Candidate New Rotavirus Species in Sheltered Dogs, Hungary

We identified unusual rotavirus strains in fecal specimens from sheltered dogs in Hungary by viral metagenomics. The novel rotavirus species displayed limited genome sequence homology to representatives of the 8 rotavirus species, A–H, and qualifies as a candidate new rotavirus species that we tentatively named Rotavirus I

Generation of high-order harmonics with tunable photon energy and spectral width using double pulses

This work theoretically investigates high-order harmonic generation in rare gas atoms driven by two temporally delayed ultrashort laser pulses. Apart from their temporal delay, the two pulses are identical. Using a single-atom model of the laser-matter interaction it is shown that the photon energy of the generated harmonics is controllable within the range of one eV -- a bandwidth comparable to the photon energy of the fundamental field -- by varying the time delay between the generating laser pulses. It is also demonstrated that high-order harmonics generated by double pulses have advantageous characteristics, which mimick certain properties of an extreme ultraviolet (XUV) monochromator. With the proposed method, a simpler setup at a much lower cost and comparatively higher spectral yield can be implemented in contrast to other approaches.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, after peer-review, corrected typo in author lis

Analysis and Comparison of Rapid Methods for the Determination of Ochratoxin A Levels in Organs and Body Fluids Obtained from Exposed Mice

Mycotoxins are bioaccumulative contaminants impacting animals and humans. The simultaneous detection of frequent active exposures and accumulated mycotoxin level (s) in exposed organisms would be the most ideal to enable appropriate actions. However, few methods are available for the purpose, and there is a demand for dedicated, sensitive, reliable, and practical assays. To demonstrate the issue, mice were exposed to a relevant agent Ochratoxin A (OTA), and accumulated OTA was measured by fine-tuned commercial assays. Quantitative high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and flow cytometry assays have been developed/modified using reagents available as commercial products when appropriate. Assays were performed on excised samples, and results were compared. Accumulated OTA could be detected and quantified; positive correlations (between applied doses of exposure and accumulated OTA levels and the results from assays) were found. Dedicated assays could be developed, which provided comparable results. The presence and accumulation of OTA following even a short exposure could be quantitatively detected. The assays performed similarly, but HPLC had the greatest sensitivity. Blood contained higher levels of OTA than liver and kidney. We demonstrate that specific but flexible and practical assays should be used for specific/local purposes, to measure the exposure itself and accumulation in blood or organs

Generation of high-order harmonics with tunable photon energy and spectral width using double pulses

This work theoretically investigates high-order harmonic generation in rare-gas atoms driven by two temporally delayed ultrashort laser pulses. Apart from their temporal delay, the two pulses are identical. Using a single-atom model of the laser-matter interaction it is shown that the photon energy of the generated harmonics is controllable within the range of one eV-a bandwidth comparable to the photon energy of the fundamental field-by varying the time delay between the generating laser pulses. It is also demonstrated that high-order harmonics generated by double pulses have advantageous characteristics, which mimick certain properties of an extreme ultraviolet monochromator. With the proposed method, a simpler setup at a much lower cost and comparatively higher spectral yield can be implemented in contrast to other approaches

Double-pulse characterization by self-referenced spectral interferometry

The reconstruction of ultrashort optical pulses with a complex intensity substructure is demonstrated using the Self-Referenced Spectral Interferometry (SRSI) pulse characterization technique with a modified phase retrieval algorithm. A correction spectral phase term is extracted by the manipulation of the temporal interferogram, allowing the treatment of scenarios with complicated pulse shapes, where the original algorithm fails. The improved SRSI algorithm is verified through the application on two temporally well-separated pulses having the same polarization direction and spectral shape, generated by duplicating 37 fs-long amplified pulses of a Ti:Sa based laser system. The spectral phase of highly chirped double pulses with equal or different amplitude ratios is numerically retrieved. The collinear and achromatic experimental arrangement results in a compact and easy-to-align system. Published under license by AIP Publishing

