Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Initial Plasticity in P91 Steel Small Punch Creep Samples.

To date, the complex behaviour of small punch creep test (SPCT) specimens has not been completely understood, making the test hard to numerically model and the data difficult to interpret. This paper presents a novel numerical model able to generate results that match the experimental findings. For the first time, pre-strained uniaxial creep test data of a P91 steel at 600 C have been implemented in a conveniently modified Liu and Murakami creep damage model in order to simulate the effects of the initial localised plasticity on the subsequent creep response of a small punch creep test specimen.

The complement-killing of Borrelia burgdorferi. Target antigens and sensitizing antibodies.

It had been previously shown by the Microbial Adherence Immobilization Assay (MAIA) that Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, type strain B31 was clumped, immobilized and killed in vitro by sensitizing antibodies that activated the classical complement pathway and the complement-killing of live borrelia. In the present study, the target antigens and sensitizing antibodies responsible for the complement-killing of borrelia were investigated, using MAIA as a selective identification tool. It was found that the fractions containing the 31 and 34 kDa outer surface proteins from strain B31 were the unique antigens producing sensitizing antibodies in rabbits that activated the complement-killing of B31.

Antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi in sheep and goats. Alto Adige-South Tyrol, Italy.

A serologic survey for antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi was conducted on sheep and goat serum samples collected in Alto Adige-South Tyrol, Italy, in 1990. Sera were tested by Indirect Immune Fluorescence Assay (IIFA) and Microbial Adherence Immobilization Assay (MAIA). IIFA and/or MAIA anti-B.

Genetic and phenotypic characterization of Borrelia burgdorferi strains isolated from Ixodes ricinus ticks in the Province of Bolzano, Italy.

Lyme disease is caused by three borrelial species, B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, B. garinii and Borrelia group VS461.