LaFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript> Perovskite as New and Performant Catalyst for the Wet Peroxide Oxidation of Organic Pollutants in Ambient Conditions

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the ability of LaFeO₃ perovskites prepared using the “self-combustion method” to behave as efficient and stable catalysts in phenol oxidation using H₂O₂ in ambient conditions. Depending on the synthesis conditions, strong differences in the structural, textural and reducibility characteristics of the perovskites, as well as in phenol conversion and TOC abatement level were observed. High TOC abatement (76%) and very low iron leaching (0.27 wt%) were obtained at 40 °C in the presence of LaFeO₃ nanoparticles exhibiting the lowest crystal domain size.     

Viable Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis isolated from calf milk replacer

When advising farmers on how to control Johne's disease in an infected herd, one of the main recommendations is to avoid feeding waste milk to calves and instead feed calf milk replacer (CMR). This advice is based on the assumption that CMR is free of viable Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP) cells, an assumption that has not previously been challenged. We tested commercial CMR products (n = 83) obtained from dairy farms around the United States by the peptide-mediated magnetic separation (PMS)-phage assay, PMS followed by liquid culture (PMS-culture), and direct IS900 quantitative PCR (qPCR). Conventional microbiological analyses for total mesophilic bacterial counts, coliforms, Salmonella, coagulase-negative staphylococci, streptococci, nonhemolytic Corynebacterium spp., and Bacillus spp. were also performed to assess the overall microbiological quality of the CMR. Twenty-six (31.3%) of the 83 CMR samples showed evidence of the presence of MAP. Seventeen (20.5%) tested positive for viable MAP by the PMS-phage assay, with plaque counts ranging from 6 to 1,212 pfu/50 mL of reconstituted CMR (average 248.5 pfu/50 mL). Twelve (14.5%) CMR samples tested positive for viable MAP by PMS-culture; isolates from all 12 of these samples were subsequently confirmed by whole-genome sequencing to be different cattle strains of MAP. Seven (8.4%) CMR samples tested positive for MAP DNA by IS900 qPCR. Four CMR samples tested positive by both PMS-based tests and 5 CMR samples tested positive by IS900 qPCR plus one or other of the PMS-based tests, but only one CMR sample tested positive by all 3 MAP detection tests applied. All conventional microbiology results were within current standards for whole milk powders. A significant association existed between higher total bacterial counts and presence of viable MAP indicated by either of the PMS-based assays. This represents the first published report of the isolation of viable MAP from CMR. Our findings raise concerns about the potential ability of MAP to survive manufacture of dried milk-based products.     

EEG‐based brain source localization using visual stimuli

Electroencephalography (EEG) is widely used in variety of research and clinical applications which includes the localization of active brain sources. Brain source localization provides useful information to understand the brain's behavior and cognitive analysis. Various source localization algorithms have been developed to determine the exact locations of the active brain sources due to which electromagnetic activity is generated in brain. These algorithms are based on digital filtering, 3D imaging, array signal processing and Bayesian approaches. According to the spatial resolution provided, the algorithms are categorized as either low resolution methods or high resolution methods. In this research study, EEG data is collected by providing visual stimulus to healthy subjects. FDM is used for head modelling to solve forward problem. The low‐resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) and standardized LORETA (sLORETA) have been used as inverse modelling methods to localize the active regions in the brain during the stimulus provided. The results are produced in the form of MRI images. The tables are also provided to describe the intensity levels for estimated current level for the inverse methods used. The higher current value or intensity level shows the higher electromagnetic activity for a particular source at certain time instant. Thus, the results obtained demonstrate that standardized method which is based on second order Laplacian (sLORETA) in conjunction with finite difference method (FDM) as head modelling technique outperforms other methods in terms of source estimation as it has higher current level and thus, current density (J) for an area as compared to others.     

Skin diseases in Bamako (Mali)

BACKGROUND: Skin diseases have only recently been considered as a possible public health problem in developing countries. Data supporting this matter are scarce. The aim of this study is to report the experience of a specialized dermatologic center in Bamako (Mali) in order to complete two previous studies conducted in the Bamako area: a prevalence study in the general population and a study in nonspecialized health centers of Bamako. It is our intention to provide a comprehensive picture of the problem of skin diseases in an African developing country. METHODS: We retrospectively collected all cases of skin diseases diagnosed during consultations provided at the Institut Marchoux in Bamako, the only center specializing in dermatology in Mali, during the year 1993. RESULTS: A total of 10,575 new outpatients were seen with 10,889 skin diseases. The main skin diseases registered were as follows: infectious dermatoses (41% of all diagnoses, including scabies (16.6%), superficial mycoses (13.6%), and primary pyoderma (5.6%)), dermatitis (20.4%), papular urticaria (4.4%), acne (4.2%), pityriasis alba (3.6%), keratoderma (3.6%), and urticaria (3%). Typical tropical infectious diseases accounted for only 1% of all diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS: It appears that certain skin diseases (mainly scabies and pyoderma) are an important health problem for the population of the Bamako area. Public health policies should be implemented in order to manage this problem rationally.     

