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The evolution of various point defects in 100 keV Li ion-implanted ZnO nanorods by varying the fluences from 1 × 1014 to 7 × 1015 ions per cm2 has been investigated experimentally and using a theoretical Monte Carlo simulation code named SRIM.

This study reports the development of multiplex real-time PCR assays for differential detection of capripoxvirus (CaPV), parapoxvirus (PaPV) and foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) in sheep, goats and cattle. Three multiplex assays were developed, a capripox (CaP) rule-out assay for simultaneous detection and differentiation of CaPV and PaPV, a FMD rule-out assay for simultaneous detection and differentiation of FMDV and PaPV, and a FMD/CaP rule-out assay for simultaneous detection and differentiation of CaPV, PaPV and FMDV. All multiplex assays included β-actin gene ACTB as an internal positive control to monitor PCR inhibition and accuracy of nucleic acid extractions. The optimized assays were highly specific to the target viruses (CaPV, PaPV and FMDV) with no cross-reactivity against other viruses that cause similar clinical signs. Using positive control plasmids as template, the limit of detection (LOD) of the multiplex assays were estimated as 2 CaPV, 7 PaPV and 15 FMDV copies per assay. The amplification efficiency (AE) and correlation coefficient (R2 ), estimated from the standard curves (Ct vs. log10 template dilution), were 94%-106% and >0.99, respectively, for CaP and FMD rule-out assays, 96%-116% (AE) and >0.98 (R2 ), respectively, for CaP/FMD rule-out assays and 91%-102% and >0.99, respectively, for the corresponding singleplex assays. The diagnostic sensitivity (DSe) of the multiplex assays was assessed on 35 CaPV and 39 FMDV clinical specimens from experimentally infected (CS-E) animals, and 29 CaPV (LSDV), 28 FMDV and 36 PaPV clinical specimens from naturally infected (CS-N) animals; all tested positive (DSe 100%) except two CS-E FMDV specimens that were tested negative by FMD rule-out and the corresponding singleplex (FMDV) assays (37/39; DSe 95%). The newly developed multiplex assays offer a valuable tool for differential detection of clinically indistinguishable CaPV, PaPV and FMDV in suspected animals and animals with mixed infections.

Mammalian cell lines are valuable tools in biomedical fields, with applications ranging from disease diagnosis to the production of biological reagents and vaccines. Here we report the development of new conventional (cPCR) and real time PCR (qPCR) assays for species identification of several mammalian kidney cell lines originated from swine, green monkey, hamster and bovine tissues that are extensively used in veterinary diagnostic laboratories. The PCR primers and probes were selected from highly conserved mitochondrial genes and analyzed in silico by nucleotide BLAST in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) website to ensure target specificity. The assays were highly species-specific and had no cross-reactivity against other tested cell lines originated from different mammalian species. Assay sensitivity (limit of detection; LOD) was determined using serial dilutions of cell line DNA as template. The estimated LODs were between 2.95 and 48 pg (picogram) DNA/assay for cPCR, and between 1.5 × 10−3 and 4.8 × 10−2 pg DNA/assay for qPCR. Multiplex qPCR assays were developed for simultaneous detection of up to three species in a single assay. The multiplex qPCR assays exhibited the same sensitivity as the corresponding singleplex assays with the exception of the green monkey species that demonstrated a 10–100 fold decline in the sensitivity. Contamination of swine cells was detected in one of the rabbit cell lines. The contamination was further confirmed by Sanger and Next-Generation sequencing.

The formation of the BRICS Group was aimed at, among others, developing parallel economic power house of the highly emerging nations and generating additional shock absorbing capacity. Maintaining equitable distribution of income and wealth among the group members, thus, was one of the top most priorities of the group. Under this backdrop, the present study examines whether the countries are converging in income leading to overall development in the group. Applying the neoclassical growth and panel unit roots models on the quarterly data from 2006Q1–2017Q2 to 2009Q1–2017Q2, the study reveals that there is no significant catching up of the countries in both the periods, but there is conditional convergence in the first period. The variables which played conditional roles are net FDI inflow and crude oil production. Further, the study observes sigma convergence among the group members in both the periods, signifying that the cross-country income differences have been going down over time.

TiO2 nanorods (NRs) have generated much interest for both fundamental understanding of defect formation and technological applications in energy harvesting, optoelectronics, and catalysis. Herein, we have grown TiO2 NR films on glass substrates using a self-seeded approach and annealed them in H2 ambient to modify their surface defects. It has been shown that broad-band photosensing properties of Au/self-seeded TiO2 NR/Au-based two back-to-back Schottky junctions (SJs) for a broad wavelength of light are much superior as compared to those of the pristine and the control samples. Photoresponsivity values for the H2-annealed sample are 0.42, 0.71, 0.07, and 0.08 A/W for detecting, respectively, 350, 400, 470, and 570 nm lights. Very low dark current and high photocurrent lead to a gain value as high as 1.85 × 104 for 400 nm light. Unprecedentedly modified NR-based SJs show excellent photoresponsivity for detecting as low as 25, 36, 48, and 28 μW/cm2 power densities of 350, 400, 470, and 570 nm lights, respectively. It is found that Ti3+ defects play a key role in an efficient photoelectron transfer from TiO2 to Au. Our work, for the first time, highlights the simplicity and reveals the rationale behind the excellent properties of Au/self-seeded TiO2 NR film/Au back-to-back SJs.

