Defective function of leukocytes from cattle persistently infected with bovine viral diarrhea virus, and the influence of recombinant cytokines

Cattle persistently infected with bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) virus have decreased neutrophil and lymphocyte functions. We reevaluated these functions and further characterized the inhibition of persistent BVD virus infection in neutrophils, using sensitive kinetic assays. In addition, the influence of in vitro incubation of neutrophils with recombinant bovine interferon gamma (~IloIFN gamma) and in vitro incubation of lymphocytes with recombinant bovine interleukin-2 was evaluated

Experimental Aerosol Inoculation and Investigation of Potential Lateral Transmission of Mycobacterium bovis in Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana)

An endemic focus of Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) infection in the state of Michigan has contributed to a regional persistence in the animal population. The objective of this study was to determine if Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana) contribute to disease persistence by experimentally assessing intraspecies lateral transmission. One wild caught pregnant female opossum bearing 11 joeys (young opossum) and one age-matched joey were obtained for the study. Four joeys were aerosol inoculated with M. bovis (inoculated), four joeys were noninoculated (exposed), and four joeys plus the dam were controls. Four replicate groups of one inoculated and one exposed joey were housed together for 45 days commencing 7 days after experimental inoculation. At day 84 opossums were sacrificed. All four inoculated opossums had a positive test band via rapid test, culture positive, and gross/histologic lesions consistent with caseogranulomatous pneumonia. The exposed and control groups were unremarkable on gross, histology, rapid test, and culture. In conclusion, M. bovis infection within the inoculated opossums was confirmed by gross pathology, histopathology, bacterial culture, and antibody tests. However, M. bovis was not detected in the control and exposed opossums. There was no appreciable lateral transmission of M. bovis after aerosol inoculation and 45 days of cohabitation between infected and uninfected opossums

Identification of equine herpes virus 5 in horses with lymphoma

Equine multinodular pulmonary fibrosis, equine herpesvirus 5 (EHV-5), and multicentric lymphoma were discovered in one patient. Review of gamma herpesvirus activity in humans revealed a propensity for lymphoproliferative disorders associated with infection. The objective was to determine the frequency of EHV-5 in lymphoma tissues and compare with the frequency found in the lymph nodes of clinically normal horses. Case control investigation of lymphoma-positive tissues and analysis via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for EHV-5 was performed on 12 horses. Prospective collection and PCR analysis of lymph nodes (mesenteric or submandibular) for EHV-5 was performed on 21 control horses. Thirteen samples of lymphoma-positive tissues and fluid were submitted for PCR analysis for EHV-5. Of these, 67% was positive. In the control horse population, 14% was positive for EHV-5 (P = .004). Neoplastic samples positive for EHV-5 were classified as T-cell rich B-cell lymphoma (three), T-cell lymphoma (one), one was nondifferentiated, and two were not stained. Gamma herpesviruses in humans have been associated with lymphoproliferative diseases such as Kaposi sarcoma and Burkitt lymphoma. This study reveals an increased frequency of EHV-5 (gamma herpesvirus) in horses diagnosed with lymphoma compared with healthy control horses. Although the exact role this virus plays in the initiation or perpetuation of lymphoproliferative neoplasia is unknown, EHV-5 may be an etiologic agent associated with the development of some types of equine lymphoma

The Pan-STARRS Moving Object Processing System

We describe the Pan-STARRS Moving Object Processing System (MOPS), a modern software package that produces automatic asteroid discoveries and identifications from catalogs of transient detections from next-generation astronomical survey telescopes. MOPS achieves > 99.5% efficiency in producing orbits from a synthetic but realistic population of asteroids whose measurements were simulated for a Pan-STARRS4-class telescope. Additionally, using a non-physical grid population, we demonstrate that MOPS can detect populations of currently unknown objects such as interstellar asteroids. MOPS has been adapted successfully to the prototype Pan-STARRS1 telescope despite differences in expected false detection rates, fill-factor loss and relatively sparse observing cadence compared to a hypothetical Pan-STARRS4 telescope and survey. MOPS remains >99.5% efficient at detecting objects on a single night but drops to 80% efficiency at producing orbits for objects detected on multiple nights. This loss is primarily due to configurable MOPS processing limits that are not yet tuned for the Pan-STARRS1 mission. The core MOPS software package is the product of more than 15 person-years of software development and incorporates countless additional years of effort in third-party software to perform lower-level functions such as spatial searching or orbit determination. We describe the high-level design of MOPS and essential subcomponents, the suitability of MOPS for other survey programs, and suggest a road map for future MOPS development.Comment: 57 Pages, 26 Figures, 13 Table

