ABSTRACT
In order to determine the prevalence of fetal mortality and investigate hypothesized risk factors associated with its occurrence in goats, 962 female goats were studied using ultrasound. To diagnose pregnancy and to identify dead fetuses, ultrasound scanning was conducted using real-time machines equipped with a transabdominal curvilinear probe. A questionnaire was supplied for collection of signalment and sampling data. Ultrasound examination revealed that out of 962 female goats, 431 (44.8%) goats were diagnosed as nonpregnant, 88 (9.14%) were pseudopregnant, 4 (0.42%) were diagnosed as having pyometra, and 439 were diagnosed as pregnant (45.63%). Of the 439 pregnant goats, 36 were diagnosed as bearing dead fetuses (8.2%). Season of the year, locality, breed of the dam, age of the dam, parity number, breed of the buck, and feeding type were all found not to be significantly associated with fetal death. It is concluded that ultrasound is a reliable method for diagnosis of fetal death and documenting the prevalence of its occurrence in goats.
ABSTRACT
Pd deposits on vitreous carbon substrates were prepared by electrodeposition from liquid crystal phases (both micellar and hexagonal phases) consisting of self-assembled non-ionic surfactant molecules. The morphology of the deposits varied significantly with the concentration of the surfactant but all are made up of aggregated nanoparticles circa 9 nm in diameter. The deposits from the micellar phase of the surfactant offer the largest electroactive area and specific activity for the hydrogen evolution, oxygen evolution and reduction reactions and formic acid and ethanol oxidations. Unexpectedly the deposits lead to an increase in catalytic activity far in excess of that expected from an enhancement in electroactive area.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To evaluate the reliability of the gyrB PCR-RFLP technique in differentiating clinical Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex isolates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A primer pair MTUB-f and MTUB-r for M. tuberculosis complex (MTBC) was used to differentiate 79 mycobacterial isolates by specific amplification of the 1,020-bp fragment of the gyrB gene (gyrB-PCR1). The MTBC isolates were further differentiated using a set of specific primers MTUB-756-Gf and MTUB-1450-Cr that allowed selective amplification of the gyrB fragment specific for M. tuberculosis (gyrB-PCR2). The DNA polymorphisms in the 1,020-bp gyrB fragment for 7 M. tuberculosis strains confirmed by PCR as well as 2 reference strains; M. tuberculosis H37Rv and M. bovis BCG were analyzed with the restriction enzyme Rsa1. RESULTS: Seventy-seven (97.5%) isolates were positive for gyrB-PCR1 and thus identified as members of M. tuberculosis complex (MTBC) and two (2.6%) isolates were negative and identified as Mycobacteria other than tuberculosis (MOTT). All the M. tuberculosis isolates showed the typical M. tuberculosis specific Rsa1 RFLP patterns (100, 360, 560-bp) while 360 and 480-bp fragments were generated from M. bovis BCG. CONCLUSION: The gyrB PCR-RFLP using the endonuclease Rsa1 can be used to differentiate M. tuberculosis from M. bovis in clinical isolates.
