Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Kurdj.) under adverse weather conditions (2001) (Hom., Aphididae)

Cool and wet weather in some periods of the season generally supressed the RWA (Diuraphis noxia Kurdj.) populations in the Czech republic in 2001. However, some sites manifested population levels ranging out of the population mean stated per area, and these sites were also apparently responsible for respective peaks of alate aphids sampled by suction traps. An analysis of these sites determined them to be attributed to some poor quality barley fields in a warmer area of the state. RWA is known to vary in all-over populations in different years, and the year 2001 illustrated its capability of its surviving even unfavourable periods and seasons, remaining well-established in the area.     

Increase of Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Kurdj.) in hot and dry weather (2000) (Hom., Aphididae)

Two hot and dry weather periods during mid-spring and early summer caused severe drought-stress to barley groves in many districts of the Czech Republic in 2000. Although not generally taken into consideration as an injury-increasing factor, the Russian wheat aphid (=RWA), Diuraphis noxia (Kurdj.), was discovered to contribute significantly to injury in the ripening stage of spring barley as well as to the substantial decrease of yield (up to 30–40% of the calculated mean, in some districts). RWA increased considerably not only in the lowland banker areas but also in the higher altitudes, values in the latter case then manifesting those found in the lowland banker areas in the previous years.     

The effect of milk cultures on the survival of salmonellae in milk

The influence was investigated of yoghurt and cream cultures on salmonella survival in milk. Salmonella-contaminated milk was blended with yoghurt culture and kept for three hours at the temperature of 43 degrees C; the mixture with cream culture was kept for 20 hours at the temperature of 22 degrees C. The samples were then stored at a room temperature and at the temperature of 4 degrees C. The two milk cultures exerted inhibitory effects on salmonellae within the range of 92.5 to 99.8%. The inhibitory effects depended on the activity of the culture (expressed by titration acidity), storage time and temperature and on the starting concentration of salmonellae.     

Isolation of a cDNA from the virus responsible for enterically transmitted non-A, non-B hepatitis

Major epidemic outbreaks of viral hepatitis in underdeveloped countries result from a type of non-A, non-B hepatitis distinct from the parenterally transmitted form. The viral agent responsible for this form of epidemic, or enterically transmitted non-A, non-B hepatitis (ET-NANBH), has been serially transmitted in cynomolgus macaques (cynos) and has resulted in typical elevation in liver enzymes and the detection of characteristic virus-like particles (VLPs) in both feces and bile. Infectious bile was used for the construction of recombinant complementary DNA libraries. One clone, ET1.1, was exogenous to uninfected human and cyno genomic liver DNA, as well as to genomic DNA from infected cyno liver. ET1.1 did however, hybridize to an approximately 7.6-kilobase RNA species present only in infected cyno liver. The translated nucleic acid sequence of a portion of ET1.1 had a consensus amino acid motif consistent with an RNA-directed RNA polymerase; this enzyme is present in all positive strand RNA viruses. Furthermore, ET1.1 specifically identified similar sequences in complementary DNA prepared from infected human fecal samples collected from five geographically distinct ET-NANBH outbreaks. Therefore, ET1.1 represents a portion of the genome of the principal viral agent, to be named hepatitis E virus, which is responsible for epidemic outbreaks of ET-NANBH.