The lifetime of negative muons has been measured in 50 elements plus 8 isotopes. For light elements the accuracy of 2 to 3 ns is a significant improvement over most previous measurements. In heavier elements the accuracy is 1 to 2 ns, which is comparable to, or better than, previous results, with reasonable agreement in most cases. For "0, Sc, Dy, and Er there were no previous data. The total capture rates have been deduced and compared to various calculations.

SummaryIn order to clarify the potential role of von Willebrand factor (vWf) in attenuating the inactivation of factor VIII (fVIII) by those antibodies with C2 domain specificity, we investigated a panel of 14 human antibodies to fVIII. Immunoblotting analysis localized light chain (C2 domain) epitopes for four cases, heavy chain (A2 domain) epitopes in five cases, while the remaining five cases were both light and heavy chains. The inhibitor titer was considerably higher for Kogenate, a recombinant fVIII concentrate, than for Haemate P, a fVIII/vWf complex concentrate, in all inhibitor plasmas that had C2 domain specificity. In five inhibitor plasmas with A2 domain specificity and in five with both A2 and C2 domain specificities, Kogenate gave titers similar to or lower than those with Haemate P. The inhibitory effect of IgG of each inhibitor plasma was then compared with recombinant fVIII and its complex with vWf. When compared to the other 10 inhibitor IgGs, IgG concentration, which inhibited 50% of fVIII activity (IC50), was remarkably higher for the fVIII/vWf complex than for fVIII in all the inhibitor IgGs that had C2 domain reactivity. Competition of inhibitor IgG and vWf for fVIII binding was observed in an ELISA system. In 10 inhibitors that had C2 domain reactivity, the dose dependent inhibition of fVIII-vWf complex formation was observed, while, in the group of inhibitors with A2 domain specificity, there was no inhibition of the complex formation except one case. We conclude that a subset of fVIII inhibitors, those that bind to C2 domain determinants, are less inhibitory to fVIII when it is complexed with vWf that binds to overlapping region in the C2 domain.

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Nonpathogenic E. coli strain Nissle1917 prevents both acute and chronic colitis, and its anti-inflammatory effect is exhibited not only by viable bacteria but also by heat-killed bacteria or its DNA.

A direct search has been made for supermassive relics (heavier than about 10 12 GeV/c 2 ) with a 2000-m 2 array of CR-39 track-etch detectors deployed underground for 2.1 yr. The nonobservation of penetrating tracks places a new upper limit for the velocity-dependent flux at 3.2x 10 ~1 6 cm ^s -1 sr _1 , for magnetic monopoles carrying various magnetic charges, for electrically charged relics, and for strange matter. This flux limit corresponds to a limit on the relic abundance of order n x /n r = \0 ~2 9 relative to the 3-K photons.PACS numbers: 96.40. De, 14.80.Hv, 14.80.Pb Recently the existence of various kinds of supermassive stable particles has been conjectured: Supermassive magnetic monopoles are generically predicted 1 by grand unified theories, Kaluza-Klein theories, and superstring theories. A large number of the grand unified theories and superstring theories predict 2 the existence of monopoles with multiple Dirac magnetic charges. Superstring theories 3 and composite theories of leptons and quarks 4 speculate on the existence of fractionally or integrally charged supermassive particles, which might not be totally confined. Higher-dimensional theories contain 5 supermassive (of the order of the Planck mass) stable particles named "pyrgon," which may be charged. If there exists a new conserved quantum number, the lightest particles carrying it must be stable. A quark matter which is absolutely stable (strange matter) has been proposed 6 as the ground state of nuclear matter. If such particles exist, they should have been created in the very early Universe and might have survived to today as the supermassive relics of the big bang. They might have participated in galaxy formation and may be trapped in the clusters of galaxies and in the galaxies with typical virial ft ( = v/c) of 3xlO -3 and 10~3, respectively. Such supermassive particles might constitute the dark mass of the galaxies and of the Universe. The existence of magnetic field in the galaxies can be used to deduce 7 an upper limit for the flux of magnetic monopoles of order 10 ~~1 5 cm~2s~1sr" 1 (Parker bound) at /?-10 ~3. However, possibilities of local enhancement have been considered 8 for the flux trapped in the solar system with an expected typical f3 of 10 ~4.With the aim of searching for an extremely low abundance of order n x /n y = 10 ~3 0 relative to the 3-K photons, we are conducting a search for penetrating tracks using a total of 3500 m 2 of CR-39 plastic track detectors. The results from an 80-m 2 array 9 in a mine and from a 160-m 2 array 10 at a mountain altitude have been reported elsewhere. In this paper, we report on an analysis of a 2000-m 2 array placed at underground sites.The principle {l of finding tracks in a plastic track-etch detector is as follows. The passing particle leaves a trail of localized damage (latent trail) in the form of broken chemical bonds. This trail is more vulnerable to a chemical attack than the bulk of the plastic. By chemically etching the plastic, visible etch cones are developed along the ...