycobacteria. Two antigens shared by several other mycobacteria species were: M Y3 represented by five protein bands (35-70K) and a subtilisin resistant molecule MY4 (40-50K) with two distinct determinants and presumably of polysaccharide nature. The described monoclonal antibodies may represent novel valuable diagnostic reagents as well as tools for the purification of antigens which could be explored towards prophylactic or therapeutic immunization against leprosy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses comments made by the authors on the article of A. J. Auerbach regarding wealth maximization and the cost of capital. In a recent paper Auerbach comes to two striking sets of conclusions. The first is that in the presence of differential taxation of dividends and capital gains, wealth maximization does not imply maximization of firm market value; the second is that the appropriate cost of capital in the presence of personal taxes does not depend directly on the tax on dividends. Equity shares have a market value lower than the difference between the reproduction cost of a firm's assets and the market value of its debt obligations. The purpose of this note is to reconcile the former result with the conventional presumption that (in the absence of uncertainty) optimal policy requires the maximization of the firm's equity value and to establish the relationship between the second set of conclusions and Auerbach's assumption that firms do not issue new equity. The framework used is that of Auerbach's model.

This paper attempts to provide a unified analysis of the effects of taxation on the equilibrium value of marginal q under alternative financial policies. It is shown that the q approach does not avoid all the specification problems associated with analyses based on the cost of capital. The (theoretically and empirically) crucial relationship between average and marginal q is also examined, and it is shown that, under U K and US tax rules, the possibility of winding up precludes persistent undervaluation in equilibrium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]