Congenital deformity of the paw in a captive tiger: case report

Background

Although Morbillivirus and Toxoplasma gondii have emerged as important pathogens for several cetaceans populations over the last 20 years, they have never been identified together in a Mysticete. In particular, morbilliviral infection has been never described in the Mediterranean fin whale population.

Case presentation

On January 2011 an adult male of fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) stranded along the Tyrrhenian coastline of Italy. During necropsy, tissue samples from heart, skeletal muscle, mesenteric lymph nodes, liver, spleen, lung, and kidney were collected and subsequently analyzed for Morbillivirus and Toxoplasma gondii by microscopic and molecular methods. Following the detailed necropsy carried out on this whale, molecular analysis revealed, for the first time, the simultaneous presence of a Dolphin Morbillivirus (DMV) and T. gondii infection coexisting with each other, along with high organochlorine pollutant concentrations, with special reference to DDT.

Conclusion

This report, besides confirming the possibility for Mysticetes to be infected with DMV, highlights the risk of toxoplasmosis in sea water for mammals, already immunodepressed by concurrent factors as infections and environmental contaminants.     

Partial purification of glycosyltransferases participating in the biosynthesis of Salmonella anatum and S. kentucky O-antigens using high performance gel chromatography]

The solubilized glycosyltransferases which catalyse the biosynthesis of Salmonella anatum and S. kentucky O-specific polysaccharides were partially purified by HPLC on Superose 12. Two mannosyl transferases from S. kentucky were separated by gel chromatography; these transferases were found useful for chemical-enzymic synthesis of polyprenylpyrophosphate derivatives of trisaccharides Tal-Man-Gal and Man-Tal-Gal.     

Interaction of SiFe Nanoparticles with Epithelial and Lymphoid Cells

Russian Journal of Bioorganic Chemistry - Silicon and silicon-based nanoparticles (SiNP) attract scientific attention due to the biocompatibility and assimilation of silicon by body tissues....     

Emission analysis of RE3+ (RE = Sm,Dy):B2O3‐TeO2‐Li2O‐AlF3 glasses

This article reports on the optical properties of 0.5% mol of Sm³⁺, Dy³⁺ ion‐doped B₂O₃‐TeO₂‐Li₂O‐AlF₃ (LiAlFBT) glasses. The glass samples were characterized by optical absorption and emission spectra. Judd‐Ofelt theory was applied to analyze the optical absorption spectra and calculate the intensity parameters and radiative properties of the emission transitions. The emission spectra of Sm³⁺ and Dy³⁺:LiAlFBT glasses showed a bright reddish‐orange emission at 598 nm (⁴G_5/2 → ⁶H_7/2) and an intense yellow emission at 574 nm (⁴F_9/2 → ⁶H_13/2), respectively. Full width at half maximum (FWHM), stimulated emission cross section, gain bandwidth and optical gain values were also calculated to extend the applications of the Sm³⁺ and Dy³⁺:LiAlFBT glasses. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

In vivo study of fidelity of DNA double-strand break repair in bacteriophage T4

A method for in vivo studying the fidelity of DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair in bacteriophage T4 has been developed. The frequency of reversion of rII mutations to the wild phenotype was measured in i segC ⁺ × i ets1 segCΔ crosses, where ets1 is an insertion in the initial part of the rIB gene carrying a sequence recognized by SegC endonuclease; i designates a rIIB or rIIA mutation located at some distance from ets1, and segCΔ is a deletion in the segC gene. In such cross, a DSB occurs in the site of ets1. Their repair involves genetic recombination and DNA replication in the neighborhood of ets1. In parallel, the frequency of reversion of the same i mutant in the absence of DSBs is measured in i × i self-crosses. Reversions of different types (base substitutions, deletions, insertions) can be studied with the use of structurally different i mutations located at varying distances from ets1. The reversion frequencies were determined for three rIIB mutations and one rIIA mutation. The results obtained suggest that DSB repair in bacteriophage T4 is a process of high fidelity with the rate of errors that does not essentially exceed that in the case of usual phage multiplication.     

Optimization of mycophenolic acid production in solid state fermentation using response surface methodology

Mycophenolic acid (MPA) can be produced in solid state fermentation. An isolate of Penicillium brevi-compactum ATCC 16024 grown on moist wheat bran produced a titre of 425 mg per kg of wheat bran. Central composite rotatable design and response surface methodology were employed to derive a statistical model for media optimization towards production of mycophenolic acid. Five levels with a five factorial design were adopted. The correlation coefficient was 0.82, ensuring a satisfactory adjustment of the model to the experimental values. This statistical design was very effective in improving the titre of mycophenolic acid up to 3286 mg per kg of wheat bran. Received 24 July 1998/ Accepted in revised form 4 December 1998     

The role of endogenous modulators of chemoreactivity in the regulation of coronary blood flow

32 circulatory bands of coronary arteries of 5 pigs were studied. It has been revealed that the bands develop long-term tonic contraction activity in Krebs's solution (30 mM of KCl). In this case adrenalin in concentration of 10(-7) g/ml causes mild relaxation. In concentration of 10(-6) g/ml, it causes obvious relaxation. Trimetazidin and mildronat do not affect tonic contraction of the bands. They can quickly and reversibly increase relaxation effects of adrenaline. The preparations can increase ten-fold beta-adrenoreactivity of smooth muscles. This shows an important role of endogenic sensibilizers of beta-adrenoreceptors in regulation of coronary blood flow in humans.     

The dynamics of the course of HIV infection in patients with concomitant sexually transmitted disease morbidity and viral hepatitides detected in Saint Petersburg in 1997-1998

During the recent 2 years growth in the number of cases of HIV infection, exceeding 1.2-fold the number of cases detected during the preceding 9 years, was registered in St. Petersburg. In the structure of patients with detected HIV infection injecting drug users prevailed. Among 124 patients with detected HIV infection 28.2% and 46.8% had, respectively, concomitant sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and virus hepatitides (VH). Due to preventive and antiepidemic measures the STD and VH morbidity decreased in all groups of HIV-infected patients under study.     

Bayesian DNA copy number analysis

Background  

Some diseases, like tumors, can be related to chromosomal aberrations, leading to changes of DNA copy number. The copy number of an aberrant genome can be represented as a piecewise constant function, since it can exhibit regions of deletions or gains. Instead, in a healthy cell the copy number is two because we inherit one copy of each chromosome from each our parents.