The unusually developed eyes of a Liposcelis silvarum strain from Croatia were discovered using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Such a morphologically unique type of eye was previously unknown in ...the genus Liposcelis. The typical morphological characteristics of females and males, important for species diagnosis, were also described and visualised using SEM micrographs. This paper includes details of male genitalia and egg morphology not previously published for L. silvarum. Species status of this geographic strain is discussed.
To determine seroprevalence of the opportunistic organisms Cryptosporidium parvum and microsporidia (Encephalitozoon cuniculi, E. intestinalis, E. hellem, and Enterocytozoon bieneusi) in Russian ...HIV/AIDS patients, we evaluated 46 sera from HIV/AIDS patients from the S.P. Botkin Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital, St. Petersburg, Russia. Five (10.9%) sera were seropositive for E. cuniculi and 19 (41.3%) were positive for C. parvum by ELISA. By IFAT, 6 (13.0%) sera were seropositive for E. bieneusi, 4 (8.7%) for E. intestinalis, and 9 (19.6%) for E. hellem. This study is the first report to estimate the prevalence of infection with Cryptosporidium and microsporidia among Russian HIV/AIDS patients.
The protective role of hyperimmune serum in the prevention of
Haemophilus parasuis infections in post-weaned piglets was assessed by experimental challenge. The hyperimmune serum was obtained from a ...pig vaccinated with a commercial vaccine against Glässer’s disease. Thirty-eight weaned piglets were divided into four groups: three groups were immunised intramuscularly with 10
ml of hyperimmune serum and one group consisted of unimmunised control animals. All piglets were subsequently infected intraperitoneally with
H. parasuis serotype 5 at different times after immunisation. The use of hyperimmune serum provided the piglets with partial protection against experimental infection. The levels of protection indirectly depend on time between serum inoculation and challenge infection. The best protection of piglets against experimental infection was obtained in the group immunised 1
week before inoculation; the same group in which the highest levels of antibodies were detected at the time of challenge.
Thin organosilicon and silicon oxide films were deposited in r.f. capacitively coupled discharges from a mixture of hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) and oxygen. The concentration of HMDSO was in the ...range 5–17%. Even for such relatively high dilution of HMDSO the organic–inorganic crossover of the film character was observed due to changes of the HMDSO concentration, but other factors, such as pressure and d.c. self-bias should also be taken into account. When annealed the films changed their composition, chemical structure and mechanical properties. We observed desorption of water, methane and CO or CO
2 from the SiO
2-like films. The hardness of the SiO
2-like film, containing 5% carbon and 25% hydrogen, increased with the increase of annealing temperature from 5.9 (as deposited) to 11.3
GPa
(
500
∘
C
)
. Simultaneously, its fracture toughness was significantly improved. These effects were explained by dehydration and cross-linking of the film. However, the mechanical properties of highly cross-linked
SiO
1.9
C
1.6
H
0.6
plasma polymer were superior over the SiO
2-like film containing impurities and such film can be used as a protective coating with a hardness above 9.6
GPa up to the temperature of
400
∘
C
.
In storage facilities one can find grain either in stored grain mass or in grain residues in the store corners or machinery. Although it is claimed that grain residues are serious pest reservoirs ...since they harbor numbers of stored product arthropods and are connected via continuous emigration with grain mass, the documentation for this is not convincing. Therefore in 78 selected grain stores, we simultaneously sampled the grain mass and residues in order to compare concurrent mite communities in these two different habitats. We found 30 species in about 614,000 individuals in residues and 23 species in about 20 000 individuals in grain mass. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) of transformed abundance data showed differences in the communities of mites in grain mass and residues: (i) species associated to grain residues (e.g. Tyrophagus longior, Tydeus interruptus, Acarus farris and Cheyletus eruditus) and (ii) species associated to both grain mass and grain residues (e.g. Tarsonemus granarius, Acarus siro, Tyrophagus putrescentiae, Lepidoglyphus destructor and Cheyletus malaccensis). Although the residue samples had more mites and higher species diversity than the stored grain mass, no correlation in mite abundance and species numbers between samples from grain residues and grain mass was found, thereby indicating low connectivity of these two habitats.
Abstract The intensity of antibody responses and level of protection against challenge infection induced by Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (APP) were compared in piglets vaccinated intramuscularly ...with different vaccination doses of a subunit vaccine. Secondary antibody responses to APP exotoxins induced by the intradermally administered diluted vaccines did not differ from those induced by undiluted vaccines administered either intradermally or intramuscularly. The level of protection measured by the clinical course of challenge infection to the extent of lung lesions was significantly higher in animals vaccinated with a three-time diluted vaccine in comparison with animals that were administered intramuscularly or intradermally with the most concentrated or the most diluted vaccines.
Deposition of carbon nanotubes in microwave plasma torch at atmospheric pressure is discussed in terms of factors influencing the deposition uniformity and amorphous carbon overlayer formation. The ...depositions were carried out on silicon substrates with a thin iron catalyst layer from the mixture of argon, methane and hydrogen. Samples were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy. Substrate temperature gradients and a size distribution of catalytic particles were main reasons for a deposit non-uniformity. The uniformity was improved by a substrate heating in Ar/
H
2
discharge before the deposition. The catalyst poisoning with a subsequent amorphous carbon deposition was responsible for the formation of amorphous carbon overlayer containing catalytic particles. Shorter deposition time and optimization of carbon feedstock dilution in hydrogen were suggested for a minimization of this effect.
Summary
A total of 24 Pasteurella multocida rabbit isolates obtained from 24 rabbit flocks in the Czech Republic during the period of between 2001 and 2004 were analysed by capsular PCR typing. Apart ...from isolates identified as serogroups A (n = 14, 58.4%) and D (n = 2, 8.3%), eight isolates (33.3%) were identified as members of serogroup F. This serogroup had been predominantly associated with poultry infections so far. The rabbit serogroup F isolates were characterized in detail by ribotyping with restriction to endonuclease MspI revealing two distinct ribotypes. Seven serogroup F isolates were assigned to ribotype 1 and one isolate was assigned to ribotype 2.
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