Campylobacter cuniculorum sp nov., from rabbits

Eight strains of an unknown thermotolerant Campylobacter species were isolated from the caecal contents of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). All strains were initially identified as belonging to the genus Campylobacter by means of genus-specific PCR, but none were identified using species-specific PCR for known thermophilic species. Cells were spiral shaped with bipolar unsheathed flagella, with no periplasmic fibres, and appeared coccoid after 10-12 days of incubation. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene, rpoB and groEL sequences revealed that all strains formed a robust clade that was very distinct from recognized Campylobacter species. 16S rRNA gene sequence pairwise comparisons of strain 150B(T) with the type strains of other Campylobacter species revealed that the nearest phylogenetic neighbour was Campylobacter helveticus NCTC 12470(T), with 96.6% similarity. The uniqueness of these rabbit isolates was confirmed by whole-cell protein electrophoresis. Taken together, these data indicate that the strains belong to a novel Campylobacter species for which the name Campylobacter cuniculorum sp. nov. is proposed, with 150B(T) (=LMG 24588(T) =CCUG 56289(T)) as the type strain

Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of small ruminant lentiviruses isolated from Canadian sheep and goats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Small Ruminant Lentiviruses (SRLV) are widespread in Canadian sheep and goats and represent an important health issue in these animals. There is however no data about the genetic diversity of Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis Virus (CAEV) or <it>Maedi Visna </it>Virus (MVV) in this country.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>We performed a molecular and phylogenetic analysis of sheep and goat lentiviruses from a small geographic area in Canada using long sequences from the <it>gag </it>region of 30 infected sheep and 36 infected goats originating from 14 different flocks. Pairwise DNA distance and phylogenetic analyses revealed that all SRLV sequences obtained from sheep clustered tightly with prototypical <it>Maedi visna </it>sequences from America. Similarly, all SRLV strains obtained from goats clustered tightly with prototypical US CAEV-Cork strain.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The data reported in this study suggests that Canadian and US SRLV strains share common origins. In addition, the molecular data failed to bring to light any evidence of past cross species transmission between sheep and goats, which is consistent with the type of farming practiced in this part of the country where single species flocks predominate and where opportunities of cross species transmissions are proportionately low.</p

Emergency vaccination of rabies under limited resources – combating or containing?

BACKGROUND: Rabies is the most important viral zoonosis from a global perspective. Worldwide efforts to combat the disease by oral vaccination of reservoirs have managed to eradicate wildlife rabies in large areas of central Europe and North-America. Thus, repeated vaccination has been discontinued recently on a geographical scale. However, as rabies has not yet been eradicated globally, a serious risk of re-introduction remains. What is the best spatial design for an emergency vaccination program – particularly if resources are limited? Either, we treat a circular area around the detected case and run the risk of infected hosts leaving the limited control area, because a sufficient immunisation level has not yet been built up. Or, initially concentrate the SAME resources in order to establish a protective ring which is more distant from the infected local area, and which then holds out against the challenge of the approaching epidemic. METHODS: We developed a simulation model to contrast the two strategies for emergency vaccination. The spatial-explicit model is based on fox group home-ranges, which facilitates the simulation of rabies spread to larger areas relevant to management. We used individual-based fox groups to follow up the effects of vaccination in a detailed manner. Thus, regionally – bait distribution orientates itself to standard schemes of oral immunisation programs and locally – baits are assigned to individual foxes. RESULTS: Surprisingly, putting the controlled area ring-like around the outbreak does not outperform the circular area of the same size centred on the outbreak. Only during the very first baitings, does the ring area result in fewer breakouts. But then as rabies is eliminated within the circle area, the respective ring area fails, due to the non-controlled inner part. We attempt to take advantage of the initially fewer breakouts beyond the ring when applying a mixed strategy. Therefore, after a certain number of baitings, the area under control was increased for both strategies towards the same larger circular area. The circle-circle strategy still outperforms the ring-circle strategy and analysis of the spatial-temporal disease spread reveals why: improving control efficacy by means of a mixed strategy is impossible in the field, due to the build-up time of population immunity. CONCLUSION: For practical emergency management of a new outbreak of rabies, the ring-like application of oral vaccination is not a favourable strategy at all. Even if initial resources are substantially low and there is a serious risk of rabies cases outside the limited control area, our results suggest circular application instead of ring vaccination

Molecular mechanisms of cell death: recommendations of the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death 2018.

