The method was subsequently applied on 38 samples collected in Indonesia, France and the Netherlands. Globally, the isolates grouped in two main genetic clusters, each one divided in two subgroups including either CyHV-3-U/I or CyHV3-J. Interestingly, Indonesian strains were rather distant from CyHV-3-J isolate. The results of the present study indicate that these VNTR molecular markers are efficient in estimating

the genetic diversity among CyHV-3 isolates and are therefore suitable for further molecular epidemiological studies. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“The loss of synapses and a corresponding reduction in synaptic proteins are histopathological features of Alzheimer’s disease that correlate strongly with dementia. Here we report that stable A beta oligomers secreted by 7PA2 cells reduced the amount of synaptophysin, a protein RNA Synthesis inhibitor used as an indicator of synapse density, in cultured cortical and hippocampal MDV3100 neurons. Pre-treatment with physiologically relevant

concentrations of ethanol (0.02-0.08%) protected neurons against A beta-induced synapse damage. Ethanol also protected neurons against synapse damage induced by alpha-synuclein (alpha SN), pre-synaptic aggregates of which are characteristic of Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. Exposure of neurons to ethanol did not affect the accumulation of A beta at synapses, rather it reduced the A beta and alpha SN-induced activation of cytoplasmic phospholipase A(2) (cPLA(2)) within synapses. Ethanol did not affect synapse damage caused by platelet-activating factor or prostaglandin E(2), bioactive lipids that are formed following the activation of cPLA2. These results may help explain epidemiological reports that moderate alcohol consumption protects against the development of dementia in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Alanine-glyoxylate transaminase (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All

rights reserved.”
“Softshelled turtle iridovirus (STIV) is the first Asian iridovirus isolated from reptiles, which infects softshelled turtles severely and leads to “”Red neck disease”" associated with high mortality. A set of four specific primers was designed by targeting the STIV Thymidine kinase (TK) gene and amplified STIV DNA specifically under optimized amplification conditions at 63 degrees C for 60 min. The sensitivity of the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay was found to be 20 copies/mu l of STIV DNA. To evaluate the application of the LAMP assay for detection of STIV in clinical samples, 223 samples suspected of STIV infection from turtle tissues were tested by the LAMP assay and by cell-based virus isolation. A 78.5% concordance was observed between the results of the two methods. In this study, a robust and simple LAMP assay for rapid detection of STIV was developed and evaluated, which is the first suitable for potential diagnosis and helping to monitor STIV infections in the aquaculture industry.