Comparison of Culture and a Novel 5' Taq Nuclease Assay for Direct Detection of Campylobacter fetus subsp. venerealis in Clinical Specimens from Cattle

A Campylobacter fetus subsp. venerealis-specific 5' Taq nuclease PCR assay using a 3' minor groove binder-DNA probe (TaqMan MGB) was developed based on a subspecies-specific fragment of unknown identity (S. Hum, K. Quinn, J. Brunner, and S. L. On, Aust. Vet. J. 75:827-831, 1997). The assay specifically detected four C. fetus subsp. venerealis strains with no observed cross-reaction with C. fetus subsp. fetus-related Campylobacter species or other bovine venereal microflora. The 5' Taq nuclease assay detected approximately one single cell compared to 100 and 10 cells in the conventional PCR assay and 2,500 and 25,000 cells from selective culture from inoculated smegma and mucus, respectively. The respective detection limits following the enrichments from smegma and mucus were 5,000 and 50 cells/inoculum for the conventional PCR compared to 500 and 50 cells/inoculum for the 5' Taq nuclease assay. Field sampling confirmed the sensitivity and the specificity of the 5' Taq nuclease assay by detecting an additional 40 bulls that were not detected by culture. Urine-inoculated samples demonstrated comparable detection of C. fetus subsp. venerealis by both culture and the 5' Taq nuclease assay; however, urine was found to be less effective than smegma for bull sampling. Three infected bulls were tested repetitively to compare sampling tools, and the bull rasper proved to be the most suitable, as evidenced by the improved ease of specimen collection and the consistent detection of higher levels of C. fetus subsp. venerealis. The 5' Taq nuclease assay demonstrates a statistically significant association with culture (2 = 29.8; P < 0.001) and significant improvements for the detection of C. fetus subsp. venerealis-infected animals from crude clinical extracts following prolonged transport.

Assessing organizational culture in complex sociotechnical systems : Methodological evidence from studies in nuclear power plant maintenance organizations

Failures in industrial organizations dealing with hazardous technologies can have widespread consequences for the safety of the workers and the general population. Psychology can have a major role in contributing to the safe and reliable operation of these technologies. Most current models of safety management in complex sociotechnical systems such as nuclear power plant maintenance are either non-contextual or based on an overly-rational image of an organization. Thus, they fail to grasp either the actual requirements of the work or the socially-constructed nature of the work in question. The general aim of the present study is to develop and test a methodology for contextual assessment of organizational culture in complex sociotechnical systems. This is done by demonstrating the findings that the application of the emerging methodology produces in the domain of maintenance of a nuclear power plant (NPP). The concepts of organizational culture and organizational core task (OCT) are operationalized and tested in the case studies. We argue that when the complexity of the work, technology and social environment is increased, the significance of the most implicit features of organizational culture as a means of coordinating the work and achieving safety and effectiveness of the activities also increases. For this reason a cultural perspective could provide additional insight into the problem of safety management. The present study aims to determine; (1) the elements of the organizational culture in complex sociotechnical systems; (2) the demands the maintenance task sets for the organizational culture; (3) how the current organizational culture at the case organizations supports the perception and fulfilment of the demands of the maintenance work; (4) the similarities and differences between the maintenance cultures at the case organizations, and (5) the necessary assessment of the organizational culture in complex sociotechnical systems. Three in-depth case studies were carried out at the maintenance units of three Nordic NPPs. The case studies employed an iterative and multimethod research strategy. The following methods were used: interviews, CULTURE-survey, seminars, document analysis and group work. Both cultural analysis and task modelling were carried out. The results indicate that organizational culture in complex sociotechnical systems can be characterised according to three qualitatively different elements: structure, internal integration and conceptions. All three of these elements of culture as well as their interrelations have to be considered in organizational assessments or important aspects of the organizational dynamics will be overlooked. On the basis of OCT modelling, the maintenance core task was defined as balancing between three critical demands: anticipating the condition of the plant and conducting preventive maintenance accordingly, reacting to unexpected technical faults and monitoring and reflecting on the effects of maintenance actions and the condition of the plant. The results indicate that safety was highly valued at all three plants, and in that sense they all had strong safety cultures. In other respects the cultural features were quite different, and thus the culturally-accepted means of maintaining high safety also differed. The handicraft nature of maintenance work was emphasised as a source of identity at the NPPs. Overall, the importance of safety was taken for granted, but the cultural norms concerning the appropriate means to guarantee it were little reflected. A sense of control, personal responsibility and organizational changes emerged as challenging issues at all the plants. The study shows that in complex sociotechnical systems it is both necessary and possible to analyse the safety and effectiveness of the organizational culture. Safety in complex sociotechnical systems cannot be understood or managed without understanding the demands of the organizational core task and managing the dynamics between the three elements of the organizational culture.

