Surveillance of vivax malaria vectors and civilian patients for malaria high-risk areas in northern Gyeonggi and Gangwon Provinces near the demilitarized zone,Republic of Korea, 2003–2006

After re-emergence of malaria in 1993, a continued increase in Plasmodium vivax cases was observed from 1993 to 2006 in northern Gyeonggi and Gangwon Provinces adjacent to the demilitarized zone separating North from South Korea. Annual parasite incidence per 1000 people ranged from 0.33 in 2004 to 0.89 in 2006. While malaria case rates declined (22.6%) in 2004, they increased 75.1% in 2005 and 51.7% in 2006 from the previous years. An initial incorrect diagnosis of 46.8% of malaria cases as common cold resulted in a mean delay of 1.3 days for the detection malarial parasites. Of the total cases, 10.2% from December to May were due to latent intrinsic incubation infections acquired the previous malaria season and the rest of the cases from June to November were either latent or short incubation infections. Overall, the peak anopheline population occurred from July to September, resulting in a similar peak in malaria cases. While malaria cases increased during 2005–2006, anopheline populations, based on trap indices, were not significantly different during 4 years of surveillance. To decrease the malaria patient infective period to mosquitoes, public health centers in Paju and Cheorwon in 2006 prescribed chloroquine + primaquine at days 0–3 after initial malaria diagnosis followed by an additional 11 days of primaquine (early primaquine treatment), rather than chloroquine on days 0–3 and primaquine on days 4–17 (delayed primaquine treatment). A reduction in the malaria parasite incidence during 2007 was recorded for the two locations offering the early primaquine treatment relative to other locations using the delayed primaquine treatment.     

Measuring the impact of sewage effluent on the macroinvertebrate community of an upland stream: The effect of different levels of taxonomic resolution and quantification

Abstract Benthic macroinvertebrates were sampled from four sites on upland streams in the Wentworth Falls area of the Blue Mountains, NSW. One site received effluent from a sewage treatment plant and the others were reference sites. Five replicate collections were taken from each site on four occasions at intervals of 3 months. Macroinvertebrate community data were analysed using univariate (ANOVA) and multivariate (NMDS) techniques and comparisons were made between analyses at different levels of taxonomic aggregation and using different methods of data transformation. Similar patterns were observed at both species and family levels, and even the order level showed a clear community response to effluent input. Binary (presence/ absence) data provided similar results to quantitative data for the species and family levels. However, when binary data were used at the order level, the distinctions between the reference sites became blurred. We discuss the implications of these findings for environmental monitoring.     

Atmospheric deposition of sulphur and nitrogen species in the U.K.

1. The foundations of our understanding of acid deposition were laid in the last century, but the scale and scope of damage to sensitive receptors has only been subject to intensive investigation over the last 30 years or so. Negotiations are now well underway to reduce emissions, and for some pollutants policy is in place, so that these receptors may be protected adequately. Crucial to this has been the 'critical loads' approach adopted in the U.K. and elsewhere in Europe over the last 6 years.
2. This paper describes the source of acidic emissions, how these emissions are transformed in the atmosphere and subsequently deposited. Measurements of wet deposition are made at a number of sites in the U.K. and some of the results from the networks are presented. These results allow wet and dry deposition to be mapped and the methodologies and underlying assumptions to these procedures are described, and S deposition has been estimated for the U.K. Acid Waters Monitoring Network sites.     

一种加工型马铃薯品种的农杆菌转化体系研究

大西洋马铃薯是经济价值很高的炸片型加工品种,逆境胁迫下,易产生褐变、空心等问题,影响加工品质。为获取抗逆境胁迫的优质转基因新品种,采用根癌农杆菌介导法,以大西洋马铃薯的茎段为外植体,建立了快速,简便,高效的遗传转化体系。从共培养到转化植株获得只需7-8周,转化频率达80%。结果表明茎段是较好的转化受体,硫代硫酸银可以有效促进不定芽分化并提高再生频率。PCR、Southern杂交分析证明外源基因已经成功整合到马铃薯再生植株的基因组中。该转化体系为大量开发转基因马铃薯植株,进而筛选优质的马铃薯炸片加工型新品种奠定基础。     

Isolation and characterization of polymorphic trinucleotide microsatellites of the polyploid crucian carp (Carassius auratus)

In this study, we isolated and characterized nine polymorphic trinucleotide microsatellites (CAG and CCT) from the crucian carp (Carassius auratus). The number of alleles per locus ranged from two to six. Five loci showed a significantly excess homozygosity, and a genetic linkage between CAL0102 and CAL0495 was strongly suggested. Our results confirmed the triploidy of Korean individuals, and the microsatellites were found to be useful for analysing the allelic state of the polyploid crucian carp.