Prevalence of antibodies to four different rotavirus strains in different age groups of cattle

Neutralizing antibody titers to four bovine rotavirus strains, representing three serotypes, were measured in 160 sera from cattle of different age groups. Age-specific seroprevalence analysis revealed serotype 6, represented by bovine rotavirus (BRV) NCDV, as the predominant rotavirus serotype infecting German cattle and serotype 10, represented by BRV V1005, as the least prominent. Infections with serotype 8, represented by BRV 678, occurred with intermediate frequency. Antibodies of young calves distinguished between NCDV and UK virus, two serotype 6 BRV strains differing in VP4 antige

Trigger Monitoring at ATLAS

The Trigger and Data Acquisition system for the ATLAS experiment has to reduce the 40 MHz of LHC bunch crossing rate to ~200 Hz of recording rate. This is achieved through a complex distributed system composed by $sim$ 1.000 CPUs, about a third of the expected final size of the system. Monitoring the trigger behavior through all the trigger level is of fundamental importance to assess the quality of the data taken, to give fast feedback for the trigger configuration design and to monitor the stability of the HLT farm components. In this paper we will present the online monitoring framework and the various tools available in the ATLAS trigger system going from the ones that build the basic monitoring infrastructure and test the basic functionalities of the system to the more elaborated ones that checks the quality of the data taking looking at physics variables reconstructed online. The early experience in the 2009 cosmics data taking period will also be shown

Cattle develop neutralizing antibodies to rotavirus serotypes which could not be isolated from faeces of symptomatic calves

Neutralizing antibodies against 10 serotypes of rotavirus were measured in sera from different age groups of German cattle. Only five of 143 sera did not neutralize heterologous serotypes. Sera from 64 of 76 calves younger than 1 year neutralized bovine rotavirus NCDV (serotype 6). From these calves, sera 54, 26, 51, 24, 12, 10 and 37, in neutralized addition, the heterologous serotypes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9, respectively. Thirty-eight of 46 rotavirus isolates from Bavarian calves with diarrhoea were serotyped by neutralization: 22, 2 and 14 isolates were typed as serotype 6, serotype 10 (B223) and a newly defined subtype of serotype 10 (V1005), respectively. All serotype 6 isolates and none of the serotype 10 or V1005-like viruses tested hybridized to a NCDV-specific cDNA probe. Eight isolates gave equivocal results by neutralization. We failed however to identify serotype 1, 2, 3, 4 or 8 bovine rotavirus isolates by neutralization with hyperimmune sera and dot blot hybridization with serotype-specific cDNA probes. Thus cross-reacting antibodies in cattle might not represent an anamnestic response, but the recognition of a cross-reacting neutralization epitope shared by many rotavirus serotype

Characterization of a Second Bovine Rotavirus Serotype

Bovine rotavirus (BRV) V 1005 was characterized by two-way cross-neutralization tests as a second serotype of BRV. Virions and inner shell particles of 65 nm and 55 nm diameter respectively, and empty capsids of 65 nm and 55 nm diameter were separated by density gradient centrifugation. Three polypeptides of molecular weight 60,000, 36,000 and 28,000 (minor protein) could be identified in the outer shell of virions and in the larger empty capsids. Inner shell particles contained three polypeptides of molecular weight 105,000, 83,000 and 43,000. Both sizes of empty capsids showed two polypeptides of molecular weight 75,000 and 55,000 not found in virions. Pulse-labelling of infected cells revealed eight major and three minor intracellular viral polypeptides. Viral polypeptide synthesis started at about 6 hours p.i. and correlated in time with double-stranded RNA synthesis. As soon as viral polypeptide synthesis was detectable, newly synthesized viral polypeptides were incorporated into intracellular viral particles. Radioactive viral polypeptides appeared without a longer lag period in extracellular viruses from 6 hours p.i. onward

