Seroprevalence of viral infections in captive rhesus and cynomolgus macaques

Macaques serve as important animal models for biomedical research. Viral infection of macaques can compromise animal health as well as the results of biomedical research, and infected animals constitute an occupational health risk. Therefore, monitoring macaque colonies for viral infection is an important task. We used a commercial chip-based assay to analyze sera of 231 macaques for the presence of antibody responses against nine animal and human viruses. We report high seroprevalence of cytomegalovirus (CMV), lymphocryptovirus (LCV), rhesus rhadinovirus (RRV) and simian foamy virus (SFV) antibodies in all age groups. In contrast, antibodies against simian retrovirus type D (SRV/D) and simian T cell leukemia virus (STLV) were detected only in 5&thinsp;% and 10&thinsp;% of animals, respectively, and were only found in adult or aged animals. Moreover, none of the animals had antibodies against herpes B virus (BV), in keeping with the results of in-house tests previously used for screening. Finally, an increased seroprevalence of measles virus antibodies in animals with extensive exposure to multiple humans for extended periods of time was observed. However, most of these animals were obtained from external sources, and a lack of information on the measles antibody status of the animals at the time of arrival precluded drawing reliable conclusions from the data. In sum, we show, that in the colony studied, CMV, LCV, RRV and SFV infection was ubiquitous and likely acquired early in life while SRV/D and STLV infection was rare and likely acquired during adulthood.</p

Spray ILGAR indium sulfide buffers for Cu In,Ga S,Se 2 solar cells

Thin film indium sulfide buffer layers have been prepared using the Spray ILGAR technique for use in chalcopyrite solar cells. Buffers deposited on commercially grown Cu In,Ga S,Se 2 absorbers have produced cells reaching a certified efficiency of 14.7 and average efficiencies matching the reference solar cells prepared with a conventional cadmium sulfide buffer layer. The process parameters have been optimized and the resulting cells have been studied using current voltage and temperature illumination dependent current voltage analysis as well as quantum efficiency measurement

Comparison of sampling and culture methods for the diagnosis of Tritrichomonas foetus infection in bulls

abstract: Sampling methods for preputial secretions and culture methods for T. foetus were compared in a 2-by-2 factorial experiment. 14 bulls were confirmed as infected by repeated weekly sampling and culture on Diamond&#39;s medium over the course of 10 months. In a 6-week test of alternative methods of diagnosis, the bulls were randomly assigned to have their preputial contents sampled weekly either by washing or by scraping of the preputial membrane. The samples were cultured on Claussen&#39;s medium and in InPouch packets at 37°C in air for 7 days. The results were compared by McNemar&#39;s χ² test for symmetry. Washing yielded 69 positive cultures from 84 samples whereas scraping yielded 65 from 83. These differences were not statistically significant. InPouch culture detected 73 of 83 samples from positive bulls, whereas Claussen&#39;s medium detected 61 of 83. The difference in sensitivity between the two culture methods was highly significant, with the InPouch method &#39;missing&#39; 2 positive samples that were detected by Claussen&#39;s medium and Claussen&#39;s medium missing 14 positive samples that were detected by InPouch culture

Physical activity and the frequency of acute exacerbations in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

PURPOSE: Acute exacerbations (AE) in patients with COPD are associated with a decline in lung function, increased risk of hospitalization, and mortality. In this cross-sectional study we tested whether the level of objectively measured daily physical activity and exercise capacity are associated with the number of COPD exacerbations. METHODS: In 210 patients with COPD (67 % men; mean (SD) age: 63 (8) years) enrolled in The Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Outcomes Cohort of Switzerland (TOPDOCS) physical activity (PA) (steps per day, physical activity level, (PAL)), exercise capacity (6-min walking distance, (6MWD)), comorbidities, lung function, and medication were assessed. Differences between COPD patients with frequent (≥2 year) and infrequent (0-1 year) exacerbations were assessed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to investigate whether the level of objectively measured daily physical activity and exercise capacity are associated with the number of COPD exacerbations. RESULTS: Patients with frequent AE had a significantly lower FEV1 and 6MWD compared to patients with infrequent AE. In univariate analysis, the number of exacerbations was inversely associated with FEV1, 6MWD, BMI, and smoking status while there was a positive association with RV/TLC and combined inhaled medication. However, there was no significant association with PAL and steps per day. In multivariate analysis, FEV1 and the use of combined inhaled medication were independently associated with the number of AE, after correction for covariates. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study imply that FEV1, independent of inhaled medication, is significantly associated with COPD exacerbations. Neither physical activity nor exercise capacity was independently associated with COPD exacerbations

