O. niloticus, O. aureus, and O. mossambicus, are excellent for aquaculture because these fish are easily reproduced and readily adapt to diverse environments. Historically, tilapia species, including O. mossambicus, S. melanotheron, and O. aureus, were introduced to Hawaii many decades ago, and the state of Hawaii uses the import permit policy to prevent O. niloticus from coming into the islands. However, hybrids produced from O. niloticus may already be present in the freshwater and marine environments of the islands. The purpose of this study was to identify tilapia species that exist in Hawaii using mitochondrial DNA analysis.The tilapia family of the Cichlidae includes many fish species, which live in freshwater and saltwater environments. Several species, such as O. aureus, O. mossambicus, O. niloticus, S. melanotheron, O. urolepies, T. redalli, and a hybrid of O. massambicus and O. niloticus. Of all the populations examined, 10 populations consisting of O. aureus, O. mossambicus, O. urolepis, and O. niloticus from the farmed sites were relatively pure, whereas three wild populations showed some degree of introgression and hybridization.In this study, we analyzed 382 samples collected from 13 farm (captive) and wild tilapia populations in Oahu and the Hawaii Islands. Comparison of intraspecies variation between the mitochondrial DNA control region (mtDNA CR) and cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene from five populations indicated that mtDNA CR had higher nucleotide diversity than COI. A phylogenetic tree of all sampled tilapia was generated using mtDNA CR sequences. The neighbor-joining tree analysis identified seven distinctive tilapia species: O. niloticus are present in captive and wild populations in Hawaii.This DNA-based tilapia species identification is the first report that confirmed tilapia species identities in the wild and captive populations in Hawaii. The DNA sequence comparisons of mtDNA CR appear to be a valid method for tilapia species identification. The suspected tilapia hybrids that consist of  O. niloticus, O. aureus, and O. mossambicus, are excellent for farming because these fish are easily bred and readily adapt to salty and alkaline environments O. mossambicus) and its hybrids can tolerate high salinity and are increasingly used in co-culture with marine shrimp O. aureus, O. mossambicus, and S. melanotheron, were introduced to Hawaii several decades ago. In the 1950 s and 1960 s, O. mossambicus, S. melanopleura, and T. melanopleuron were imported to the Hawaiian Islands to control vegetation and for use as baitfish for the tuna fishery. Taiwan and Florida red hybrid tilapias were also imported in the early 1980 s With easy breeding and high survival rates, the tilapia family of the Cichlidae has been an excellent species for aquaculture. Tilapia is one of the most widely farmed fish in the world with primary production from developing countries in Asia. In these countries, tilapia aquaculture not only provides dietary sources of protein and minerals for millions of impoverished families but is also an important means for economic and social empowerment. More than 2000 species of tilapia exist in both aquaculture and wild populations. Some of the species, such as O. niloticus and the hybrids. Over the years, aquarists have released a remarkable number of tilapias into Hawaii's streams and reservoirs. These tilapias that exist in the wild and on farms can be used as genetic resources for developing high-growth tilapia without importing new strains. Moreover, reproduction by random breeding in aquaculture practices may reduce the genetic diversity in domesticated strains due to the inbreeding effects of small broodstock population size A lack of genetically suitable tilapia broodstocks has been a limiting factor for tilapia aquaculture in Hawaii. Importation of genetically-selected tilapia strains to Hawaii has been challenged by environmental concerns and field-testing requirements. Currently, the State of Hawaii requires a permit to import and raise The traditional distinction of species within tilapia family depends on the differences in appearances of characteristics such as body size, shape, color, number of anal spines, shape of fins, and color of the head. However, introduction of alien species and the hybridization between these species have made identification of tilapia species by morphological distinctions more complicated O. niloticus) from population E and B, both of which are species of O. aureus  and the samples from wild population had higher nucleotide diversity. These data suggest that the farm populations except population C have low genetic variabilites within the population, whereas the wild populations demonstrated various degrees of introgression and hybridization. The interspecies genetic distances and average intraspecies genetic distances were calculated with MEGA 4. The mean distance among the total sample is 0.103. The distance within species ranged from 0 to 0.072, while the distance between species ranged from 0.012 to 0.210. Significant variation of the genetic distance between the interspecies and intraspecies comparisons was noted. Seventeen different haplotypes were detected from the analyzed mtDNA CR sequences. Sample number, haplotype numbers, average number of nucleotide differences, and nucleotide diversity are shown in Of the seven distinct species groups, O. aureus and O. niloticus in the