Development and validation of an ELISA to detect antibodies to Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis in ovine sera

Several enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) have been developed for the detection of antibodies to Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis, the causative agent of caseous lymphadenitis (CLA). However, none are commercially available in the UK. It was therefore necessary to develop a new, economic ELISA for use in a research project studying the epidemiology of CLA in UK sheep. The ELISA with its diagnostic qualities is presented. The ELISA was developed using sonicated C. pseudotuberculosis and optimised to detect total antibody or IgG class antibody in serum. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were obtained and the area under the ROC curve was used to compare the sensitivity and specificity of the two ELISAs. Both versions of the ELISA were evaluated on a panel of 150 positive reference sera and 103 negative reference sera. Using the test at 100% specificity, the sensitivity of detection of total antibody was 71% (95% confidence interval 63-78%), and the 2 sensitivity of detection of IgG antibody to C. pseudotuberculosis was 83% (76-89%), which compares favourably with other reported ELISA tests for CLA in sheep. The sensitivity of the IgG antibody assay may be higher because of the greater affinity of IgG class antibodies compared with the IgM antibodies also detected by the total antibody ELISA. The results of ROC analysis indicated that the IgG isotype ELISA was more accurate than the total antibody ELISA. The efficiency of the test was greatest when serum samples were run in a dilution series than when any single serum dilution was used. The ELISA is considered to be suitable for application in field studies of CLA in UK sheep

Modelling the dynamics of intramammary E. coli infections in dairy cows: understanding mechanisms that distinguish transient from persistent infections

The majority of intramammary infections with Escherichia coli in dairy cows result in transient infections with duration of about 10 days or less, although more persistent infections (2 months or longer) have been identified. We apply a mathematical model to explore the role of an intracellular mammary epithelial cell reservoir in the dynamics of infection. We included biological knowledge of the bovine immune response and known characteristics of the bacterial population in both transient and persistent infections. The results indicate that varying the survival duration of the intracellular reservoir reproduces the data for both transient and persistent infections. Survival in an intracellular reservoir is the most likely mechanism that ensures persistence of E. coli infections in mammary glands. Knowledge of the pathogenesis of persistent infections is essential to develop preventive and treatment programmes for these important infections in dairy cows

Running-mass models of inflation, and their observational constraints

If the inflaton sector is described by softly broken supersymmetry, and the inflaton has unsuppressed couplings, the inflaton mass will run strongly with scale. Four types of model are possible. The prediction for the spectral index involves two parameters, while the COBE normalization involves a third, all of them calculable functions of the relevant masses and couplings. A crude estimate is made of the region of parameter space allowed by present observation.Comment: Latex file, 20 pages, 11 figures, uses epsf.sty. Comment on the observation of the spectral index scale dependence added; Fig. 3-6 improve

3rd Annual Conference of the Leverhulme Centre for Integrative Research on Agriculture and Health (LCIRAH), Developing methods in agriculture and health research, London, 13–14 June 2013

Non-PRIFPRI3; ISI; CRP4; B Promoting healthy food systemsPHND; A4NHCGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH

PrimPol bypasses UV photoproducts during eukaryotic chromosomal DNA replication

DNA damage can stall the DNA replication machinery, leading to genomic instability. Thus, numerous mechanisms exist to complete genome duplication in the absence of a pristine DNA template, but identification of the enzymes involved remains incomplete. Here, we establish that Primase-Polymerase (PrimPol; CCDC111), an archaeal-eukaryotic primase (AEP) in eukaryotic cells, is involved in chromosomal DNA replication. PrimPol is required for replication fork progression on ultraviolet (UV) lightdamaged DNA templates, possibly mediated by its ability to catalyze translesion synthesis (TLS) of these lesions. This PrimPol UV lesion bypass pathway is not epistatic with the Pol h-dependent pathway and, as a consequence, protects xeroderma pigmentosum variant (XP-V) patient cells from UV-induced cytotoxicity. In addition, we establish that PrimPol is also required for efficient replication fork progression during an unperturbed S phase. These and other findings indicate that PrimPol is an important player in replication fork progression in eukaryotic cells