A piece of the mosaic: Gypsies in the building of an intercultural Europe

El artículo propone un acercamiento crítico a la noción de interculturalidad en el cuadro de las transformaciones sociales y geopolíticas que han caracterizado el paso del sistema estado-nación al nacimiento de una identidad comunitaria europea. En la actual sociedad europea la desmarginalización de los confines identitarios y territoriales se eleva la cuestión de las diferencias culturales y la necesidad de redefinir nuevos criterios de inclusión social. En esta perspectiva el proceso de integración europea encuentra uno de sus bancos de prueba en las políticas sociales dirigidas a aquellas comunidades consideradas minorías culturales. El artículo se centra en particular en el caso de las comunidades gitanas, examinando los mecanismos simbólicos y políticos que han determinado históricamente una representación negativa suya por la teoría de un nomadismo consustancial a la identidad gitana. La reproducción de este estereotipo es la base de un estigma social de los gitanos, percibidos como un problema de orden público y se refleja en las políticas nacionales y supranacionales que continúan sin considerarlos interlocutores activos en la elección de estrategias pertenecientes a la esfera de la salud, de la educación y de la vivienda. En el texto se discuten estos aspectos unidos a la exclusión social de los gitanos y los puntos débiles de su integración europea, subrayando su pertenencia histórica a Europa y valorando su política migratoria como expresión de una modalidad creativa de adaptación a las coyunturas histórico-económicas. En este marco de referencia, la interculturalidad se convierte en un instrumento analítico y político capaz de superar los conflictos entre sociedad mayoritaria y ‘minoría cultural’ y a su vez en un proyecto capaz de oponerse a aquellas ideologías de la diferencia que transforman las culturas en entidades abstractas e incomunicables.The article proposes a critical approach to the notion of interculturality in the context of the geopolitical and social transformations that marked the transition from the nation-state system to the birth of a common European identity.In the European society the demarginalisation of territorial and identification borders raises the question of cultural differences and the need to redefine the new criteria for social inclusion. In this perspective, the process of European integration finds its own testing ground in social policies designed to cultural minority. The article focuses precisely on the case of Gypsy communities, exploring the symbolic and political mechanisms that have historically compromised public image of Gypsies through the ‘nomad theory’ by considering nomadism as part of an inherent identity. The reproduction of this stereotype is at the basis of a social stigma of Gypsy groups, perceived as a public order problem that is reflected in national and supranational politics according to the tendency to consider Gypsies as incapable of decision making and not interlocutors on issues such as health, education and housing. In this text, the author aims to examine these aspects of social exclusion of Gypsy communities and the fault lines of their Europeanisation process, emphasizing their deep roots in the historical and social structure of Europe and their political migration as a creative adaptation strategy to the historical-economic conjunctures. In this framework of reference, interculturality becomes an analytical and political tool that is capable of overcoming the conflicts between the majority society and minorities and a project able to oppose to the ideologies of difference that transform the cultures into abstract and incommunicable entities

Marshall University Music Department Presents a Junior Recital, Michael Sidoti, voice

https://mds.marshall.edu/music_perf/1592/thumbnail.jp

The discourse of choice and the 'missing generation'

The ideological project of neoliberalism has implications in everyday life. One fundamental aspect of this is the discursive construction of choice within neoliberalism that suggests the individual is free to choose from unlimited options. This thesis investigates this discourse and how it is understood, incorporated and reproduced in the everyday lives of young adults. Using a case study of the 'missing generation' of young adults in Katoomba, New South Wales, this thesis explores the intersection between everyday choices and the discursive construction of choice. First, it argues that there is a disconnect between these two types of choice, and that young adults negotiate the disconnect in a variety of ways. Second, this thesis suggests that the enduring importance of belonging disrupts the discursive construction of choice, particularly through the redefinition of the concepts of ‘opportunity’ and ‘limit’. Third, it argues that the discourse of choice is more evident in the discussion of institutions than other aspects of life, such as family. Finally, it argues that there is significant analytic value in approaching neoliberalism as an open-ended process which shapes human experience but is not that experience itself

Fattibilità e progetto di un ricevitore software per comunicazioni marittime

L’obiettivo di questa tesi è stato quello di verificare la fattibilità di un radio-ricevitore per sistema DSC (Digital Selective Calling) che possa lavorare nella banda di frequenze VHF ed che sia sintonizzabile per la ricezione simultanea di tutti i canali radio presenti nell’intero range frequenziale (6 MHz) riservato al DSC stesso dal Ministero delle Comunicazioni. In particolare, l’aspetto legato all’acquisizione e rivelazione parallela di tutti i canali radio presenti all’interno della suddetta banda di frequenze (operazione non fattibile con i normali apparati VHF-DSC attualmente in commercio) ha suggerito, come strategia implementativa del ricevitore, il ricorso al paradigma della Software-Defined Radio (SDR). Abbiamo deciso di implementare il radio-ricevitore VHF-DSC programmabile utilizzando la tecnologia SDR, al fine di permettere, agendo semplicemente sulle routine software e senza alcuna modifica della piattaforma e della configurazione hardware prescelta, di riconfigurare il sistema in modo che possa riuscire ad operare in qualsiasi contesto trasmissivo e supportare diverse e/o future funzionalità. Dopo aver esposte varie metodologie per la realizzazione del radio-ricevitore in esame si è fatto ricorso alla scheda USRP (Universal Software Radio Peripheral) nella veste di piattaforma hardware utilizzata per implementare un ricevitore DSC di tipo SDR. Questa scheda riceve il segnale a RF, lo converte ad una frequenza IF più bassa ed infine fornisce al PC, attraverso la porta USB, i campioni digitalizzati del segnale ricevuto, che possono poi essere elaborati. Il radio-ricevitore DSC di tipo SDR può essere quindi realmente implementato attraverso una motherboard USRP con l’aggiunta di una daughterboard TVRX. Le daughterboards montate sulla motherboard USRP forniscono al sistema dei front-end flessibili e interamente integrati. Proprio attraverso la TVRX, con un sistema USRP, si riesce a coprire un range frequenziale che ci permette di gestire la banda riservata al servizio mobile marino nella banda VHF. E’ stata inoltre illustrata un’implementazione alternativa del ricevitore SDR, che nella fattispecie impiega una daughterboard RFX400 al posto della TVRX ovviamente montata sempre su una motherboard USRP