Detection of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides SC in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids of cows based on a TaqMan real-time PCR discriminating wild type strains from an lppQ(-) mutant vaccine strain used for DIVA-strategies

Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) is the most serious cattle disease in Africa, caused by Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides small-colony type (SC). CBPP control strategies currently rely on vaccination with a vaccine based on live attenuated strains of the organism. Recently, an lppQ(-) mutant of the existing vaccine strain T1/44 has been developed (Janis et al., 2008). This T1lppQ(-) mutant strain is devoid of lipoprotein LppQ, a potential virulence attribute of M. mycoides subsp. mycoides SC. It is designated as a potential live DIVA (Differentiating Infected from Vaccinated Animals) vaccine strain allowing both serological and etiological differentiation. The present paper reports on the validation of a control strategy for CBPP in cattle, whereby a TaqMan real-time PCR based on the lppQ gene has been developed for the direct detection of M. mycoides subsp. mycoides SC in ex vivo bronchoalveolar lavage fluids of cows and for the discrimination of wild type strains from the lppQ(-) mutant vaccine strain.

Distinct DNA methylation patterns in cirrhotic liver and hepatocellular carcinoma

Abberrant DNA methylation is one of the hallmarks of cancerogenesis. Our study aims to delineate differential DNA methylation in cirrhosis and hepatic cancerogenesis. Patterns of methylation of 27,578 individual CpG loci in 12 hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs), 15 cirrhotic controls and 12 normal liver samples were investigated using an array-based technology. A supervised principal component analysis (PCA) revealed 167 hypomethylated loci and 100 hypermethylated loci in cirrhosis and HCC as compared to normal controls. Thus, these loci show a "cirrhotic" methylation pattern that is maintained in HCC. In pairwise supervised PCAs between normal liver, cirrhosis and HCC, eight loci were significantly changed in all analyses differentiating the three groups (p < 0.0001). Of these, five loci showed highest methylation levels in HCC and lowest in control tissue (LOC55908, CELSR1, CRMP1, GNRH2, ALOX12 and ANGPTL7), whereas two loci showed the opposite direction of change (SPRR3 and TNFSF15). Genes hypermethylated between normal liver to cirrhosis, which maintain this methylation pattern during the development of HCC, are depleted for CpG islands, high CpG content promoters and polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) targets in embryonic stem cells. In contrast, genes selectively hypermethylated in HCC as compared to nonmalignant samples showed an enrichment of CpG islands, high CpG content promoters and PRC2 target genes (p < 0.0001). Cirrhosis and HCC show distinct patterns of differential methylation with regards to promoter structure, PRC2 targets and CpG islands.

How Do Relationship Labels Affect Partner Treatment And Relationship Status Perceptions?

The present research examined which terms are most used by college students to define relationships, and how these various terms prime or affect partner treatment and relationship status perceptions. Once primed with the labels ¿hooking-up,¿ ¿exclusive¿ or ¿boyfriend/girlfriend,¿ it was hypothesized that public displays of affection, commitment, jealousy and sociosexuality would influence partner treatment. The results indicate that being primed with various relationship labels does influence public displays of affection. This priming does not influence jealousy, and it influences commitment on some occasions. The data collected can further our understanding of relationship dynamics among college students by differentiating between various terms.

Genitourinary applications of diffusion-weighted MR imaging in the pelvis

Diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has a large number of potential clinical applications in the female and male pelvis and can easily be added to any routine MR protocol. In the female pelvis, DW imaging allows improvement of staging in endometrial and cervical cancer, especially in locally advanced disease and in patients in whom contrast medium administration should be avoided. It can also be helpful in characterizing complex adnexal masses and in depicting recurrent tumor after treatment of various gynecologic malignancies. DW imaging shows promising results in monitoring treatment response in patients undergoing radiation therapy of cervical cancer. An increase in apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of responders precedes changes in size and may therefore allow early assessment of treatment success. In the male pelvis, the detection of prostate cancer in the peripheral zone is relatively easier than in the central gland based on the underlying ADC values, whereas overlapping values reported in the central gland still need further research. DW imaging might also be applied in the noninvasive evaluation of bladder cancer to differentiate between superficial and muscle-invasive tumors. Initial promising results have been reported in differentiating benign from malignant pelvic lymph nodes based on the ADC values; however, larger-scale studies will be needed to allow the detection of lymph node metastases in an individual patient. Prerequisites for successfully performing DW imaging of the female and male pelvis are standardization of the DW imaging technique, including the choice of b values, administration of an antiperistaltic drug, and comparison of DW findings with those of morphologic MR imaging.

