Nocardiosis in domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo).

Nocardia spp are ubiquitous, gram-positive, variably acid-fast, branching and beaded filamentous, facultative intracellular bacteria that are resistant to phagocytosis and can cause localized or systemic disease in a variety of mammals, including humans, as well as in birds, fish and reptiles. Seventeen pet domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) were diagnosed with nocardiosis by several methods including cytological evaluation, histopathology, Ziehl-Neelsen staining and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). All except two ferrets were 2 years old or older at the time of clinical presentation.

Design and Test of a Calibration System for Avalanche Photodiodes Used in X-Ray Compton Polarimeters for Space.

The development and calibration of a measurement system designed for assessing the performance of the avalanche photodiodes (APDs) used in the Compton scattering polarimeter of the CUSP project is discussed in this work. The designed system is able to characterize the APD gain GAPD and energy resolution across a wide range of temperatures (from -20 °C to +60 °C) and bias voltages Vbias (from 260 V to 410 V). The primary goal was to experimentally determine the GAPD dependence on the and Vbias in order to establish a strategy for stabilizing GAPD by compensating for fluctuations, acting on Vbias.

Deep Septal Pacing for Pacemaker-Induced Cardiomyopathy.

Introduction: Right ventricular (RV) pacing can impair left ventricular function and cause heart failure, known as pacing-induced cardiomyopathy (PICM). Upgrade to cardiac resynchronization (CRT) is its usual treatment; recently left bundle branch area pacing (LBBAP) has emerged as a potential alternative. Deep septal pacing (DSP), a simplified alternative to LBBAP, is still able to achieve narrower paced QRS than during conventional RV pacing.

The nucleocapsid architecture and structural atlas of the prototype baculovirus define the hallmarks of a new viral realm.

Baculovirus is the most studied insect virus owing to a broad ecological distribution and ease of engineering for biotechnological applications. However, its structure and evolutionary place in the virosphere remain enigmatic. Using cryo-electron microscopy, we show that the nucleocapsid forms a covalently cross-linked helical tube protecting a highly compacted 134-kilobase pair DNA genome.