Highlights • FMDV was detected by rRT-PCR in milk up to 28 days post contact challenge. • FMDV was detected in milk collected from infected farms in the field (UK 2007). • FMDV detection was possible when a milk sample was diluted up to 10−7 in negative milk. • Pooled milk has the potential to be a valuable sample type for FMDV surveillance., This study aimed to evaluate the utility of milk as a non-invasive sample type for the surveillance of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), a highly contagious viral disease of cloven-hooved animals. Four milking Jersey cows were infected via direct-contact with two non-milking Jersey cows that had been previously inoculated with FMD virus (FMDV: isolate O/UKG/34/2001). Milk and blood were collected throughout the course of infection to compare two high-throughput real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) protocols with different RT-PCR chemistries. Using both methods, FMDV was detected in milk by rRT-PCR one to two days before the presentation of characteristic foot lesions, similar to detection by virus isolation. Furthermore, rRT-PCR detection from milk was extended, up to 28 days post contact (dpc), compared to detection by virus isolation (up to 14 dpc). Additionally, the detection of FMDV in milk by rRT-PCR was possible for 18 days longer than detection by the same method in serum samples. FMDV was also detected with both rRT-PCR methods in milk samples collected during the UK 2007 outbreak. Dilution studies were undertaken using milk from the field and experimentally-infected animals, where for one sample it was possible to detect FMDV at 10−7. Based on the peak CT values detected in this study, these findings indicate that it could be possible to identify one acutely-infected milking cow in a typical-sized dairy herd (100–1000 individuals) using milk from bulk tanks or milk tankers. These results motivate further studies using milk in FMD-endemic countries for FMD surveillance.

Proper working of forward and backward linkages between the public and private investments in the face of balanced development of an economy is an already established fact in the literature of development economics.The present article is aimed at examining the working of these two linkage effects upon the economies of 24 countries in different economic status: whether public capital is more productive than private capital and finally to test whether public investments crowd-in or crowd-out the private investments for the period 1988–2013. The results show that, for the entire period, forward linkage has worked for Spain, Senegal and Ecuador and backward linkages worked for United States of America, United Kingdom, Thailand, South Africa, Nigeria, Cambodia, Rwanda and Paraguay. Both forward and backward linkages have happened for Ireland, China, India, Brazil and Peru. For the second objective, the numbers of instances of the income-generative capacities of both types of investments are a few in the entire as well pre-crisis phases unlike that of the post-crisis phase. And the results of the third objective show that there are the maximum instances in favour of crowding-in effects from either private to public or from public to private in all the time phases and a few instances in crowding-out effects.JEL: O18, H54, E22, E01

We present here an in-depth comprehensive study on the interplay between nitrogen (N) and various point defects in ZnO nanorods (NRs) implanted with 50 keV N ions with fluences from 1 × 1014 to 1 × 1016 ions/cm2 followed by a thermal annealing at 450 °C separately in Ar, O2, and excess Zn ambiences. Detailed X-ray diffractometry results reveal that N implantation induced structural damages increase sharply beyond 1 × 1015 ions/cm2. The Raman scattering analyses are indicative of structural disorders due to various N-related defect complexes. The analyses of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results validate the incorporation of N at O sublattice forming NO acceptor and NO-VZn acceptor complex in the implanted NRs. Post-implantation annealing in Ar and O2 ambiences causes only NO state, while annealing in excess Zn ambient induces an additional shallow donor (N2)O by substituting N2 at O site. The XPS, Raman scattering, photoluminescence and current-voltage measurement results combiningly illustrate that the post-implantation annealing in O2 and Ar ambiences play a key role to stabilize the N dopants in ZnO NRs via reducing oxygen vacancy and/or preserving the concentration of N-related acceptors. This study would therefore be a benchmark for understanding the role of defects in the N doping in ZnO NRs.

Parapoxviruses (PaPVs) cause widespread infections in ruminants worldwide. All PaPVs are zoonotic and may infect humans after direct or indirect contact with infected animals. Herein we report the development and validation of a highly sensitive real-time PCR assay for rapid detection of PaPVs. The new assay (referred to as the RVSS assay) was specific for PaPVs only and had no cross-reactivity against other pox viruses. Using a recombinant plasmid as positive control, the analytical sensitivity of the assay was determined to be 16 genome copies of PaPV per assay. The amplification efficiency estimate (91–99%), the intra- and interassay variability estimate (standard deviation [SD]: 0.28–1.06 and 0.01–0.14, respectively), and the operator variability estimate (SD: 0.78 between laboratories and 0.28 between operators within a laboratory) were within the acceptable range. The diagnostic specificity was assessed on 100 specimens from healthy normal animals and all but 1 tested negative (99%). The diagnostic sensitivity (DSe) was assessed on 77 clinical specimens (skin/scab) from infected sheep, goats, and cattle, and all tested positive (100%). The assay was multiplexed with beta-actin as an internal positive control, and the multiplex assay exhibited the same DSe as the singleplex assay. Further characterization of the PaPV specimens by species-specific real-time PCR and nucleotide sequencing of the PCR products following conventional PCR showed the presence of Orf virus not only in sheep and goats but also in 1 bovid. The validated RVSS assay demonstrated high specificity, sensitivity, reproducibility, and ruggedness, which are critical for laboratory detection of PaPVs.

In this work, sol–gel ZnO thin films were implanted with Al ions of various fluences to study their electrical transport properties as transparent conducting oxide (TCO) layers. Additionally, formation of structural defects and modifications of the optical emission properties due to implantation have been investigated extensively to correlate the resultant electrical properties. By varying the ion fluence over two orders of magnitude from 1 × 1013 to 6 × 1015 ions/cm2, interestingly the electrical transport properties have been seen to be degraded in an unexpected manner as soon as Al is implanted and beyond a certain fluence (5 × 1013 ions/cm2), the electrical properties begin to improve. For the highest fluence (6 × 1015 ions/cm2), the sheet resistance is found to be 156 Ω/sq with an average visible transmission of 82%. The figure of merit value of our Al implanted ZnO film for an Al fluence of 5 × 1015 ions/cm2 is the highest till date, which may be prospective as a TCO layer. Detailed investigation on the evolution of the electrical and photoluminescence properties with an increase in the Al ion fluence reveals that zinc vacancy type defects are formed in large number which on healing produces further higher conductivity in the films.

