Molecular and Biological Characterization of a Cryptosporidium molnari-Like Isolate from a Guppy (Poecilia reticulata)

Histological, morphological, genetic, and phylogenetic analyses of a Cryptosporidium molnari-like isolate from a guppy (Poecilia reticulata) identified stages consistent with those of C. molnari and revealed that C. molnari is genetically very distinct from all other species of Cryptosporidium. This study represents the first genetic characterization of C. molnari

Model Hamiltonian for strongly-correlated systems: Systematic, self-consistent, and unique construction

An interacting lattice model describing the subspace spanned by a set of strongly-correlated bands is rigorously coupled to density functional theory to enable ab initio calculations of geometric and topological material properties. The strongly-correlated subspace is identified from the occupation number band structure as opposed to a mean-field energy band structure. The self-consistent solution of the many-body model Hamiltonian and a generalized Kohn-Sham equation exactly incorporates momentum-dependent and crystal-symmetric correlations into electronic structure calculations in a way that does not rely on a separation of energy scales. Calculations for a multiorbital Hubbard model demonstrate that the theory accurately reproduces the many-body polarization.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figure

Approximate formula for the macroscopic polarization including quantum fluctuations

The many-body Berry phase formula for the macroscopic polarization is approximated by a sum of natural orbital geometric phases with fractional occupation numbers accounting for the dominant correlation effects. This reduced formula accurately reproduces the exact polarization in the Rice-Mele-Hubbard model across the band insulator-Mott insulator transition. A similar formula based on a one-body reduced Berry curvature accurately predicts the interaction-induced quenching of Thouless topological charge pumping

Two Species of Canine Babesia in Australia: Detection and Characterization by PCR

The haemoprotozoan Babesia canis has been recognized in Australia for many years, and a second, smaller species has recently been discovered. Amplification and sequencing of a partial region of the 18S small subunit ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene enabled detection and characterization of the large and small canine babesiae of Australia for the first time. Isolates from northern Australia were genetically characterized to be 99% homologous to Babesia canis vogeli, confirming previous speculation about the subspecies of B. canis endemic to Australia. The partial 18S rRNA gene sequence amplified from isolates obtained in southeastern Australia was genetically identical to Babesia gibsoni, a species not previously known in Australia. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) used was shown to be specific to Babesia and had a high sensitivity, detecting DNA at a parasitemia of approximately 0.0000027%. This study also reports the first known detection and characterization of B. canis DNA in Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks using PCR