Diffusion-weighted MR imaging in the head and neck

Extracranial applications of diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging are gaining increasing importance, including in head and neck radiology. The main indications for performing DW imaging in this relatively small but challenging region of the body are tissue characterization, nodal staging, therapy monitoring, and early detection of treatment failure by differentiating recurrence from posttherapeutic changes. Lower apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) have been reported in the head and neck region of adults and children for most malignant lesions, as compared with ADCs of benign lesions. For nodal staging, DW imaging has shown promise in helping detect lymph node metastases, even in small (subcentimeter) nodes with lower ADCs, as compared with normal or reactive nodes. Follow-up of early response to treatment is reflected in an ADC increase in the primary tumor and nodal metastases; whereas nonresponding lesions tend to reveal only a slight increase or even a decrease in ADC during follow-up. Optimization and standardization of DW imaging technical parameters, comparison of DW images with morphologic images, and increasing experience, however, are prerequisites for successful application of this challenging technique in the evaluation of various head and neck pathologic conditions.

Life Transitions and Aging: Implications for Counseling Older Adults

Presents a conceptual framework for counseling older adults and their families, asserting that the pace of development varies across individuals and that within the same individual, different biological and psychological functions age at different rates. The normative changes of aging can be viewed as life-event/life-transition processes and categorized into 4 interrelated major areas: biological, psychological, environmental, and social/cultural. The counselor's tasks include assisting the older client in differentiating the normal aging process from abnormal processes, assessing the role of self-labeling and stereotyping, and focusing on preventive work with older adults and their families.

Homeland security: IgA immunity at the frontiers of the body

IgA is the most abundant immunoglobulin produced in mammals, and is mostly secreted across mucous membranes. At these frontiers, which are constantly assaulted by pathogenic and commensal microbes, IgA provides part of a layered system of immune protection. In this review, we describe how IgA induction occurs through both T-dependent and T-independent mechanisms, and how IgA is generated against the prodigious load of commensal microbes after mucosal dendritic cells (DCs) have sampled a tiny fraction of the microbial consortia in the intestinal lumen. To function in this hostile environment, IgA must be induced behind the 'firewall' of the mesenteric lymph nodes to generate responses that integrate microbial stimuli, rather than the classical prime-boost effects characteristic of systemic immunity.

Racism, Youth Violence and the New Right: A Comparative Study of the Political Transformation of Extremism in Hungary and Romania

This research focused on the re-emerging of national and minority identities and the concomitant hostilities emerging from them in Hungary and in Romania. In particular the findings indicate that extremist incidents against members of minority groups on the local level seem to follow patterns in publicised media events. Violent attacks by skinheads against Gypsies in Hungary are often isolated incidents but are also inadvertently supported by biased media coverage, hostile majority attitudes and stereotyped behaviour reproduced in the media. The research also indicates that extremism both in Hungary against Gypsies and in Romania against Hungarians is of three kinds: organised within the framework of extremist groups, state-supported violence (both real and symbolic), and isolated, local instances with a few perpetrators committing atrocities. However, and this is a positive development, with rising interethnic tensions and extremist attacks prevalent in Hungary and Romania, there is also a parallel emergence of a more sophisticated human and minority rights campaign to combat them.

