Cytolethal distending toxin (CDT)-negative Campylobacter jejuni strains and anti-CDT neutralising antibodies induced during human infection but not chicken colonisation

The cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) of Campylobacter jejuni was detectable, using an in vitro assay, in most but not all of 24 strains tested. The reason for the absence of toxin activity in these naturally occurring CDT-negative C. jejuni strains was then investigated at the genetic level. CDT is encoded by three highly conserved genes, cdtA, -B, and -C. In the CDT-negative strains, two types of mutation were identified. The CDT activities of C. jejuni strains possessing both types of mutation were successfully complemented with the functional genes of C. jejuni 11168. The first type of mutation comprised a 667-bp deletion across cdtA and cdtB and considerable degeneration in the remainder of the cdt locus. Using a PCR technique to screen for this deletion, this mutation occurred in fewer than 3% of 147 human, veterinary, and environmental strains tested. The second type of mutation involved at least four nonsynonymous nucleotide changes, but only the replacement of proline with serine at CdtB position 95 was considered important for CDT activity. This was confirmed by site-directed mutagenesis. This type of mutation also occurred in fewer than 3% of strains as determined using a LightCycler biprobe assay. The detection of two CDT-negative clinical isolates raised questions about the role of CDT in some cases of human campylobacteriosis. To determine if anti-CDT antibodies are produced in human infection, a toxin neutralization assay was developed and validated using rabbit antisera. Pooled human sera from infected patients neutralized the toxin, indicating expression and immunogenicity during infection. However, no neutralizing antibodies were detected in colonized chickens despite the expression of CDT in the avian gut as indicated by reverse transcription-PCR

Effects of some humidity and IBA hormone dose applicatýons on rooting of M9 apple clonal rootstock Softwood top cuttings

In this study, softwood cuttings were taken from M9 dwarf apple rootstocks in early June. Different indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) concentrations [0 (control), 500, 1500, 2500 and 3500 ppm], different air humidity levels (85 - 90%, 95-100%) and rooting media of perlite effects on rooting capability and root formation of M9 apple rootstock cuttings were examined. All the cuttings remained alive. The highest ratio of cutting callus formation was found in control group (58%) in 95 - 100% humidity level and 2500 ppm IBA hormone dose application in 85 - 90% humidity level. The highest rooting ratio was obtained from control group (46%) in 95 - 100% humidity level; the lowest one was 3500 ppm IBA doseapplication (17%) in 85 - 90% relative humidity level. The highest rooting surface lenght was found in 1500 ppm hormone dose (0.53 cm) in 95 - 100% and 2500 ppm IBA dose application (0.42 cm) in 85 - 90% humidity level. With respect to root numbers, the highest value was from 1500 ppm IBA application (1.29 number/cutting) in 95 - 100% relative humidity, and 500 and 2500 ppm IBA doses (1.04 number/cutting) in 85 - 90% relative humidity level. The longest root was obtained from control group (2.03 cm) in 95 - 100% humidity level and 500 ppm IBA hormone dose (1.80 cm) in 85 - 90% humidity level. The shortest root was obtained from 2500 ppm IBA hormone dose  application (0.09 cm) in 85-90% humidity level. The highest root branching value was obtained from 1500 ppm hormone doseapplication (0.88 number/cutting) in 95 - 100% humidity level

In vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of bark extracts of Bauhinia purpurea

Bark extracts of Bauhinia purpurea were phytochemically analyzed and evaluated for antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. The phytochemical analysis of the bark extracts revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids, saponins, triterpenes and carbohydrates. While most of them were present in methanolic and aqueous extracts, one or a few of them were present in other solvent extracts. Among different solvent extracts, aqueous extract exhibited a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity. It showed strong antibacterial activity against Gram positive bacterial strains like Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Gram negative strains like Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia and antifungal activity against Candida albicans. While methanolic extract showed moderate to strong antibacterial activity against B. subtilis, E. coli and K. pneumonia, the extracts of hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate did not show any anti bacterial or antifungal activity against the tested fungal and bacterial strains. Antioxidant activity of the bark extracts were evaluated in terms of inhibition of free radicals by 2, 2’-diphenly-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). Aqueous extract followed by methanolic extract exhibited strong to moderate antioxidant activity. The antioxidant property and antimicrobial activity of the extracts of B. purpurea against the tested microbial strains therefore, supports that there is scientific basis for their utilization in traditional medicine for wound healing and also in treatment of some infectious diseases.Key words: Bauhinia purpurea, phytochemical analysis, antimicrobial activity, antioxidant property