Capripoxviruses (CaPVs), consisting of Sheeppox virus (SPV), Goatpox virus (GPV), and Lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) species, cause economically significant diseases in sheep, goats, and cattle, respectively. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays are routinely used for rapid detection of CaPVs in surveillance and outbreak management programs. We further modified and optimized 2 previously published CaPV qPCR assays, referred to as the Balinsky and Bowden assays, by changing commercial PCR reagents used in the tests. The modified assays displayed 100% analytical specificity and showed no apparent changes in analytical sensitivities for detection of CaPVs compared with the original assays. Diagnostic sensitivities, assessed using 50 clinical reference samples from experimentally infected sheep, goats, and cattle, improved from 82% to 92% for the modified Balinsky assay and from 58% to 82% for the modified Bowden assay. The modified qPCR assays were multiplexed for detection of beta-actin as an indicator for potential false-negative results. The multiplex modified qPCR assays exhibited the same diagnostic sensitivities as the singleplex assays suggesting their utility in the detection of CaPVs.

We present here a comprehensive study on the effect of Al ion implantation on the room temperature (RT) photoluminescence (PL) emission properties of aqueous chemically grown vertically-aligned ZnO nanorods (NRs) implanted with 100 keV Al ions of various doses varying from 1 × 1013 ions/cm2 to 1 × 1016 ions/cm2 followed by annealing at 450 °C in an inert ambient. As compared to the pristine sample, an unprecedented enhancement (1.4 times) in the ratio of the intensities of the near band edge, INBE (ultraviolet) to the defect level, IDL (visible) emissions has been observed for the ZnO NRs implanted with a 5 × 1013 ions/cm2 dose of Al ions. Though the ratio INBE/IDL is decreased with an increase in the Al dose beyond 5 × 1013 ions/cm2, it is still higher than the pristine sample up to a Al dose of 1 × 1015 ions/cm2. Finally, a 0.87 times drop in the ratio is observed for the highest dose (1 × 1016 ions/cm2) Al implanted sample. Detailed analyses of the RT PL results show that excitons bound to neutral Al donor for lower and non-radiative surface defects related recombination centers for higher doses are responsible respectively for highly enhanced and reduced PL emissions in Al implanted ZnO NRs.

Mean SOC stock at 0-15, 15-30, 30-60, 60-90 and 90-120 cm soil depth of irrigated profiles were 15.0, 12.6, 21.5, 19.3 and 15.3 t ha−1, respectively. Similarly, mean SOC stock at above various soil depth of rainfed profiles were 12.2, 10.0, 19.3, 15.6 and 12.7 t ha−1, respectively. SOC stored/sequestered in micro-WSA (

Game theory as long as it is a study of interdependent rational, choice, can be used to explain, to predict and evaluate human, behavior in contexts where the outcome of action depends on, what other agents choose to do. Game theory can be made, relevant to ethics and can be used in moral and political, philosophy, including economics, business and public policy, areas.

Highlights • A multiplex real-time PCR panel assay was developed for the detection of 12 major swine pathogens including VSV-IN, VSV-NJ, SVDV, CSFV, ASFV, FMDV, PCV2, PPV, PRV, PRRSV-NA, PRRSV-EU;. • The panel assay was 100% specific against common swine pathogens;. • Limits of detection of the assay were ranged 1–16 copies per reaction;. • Detection sensitivity was not reduced by multiplexing three targets into one PCR reaction., Mixed infection with different pathogens is common in swine production systems especially under intensive production conditions. Quick and accurate detection and differentiation of different pathogens are necessary for epidemiological surveillance, disease management and import and export controls. In this study, we developed and validated a panel of multiplex real-time PCR/RT-PCR assays composed of four subpanels, each detects three common swine pathogens. The panel detects 12 viruses or viral serotypes, namely, VSV-IN, VSV-NJ, SVDV, CSFV, ASFV, FMDV, PCV2, PPV, PRV, PRRSV-NA, PRRSV-EU and SIV. Correlation coefficients (R2) and PCR amplification efficiencies of all singular and triplex real-time PCR reactions are within the acceptable range. Comparison between singular and triplex real-time PCR assays of each subpanel indicates that there is no significant interference on assay sensitivities caused by multiplexing. Specificity tests on 226 target clinical samples or 4 viral strains and 91 non-target clinical samples revealed that the real-time PCR panel is 100% specific, and there is no cross amplification observed. The limit of detection of each triplex real-time PCR is less than 10 copies per reaction for DNA, and less than 16 copies per reaction for RNA viruses. The newly developed multiplex real-time PCR panel also detected different combinations of co-infections as confirmed by other means of detections.

Households' consumption expenditure becomes an important determinant of GDP of a country, particularly when the economy is struck by depression with low levels of private and public investments. So maintaining growth of this head of expenditure over time becomes the crucial agenda of the policy makers all over the world. The present chapter tries to analyze whether the developing countries' levels of households' consumption expenditure are converging to the ones in the developed countries during 1980-2013 in the sample of 40 countries. The study reveals that there is no significant absolute ß and s convergence among either in the cross section or in pooling of the data during the given period. But population growth factor is making the countries converge significantly in conditional sense. By separating the entire data we observe that, for the entire period, the developed countries are significantly converging in absolute sense while the developing countries are not, although there are mixed results in s convergence.

