Untersuchungen zum Vorkommen von Leptospiren-, Toxoplasmen- und PRRSV-Antikörpern sowie von Salmonellen und Spulwurmeiern auf österreichischen Bioschweinebetrieben

In Austria, 80.000 organic fattening pigs are raised on 13% out of all pig production farms. Consumer expectations regarding animal health and welfare and meat quality are particularly high for organic products (Baumgartner et al. 2003). Health problems in organic pig farming are often related to the outdoor area, exposing the animals to bacterial and parasitic agents. In this study, data about zoonotic agents as, Leptospira ssp., Toxoplasma gondii and Salmonella were collected. Infections by the Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV) and Ascaris (A.) suum were also investigated. The study included 59 organic farms in Austria. Blood samples and one faecal group sample from pigs of each farm were taken at the slaughterhouse. Leptospira antibodies were found in all investigated herds. The most frequent serovars were Bratislava with 29%, Icterohämorraghiae with 21% and Canicola with 5%. In 29 herds antibodies against T. gondii were detected at least in one pig. The seroprevalence of PRRSV was 46% of the farms. Only one farm was positive for Salmonella infantis. In 70% of the faecal samples A. suum eggs were found

Porcine Hepatitis E

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a zoonotic agent that can be transmitted from pigs to humans via consumption of pork and products derived of it. Recently, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published a scientific opinion urging for measures to prevent Hepatitis E virus (HEV) from entering the food chain

Principles of Anti-infective Dosing in Pregnancy

AbstractPurposeAnti-infectives are among the most commonly prescribed medications in pregnancy. However, detailed information on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of these medications in pregnancy is limited, leading to uncertainty among clinicians regarding the tolerability and efficacy of treatments. The purposes of this review were to highlight key physiologic changes during pregnancy that influence drug behavior, and to discuss areas of active research related to anti-infective drugs in pregnancy.MethodsA review of literature in PubMed was performed for topics related to physiologic changes of pregnancy, postcesarean surgical site infections, vaccines in pregnancy, and intrauterine infections. The literature was reviewed and pertinent sources were utilized for this article.FindingsPhysiologic changes during pregnancy may impact drug disposition and efficacy. Cefazolin regimens are the current prophylactic treatment of choice for postcesarean surgical site infections. Vaccines are provided in pregnancy for both maternal and neonatal benefit. Broad-spectrum antibiotics continue to be used as first-line therapy for intrauterine infections.ImplicationsContinued efforts to broaden the knowledge base on anti-infective drug behavior in pregnancy will result in increased therapeutic options for this population

Effects of Growth Hormone Treatment in Adults with Prader-Willi Syndrome

OBJECTIVE: Since limited data exist on adults with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) and growth hormone (GH) treatment, we report our experience on the effects of treatment for one year on body composition, physical activity, strength and energy expenditure, diet, general chemistry and endocrine data with quality of life measures. DESIGN: We studied 11 adults with PWS (6F:5M; average age = 32 yrs) over a 2 year period with GH treatment during the first year only. Electrolytes, IGF-I, glucose, thyroid, insulin, lipids, body composition, physical activity and strength, diet, energy expenditure and quality of life data were collected and analyzed statistically using linear modeling at baseline, at 12 months following GH therapy and at 24 months after treatment cessation for 12 months. RESULTS: Total lean muscle mass was significantly increased (p < 0.05) during GH treatment along with moderate-vigorous physical activity and plasma IGF-I and HDL levels, but returned to near baseline after treatment. Percent body fat decreased during the 12 months of GH treatment but increased after treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Previously reported beneficial effects of GH treatment in children with PWS were found in our adults regarding body composition, physical activity and plasma HDL and IGF-I levels. Several beneficial effects diminished to near baseline after cessation of GH treatment for 12 months supporting the continuation of treatment in PWS into adulthood and possibly adults not previously treated during childhood

