Typing of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli strains by REP-PCR

In the present study the repetitive extragenic palindromic (REP) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique was used to establish the clonal variability of 49 avian Escherichia coli (APEC) strains isolated from different outbreak cases of septicemia (n=24), swollen head syndrome (n=14) and omphalitis (n=11). Thirty commensal strains isolated from poultry with no signs of these illnesses were used as control strains. The purified DNA of these strains produced electrophoretic profiles ranging from 0 to 15 bands with molecular sizes varying from 100 bp to 6.1 kb, allowing the grouping of the 79 strains into a dendrogram containing 49 REP-types. Although REP-PCR showed good discriminating power it was not able to group the strains either into specific pathogenic classes or to differentiate between pathogenic and non-pathogenic strains. On the contrary, we recently demonstrated that other techniques such as ERIC-PCR and isoenzyme profiles are appropriate to discriminate between commensal and APEC strains and also to group these strains into specific pathogenic classes. In conclusion, REP-PCR seems to be a technique neither efficient nor universal for APEC strains discrimination. However, the population clonal structure obtained with the use of REP-PCR must not be ignored particularly if one takes into account that the APEC pathogenic mechanisms are not completely understood yet.

Vi åt fisken och jag gillar det. Tempus i finska gymnasisters skrivna berättelser

Tässä tutkielmassa tarkoituksena on tutkia aikamuotojen käyttöä suomenkielisten lukiolaisten ruotsiksi kirjoittamissa kertomuksissa. Lukiolaisten tekstit on arvioitu yhteisen eurooppalaisen viitekehyksen kielitaidon tasoasteikon mukaan, joten tutkimuksen päätavoitteena on vertailla eroja eri taitotasojen välillä. Tutkimuksessa mukana olevat taito-tasot ovat A1, A2 ja B1. Lisäksi tarkoituksena on vertailla suomalaisten lukiolaisten aikamuotojen käyttöä verrokkiryhmänä toimivien samanikäisten ruotsalaisten lukiolaisten aikamuotojen käyttöön. Edelleen analyysiosassa selvitetään, noudattavatko suomen- ja ruotsinkieliset lukiolaiset teksteissään tempusharmoniaa. Tutkimuksen materiaali on osa projektia Toisen kielen oppimisen polut (Topling). Tämän tutkielman materiaalina käytetään yhteensä 130 suomenkielisen lukiolaisen kirjoittamaa tarinaa sekä verrokkimateriaalina 31 ruotsalaisen lukiolaisen kirjoittamaa tarinaa. Suomenkielisten lukiolaisten kirjoitelmat on kerätty pitkittäistutkimuksena kahdessa osassa, ensimmäiset lukion kurssilla 1 tai 2 ja toiset kurssilla 3. Topling-projektin puitteissa kerätyt kirjoitelmat on arvioitu Eurooppalaisen viitekehyksen taitotasoasteikkojen mukaan. Tutkimusmetodit ovat pääasiassa kvantitatiivisia. Tulokset esitellään taulukoi-en muodossa frekvenssein ja prosentein. Lisäksi käytetään x²-testiä eri taitotasojen välisten erojen selvittämiseksi. Tuloksia tarkastellaan ryhmätasolla. Kvalitatiivisia metodeja käytetään osittain tarkasteltaessa ruotsalaisten lukiolaisten aikamuotojen käyttöä sekä tempusharmoniaa analysoitaessa. Tuloksista käy ilmi, että imperfekti oli käytetyin ja preesens toiseksi käytetyin aikamuoto koko materiaalissa. Imperfektiä käytettiin enemmän taitotasolla B1 kuin alemmilla taitotasoilla, kun taas preesens oli yleisempi alemmilla tasoilla. Muiden aikamuotojen (perfekti, pluskvamperfekti, futuuri ja mennen ajan futuuri) osuus materiaalissa oli melko pieni. Tutkimus osoitti, että lukiolaiset käyttivät eri aikamuotoja melko hyvin. Koko materiaalissa oikeaa aikamuotoa käytettiin 82,5 %:ssa tapauksista. Tasolla B1 oikeellisuusprosentti oli kaikkein korkein. Materiaalissa imperfektiä käytettiin liian vähän, kun taas preesensiä käytettiin liikaa. Toisin sanoen lukiolaiset yksinkertaistivat tekstejään käyttämällä helpompia preesens-muotoja vaikeampien imperfektimuotojen sijasta. Tutkimuksen perusteella ei voida tehdä yleistyksiä monimutkaisempien aikamuotojen (perfekti, pluskvamperfekti, futuuri ja menneen ajan futuuri) käytöstä, sillä niiden osuus materiaalissa oli vähäinen. Mitä tulee infiniittisiin verbimuotoihin, infinitiiveihin ja supiineihin, käytettiin niitä useammin aikamuotoon taivutettujen verbien sijasta kuin päinvastoin. Ruotsalaiset lukiolaiset käyttivät kertomuksissaan eri aikamuotoja monipuolisemmin kuin suomenkieliset ikätoverinsa. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa kävi ilmi, että sekä suomalaisilla että ruotsalaisilla lukiolaisilla oli vaikeuksia noudattaa tempusharmoniaa.

