Acute Tick-borne Rickettsiosis Caused by Rickettsia sibirica in the Russian Far East

An acute tick-borne rickettsiosis caused by Rickettsia heilongjiangensis was diagnosed in 13 patients from the Russian Far East in 2002. We amplified and sequenced four portions of three rickettsial genes from the patients’ skin biopsy results and blood samples and showed that the amplified rickettsial genes belong to R. heilongjiangensis, which was recently isolated from Dermacentor sylvarum ticks in nearby regions of China. This rickettsia, belonging to subgroup of R. japonica, was previously suggested to be pathogenic for humans on the basis of serologic findings. We tested serum samples with different rickettsial antigens from 11 patients and confirmed increasing titers of immunoglobulin (Ig) G and IgM to spotted fever group rickettsiae, including R. heilongjiangensis. Clinical and epidemiologic data on these patients shows that this disease is similar to other tick-borne rickettsioses

Monolithic rod columns for HPLC based on divinylbenzene-styrene copolymer with 1-vinylimidazole and 4-vinylpyridine

<p>Monolithic chromatographic columns for HPLC based on divinylbenzene-styrene both with 1-vinylimidazole and with 4-vinylpyridine are prepared. The monoliths were synthesized in glass tubes with the inner diameter of 2 mm. Texture, hydrodynamic and chromatographic properties of the prepared columns were studied. Linear solvation energy relationships model was applied for the characterization of columns selectivity It is shown that changing the on 1-vinylimidazole or 4-vinylpyridine content in the initial solution allows to change the selectivity of the columns. An examples of small molecules and some proteins separations are presented.</p