Enlargement of the WHO international repository for platelet transfusion-relevant bacteria reference strains.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Interventions to prevent and detect bacterial contamination of platelet concentrates (PCs) have reduced, but not eliminated the sepsis risk. Standardized bacterial strains are needed to validate detection and pathogen reduction technologies in PCs. Following the establishment of the First International Reference Repository of Platelet Transfusion-Relevant Bacterial Reference Strains (the 'repository'), the World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Committee on Biological Standardisation (ECBS) endorsed further repository expansion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixteen bacterial strains, including the four repository strains, were distributed from the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut (PEI) to 14 laboratories in 10 countries for enumeration, identification and growth measurement on days 2, 4 and 7 after low spiking levels [10-25 colony-forming units (CFU)/PC bag]. Spore-forming (Bacillus cereusPEI-B-P-07-S, Bacillus thuringiensisPEI-B-P-57-S), Gram-negative (Enterobacter cloacaePEI-B-P-43, Morganella morganiiPEI-B-P-74, PEI-B-P-91, Proteus mirabilisPEI-B-P-55, Pseudomonas fluorescensPEI-B-P-77, Salmonella choleraesuisPEI-B-P-78, Serratia marcescensPEI-B-P-56) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureusPEI-B-P-63, Streptococcus dysgalactiaePEI-B-P-71, Streptococcus bovisPEI-B-P-61) strains were evaluated. RESULTS: Bacterial viability was conserved after transport to the participating laboratories with one exception (M. morganiiPEI-B-P-74). All other strains showed moderate-to-excellent growth. Bacillus cereus, B. thuringiensis, E. coli, K. pneumoniae, P. fluorescens, S. marcescens, S. aureus and S. dysgalactiae grew to >106 CFU/ml by day 2. Enterobacter cloacae, P. mirabilis, S. epidermidis, S. bovis and S. pyogenes achieved >106 CFU/ml at day 4. Growth of S. choleraesuis was lower and highly variable. CONCLUSION: The WHO ECBS approved all bacterial strains (except M. morganiiPEI-B-P-74 and S. choleraesuisPEI-B-P-78) for repository enlargement. The strains were stable, suitable for spiking with low CFU numbers, and proliferation was independent of the PC donor.

Atmospheric changes from solar eclipses.

This article reviews atmospheric changes associated with 44 solar eclipses, beginning with the first quantitative results available, from 1834 (earlier qualitative accounts also exist). Eclipse meteorology attracted relatively few publications until the total solar eclipse of 16 February 1980, with the 11 August 1999 eclipse producing the most papers. Eclipses passing over populated areas such as Europe, China and India now regularly attract scientific attention, whereas atmospheric measurements of eclipses at remote locations remain rare. Many measurements and models have been used to exploit the uniquely predictable solar forcing provided by an eclipse. In this paper, we compile the available publications and review a subset of them chosen on the basis of importance and novelty. Beyond the obvious reduction in incoming solar radiation, atmospheric cooling from eclipses can induce dynamical changes. Observations and meteorological modelling provide evidence for the generation of a local eclipse circulation that may be the origin of the 'eclipse wind'. Gravity waves set up by the eclipse can, in principle, be detected as atmospheric pressure fluctuations, though theoretical predictions are limited, and many of the data are inconclusive. Eclipse events providing important early insights into the ionization of the upper atmosphere are also briefly reviewed.This article is part of the themed issue 'Atmospheric effects of solar eclipses stimulated by the 2015 UK eclipse'.

Determining solar effects in Neptune's atmosphere.

