88 research outputs found
Body Measures in Endangered Domestic Balkan Donkey Breed
Information regarding morphology of endangered autochthonous donkey breed in Serbia is insufficient. The aim of the study was to establish 18 morphometric values for the Balkan donkey breed and to explore possible age dependence of the parameters tested. In addition, inter-breed similarity of morphometric parameters was assessed by comparing the data obtained for the Balkan donkey with available morphometric measurements of several previously characterized donkey breeds. The study population included 74 donkeys, divided in two age groups (group A ≤ 3 years; group B > 3 years). Significant morphometric differences (p<0.05) in body length, head length, chest circumference and body weight were found between two age groups. Significant differences in morphological parameters were revealed among the Balkan donkey and other donkey breeds (Catalonian, Croatian and Albanian). However, the smallest distance was between the Balkan donkey and Albanian donkeys as demonstrated by the results of cluster analysis. The results of morphometric analyses showed consistency of the obtained values within the breed, and diversity as compared to other donkey breeds, and, thus, could be taken as referent for the Domestic Balkan donkey. The information gained through this comprehensive morphometric characterization of the Balkan donkey breed provides a basis for conservation and development of the breed standard
Detection and analysis of new psittacine beak and feather disease virus (PBFDv) nucleotide sequences
ΔΕΝ ΥΠΑΡΧΕΙ ΠΕΡΙΛΗΨΗPsittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) affects a large number of Psittaciformes species. In this study, five White Cockatoo parrots (Cacatua alba) with clinical signs of PBFD were examined. After euthanasia, a full necropsy of parrots was performed and organs with macroscopic changes were sampled for routine histopathological evaluation. To confirm the presence of psittacine beak and feather disease virus (PBFDv), feather samples were analyzed with the PCR method. Sequence analysis of the obtained PCR products indicated their close relationship (99%) to other PBFDv isolates. Six variable nucleotide sites were discovered, two missense and four silent mutations. This paper presents the evidence of new PBFDv sequence in Cockatoo species
Dominance of Nosema ceranae in honey bees in the Balkan countries in the absence of symptoms of colony collapse disorder
Detection of the Small Magellanic Cloud in gamma-rays with Fermi/LAT
The flux of gamma rays with energies >100MeV is dominated by diffuse emission
from CRs illuminating the ISM of our Galaxy through the processes of
Bremsstrahlung, pion production and decay, and inverse-Compton scattering. The
study of this diffuse emission provides insight into the origin and transport
of CRs. We searched for gamma-ray emission from the SMC in order to derive
constraints on the CR population and transport in an external system with
properties different from the Milky Way. We analysed the first 17 months of
continuous all-sky observations by the Large Area Telescope of the Fermi
mission to determine the spatial distribution, flux and spectrum of the
gamma-ray emission from the SMC. We also used past radio synchrotron
observations of the SMC to study the population of CR electrons specifically.
We obtained the first detection of the SMC in high-energy gamma rays, with an
integrated >100MeV flux of (3.7 +/-0.7) x10e-8 ph/cm2/s, with additional
systematic uncertainty of <16%. The emission is steady and from an extended
source ~3{\deg} in size. It is not clearly correlated with the distribution of
massive stars or neutral gas, nor with known pulsars or SNRs, but a certain
correlation with supergiant shells is observed. The observed flux implies an
upper limit on the average CR nuclei density in the SMC of ~15% of the value
measured locally in the Milky Way. The population of high-energy pulsars of the
SMC may account for a substantial fraction of the gamma-ray flux, which would
make the inferred CR nuclei density even lower. The average density of CR
electrons derived from radio synchrotron observations is consistent with the
same reduction factor but the uncertainties are large. From our current
knowledge of the SMC, such a low CR density does not seem to be due to a lower
rate of CR injection and rather indicates a smaller CR confinement volume
characteristic size.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in A&
A Chitinase from Aeromonas veronii CD3 with the Potential to Control Myxozoan Disease
