Caractérisation biochimique des cépages de Vitis vinifera L. par électrophorèse d'isoenzymes foliaires: Essai de classification des variétés

Biochemical characterization of Vitis vinifera L. cultivars by electrophoresis of leaf isoenzymes:An attempt to classify grapevine varietiesA number of 40 Vitis vinifera varieties commonly grown in France could be characterized by disc-electrophores is of isoenzymes. Starting from forced cuttings, this technique allows to ana!yze a large number of plants at any time of the year; only low quantities of leaf material are needed and no enzyme purification is necessary. Among 39 bands identified from 3 enzyme systems, 31 were variable: 19, 8 and 4 isoenzymes, respectively, of a-esterase (a-EST), glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) and acid phosphatase (PHA).Combinations of these bands allowed to characterize each variety. 13 groups of rela ted varieties could be established by multivariate analysis of the presence versus absence of bands. The 7 best characterized groups gather varieties which, according to ampelographic classification, are grouped in the same way. The interrelations between isoenzymes and certain ampelographic characters or the presumed geographic origin of the varieties allow to propose a statistical interpretation of the enzymatic classification

Development of a Semiautomated Zero Length Column Technique for Carbon Capture Applications:Rapid Capacity Ranking of Novel Adsorbents

A novel zero length column (ZLC) apparatus has been developed to provide rapid screening of CO₂ capacities of adsorbent materials. The key features of the new apparatus are the use of 5–15 mg of sample, a purposely designed gas-dosing system, and low flow rates that extend the use of the ZLC to test adsorbents for postcombustion for carbon capture applications. The new ZLC system was first applied to provide rapid screening capacity ranking of more than 15 MOF materials and three representative zeolites. At the point of interest for flue gas application (38 °C, 0.1 bar CO₂ partial pressure), Mg/DOBDC was found to outperform significantly all other MOFs and the benchmark zeolites

Laboratory-based evaluation of legionellosis epidemiology in Ontario, Canada, 1978 to 2006

BACKGROUND: Legionellosis is a common cause of severe community acquired pneumonia and respiratory disease outbreaks. The Ontario Public Health Laboratory (OPHL) has conducted most testing for Legionella species in the Canadian province of Ontario since 1978, and represents a multi-decade repository of population-based data on legionellosis epidemiology. We sought to provide a laboratory-based review of the epidemiology of legionellosis in Ontario over the past 3 decades, with a focus on changing rates of disease and species associated with legionellosis during that time period. METHODS: We analyzed cases that were submitted and tested positive for legionellosis from 1978 to 2006 using Poisson regression models incorporating temporal, spatial, and demographic covariates. Predictors of infection with culture-confirmed L. pneumophila serogroup 1 (LP1) were evaluated with logistic regression models. Results: 1,401 cases of legionellosis tested positive from 1978 to 2006. As in other studies, we found a late summer to early autumn seasonality in disease occurrence with disease risk increasing with age and in males. In contrast to other studies, we found a decreasing trend in cases in the recent decade (IRR 0.93, 95% CI 0.91 to 0.95, P-value = 0.001); only 66% of culture-confirmed isolates were found to be LP1. CONCLUSION: Despite similarities with disease epidemiology in other regions, legionellosis appears to have declined in the past decade in Ontario, in contrast to trends observed in the United States and parts of Europe. Furthermore, a different range of Legionella species is responsible for illness, suggesting a distinctive legionellosis epidemiology in this North American region

Community-acquired pneumonia by Legionella pneumophila serogroups 1–6 in Brazil

SummaryA prospective cohort study of adult patients hospitalized due to community-acquired pneumonia was carried out for 1 year in a Brazilian university general hospital to detect the incidence of community-acquired pneumonia by Legionella pneumophila serogroups 1–6. During a whole year, a total of 645 consecutive patients who were hospitalized due to a initial presumptive diagnosis of respiratory disease by ICD-10 (J00–J99), excluding upper respiratory diseases, were screened to detect the patients with community-acquired pneumonia. Fifty-nine consecutive patients hospitalized due to community-acquired pneumonia between July 19, 2000 and July 18, 2001, were included in the study. They had determinations of serum antibodies to L. pneumophila serogroups 1–6 by indirect immunofluorescence antibody test at the Infectious Diseases Laboratory of University of Louisville (KY, USA) and urinary antigen tests for L. pneumophila serogroup 1. Three patients had community-acquired pneumonia by L. pneumophila serogroups 1–6, two patients being diagnosed by seroconversion and positive urinary antigen tests; the other had negative serologies but strongly positive urinary antigen test. The incidence of community-acquired pneumonia by L. pneumophila serogroups 1–6 in our hospital was 5.1%