Issues and Trends in Collection Development for East Asia Legal Materials

The authors delineate the general policy and guidelines for developing foreign and transnational law collections in U.S. law libraries, and they analyze factors that shape East Asian collections, such as law libraries’ preservation and digitization efforts and their related cost-efficiency, and the availability and quality of English translations. The authors then discuss the main sources for Korean, Japanese, and Chinese law

Clinical Significance of Serum Biomarkers in Pediatric Solid Mediastinal and Abdominal Tumors

Childhood cancer is the leading cause of death by disease among U.S. children between infancy and age 15. Despite successes in treating solid tumors such as Wilms tumor, disappointments in the outcomes of high-risk solid tumors like neuroblastoma have precipitated efforts towards the early and accurate detection of these malignancies. This review summarizes available solid tumor serum biomarkers with a special focus on mediastinal and abdominal cancers in children

Comparative analysis of metazoan chromatin organization

Genome function is dynamically regulated in part by chromatin, which consists of the histones, non-histone proteins and RNA molecules that package DNA. Studies in Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosoph ..

A novel real-time PCR assay for specific detection of Brucella melitensis

Background: Brucellosis is a zoonosis that occurs worldwide. The disease has been completely eradicated in livestock in Sweden in 1994, and all cases of confirmed human brucellosis are imported into Sweden from other countries. However, due to an increase in the number of refugees and asylum seekers from the middle-east to Sweden, there is a need to improve the current diagnostic methodology for Brucella melitensis. Whilst culture of Brucella species can be used as a diagnostic tool, real-time PCR approaches provide a much faster result. The aim of this study was to set up a species-specific real-time PCR for the detection of all biovars of Brucella melitensis, which could be used routinely in diagnostic laboratories. Methods: A Brucella melitensis real-time PCR assay was designed using all available genomes in the public database of Brucella (N=96) including all complete genomes of Brucella melitensis (N=17). The assay was validated with a collection of 37 Brucella species reference strains, 120 Brucella melitensis human clinical isolates, and 45 clinically relevant non-Brucella melitensis strains. Results: In this study we developed a single real-time PCR for the specific detection of all biovars of Brucella melitensis. Conclusions: This new real-time PCR method shows a high specificity (100%) and a high sensitivity ( 1.25 GE/mu l) and has been implemented in the laboratories of four governmental authorities across Sweden

Draft Genome Sequences of Brucella suis Biovar 4 Strain NCTC 10385, Brucella ceti Strain NCTC 12891T, Brucella inopinata Strain CAMP 6436T, and Brucella neotomae Strain ATCC 23459T

With the aim of developing quantitative PCR methods for the detection and differentiation of Brucella species, the genomes of Brucella ceti, Brucella inopinata, Brucella netotomae, and Brucella suis biovar 4 were sequenced and analyzed

Brucella abortus : determination of survival times and evaluation of methods for detection in several matrices

BACKGROUND: Brucella abortus is a highly pathogenic zoonotic agent, tempting for the development of a rapid diagnostic method to enable adequate treatment and prevent further spread. Enrichment of the bacteria is often used as a first step in diagnostics to increase the bacterial number above the detection limit of the real-time PCR. The enrichment of Brucella spp. takes at least 3 days, which might be avoidable if sensitive PCR methods can be used. Since many matrices contain PCR inhibitors, the limit of detection (LOD) must be determined for each separate matrix. Another aim of this study was the determination of survival of Brucella abortus in the analyzed matrices. METHODS: The LOD for the detection of B. abortus in 14 matrices, relevant for human medicine, veterinary medicine and food and feed safety, was determined to evaluate the need of a pre-enrichment step prior to real-time PCR. The survival of B. abortus in the spiked matrices was tested by plate count in a 7-day interval for 132 days. RESULTS: The limit of detection for B. abortus in most matrices was in the range of 10(3)-10(4) CFU/g for cultivation and 10(4)-10(5) CFU/g for direct real-time PCR. The survival time of B. abortus was less than 21 days in apple puree and stomach content and 28 days in water while B. abortus remained viable at day 132 in milk, blood, spinach and minced meat. CONCLUSIONS: A direct PCR analysis without enrichment of bacteria saves at least 3 days. However, the limit of detection between direct PCR and plate count differs in a 10 fold range. We conclude that this lower sensitivity is acceptable in most cases especially if quick analysis are required

Whole-Genome Sequence of Brucella canis Strain SVA13, Isolated from an Infected Dog

An outbreak of canine brucellosis in Sweden was confirmed by the National Veterinary Institute (SVA) in August 2013. The whole genome of the causative agent was sequenced, assembled, and analyzed