Outbreak of encephalitic listeriosis in red-legged partridges (Alectoris rufa)

An outbreak of neurological disease was investigated in red-legged partridges between 8 and 28 days of age. Clinical signs included torticollis, head tilt and incoordination and over an initial eight day period approximately 30–40 fatalities occurred per day. No significant gross post mortem findings were detected. Histopathological examination of the brain and bacterial cultures followed by partial sequencing confirmed a diagnosis of encephalitis due to Listeria monocytogenes. Further isolates were obtained from follow-up carcasses, environmental samples and pooled tissue samples of newly imported day-old chicks prior to placement on farm. These isolates had the same antibiotic resistance pattern as the isolate of the initial post mortem submission and belonged to the same fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism (fAFLP) subtype. This suggested that the isolates were very closely related or identical and that the pathogen had entered the farm with the imported day-old chicks, resulting in disease manifestation in partridges between 8 and 28 days of age. Reports of outbreaks of encephalitic listeriosis in avian species are rare and this is to the best of our knowledge the first reported outbreak in red-legged partridges

Soil Quality and Region Influence Performance and Ranking of Switchgrass Genotypes

Development of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) as a dedicated bioenergy feedstock requires intensive and extensive breeding programs that include careful and thoughtful consideration of appropriate target populations of environments (TPEs). The purpose of this study was to evaluate region (climate), soil quality, and N fertilization level as potential factors influencing the choice of TPE. A total of 45 switchgrass genotypes were evaluated in uniform field studies at six field sites defined as prime or marginal soils in New Jersey, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Region and soil quality had strong interactions with genotype, but N fertilization had little impact on genetic variation or ranking of genotypes. Lowland genotypes were considerably more sensitive than upland genotypes to interactions with environmental factors, probably due to these field sites being outside of the traditional lowland adaptation zones. Genotype rankings were highly inconsistent across regions and soil types, indicating that breeding programs that target marginal soils should be located on soils that represent the appropriate TPE. Furthermore, interactions across the three regions suggest that breeding programs for the lowland ecotype should be subdivided into different sets of TPEs, which are largely a function of hardiness zone and annual precipitation. Lastly, even with negligible interactions involving N fertilization level, future definitions of TPEs should be based on minimal or no N fertilizer applications to allow breeders to select plants with greater N-use efficiency, N-scavenging ability, and N-recycling efficiency

STUDIES OF METAL-WATER REACTIONS AT HIGH TEMPERATURES: I. THE CONDENSER DISCHARGE EXPERIMENT: PRELIMINARY RESULTS WITH ZIRCONIUM

The condenser-discharge method of conducting molten metal- water reactions at high temperatures was refined. Two methods to measure energy input to specimen wires and, therefore, to compute initial metal temperatures were developed. Calculated metal temperatures were estimated to be accurate to within 100 deg C. Two reaction cells were designed, one for operation at atmospheric pressure with water at room temperature, and the other for operation at high pressure and with water at elevated temperature. Means were developed to determine the surface area of metal exposed to reaction and to determine the total extent of reaction. Pressure transducers were used to record the rate of reactions. The zirconium- water reaction was studied with initial metal temperatures from 1100 to 4000 deg C with 30 and 60-mil wires in room-temperature water. Initial pressures in these runs were the vapor pressures of water at room temperature (20-30 mm). Runs were made with 60-mil wires in water heated to 200 deg C (225 psi). Results in room-temperature water indicated that the reaction became explosive at an initial metal temperature of 2600 deg C. Below this temperature, 20% or less reaction occurred. At higher water temperatures, reaction ranged from 40 to 70%. Runs in heated water showed markedly greater reaction, reaching 50% for fully melted metal at the melting point (1840 deg C). Results suggested that the rates of both solid-state processes and the diffusion of water vapor through the hydrogen blanket surrounding reacting particles must be considered. (auth

Amoxicillin pharmacokinetics in preterm infants with gestational ages of less than 32 weeks

The multiple-dose pharmacokinetics of amoxicillin (AM [administered twice daily in a 25-mg/kg of body weight intravenous dose]) in 17 preterm infants (11 males; gestational age, 29 +/- 1.9 weeks; birth weight, 1,175 +/- 278 g) were evaluated on day 3 of life. Blood samples were collected from an arterial catheter at 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, and 12 h after the intravenous dose. A high-performance liquid chromatography method was used to determine AM concentrations in serum. AM pharmacokinetics followed a one-compartment open model. The glomerular filtration rates of all patients were simultaneously studied by means of the 24-h continuous inulin infusion technique. The elimination half-life, apparent volume of distribution, and total body clearance of AM (mean +/- standard deviation) were 6.7 +/- 1.7 h, 584 +/- 173 ml, and 62.4 +/- 23.3 ml/h, respectively. The mean (+/- standard deviation) AM peak and trough levels were 53.6 +/- 9.1 and 16.0 +/- 4.9 mg/liter, respectively. All infants had a serum trough level above 5 mg/liter. The total body clearance and apparent volume of distribution of AM and the clearance of inulin increased significantly with increasing gestational age. The total bod

Operation of the DC Current Transformer intensity monitors at FNAL during Run II

Circulating beam intensity measurements at FNAL are provided by five DC current transformers (DCCT), one per machine. With the exception of the DCCT in the Recycler, all DCCT systems were designed and built at FNAL. This paper presents an overview of both DCCT systems, including the sensor, the electronics, and the front-end instrumentation software, as well as their performance during Run II

Bounds on the tau and muon neutrino vector and axial vector charge radius

A Majorana neutrino is characterized by just one flavor diagonal electromagnetic form factor: the anapole moment, that in the static limit corresponds to the axial vector charge radius . Experimental information on this quantity is scarce, especially in the case of the tau neutrino. We present a comprehensive analysis of the available data on the single photon production process $e^+ e^- -> \nu \bar\nu \gamma$ off Z-resonance, and we discuss the constraints that these measurements can set on for the tau neutrino. We also derive limits for the Dirac case, when the presence of a vector charge radius is allowed. Finally, we comment on additional experimental data on $\nu_\mu$ scattering from the NuTeV, E734, CCFR and CHARM-II collaborations, and estimate the limits implied for and for the muon neutrino.Comment: 20 pages, 2 eps figures. CCFR data included in the analysis. Conclusion unchange

Search for Neutral Higgs Bosons of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model in e+e- Interactions at \sqrt{s} = 189 GeV

A search for the lightest neutral scalar and neutral pseudoscalar Higgs bosons in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model is performed using 176.4 pb^-1 of integrated luminosity collected by L3 at a center-of-mass energy of 189 GeV. No signal is observed, and the data are consistent with the expected Standard Model background. Lower limits on the masses of the lightest neutral scalar and pseudoscalar Higgs bosons are given as a function of tan(beta). Lower mass limits for tan(beta)>1 are set at the 95% confidence level to be m_h > 77.1 GeV and m_A > 77.1 GeV

Search for Extra Dimensions in Boson and Fermion Pair Production in e+e- Interactions at LEP

Extra spatial dimensions are proposed by recent theories that postulate the scale of gravity to be of the same order as the electroweak scale. A sizeable interaction between gravitons and Standard Model particles is then predicted. Effects of these new interactions in boson and fermion pair production are searched for in the data sample collected at centre-of-mass energies above the Z pole by the L3 detector at LEP. In addition, the direct production of a graviton associated with a Z boson is investigated. No statistically significant hints for the existence of these effects are found and lower limits in excess of 1 TeV are derived on the scale of this new theory of gravity