Complexation by cysteine and iron mineral adsorption limit cadmium mobility during metabolic activity of Geobacter sulfurreducens.

Cadmium (Cd) adversely affects human health by entering the food chain via anthropogenic activity. In order to mitigate risk, a better understanding of the biogeochemical mechanisms limiting Cd mobility in the environment is needed. While Cd is not redox-active, Cd speciation varies (i.e., aqueous, complexed, adsorbed), and influences mobility. Here, the cycling of Cd in relation to initial speciation during the growth of Geobacter sulfurreducens was studied. Either fumarate or ferrihydrite (Fh) was provided as an electron acceptor and Cd was present as: (1) an aqueous cation, (2) an aqueous complex with cysteine, which is often present in metal stressed soil environments, or (3) adsorbed to Fh. During microbial Fe(iii) reduction, the removal of Cd was substantial (∼80% removal), despite extensive Fe(ii) production (ratio Fe(ii)total : Fetotal = 0.8). When fumarate was the electron acceptor, there was higher removal from solution when Cd was complexed with cysteine (97-100% removal) compared to aqueous Cd (34-50%) removal. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) demonstrated the formation of exopolymeric substances (EPS) in all conditions and that Cd was correlated with EPS in the absence of Fe minerals (r = 0.51-0.56). Most notable is that aqueous Cd was more strongly correlated with Geobacter cells (r = 0.72) compared to Cd-cysteine complexes (r = 0.51). This work demonstrates that Cd interactions with cell surfaces and EPS, and Cd solubility during metabolic activity are dependent upon initial speciation. These processes may be especially important in soil environments where sulfur is limited and Fe and organic carbon are abundant.

Psychometric validation of the Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus in the United States.

This study evaluated the Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form (BPI-SF) in patients with moderate-to-severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Patients ≥18 years old who self-reported a physician diagnosis of SLE (confirmed by medical record review) and active SLE (Systemic Lupus Activity Questionnaire (SLAQ) score of ≥11) were included. The BPI-SF and Short Form Health Survey version 2 (SF-36v2) were administered electronically at baseline, week 2 and week 12. Psychometric properties of the BPI-SF were evaluated. Cronbach alphas were >0.9 for all BPI-SF items, domains and total score. Test-retest reliability correlations for responses between baseline and week 2 of the BPI-SF had intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) ≥0.5. The BPI-SF domains and total score were moderately positively correlated to the SLAQ score (r ≥ 0.4), but negatively correlated to the SF-36v2 bodily pain domain (r ≤ -0.6). The BPI-SF domains and total score were moderately negatively correlated to the SF-36v2 physical functioning domain and physical component summary (r ≤ -0.4), with low correlations between the BPI-SF severity domain and SF-36v2 mental component summary (r = -0.16). Assessment of pain, as measured by the BPI-SF, demonstrated validity and reliability in a sample of patients with moderate-to-severe SLE.

Meloidogyne haplanaria n. sp. (Nematoda: Meloidogynidae), a Root-knot Nematode Parasitizing Peanut in Texas.

Meloidogyne haplanaria n. sp. is described and illustrated from specimens parasitizing peanut in Texas. The perineal pattern of the female is rounded to oval with a dorsal arch that is high and rounded except for striae near the vulva, which are low with rounded shoulders. The striae are distinctly forked in the lateral field, and punctations often occur as a small group near the tail tip and singly within the whole perineal pattern. The female stylet is 13-16 microm long and has broad, distinctly set-off knobs. The excretory pore opens 40-118 microm from the head, approximately halfway between the anterior end and the metacorpus. Males are 1.2-2.4 microm in length and have a high, wide head cap that slopes posteriorly. The labial disc and medial lips are partially fused to form an elongated lip structure. In some specimens the labial disk is distinctly separated from the lips by a groove. The stylet is 17-22 microm long and has wide knobs that are rounded and distinctly set off from the shaft. Mean second-stage juvenile length is 419 microm. The head region is not annulated, and the large labial disc and crescent-shaped medial lips are fused to form a dumbbell-shaped head cap. The stylet is 9-12 microm long and has rounded, posteriorly sloping knobs. The slender tail, 58-74 microm long, has a distinct, inflated rectum and a slightly rounded tip. The hyaline tail terminus is 11-16 microm long. The isozyme phenotypes for esterase and malic dehydrogenase do not correspond to any other recognized Meloidogyne species. Tomato and peanut are good hosts; corn and wheat are very poor hosts; and cotton, tobacco, pepper, and watermelon are nonhosts.

Detection and heterogeneity of herpesviruses causing Pacheco's disease in parrots.