Long-duration observations of Neptune's brightness at two visible wavelengths provide a disk-averaged estimate of its atmospheric aerosol. Brightness variations were previously associated with the 11-year solar cycle, through solar-modulated mechanisms linked with either ultraviolet or galactic cosmic ray (GCR) effects on atmospheric particles. Here, we use a recently extended brightness data set (1972-2014), with physically realistic modelling to show, rather than alternatives, ultraviolet and GCR are likely to be modulating Neptune's atmosphere in combination. The importance of GCR is further supported by the response of Neptune's atmosphere to an intermittent 1.5- to 1.9-year periodicity, which occurred preferentially in GCR (not ultraviolet) during the mid-1980s. This periodicity was detected both at Earth, and in GCR measured by Voyager 2, then near Neptune. A similar coincident variability in Neptune's brightness suggests nucleation onto GCR ions. Both GCR and ultraviolet mechanisms may occur more rapidly than the subsequent atmospheric particle transport.

Taxonomic revision of Phascogale tapoatafa (Meyer, 1793) (Dasyuridae; Marsupialia), including descriptions of two new subspecies and confirmation of P. pirata Thomas, 1904 as a 'Top End' endemic.

The Australian Brush-tailed Phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa sensu lato) has a broad but highly fragmented distribution around the periphery of the Australian continent and all populations are under significant ongoing threat to survival. A new appraisal of morphological and molecular diversity within the group reveals that the population in the 'Top End' of the Northern Territory is specifically distinct from all others, including those in the Kimberley region of Western Australia to the west and on Cape York of Queensland to the east. The name P. pirata Thomas, 1904 is available for the 'Top End' taxon. Three geographically disjunct populations are distinguished at subspecies level within P. tapoatafa on a suite of external and cranio-dental features; these are found in southeast Australia from South Australia to mid-coastal Queensland (nominotypical tapoatafa), southwest Western Australia (wambenger subsp. nov.), and the Kimberley region of Western Australia (kimberleyensis subsp. nov.). A potential fourth subspecies occurs on Cape York but remains too poorly represented in collections for adequate characterization. Molecular divergence estimates based on partial sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene indicate that the range disjunction across southern Australia probably dates from the Late Pliocene, with the multiple disjunctions across northern Australia being more recent though almost certainly exceeding 400,000 years. An argument is made for the continued use of the subspecies rank in Australian mammalogy, despite a general lack of consistency in its current application.

Are osseous artefacts a window to perishable material culture? Implications of an unusually complex bone tool from the Late Pleistocene of East Timor.

We report the discovery of an unusually complex and regionally unique bone artefact in a Late Pleistocene archaeological assemblage (c. 35 ka [thousands of years ago]) from the site of Matja Kuru 2 on the island of Timor, in Wallacea. The artefact is interpreted as the broken butt of a formerly hafted projectile point, and it preserves evidence of a complex hafting mechanism including insertion into a shaped or split shaft, a complex pattern of binding including lateral stabilization of the cordage within a bilateral series of notches, and the application of mastic at several stages in the hafting process. The artefact provides the earliest direct evidence for the use of this combination of hafting technologies in the wider region of Southeast Asia, Wallacea, Melanesia and Australasia, and is morphologically unparallelled in deposits of any age. By contrast, it bears a close morphological resemblance to certain bone artefacts from the Middle Stone Age of Africa and South Asia. Examination of ethnographic projectile technology from the region of Melanesia and Australasia shows that all of the technological elements observed in the Matja Kuru 2 artefact were in use historically in the region, including the unusual feature of bilateral notching to stabilize a hafted point. This artefact challenges the notion that complex bone-working and hafting technologies were a relatively late innovation in this part of the world. Moreover, its regional uniqueness encourages us to abandon the perception of bone artefacts as a discrete class of material culture, and to adopt a new interpretative framework in which they are treated as manifestations of a more general class of artefacts that more typically were produced on perishable raw materials including wood.

Evolutionary and dispersal history of Eurasian house mice Mus musculus clarified by more extensive geographic sampling of mitochondrial DNA.