Imp. Caes. Carolo VI Augusto pio victori gentis suae sideri felicissimo chorographiam hanc exhibentem primar. regionum Habspurgicar. situm positumq. ... pietatis supplex dicat provincia Brisgoia.

Irtokartta

Tabula Asiae VI : Arabia Felix

Julkaisussa: Geographia universalis, vetus et nova, complectens Claudii Ptolemaei Alexandrini enarrationis libros VIII

Tabulae Peutingerianae segmentum V : a Sarmatis Hamaxobiis usque ad Roxulanas ; Segmentum VI : a Sarmatis Roxulanis usque ad Parnacos

Julkaisussa: Accuratissima orbis antiqui delineatio, sive, geographia vetus, sacra & profana

Expression of anti-Z-DNA single chain antibody variable fragment on the filamentous phage surface

We describe the expression of an anti-Z-DNA single chain variable region antibody fragment (scFv) on a filamentous phage surface. Four vectors for phage display were constructed. Two of them are able to display multiple copies of the antibody fragment, and the others can be used to make monovalent libraries. The vectors use different promoter/leader sequences to direct the expression of the fused proteins. All were able to promote the assembly of fusion virion particles. In this paper we also show the affinity selection (biopanning) of those phage-antibodies based on the capacity of their products to recognize the antigen. We used biotinylated Z-DNA and the selection was performed in a solution phase fashion. The data presented here indicate that these vectors can be further used to construct anti-nucleic acid antibody fragment libraries that can be used to study the basis of nucleic acid-protein interaction and its role in autoimmunity mechanisms.

Typing of Enterococcus faecium by polymerase chain reaction and pulsed field gel electrophoresis

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with JB1 or REP consensus oligonucleotides and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) were used to study genomic DNA extracted from 31 strains of enterococci. Eleven ATCC strains, representative of 11 species of Enterococcus, were initially tested by JB1-PCR, revealing that Enterococcus malodoratus and Enterococcus hirae presented identical banding patterns. Eight Enterococcus faecium isolates from Stanford University and 12 from São Paulo Hospital were studied by JB1-PCR, REP-PCR 1/2R and PFGE. Among the isolates from Stanford University, 5 genotypes were defined by JB1-PCR, 7 by REP-PCR 1/2R and 4 by PFGE. Among the isolates from São Paulo Hospital, 9 genotypes were identified by JB1-PCR, 6 by REP-PCR and 5 by PFGE. The three methods identified identical genotypes, but there was not complete agreement among them.