Transitional disks and their origins: an infrared spectroscopic survey of Orion A

Transitional disks are protoplanetary disks around young stars, with inner holes or gaps which are surrounded by optically thick outer, and often inner, disks. Here we present observations of 62 new transitional disks in the Orion A star-forming region. These were identified using the \textit{Spitzer Space Telescope}'s Infrared Spectrograph and followed up with determinations of stellar and accretion parameters using the Infrared Telescope Facility's SpeX. We combine these new observations with our previous results on transitional disks in Taurus, Chamaeleon I, Ophiuchus and Perseus, and with archival X-ray observations. This produces a sample of 105 transitional disks of "cluster" age 3 Myr or less, by far the largest hitherto assembled. We use this sample to search for trends between the radial structure in the disks and many other system properties, in order to place constraints on the possible origins of transitional disks. We see a clear progression of host star accretion rate and the different disk morphologies. We confirm that transitional disks with complete central clearings have median accretion rates an order of magnitude smaller than radially continuous disks of the same population. Pre-transitional disks --- those objects with gaps that separate inner and outer disks --- have median accretion rates intermediate between the two. Our results from the search for statistically significant trends, especially related to $\dot{M}$, strongly support that in both cases the gaps are far more likely to be due to the gravitational influence of Jovian planets or brown dwarfs orbiting within the gaps, than to any of the photoevaporative, turbulent or grain-growth processes that can lead to disk dissipation. We also find that the fraction of Class II YSOs which are transitional disks is large, 0.1-0.2, especially in the youngest associations.Comment: 96 pages, 25 figures, resubmitted to Ap

“A Friend in the Corner”: Supporting people at home in the last year of life via telephone and video consultation – an evaluation

YesObjective: To evaluate a 24/7, nurse led telephone and video-consultation support service for patients thought to be in the last year of life in Bradford, Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven. Method: Activity and other data recorded at the time of calls were analysed. Interviews with 13 participants captured patients and carers perspectives. Results: Between April 1st 2014 and March 31st 2015, 4648 patients were registered on the Gold Line. 42% had a non-cancer diagnosis and 46% were not known to specialist palliative care services. The median time on the caseload was 49 days (range 1-504 days). 4533 telephone calls and 573 video consultations were received from 1813 individuals. 39% of the 5106 calls were resolved by Gold Line team without referral to other services. 69% of calls were made outside normal working hours. Interviews with patients and carers reported experiences of support and reassurance and the importance of practical advice. Conclusion: A nurse led, 24/7 telephone and video consultation service can provide valuable support for patients identified to be in the last year of life and their cares. The line enabled them to feel supported and remain in their place of residence, reducing avoidable hospital admissions and use of other services. Providing this service may encourage health care professionals to identify patients approaching the last year of life, widening support offered to this group of patients beyond those known to specialist palliative care services.Health Foundation adn Shared Purpos

Survival of the ovine footrot pathogen Dichelobacter nodosus in different soils

Dichelobacter nodosus (D. nodosus) is the causative agent of footrot in sheep; one of the most important health and welfare issues of sheep worldwide. For control programmes to be effective, it is essential that the transmission cycle of D. nodosus is understood and bacterial reservoirs in the environment are better defined. This study evaluated the survival of D. nodosus in different soils using soil microcosms. Cultivation independent and dependent methods were used to detect D. nodosus over 40 days from seeding in soil. A D. nodosus specific probe was used for quantification by qPCR and viability was assessed by cell permeability to an intercalating dye, PMA, and by culture. Survival varied dramatically depending on soil type, matric potential (MP) and temperature. Our findings indicate that D. nodosus survival was higher at 5 °C compared with 25 °C in all soils and significantly longer at both temperatures in clay soil (>44% clay) compared with other soil types. Survival under all conditions was longer than 30 days for both culture independent and dependent methods, this is substantially longer than previous studies and, if this is an infectious dose, longer than the current recommendation of resting a field for 14 days to prevent onward infection

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