Over the past decade, the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death (NCCD) has formulated guidelines for the definition and interpretation of cell death from morphological, biochemical, and functional perspectives. Since the field continues to expand and novel mechanisms that orchestrate multiple cell death pathways are unveiled, we propose an updated classification of cell death subroutines focusing on mechanistic and essential (as opposed to correlative and dispensable) aspects of the process. As we provide molecularly oriented definitions of terms including intrinsic apoptosis, extrinsic apoptosis, mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT)-driven necrosis, necroptosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis, parthanatos, entotic cell death, NETotic cell death, lysosome-dependent cell death, autophagy-dependent cell death, immunogenic cell death, cellular senescence, and mitotic catastrophe, we discuss the utility of neologisms that refer to highly specialized instances of these processes. The mission of the NCCD is to provide a widely accepted nomenclature on cell death in support of the continued development of the field

ICAR: endoscopic skull‐base surgery

n/

Biological Roles of the O-Methyl Phosphoramidate Capsule Modification in Campylobacter jejuni.

Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide, and the capsular polysaccharide (CPS) of this organism is required for persistence and disease. C. jejuni produces over 47 different capsular structures, including a unique O-methyl phosphoramidate (MeOPN) modification present on most C. jejuni isolates. Although the MeOPN structure is rare in nature it has structural similarity to some synthetic pesticides. In this study, we have demonstrated, by whole genome comparisons and high resolution magic angle spinning NMR, that MeOPN modifications are common to several Campylobacter species. Using MeOPN biosynthesis and transferase mutants generated in C. jejuni strain 81-176, we observed that loss of MeOPN from the cell surface correlated with increased invasion of Caco-2 epithelial cells and reduced resistance to killing by human serum. In C. jejuni, the observed serum mediated killing was determined to result primarily from activation of the classical complement pathway. The C. jejuni MeOPN transferase mutant showed similar levels of colonization relative to the wild-type in chickens, but showed a five-fold drop in colonization when co-infected with the wild-type in piglets. In Galleria mellonella waxmoth larvae, the MeOPN transferase mutant was able to kill the insects at wild-type levels. Furthermore, injection of the larvae with MeOPN-linked monosaccharides or CPS purified from the wild-type strain did not result in larval killing, indicating that MeOPN does not have inherent insecticidal activity

Metal-free and transition-metal tetraferrocenylporphyrins part 1: synthesis, characterization, electronic structure, and conformational flexibility of neutral compounds

H(2)TFcP [TFcP = 5,10,15,20-tetraferrocenyl porphyrin(2-)] was prepared by a direct tetramerization reaction between pyrrole and ferrocene carbaldehyde in the presence of a BF3 catalyst, while the series of MTFcP (M = Zn, Ni, Co and Cu) were prepared by a metallation reaction between H(2)TFcP and respective metal acetates. All compounds were characterized by UV-vis and MCD spectroscopy, APCI MS and MS/MS methods, high-resolution ESI MS and XPS spectroscopy. Diamagnetic compounds were additionally characterized using H-1 and C-13 NMR methods, while the presence of low-spin iron(II) centers in the neutral compounds was confirmed by Mossbauer spectroscopy and by analysis of the XPS Fe 2p peaks, revealing equivalent Fe sites. XPS additionally showed the influence on Fe 2p binding energies exerted by the distinct central metal ions. The conformational flexibility of ferrocene substituents in H(2)TFcP and MTFcP, was confirmed using variable-temperature NMR and computational methods. Density functional theory predicts that alpha, beta, alpha, beta atropisomers with ruffled porphyrin cores represent minima on the potential energy surfaces of both H2TFcP and MTFcP. The degree of non-planarity is central-metal dependent and follows the trend: ZnTFcP < H(2)TFcP similar to CuTFcP < CoTFcP < NiTFcP. In all cases, a set of occupied, predominantly ferrocene-based molecular orbitals were found between the highest occupied and the lowest unoccupied, predominantly porphyrin-based molecular orbitals. The vertical excitation energies of H2TFcP were calculated at the TDDFT level and confirm the presence of numerous predominantly metal-to-ligand charge-transfer bands coupled via configurational interaction with expected intra-ligand p pi-pi* transitions

Intra-Abdominal Actinomycetoma in a Dog Caused by Actinomyces hordeovulneris

A 4-year-old, male French Brittany weighing 18 kg was presented for continuous disorexia associated with a large palpable mass in the cranial abdomen. Radiographic and ultrasonographic examination showed the presence of a mass close to the gastric wall. Percutaneous needle aspiration of the mass revealed pyogranulomatous inflammation. An exploratory laparotomy was performed in order to remove the mass. Actinomiycotic mycetoma was revealed after surgery by positive culture. After a three months antibiotic therapy, nine months follow up showed complete remissio