HLA-DQA1 allele typing by nonisotopic PCR-LIS-SSCP

In the present study we used a simple and reliable method for HLA-DQA1 allele typing based on the single-stranded conformation polymorphism (SSCP) properties of DNA molecules obtained by PCR. The technique consists of PCR amplification of a DNA fragment comprising the second exon of the HLA-DQA1 gene, amplicon denaturation using a low ionic strength solution (LIS), and electrophoresis on a small native polyacrylamide gel, followed by a rapid silver staining procedure. In order to validate the technique and to obtain the allele patterns for the DQA1 gene, 50 cervical samples were typed using this methodology and the commercial Amplitype® HLA DQA1 Amplification and Typing kit. All the alleles detected with the kit were characterized by the LIS-SSCP approach. This procedure proved to be useful for population screening and typing of the DQA1 gene as well as for detecting new alleles or mutations in the donor-recipient molecular matching of HLA class II genes.

The brain decade in debate: VI. Sensory and motor maps: dynamics and plasticity

This article is an edited transcription of a virtual symposium promoted by the Brazilian Society of Neuroscience and Behavior (SBNeC). Although the dynamics of sensory and motor representations have been one of the most studied features of the central nervous system, the actual mechanisms of brain plasticity that underlie the dynamic nature of sensory and motor maps are not entirely unraveled. Our discussion began with the notion that the processing of sensory information depends on many different cortical areas. Some of them are arranged topographically and others have non-topographic (analytical) properties. Besides a sensory component, every cortical area has an efferent output that can be mapped and can influence motor behavior. Although new behaviors might be related to modifications of the sensory or motor representations in a given cortical area, they can also be the result of the acquired ability to make new associations between specific sensory cues and certain movements, a type of learning known as conditioning motor learning. Many types of learning are directly related to the emotional or cognitive context in which a new behavior is acquired. This has been demonstrated by paradigms in which the receptive field properties of cortical neurons are modified when an animal is engaged in a given discrimination task or when a triggering feature is paired with an aversive stimulus. The role of the cholinergic input from the nucleus basalis to the neocortex was also highlighted as one important component of the circuits responsible for the context-dependent changes that can be induced in cortical maps.

Adenylyl cyclase types I and VI but not II and V are selectively inhibited by nitric oxide

Adenylyl cyclase (AC) isoforms catalyze the synthesis of 3',5'-cyclic AMP from ATP. These isoforms are critically involved in the regulation of gene transcription, metabolism, and ion channel activity among others. Nitric oxide (NO) is a gaseous product whose synthesis from L-arginine is catalyzed by the enzyme NO synthase. It has been well established that NO activates the enzyme guanylyl cyclase, but little has been reported on the effects of NO on other important second messengers, such as AC. In the present study, the effects of sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a nitric oxide-releasing compound, on COS-7 cells transfected with plasmids containing AC types I, II, V and VI were evaluated. Total inhibition (~98.5%) of cAMP production was observed in COS-7 cells transfected with the AC I isoform and previously treated with SNP (10 mM) for 30 min, when stimulated with ionomycin. A high inhibition (~76%) of cAMP production was also observed in COS-7 cells transfected with the AC VI isoform and previously treated with SNP (10 mM) for 30 min, when stimulated with forskolin. No effect on cAMP production was observed in cells transfected with AC isoforms II and V.

Vem är jag, vem är vi, vem är vem i vårt land? : kontextens betydelse för gruppidentifikation och stereotypier bland svensk- och finskspråkiga i Finland och Sverige

Anna Henning-Lindblomin väitöskirja Vem är jag, vem är vi, vem är vem i vårt land? : kontextens betydelse för gruppidentifikation och stereotypier bland svensk- och finskspråkiga i Finland och Sverige (Helsingin yliopisto 2012).

Karta öfver Frövi-Falu, eller, Svenska Central Jernvägen

Kartta kuuluu A. E. Nordenskiöldin kokoelmaan