sampled tilapia populations. However the species identification based on mtDNA CR was unambiguous. Therefore, mtDNA CR was used for all the fish samples collected from the wild and captive populations. Our data suggest that mtDNA CR sequence provides sufficient genetic variability for tilapia species identifications for our sampled populations. Based on the mtDNA CR sequences, we identified seven distinctive tilapia species, including O. aureus, O. mossambicus, O.niloticus, S. melanotheron, O. urolepies, T. redalli, and a hybrid of O. massambicus and O. niloticus. The suspected O. niloticus and hybrids are present in captive and wild populations in Hawaii.Several molecular-based approaches for the identification of tilapia species have been described, including microsatellite analysis, DNA barcoding, analysis of the nuclear fragment of rDNA, the first internal transcribed spacer, and mitochondrial DNA restriction fragments O. mossambicus was probably the first tilapia species to be widely distributed in Hawaii. As a result, most O. mossambicus stocks were unmanaged, and imported stocks of this species have escaped to the wild and been established in all the major islands of Hawaii. This species spawns easily in seawater as well as freshwater. Early experiences in aquaculture of this species were unappreciated as a food fish due to its large head, slow growth rates, and small body size at harvest O. mossambicus still has the potential to contribute to the breeding of tilapia. For example, Ch’ang described a remarkable improvement of the growth rate and weight gain at 5 months of O. mossambicus under aquaculture conditions O. aureus was imported to Hawaii from the US Mainland for research purposes, and a hybrid of O. aureus and O. niloticus (Rocky Mountain White) was imported in 1995 by a commercial farmer O. mossambicus x O. niloticus and O. aureus, and this population may be related to the imported hybrids, which had been imported into Hawaii from Taiwan in 1980 O. niloticus. Clearly, this study confirm that O. niloticus and hybrids are present in the wild and captive sites in Hawaii.S. melanotheron and T. rendalli  and M (S. Melanotheron), nucleotide diversity within the population (Pi) and average number of nucleotide differences within the population (K) in T. rendalli and S. Melanotheron have high nucleotide diversity and average number of nucleotide differences within population . T. rendalli was one of the earliest imported tilapia species, which was introduced to Hawaii from the Belgian Congo in Africa in 1957 T. rendalli were stocked in a local reservoir by the state in the late 1950 s for weed control. Initially, only 57 fish were imported, and the stockfish were bred in captivity and later stocked in reservoirs and canals T. reandalli may be introgressed with other species. In many cases, genetic introgression was the result of intentional or negligent crossbreeding. This conclusion is based on a single mtDNA sequence analysis, and thus, further sampling and DNA analysis are certainly needed to verify this conclusion.Of the populations examined, the wild populations showed varying degrees of introgression and hybridization. In population K  was taken by scissors within 1 minute. The sampled fish were released back into the water.Tilapia fin clip samples were collected from thirteen populations (sites), including five wild populations on the island of Oahu and eight aquaculture facilities. Fin clip samples from 30–50 fish were collected from each site, and possible species identifications or pictures of the tilapia fish were taken at the time of sample collection. A total of 420 tilapia fin samples were collected and preserved in 100% ethanol in −20°C, and 390 fish samples were used for the DNA analysis.5′-CTAACTCCCAAAGCTAGGAATTCT-3′, ORMT-R: 5′-CTTATGCAAGCGTCGATGAAA-3′. To confirm and validate the mt CR method, we also developed PCR and DNA sequencing protocols of mtDNA COI ?2?, S. melanothern, O.niloticus reported by Falk ?34?, O. mossambicus and hybrid tilapia reported by D’ Amato ?19?. A neighbor-joining (NJ) tree was constructed with the Kimura Two-parameter distance model by MEGA Version 4 After purification of PCR products, amplified DNA products from 382 fish samples were sequenced. All sequences were compared with the reported tilapia mtDNA CR sequences and the fish samples were classified to the related tilapia species identities. All the sequences were aligned by a clustalW2 program and visually checked for optimization. There were approximately 390 sites for mtDNA CR and 625 sites for COI, including alignment gaps. All of those sites were analyzed with seven recognized species of tilapia including the


