Impact of rabies vaccination history on attainment of an adequate antibody titre among dogs tested for International Travel Certification, Israel - 2010-2014

Rabies is endemic in wildlife or domestic carnivore populations globally. Infection of domestic dogs is of particular concern in many areas. In regions where domestic animals are at risk of exposure to rabies virus, dogs should be routinely vaccinated against rabies to protect both pet and human populations. Many countries require demonstration of an adequate level of serum rabies neutralizing antibodies to permit entry of dogs during international travel. We analysed rabies titres of dogs seeking travel certification in Israel to assess demographic and vaccine history factors associated with antibody titres below the acceptable threshold for travel certification. Having received only one previous rabies vaccination and a longer duration since the most recent vaccination was received were primary risk factors for not achieving an adequate rabies virus neutralizing antibody titre for travel certification. These risk factors had stronger effects in younger animals, but were consistent for dogs of all ages. In particular, these findings reiterate the importance of administering at least two rabies vaccinations (the primo vaccination and subsequent booster) to ensure population-level protection against rabies in dogs globally

Chinese State Capitalism and the International Tax Regime

As signaled by its participation in the G-20/OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project, China is gaining significant influence over international tax rules. Yet, how exactly China intends to shape international tax law remains an open question, even amongst leading Chinese tax scholars. As both a major capital importer and exporter as well as a developing economy with tremendous global economic power, China does not fit neatly into the traditional dichotomies of the international tax regime. This article argues that China’s international tax policy is likely to be strongly influenced by its unique system of state capitalism. Both the history of Chinese domestic tax reforms and the Communist Party’s current mechanisms of control over the Chinese economy suggest that China’s tax policy cannot be understood separately from its system of state capitalism. This article contends that as a result, China is likely to adopt distinctive international tax policies including maintaining a worldwide system of corporate taxation, providing tacit state support for international tax planning by major Chinese multinationals, and negotiating for broad exemptions in tax treaties for state-associated entities. If not proactively addressed by OECD countries, these policies may lead to significant fractures within the international tax regime

Discovery of the Cobalt Isotopes

Twenty-six cobalt isotopes have so far been observed; the discovery of these isotopes is discussed. For each isotope a brief summary of the first refereed publication, including the production and identification method, is presented.Comment: to be published in Atomic Data and Nuclear Data Table

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease: Does Overlap of Mechanism Mean Overlap of Treatment Methods?

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. More than 5.5 million People over the age of 65 are currently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease with predictions of 13.8 million to be diagnosed by the year 2050 (Sultana, et al., 2013) (Hebert, Weuve, Scherr, & Evans, 2013). With few treatments available, scientists are desperately looking for a solution to this growing epidemic. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is also a neurodegenerative disorder, but with a far less prevalence of only 4.6 persons per million per year. It was discovered that Alzheimer’s and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease share many pathophysiological mechanisms with each other. Being that both of these illnesses are currently incurable, a thorough critical analysis of mechanisms and potential treatments were preformed to ascertain if knowledge in one disorder can help find a cure for the other. With the strong relationship between these two disorders, it was found that many treatments intended for one illness had positive results for the other (some with slight modifications). The discovery of this correlation improved scientist’s knowledge of the pathological mechanism of these ailments along with finding new and creative ways for treatment. Experiments geared towards the relationship between Alzheimer’s and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease has brought researchers closer to finding a cure for several neurodegenerative disorders

Advanced Fluorescence Microscopy Techniques-FRAP, FLIP, FLAP, FRET and FLIM

Fluorescence microscopy provides an efficient and unique approach to study fixed and living cells because of its versatility, specificity, and high sensitivity. Fluorescence microscopes can both detect the fluorescence emitted from labeled molecules in biological samples as images or photometric data from which intensities and emission spectra can be deduced. By exploiting the characteristics of fluorescence, various techniques have been developed that enable the visualization and analysis of complex dynamic events in cells, organelles, and sub-organelle components within the biological specimen. The techniques described here are fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP), the related fluorescence loss in photobleaching (FLIP), fluorescence localization after photobleaching (FLAP), Forster or fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) and the different ways how to measure FRET, such as acceptor bleaching, sensitized emission, polarization anisotropy, and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM). First, a brief introduction into the mechanisms underlying fluorescence as a physical phenomenon and fluorescence, confocal, and multiphoton microscopy is given. Subsequently, these advanced microscopy techniques are introduced in more detail, with a description of how these techniques are performed, what needs to be considered, and what practical advantages they can bring to cell biological research