The influence of disastrous floods on riverbeds processes in the Far East of Russia

The article is focused on great influence of disastrous floods on riverbeds processes and repartition of water flow between distributaries in the Amur basin rivers. In the result of morphological analysis of the Far eastern riverbeds and their dynamics the places with the most intensive riverbed reformations were revealed. The intensiveness of erosive-accumulative processes caused by the Amur flood in 2013 was estimated. Some upper reaches of secondary branches and estuaries of large tributaries were recognized as zones of increased accumulative alluviums in the Amur riverbed

Genetic diversity of Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica in Kazakhstan

Tularemia is a highly dangerous zoonotic infection due to the bacteria Francisella tularensis. Low genetic diversity promoted the use of polymorphic tandem repeats (MLVA) as first-line assay for genetic description. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) is becoming increasingly accessible, opening the perspective of a time when WGS might become the universal genotyping assay. The main goal of this study was to describe F. tularensis strains circulating in Kazakhstan based on WGS data and develop a MLVA assay compatible with in vitro and in silico analysis. In vitro MLVA genotyping and WGS were performed for the vaccine strain and for 38 strains isolated in Kazakhstan from natural water bodies, ticks, rodents, carnivores, and from one migratory bird, an Isabellina wheatear captured in a rodent burrow. The two genotyping approaches were congruent and allowed to attribute all strains to two F. tularensis holarctica lineages, B.4 and B.12. The seven tandem repeats polymorphic in the investigated strain collection could be typed in a single multiplex PCR assay. Identical MLVA genotypes were produced by in vitro and in silico analysis, demonstrating full compatibility between the two approaches. The strains from Kazakhstan were compared to all publicly available WGS data of worldwide origin by whole genome SNP (wgSNP) analysis. Genotypes differing at a single SNP position were collected within a time interval of more than fifty years, from locations separated from each other by more than one thousand kilometers, supporting a role for migratory birds in the worldwide spread of the bacteria.Peer reviewe

Association of different microbes and pathogenic factors in cases of infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis in cattle from Eastern Kazakhstan

Background and Aim: Infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis (IBK) causes a significant economic loss to cattle industries in many countries, including Kazakhstan. Although Moraxella bovis is recognized as an etiologic agent of IBK, other bacterial and viral agents have been suspected to play a role in the pathogenesis of this disease. This study aimed to evaluate samples collected from the eyes of IBK-affected cattle in Eastern Kazakhstan at different stages of IBK for the presence of Mor. bovis, Moraxella bovoculi, Mycoplasma bovis, Mycoplasma bovoculi, and Bovine Herpes Virus Type 1 (BHV-1) and to characterize Mor. bovoculi pilA gene sequence diversity from Mor. bovoculi positive samples. Materials and Methods: Individual ocular swabs (n = 168) were collected from cattle that had clinical signs of IBK during the summer of 2022 on farms in the Abay region of Kazakhstan. Eye lesion scores (1, 2, and 3) were assigned depending on the degree of ocular damage. Infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis-associated organisms were detected using a multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction assay. The Mor. bovoculi pilA gene was sequenced from Mor. bovoculi positive samples. Results: Mycoplasma bovis and BHV-1 were not detected in any of the collected samples. Mycoplasma bovoculi was identified in the majority of samples overall, usually in mixed infection with Moraxella spp. Moraxella bovoculi was detected in 76.2% of animals and predominated in animals with eye lesion scores 2 and 3. Mycoplasma bovoculi was detected only in association with Mor. bovis and/or Mor. bovoculi in animals with eye lesion scores 2 and 3. Moraxella bovis was found in 57.7% of animals and was always identified in association with another organism. Sequencing of the pilA gene in 96 samples from Mor. bovoculi positive samples identified five PilA groups. The majority belonged to PilA group A. However, three new PilA groups were identified and designated PilA groups N, O, and P. Conclusion: The results indicate a high prevalence of Myc. bovoculi and Mor. bovoculi in eyes of cattle with IBK on livestock farms in Eastern Kazakhstan. Additional novel Mor. bovoculi PilA groups were identified

Epidemiology of Brucellosis and Genetic Diversity of Brucella abortus in Kazakhstan

