In vitro action of aureomycin and terramycin on Balantidium coli

1. 1. Aureomycin produced inhibition of B. coli in vitro beginning at 0.4 mg/ml concentration. 2. 2. At 24 hours terramycin produced marked diminution of parasites in vitro at 0.6 mg/ml. Concentrations of 0.2 and 0.4 mg/ml gave similar results at 72 hours while 0.1 mg produced reduction in numbers at 96 hours. Inhibition was apparently complete at concentrations of 0.6 mg and higher after 72 hours exposure. 3. 3. Action of aureomycin and terramycin appears to be direct and is apparently not associated with changes in associated bacterial flora or pH. 4. 4. Control tests do not suggest synergistic action of test drugs with penicillin-streptomycin combination. Results may be interpreted as indicative of antagonistic action. © 1952

Blastocystis sp. Subtype 4 is Common in Danish Blastocystis-Positive Patients Presenting with Acute Diarrhea

Fecal samples from 444 Danish patients presenting with acute diarrhea were tested for Blastocystis and positive samples were subtyped to investigate the prevalence and subtype distribution of Blastocystis in this patient group. A total of 25 patients (5.6%) were positive, and 19 of these patients (76.0%) were positive for Blastocystis sp. ST4. Because the relative prevalence of ST4 in other patients presenting with other types of diarrhea (persistent, travel-related, and human immunodeficiency virus-related) in Denmark is low, the role of Blastocystis sp. ST4 in the etiology of acute diarrhea should be investigated further

Atmospheric composition in the European Arctic and 30 years of the Zeppelin Observatory, Ny-Ålesund

The Zeppelin Observatory (78.90∘ N, 11.88∘ E) is located on Zeppelin Mountain at 472 m a.s.l. on Spitsbergen, the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago. Established in 1989, the observatory is part of Ny-Ålesund Research Station and an important atmospheric measurement site, one of only a few in the high Arctic, and a part of several European and global monitoring programmes and research infrastructures, notably the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP); the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP); the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW); the Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure (ACTRIS); the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE) network; and the Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS). The observatory is jointly operated by the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI), Stockholm University, and the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU). Here we detail the establishment of the Zeppelin Observatory including historical measurements of atmospheric composition in the European Arctic leading to its construction. We present a history of the measurements at the observatory and review the current state of the European Arctic atmosphere, including results from trends in greenhouse gases, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), other traces gases, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and heavy metals, aerosols and Arctic haze, and atmospheric transport phenomena, and provide an outline of future research directions

Meta-analysis of Genome-Wide Association Studies Identifies Novel Loci Associated With Optic Disc Morphology

10.1002/gepi.21886Genetic Epidemiology393207-21

Multifaceted biological insights from a draft genome sequence of the tobacco hornworm moth, <i>Manduca sexta</i>

Manduca sexta, known as the tobacco hornworm or Carolina sphinx moth, is a lepidopteran insect that is used extensively as a model system for research in insect biochemistry, physiology, neurobiology, development, and immunity. One important benefit of this species as an experimental model is its extremely large size, reaching more than 10 g in the larval stage. M. sexta larvae feed on solanaceous plants and thus must tolerate a substantial challenge from plant allelochemicals, including nicotine. We report the sequence and annotation of the M. sexta genome, and a survey of gene expression in various tissues and developmental stages. The Msex_1.0 genome assembly resulted in a total genome size of 419.4 Mbp. Repetitive sequences accounted for 25.8% of the assembled genome. The official gene set is comprised of 15,451 protein-coding genes, of which 2498 were manually curated. Extensive RNA-seq data from many tissues and developmental stages were used to improve gene models and for insights into gene expression patterns. Genome wide synteny analysis indicated a high level of macrosynteny in the Lepidoptera. Annotation and analyses were carried out for gene families involved in a wide spectrum of biological processes, including apoptosis, vacuole sorting, growth and development, structures of exoskeleton, egg shells, and muscle, vision, chemosensation, ion channels, signal transduction, neuropeptide signaling, neurotransmitter synthesis and transport, nicotine tolerance, lipid metabolism, and immunity. This genome sequence, annotation, and analysis provide an important new resource from a well-studied model insect species and will facilitate further biochemical and mechanistic experimental studies of many biological systems in insects