Relevance of the light signaling machinery for cellulase expression in trichoderma reesei (hypocrea jecorina)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In nature, light is one of the most important environmental cues that fungi perceive and interpret. It is known not only to influence growth and conidiation, but also cellulase gene expression. We therefore studied the relevance of the main components of the light perception machinery of <it>Trichoderma reesei </it>(<it>Hypocrea jecorina</it>), ENV1, BLR1 and BLR2, for production of plant cell wall degrading enzymes in fermentations aimed at efficient biosynthesis of enzyme mixtures for biofuel production.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Our results indicate that despite cultivation in mostly dark conditions, all three components show an influence on cellulase expression. While we found the performance of the enzyme mixture secreted by a deletion mutant in <it>env1 </it>to be enhanced, the higher cellulolytic activity observed for <it>Δblr2 </it>is mainly due to an increased secretion capacity of this strain. <it>Δblr1 </it>showed enhanced biomass accumulation, but due to its obviously lower secretion capacity still was the least efficient strain in this study.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We conclude that with respect to regulation of plant cell wall degrading enzymes, the blue light regulator proteins are unlikely to act as a complex. Their regulatory influence on cellulase biosynthesis involves an alteration of protein secretion, which may be due to adjustment of transcription or posttranscriptional regulation of upstream factors. In contrast, the regulatory function of ENV1 seems to involve adjustment of enzyme proportions to environmental conditions.</p

3D Spectrophotometry of Planetary Nebulae in the Bulge of M31

We introduce crowded field integral field (3D) spectrophotometry as a useful technique for the study of resolved stellar populations in nearby galaxies. As a methodological test, we present a pilot study with selected extragalactic planetary nebulae (XPN) in the bulge of M31, demonstrating how 3D spectroscopy is able to improve the limited accuracy of background subtraction which one would normally obtain with classical slit spectroscopy. It is shown that due to the absence of slit effects, 3D is a most suitable technique for spectrophometry. We present spectra and line intensities for 5 XPN in M31, obtained with the MPFS instrument at the Russian 6m BTA, INTEGRAL at the WHT, and with PMAS at the Calar Alto 3.5m Telescope. Using 3D spectra of bright standard stars, we demonstrate that the PSF is sampled with high accuracy, providing a centroiding precision at the milli-arcsec level. Crowded field 3D spectrophotometry and the use of PSF fitting techniques is suggested as the method of choice for a number of similar observational problems, including luminous stars in nearby galaxies, supernovae, QSO host galaxies, gravitationally lensed QSOs, and others.Comment: (1) Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam, (2) University of Durham. 18 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Modeling the time-resolved quasi-periodic oscillations in AGNs

Observation of the bright Seyfert 1 galaxy RE J1034+396 is believed to demonstrate a drift of the central period of the Quasi Periodic Oscillation (QPO) linearly correlated with the temporary X-ray luminosity. We show, using a specific scenario of the oscillation mechanism in black hole accretion disc, that modeling such correlated trends puts very strong constraints on the nature of this oscillation and the characteristic features of the hot flow in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). In our model, QPO oscillations are due to the oscillations of the shock formed in the low angular momentum hot accretion flow, and the variation of the shock location corresponds to the observed changes in the QPO period and the X-ray flux. In this scenario, change in the shock location caused by perturbation of the flow angular momentum is compatible with the trends observed in RE J1034+396, whereas the perturbation of the specific flow energy results in too strong flux response to the change of the oscillation period. Using a complete general relativistic framework to study the accretion flow in the Kerr metric, we discuss the role of the black hole spin in the period drift. Future missions are expected to bring more active galaxies with time-resolved quasi-periodic oscillations so similar quantitative study for other QPO scenarios will be necessary.Comment: Final version accepted for publication in MNRAS. Several modifications made. Eight pages. Six colour figure

The first GCT camera for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

The Gamma Cherenkov Telescope (GCT) is proposed to be part of the Small Size Telescope (SST) array of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). The GCT dual-mirror optical design allows the use of a compact camera of diameter roughly 0.4 m. The curved focal plane is equipped with 2048 pixels of ~0.2{\deg} angular size, resulting in a field of view of ~9{\deg}. The GCT camera is designed to record the flashes of Cherenkov light from electromagnetic cascades, which last only a few tens of nanoseconds. Modules based on custom ASICs provide the required fast electronics, facilitating sampling and digitisation as well as first level of triggering. The first GCT camera prototype is currently being commissioned in the UK. On-telescope tests are planned later this year. Here we give a detailed description of the camera prototype and present recent progress with testing and commissioning.Comment: In Proceedings of the 34th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC2015), The Hague, The Netherlands. All CTA contributions at arXiv:1508.0589