scholarly journals A Rare Glimpse into the Past of the Anthrax Pathogen Bacillus anthracis

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 298
Author(s):  
Peter Braun ◽  
Mandy Knüpfer ◽  
Markus Antwerpen ◽  
Dagmar Triebel ◽  
Gregor Grass
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Anthracis ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Causative Agent ◽  
Genomic Sequencing ◽  
Genetic Lineage ◽  
Isolation Method ◽  
High Quality ◽  
The Past ◽  
Bacterium Bacillus ◽  
Europe Today

The bacterium Bacillus anthracis is the causative agent of the zoonotic disease anthrax. While genomics of extant B. anthracis isolates established in-depth phylogenomic relationships, there is scarce information on the historic genomics of the pathogen. Here, we characterized the oldest documented B. anthracis specimen. The inactive 142-year-old material originated from a bovine diseased in Chemnitz (Germany) in 1878 and is contemporary with the seminal studies of Robert Koch on B. anthracis. A specifically developed isolation method yielded high-quality DNA from this specimen for genomic sequencing. The bacterial chromosome featuring 242 unique base-characters placed it into a major phylogenetic clade of B. anthracis (B.Branch CNEVA), which is typical for central Europe today. Our results support the notion that the CNEVA-clade represents part of the indigenous genetic lineage of B. anthracis in this part of Europe. This work emphasizes the value of historic specimens as precious resources for reconstructing the past phylogeny of the anthrax pathogen.

scholarly journals Clinical and epidemiological investigation of a fatal anthrax case in China

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (02) ◽  
pp. 214-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haiying Chen ◽  
Wanguo Bao ◽  
Yang Wang ◽  
Kaiyu Zhang ◽  
Feng Wang
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Anthracis ◽  
Epidemiological Investigation ◽  
Disease Manifestation ◽  
Outbreak Management ◽  
Underdeveloped Countries ◽  
The Past ◽  
Agrarian Communities ◽  
Changchun City ◽  
Bacterium Bacillus ◽  
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

Anthrax is a recessive infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, and is primarily a zoonotic disease. Until recently, Bacillus anthracis infections were relatively infrequent and confined to agrarian communities in underdeveloped countries. No anthrax cases were reported in Changchun City in the past few decades until a male patient from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region presented the anthrax disease manifestation. This paper describes an anthrax patient’s diagnosis, isolation and treatment which involved institutions in two different Chinese provinces; the foci epidemiological investigation alongside with the outbreak management process, which is of great significance to control the spread of the recessive infection is also described.

Mapping Power

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Comprehensive Analysis ◽  
Electricity Sector ◽  
Operational Performance ◽  
The Political ◽  
Government Reform ◽  
High Quality ◽  
The Past ◽  
Economic Forces ◽  
Political Economy Analysis

Electricity is critical to enabling India’s economic growth and providing a better future for its citizens. In spite of several decades of reform, the Indian electricity sector is unable to provide high-quality and affordable electricity for all, and grapples with the challenge of poor financial and operational performance. To understand why, Mapping Power provides the most comprehensive analysis of the political economy of electricity in India’s states. With chapters on fifteen states by scholars of state politics and electricity, this volume maps the political and economic forces that constrain and shape decisions in electricity distribute on. Contrary to conventional wisdom, it concludes that attempts to depoliticize the sector are misplaced and could worsen outcomes. Instead, it suggests that a historically grounded political economy analysis helps understand the past and devise reforms to simultaneously improve sectoral outcomes and generate political rewards. These arguments have implications for the challenges facing India’s electricity future, including providing electricity to all, implementing government reform schemes, and successfully managing the rise of renewable energy.

scholarly journals Levels of Evidence in Rhinology and Skull Base Surgery Research

2021 ◽  
pp. 019459982098713
Author(s):  
Jennifer A. Silver ◽  
Marco Mascarella ◽  
George Tali ◽  
Rickul Varshney ◽  
Marc A. Tewfik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skull Base ◽  
Skull Base Surgery ◽  
Absolute Number ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Level Of Evidence ◽  
Levels Of Evidence ◽  
The Past ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Surgery Research ◽  
Based Medicine

Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality of evidence of rhinology and rhinologic skull base surgery (RSBS) research and its evolution over the past decade. Study Design Review article. Setting We reviewed articles from 2007 to 2019 in 4 leading peer-reviewed otolaryngology journals and 3 rhinology-specific journals. Methods The articles were reviewed and levels of evidence were assigned using the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine 2011 guidelines. High quality was defined as level of evidence 1 or 2. Results In total, 1835 articles were reviewed in this study spanning a 13-year period. Overall, the absolute number of RSBS publications increased significantly 22.6% per year, from 108 articles in 2007 to 481 in 2019 ( P < .001; 95% CI, 7.9-37.2). In 2007, only 13 articles, or 15%, were high quality, and this grew to 146 articles, or 39%, in 2019. A 14.0% per year exponential increase in the number of high-quality publications was found to be statistically significant ( P < .001; 95% CI, 7.2, 20.7). Overall, high-quality publications represented just 25.8% of RSBS articles overall. There was no significant difference in quality between rhinology-specific journals and general otolaryngology journals (χ2 = 3.1, P = .077). Conclusion The number of overall publications and of high-quality RSBS publications has significantly increased over the past decade. However, the proportion of high-quality studies continues to represent a minority of total RSBS research.

scholarly journals Development of new total RNA isolation method for tissues with rich phenolic compounds

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 343-350
Author(s):  
Zafer Seçgin ◽  
Gökhan Gökdemir ◽  
Elif Seda Atabay ◽  
Aslıhan Kurt Kızıldoğan ◽  
Musa Kavas
Keyword(s):  
Phenolic Compounds ◽  
Rna Sequencing ◽  
Rna Isolation ◽  
Wall Structure ◽  
Isolation Method ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Ctab Method ◽  
Total Rna Isolation

AbstractBackgroundRNAs to be used in transcriptome analysis must be of high quality and pure in order to ensure maximum representation of the expressed genes. RNA isolation is difficult in hazelnut tissues containing large amounts of secondary metabolite, phenolic compounds and the cell wall structure. Commonly used protocols for RNA isolation are those that require a lot of labor and time and also do not allow sufficient RNA isolation when applied to tissues rich in phenolic compounds. This study was aimed to develop an efficient method for isolation of total RNAs from bud of hazelnut to be used in RNA sequencing.Materials and methodsAn optimized new method was successfully applied on three different hazelnuts genotypes (Çakıldak, Palaz, Tombul) and about 25 times higher amount of total RNAs per mg fresh tissues were obtained compared to classical CTAB method. Different methods have been tried for the isolation of RNA from hazelnut tissues and the determination of the quality of the obtained RNAs.ResultsThe quality and quantity of isolalated total RNAs were determined by spectrophotometer, electrophoresis and PCR. This success has been caught without any compromise of purity since A260/A280 ratios ranged from 1.90 to 2.04 and A260/A230 ratios were >2.0 in all purified RNAs.ConclusionThe total RNAs isolated with new protocol was found to be suitable for RNA sequencing and other molecular applications.

scholarly journals The fossil record of whip spiders: the past of Amblypygi

PalZ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolin Haug ◽  
Joachim T. Haug
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
3D Imaging ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Dorsal Shield ◽  
Stereo Images ◽  
Geological Time ◽  
High Quality ◽  
The Past ◽  
Over Time