The Presidential Institution in Bulgaria, Albania and Romani: An Attempt at Comparison"

Bulgaria, Albania and Romania are all parliamentary republics with a president as head of state. Although the Albanian president is elected by Parliament, he is arguably the strongest of the three, both in terms of the powers allowed by the provisional constitution and of Mr. Berisha's political practice. The constitutional reform underway in the country will however change the status quo. In Bulgaria and Romania the presidents are elected directly by popular vote, but their powers are relatively small as compared to the democratic legitimisation implied by direct elections. Actual presidential powers should however be assessed with caution as some of them are set by law or interpretations of constitutional texts, rather than by the constitutions themselves. There is also variation in the degree to which the presidents in office have exploited their constitutional powers or taken their role as non-aligned political brokers seriously. Mr. Berisha, in particular, was in control of party politics throughout his presidency and was one of the most polarising influences on public opinion. The excessive political polarisation in all three countries has however its own logic and power. Thus Mr. Zhelev invariably supported the emergence of a political centre in Bulgaria, but this did not succeed and the policy was as damaging to his political career as the fight with would-be centrists was to Berisha's. Political practice in all three countries seems to need a presidential figure. This adds flexibility to a situation governed by hostile and mutually suspicious parties, stuck parliaments and weak or inexperienced governments. The presidents also command considerable influence on public opinion. Public opinion in Bulgaria, for example, largely supports the idea of greater power for the president, in contrast with the opinions of constitutionalists and other law-makers in the country. Under the legacy of the past, the people have a love-hate relationship with such paternalist figures. Presidents personalise politics in the public mind, but they can also become scapegoats for political failures.

Resocialization of the Street Children

This project studied the phenomenon of street children through various forms of action dealing with them. The target group included 100 children who frequented the Pygmalion and Open House day centres in Bucharest. On the basis of this sample it was possible to establish the main problems of the street children: reasons for appearance, age on the street, origin, family size, attitude towards parents, reasons for street life, consumption of toxic substances, reasons for detention by the police, main health problems, needs and wishes. The work in Bucharest was supplemented by visits elsewhere in Romania and abroad which provided a breadth of understanding and knowledge of the specific profile of street children, of the complexity of their problems and of their prospects. A comparison of the causes of the phenomenon, and study of some projects and intervention programmes both from Romania and abroad provided the basis for a proposed strategy for combatting the problem. The practical activities on the project included continuing counselling and informative and education activities with the children in order to motivate them to change their life. Further mediation was aimed at changing the hostile approach of the public opinion and some people in authority towards these children. The experiments with schooling and professional resocialisation of the street children provided clear evidence of the possibility of reintroducing them into the social framework but this will require systems and mechanisms specially developed to achieve this.

A proteome signature for intrauterine growth restriction derived from multifactorial analysis of mass spectrometry-based cord blood serum profiling

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is defined as a condition in which the fetus does not reach its genetically given growth potential, resulting in low birth weight. IUGR is an important cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality, thus contributing substantially to medically indicated preterm birth in order to prevent fetal death. We subjected umbilical cord blood serum samples either belonging to the IUGR group (n = 15) or to the control group (n = 15) to fractionation by affinity chromatography using a bead system with hydrophobic interaction capabilities. So prepared protein mixtures were analyzed by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometric profiling. The six best differentiating ion signals at m/z 8205, m/z 8766, m/z 13 945, m/z 15 129, m/z 15 308, and m/z 16 001 were collectively assigned as IUGR proteome signature. Separation confidence of our IUGR proteome signature reached a sensitivity of 0.87 and a specificity of 0.93. Assignment of ion signals in the mass spectra to specific proteins was substantiated by SDS-PAGE in conjunction with peptide mass fingerprint analysis of cord blood serum proteins. One constituent of this proteome signature, apolipoprotein C-III(0) , a derivative lacking glycosylation, has been found more abundant in the IUGR cord blood serum samples, irrespective of gestational age. Hence, we suggest apolipoprotein C-III(0) as potential key-marker of the here proposed IUGR proteome signature, as it is a very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) member and as such involved in triglyceride metabolism that itself is discussed as being of importance in IUGR pathogenesis. Our results indicate that subtle alterations in protein glycosylation need to be considered for improving our understanding of the pathomechanisms in IUGR.