It has been pointed out by various astronomers that very interesting relationship exists between interstellar alcohols and the corresponding thiols (sulfur analogue of alcohols) as far as the spectroscopic properties and chemical abundances are concerned. Monohydric alcohols such as methanol and ethanol are widely observed and 1-propanol is recently claimed to have been seen in Orion KL. Among the monohydric thiols, methanethiol (chemical analogue of methanol), has been firmly detected in Orion KL and Sgr B2(N2) and ethanethiol (chemical analogue of ethanol) has been claimed to be observed in Sgr B2(N2) though the confirmation of this detection is yet to come. It is very likely that higher order thiols could be observed in these regions. In this paper, we study the formation of monohydric alcohols and their thiol analogues. Based on our quantum chemical calculation and chemical modeling, we find that `Tg' conformer of 1-propanethiol is a good candidate of astronomical interest. We present various spectroscopically relevant parameters of this molecule to assist its future detection in the Interstellar medium (ISM)., Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

Sheep pox (SP), goat pox (GP), and lumpy skin disease (LSD), caused by capripoxviruses (CaPVs), are economically important diseases of sheep, goats, and cattle, respectively. Here, we report the development of a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for rapid detection of CaPVs. LAMP primers were designed to target a conserved gene encoding the poly(A) polymerase small subunit (VP39) of CaPVs. Hydroxynaphthol blue (HNB) was incorporated to monitor assay progress by color change from violet when negative to sky blue when positive, and results were verified by agarose gel electrophoresis. The LAMP assay was shown to be highly specific for CaPVs, with no apparent cross-reactivity to other related viruses (near neighbors) or viruses that cause similar clinical signs (look-a-like viruses). The performance of LAMP was compared to that of a highly sensitive quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assay. LAMP and qPCR exhibited similar analytical sensitivities, with limits of detection of 3 and 8 viral genome copies, respectively. Diagnostic specificity was assessed on 36 negative specimens, including swabs and EDTA blood from control sheep, goats, and cattle. Diagnostic sensitivity was assessed on 275 specimens, including EDTA blood, swabs, and tissues from experimentally infected sheep, goats, and cattle. Overall agreement on diagnostic test results between the two assays was 90 to 95% for specificity and 89 to 100% for sensitivity. The LAMP assay described in this report is simple to use, inexpensive, highly sensitive, and particularly well suited for the diagnosis of capripox in less well equipped laboratories and in rural settings where resources are limited.

Our comment revisits Poole’s popular exposition of the IS-LM model and proceeds to extend the discussion to best derive the optimal monetary policy rule. The key assumption is that the economy is closed with no transactions in goods and capital. This will help us better understand the basic working of the macro economy.

The paper econometricallyestimate investors‘ optimal portfolios are independent of their investmenthorizon. When ex ante diversification is investigated there appears to be no evidence of increased demand for equity over a longer investment horizons in India. That is, in India we obtain a flat equity profile over the investment horizons.Therefore, the mean-aversion in fixed-income explains the time diversification effect. The results also indicatethat cross- correlation amongst asset returns do not seem to playany role in time diversification either.

Students’ cultural identities shape their learning styles and preferred modes of expression. Rarely do economic courses paint an inclusive and exciting picture of what students would like to learn and how would they go about learning it. This thinking led the author to infuse race with Money and Banking in his class taught at Xavier University of LA in the spring of 2005. This class had two sections both of which I alone taught. The effectiveness of this teaching technique involving this infusion is tested by a direct comparison between student’s ratings in the class where the infusion was used and those in the class where it was not. The findings of project suggest that the student satisfaction as measured by the over-all learning experience is significantly greater with the infusion than without.

Efficient market theory states that financial markets can process information instantly. Empirical observations have challenged the stricter form of the efficient market hypothesis (EMH). These empirical observations and theoretical considerations show that price changes are difficult to predict if one starts from the time series of price changes. This paper provides an explanation in terms of algorithmic complexity theory of Kolmogorov that makes a clearer connection between the efficient market hypothesis and the unpredictable character of stock returns.

Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (real-time RT-PCR) is routinely used for the rapid detection of Avian influenza virus (AIV) in clinical samples, but inhibitory substances present in some clinical specimens can reduce or block PCR amplification. Most commercial RNA extraction kits have limited capacity to remove inhibitors from clinical samples, but using a modified commercial protocol (Ambion® MagMAX™, Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA) with an added high-salt wash of 2 M NaCl and 2 mM ethylenediamine tetra-acetic acid was shown to improve the ability of the kit to remove inhibitors from cloacal swabs and some tissues. Real-time RT-PCR was carried out in the presence of an internal positive control to detect inhibitors present in the purified RNA. Cloacal swabs from wild birds were analyzed by real-time RT-PCR comparing RNA extracted with the standard (MagMAX-S) and modified (MagMAX-M) protocols. Using the standard protocol on 2,668 samples, 18.4% of the samples had evidence of inhibitor(s) in the samples, but the modified protocol removed inhibitors from all but 21 (4.8%) of the problem samples. The modified protocol was also tested for RNA extraction from tissues using a TRIzol-MagMAX-M hybrid protocol. Tissues from chickens and ducks experimentally infected with high-pathogenicity Asian H5N1 AIV were analyzed by real-time RT-PCR, and the limit of detection of the virus was improved by 0.5–3.0 threshold cycle units with the RNA extracted by the MagMAX-M protocol. The MagMAX-M protocol reported in the present study can be useful in extracting high-quality RNA for accurate detection of AIV from cloacal swabs and tissues by real-time RT-PCR.

Summary This paper describes the genome sequence of M. thermoacetica (f. Clostridium thermoaceticum), which is the model acetogenic bacterium that has been widely used for elucidating the WoodLjungdahl pathway of CO and CO2 fixation. This pathway, which is also known as the reductive acetyl-CoA pathway, allows acetogenic (often called homoacetogenic) bacteria to convert glucose stoichiometrically into three mol of acetate and to grow autotrophically using H2 and CO as electron donors and CO2 as an electron acceptor. Methanogenic archaea use this pathway in reverse to grow by converting acetate into methane and CO2. Acetogenic bacteria also couple the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway to a variety of other pathways to allow the metabolism of a wide variety of carbon sources and electron donors (sugars, carboxylic acids, alcohols, and aromatic compounds) and electron acceptors (CO2, nitrate, nitrite, thiosulfate, dimethylsulfoxide, and aromatic carboxyl groups). The genome consists of a single circular 2628784 bp chromosome encoding 2615 open reading frames, which includes 2523 predicted protein-encoding genes. Of these, 1834 genes (70.13%) have been assigned tentative functions, 665 (25.43%) matched genes of unknown function, and the remaining 24 (0.92%) had no database match. Two thousand three hundred eighty-four (91.17%) of the ORFs in the M. thermoacetica genome can be grouped in ortholog clusters. This first genome sequence of an acetogenic bacterium provides important information related to how acetogens engage their extreme metabolic diversity by switching among different carbon substrates and electron donors/acceptors and how they conserve energy by anaerobic respiration. Our genome analysis indicates that the key genetic trait for homoacetogenesis is the core acs gene cluster of the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway.

Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RRT-PCR) is commonly used for the rapid detection, as well as to determine the subtype, of avian influenza viruses (AIVs). There are 16 known serologically distinct hemagglutinin (HA) subtypes of AIV described. Currently, determination of the subtypes of AIVs by RRT-PCR tests has been limited to the H5 and H7 subtypes. In this study, RRT-PCR assays were developed in simplex formats for rapid detection of AIV subtypes H6, H9, and H11. The primers and probes for RRT-PCR were designed from nucleotide sequences of the HA genes, which were either downloaded from GenBank (for H6 and H9) or sequenced for this study. The specificity and sensitivity of the RRT-PCR assays were determined based on the detection of the virus from a proficiency panel consisting of 15 different HA subtypes of AIVs and from serial dilutions of target viral RNA. The subtype-specific RRT-PCR assays were used to detect the virus in cloacal and oropharyngeal swabs of experimental chickens inoculated with H6, H9, and H11 AIVs, and the test results were compared with validated RRT-PCR assays based on the amplification of AI matrix (MA) gene. A high correlation of the matrix test and the specific H6, H9, and H11 by the RRT-PCR assays was observed; kappa coefficients for the agreement of test results in cloacal and oropharyngeal swabs combined were 0.927, 0.962, and 0.981, respectively.

I The Setting IT IS WIDELY ACCEPTED that operation of housing markets in New Orleans can be characterized by the following two facts: (1) real estate markets have identifiable normal or "structural" vacancy rates that differ between areas and seem related to market growth or levels of activity; (2) movements in vacancy around a market's structural rate determined by either supply or demand determine the "vacancy duration" for units that are for sale, which seems to trigger significant movements in market prices. The empirical research on which such observations might rest has been growing in recent years. Kaserman, Trimble, and Johnson (1989) and Guasch and Marshall (1985) have examined the duration of vacancy and its relationship to price determination. Mortensen (1982) studied the gradual "disequilibrium" that evolves between units and occupants, which leads the majority of market transactions that involve turnover of unit. What seems missing in the current literature is a perspective that may explain the relationship between "probability" of sale and market duration in a housing market. A search model from the labor market would seem particularly applicable to housing, and this is the objective of the present article. An assumption in matching models of fixed jobs and workers, for example, nicely fits the housing market's "stock-flow" character, in which prices adjust in the short run to equate demand to a fixed stock. This article employs a Weibull hazard model to examine the relationship between uncertainty in sale and market duration in the housing market and presents estimates of it on the basis of data from the housing market in New Orleans. The objective here is neither to contribute to search theory nor, except incidentally and in a limited way, to test it, but rather to contribute to the study of an efficient way to interpret duration data in the light of search theory. My goal is to promote our understanding of the housing market by constructing a formal model of the search-and-vacancy nexus. A real estate or a housing market cannot be adequately explained by standard economic theory that assumes certainty in sale. This study employs a search-theoretic approach to examining the housing market transactions in New Orleans and explains why the attributes that are important determinants of housing prices are not necessarily the important determinants of the probability of a sale. Empirical analysis of housing markets has so far focused on the heterogeneous nature of housing and the resulting consequences for price determination. Taking cue from the labor literature, the basic questions we ask are: How much time does a seller spend in making a sale of his house? How does the market duration of a house vary across individuals? We might specify a model, for example, in which every day that the seller looks for a buyer, he has the same probability, [lambda], of finding one. That is, conditional on not being able to find a buyer yesterday, the probability of finding a buyer today is [lambda]. Thus the sequence of conditional probabilities is constant. The probability that the seller will not find a buyer in exactly 100 days is f(100) = [lambda](1 - [lambda]) (99). Now, the assumption is strong that the probability of finding a buyer is the same every day. It seems probable that the conditional probability will vary due to increased search intensity or to a change in the reservation price acceptable to the seller. So the hazard probability for our model is the conditional probability a house is sold at time t, given that it has not sold prior to t. Thus, the hazard function summarizes the relationship between current market duration and probability of sale. Hazard functions specification emphasizes the conditional probabilities, while specification in terms of a probability distribution would emphasize unconditional probability. (1) The article is organized as follows: Section II considers the implications of a search theory for specification of hazard models; Section III describes the data and provides maximum likelihood estimates of the hazard model; and Section IV concludes the article with some policy implications. …

The present chapter addresses the financial crisis issue in light of its effect upon the interplay between the consumers' confidence upon an economy and consumption spending of the households of the same economy. A simple correlation analysis for the quarterly data from January 1996 to October 2012 shows that the occurrence of the crisis has badly affected the consumers' confidence and consumption spending of the developed countries. Emerging countries have performed well despite the crisis. Also that majority of the developed countries with a few developing ones produce the result of bidirectional causalities whereas in leading emerging countries, consumption spending is making a change in confidence in a ‘causal' sense for the entire period of study. During pre-crisis phase the result show that the leading developed countries experience unidirectional causal relation from consumption to confidence. But in the post crisis phase seven out of twenty countries produce a line of causation going from consumption to confidence and nine countries fail to show any line of causation.

