Tibetan mural samples from the Jiazhaer mountain cave were studied using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and immunofluorescence microscopy (IFM). Samples containing protein binders were first identified using ELISA, and then IFM was used to determine the location of protein binders. Using these methods, we discovered gelatin and casein in samples from wall murals, distributed in both red and black pigments. We excluded the possibility of contamination by conducting further experiments where simulated samples were spiked with milk. We conclude that both gelatin and casein were used as binders in the pigments of the Tibetan Buddhist murals in the Jiazhaer (Transliteration from Tibetan) mountain cave. This is the first evidence of casein being used as a binder in Chinese mural pigments.

The probability of a Black African finding a matched unrelated donor for a hematopoietic stem cell transplant is minimal due to the high degree of genetic diversity amongst individuals of African origin. This problem could be resolved in part by the establishment of a public cord blood (CB) stem cell bank. The high prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) amongst women attending antenatal clinics in sub-Saharan Africa together with the risk of mother-to-child transmission increases the risk of transplant transmissible infection. In addition to screening the mother in a period inclusive of 7 days prior to the following delivery, we propose that all CB units considered for storage undergo rigorous and reliable screening for HIV. The Ultrio-plus® assay is a highly specific and sensitive test for detecting HIV, hepatitis-B and hepatitis-C viruses in peripheral blood. We validated the Ultrio-plus® assay for analytical sensitivity in detecting HIV in CB at the level of detection of the assay. Until more comprehensive and sensitive methods are developed, the sensitivity and reliability of the Ultrio-plus® assay suggest that it could be used for the routine screening of CB units in conjunction with currently recommended maternal screening to reduce the risk of transplant transmissible infection.

The impact of either nicosulfuron or primisulfuron on maize dwarf mosaic virus (MDMV-A) severity in corn and corn susceptibility to MDMV-A infection were evaluated in greenhouse and laboratory studies. Neither herbicide influenced severity of MDMV-A in corn or corn susceptibility to the virus. Field experiments at five sites examined MDMV-A severity in corn as influenced by POST johnsongrass control with either nicosulfuron or primisulfuron applied at the fifth or eighth visible collar stage, no johnsongrass control, or johnsongrass control throughout the season with hoeing. Area under the cumulative virus curve (AUCVC) was reduced when either herbicide was applied at the fifth-leaf stage compared to the eighth-leaf stage, at four sites. Also, AUCVC was reduced when johnsongrass was controlled with a POST herbicide applied at the fifth or eighth collar stage compared to no control, at two sites. Increases in AUCVC were due to a greater number of infected plants rather than more severe MDMV-A infections.

An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for EPTC was developed that may be useful for predicting enhanced carbamothioate herbicide degradation in adapted soils. A modified radioimmunoassay (RIA) procedure was used to detect antibodies specific for EPTC and establish antibody dilutions for optimum ELISA sensitivity. Antibodies were obtained from a rabbit injected with a butylate-analog protein conjugate. An indirect ELISA subsequently was developed for EPTC with a detection range of 10 to 1280 ng ml−1 in a 1:3 aqueous dilution of a 90:10 (v/v) acetonitrile (ACN):water soil extract. EPTC recovery from soil was > 96%, as determined by conventional gas chromatography. Measurement of low concentrations of residual EPTC with the ELISA was less quantitative than by gas chromatography, but the immunoassay provided a rapid, potentially cost-effective method for screening soils to determine enhanced carbamothioate degradation.

A two-year surface water reconnaissance of the Bogue Phalia and its tributaries was conducted in 1997 and 1998. Cyanazine and metolachlor in surface water samples were quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Cyanazine and metolachlor were detected in 101 and 132 of 160 samples, respectively. Cyanazine concentrations ranged from 0.1 to 2.2 g L−1 and exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lifetime health advisory level (HAL) of 1 g L−1 in eight samples. However, concentrations never exceeded the HAL for shorter exposure times. Metolachlor concentrations never reached the lifetime HAL of 100 g L−1. Metolachlor concentrations ranged from 0.1 to 20.6 g L−1. Metolachlor was detected more frequently and found to be more persistent throughout the growing season than was cyanazine. Higher cyanazine and metolachlor concentrations were detected at sampling dates that coincided with herbicide applications. One of the Bogue Phalia's tributaries, Clear Creek, was found to be a point-source of cyanazine for the watershed.

To assess the prevalence of Taenia solium cysticercosis in patients with neurological disorders in Slovenia, serum/cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from 348 suspected patients were collected between the beginning of January 2001 and the end of December 2012 and analysed serologically for the presence of anti-T. solium IgG antibodies. Of 20 patients whose samples tested positive or equivocal by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), samples of 7 patients were confirmed positive by Western blot (WB). The overall seroprevalence rate of T. solium infection in patients with neurological disorders included in the study was 2.0%. Serological results of positive patients corresponded to clinical and/or imaging findings concerning their brain cysts. Based on their personal data, it was ascertained that neurocysticercosis (NCC) positive patients had immigrated or came to Slovenia from the former Yugoslav republics. Since the disease is believed not to be endemic in Slovenia we assume that all of the NCC-positive patients had acquired the infection before immigration to Slovenia or visiting or being visited by their relatives infected with an adult T. solium parasite. The present results represent the first insight into the prevalence of NCC in patients with neurological disorders in Slovenia.

We monitored pollen-mediated transgene dissemination from commercial transgenic squash CZW-3 into its wild relative Cucurbita pepo ssp. ovifera var. texana (C. texana). Transgenic squash CZW-3 expresses the neomycin phosphotransferase II (nptII) gene and the coat protein (CP) genes of Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV), and Watermelon mosaic virus (WMV); thereby, it is resistant to these three aphid-borne viruses. The rate of NPT II and CP transgene introgression increased with overlapping flowering patterns and a high ratio of transgenic F1 hybrids (C. texana × CZW-3) to C. texana. Transgene transfer also readily occurred from transgenic F1 hybrids into C. texana over three generations in field settings where test plants grew sympatrically and viruses were not severely limiting the growth, and fruit and seed production of C. texana. In contrast, introgression of the transgenes into C. texana was not sustained under conditions of high viral disease pressure. As expected, C. texana progeny that acquired the CP transgenes exhibited resistance to CMV, ZYMV, and WMV. This is the first report on transgene dissemination from a transgenic crop that exhibits disease resistance and hybridizes with a wild plant species without loss of fertility.