Reliability of molecular host-identification methods for ticks: an experimental in vitro study with Ixodes ricinus.

Background: Reliable information on host use by arthropod vectors is required to study pathogen transmission ecology and to predict disease risk. Direct observation of host use is often difficult or impossible and indirect methods are therefore necessary. However, the reliability of currently available methods to identify the last host of blood-feeding arthropods has not been evaluated, and may be particularly problematic for ticks because host blood has been digested at capture.

Infection of Siberian chipmunks (Tamias sibiricus barberi) with Borrelia sp. reveals a low reservoir competence under experimental conditions.

Reservoir competence is a key parameter in understanding the role of host species in the epidemiology of multi-host-especially vector-borne-pathogens. With this aim in view, we studied the reservoir competence of the Siberian chipmunk (Tamias sibiricus barberi) recently introduced into Europe, for the multi-host tick-borne bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi sl, the agent of Lyme borreliosis. T.

Down-regulation of DcR2 sensitizes androgen-dependent prostate cancer LNCaP cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis.

Background: Dysregulation of many apoptotic related genes and androgens are critical in the development, progression, and treatment of prostate cancer. The differential sensitivity of tumour cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis can be mediated by the modulation of surface TRAIL receptor expression related to androgen concentration. Our previous results led to the hypothesis that downregulation of TRAIL-decoy receptor DcR2 expression following androgen deprivation would leave hormone sensitive normal prostate cells vulnerable to the cell death signal generated by TRAIL via its pro-apoptotic receptors.

Association of virulence genotype with phylogenetic background in comparison to different seropathotypes of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli isolates.

The distribution of virulent factors (VFs) in 287 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains that were classified according to Karmali et al. into five seropathotypes (M. A.

Stx2 subtyping of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli isolated from cattle in France: detection of a new Stx2 subtype and correlation with additional virulence factors.

At least 11 Stx2 variants produced by Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) isolated from patients and animals have been described. The Stx2 subtyping of STEC isolated from healthy cows positive for stx(2) (n = 104) or stx(2) and stx(1) (n = 63) was investigated. Stx2vh-b, Stx2 (renamed Stx2-EDL933), and Stx2vh-a were the subtypes mostly detected among the bovine isolates (39.

Effects of ruminal or postruminal fish oil supplementation on intake and digestion in dairy cows.

The effect of fish oil supplementation on intake, digestibility and the volatile fatty acid profile in dairy cows was investigated in two trials. In each of the two trials, six cows received a diet based on maize silage in a latin square design. In the first trial, the cows were fitted with ruminal and duodenal cannulae and their diet was either supplemented or not with 300 mL fish oil and infused either into the rumen or the duodenum.