Serovars and biovars of Campylobacter strains isolated from humans and slaughterhouse animals in northern Germany

A total of 318 Campylobacter strains from sporadic cases of human enteritis (109 strains) and healthy slaughterhouse animals in northern Germany (209 strains) were bio- and serotyped according to the Lior typing schemes. Three hundred strains were typable (94.3%) and 38 serovars were identified. Among human strains 28 serovars were identified with 30% of them belonging to serovar 4. Strains from pigs were associated with 25 serovars, the most frequent being serovar 20 (21.2%). Fourteen serovars were identified in the ovine strains of which 31.1% were of serovar 49, and 22.2% of serovar 4. All of the strains from one chicken farm were of serovar 11, whereas in those from another serovar 1 was predominant (85.4%). Twenty-five of the 38 serovars identified were associated with at least two different biovars. Campylobacter jejuni biovar I was predominant in humans, sheep and chickens and Campylobacter coli biovar I in pigs. The results suggest that the combined use of bio- and serotyping according to the Lior typing schemes would be of use in studies on the epidemiology of human campylobacteriosis in Germany.     

Inheritance of c(4) enzymes associated with carbon fixation in flaveria species

Activities and subunit levels of three C₄ enzymes were determined for F₁ hybrids between C₄ and C₃-C₄Flaveria species. For phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and pyruvate orthophosphate, dikinase, enzyme amounts in the hybrids were close to the mid-parent means. However, activity and subunit levels of NADP-malic enzyme were approximately one-half the mid-parent mean.     

Mesozooplankton of the Kosi Bay lakes,South Africa

The Kosi coastal lake system, a chain of four interconnected basins, is located in the subtropical north-eastern corner of South Africa. Little information is available on zooplankton of the system and the main aim of this study is to report on zooplankton samples collected during 2002 and 2003. The set of samples consists of seasonal, subsurface mesozooplankton samples that were collected during nighttime in each of the lakes. A well-developed salinity gradient was evident along the interconnected lakes in the subsurface water during all seasons, ranging from freshwater in the upper lake Amanzamnyama to a maximum of 22 recorded in Lake Makhawulani. The zooplankton community structures of the lakes reflected the salinity gradient of the system, with some coastal marine taxa recorded in the lakes closer to the mouth and only freshwater taxa recorded in Lake Amanzamnyama. Mesozooplankton diversity and abundance were relatively low compared to other estuarine systems along the eastern coast of South Africa. The dominant taxa were calanoid copepods Acartiella natalensis and Pseudodiaptomus stuhlmanni and the mysid Mesopodopsis africana in the lower lakes, whereas cyclopoids Mesocyclops sp. and Thermocyclops sp. dominated the freshwater lake Amanzamnyama.     

Toward a Four‐Electron Redox Quinone Polymer for High Capacity Lithium Ion Storage

Despite recent advances, current polymeric organic cathode materials have failed to incorporate a high degree of lithium storage in a small molecular framework, resulting in low capacities relative to monomers. This report discloses the development of a lithium salt polymer of dihydroxyanthraquinone (LiDHAQS) capable of storing four Li⁺ per monomer. The combination of storing four Li⁺ per monomer and a low molecular weight monomer results in a capacity of 330 mA h g^?1, a record for this class of material. The additional redox events responsible for added Li⁺ storage occur between 3.0 and 3.6 V versus Li/Li⁺ resulting in an average discharge potential of 2.5 V versus Li/Li⁺. These metrics combined yield a high energy density of 825 W h kg^?1 which is a 55% improvement over commercial lithium cobalt oxide. The high performance of LiDHAQS makes it a promising material for next generation Li⁺ cathodes.     

