Detection of Borrelia-specific 16S rRNA sequence in total RNA extracted from Ixodes ricinus ticks

A reverse transcriptase - polymerase chain reaction based assay for Borrelia species detection in ticks was developed. The method was based on amplification of 552 nucleotide bases long sequence of 16S rRNA, targeted by Borrelia specific primers. In the present study, total RNA extracted from Ixodes ricinus ticks was used as template. The results showed higher sensitivity for Borrelia detection as compared to standard dark-field microscopy. Method specificity was confirmed by cloning and sequencing of obtained 552 base pairs long amplicons. Phylogenetic analysis of obtained sequences showed that they belong to B. lusitaniae and B. afzelii genospecies. RT-PCR based method presented in this paper could be very useful as a screening test for detecting pathogen presence, especially when in investigations is required extraction of total RNA from ticks

Original scientific paper Far-infrared spectroscopy of PbTe doped with iron

Far infrared reflection spectra, at room and liquid nitrogen temperature, of PbTe single crystals doped with iron are presented. Plasma minima were observed at about 160 cm –1 and 180 cm –1 for room and liquid nitrogen temperature, respectively. Using the reflectivity diagrams and their minima, the values of the hole concentrations and their mobility at both temperatures were calculated and compared with galvanomagnetic measurements. All these results indicated that when PbTe is doped with a small concentration of Fe, the hole concentration is reduced by one order of magnitude and the free carrier mobility is larger when compared to pure PbTe

Cherenkov Radiation Detection on a LS Counter for 226Ra Determination in Water and Its Comparison with Other Common Methods

Reliable determination of 226Ra content in drinking water, surface water and groundwater is required for radiological health-risk assessment of populations and radiation-dose calculations after ingestion and inhalation. This study aimed to determine 226Ra presence in the untreated water samples on a liquid scintillation counter via Cherenkov radiation detection. Cherenkov counting is a faster, simpler, less expensive technique than other commonly used methods for 226Ra determination. Step-by-step optimization of this technique on the Quantulus detector is presented in this paper. Improvement of detection limit/efficiency in the presence of sodium salicylate was investigated in this study. The main parameters of the method obtained were detection efficiency 15.87 (24)% and detection limit 0.415 Bq/L achieved for 1000 min of counting in 20 mL of sample volume. When 1 g of sodium salicylate was added, efficiency increased to 38.1 (5)%, with a reduction in the detection limit to 0.248 Bq/L for 500 min of counting. A satisfactory precision level of Cherenkov counting was obtained, the results deviating between 5% and 20% from reference values. The precision and accuracy of the Cherenkov counting technique were compared to liquid scintillation counting (EPA Method 913.0 for radon determination) and gamma spectrometry (the direct method for the untreated water samples on HPGe spectrometer). An overview of the advantages/disadvantages of each technique is elaborated in this paper

Complete life tables for the Republic of Serbia

Notes "Popis Srbija 2011" | Statistical tables and forms. | In Serbian and English Cyrillic

Beograd

Rigid-fix pins fiksacija i plastika prednjeg ukr{tenog ligamenta- LCA semitendinozus / gracilis autografto