The gram-positive, thermophilic, acetogenic bacterium Moorella thermoacetica can reduce CO 2 to acetate via the Wood-Ljungdahl (acetyl coenzyme A synthesis) pathway. This report demonstrates that, despite its classification as a strict anaerobe, M. thermoacetica contains a membrane-bound cytochrome bd oxidase that can catalyze reduction of low levels of dioxygen. Whole-cell suspensions of M. thermoacetica had significant endogenous O 2 uptake activity, and this activity was increased in the presence of methanol or CO, which are substrates in the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway. Cyanide and azide strongly (∼70%) inhibited both the endogenous and CO/methanol-dependent O 2 uptake. UV-visible light absorption and electron paramagnetic resonance spectra of n -dodecyl-β-maltoside extracts of M. thermoacetica membranes showed the presence of a cytochrome bd oxidase complex containing cytochrome b 561 , cytochrome b 595 , and cytochrome d (chlorin). Subunits I and II of the bd oxidase were identified by N-terminal amino acid sequencing. The M. thermoacetica cytochrome bd oxidase exhibited cyanide-sensitive quinol oxidase activity. The M. thermoacetica cytochrome bd ( cyd ) operon consists of four genes, encoding subunits I and II along with two ABC-type transporter proteins, homologs of which in other bacteria are required for assembly of the bd complex. The level of this cyd operon transcript was significantly increased when M. thermoacetica was grown in the absence of added reducing agent (cysteine + H 2 S). Expression of a 35-kDa cytosolic protein, identified as a cysteine synthase (CysK), was also induced by the nonreducing growth conditions. The combined evidence indicates that cytochrome bd oxidase and cysteine synthase protect against oxidative stress and contribute to the limited dioxygen tolerance of M. thermoacetica .

A five-gene "oxidative stress protection" cluster has recently been described from the strictly anaerobic, acetogenic bacterium, Moorella thermoacetica [Das, A., et al. (2001) J. Bacteriol. 183, 1560-1567]. Within this cluster are two cotranscribed genes, fprA (for A-type flavoprotein) and hrb (for high molecular weight rubredoxin) whose encoded proteins have no known functions. Here we show that FprA and Hrb are expressed in M. thermoacetica under normal anaerobic growth conditions and report characterizations of the recombinant FprA and Hrb. FprA contains flavin mononucleotide (FMN) and a non-heme diiron site. Mössbauer spectroscopy shows that the irons of the diferric site are antiferromagnetically coupled, implying a single-atom, presumably solvent, bridge between the irons. Hrb contains FMN and a rubredoxin-like [Fe(SCys)4] site. NADH does not directly reduce either the FMN or the diiron site in FprA, whereas Hrb functions as an efficient NADH:FprA oxidoreductase. Substitution of zinc for iron in Hrb completely abolished this activity. The observation that homologues of FprA from other organisms show O2 and/or anaerobic NO consumption activity prompted an examination of these activities for M. thermoacetica FprA. The Hrb/FprA combination does indeed have both NADH:O2 and NADH:NO oxidoreductase activities. The NO reductase activity, however, was significantly more efficient due to a lower Km for NO (4 M) and to progressive and irreversible inactivation of FprA during O2 reductase turnover but retention of activity during NO reductase turnover. Substitution of zinc for iron in FprA completely abolished these reductase activities. The stoichiometry of 1 mol of NADH oxidized:2 mol of NO consumed implies reduction to N2O. Fits of an appropriate rate law to the kinetics data are consistent with a mechanism in which 2NO's react at each FprA active site in the committed step. Expression of FprA in an Escherichia coli strain deficient in NO reductase restored the anaerobic growth phenotype of cultures exposed to otherwise toxic levels of exogenous NO. The accumulated results indicate that Hrb/FprA is fully capable of functioning in nitrosative stress protection in M. thermoacetica.

A five-gene cluster encoding four nonheme iron proteins and a flavoprotein from the thermophilic anaerobic bacterium Clostridium thermoaceticum ( Moorella thermoacetica ) was cloned and sequenced. Based on analysis of deduced amino acid sequences, the genes were identified as rub (rubredoxin), rbo (rubredoxin oxidoreductase), rbr (rubrerythrin), fprA (type A flavoprotein), and a gene referred to as hrb (high-molecular-weight rubredoxin). Northern blot analysis demonstrated that the five-gene cluster is organized as two subclusters, consisting of two divergently transcribed operons, rbr-fprA-hrb and rbo-rub . The rbr, fprA , and rub genes were expressed in Escherichia coli , and their encoded recombinant proteins were purified. The molecular masses, UV-visible absorption spectra, and cofactor contents of the recombinant rubrerythrin, rubredoxin, and type A flavoprotein were similar to those of respective homologs from other microorganisms. Antibodies raised against Desulfovibrio vulgaris Rbr reacted with both native and recombinant Rbr from C. thermoaceticum , indicating that this protein was expressed in the native organism. Since Rbr and Rbo have been recently implicated in oxidative stress protection in several anaerobic bacteria and archaea, we suggest a similar function of these proteins in oxygen tolerance of C. thermoaceticum .

Classical swine fever (CSF) is a highly contagious disease of pigs. Early detection of the Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) in infected animals and routine surveillance is important for a rapid response and control of an outbreak of CSF. The current study investigated whole blood as a clinical specimen for the detection of CSFV by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (real-time RT-PCR) in experimentally infected pigs. The virus was detectable in pre-clinical animals in whole blood and in different fractions of blood, including white blood cells, red blood cells (RBC), and serum. Based on an in-vitro binding assay, CSFV is retained in the RBC fraction. Naturally occurring PCR inhibitors of whole blood were shown to inhibit detection, and several commercial RNA extraction kits failed to remove these inhibitors. The commercial blood RNA extraction protocols were modified to achieve optimized single tube and high-throughput 96-well plate RNA extraction that efficiently removed PCR inhibitors from whole blood and enhanced detection of CSFV in experimentally inoculated pigs. This enabled detection 1–2 days earlier than observed using unmodified RNA extraction protocols. The results show effective use of whole blood as a clinical specimen for diagnosis and surveillance of CSF in pre-clinical animals.

