Novel Styrylquinolinium Dye Thin Films Deposited by Pulsed Laser Deposition for Nonlinear Optical Applications

The nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of novel styrylquinolinium dye thin films for photonic applications have been studied by the Z-scan, second harmonic generation (SHG), and third harmonic generation (THG) techniques, providing both the second- and third-order nonlinear optical parameters. The styrylquinolinium dye (E)-1-ethyl-4-(2-(4-hydroxynaphthalen-1-yl)vinyl)quinolinium bromide was synthesized by the Knoevenagel condensation, and its structure and physicochemical properties were determined by H-1 NMR, C-13 NMR, FTIR, UV-vis spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. Functional thin films were deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) using UV TEA N-2 laser onto glass substrates and KCl, NaCl monocrystals at room temperature and vacuum at 10(-3) mbar/0.1 Pa. Further characterization of the films and target from native material by FTIR spectroscopy revealed that there was no difference between the deposited films and the initial material. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements have been also performed in order to provide information about the morphology and topology of the thin films

NGS Nominated CELA1, HSPG2, and KCNK5 as Candidate Genes for Predisposition to Balkan Endemic Nephropathy

Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN) is a familial chronic tubulointerstitial disease with insidious onset and slow progression leading to terminal renal failure. The results of molecular biological investigations propose that BEN is a multifactorial disease with genetic predisposition to environmental risk agents. Exome sequencing of 22 000 genes with Illumina Nextera Exome Enrichment Kit was performed on 22 DNA samples (11 Bulgarian patients and 11 Serbian patients). Software analysis was performed via NextGene, Provean, and PolyPhen. The frequency of all annotated genetic variants with deleterious/damaging effect was compared with those of European populations. Then we focused on nonannotated variants (with no data available about them and not found in healthy Bulgarian controls). There is no statistically significant difference between annotated variants in BEN patients and European populations. From nonannotated variants with more than 40% frequency in both patients' groups, we nominated 3 genes with possible deleterious/damaging variants-CELA1, HSPG2, and KCNK5. Mutant genes (CELA1, HSPG2, and KCNK5) in BEN patients encode proteins involved in basement membrane/extracellular matrix and vascular tone, tightly connected to process of angiogenesis. We suggest that an abnormal process of angiogenesis plays a key role in the molecular pathogenesis of BEN

Prevalence of Coxiella burnetii in clinically healthy German sheep flocks

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Current epidemiological data on the situation of <it>Coxiella (C.) burnetii </it>infections in sheep are missing, making risk assessment and the implementation of counteractive measures difficult. Using the German state of Thuringia as a model example, the estimated sero-, and antigen prevalence of <it>C. burnetii </it>(10% and 25%, respectively) was assessed at flock level in 39/252 randomly selected clinically healthy sheep flocks with more than 100 ewes and unknown abortion rate.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The CHECKIT™ Q-fever Test Kit identified 11 (28%) antibody positive herds, whereas real-time PCR revealed the presence of <it>C. burnetii </it>DNA in 2 (5%) of the flocks. Multiple-locus variable number of tandem repeats analysis of 9 isolates obtained from one flock revealed identical profiles. All isolates contained the plasmid QpH1.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results demonstrate that <it>C. burnetii </it>is present in clinically inconspicuous sheep flocks and sporadic flare-ups do occur as the notifications to the German animal disease reporting system show. Although <it>C. burnetii </it>infections are not a primary veterinary concern due to the lack of significant clinical impact on animal health (with the exception of goats), the eminent zoonotic risk for humans should not be underestimated. Therefore, strategies combining the interests of public and veterinary public health should include monitoring of flocks, the identification and culling of shedders as well as the administration of protective vaccines.</p

Genetic Parentage Analysis Confirms a Polygynandrous Breeding System in the European Grayling (Thymallus thymallus)

Knowing the breeding system of a species is important in order to understand individual variation in reproductive success. Large variation in reproductive success and thus reproductive skew strongly impacts on the effective number of breeders and thus the long-term effective population size (Ne). Fishes, in particular species belonging to the salmonid family, exhibit a wide diversity of breeding systems. In general, however, breeding systems are rarely studied in detail in the wild. Here we examine the breeding system of the spring-spawning European grayling Thymallus thymallus from a small Norwegian stream using parentage assignment based on the genotyping of 19 polymorphic microsatellite loci. In total 895 individual grayling fry and 154 mature grayling (57 females and 97 males) were genotyped. A total of 466 offspring were assigned a father, a mother, or a parent pair with a confidence of 90% or higher. Successfully reproducing males had on average 11.9 ± 13.3 (SD) offspring with on average 2.1 ± 1.2 partners, whereas successful females had on average 9.5 ± 12.8 offspring and 2.3 ± 1.5 partners. Parents with more partners also produced more offspring. Thus the grayling breeding system within this small stream revealed a polygynandrous breeding system, similar to what has been observed for many other salmonid fish species. The present study thus unambiguously corroborates a polygynadrous breeding system in the European grayling. This knowledge is critical for managing populations of this species, which has suffered significant local population declines throughout its range over the last several decades

Quantifying heritable variation in fitness-related traits of wild, farmed and hybrid Atlantic salmon families in a wild river environment

Farmed fish are typically genetically different from wild conspecifics. Escapees from fish farms may contribute one-way gene flow from farm to wild gene pools, which can depress population productivity, dilute local adaptations and disrupt coadapted gene complexes. Here, we reanalyse data from two experiments (McGinnity et al., 1997, 2003) where performance of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) progeny originating from experimental crosses between farm and wild parents (in three different cohorts) were measured in a natural stream under common garden conditions. Previous published analyses focussed on group-level differences but did not account for pedigree structure, as we do here using modern mixed-effect models. Offspring with one or two farm parents exhibited poorer survival in their first and second year of life compared with those with two wild parents and these group-level inferences were robust to excluding outlier families. Variation in performance among farm, hybrid and wild families was generally similar in magnitude. Farm offspring were generally larger at all life stages examined than wild offspring, but the differences were moderate (5–20%) and similar in magnitude in the wild versus hatchery environments. Quantitative genetic analyses conducted using a Bayesian framework revealed moderate heritability in juvenile fork length and mass and positive genetic correlations (>0.85) between these morphological traits. Our study confirms (using more rigorous statistical techniques) previous studies showing that offspring of wild fish invariably have higher fitness and contributes fresh insights into family-level variation in performance of farm, wild and hybrid Atlantic salmon families in the wild. It also adds to a small, but growing, number of studies that estimate key evolutionary parameters in wild salmonid populations. Such information is vital in modelling the impacts of introgression by escaped farm salmon