Evolution of malaria in Africa for the past 40 years: impact of climatic and human factors

MOTIVATION: Prediction methods for identifying binding peptides could minimize the number of peptides required to be synthesized and assayed, and thereby facilitate the identification of potential T-cell epitopes. We developed a bioinformatic method for the prediction of peptide binding to MHC class II molecules. RESULTS: Experimental binding data and expert knowledge of anchor positions and binding motifs were combined with an evolutionary algorithm (EA) and an artificial neural network (ANN): binding data extraction --> peptide alignment --> ANN training and classification . This method, termed PERUN, was implemented for the prediction of peptides that bind to HLA-DR4(B1*0401). The respective positive predictive values of PERUN predictions of high-, moderate-, low- and zero-affinity binders were assessed as 0.8, 0.7, 0.5 and 0.8 by cross-validation, and 1.0, 0.8, 0.3 and 0.7 by experimental binding. This illustrates the synergy between experimentation and computer modeling, and its application to the identification of potential immunotherapeutic peptides. AVAILABILITY: Software and data are available from the authors upon request. CONTACT: vladimir@wehi.edu. au     

Manufacture of dry‐ and brine‐salted soft camel cheeses for the camel dairy industry

Two experiments were conducted in a camel cheese study to (i) compare camel cheese to bovine cheese made from bovine milk standardised to simulate camel milk, and (ii) describe the technology for manufacture of dry (SCC‐D) and brine‐salted soft camel cheese (SCC‐B). Comparable cheese yield (camel: 7.4 ± 0.15, cow: 7.3 ± 0.55 kg/100 kg of milk) and levels of dry matter loss in whey were observed. Clotting time was 234 s for both cheeses which were made using thermophillic starters. Cheese yield was 9.31 ± 0.64 kg/100 kg with 425.6 ± 38.2 g/kg cheese dry matter for SCC‐D and 8.22 ± 0.90 kg/100 kg with 469 ± 73.8 g/kg dry matter for SCC‐B.     

High hydrostatic pressure treatment of finfish to inactivate Anisakis simplex

High hydrostatic pressure has been demonstrated to be a useful technique for treating food to reduce the number of pathogenic organisms and to extend shelf life. Most research in this area has focused on bacteria. However, a concern in the sashimi (raw fish) industry is that nematode worms such as Anisakis simplex occur naturally in cold-water marine fish. The objectives of this research were to perform a pilot study to determine the effect of high hydrostatic pressure on the viability of Anisakis simplex larvae, commonly found in king salmon and arrowtooth flounder, and to evaluate the effects of high hydrostatic pressure on the color and texture of the fish fillets. Pieces of fish (ca. 100 g per bag) containing 13 to 118 larvae were exposed to pressures of up to 80,000 lb/in2 (552 MPa) for up to 180 s. The times and pressures required to kill 100% of the larvae were as follows: 30 to 60 s at 60,000 lb/in2 (414 MPa), 90 to 180 s at 40,000 lb/in2 (276 MPa), and 180 s at 30,000 lb/in2 (207 MPa). For all salmon treatments that killed 100% of the larvae, a significant increase in the whiteness of the flesh was observed. Although high hydrostatic pressure was effective in killing A. simplex larvae in raw fish fillets, its significant effect on the color and overall appearance of the fillet may limit its application to the processing of fish for raw-fish markets.     

Disruption and functional analysis of six ORFs of chromosome IV: YDL103c (QRI1), YDL105w (QRI2), YDL112w (TRM3), YDL113c, YDL116w (NUP84) and YDL167c (NRP1)

We have disrupted six ORFs (YDL103c, YDL105w, YDL112w, YDL113c, YDL116w and YDL167c) located on the left arm of chromosome IV. Except for YDL112w, the short flanking homology strategy was used to construct disruption cassettes using the KanMX4 marker. For YDL112w, a disruption cassette including the LEU2 gene was made. YDL103c and YDL105w are essential genes for vegetative growth. Disruption of YDL112w, YDL113c and YDL167c does not result in any detectable phenotype with the tests we used, while disruption of YDL116w confers slow growth, cryosensitivity and thermosensitivity, and the disrupted diploid homozygotes for the disruption failed to sporulate.