Background: The class Myxosporea encompasses about 2,400 species, most of which are parasites of fish and cause serious damage in aquaculture. Due to the concerns about food safety issues and limited knowledge of Myxozoa life cycle and fish immune system, no chemicals, antibiotics or immune modulators are available to control myxozoa infection. Therefore, little can be done once Myxozoa establishment has occurred. Methodology/Principal Findings: In this paper we isolated Aeromonas veronii CD3 with significant myxospore shell valvedegrading ability from pond sediment. A 3,057-bp full-length chitinase gene was consequently cloned, and the corresponding mature, recombinant chitinase (ChiCD3) produced by Escherichia coli had substantial chitinase activity. The deduced sequence of ChiCD3 contained one catalytic domain, two chitin-binding domains, and one putative signal peptide. ChiCD3 had an optimal activity at 50uC and pH 6.0, and retained more than 50 % of its optimal activity under warm water aquaculture conditions (,30uC and pH,7.0). After incubation with ChiCD3, 38.064.8 % of the myxospores had damaged shell valves, whereas myxospores incubated with commercially available chitinases remained intact. Conclusion/Significance: This study reveals a new strategy to control myxozoan disease. ChiCD3 that has capacity to damage the shell valve of myxospores can be supplemented into fish feed and used to control Myxozoa-induced disease
Dust formation in the ejecta of the Type II-P supernova 2004dj
Core-collapse supernovae (CC SNe), especially Type II-Plateau ones, are
thought to be important contributors to cosmic dust production. SN 2004dj, one
of the closest and brightest SN since 1987A, offered a good opportunity to
examine dust formation processes. To find signs of newly formed dust, we
analyze all available mid-infrared (MIR) archival data from the Spitzer Space
Telescope. We re-reduce and analyze data from IRAC, MIPS and IRS instruments
obtained between +98 and +1381 days after explosion, generating light curves
and spectra for each epoch. Observed spectral energy distributions are fitted
with both analytic and numerical models, using the radiative-transfer code
MOCASSIN for the latter ones. We also use imaging polarimetric data obtained at
+425 days by the Hubble Space Telescope. We present convincing evidence of dust
formation in the ejecta of SN 2004dj from MIR light curves and spectra.
Significant MIR excess flux is detected in all bands between 3.6 and 24 um. In
the optical, a ~0.8% polarization is also detected at a 2-sigma level, which
exceeds the interstellar polarization in that direction. Our analysis shows
that the freshly-formed dust around SN 2004dj can be modeled assuming a nearly
spherical shell containing amorphous carbon grains, cooling from ~700 K to ~400
K between +267 and +1246 days. Persistent excess flux has been found above 10
um, which is explained by a cold (~115 K) dust component. If this cold dust is
of circumstellar origin, it is likely to be condensed in a cool, dense shell
between the forward and reverse shocks. Pre-existing circumstellar dust is less
likely, but cannot be ruled out. An upper limit of ~8x10^{-4} M_sun was derived
for the dust mass, which is similar to previously published values for other
dust-producing SNe.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, 8 tables; accepted for publication in A&A; new
version after minor corrections and language editio
Transcriptional Profiling of Human Brain Endothelial Cells Reveals Key Properties Crucial for Predictive In Vitro Blood-Brain Barrier Models
Brain microvascular endothelial cells (BEC) constitute the blood-brain barrier (BBB) which forms a dynamic interface between the blood and the central nervous system (CNS). This highly specialized interface restricts paracellular diffusion of fluids and solutes including chemicals, toxins and drugs from entering the brain. In this study we compared the transcriptome profiles of the human immortalized brain endothelial cell line hCMEC/D3 and human primary BEC. We identified transcriptional differences in immune response genes which are directly related to the immortalization procedure of the hCMEC/D3 cells. Interestingly, astrocytic co-culturing reduced cell adhesion and migration molecules in both BECs, which possibly could be related to regulation of immune surveillance of the CNS controlled by astrocytic cells within the neurovascular unit. By matching the transcriptome data from these two cell lines with published transcriptional data from freshly isolated mouse BECs, we discovered striking differences that could explain some of the limitations of using cultured BECs to study BBB properties. Key protein classes such as tight junction proteins, transporters and cell surface receptors show differing expression profiles. For example, the claudin-5, occludin and JAM2 expression is dramatically reduced in the two human BEC lines, which likely explains their low transcellular electric resistance and paracellular leakiness. In addition, the human BEC lines express low levels of unique brain endothelial transporters such as Glut1 and Pgp. Cell surface receptors such as LRP1, RAGE and the insulin receptor that are involved in receptor-mediated transport are also expressed at very low levels. Taken together, these data illustrate that BECs lose their unique protein expression pattern outside of their native environment and display a more generic endothelial cell phenotype. A collection of key genes that seems to be highly regulated by the local surroundings of BEC within the neurovascular unit are presented and discussed
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