We examined the sequence variation of mitochondrial DNA control region and cytochrome b gene of the house mouse (Mus musculus sensu lato) drawn from ca. 200 localities, with 286 new samples drawn primarily from previously unsampled portions of their Eurasian distribution and with the objective of further clarifying evolutionary episodes of this species before and after the onset of human-mediated long-distance dispersals. Phylogenetic analysis of the expanded data detected five equally distinct clades, with geographic ranges of northern Eurasia (musculus, MUS), India and Southeast Asia (castaneus, CAS), Nepal (unspecified, NEP), western Europe (domesticus, DOM) and Yemen (gentilulus). Our results confirm previous suggestions of Southwestern Asia as the likely place of origin of M. musculus and the region of Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and northern India, specifically as the ancestral homeland of CAS. The divergence of the subspecies lineages and of internal sublineage differentiation within CAS were estimated to be 0.37-0.47 and 0.14-0.23 million years ago (mya), respectively, assuming a split of M. musculus and Mus spretus at 1.7 mya. Of the four CAS sublineages detected, only one extends to eastern parts of India, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Philippines, South China, Northeast China, Primorye, Sakhalin and Japan, implying a dramatic range expansion of CAS out of its homeland during an evolutionary short time, perhaps associated with the spread of agricultural practices. Multiple and non-coincident eastward dispersal events of MUS sublineages to distant geographic areas, such as northern China, Russia and Korea, are inferred, with the possibility of several different routes.

Phylogenetic relationships of living and recently extinct bandicoots based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences.

Bandicoots (Peramelemorphia) are a major order of australidelphian marsupials, which despite a fossil record spanning at least the past 25 million years and a pandemic Australasian range, remain poorly understood in terms of their evolutionary relationships. Many living peramelemorphians are critically endangered, making this group an important focus for biological and conservation research. To establish a phylogenetic framework for the group, we compiled a concatenated alignment of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences, comprising representatives of most living and recently extinct species. Our analysis confirmed the currently recognised deep split between Macrotis (Thylacomyidae), Chaeropus (Chaeropodidae) and all other living bandicoots (Peramelidae). The mainly New Guinean rainforest peramelids were returned as the sister clade of Australian dry-country species. The wholly New Guinean Peroryctinae was sister to Echymiperinae. The poorly known and perhaps recently extinct Seram Bandicoot (Rhynchomeles) is sister to Echymipera. Estimates of divergence times from relaxed-clock Bayesian methods suggest that living bandicoots originated in the late Oligocene or early Miocene, much earlier than currently thought based on fossils. Subsequent radiations within Peramelemorphia probably took place on the Australian mainland during the Miocene, with diversification of rainforest taxa on the newly emergent New Guinean landmasses through the middle-late Miocene and complete establishment of modern lineages by the early Pliocene.

[Absorption of iodofolic acids by the cells of malignant tumors].

The uptake of 125-iodine labeled 3' iodofolic acid (I*F) and 3' iodo, 5 formyl tetrahydrofolic acid (I*FT) by the cells HeLa, ECV, L-41, human glioma, and rat glioma was studied. Human Embrionic Lung Fibroblasts (HELF) were taken for comparison as healthy cells. It was shown for *IF that its long-term uptake by cells L-41 and ECV is hundreds oftimes higher than those of HELF cells. The short-term uptake phase was studied for *IFT uptake. The dissociation constant was determined for a complex formed by *IFT and an acceptor in the HeLa cells, which is supposed to cause concentrative uptake of *IFT in cells. The dissociation constants of this acceptor complexes with folic acid, 3' iodofolic acid and 3',5'-diiodofolic acid were determined by competition with I*FT. The distribution ratio of *IF and *IFT in tissues of different organs of healthy mice and rats and rats with a sarcoma grafted on his thigh and glioma grafted into the brain was studied. As was shown there are large differences in the concentration of *IF and *IFT in the tumor and in the healthy tissue, *IF concentration in thigh muscle of healthy being 5 times lower than those in tumor grafted to the thigh, and *IFT concentration in healthy brain being 10 times lower than in brain tumor.

Compact cosmic ray detector for unattended atmospheric ionization monitoring.