AbstractWhip spiders (Amblypygi), as their name suggests, resemble spiders (Araneae) in some aspects, but differ from them by their heart-shaped (prosomal) dorsal shield, their prominent grasping pedipalps, and their subsequent elongate pair of feeler appendages. The oldest possible occurrences of whip spiders, represented by cuticle fragments, date back to the Devonian (c. 385 mya), but (almost) complete fossils are known from the Carboniferous (c. 300 mya) onwards. The fossils include specimens preserved on slabs or in nodules (Carboniferous, Cretaceous) as well as specimens preserved in amber (Cretaceous, Eocene, Miocene). We review here all fossil whip spider specimens, figure most of them as interpretative drawings or with high-quality photographs including 3D imaging (stereo images) to make the three-dimensional relief of the specimens visible. Furthermore, we amend the list by two new specimens (resulting in 37 in total). The fossil specimens as well as modern whip spiders were measured to analyse possible changes in morphology over time. In general, the shield appears to have become relatively broader and the pedipalps and walking appendages have become more elongate over geological time. The morphological details are discussed in an evolutionary framework and in comparison with results from earlier studies.

Contacts between the Late Roman Empire and North-Central Europe

1996 ◽  
Vol 76 ◽  
pp. 31-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksander Bursche
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
European Continent ◽  
North Central ◽  
The Past ◽  
Vistula River ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
English Speaking World ◽  
The Baltic

The concept of Central Europe is understood here to cover the geographical centre of the European continent (i.e. the territory between the Elbe, Bug and Neman rivers, that is, eastern Germany, Poland, Bohemia, Slovakia and Lithuania), formerly treated in much of the English-speaking world as ‘Eastern Europe’. In the past six years, however, this area has been moving closer to the West. This paper shall concentrate on the region north of the Carpathian mountains, particularly the Vistula river-basin and Scandinavia (without Norway), in other words the territory round the Baltic Sea.

From Nowhere to “Partyslava”

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 299-320
Author(s):  
Peter Barrer
Keyword(s):  
Central Europe ◽  
Slovak Republic ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
Popular Imagination ◽  
East Central Europe ◽  
East Central ◽  
The Past ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
English Speaking

Over the past two decades, Prague has cemented itself as a tourist hotspot in the popular imagination. But what of Bratislava, long considered a “poor cousin” to Prague? What images of Bratislava have foreign publics been presented with since the fall of communism in East-Central Europe and the establishment of the Slovak Republic? Building on previous research which has examined visitors’ historical perceptions of Bratislava primarily from a German-speaking perspective, this paper seeks to map the development of Bratislava’s image in media texts from English-speaking countries since 1989 by focusing on two central motifs: Bratislava as a post-communist space and Bratislava as a locus of touristic pleasures (“Partyslava”). The images presented herein will be evaluated and contrasted with local descriptions of Bratislava, thus offering a cross-cultural perspective which will contribute to the wider discussion of popular perceptions of post-communist urban spaces in East-Central Europe.

Twisted oxide lateral homostructures with conjunction tunability

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan-Chi Yang ◽  
Ping-Chun Wu ◽  
Chia-Chun Wei ◽  
Qilan Zhong ◽  
Sheng-Zhu Ho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Strain Engineering ◽  
Epitaxial Films ◽  
Modern Technology ◽  
Specific Substrate ◽  
Lattice Structures ◽  
High Quality ◽  
The Past ◽  
Sharp Interfaces ◽  
Selection Of

Abstract Epitaxial growth is of significant importance over the past decades, given it has been the key process of modern technology for delivering high-quality thin films. For conventional heteroepitaxy, the selection of proper single crystal substrates not only facilitates the integration of different materials but also fulfills interface and strain engineering upon a wide spectrum of functionalities. Nevertheless, the lattice structures, regularity and crystalline orientation are determined once a specific substrate is chosen. In this work, we reveal the growth of twisted oxide lateral homostructures with multiple conjunction degree of freedom. The twisted lateral homostructures with atomically sharp interfaces can be composed of epitaxial “blocks” with different crystalline orientations, ferroic orders and phases. We further demonstrate that this approach is universal for fabricating various complex systems. Our results establish an efficient pathway towards twisted lateral homostructures, allowing epitaxial films to be arbitrarily tailored at designated positions with unbounded in-plane conjunction tunability.

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