Double Deletion of EP402R and EP153R in the Attenuated Lv17/WB/Rie1 African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) Enhances Safety, Provides DIVA Compatibility, and Confers Complete Protection Against a Genotype II Virulent Strain.

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a devastating disease affecting domestic and wild suids and causing significant economic losses in the global pig industry. Attenuated modified live virus (MLV) vaccines are the most promising approaches for vaccine development. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of four recombinant ASFV genotype II strains, derived from the non-hemadsorbing (non-HAD) attenuated isolate Lv17/WB/Rie1, through the single or simultaneous deletion of virulence-associated genes.

Comparative Phytotoxicity of Metallic Elements on Duckweed L. Using Growth- and Chlorophyll Fluorescence Induction-Based Endpoints.

In this study, we exposed a commonly used duckweed species- L.-to twelve environmentally relevant metals and metalloids under laboratory conditions. The phytotoxic effects were evaluated in a multi-well-plate-based experimental setup by means of the chlorophyll fluorescence imaging method.

The Production of Recombinant African Swine Fever Virus Lv17/WB/Rie1 Strains and Their In Vitro and In Vivo Characterizations.

Lv17/WB/Rie1-Δ24 was produced via illegitimate recombination mediated by low-dilution serial passage in the Cos7 cell line and isolated on PAM cell culture. The virus contains a huge ~26.4 Kb deletion in the left end of its genome.

Evaluation of Haematological and Immunological Parameters of the ASFV Lv17/WB/Rie1 Strain and Its Derived Mutant Lv17/WB/Rie1/d110-11L against ASFV Challenge Infection in Domestic Pigs.

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is the etiological agent of a haemorrhagic disease that threatens the global pig industry. There is an urgency to develop a safe and efficient vaccine, but the knowledge of the immune-pathogenetic mechanisms behind ASFV infection is still very limited. In this paper, we evaluated the haematological and immunological parameters of domestic pigs vaccinated with the ASFV Lv17/WB/Rie1 strain or its derived mutant Lv17/WB/Rie1/d110-11L and then challenged with virulent Armenia/07 ASFV.

Cryptogamic communities on flatroofs in the city of Debrecen (East Hungary).

Cryptogams of ten urban flatroofs, contrasting in their age and size, were studied between 2016 and 2018. Siliceous (bituminous felt, gravel, brick) and calcareous (concrete) substrata occurred at each site. Microclimate (T, RH) at two sites of contrasting shading was monitored from September 2016 to January 2017.

Involvement of the MGF 110-11L Gene in the African Swine Fever Replication and Virulence.

African swine fever (ASF) is a highly lethal hemorrhagic viral disease that causes extensive economic and animal welfare losses in the Eurasian pig () population. To date, no effective and safe vaccines have been marketed against ASF. A starting point for vaccine development is using naturally occurring attenuated strains as a vaccine base.

Application of Magnetic Adaptive Testing for Nondestructive Investigation of 2507 Duplex Stainless Steel.

Duplex stainless steels are two-phase alloys, which contain ferritic and austenitic phases in their microstructure. Their duplex structure provides exceptional resistance to pitting and chloride stress corrosion cracking, and their strength is about twice that of austenitic stainless steels. Due to their good properties, they are widely used in chemical and petrochemical industries as a base material in pressure vessels, pipelines and containers.

Species- and Metal-Specific Responses of the Ionome of Three Duckweed Species under Chromate and Nickel Treatments.

In this study, growth and ionomic responses of three duckweed species were analyzed, namely , , and , were exposed for short-term periods to hexavalent chromium or nickel under laboratory conditions. It was found that different duckweed species had distinct ionomic patterns that can change considerably due to metal treatments. The results also show that, because of the stress-induced increase in leaf mass-to-area ratio, the studied species showed different order of metal uptake efficiency if plant area was used as unit of reference instead of the traditional dry weight-based approach.

Allele-Specific Dual PCRs to Identify Members of the 27a Cluster of PPV.

Porcine Parvovirus (PPV) is one of the most important infectious agents causing severe reproductive failure in pigs. In the last two decades a particular, a novel genotype emerged in Europe and PPV-27a was named as the prototype of this genetic cluster. It was suggested that members of the PPV-27a cluster may adversely influence effective vaccination against PPV.

Chlorophyll Fluorescence Imaging-Based Duckweed Phenotyping to Assess Acute Phytotoxic Effects.

Duckweeds (Lemnaceae species) are extensively used models in ecotoxicology, and chlorophyll fluorescence imaging offers a sensitive and high throughput platform for phytotoxicity assays with these tiny plants. However, the vast number of potentially applicable chlorophyll fluorescence-based test endpoints makes comparison and generalization of results hard among different studies. The present study aimed to jointly measure and compare the sensitivity of various chlorophyll fluorescence parameters in (giant duckweed) plants exposed to nickel, chromate (hexavalent chromium) and sodium chloride for 72 h, respectively.

Combined Short and Long-Read Sequencing Reveals a Complex Transcriptomic Architecture of African Swine Fever Virus.

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a large DNA virus belonging to the Asfarviridae family. Despite its agricultural importance, little is known about the fundamental molecular mechanisms of this pathogen. Short-read sequencing (SRS) can produce a huge amount of high-precision sequencing reads for transcriptomic profiling, but it is inefficient for comprehensively annotating transcriptomes.