Two vertical cosmic ray telescopes for atmospheric cosmic ray ionization event detection are compared. Counter A, designed for low power remote use, was deployed in the Welsh mountains; its event rate increased with altitude as expected from atmospheric cosmic ray absorption. Independently, Counter B's event rate was found to vary with incoming particle acceptance angle. Simultaneous co-located comparison of both telescopes exposed to atmospheric ionization showed a linear relationship between their event rates.

An infrared filter radiometer for atmospheric cluster-ion detection.

Motivated by the detection of infrared absorption bands from atmospheric cluster ions in laboratory experiments, a narrowband filter radiometer has been constructed for ion detection in the atmosphere. It uses a filter centered at 9.15 mum wavelength with 5% bandwidth, protected by a diamond-like-carbon coated germanium auxiliary filter, and fitted to a standard pyrradiometer. A sensitivity of (29.3+/-0.1) microV/(W m(-2)) has been determined in a laboratory calibration using a blackbody source. Atmospheric experiments show that the filter radiometer, when used with a stable, low-noise amplifier, can respond to cluster-ion fluctuations. The filter radiometer's sensitivity to atmospheric ion changes is (0.47+/-0.05) (mW m(-2))/(ions cm(-3)).

DNA/DNA hybridization studies of the carnivorous marsupials. I: The intergeneric relationships of bandicoots (Marsupialia: Perameloidea).

A complete suite of comparisons among six bandicoot species and one outgroup marsupial was generated using the hydroxyapatite chromatography method of DNA/DNA hybridization; heterologous comparisons were also made with three other bandicoot taxa. Matrices of delta Tm's, delta modes, and delta T50Hs were generated and corrected for nonreciprocity, homoplasy, and, in the case of delta Tm's, normalized percent hybridization; these matrices were analyzed using the FITCH algorithm in Felsenstein's PHYLIP (version 3.1). Uncorrected and nonreciprocity-corrected matrices were also jackknifed and analyzed with FITCH to test for consistency. Finally, sample scores for delta Tm, delta mode, and delta T50H matrices were bootstrapped and then subjected to phylogenetic analysis. These manipulations were carried out, in part, to address criticisms of the statistics used to summarize DNA/DNA hybridization (especially T50H) and the method itself. However, with the exception of an unresolved trichotomy among the two Echymipera species and Peroryctes longicauda, all trees showed the same branchpoints. Except in the case of the tree generated from reciprocal-corrected delta Tm data, nodes were stable under jackknifing; and, again excepting the above-mentioned trichotomy, all nodes were supported by 95% or more of the bootstrapped trees. These results suggest that, despite arguments to the contrary, all three summary statistics can be valid for DNA/DNA hybridization data. Of taxonomic interest is the placement of Echymipera spp. and Peroryctes longicauda together and separate from the more distant Peroryctes raffrayanus; the genus Peroryctes is thus at least paraphyletic. The trees further grouped Echymipera-plus-Peroryctes as the sister group of Isoodon-plus-Perameles. Limited hybridizations with Macrotis lagotis suggest that its current position as representative of an entirely distinct family of perameloids is correct.

DNA hybridization, cladistics, and the phylogeny of phalangerid marsupials.

Single-copy DNA/DNA hybridization experiments and numerical cladistic analyses of anatomical characters were used to investigate relationships among nine phalangerid (Marsupialia) species from four different genera. Both rate-dependent and rate-independent analyses of molecular data indicate that species of Trichosurus from one clade and that Strigocuscus, Phalanger, and Spilocuscus form a second. Within the latter group, Spilocuscus is excluded from a Strigocuscus-Phalanger clade, which, in turn, is not fully resolved on a jackknife strict consensus tree. Minimum-length Dollo, Wagner, and Camin-Sokal parisomy trees based on 35 anatomical characters, in contrast, suggest placement of Strigocuscus with Trichosurus rather than with Spilocuscus and Phalanger. However, there are two derived characters that support the alternative arrange of Strigocuscus with Spilocuscus and Phalanger and one character that further unites Strigocuscus and Phalanger. Thus, DNA hybridization results are not inconsistent with the distribution of derived character states among anatomical characters, only with minimum-length trees based on character data.