CD46 in meningococcal disease

The human-specific bacterial pathogen Neisseria meningitidis is a major cause of sepsis and/or meningitis. The pili of N. meningitidis interact with CD46, a human cell-surface protein involved in regulation of complement activation. Transgenic mice expressing human CD46 were susceptible to meningococcal disease, because bacteria crossed the blood-brain barrier in these mice. Development of disease was more efficient with piliated bacteria after intranasal, but not intraperitoneal, challenge of CD46 transgenic mice, suggesting that human CD46 facilitates pilus-dependent interactions at the epithelial mucosa. Hence, the human CD46 transgenic mice model is a potentially useful tool for studying pathogenesis and for vaccine development against meningococcal disease.     

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and distribution of the genes zag and fnz in isolates of Streptococcus equi

Streptococcus equi subsp. equi and subsp. zooepidemicus are important pathogens of the equine respiratory tract. Isolates of both subspecies were examined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). With the exception of eight isolates, a unique band pattern was displayed for each of the 48 subsp. zooepidemicus isolates tested. A method to distinguish isolates of the genetically very homogeneous subsp. equi has hitherto not been available, although several methods have been tested. By the use of PFGE, 50 isolates of subsp. equi could be divided into eleven groups, each with a unique pulsotype. In addition, the recently characterised genes encoding the cell-wall proteins ZAG and FNZ of S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus strain ZV were shown by Southern blots to be present in all 98 tested isolates, including the type strains of the two subspecies. Binding assays showed that the expression of the two genes clearly differentiate between the two subspecies.     

Promoting sustainable intensification in precision agriculture: review of decision support systems development and strategies

Precision agriculture provides important issues toward a more sustainable agriculture. Many farmers have the necessary technology to operate site-specifically, but they do not use it in practice, and thus available information and communications technology (ICT) systems are not used to their full potential. This paper addresses how to reduce the so-called “problem of implementation”, based on the knowledge that participatory approaches during the design and development process is one of the most important factors to frame technology adoption. The development of sustainable ICT systems through theories and methodologies from the fields of human computer interaction and user-centered design (UCD) is presented and an ongoing Swedish project for development of an agricultural decision support system (AgriDSS) for nitrogen fertilization is used as an example to frame the issue. The overreaching aim is to develop AgriDSSs that are sustainable in design as well as through design by stressing the importance of participatory approaches for the successful development of AgriDSSs. The Swedish project has the intention to apply a UCD approach, and some pitfalls on starting to use this way of working is identified as well as some suggestions on how to reduce them through co-learning processes. Despite the challenges presented in this paper, ICT can contribute significantly to long-term sustainable development. Thus, several competences and scientific disciplines need to act in concert to help develop a sustainable development of agriculture via a transdisciplinary approach that can make an impact on society at many levels.     

Root-associated fungi of healthy-looking Pinus sylvestris and Picea abies seedlings in Swedish forest nurseries

The aim of this study was to assess fungal communities in roots of healthy-looking Pinus sylvestris L. and Picea abies (L.) Karst. seedlings in nine forest nurseries in Sweden using a combination of traditional culturing and direct sequencing of internal transcribed spacer of fungal ribosomal RNA (ITS rRNA) from the roots. Culturing from 1800 surface-sterilised root segments resulted in 2387 fungal cultures representing 42 different taxa. Direct sequencing from 180 root segments resulted in 119 ITS rRNA sequences representing 25 different taxa. In total, 55 different fungal taxa were detected using both methods. Although direct sequencing was more efficient than culturing in detecting different fungal taxa, both methods provided complementary information about fungal communities in roots since each detected rather different groups of fungi. The most dominant taxa detected by culturing were Trichoderma viride Pers. (19.5%), Phoma mucivora Davey & Currah (19.1%), Phialocephala fortinii Wang & Wilcox (17.4%) and Meliniomyces variabilis Hambl. & Sigler (10.2%), while Thelephora terrestris Ehrh. (26.1%), Unidentified sp. NS126 (25.2%) and Heliotales sp. C20 (10.1%) were most commonly detected by direct sequencing. In conclusion, results showed that forest nurseries in Sweden harbour diverse communities of fungi associated with the roots of healthy-looking P. sylvestris and P. abies seedlings. Although fungal communities were often dominated by saprotrophs and endophytes, several facultative pathogens were also detected indicating that under suitable conditions they may be a potential threat to the plants.     