Pacheco's disease (PD) is a common, often fatal, disease of parrots. We cloned a virus isolate from a parrot that had characteristic lesions of PD. Three viral clones were partially sequenced, demonstrating that this virus was an alphaherpesvirus most closely related to the gallid herpesvirus 1. Five primer sets were developed from these sequences. The primer sets were used with PCR to screen tissues or tissue culture media suspected to contain viruses from 54 outbreaks of PD. The primer sets amplified DNA from all but one sample. Ten amplification patterns were detected, indicating that PD is caused by a genetically heterogeneous population of viruses. A single genetic variant (psittacid herpesvirus variant 1) amplified with all primer sets and was the most common virus variant (62.7%). A single primer set (23F) amplified DNA from all of the positive samples, suggesting that PCR could be used as a rapid postmortem assay for these viruses. PCR was found to be significantly more sensitive than tissue culture for the detection of psittacid herpesviruses.

A serologic survey for avian polyomavirus and Pacheco's disease virus in Australian cockatoos.

Sera collected from wild and captive Australian cockatoos and other psittacine species (n = 411) were tested for antibodies to avian polyomavirus (APV) and Pacheco's disease virus (PDV). Of 144 wild sulphur-crested cockatoos (Cacatua galerita) sampled at three regions in New South Wales (NSW) 96 (64.4%) birds had positive (>/= 1:32) neutralizing antibody titres to avian polyomavirus (range 1:32-1:2048). Two of 17 wild long-billed corellas (Cacatua tenuirostris) were also APV-antibody positive. However, no samples from 107 wild galahs (Eolophus roseicapillus) were positive for neutralizing antibody to APV. Sera were also collected from captive psittacine bird flocks from NSW, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia. In a mixed aviary of cockatoos and lorikeets, APV antibody was detected in sera from sulphur-crested cockatoos, Major Mitchell's cockatoos (Cacatua leadbeateri), a white-tailed black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus baudinii latirostris), a red-tailed black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus magnificus) a single galah, a rainbow lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus), and a scaley-breasted lorikeet (Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus). All 411 wild and captive birds were negative for the presence of neutralizing antibody to PDV. These results indicate that wild sulphur-crested cockatoos in NSW are enzootically infected with avian polyomavirus and that the sampled populations are free of Pacheco's disease.

Meloidogyne partityla on Pecan Isozyme Phenotypes and Other Host.

Meloidogyne sp. from five pecan (Carya illinoensis) orchards in Texas were distinctive in host range and iszoyme profiles from common species of Meloidogyne but were morphologically congruent with Meloidogyne partityla Kleynhans, a species previously known only in South Africa. In addition to pecan, species of walnut (Juglans hindsii and J. regia) and hickory (C. ovata) also were hosts. No reproduction was observed on 15 other plant species from nine families, including several common hosts of other Meloidogyne spp. Three esterase phenotypes and two malate dehydrogenase phenotypes of M. partityla were identified by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Each of these isozyme phenotypes was distinct from those of the more common species M. arenaria, M. hapla, M. incognita, and M. javanica.

Meloidogyne javanica Parasitic on Peanut.

Peanut fields in four governorates of Egypt were surveyed to identify species of Meloidogyne present. Fourteen populations obtained from peanut roots were all identified as M. javanica based on perineal patterns, stylet and body lengths of second-stage juveniles, esterase phenotypes, and restriction fragment length polymorphisms of mtDNA. Three of 14 populations, all from contiguous fields in the Behara governorate, had individuals with a unique two-isozyme esterase phenotype. All populations of M. javanica tested on peanut had levels of reproduction on the M. arenaria-susceptible peanut cultivar Florunner that were not different from M. arenaria (P = 0.05), and had lower levels of reproduction on the M. arenaria-resistant genotype TxAG-7 than on Florunner (P = 0.05). Reproduction of the five Egyptian populations of M. javanica tested was lower on root-knot nematode resistant tomato cultivars Better Boy and Celebrity than on the root-knot nematode susceptible cultivar Rutgers (P = 0.05). These data are evidence that some populations of M. javanica are parasitic on peanut and that the peanut and tomato genotypes resistant to M. arenaria are also resistant to these populations of M. javanica.

Isozyme genotype-environment associations in natural populations of the harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex badius.

Harvester ants (P. badius) were collected from 49 localities in the southeastern U.S. Amylase and naphthylamidase activities were assayed by gel electrophoresis, and the frequencies of alleles controlling electrophoretic variation were calculated. Soil samples were analyzed and plotted against allelic frequencies. Climatographic and genetic data were analyzed by the method of principal components. Statistically significant correlations were found to occur between the patterns of genetic variation, and between the genetic and environmental patterns. These correlations are consistent with a selective basis for the maintenance of isozyme polymorphisms.