A 920-kilometer optical fiber link for frequency metrology at the 19th decimal place

Optical clocks show unprecedented accuracy, surpassing that of previously available clock systems by more than one order of magnitude. Precise intercomparisons will enable a variety of experiments, including tests of fundamental quantum physics and cosmology and applications in geodesy and navigation. Well-established, satellite-based techniques for microwave dissemination are not adequate to compare optical clocks. Here, we present phase-stabilized distribution of an optical frequency over 920 kilometers of telecommunication fiber. We used two antiparallel fiber links to determine their fractional frequency instability (modified Allan deviation) to 5 × 10(-15) in a 1-second integration time, reaching 10(-18) in less than 1000 seconds. For long integration times τ, the deviation from the expected frequency value has been constrained to within 4 × 10(-19). The link may serve as part of a Europe-wide optical frequency dissemination network.     

Susceptibility of Local Nigerian and Exotic Chickens to Infectious Bursal Disease by Contact Exposure

One hundred 6-week-old susceptible cockerels were inoculated with a pathogenic strain of infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) and kept in the same pen as 100 each of 6-week-old pullets, local chickens and broilers. The cockerels developed depression and diarrhoea on day 3 post inoculation (PI) and most of the pullets and some of the local chickens and broilers showed similar signs on day 4 PI. Loss in weight was severe and similar in the pullets and local chickens, being significantly greater than that in the broilers from days 3–11 PI. The total mortality was 85%, 66.7%, 30% and 20% for the pullets, cockerels, local chickens and broilers, respectively. The lesions were more severe in the pullets and local chickens than in the broilers. IBDV antigen and antibody were detected, respectively, in all the bursal and serum samples from the infected chickens tested. The contact exposure method used in this study simulates better what happens in nature than inoculation with IBDV. The reduced mortality observed among the local chickens, compared with that (61.5%) seen in earlier studies using intraocular inoculation of IBDV, may have been due to behavioural differences that tend to result in their ingesting a relatively low dose of the virus.     

Laser frequency combs for astronomical observations

A direct measurement of the universe's expansion history could be made by observing in real time the evolution of the cosmological redshift of distant objects. However, this would require measurements of Doppler velocity drifts of approximately 1 centimeter per second per year, and astronomical spectrographs have not yet been calibrated to this tolerance. We demonstrated the first use of a laser frequency comb for wavelength calibration of an astronomical telescope. Even with a simple analysis, absolute calibration is achieved with an equivalent Doppler precision of approximately 9 meters per second at approximately 1.5 micrometers-beyond state-of-the-art accuracy. We show that tracking complex, time-varying systematic effects in the spectrograph and detector system is a particular advantage of laser frequency comb calibration. This technique promises an effective means for modeling and removal of such systematic effects to the accuracy required by future experiments to see direct evidence of the universe's putative acceleration.     

Measles virus matrix protein synthesized in a subacute sclerosing panencephalitis cell line

Measles virus generally produces acute illness. Rarely, however, persistent infection of brain cells occurs, resulting in a chronic and fatal neurological disease, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE). Evidence indicates that expression of the measles virus matrix protein is selectively restricted in this persistent infection, but the mechanism underlying this restriction has not been identified. Defective translation of matrix messenger RNA has been described in one SSPE cell line. This report presents evidence that in a different SSPE tissue culture cell line IP-3-Ca, the matrix protein is synthesized but fails to accumulate. A general scheme is proposed to reconcile the different levels at which restriction of matrix protein has been observed.