Mitochondrial ATPase of Leishmania donovani was characterized using digitonin-permeabilized promastigotes and the results were compared with those from isolated mitochondria. Maximum mitochondrial ATPase activity was obtained in promastigotes permeabilized with digitonin at a final concentration of 20 microM and the specific activity of the enzyme was 46% and 57% higher than that of homogenized and sonicated promastigotes, respectively. At concentrations above 20 microM digitonin inhibited ATPase activity and the degree of inhibition increased with increasing concentrations of the detergent. The ATPase activity of promastigotes remained DCCD-sensitive when permeabilized with digitonin at concentrations up to 120 microM but the enzyme became increasingly resistant to this inhibitor as digitonin concentrations were increased to 140 microM and more, indicating the loss of functional activity of the enzyme. The pH and temperature optima for mitochondrial ATPase were determined to be 7.5 and 30 degrees C, respectively. Mg2+ ions were essential for ATPase activity but free Mg2+ ions were found to be inhibitory. A Mg2+/ATP ratio of 1:3 supported the optimum ATPase activity. Sulfite and hexanol activated the enzyme but failed to prevent the inhibition by free Mg2+ ions. The results indicate that digitonin-permeabilized promastigotes provide an ideal system for studying the mitochondrial ATPase of L. donovani.

This paper estimates the determinants of aggregate health care expenditure function for the U.S. by applying a cointegration test on a time series data. The evidence presented in the paper supports co integration. The paperlends support to the view that per capita income is the major determinant of aggregate health care expenditure inthe U. S. Age of the population, the number of practicing doctors and the share of public finance do notcontribute significantly to the explanation of the health care spending. The main policy recommendation that canbe drawn from the results is that the health expenditure policy should be coupled not necessarily with theincrease in the supply of physicians or policies that promote competition but, with long-run policies that promotehuman capital. We also find that the mixture of public-private funding does not contribute significantly to theexplanation of the health care expenditure in the U.S.

This paper makes an econometric testing of one-minute paper used as a tool to manage and assess instruction in my statistics class. One of our findings is that the one minute paper when I have tested it by using an OLS estimate in a controlled Vs experimental design framework is found to statistically significant and effective in enhancing students’ knowledge. It is found to be equally effective when I have tested it by using a seemingly unrelated regression that allows the error terms to be correlated across separate but related regressions. This is irrespective of students’ ability levels as is measured by GPA in both cases.

The Asian H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus causes a systemic disease with high mortality of poultry and is potentially zoonotic. In both chickens and ducks, the virus has been demonstrated to replicate in both cardiac and skeletal muscle cells. Experimentally, H5N1 HPAI virus has been transmitted to chickens through the consumption of raw infected meat. In this study, we investigated virus replication in cardiac and skeletal muscle and in the trachea of chickens after experimental intranasal inoculation with the H5N1 HPAI virus. The virus was detected in tissues by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RRT-PCR) and virus isolation, and in the trachea by RRT-PCR and a commercial avian influenza (AI) viral antigen detection test. A modified RNA extraction protocol was developed for rapid detection of the virus in tissues by RRT-PCR. The H5N1 HPAI virus was sporadically detected in meat and the tracheas of infected birds without any clinical sign of disease as early as 6 hr postinfection (PI), and was detected in all samples tested at 24 hr PI and later. No differences in sensitivity were seen between virus isolation and RRT-PCR in meat samples. The AI viral antigen detection test on tracheal swabs was a useful method for identifying infected chickens when they were sick or dead, but was less sensitive in detecting infected birds when they were preclinical. This study provides data indicating that preslaughter tracheal swab testing can identify birds infected with HPAI among the daily mortality and prevent infected flocks from being sent to processing plants. In addition, the modified RNA extraction and RRT-PCR test on meat samples provide a rapid and sensitive method of identifying HPAI virus in illegal contraband or domestic meat samples.

The strict anaerobic, thermophi- lic bacterium Moorella thermoacetica metabolizes C1 compounds for example CO2/H2, CO, formate, and methanol into acetate via the Wood/Ljungdahl pathway. Some of the key steps in this pathway include the metabolism of the C1 compounds into the methyl group of methylenetetrahydrofolate (MTHF) and the transfer of the methyl group from MTHF to the methyl group of acetyl-CoA catalyzed by methyltransferase, corrinoid protein and CO dehydrogenase/acetyl CoA synthase. Recently, we reported the crystallization of a 25 kDa methanol- induced corrinoid protein from M. thermoacetica (Zhou et al., Acta Crystallogr F 2005; 61:537-540). In this study we analyzed the crystal structure of the 25 kDa protein and provide genetic and bio- chemical evidences supporting its role in the methanol metabolism of M. thermoacetia. The 25 kDa protein was encoded by orf1948 of contig 303 in the M. thermoacetica genome. It resembles similarity to MtaC the corrinoid protein of the methanol:CoM methyltransferase system of meth- ane producing archaea. The latter enzyme system also contains two additional enzymes MtaA and MtaB. Homologs of MtaA and MtaB were found to be encoded by orf2632 of contig 303 and orf1949 of contig 309, respectively, in the M. thermoacetica genome. The orf1948 and orf1949 were co-tran- scribed from a single polycistronic operon. Metal analysis and spectroscopic data confirmed the presence of cobalt and the corrinoid in the puri- fied 25 kDa protein. High resolution X-ray crystal structure of the purified 25 kDa protein revealed corrinoid as methylcobalamin with the imidazole of histidine as the a-axial ligand replacing benzii- midazole, suggesting base-off configuration for the corrinoid. Methanol significantly activated the expression of the 25 kDa protein. Cyanide and nitrate inhibited methanol metabolism and sup- pressed the level of the 25 kDa protein. The results suggest a role of the 25 kDa protein in the methanol metabolism of M. thermoacetica. Proteins 2007;67:167-176. V C 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