Morphometric assessment of normal, suspect and glaucomatous optic discs with Stratus OCT and HRT II

AIMS: To compare morphometric parameters and diagnostic performance of the new Stratus Optical Coherence Tomograph (OCT) Disc mode and the Heidelberg Retina Tomograph (HRT); to evaluate OCT's accuracy in determining optic nerve head (ONH) borders. METHODS: Controls and patients with ocular hypertension, glaucoma-like discs, and glaucoma were imaged with OCT Disc mode, HRT II, and colour disc photography (DISC-PHOT). In a separate session, automatically depicted ONH shape and size in OCT were compared with DISC-PHOT, and disc borders adjusted manually where required. In a masked fashion, all print-outs and photographs were studied and discs classified as normal, borderline, and abnormal. The Cohen kappa method was then applied to test for agreement of classification. Bland-Altman analysis was used for comparison of disc measures. RESULTS: In all, 49 eyes were evaluated. Automated disc margin recognition failed in 53%. Misplaced margin points were more frequently found in myopic eyes, but only 31/187 were located in an area of peripapillary atrophy. Agreement of OCT with photography-based diagnosis was excellent in normally looking ONHs, but moderate in discs with large cups, where HRT performed better. OCT values were consistently larger than HRT values for disc and cup area. Compared with HRT, small rim areas and volumes tended to be minimized by OCT, and larger ones to be magnified. CONCLUSIONS: Stratus OCT Disc protocol performed overall well in differentiating between normal and glaucomatous ONHs. However, failure of disc border recognition was frequently observed, making manual correction necessary. ONH measures cannot be directly compared between HRT and OCT.

Syncope

Syncope is defined as an acute, brief and transient loss of consciousness and postural tone with spontaneous and complete recovery. Neurovascular ultrasound has contributed to elucidate the underlying mechanism of different types of syncope. In routine diagnostic work-up of patients with syncope, however, neurovascular ultrasound is not among the first line tools. In particular, an ultrasound search for occlusive cerebro-vascular disease is of limited value because cerebral artery obstruction is a very rare and questionable cause of syncope. Transcranial Doppler sonography monitoring of the cerebral arteries is useful in the diagnostic work-up of patients with suspicion of postural related, cerebrovascular, cough and psychogenic syncope, and in some cases for differentiating focal epileptic seizures from transient ischemic attacks and migraine with aura.

Quantitative analysis of OCT characteristics in patients with achromatopsia and blue-cone monochromatism

PURPOSE: To quantify optical coherence tomography (OCT) images of the central retina in patients with blue-cone monochromatism (BCM) and achromatopsia (ACH) compared with healthy control individuals. METHODS: The study included 15 patients with ACH, 6 with BCM, and 20 control subjects. Diagnosis of BCM and ACH was established by visual acuity testing, morphologic examination, color vision testing, and Ganzfeld ERG recording. OCT images were acquired with the Stratus OCT 3 (Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, Oberkochen, Germany). Foveal OCT images were analyzed by calculating longitudinal reflectivity profiles (LRPs) from scan lines. Profiles were analyzed quantitatively to determine foveal thickness and distances between reflectivity layers. RESULTS: Patients with ACH and BCM had a mean visual acuity of 20/200 and 20/60, respectively. Color vision testing results were characteristic of the diseases. The LRPs of control subjects yielded four peaks (P1-P4), presumably representing the RPE (P1), the ovoid region of the photoreceptors (P2), the external limiting membrane (ELM) (P3), and the internal limiting membrane (P4). In patients with ACH, P2 was absent, but foveal thickness (P1-P4) did not differ significantly from that in the control subjects (187 +/- 20 vs. 192 +/- 14 microm, respectively). The distance from P1 to P3 did not differ significantly (78 +/- 10 vs. 82 +/- 5 microm) between ACH and controls subjects. In patients with BCM, P3 was lacking, and P2 advanced toward P1 compared with the control subjects (32 +/- 6 vs. 48 +/- 4 microm). Foveal thickness (153 +/- 16 microm) was significantly reduced compared with that in control subjects and patients with ACH. CONCLUSIONS: Quantitative OCT image analysis reveals distinct patterns for controls subjects and patients with ACH and BCM, respectively. Quantitative analysis of OCT imaging can be useful in differentiating retinal diseases affecting photoreceptors. Foveal thickness is similar in both normal subjects and patients with ACH but is decreased in patients with BCM.

Brain activation during string playing

This chapter attempts to integrate data from both functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) to elucidate the activation of the cortical areas in musical performance for both execution and imagination of music during string playing. In both fMRI and EEG experiments, playing the music was compared with imagining the music. This allowed separation of the areas mainly involved in motor execution from those involved in imagining, planning, and working memory, thus differentiating musical from purely motor areas.