scholarly journals Equid alphaherpesvirus 1 from Italian Horses: Evaluation of the Variability of the ORF30, ORF33, ORF34 and ORF68 Genes

Viruses ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 851 ◽  
Author(s):  
Preziuso ◽  
Sgorbini ◽  
Marmorini ◽  
Cuteri

Equid alphaherpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) is an important pathogen of horses. It is spread worldwide and causes significant economic losses. The ORF33 gene has a conserved region that is often used as target in diagnostic PCR protocols. Single nucleotide point (SNP) mutations in ORF30 are usually used to distinguish between neuropathogenic and non-neuropathogenic genotypes. An ORF68 SNP-based scheme has been used for grouping different isolates. Recently, the highest number of variable sites in EHV-1 from the UK has been found in ORF34. In this study, EHV-1 positive samples from Italian horses with a history of abortion were investigated by amplifying and sequencing the ORF30, ORF33, ORF34 and ORF68 genes. Most animals were infected by the neuropathogenic type A2254G. A 118 bp deletion was found at nucleotide positions 701–818 of the ORF68 gene, making impossible to assign the samples to a known group. Sequencing of the ORF34 gene with a newly designed nested PCR showed new SNPs. Analysis of these sequences and of those obtained from genetic databases allowed the identification of at least 12 groups. These data add depth to the knowledge of EHV-1 genotypes circulating in Italy.

Biomedicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 808
Author(s):  
Laura Pérez-Lago ◽  
Teresa Aldámiz-Echevarría ◽  
Rita García-Martínez ◽  
Leire Pérez-Latorre ◽  
Marta Herranz ◽  
...  

A successful Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant, B.1.1.7, has recently been reported in the UK, causing global alarm. Most likely, the new variant emerged in a persistently infected patient, justifying a special focus on these cases. Our aim in this study was to explore certain clinical profiles involving severe immunosuppression that may help explain the prolonged persistence of viable viruses. We present three severely immunosuppressed cases (A, B, and C) with a history of lymphoma and prolonged SARS-CoV-2 shedding (2, 4, and 6 months), two of whom finally died. Whole-genome sequencing of 9 and 10 specimens from Cases A and B revealed extensive within-patient acquisition of diversity, 12 and 28 new single nucleotide polymorphisms, respectively, which suggests ongoing SARS-CoV-2 replication. This diversity was not observed for Case C after analysing 5 sequential nasopharyngeal specimens and one plasma specimen, and was only observed in one bronchoaspirate specimen, although viral viability was still considered based on constant low Ct values throughout the disease and recovery of the virus in cell cultures. The acquired viral diversity in Cases A and B followed different dynamics. For Case A, new single nucleotide polymorphisms were quickly fixed (13–15 days) after emerging as minority variants, while for Case B, higher diversity was observed at a slower emergence: fixation pace (1–2 months). Slower SARS-CoV-2 evolutionary pace was observed for Case A following the administration of hyperimmune plasma. This work adds knowledge on SARS-CoV-2 prolonged shedding in severely immunocompromised patients and demonstrates viral viability, noteworthy acquired intra-patient diversity, and different SARS-CoV-2 evolutionary dynamics in persistent cases.


Author(s):  
C. Claire Thomson

This chapter traces the early history of state-sponsored informational filmmaking in Denmark, emphasising its organisation as a ‘cooperative’ of organisations and government agencies. After an account of the establishment and early development of the agency Dansk Kulturfilm in the 1930s, the chapter considers two of its earliest productions, both process films documenting the manufacture of bricks and meat products. The broader context of documentary in Denmark is fleshed out with an account of the production and reception of Poul Henningsen’s seminal film Danmark (1935), and the international context is accounted for with an overview of the development of state-supported filmmaking in the UK, Italy and Germany. Developments in the funding and output of Dansk Kulturfilm up to World War II are outlined, followed by an account of the impact of the German Occupation of Denmark on domestic informational film. The establishment of the Danish Government Film Committee or Ministeriernes Filmudvalg kick-started aprofessionalisation of state-sponsored filmmaking, and two wartime public information films are briefly analysed as examples of its early output. The chapter concludes with an account of the relations between the Danish Resistance and an emerging generation of documentarists.


Author(s):  
Ros Scott

This chapter explores the history of volunteers in the founding and development of United Kingdom (UK) hospice services. It considers the changing role and influences of volunteering on services at different stages of development. Evidence suggests that voluntary sector hospice and palliative care services are dependent on volunteers for the range and quality of services delivered. Within such services, volunteer trustees carry significant responsibility for the strategic direction of the organiszation. Others are engaged in diverse roles ranging from the direct support of patient and families to public education and fundraising. The scope of these different roles is explored before considering the range of management models and approaches to training. This chapter also considers the direct and indirect impact on volunteering of changing palliative care, societal, political, and legislative contexts. It concludes by exploring how and why the sector is changing in the UK and considering the growing autonomy of volunteers within the sector.


2015 ◽  
Vol 207 (4) ◽  
pp. 328-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Jones ◽  
Alice Metcalf ◽  
Katherine Gordon-Smith ◽  
Liz Forty ◽  
Amy Perry ◽  
...  