We developed an internal positive control (IPC) RNA to help ensure the accuracy of the detection of avian influenza virus (AIV) RNA by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR and real-time RT-PCR (RRT-PCR). The IPC was designed to have the same binding sites for the forward and reverse primers of the AIV matrix gene as the target amplicon, but it had a unique internal sequence used for the probe site. The amplification of the viral RNA and the IPC by RRT-PCR were monitored with two different fluorescent probes in a multiplex format, one specific for the AIV matrix gene and the other for the IPC. The RRT-PCR test was further simplified with the use of lyophilized bead reagents for the detection of AIV RNA. The RRT-PCR with the bead reagents was more sensitive than the conventional wet reagents for the detection of AIV RNA. The IPC-based RRT-PCR detected inhibitors in blood, kidney, lungs, spleen, intestine, and cloacal swabs, but not allantoic fluid, serum, or tracheal swabs The accuracy of RRT-PCR test results with the lyophilized beads was tested on cloacal and tracheal swabs from experimental birds inoculated with AIV and compared with virus isolation (VI) on embryonating chicken eggs. There was 97 to 100% agreement of the RRT-PCR test results with VI for tracheal swabs and 81% agreement with VI for cloacal swabs, indicating a high level of accuracy of the RRT-PCR assay. The same IPC in the form of armored RNA was also used to monitor the extraction of viral RNA and subsequent detection by RRT-PCR.

A corrinoid protein was induced and overexpressed in methanol-grown cells of the thermophilic anaerobic bacterium Moorella thermoacetica. The protein was purified from cytosolic extracts. After screening for crystallization conditions and optimization, crystals were obtained that diffracted strongly on a rotating-anode X-ray source. A diffraction data set was collected and processed including reflections to 1.9 A resolution. Reflections were indexed in a primitive orthorhombic cell with unit-cell parameters a = 55.69, b = 62.74, c = 34.54 A. N-­terminal amino-acid sequencing indicates that the crystals contain a C-­terminal fragment of the protein.

The atp operon encoding F 1 F o ATP synthase in the fermentative obligate anaerobic bacterium Clostridium pasteurianum was sequenced. It consisted of nine genes arranged in the order atpI (i), atpB (a), atpE (c), atpF (b), atpH (δ), atpA (α), atpG (γ), atpD (β), and atpC (ε), which was identical to that found in many bacteria. Reverse transcription-PCR confirmed the presence of the transcripts of all nine genes. The amount of ATPase activity in the membranes of C . pasteurianum was low compared to what has been found in many other bacteria. The F 1 F o complexes solubilized from membranes of C . pasteurianum and Escherichia coli had similar masses, suggesting similar compositions for the F 1 F o complexes from the two bacteria. Western blotting experiments with antibodies raised against the purified subunits of F 1 F o detected the presence of eight subunits, α, β, γ, δ, ε, a, b, and c, in the F 1 F o complex from C . pasteurianum . The F 1 F o complex from C . pasteurianum was activated by thiocyanate, cyanate, or sulfhydryl compounds; inhibited by sulfite, bisulfite, or bicarbonate; and had tolerance to inhibition by dicyclohexylcarbodiimide. The target of thiol activation of the F 1 F o complex from C . pasteurianum was F 1 . Thiocyanate and sulfite were noncompetitive with respect to substrate Mg ATP but competitive with respect to each other. The F 1 and F o parts of the F 1 F o complexes from C . pasteurianum and E . coli bound to each other, but the hybrid F 1 F o complexes were not functionally active.

The proton-translocating F1F0 ATP synthase from Clostridium thermoautotrophicum was solubilized from cholate-washed membranes with Zwittergent 3-14 at 58 degrees C and purified in the presence of octylglucoside by sucrose gradient centrifugation and ion-exchange chromatography on a DEAE-5PW column. The purified enzyme hydrolyzed ATP at a rate of 12.6 micromol min(-1) mg(-1) at 58 degrees C and pH 8.5. It was composed of six different polypeptides with molecular masses of 60, 50, 32, 19, 17, and 8 kDa. These were identified as alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, and c subunits, respectively, as their N-terminal amino acid sequences matched the deduced N-terminal amino acid sequences of the corresponding genes of the atp operon sequenced from Clostridium thermoaceticum (GenBank accession no. U64318), demonstrating the close similarity of the F1F0 complexes from C. thermoaceticum and C. thermoautotrophicum. Four of these subunits, alpha, beta, gamma, and epsilon, constituted the F1-ATPase purified from the latter bacterium. The delta subunit could not be found in the purified F1 although it was present in the F1F0 complex, indicating that the F0 moiety consisted of the delta and the c subunits and lacked the a and b subunits found in many aerobic bacteria. The c subunit was characterized as N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide reactive. The F1F0 complex of C. thermoautotrophicum consisting of subunits alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, and c was reconstituted with phospholipids into proteoliposomes which had ATP-Pi exchange, carbonylcyanide p-trifluoromethoxy-phenylhydrazone-stimulated ATPase, and ATP-dependent proton-pumping activities. Immunoblot analyses of the subunits of ATP synthases from C. thermoautotrophicum, C. thermoaceticum, and Escherichia coli revealed antigenic similarities among the F1 subunits from both clostridia and the beta subunit of F1 from E. coli.

Financial liberalisation, which is aimed at removing regulations on financial market activity, has become a central part of the financial globalisation process. The paper econometrically estimates by means of a seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) technique the impact of a comprehensive financial policy, including regulation on the average productivity of capital. Our findings suggest that the effects of the financial policies are not uniform across the sample countries and that some form of financial control or restraints may indeed enhance economic efficiency or progress.