In vitro propagation of Corymbia torelliana x C. citriodora (Myrtaceae) via cytokinin-free node culture

Hybrids between Corymbia torelliana (F.Muell.) K.D.Hill & L.A.S.Johnson and C. citriodora subsp. variegata (F.Muell.) A.R.Bean & M.W.McDonald are used extensively to establish forestry plantations in subtropical Australia. Methods were developed for in vitro seed germination, shoot multiplication and plantlet formation that could be used to establish in vitro and ex vitro clone banks of juvenile Corymbia hybrids. Effects of sodium hypochlorite concentration and exposure time on seed contamination and germination, and effects of cytokinin and auxin concentrations on shoot multiplication and subsequent rooting, were assessed. A two-step surface sterilisation procedure, involving 70% ethanol followed by 1% sodium hypochlorite, provided almost no contamination and at least 88% germination. A novel method of cytokinin-free node culture proved most effective for in vitro propagation. Lateral bud break of primary shoots was difficult to induce by using cytokinin, but primary shoots rooted prolifically, elongated rapidly and produced multiple nodes in the absence of exogenous cytokinin. Further multiplication was obtained either by elongating lateral shoots of nodal explants in cytokinin-free medium or by inducing organogenic callus and axillary shoot proliferation with 2.2 µm benzyladenine. Plantlets were produced using an in vitro soil-less method that provided extensive rooting in sterile propagation mixture. These methods provide a means for simultaneous laboratory storage and field-testing of clones before selection and multiplication of desired genotypes.

A new culture method for lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus

A new culture method for lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer), was developed to provide large numbers of adult lesser mealworms of approximately the same age for insecticide resistance testing. Culturing entailed allowing 100 adults to reproduce for 4 days in a wheat-based culture medium contained inside a plastic culture box, removing the adults from the medium, and then rearing their progeny to adulthood therein, in approximately 56 days at 32 degrees C and 55% RH. During their development, progeny were supplied water via apple slices at 0, 21 and 35 days, and a foam substrate in which to pupate, also at 35 days. During 2004-2005, adult lesser mealworms were collected from six broiler-house populations and then cultured with this method. Each population produced 4500 adults required to complete resistance testing with one insecticide within ten culture boxes, at an average of 798 adults per culture box.

Advances in the culture of crabs

Farmed crab production in 2005 reached 660,000 tonnes globally of which virtually all was produced in Asia. The freshwater Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir japonica sinensis accounts for two thirds of global crab production with the remainder, estuarine portunid crabs such as Scylla species. Initially reliant upon harvest of wild juveniles, the adoption of hatchery methods to supply “seed” makes a significant increase in aquaculture production possible. Many fundamental husbandry issues such as feeding and reproduction are only now receiving research attention.

Advances in the culture of lobsters.

Commercial aquaculture of marine lobsters is an attractive proposition, as most species are high value with established market demand, and fishery production is static or diminishing. Nevertheless, achievement of commercial success will necessitate resolution of technical difficulties associated with on-growing of aggressive species (clawed lobsters) or with rearing the larvae, which for spiny and slipper lobsters is generally a painstaking and protracted process. Notwithstanding these technical challenges, increasing market demand for the product is driving a substantial research and development effort around the world to develop commercial lobster farming technology. This chapter reports on the status of that effort, the successes and obstacles.

Culture Condition Dependent Changes Of 4-Thiouridine In The Transfer-Rna Of Azotobacter-Vinelandii

4..T~iouridine, a thionucleoside present in the transfer RNA of the free living, nitrogen-fixing ?actenu~ Azotobacter »inelandii shows a culture condition dependent change. When thebacterium IS grown Intheabsen~e ofanyfixed nit~ogen thetRNA contains 4-thiouridine to theextent of 45% of the total sulphur Incorporated. This gets reduced to 5%when the bacterium is grown in the presen~e of.e~ces~ ofamm~nium salt.Instead, a new thionucleoside which appears to be a derivative of 4-thloundlne IS found In the tRNA to the extent of 28%of the total sulphur incorporated.

Integrated pond culture for improved production and environmental performance

This presentation given at the World Aquaculture conference in 2008 describes research undertaken at the Bribie Island Research Centre involving zero water exchange co-culture of whiting and banana prawns.

Modulation of arginine decarboxylase activity in cucumber (Cucumis sativus) cotyledons in short-term organ culture

Among the various amines administered to excisedCucumis sativus cotyledons in short-term organ culture, agmatine (AGM) inhibited arginine decarboxylase (ADC) activity to around 50%, and putrescine was the most potent entity in this regard. Homoarginine (HARG) dramatically stimulated (3- to 4-fold) the enzyme activity. Both AGM inhibition and HARG stimulation of ADC were transient, the maximum response being elicited at 12 h of culture. Mixing experiments ruled out involvement of a macromolecular effector in the observed modulation of ADC. HARG-stimulated ADC activity was completely abolished by cycloheximide, whereas AGM-mediated inhibition was unaffected. Half-life of the enzyme did not alter on treatment with either HARG or AGM. The observed alterations in ADC activity are accompanied by change in Km of the enzyme. HARG-stimulated ADC activity is additive to that induced by benzyladenine (BA) whereas in presence of KCl, HARG failed to enhance ADC activity, thus demonstrating the overriding influence of K+ on amine metabolism.