Biofilm Development on Caenorhabditis elegans by Yersinia Is Facilitated by Quorum Sensing-Dependent Repression of Type III Secretion

Yersinia pseudotuberculosis forms biofilms on Caenorhabditis elegans which block nematode feeding. This genetically amenable host-pathogen model has important implications for biofilm development on living, motile surfaces. Here we show that Y. pseudotuberculosis biofilm development on C. elegans is governed by N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL)-mediated quorum sensing (QS) since (i) AHLs are produced in nematode associated biofilms and (ii) Y. pseudotuberculosis strains expressing an AHL-degrading enzyme or in which the AHL synthase (ypsI and ytbI) or response regulator (ypsR and ytbR) genes have been mutated, are attenuated. Although biofilm formation is also attenuated in Y. pseudotuberculosis strains carrying mutations in the QS-controlled motility regulator genes, flhDC and fliA, and the flagellin export gene, flhA, flagella are not required since fliC mutants form normal biofilms. However, in contrast to the parent and fliC mutant, Yop virulon proteins are up-regulated in flhDC, fliA and flhA mutants in a temperature and calcium independent manner. Similar observations were found for the Y. pseudotuberculosis QS mutants, indicating that the Yop virulon is repressed by QS via the master motility regulator, flhDC. By curing the pYV virulence plasmid from the ypsI/ytbI mutant, by growing YpIII under conditions permissive for type III needle formation but not Yop secretion and by mutating the type III secretion apparatus gene, yscJ, we show that biofilm formation can be restored in flhDC and ypsI/ytbI mutants. These data demonstrate that type III secretion blocks biofilm formation and is reciprocally regulated with motility via QS

The Zwicky Transient Facility: Science Objectives

The Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), a public–private enterprise, is a new time-domain survey employing a dedicated camera on the Palomar 48-inch Schmidt telescope with a 47 deg2 field of view and an 8 second readout time. It is well positioned in the development of time-domain astronomy, offering operations at 10% of the scale and style of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) with a single 1-m class survey telescope. The public surveys will cover the observable northern sky every three nights in g and r filters and the visible Galactic plane every night in g and r. Alerts generated by these surveys are sent in real time to brokers. A consortium of universities that provided funding (“partnership”) are undertaking several boutique surveys. The combination of these surveys producing one million alerts per night allows for exploration of transient and variable astrophysical phenomena brighter than r∼20.5 on timescales of minutes to years. We describe the primary science objectives driving ZTF, including the physics of supernovae and relativistic explosions, multi-messenger astrophysics, supernova cosmology, active galactic nuclei, and tidal disruption events, stellar variability, and solar system objects. © 2019. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific

Defective function of leukocytes from cattle persistently infected with bovine viral diarrhea virus, and the influence of recombinant cytokines

Cattle persistently infected with bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) virus have decreased neutrophil and lymphocyte functions. We reevaluated these functions and further characterized the inhibition of persistent BVD virus infection in neutrophils, using sensitive kinetic assays. In addition, the influence of in vitro incubation of neutrophils with recombinant bovine interferon gamma (~IloIFN gamma) and in vitro incubation of lymphocytes with recombinant bovine interleukin-2 was evaluated.This article is published as Brown, G.B., S.R. Bolin, D.E. Frank, and J.A. Roth. 1991. Defective function of leukocytes from cattle persistently infected with bovine viral diarrhea virus, and the influence of recombinant cytokines. Am J Vet Res, 52:381-387.</p