•Quantitative in silico evaluation of existing HAstV PCR assays is provided.•Three newly designed real-time PCR assays can detect all known HAstV and assign them to one of three phylogenetic ...groups.•The first identification of novel HAstV in faecal samples obtained in the Netherlands is reported.•No novel HAstV was detected in CSF specimens tested in this study.
Human astroviruses (HAstV) comprise three phylogenetically compact and non-adjacent groups of species including classical HAstV (HAstV-C) and the novel ones (HAstV-VA/HMO and HAstV-MLB). Of these, HAstV-C is known to be responsible for gastroenteritis while the novel HAstV are associated with cases of neurological disorders. Accurate detection of all known variants by (real-time) PCR is challenging because of the high intra- and intergroup genetic divergence of HAstV.
To evaluate published HAstV PCR assays in silico, design de novo real-time PCR assays that can detect and discriminate three groups of HAstV, and apply those to patient samples to analyse the prevalence of HAstV in stool and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens.
In silico evaluation of published PCR assays and design of real-time PCR assays for detection of different subsets of HAstV was conducted within a common computational framework that used all astrovirus full genome sequences from GenBank. The newly designed real-time PCR assays were evaluated in vitro and applied to faecal samples (collected in January–May 2016) and cerebrospinal fluid specimens (2010–2016) from patients in the Netherlands.
Quantitative in silico evaluation of published PCRs is provided. The newly designed real-time PCR assays can reliably assign all available HAstV genome sequences to one of the three phylogenetic groups in silico, and differentiate among HAstV-specific controls in vitro. A total of 556 samples were tested using these PCR assays. Fourteen fecal samples (2.5%) tested positive for HAstV, 3 of which could be identified as the novel HAstV-MLB variants. No novel HAstV were found in CSF specimens.
Newly designed real-time PCR assays with improved detection of all known HAstV allowed the first-time identification of novel astroviruses from stool samples in the Netherlands.
We have used the time differential perturbed angular correlation (TDPAC) spectroscopy to measure the electric and magnetic hyperfine fields in RhGe crystallized in the B20 cubic lattice structure and ...weakly doped with Hf (0.5–2 atomic %) in the temperature range from 5 K to 295 K. Two most commonly used nuclei probes, 111In→111Cd and 181Hf→181Ta, have been used. The experimental results combined with theoretical density functional calculations indicate that the In/Cd impurities substitute into the Ge-site whereas the Ta/Hf probes substitute into the Rh-site. It has also been found that the Ta/Hf impurity strongly distorts the local crystal environment, whereas the effect from the In/Cd probe is weak. There are no reliable evidences of the magnetic order in the studied alloys at low temperatures.
•Novel high-pressure phases.•Local studies of both lattice sites in RhGe.•Study of the very weak magnetism in noncentrosymmetric superconductor.•TDPAC measurements on two most commonly used nuclei probes.•TDPAC measurements at low temperatures.•Digital TDPAC spectrometer.
A study is made of the effect that the initial geometric parameters of the raw materials has on the manner in which the enveloping component of a combination fiber is distributed over the surface of ...the rod-shaped component. It is shown that the area of the part of the surface of the rod-shaped component that is covered by the enveloping component depends on the number of twists of the combination fiber. A formula is proposed for calculating the area of the rod-shaped component that is occupied by the enveloping component. It is found that the increase in this area per twist is greater, the thinner the rod-shaped component and the thicker the enveloping component.
During the construction of directional wells in spatially curved sections of the barrel, large contact loads and huge resistance to the movement of the drill string during lifting can occur, which ...leads to increased wear of the drill pipes and high energy costs. One of the directions for increasing the energy efficiency of drilling such wells was the reduction of friction at the metal-metal, metal-rock, and metal-filter cake boundaries. This result can be achieved by introducing special lubricating additives or by switching to a hydrocarbon solution during drilling. The article presents the study of drilling fluids with the introduction of lubricating additives on a lubricity tester Fann EP / Lubricity Tester Model 212, a device for determining the coefficient of clay cake KTK-2, a rotary viscometer Fann 35SA, pH meter Crison GLP 21 to reduce the coefficient of friction of a pair "metal - metal" in a clay solution, which amounted to 70-75%, in an aqueous solution - up to 65%. The optimal concentration of the additive according to the study in different drilling fluids was about 1.5-2%. The results of a study of the effect of the speed and time of mixing a hydrocarbon-based solution during its preparation on the electrostability of the emulsion obtained are carried out on a BVD device, which showed a significant increase in the stability of the washing liquid to 24%, which leads to a decrease in the number of complications associated with pipe wear and a decrease torque when rotating the column.
Theoretical and experimental results on the influence of the antenna reflection coefficient on results of measurement of the radio brightness temperature with a miniature microwave radiometer with a ...circulator are presented. These studies showed that the radiothermometer with a circulator developed here, in which the reference and balance loads are mounted on a Peltier element, ensures that measurement results are independent of the antenna reflection coefficient. The radio brightness temperature measurement error was 0.2°C, with a power reflection coefficient at the radiothermometer input of 0.25.
We study the possibilities of tomographic observation of small-sized bodies in refractive oceanic waveguides within the framework of the ray description of the acoustic field. To increase the spatial ...resolution and sensitivity in solving the inverse observation problem, the waveguide-adapted focusing of the radiated and received pulses to the area of the assumed location of the observed body is used. To reduce the effect of the interference structure of the fields in the waveguide, we use the selection of individual ray tomographic projections followed by incoherent accumulation of partial solutions. A simulation model of the detection system using well-known physical models of the propagation and scattering of high-frequency acoustic waves is constructed.
By using model of chronic heart failure (CHF) occurring with induced decompensations, it was shown that inhibitors of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and beta-adrenoblockers promoted to different ...degree the correction of hypercatecholaminemia and an increase of survival of rats. The most pronounced effect was characteristic of beta-adrenoblockers atenolol, propranolol, and carvedilol. The lower activity was demonstrated by other adrenoblockers that had no intrinsic sympathomimetic activity, as well as captopril. However, positive effect of these drugs on rat survival occurred regardless of their action on the sympathoadrenal system. The ACE inhibitors, particularly hydrophilic lysinopril, to the lesser degree than beta-adrenoblockers, prevented death of animals at the period of the CHF decompensation. The combined use of ACE inhibitors with beta-adrenoblockers, especially with carvedilol, promoted the maximally expressed decrease of the sympathoadrenal activity and an increase of the rat survival, including that at the CHF decompensation.
This paper discusses the results of the introduction of the muskrat and American mink in Yakutia (Russia). The time course of harvesting of muskrat skins during an 81-year period (1941–2021) is also ...analyzed. A map of quantitative distribution of muskrats in Yakutia was constructed on the basis of the harvesting data. The work on muskrat introduction was described within the framework of hunting activities of the unitary enterprise Sakhabult Financial Agro-Industrial Concern in 2002–2004, when 710 muskrats were resettled in the republic, including 60 animals brought from Altai krai. Data on the abundance and occurrence of the American mink in Yakutia are provided, and the modern geographic range of this animal is outlined. Information about the introduction of 337 American minks in 1985–1986 by the Ust-Mayskiy State Hunting/Fishery Enterprise in the basins of the rivers Maya and Khamna rivers is given.
PDF
