Identification of New Microfoci and Genetic Characterization of Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus Isolates from Eastern Germany and Western Poland.

(1) Background: Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is the most important tick-borne viral disease in Eurasia, although effective vaccines are available. Caused by the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV, syn. ), in Europe, it is transmitted by ticks like and .

Effects of antibiotics ceftriaxone and levofloxacin on the growth of Protophormia terraenovae (Diptera: Calliphoridae).

Protophormia terraenovae is a colonizer of decomposing bodies and is known to cause pre-mortem myiasis as the female flies lay eggs in uncleaned wounds. In this study the effects of different concentrations of antibiotics levofloxacin and ceftriaxone on maggot development, weight, length, and mortality were examined. The maggot length and weight were significantly increased by therapeutical doses of levofloxacin and ceftriaxone.

Effects of antibiotics ceftriaxone and levofloxacin on the growth of Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae).

Lucilia sericata is one of the most studied species in forensic entomology due to its widespread distribution, forensic importance as well as medical use. The growth and development stage of maggots is often used to determine the post-mortem interval in forensic cases. L.

Effects of antibiotics ceftriaxone and levofloxacin on the growth of Calliphora vomitoria L. (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and effects on the determination of the post-mortem interval.

The determination of the post-mortem interval (PMI) is one of the main tasks of forensic entomology, where growth and stages of development of arthropods are used for PMI determination. It is well acknowledged that maggot development is significantly influenced by temperature. Attention has also been paid to the microbial populations of the cadaver, because toxic substances contained in the substrate can influence the microorganisms and affect arthropods growth and development.

Sterility release testing of peripheral blood stem cells for transplantation: impact of culture bottles and incubation temperature.

Background: Sterility testing of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) is mandatory before release. As antibiotic treatment of the PBSC donor may result in false-negative results, PBSC matrix validation must be carried out.

Study Design And Methods: Three spiked PBSCs and a buffy coat (BC; control matrix) were analyzed using the blood culture device BacT/ALERT 3D with the low-temperature module.

Detection of the relatively slow-growing Propionibacterium acnes in seven matrices of blood components and advanced therapeutical medicinal products.

Background: Relatively slow-growing bacteria like Propionibacterium acnes represent a challenge for quality control investigations in sterility release testing of blood components and advanced therapeutic medicinal products (ATMPs).

Methods: A convenient validation with 7 matrices was performed using buffy coat, stem cells, islet cells, natural killer cells, red blood cells, platelets and plasma in the microbial detection system Bact/Alert3D incubator. All matrix samples were spiked twofold with Propionibacterium acnes with approximately 50 colony forming units (CFUs) per bottle in iAST and iNST culture bottles for 14days using a multishot bioball.

Molecular characterization of macrolide resistance of a Mycoplasma pneumoniae strain that developed during therapy of a patient with pneumonia.

The development of macrolide resistance that occurred during 3 days of therapy with azithromycin to treat Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in a paediatric patient is reported. After extended molecular characterization of strains, the parallel occurrence of clones showing the non-mutated wild-type 23S rRNA sequence as well as mutations A2063G and A2064G, which are both responsible for phenotypic resistance, was confirmed for the first time.

Overexpression of the ICL1 gene changes the product ratio of citric acid production by Yarrowia lipolytica.

The yeast Yarrowia lipolytica secretes high amounts of various organic acids, like citric (CA) and isocitric (ICA) acids, triggered by growth limitation caused by different factors and an excess of carbon source. Depending on the carbon source used, Y. lipolytica strains produce a mixture of CA and ICA in a characteristic ratio.

A simple and rapid single-step multiplex RT-PCR to detect Norovirus, Astrovirus and Adenovirus in clinical stool samples.

A single-step multiplex reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay that detects and identifies Norovirus, Astrovirus and Adenovirus in clinical stool samples is described. Four hundred sixty stool samples were tested from patients with non-rotavirus acute gastroenteritis, that were either stored at -80 degrees C and tested retrospectively, or tested immediately after viral nucleic acid extraction in a prospective manner, including outbreaks of gastroenteritis that occurred in Germany during the winter of 2003. The multiplex RT-PCR was validated against simplex RT-PCR with published primers for Norovirus (JV12/JV13 and p289/p290) and Astrovirus (Mon340/348), and against simplex PCR for Adenovirus.

Foamy virus integration.

It had been suggested that during integration of spumaretroviruses (foamy viruses) the right (U5) end of the cDNA is processed, while the left (U3) remains uncleaved. We confirmed this hypothesis by sequencing two-long terminal repeat (LTR) circle junctions of unintegrated DNA. Based on an infectious foamy virus molecular clone, a set of constructs harboring mutations at the 5' end of the U3 region in the 3' LTR was analyzed for particle export, reverse transcription, and replication.

Retrotransposition and cell-to-cell transfer of foamy viruses.

A remarkable feature of the prototype foamy virus (PFV) replication pathway has been reported to consist of the ability to retrotranspose intracellularly with high efficiency (M. Heinkelein, T. Pietschmann, G.

Feline foamy virus genome and replication strategy.

Crucial aspects of the foamy virus (FV) replication strategy have so far only been investigated for the prototypic FV (PFV) isolate, which is supposed to be derived from nonhuman primates. To study whether the unusual features of this replication pathway also apply to more-distantly related FVs, we constructed feline FV (FFV) infectious molecular clones and vectors. It is shown by quantitative RNA and DNA PCR analysis that FFV virions contain more RNA than DNA.

Replication-competent hybrids between murine leukemia virus and foamy virus.

Replication-competent chimeric retroviruses constructed of members of the two subfamilies of Retroviridae, orthoretroviruses and spumaretroviruses, specifically murine leukemia viruses (MuLV) bearing hybrid MuLV-foamy virus (FV) envelope (env) genes, were characterized. All viruses had the cytoplasmic tail of the MuLV transmembrane protein. In ESL-1, a truncated MuLV leader peptide (LP) was fused to the complete extracellular portion of FV Env, and ESL-2 to -4 contained the complete MuLV-LP followed by N-terminally truncated FV Env decreasing in size.