Detection of African swine fever virus in cell culture and wild boar tissues using a commercially available monoclonal antibody.

Following the introduction of African swine fever virus (ASFV) into Europe in 2007, ASFV infection has spread continuously over the past years and it became a high level disease threat in Europe and also Asia. Examination of suspect clinical cases for ASF with rapid and sensitive laboratory methods can substantially contribute to the detection and characterization of new outbreaks. In this study two sensitive tests were developed for the detection of the p72 major capsid protein of ASFV both in cell culture with an immunocytochemical (IC) and in tissue samples with an immunohistochemical (IHC) method using a commercially available mouse monoclonal antibody (clone 1BC11).

Vaccine Protection Against Experimental Challenge Infection with a PPV-27a Genotype Virus in Pregnant Gilts.

Background/introduction: Porcine parvovirus (PPV), the causative agent of severe reproductive failures in pigs, is present worldwide. The witnessed spread of the virulent 27a type PPV strains since its recognition raised concerns about the efficacy of the available commercial vaccines.

Methods: To address this question, vaccinated pregnant gilts were challenged with a PPV-27a-like virus strain and parameters related to vaccine efficacy were compared.

A Simple Method for Sample Preparation to Facilitate Efficient Whole-Genome Sequencing of African Swine Fever Virus.

In the recent years, African swine fever has become the biggest animal health threat to the swine industry. To facilitate quick genetic analysis of its causative agent, the African swine fever virus (ASFV), we developed a simple and efficient method for next generation sequencing of the viral DNA. Execution of the protocol does not demand complicated virus purification steps, enrichment of the virus by ultracentrifugation or of the viral DNA by ASFV-specific PCRs, and minimizes the use of Sanger sequencing.

Complex Study of Eutectoidal Phase Transformation of 2507-Type Super-Duplex Stainless Steel.

The aim of this work was to study expansively the process of the eutectoidal phase transformation of 2507-type super-duplex stainless steel. Three sample sets were prepared. The first sample set was made to investigate the effect of the previous cold rolling and heat treatment for the eutectoidal phase transformation.

Early-Warning Signals of Individual Tree Mortality Based on Annual Radial Growth.

Tree mortality is a key driver of forest dynamics and its occurrence is projected to increase in the future due to climate change. Despite recent advances in our understanding of the physiological mechanisms leading to death, we still lack robust indicators of mortality risk that could be applied at the individual tree scale. Here, we build on a previous contribution exploring the differences in growth level between trees that died and survived a given mortality event to assess whether changes in temporal autocorrelation, variance, and synchrony in time-series of annual radial growth data can be used as early warning signals of mortality risk.

Methylation Status of the Adeno-Associated Virus Type 2 (AAV2).

To analyze the methylation status of wild-type adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV2), bisulfite PCR sequencing (BPS) of the packaged viral genome and its integrated form was performed and 262 of the total 266 CG dinucleotides (CpG) were mapped. In virion-packaged DNA, the ratio of the methylated cytosines ranged between 0⁻1.7%.

Cellular localisation of the proteins of region 3 of feline enteric coronavirus.

Feline enteric coronaviruses have three open reading frames (ORFs) in region 3 (3a, 3b, and 3c). All three ORFs were expressed with C-terminal eGFP and 3xFLAG tags in different cell lines and their localisation was determined. ORF 3a is predicted to contain DNA-binding and transcription activator domains, and it is localised in the nucleus and in the cytoplasm.

Retrospective analyses of archive phytotoxicity test data can help in assessing internal dynamics and stability of growth in laboratory duckweed cultures.

High growth potential of duckweed species (Lemnaceae family) has been utilized in wide range of research and practical applications. Based on literature data, however, it can be assumed that duckweed populations maintain constant growth rates only when short periods are considered but can vary over longer time scales. This intrinsic instability in growth can affect the interpretation of growth data.

Biology of Porcine Parvovirus (Ungulate parvovirus 1).

Porcine parvovirus (PPV) is among the most important infectious agents causing infertility in pigs. Until recently, it was thought that the virus had low genetic variance, and that prevention of its harmful effect on pig fertility could be well-controlled by vaccination. However, at the beginning of the third millennium, field observations raised concerns about the effectiveness of the available vaccines against newly emerging strains.

Fluticasone propionate/formoterol for COPD management: a randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: To evaluate fluticasone propionate/formoterol (FP/FORM) in COPD.

Patients And Methods: COPD patients with forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV) ≤50% predicted and ≥1 moderate/severe COPD exacerbation in the last 12 months were randomized to FP/FORM 500/20 or 250/10 µg bid, or formoterol (FORM) 12 µg bid for 52 weeks. The primary outcome was the annualized rate of moderate/severe COPD exacerbations.

The SAT Protein of Porcine Parvovirus Accelerates Viral Spreading through Induction of Irreversible Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress.

The SAT protein (SATp) of porcine parvovirus (PPV) accumulates in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and SAT deletion induces the slow-spreading phenotype. The comparison of the wild-type Kresse strain and its SAT knockout (SAT) mutant revealed that prolonged cell integrity and late viral release are responsible for the slower spreading of the SAT virus. During PPV infection, regardless of the presence or absence of SATp, the expression of downstream ER stress response proteins (Xbp1 and CHOP) was induced.