Ehrlich ascites carcinoma

Experimental tumors have great importance in modeling, and Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) is one of the commonest tumors. EAC is referred to as an undifferentiated carcinoma and is originally hyperdiploid, has high transplantable capability, no-regression, rapid proliferation, shorter life span, 100% malignancy and also does not have tumor-specific transplantation antigen (TSTA). Frequently, tumor virulence increases via repetitious passages, while the proliferating rate of such tumors increases gradually. However, the differentiation gradually disappears, while the cells get free growth control mechanisms, gain hetero-transplantability and in the end, they are converted to the ascites’ form. EAC resembles human tumors which are the most sensitive to chemotherapy due to the fact that they are undifferentiated and that they have a rapid growth rate. The ideal drug being ineffective or minimally effective for normal cells have been focused on, and at this point, the usage of natural sources as an alternative cancer therapy is thought to have a great value for cancer control and programs’ destruction.Key words: carcinoma, transplantabilit

Advanced photonic routing sub-systems with efficient routing control

In recent years, there has been much interest in the development of optical switches which can route optical signals from different input guides to different outputs based on thermo-optic and electro-optic technologies. Such switches, which can be reconfigured on millisecond and microsecond timescales, have already attracted commercial interest. However switches which are able to reconfigure on the nanosecond timescales required for packet switching have been more challenging and only in recent years, have router concepts been devised to allow lossless routers to be constructed able to switch on nanosecond timescales with more than 16×16 ports. This paper will therefore review the advances that have occurred to allow such operation and then describe recent studies that have begun to determine the electronic control and functionality required to enable full and practical operation of such switches in high performance networks.This research has received funding from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council through the INTERNET Project, STAR and COPOS II grants and the European Commission under FP7 grant agreement ICT 257210 PARADIGM.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from IEEE via http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ICTON.2015.719339

The faint radio source population at 15.7 GHz - II. Multi-wavelength properties

A complete, flux density limited sample of 96 faint ($> 0.5$ mJy) radio sources is selected from the 10C survey at 15.7 GHz in the Lockman Hole. We have matched this sample to a range of multi-wavelength catalogues, including SERVS, SWIRE, UKIDSS and optical data; multi-wavelength counterparts are found for 80 of the 96 sources and spectroscopic redshifts are available for 24 sources. Photometric reshifts are estimated for the sources with multi-wavelength data available; the median redshift of the sample is 0.91 with an interquartile range of 0.84. Radio-to-optical ratios show that at least 94 per cent of the sample are radio loud, indicating that the 10C sample is dominated by radio galaxies. This is in contrast to samples selected at lower frequencies, where radio-quiet AGN and starforming galaxies are present in significant numbers at these flux density levels. All six radio-quiet sources have rising radio spectra, suggesting that they are dominated by AGN emission. These results confirm the conclusions of Paper I that the faint, flat-spectrum sources which are found to dominate the 10C sample below $\sim 1$ mJy are the cores of radio galaxies. The properties of the 10C sample are compared to the SKADS Simulated Skies; a population of low-redshift starforming galaxies predicted by the simulation is not found in the observed sample.IHW acknowledges a Science and Technology Facilities Council studentship. IHW, MJ, MV acknowledge support from the Square Kilometre Array South Africa project and the South African National Research Foundation. MV is supported by the European Commission Research Executive Agency FP7-SPACE- 2013-1 Scheme (Grant Agreement 607254 - Herschel Extragalactic Legacy Project - HELP). This research has made use of the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at are those of the authors and not necessarily attributed to the SKA SA. We thank the anonymous referee for their helpful comments.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Oxford University Press via http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv190

Maximum human objectively measured pharmacologically stimulated accommodative amplitude

Purpose: To measure the maximum, objectively measured, accommodative amplitude, produced by pharmacologic stimulation. Methods: Thirty-seven healthy subjects were enrolled, with a mean age of 20.2±1.1 years, corrected visual acuity of 20/20, and mean spherical equivalent refraction (SER) =–0.83±1.60 diopters. For each subject, the right pupil was dilated with phenylephrine 10%. After 30 minutes, the pupil was measured, the left eye was patched, and the right eye was autorefracted. Pilocarpine 4% was then instilled in the right eye, followed by phenylephrine. At 45 minutes after the pilocarpine, autorefraction and pupil size were again measured. Results: Mean pupil size pre- and postpilocarpine was 8.0±0.8 mm and 4.4±1.9 mm, respectively. Pre- and postpilocarpine, the mean SER was –0.83±1.60 and –10.55±4.26 diopters, respectively. The mean pilocarpine-induced accommodative amplitude was 9.73±3.64 diopters. Five subjects had accommodative amplitudes ≥14.00 diopters. Accommodative amplitude was not significantly related to baseline SER (p-value =0.24), pre- or postpilocarpine pupil size (p-values =0.13 and 0.74), or change in pupil size (p-value =0.37). Iris color did not statistically significantly affect accommodative amplitude (p-value =0.83). Conclusion: Following topically applied pilocarpine, the induced objectively measured accommodation in the young eye is greater than or equal to the reported subjectively measured voluntary maximum accommodative amplitude