Leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo associated with bovine abortion in South Africa

Leptospira inlerrogans serovar hardjo was isolated from urine from dairy cattle in the Onderstepoort area. This was the first successful isolation of this serovar as sole agent causing an abortion storm in the Republic of South Africa. Abortions occurred as early as at 4 months' gestation.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format

Sunspot observations on 10 and 11 February 1917: a case study in collating known and previously undocumented records

An extensive investigation of ships’ logs, as part of the ‘Old Weather’ citizen-science project, identified a sunspot observation made from HMS Hilary on 10 February 1917. This sunspot record was accompanied by detailed meteorological records that have enabled a reconstruction of the conditions under which the observation was made (overcast with detached clouds). Although there is no incontrovertible evidence that this was an unaided-eye observation, comparison with an unaided-eye observation recorded on the 11 February 1917 in a local treatise from Hénán province in China confirms that this sunspot group was visible to the unaided eye. White-light photographs from the Dehra Dun Observatory confirm the detailed description of the sunspot group provided by the naval observer. Moreover, comparisons with tabular data published by the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, confirm the statement that this was an unusually large sunspot group. Indeed, on 11 February 1917 the area of the sunspot group was greater than the area of any sunspot group recorded previously at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. A comparison with a modern unaided-eye observation confirms that it is possible to observe sunspots under meteorological conditions similar to those experienced on-board HMS Hilary

Enhancing Distorted Metal Organic Framework Derived ZnO as Anode Material for Lithium Storage by the Addition of Ag2S Quantum Dots.

The lithium storage properties of the distorted metal-organic framework (MOF) derived nanosized ZnO@C are significantly improved by the introduction of Ag2S quantum dots (QDs) during the processing of the material. In the thermal treatment, the Ag2S QDs react to produce Ag nanoparticles and ZnS. The metal nanoparticles act to shorten electron pathways and improve the connectivity of the matrix and the partial sulfidation of the ZnO surface improves the cycling stability of the material. The electrochemical properties of ZnO@C, Ag2S QDs treated ZnO@C and the amorphous carbon in ZnO@C have been compared. The small weight ratio of Ag2S QDs to ZnO@C at 1:180 shows the best performance in lithium storage. The exhibited specific capacities are improved and retained remarkably in the cycling at high current rates. At low current densi-ties (200 mA g-1) treatment of ZnO@C with Ag2S QDs results in a 38% increase in the specific capacity

The behavior of osteoblast-like cells on various substrates with functional blocking of integrin-β1 and integrin-β3

This study was designed to examine the influence of integrin subunit-β1 and subunit-β3 on the behavior of primary osteoblast-like cells, cultured on calcium phosphate (CaP)-coated and non coated titanium (Ti). Osteoblast-like cells were incubated with specific monoclonal antibodies against integrin-β1 and integrin-β3 to block the integrin function. Subsequently, cells were seeded on Ti discs, either non coated or provided with a 2 μm carbonated hydroxyapatite coating using Electrostatic Spray Deposition. Results showed that on CaP coatings, cellular attachment was decreased after a pre-treatment with either anti-integrin-β1 or anti-integrin-β3 antibodies. On Ti, cell adhesion was only slightly affected after a pre-treatment with anti-integrin-β3 antibodies. Scanning electron microscopy showed that on both types of substrate, cellular morphology was not changed after a pre-treatment with either antibody. With quantitative PCR, it was shown for both substrates that mRNA expression of integrin-β1 was increased after a pre-treatment with either anti-integrin-β1 or anti-integrin-β3 antibodies. Furthermore, after a pre-treatment with either antibody, mRNA expression of integrin-β3 and ALP was decreased, on both types of substrate. In conclusion, osteoblast-like cells have the ability to compensate to great extent for the blocking strategy as applied here. Still, integrin-β1 and β3 seem to play different roles in attachment, proliferation, and differentiation of osteoblast-like cells, and responses on CaP-coated substrates differ to non coated Ti. Furthermore, the influence on ALP expression suggests involvement of both integrin subunits in signal transduction for cellular differentiation

Improved diagnosis of Trichomonas vaginalis infection by PCR using vaginal swabs and urine specimens compared to diagnosis by wet mount microscopy, culture, and fluorescent staining

Four vaginal cotton swab specimens were obtained from each of 804 women visiting the outpatient sexually transmitted disease clinic of the Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, for validation of various forms of Trichomonas vaginalis diagnostic procedures. One swab specimen was immediately examined by wet mount microscopy, a second swab was placed in Kupferberg's Trichosel medium for cultivation, and two swabs were placed in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), pH 7.2. The resulting PBS suspension was used for direct staining with acridine orange and fluorescence microscopy, inoculation of modified Diamond's culture medium, and a PCR specific for T. vaginalis. A total of 70 samples positive in one or more of the tests were identified: 31 (3.8%) infections were detected by wet mount microscopy, and 36 (4.4%) were

Identification and Functional Analyses of 11 769 Full-length Human cDNAs Focused on Alternative Splicing

We analyzed diversity of mRNA produced as a result of alternative splicing in order to evaluate gene function. First, we predicted the number of human genes transcribed into protein-coding mRNAs by using the sequence information of full-length cDNAs and 5′-ESTs and obtained 23 241 of such human genes. Next, using these genes, we analyzed the mRNA diversity and consequently sequenced and identified 11 769 human full-length cDNAs whose predicted open reading frames were different from other known full-length cDNAs. Especially, 30% of the cDNAs we identified contained variation in the transcription start site (TSS). Our analysis, which particularly focused on multiple variable first exons (FEVs) formed due to the alternative utilization of TSSs, led to the identification of 261 FEVs expressed in the tissue-specific manner. Quantification of the expression profiles of 13 genes by real-time PCR analysis further confirmed the tissue-specific expression of FEVs, e.g. OXR1 had specific TSS in brain and tumor tissues, and so on. Finally, based on the results of our mRNA diversity analysis, we have created the FLJ Human cDNA Database. From our result, it has been understood mechanisms that one gene produces suitable protein-coding transcripts responding to the situation and the environment