Pheno- and genotyping of Staphylococcus epidermidis isolated from bovine milk and human skin

The purpose of this study was to improve our knowledge concerning the epidemiology and strain diversity of Staphylococcus epidermidis isolated from bovine milk in commercial dairy herds. A total of 341 S. epidermidis isolates obtained from cows' milk (317), farmers (17) and patients (7) were characterized. Of these 105 isolates were from cows' milk in two farms, where also 17 isolates were sampled from farmers. The remaining 212 isolates from cows' milk were from 170 farms. All isolates were examined by antimicrobial susceptibility, whereas 202 were examined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and 122 by ribotyping. PFGE showed single patterns in the human strains with one exception; one strain was categorised as the same clone as four of the milk strains. PFGE divided 73 of the milk strains into 62 different patterns. The PFGE method had high discriminatory power and shows that many different S. epidermidis types exist in milk samples. Antibiotic resistance patterns matched the SmaI profiles closely in the two herds, but poorly in the routinely collected milk samples. Isolates from herd 1 showed one to five patterns, depending on the typing method used. Isolates from the milker's skin showed one pattern, which was identical to the most common pattern found in the milk isolates. Isolates from herd 2 showed three to four patterns, two of these being identical to skin isolates from the milker. As dairy cows are not a natural host for S. epidermidis the results suggest a human source of these udder infections.     

The vertical distribution of fine roots of five tree species and maize in Morogoro,Tanzania

In order to assess the possibility of root competition in agroforestry, the vertical distribution of fine roots (< 2 mm in diameter) of five tree species in pure two-year-old stands was compared to that of mature maize.Cassia siamea, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Leucaena leucocephala andProsopis chilensis had a rooting pattern similar to that of maize, i.e. a slow decline in fine root mass from 0–100 cm soil depth.Eucalyptus camaldulensis had its roots evenly distributed down to 100 cm. On an average, the fine root biomass of the tree species was roughly twice as that of the maize. We conclude that the studied tree species are likely to compete with maize and other crops with a similar rooting pattern for nutrients and water.     

Diagnostic value of rectal temperature of African cattle of variable coat colour infected with trypanosomes and tick-borne infections

Diagnosis of major endemic bovine parasitic diseases in sub-Saharan Africa such as trypanosomosis, theileriosis, anaplasmosis, babesiosis and cowdriosis is increasingly relying on clinical diagnosis due to deterioration of veterinary services and laboratory facilities. Pyrexia is a common clinical feature of aforementioned diseases whose detection relies on measurement of rectal temperature. The research undertaken in this study was aimed at assessing the effects of diurnal changes and variable coat colour of indigenous Nkedi Zebu cattle on the diagnostic value of rectal temperature under tropical conditions. The results revealed that variation in rectal temperature was significantly influenced by time of day it was taken and by the coat colour of the Nkedi Zebu cattle (P < 0.001). Rectal temperature experienced diurnal changes: steadily rising to reach a peak at 17.00 h before declining. The mean rectal temperature of unhealthy cattle was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than that of the healthy ones only between 13.00 and 17.00 h of the day. During which period the proportion of unhealthy cattle having a rectal temperature of 39.4 °C or higher was significantly higher than that of healthy ones (P < 0.001). Regarding the variable coat colour of indigenous breeds, rectal temperature among cattle of different coat colours was significantly different (P < 0.05). In conclusion it is important to consider diurnal changes in rectal temperature and differences due to variable coat colour of indigenous African breeds when measuring rectal temperature for assessing pyrexia, during clinical diagnosis of bovine trypanosomosis and tick-borne diseases that are endemic in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa.     

The end consumer’s choice of floorcovering in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom: a comparative pilot study of substitute competition

In order to understand the competitive situation of wood, it is essential to consider the end consumer of building materials. The knowledge of factors affecting the end consumers choice of building material for specific purposes, i.e., the mechanisms of substitute competition, is limited. Field studies of the British and Dutch floorcovering markets revealed that context, usage context as well as the general life situation, is of crucial importance in substitute competition. This contextual character severely limits the usefulness and adequacy of interviews with fixed-reply alternatives, as well as classical statistical methods of analysis. In this article, a qualitative approach to data gathering is combined with multivariate analysis. The results indicate that by using this methodology it is possible to determine which are the decisive predictors of material preferences, make cross-cultural comparisons, and apprehend the underlying motives or perspectives. The results further show that, unlike the other floorcovering materials studied, the determinant reasons for choosing wood appear to be exclusively nonfunctional in nature.     

A method for automatic collimator alignment in microdensity measurements

Summary In microdensitometry, based on X-ray absorption technique and a direct, electronic detector technique, it is usually not possible to observe the collimator and its alignment to the annual ring under investigation during the measurement. In this paper a method for automatic alignment of the collimator to the ring is described. The operating technique is based on an optimization of the resolution of the instrument at every annual ring while the collimator is rotated to the best position. The procedure has been in use a number of years and has proven itself to be efficient and reliable. The theory of operation for the procedure is described and its software structure is shown in a block diagram. Advantages and limitations of the procedure are discussed.The funding of this project is made by Nordbanken. The density profile in Fig. 5 has been recorded by Mr. Bo Larsson and is published with his kind permission