BackgroundNorth American studies show bipolar disorder is associated with elevated rates of problem gambling; however, little is known about rates in the different presentations of bipolar illness.AimsTo determine the prevalence and distribution of problem gambling in people with bipolar disorder in the UK.MethodThe Problem Gambling Severity Index was used to measure gambling problems in 635 participants with bipolar disorder.ResultsModerate to severe gambling problems were four times higher in people with bipolar disorder than in the general population, and were associated with type 2 disorder (OR = 1.74, P = 0.036), history of suicidal ideation or attempt (OR = 3.44, P = 0.02) and rapid cycling (OR = 2.63, P = 0.008).ConclusionsApproximately 1 in 10 patients with bipolar disorder may be at moderate to severe risk of problem gambling, possibly associated with suicidal behaviour and a rapid cycling course. Elevated rates of gambling problems in type 2 disorder highlight the probable significance of modest but unstable mood disturbance in the development and maintenance of such problems.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Setareh Alabaf ◽  
Karen O'Connell ◽  
Sithara Ramdas ◽  
David Beeson ◽  
Jacqueline Palace

Congenital Myasthenic Syndrome (CMS) are a rare group of genetic disorders of neuromuscular transmission. Some subtypes of CMS can be associated with respiratory and bulbar weakness and these patients may therefore be at high risk of developing a severe disease from COVID-19. We screened 73 patients with genetically confirmed CMS who were attending the UK national referral centre for evidence of previous Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2 infection and their clinical outcome. Of 73 patients, seven had history of confirmed COVID-19. None of the infected patients developed a severe disease, and there were no signals that CMS alone carries a high risk of severe disease from COVID-19.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin N. Danson ◽  
Malcolm White ◽  
John R. M. Barr ◽  
Thomas Bett ◽  
Peter Blyth ◽  
...  

Abstract The first demonstration of laser action in ruby was made in 1960 by T. H. Maiman of Hughes Research Laboratories, USA. Many laboratories worldwide began the search for lasers using different materials, operating at different wavelengths. In the UK, academia, industry and the central laboratories took up the challenge from the earliest days to develop these systems for a broad range of applications. This historical review looks at the contribution the UK has made to the advancement of the technology, the development of systems and components and their exploitation over the last 60 years.


2021 ◽  
pp. 104063872110061
Author(s):  
César I. Romo-Sáenz ◽  
Patricia Tamez-Guerra ◽  
Aymee Olivas-Holguin ◽  
Yareellys Ramos-Zayas ◽  
Nelson Obregón-Macías ◽  
...  

Equine infectious anemia (EIA) is a highly infectious disease in members of the Equidae family, caused by equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV). The disease severity ranges from subclinical to acute or chronic, and causes significant economic losses in the equine industry worldwide. Serologic tests for detection of EIAV infection have some concerns given the prolonged seroconversion time. Therefore, molecular methods are needed to improve surveillance programs for this disease. We attempted detection of EIAV in 6 clinical and 42 non-clinical horses in Nuevo Leon State, Mexico, using the agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test for antibody detection, and nested and hemi-nested PCR for detection of proviral DNA. We found that 6 of 6, 5 of 6, and 6 of 6 clinical horses were positive by AGID, nested PCR, and hemi-nested PCR, respectively, whereas 0 of 42, 1 of 42, and 9 of 42 non-clinical horses were positive by these tests, respectively. BLAST analysis of the 203-bp 5′-LTR/ tat segment of PCR product revealed 83–93% identity with EIAV isolates in GenBank and reference strains from other countries. By phylogenetic analysis, our Mexican samples were grouped in a different clade than other sequences reported worldwide, indicating that the LRT/ tat region represents an important target for the detection of non-clinical horses.


Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 97
Author(s):  
Georgina M. Robinson

In an age where concern for the environment is paramount, individuals are continuously looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint—does this now extend to in one’s own death? How can one reduce the environmental impact of their own death? This paper considers various methods of disposing the human body after death, with a particular focus on the environmental impact that the different disposal techniques have. The practices of ‘traditional’ burial, cremation, ‘natural’ burial, and ‘resomation’ will be discussed, with focus on the prospective introduction of the funerary innovation of the alkaline hydrolysis of human corpses, trademarked as ‘Resomation’, in the United Kingdom. The paper situates this process within the history of innovative corpse disposal in the UK in order to consider how this innovation may function within the UK funeral industry in the future, with reference made to possible religious perspectives on the process.


2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 752-754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Svensson ◽  
Anders Götherström

Phylogeography has recently become more abundant in studies of demographic history of both wild and domestic species. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the intron of the Y-chromosomal gene UTY19 displays a north–south gradient in modern cattle. Support for this geographical distribution of haplogroups has previously also been seen in ancient cattle from Germany. However, when analysing 38 historic remains of domestic bulls and three aurochs from northern Europe for this SNP we found no such association. Instead, we noted extensive amounts of temporal variation that can be attributed to transportation of cattle and late breed formation.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document