In vitro culture of buffalo fly and infections with Wolbachia

"Develop and optimise reliable in vitro culture methods for buffalo fly "Use the in vitro system to determine whether experimental Wolbachia infection can be established in buffalo fly. "Prepare further applications for related work towards better control of buffalo fly, exploiting the in vitro culture system.

Strategic banana tissue culture industry development and biosecurity act

Application and development of activities based on in vitro technologies delivering research, industry development and biosecurity activities to sustain and improve the Australian banana industry.

Isolation and Culture of a Thermophilic Fungus, Melanocarpus albomyces, and Factors Influencing the Production and Activity of Xylanase

Summary: An uncommon thermophilic fungus, Melanocarpus albomyces, was isolated from soil and compost by incubating samples in a glucose/sorbose/asparagine liquid medium, followed by enrichment culture in medium containing sugarcane bagasse as carbon source. The culture filtrate protein of the fungus grown in the presence of bagasse or xylose hydrolysed xylan and some other polysaccharides but cellulose was not hydrolysed. High extracellular xylanase (EC 3.2.1.8) activity was produced by cultures grown on xylose or hemicellulosic materials. The enzyme was induced in glucose-grown washed mycelia in response to addition of xylose or xylan but not by alkyl or aryl β-D-xylosides. Cultures produced higher enzyme yields in shaken flasks than in a fermenter. Gel-filtration chromatography of culture filtrate protein showed the presence of two isoenzymes of xylanase, whose relative proportions varied with the carbon source used for growth. The extent of hydrolysis of heteroxylans or the hemicellulosic fraction of bagasse by culture filtrate protein preparations was greater when the cultures had been grown on bagasse rather than xylose as the inducing substrate. The activity of xylanase preparations was increased when an exogenous β-glucosidase was added.

In vitro culture of the allergenic weed Parthenium hysterophorus L

Excised stem, leaf segments and whole flower of the allergenic weed P. hysterophorus were cultured on Murashighe and Skoog's basal medium supplemented with hormones. Shoot buds readily formed in the stem callus cultured on MS Medium supplemented with IAA and BAP or Kinetin. The leaf callus formed roots alone in a wide variety of media. Suspension cultures were initiated from the leaf and stem callus. The leaf callus elicited a positive patch test response for delayed hypersensitivity in 4 patients suffering from Parthenium dermatitis, thus indicating its ability to synthesise the allergenic principle(s).

Enhancing somatic embryogenesis in avocado (Persea americana Mill.) using a two-step culture system and including glutamine in the culture medium

The development of a more efficient in vitro regeneration system for somatic embryos (SEs) of avocado (Persea americana) would facilitate the development of new superior cultivars for this valuable horticultural crop. In this study, we report a new and efficient method for maintenance and regeneration of avocado SEs. Avocado SEs of four cultivars remained healthy and viable in vitro for 11 months on a medium used for mango somatic embryogenesis, compared with 3-4 months on Murashige and Skoog medium. Various supplements and media modifications were investigated to improve the low conversion rate of regenerated plants from avocado SEs reported previously. The one-step system for regeneration of white-opaque somatic embryos (WOSEs) used solid medium only over a period of 12-14 weeks (sub-culturing every 6 weeks). Addition of praline and glutamine improved the total regeneration from 0 to 17.5% and 10.5%, and plant/shoot recovery from 0 to 12.5% and 5%, respectively. A two-step culture system involving the transfer of WOSEs of cultivar 'Reed' after 6 weeks on solid to liquid medium for 12-15 days as an intermediate step, followed by subculturing again onto solid medium for 6 weeks improved total regeneration to 29% and plant/shoot recovery to 18.3 from 0% when regenerated by subculturing on solid medium only. Supplementation with proline in the solid as well as liquid medium in the two-step culture system at 0.4 g/L increased total regeneration to 35% and plant/shoot recovery to 20%. We were able to achieve highest regeneration using glutamine at 1 g/L in the two-step culture system in terms of both total regeneration (58.3%, including 43.3% bipolar regeneration) and plant/shoot recovery (36.7%) rates, which were significantly higher than in any other treatment investigated. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pro-Environmental Organizational Culture and Climate

This chapter reviews the concepts of organizational culture and climate and applies them to environmental sustainability. Though culture and climate are often used interchangeably, the chapter identifies key distinctions between them and highlights how they can complement one another. The two concepts are used to discuss how the organizational context for environmental sustainability, and employee perceptions thereof, influence individual pro-environmental behavior. Organizational climate is integrated with a dynamic model of organizational culture to describe how pro-environmental cultures and climates emerge. The chapter also highlights how organizations with different motivations can create pro-environmental cultures and climates. The chapter uses the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company as an archetype of an organization with a pro-environmental culture and climate. In the course of the discussion, the chapter nominates several imperatives for research and recommendations for practice.