Identification of tick-borne encephalitis virus in ticks collected in southeastern Hungary

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is an arthropod-borne viral pathogen causing infections in Europe and is responsible for most arbovirus central nervous system infections in Hungary. Assessing the TBEV prevalence in ticks through detection of genomic RNA is a broadly accepted approach to estimate the transmission risk from a tick bite. For this purpose, 2731 ticks were collected from the neighboring area of the town of Dévaványa, located in southeastern Hungary, which is considered a low-risk-transmission area for TBEV. Altogether, 2300 ticks were collected from the vegetation, while 431 were collected from rodents. Samples were pooled and then screened for TBEV with a newly designed semi-nested RT-PCR (RT-snPCR) targeting the NS1 genomic region. PCR results were confirmed by direct sequencing of the sec- ond round amplicons. Among the 3 different collected tick species ( Ixodes ricinus , Haemaphysalis concinna , Dermacentor marginatus ), I. ricinus was the only species that tested positive for TBEV. TBEV-positive ticks were collected from small mammals or from the vegetation. One nymphal pool and 4 larval pools tested positive for TBEV. The only positive nymphal pool was unfed and came from vegetation, while ticks of the 4 positive larval pools were collected from rodents. Minimal TBEV prevalence in ticks was 0.08% for unfed nymphs and 0.78% for feeding larvae. Our results indicate that further long-term investigations on the occurrence of TBEV are needed to better describe the geographic distribution and the prevalence of infected ticks in Hungar

Serologic Evidence of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus Infection in Hungary

Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is a typical tick-borne pathogen that causes an increasing number of severe infections in many parts of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the Balkans, as well as in some other parts of Europe. The virus is transmitted primarily by Hyalomma spp., and the spectrum of natural hosts for CCHFV is broad, including wild and domestic animals. Although, the presence of CCHFV was hypothesized in Hungary, no significant research activity has been carried out in the past 30 years. In the present study, we provide serological evidence of CCHFV infection in Lepus europeus using newly developed antibody detection assays. Of 198 samples, 12 (6%) were positive for immunoglobulin G antibody against CCHFV, with 2 independent detection assays. This observation indicates a need for a large-scale surveillance to estimate the potential public health risk of CCHFV in Hungary

Circulation of Dirofilaria repens, Setaria tundra, and Onchocercidae species in Hungary during the period 2011–2013

Dirofilaria repens and recently Dirofilaria immitis are known to be endemic in Hungary. Since there isno related research on Dirofilaria carrier mosquito species from Hungary, we conducted a three-yearmosquito surveillance study between 2011 and 2013. During the study period we examined 23,139female mosquitoes with a generic filaria-specific TaqMan PCR assay, and characterized them by sequenc-ing a 500 bp segment of 12S rRNA. An important result of our study was the detection of Setaria tundraand D. repens along with an unidentified Onchocercidae nematode. D. repens is known to be endemic inHungary, however, the detection of S. tundra in all sampling sites throughout the study period indicatesfor the first time the endemicity of this parasite in Hungary. The Onchocercidae sp. nematode showed95% nucleotide identity with previously detected unidentified nematodes from Germany, indicating abroader geographical distribution of this nematode in Europe. D. immitis specific DNA was not detectedamong the screened mosquitoes in this study. Here we report 11 mosquito species as potential vectororganisms for local filarial infections, including Aedes vexans, Ochlerotatus annulipes, Ochlerotatus sticti-cus, Coquillettidia richiardii, Anopheles hyrcanus and Ochlerotatus rusticus. Dirofilaria development unitwas calculated and the potential transmission period was estimated, which ranged between 65 and 113days between sampling seasons. A relatively high infection rate (36.8%) was identified, which is a notablefinding for veterinary and human health professionals. Moreover, the results of our study widen thegroup of possible mosquito vector species for D. repens and S. tundra in Central Europe