Cliques and cavities in the human connectome

Encoding brain regions and their connections as a network of nodes and edges captures many of the possible paths along which information can be transmitted as humans process and perform complex behaviors. Because cognitive processes involve large, distributed networks of brain areas, principled examinations of multi-node routes within larger connection patterns can offer fundamental insights into the complexities of brain function. Here, we investigate both densely connected groups of nodes that could perform local computations as well as larger patterns of interactions that would allow for parallel processing. Finding such structures necessitates that we move from considering exclusively pairwise interactions to capturing higher order relations, concepts naturally expressed in the language of algebraic topology. These tools can be used to study mesoscale network structures that arise from the arrangement of densely connected substructures called cliques in otherwise sparsely connected brain networks. We detect cliques (all-to-all connected sets of brain regions) in the average structural connectomes of 8 healthy adults scanned in triplicate and discover the presence of more large cliques than expected in null networks constructed via wiring minimization, providing architecture through which brain network can perform rapid, local processing. We then locate topological cavities of different dimensions, around which information may flow in either diverging or converging patterns. These cavities exist consistently across subjects, differ from those observed in null model networks, and – importantly – link regions of early and late evolutionary origin in long loops, underscoring their unique role in controlling brain function. These results offer a first demonstration that techniques from algebraic topology offer a novel perspective on structural connectomics, highlighting loop-like paths as crucial features in the human brain’s structural architecture.     

THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES FOR THE INHIBITION OF INDUCIBLE NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHASE—POTENTIAL FOR A NOVEL CLASS OF ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AGENTS

In recent years, NO, a gas previously considered a potentially toxic chemical, has become established as a diffusible universal messenger mediating cell—cell communication throughout the body. In mammals, NO is a recognized mediator of blood vessel relaxation that helps to maintain blood pressure. In the central nervous system NO acts as a non-conventional neurotransmitter and participates in the establishment of long-term plasticity required for memory formation. In addition, NO is responsible for some parts of the host response to sepsis and inflammation and contributes to certain disease states. A number of strategies have emerged with regard to a pharmacological control of pathological NO overproductions. This review will discuss these novel therapeutic approaches that may provide new means for clinical medicine.     

Deletion mapping of DNA markers to a region of chromosome 5 that cosegregates with schizophrenia

Two independent lines of evidence support the localization of a schizophrenia susceptibility locus to the proximal long arm of chromosome 5. A partial trisomy of chromosome 5 (5q11.2-q13.3) cosegregates with the disorder in a Canadian family of Chinese descent, and DNA markers from proximal 5q cosegregate with schizophrenia (plus related disorders) in families of British and Icelandic descent. We constructed a human:hamster hybrid cell line (HHW 1064) whose only human complement is a chromosome 5 that is missing the trisomic region associated with schizophrenia. In combination with a "matched" cell hybrid (HHW 105) containing an intact chromosome 5, we physically mapped DNA markers relative to the trisomy. "Schizophrenia-linked" DNA markers p105-153Ra (D5S39) and p105-599Ha (D5S76) map within the trisomy and proximal to the 5q11.2 breakpoint, respectively. The hybrid cell lines HHW 105 and HHW 1064 together provide a means to identify and generate syntenic DNA markers to further investigate the location of a schizophrenia locus.     

Pyruvate metabolism of perfused rat lungs after exposure to 100% oxygen

Previous studies with lung homogenates have suggested that pulmonary O2 toxicity is in part a result of inhibited mitochondrial energy metabolism. In this study, mitochondrial metabolism was determined by measurements of 14CO2 production from [1-14C]-pyruvate in perfused lungs, isolated after 0, 3, 6, 12, and 24 h of exposure to 100% O2. Measurements were made under normal and stimulated conditions brought about by uncoupling oxidative phosphorylation with 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP). Lungs were ventilated with 5% CO2 in O2 and perfused for 100 min with 12.5 mM 14C labeled pyruvate. Unexposed lungs gave a linear rate of 14CO2 production of 121 +/- 16 mumol/h/g dry wt (n = 5), which was maximally stimulated 84% by perfusion with 0.8 mMDNP. Twenty-four hours of exposure to 100% O2 did not significantly affect 14CO2 production. In contrast, DNP failed to significantly stimulate pyruvate metabolism to CO2 in lungs exposed for greater than 3 h to 100% O2. These latter data suggested that O2 exposure makes lung mitochondria unable to respond to increased ATP demands associated with DNP uncoupling. Compromised energy metabolism is therefore an important early event in O2 toxicity.