Brucellosis is a major zoonotic infection in Kazakhstan. However, there is limited data on its incidence in humans and animals, and the genetic diversity of prevalent strains is virtually unstudied. Additionally, there is no detailed overview of Kazakhstan brucellosis control and eradication programs. Here, we analyzed brucellosis epidemiological data, and assessed the effectiveness of eradication strategies employed over the past 70 years to counteract this infection. We also conducted multiple loci variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) of Brucella abortus strains found in Kazakhstan. We analyzed official data on the incidence of animal brucellosis in Kazakhstan. The records span more than 70 years of antibrucellosis campaigns, and contain a brief description of the applied control strategies, their effectiveness, and their impact on the incidence in humans. The MLVA-16 method was used to type 94 strains of B. abortus and serial passages of B. abortus 82, a strain used in vaccines. MLVA-8 and MLVA-11 analyses clustered strains into a total of four and sevengenotypes, respectively; it is the first time that four of these genotypes have been described. MLVA-16 analysis divided strains into 28 distinct genotypes having genetic similarity coefficient that varies from 60 to100% and a Hunter & Gaston diversity index of 0.871. MST analysis reconstruction revealed clustering into "Kazakhstani-Chinese (Central Asian)", "European" and "American" lines. Detection of multiple genotypes in a single outbreak confirms that poorly controlled trade of livestock plays a crucial role in the spread of infection. Notably, the MLVA-16 profile of the B. abortus 82 strain was unique and did not change during 33 serial passages. MLVA genotyping may thus be useful for epidemiological monitoring of brucellosis, and for tracking the source(s) of infection. We suggest that countrywide application of MLVA genotyping would improve the control of brucellosis in Kazakhstan

Geographical and temporal distribution of SARS-CoV-2 clades in the WHO European Region, January to June 2020

We show the distribution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) genetic clades over time and between countries and outline potential genomic surveillance objectives. We applied three genomic nomenclature systems to all sequence data from the World Health Organization European Region available until 10 July 2020. We highlight the importance of real-time sequencing and data dissemination in a pandemic situation, compare the nomenclatures and lay a foundation for future European genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2

Is ethics a logic? Sergei Rubinstein’s interpretation of Hermann Cohen’s ideas

In Sergei L. Rubinstein’s article “On the Philosophical System of H. Cohen” (1918), Hermann Cohen’s judgments on ethics and logic and their partly problematic relationship are considered. On the basis of historical and philosophical research into the epistemological views of Cohen I show the interaction between the ideas of Rubinstein and Neo-Kantianism. Common features of the following concepts are revealed: criticism, installation of logic, aspiration to prove philosophy a science with the help either of mathematics or the confirmation of its origin (Ursprung). Insofar as the problem of ethics plays a central role in his account, thanks to the inclusiveness in history, Rubinstein argues that ethics has the same objectivity as logic. The central problem of ethics both in Kant and in Cohen (and indeed in Rubinstein) lies in the nature of the person. In Rubinstein’s work, the answer to the main issue of ethics opens up the world of Ideas. The Ideas and logical content of consciousness constitute the person, just as in Cohen’s work ethics “generates” the person and the world. In this regard Rubinstein believed that Cohen had adopted a distinctive feature of the interpretation of ethics and freedom from Kant. Before presenting this background, an attempt is made to update the historical and philosophical value of the ideas of Rubinstein, clarifying the essence of the objects of ethics and logic

The influence of disastrous floods on riverbeds processes in the Far East of Russia

The article is focused on great influence of disastrous floods on riverbeds processes and repartition of water flow between distributaries in the Amur basin rivers. In the result of morphological analysis of the Far eastern riverbeds and their dynamics the places with the most intensive riverbed reformations were revealed. The intensiveness of erosive-accumulative processes caused by the Amur flood in 2013 was estimated. Some upper reaches of secondary branches and estuaries of large tributaries were recognized as zones of increased accumulative alluviums in the Amur riverbed

Retrospective Analysis of the Relationship between Two Anthrax Outbreaks in Kazakhstan Based on Genomic Data

Publisher: American Society for Microbiology Section: Genome SequencesWe present a retrospective analysis of strains from two anthrax outbreaks in western Kazakhstan in 2009. The outbreaks occurred during the same period and in the same area located close to main roads, favoring a single source of infection. However, multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA), canonical single-nucleotide polymorphism (CanSNP) analysis, and genome-wide analysis demonstrated that the outbreaks were not connected

Draft Genome Sequence of Moraxella bovoculi Strain KZ-1, Isolated from Cattle in North Kazakhstan

Place: Washington Publisher: Amer Soc Microbiology WOS:000572063900018Moraxella bovoculi strain KZ-1 was isolated from cattle that had symptoms of infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis (IBK) in northern Kazakhstan. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of this strain

DRAFT GENOME SEQUENCE OF A POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL BIOCELLULOSE PRODUCER, STRAIN KOMAGATAEIBACTER EUROPAEUS GH1

In this work, we present the draft genome sequence of Komagataeibacter europaeus strain GH1, which is an extremely efficient biocellulose producer