Self-assessment of Industry 4.0 Technologies in Intralogistics for SME’s

Part 5: Industry 4.0 ImplementationsInternational audienceThe 4th industrial revolution generates a high potential for smart production systems. Many manufacturing companies considering therefore the application of cyber-physical systems in the sector of intralogistics. The aim is to achieve better logistics performance or lower costs. However, small and medium sized enterprises (SME) are hesitant about introducing Industry 4.0 technologies. They fear high implementation costs, low benefits and the lack of know-how increases the reluctance of the companies.This paper presents a procedure which enables SME’s to assess the benefits of Industry 4.0 technologies by themselves. The model follows the recognized principle: First improve your processes, then automate them:Methodical basis is a process model intralogistics, which also considers self-controlling cyber-physical systems. In addition, the benefit aspects are assigned to the individual process steps.In the specific application, the company first determines the digitization potential of the individual activities and then the associated benefits of Industry 4.0 technologies.The procedure reduces on the one hand the uncertainty regarding of wrong decisions and creates on the other hand the possibility for companies to select Industry 4.0 technologies goal-oriented. The described procedure was validated with SMEs

Low-temperature antiferromagnetic order in orthorhombic CePdAl 3

We report the magnetization, ac susceptibility, and specific heat of optically float-zoned single crystals of CePdAl3. In comparison to the properties of polycrystalline CePdAl3 reported in the literature, which displays a tetragonal crystal structure and no long-range magnetic order, our single crystals exhibit an orthorhombic structure (Cmcm) and antiferromagnetic order below a Néel temperature T1=5.6 K. The specific heat at zero field shows two anomalies, namely, a broad transition at T1=5.6 K followed by a λ-anomaly at T2=5.4 K. A conservative estimate of the Sommerfeld coefficient of the electronic specific heat, γ=121mJK−2mol−1, indicates a moderately enhanced heavy-fermion ground state. A twin microstructure evolves in the family of planes spanned by the basal plane lattice vectors ao and co , with the magnetic hard axis bo common to all twins. The antiferromagnetic state is characterized by a strong ao, co easy-plane magnetic anisotropy where the ao direction is the easy axis in the easy plane. A spin-flop transition induced under magnetic field along the easy directions, results in complex magnetic phase diagrams. Taken together, our results reveal a high sensitivity of the magnetic and electronic properties of CePdAl3 to its structural modifications

Single crystal growth of CeTAl₃ (T = Cu, Ag, Au, Pd and Pt)

Abstract We report single crystal growth of the series of CeTAl3 compounds with T = Cu, Ag, Au, Pd and Pt by means of optical float zoning, where high crystal quality was confirmed in a thorough characterization process. With the exception of CeAgAl3, all compounds crystallize in the non-centrosymmetric tetragonal BaNiSn3 structure (space group: I4mm, No. 107), whereas CeAgAl3 adopts the related orthorhombic PbSbO2Cl structure (Cmcm, No. 63). An attempt to grow CeNiAl3 resulted in the composition CeNi2Al5. Low temperature resistivity measurements down to ∼ 0.1 K did not reveal evidence suggestive of magnetic order in CePtAl3 and CePdAl3. In contrast, CeAuAl3, CeCuAl3 and CeAgAl3 display signatures of magnetic transitions at 1.3 K, 2.1 K and 3.2 K, respectively. This is consistent with previous reports of antiferromagnetic order in CeAuAl3 and CeCuAl3 as well as ferromagnetism in CeAgAl3, respectively

Enzootic nasal adenocarcinoma in dairy sheep

International audienceIn a herd of dairy sheep several losses occurred due to a respiratory syndrome in combination with progressive wasting. Clinical and pathomorphological diagnostics of 3 sheep revealed the presence of cancerous masses in the nasal cavities. These neoplasms were identified as adenocarcinomas originating from the nasal mucosa. Etiologically, they were attributed to JRSV (Jaagsiekte Sheep Retrovirus) by detection of capsid protein 24 in western blot. The significance of the disease in Switzerland is discussed, also in the context of lung adenomatosis.Plusieurs cas de difficultés respiratoires accompagnées d’un amaigrissement progressif sont apparus en 6 mois dans un troupeau de brebis laitières d’environ 80 têtes. Par des examens cliniques et anatomopathologiques, le problème a pu être attribué chez 3 animaux à un processus prolifératif dans les fosses nasales. L’agent étiologique de ces adénocarcinomes de la muqueuse nasale a été diagnostiqué au moyen d’un western blot dans le matériel tumoral comme étant le retrovirus Jaagsiekte Sheep (JRSV). L’importance de l’apparition de cette maladie chez les moutons en Suisse et son rapport avec l’adenomatose pulmonaire sont discutés