Development of computational models for the purpose of conducting individual livestock and premises traceback investigations utilizing National Animal Identification System-compliant data

Many of the efforts surrounding the development of the National Animal Identification System have encompassed the identification of livestock production and handling premises as well as individuals or herds of animals, whereas little effort has been directed toward the ultimate goal of animal traceback within 48 h. A mock data set representative of the Colorado cattle population was created for modeling of cattle traceability. Using this data set, algorithms were developed to complete rapid and accurate traceback and traceforward of animals or premises or both. On July 19, 2005, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, in conjunction with the Colorado Department of Agriculture, conducted a test exercise pertaining to homeland security. The exercise team randomly identified animal number 926,583 (of the 2 million total animals) as a potentially infected animal of interest and requested a traceback of this animal. Traceback was accomplished in 215 s, and 540 primary coresident animals were identified. However, due to animal movements, the number of coresidents (animals exposed, directly or indirectly, to the animal of interest) expanded with coresidency level (level 1 = direct contact; level 2 = direct contact with an animal that had direct contact with the animal of interest; level 3 = direct contact with an animal that had contact with an animal that had direct contact with the animal of interest, etc.) to more than 1.2 million coresidents at level 4, and more than 90% of all animals identified as a coresident at some level. In addition to the coresidency results, the premises containing the coresidents were identified and sorted by the number of coresidents. Because of animal movement, all 19,391 premises included in the data set had coresidents at some level. This exercise demonstrated the capability of the developed algorithms to complete rapid traceback and the complexity of the resulting animal traceback output.     

采前与采后处理结合控制柿子贮藏过程中链格孢菌(Alternaria alternata)引起的黑斑病的研究

由链格孢菌引起的黑斑病是导致以色列柿子(Diospyros kaki cv.Triumph)贮藏过程中果实品质下降、贮期缩短的主要因素。其病原真菌在采收前的果园中即开始侵染果实,但一直处于休眠状态。采收后,在0℃贮藏环境中病原菌开始繁殖,当贮藏2～3个月后,柿果表面出现黑斑症状。商业上采用二氯异氰尿酸钠片剂溶解后生成500 mg.L-1的氯水浸果,可在2个月的贮期内有效控制黑斑病的发生。然而,当贮期超过2个半月后,柿子果实的腐烂率则不断增加。在柿子采后出现黑斑症状之前病原真菌较长的潜伏期内,采前与采后阶段可采取一系列的综合技术措施,并与商业氯水浸果处理相结合来提高对贮藏柿果黑斑病的防控效果。采前处理包括柿子坐果30 d后,以1-(2-氯-4-吡啶)-3-苯基脲(CPPU)处理或采收前14 d以治疗性杀菌剂多抗霉素(polyoxin B)进行喷果处理。试验结果表明,与采后单独使用氯水浸果处理相比,将CPPU或polyoxin B处理与采后商业处理相结合,可使柿果黑斑浸染面积分别减小3%和60%;采收后贮藏期间二氯异氰尿酸钠喷雾处理或采后立即用二氯异氰尿酸钠喷果处理与采后商业氯水处理相结合比单独使用氯水处理可分别提高柿子好果率2%和10%。研究结果表明,对于具有较长潜伏侵染方式的采后病原菌来说,可应用采前和采后处理相结合的方法来提高果实的贮藏品质及减轻采后病害的发生。     

Reconstruction of the Amazon Basin effective moisture availability over the past 14,000 years

Quantifying the moisture history of the Amazon Basin is essential for understanding the cause of rain forest diversity and its potential as a methane source. We reconstructed the Amazon River outflow history for the past 14,000 years to provide a moisture budget for the river drainage basin. The oxygen isotopic composition of planktonic foraminifera recovered from a marine sediment core in a region of Amazon River discharge shows that the Amazon Basin was extremely dry during the Younger Dryas, with the discharge reduced by at least 40% as compared with that of today. After the Younger Dryas, a meltwater-driven discharge event was followed by a steady increase in the Amazon Basin effective moisture throughout the Holocene.     

Identification of a cellular cofactor required for infection by feline leukemia virus

Retroviral infection involves continued genetic variation, leading to phenotypic and immunological selection for more fit virus variants in the host. For retroviruses that cause immunodeficiency, pathogenesis is linked to the emergence of T cell-tropic, cytopathic viruses. Here we show that an immunodeficiency-inducing, T cell-tropic feline leukemia virus (FeLV) has evolved such that it cannot infect cells unless both a classic multiple membrane-spanning receptor molecule (Pit1) and a second coreceptor or entry factor are present. This second receptor component, which we call FeLIX, was identified as an endogenously expressed protein that is similar to a portion of the FeLV envelope protein. This cellular protein can function either as a transmembrane protein or as a soluble component to facilitate infection.     

Ecological effects of a major oil spill on panamanian coastal marine communities

In 1986 more than 8 million liters of crude oil spilled into a complex region of mangroves, seagrasses, and coral reefs just east of the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal. This was the largest recorded spill into coastal habitats in the tropical Americas. Many population of plants and animals in both oiled and unoiled sites had been studied previously, thereby providing an unprecedented measure of ecological variation before the spill. Documenation of the spread of oil and its biological begun immediately. Intertidal mangroves, algae, and associated invertebrates were covered by oil and died soon after. More surprisingly, there was also extensive mortality of shallow subtidal reef corals and infauna of seagrass beds. After 1.5 years only some organisms in areas exposed to the open sea have recovered.     

Specific lipopolysaccharide found in cystic fibrosis airway Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients develop chronic airway infections with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA). Pseudomonas aeruginosa synthesized lipopolysaccharide (LPS) with a variety of penta- and hexa-acylated lipid A structures under different environmental conditions. CF patient PA synthesized LPS with specific lipid A structures indicating unique recognition of the CF airway environment. CF-specific lipid A forms containing palmitate and aminoarabinose were associated with resistance to cationic antimicrobial peptides and increased inflammatory responses, indicating that they are likely to be involved in airway disease.     

Effects of magnesium pemoline and dextroamphetamine on human learning

Two central nervous system stimulants, magnesium pemoline and dextroamphetamine, were tested to see if they facilitate learning in human subjects. Subjects under placebo learned faster than the subjects under any of the several doses of magnesium pemoline; however, none of these differences reached statistical significance. Subjects who received dextroamphetamine learned significantly more slowly than those who received placebo.     

Hsp90 potentiates the rapid evolution of new traits: drug resistance in diverse fungi

Hsp90 is a molecular chaperone for many signal transducers and may influence evolution by releasing previously silent genetic variation in response to environmental change. In fungi separated by approximately 800 million years of evolution, Hsp90 potentiated the evolution of drug resistance in a different way, by enabling new mutations to have immediate phenotypic consequences. Resistance was abrogated by Hsp90 inhibitors and by febrile temperatures, suggesting new therapeutic strategies and a clinical benefit of fever. During selection in a human host, drug resistance that was initially Hsp90-dependent evolved toward independence. Thus, Hsp90 can act in diverse ways to couple environmental contingency to the emergence and fixation of new traits.     

Desmosterol as the major sterol in L-cell mouse fibroblasts grown in sterol-free culture medium

The principal sterol synthesized by L-cell mouse fibroblasts is desmosterol. Cholesterol was not detected in these cells when they were grown in a sterol-free culture medium. These findings indicate that, in cells, cholesterol can be replaced by desmosterol. Sterol analyses of six other tissue culture cell lines revealed cholesterol synthesis.