The Society for Microbial Ecology's (SOMED) 36th International Conference is now history. As stated by President Andy Onderdonk in the last SOMED newsletter, the meeting was a success. The Organizing Committee, headed by Professor Alojz Bomba, had done a marvellous job. The programme was well balanced with a many good lectures highly relevant for our society. We would, however, have liked to see even more participants and/or SOMED members, something that was discussed at the General Assembly meeting. The discussion resulted in a proposal from one of our councillors, Sandrine Claus, who a few days after the meeting came up with an excellent proposal:If they have not started already, I am quite sure that the SOMED Board will work hard to substantiate the excellent ideas that are outlined in Sandrine Claus’ proposal. I look forward to reading the winner's manuscript!MEHD and how the journal is developing. As the journal is now indexed in PubMed Central/PubMed, she encouraged all members of SOMED to support their society's own journal by submitting their best work to it, and also to have abstracts and/or proceedings from SOMED meetings published in MEHD.At the recent SOMED meeting in Kosice, Senior Publisher Anne Bindslev from Co-Action Publishing presented interesting information about At the meeting, four new members for the Editorial Board were recruited:N.V. Boyko, Uzhhorod National University, Ukraine. Her last article in Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture clearly demonstrates that some plant extracts can modulate platelet functions in humans.S.P. Claus, University of Reading, UK. In Cell Host Microbe, she recently had an exciting article entitled “Fighting undernutrition: don't forget the bugs”!R.N. Fichorova, Harvard Medical School, USA. Readers of Microbial Ecology in Health and Disease will already be familiar with her article in the 2013 volume: “Effect of feminine hygiene products on the vaginal mucosa.”K. Venema, TNO, Netherlands. His recent article in Best Practice & Research in Clinical Gastroenterology, entitled “Experimental models of the gut microbiome,” is a “must” for young scientists entering that field.These four names will now be added to the current editorial board: J. Artega, Columbia; A. Berstad, Norway; E. Bezirtzuglou, Greece; P. Carter, USA; P. Conway, Australia; M. Fons, France; W. Garrett, USA; E. Houpt, USA; K.A. Krogfelt, Denmark; V. Lazar, Romania; P. Mastrantoni, Italy; M. Mikelsaar, Estonia; I. Rowland, UK; and B. Shenderov, Russia.MEHD. Several board members took up the challenge given in my Editorial from November 2012 and submitted excellent manuscripts for publication in MEHD. With the strengthened editorial board and an increasing number of readers around the world, in addition to PubMed indexing, I am confident that an increasing number of articles will be submitted to the journal from now on.Thus, the journal now has “ambassadors” all over the world, and in addition, they represent all the fields that are covered by With a slight travesty of a statement given in the Editorial mentioned above, I will end by underlining:MEHD!Only together can we make 2014 the best year ever for SOMED and Tore MidtvedtEditor-in-Chief


There was an error in the published funding statement. The correct funding statement is: H.L. Tan was supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research , the Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board (MEB/CBG), and the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement nr. 241679 - the ARITMO project. A. Bardai was supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research . Both grants are unrestricted. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.


Habold and R. Schneider-Stock. However, the two authors who in fact contributed equally to the work were C. Habold and A. Poehlmann.In , the fooa) was incomplete. The correct affiliation is as follows:In , the autVaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VIDI), Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Faculty of Medicine, Antwerp University, Belgium.We apologize for these errors.


Plasmodium knowlesi, a simian malaria parasite, has been reported in humans in many Southeast Asian countries. In Thailand, most of the limited numbers of cases reported so far were from areas near neighbouring countries, including Myanmar.P. knowlesi using nested PCR assays. Positive samples were also investigated by PCR for Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium ovale, and were confirmed by sequencing the gene encoding the circumsporozoite protein (csp).Blood samples collected from 171 Thai and 248 Myanmese patients attending a malaria clinic in Ranong province, Thailand, located near the Myanmar border were investigated for P. knowlesi only. Nucleotide sequences of the csp gene derived from these two patients were identical and phylogenetically indistinguishable from other P. knowlesi sequences derived from monkeys and humans. Both patients worked in Koh Song, located in the Kawthoung district of Myanmar, which borders Thailand.Two samples, one obtained from a Thai and the other a Myanmese, were positive for P. knowlesi is occurring in the Ranong province of Thailand or the Kawthoung district of Myanmar. Further studies are required to assess the incidence of knowlesi malaria and whether macaques in these areas are the source of the infections.This study indicates that transmission of  Plasmodium that infect a variety of hosts, including reptiles, birds, rodents, primates and other mammals . Phylogenetic analysis of the non-repeat region indicated that these sequences were indistinguishable from those of P. knowlesi derived from monkey and human infections in Malaysia and Thailand  [b genes. Non-human primate malaria (P. inui and P. coatneyi) and Hepatocystis species were detected only in wild macaques in Ranong mangrove forests where anopheline mosquitoes were abundant [P. knowlesi was not detected in these macaques. Nevertheless, transmission of P. knowlesi from monkey to human cannot be ruled out.In Myanmar, a patient infected with  Myanmar . This pa or both . In Thair border . In addirovinces ,11. Intecularis) . Increascularis) . Malariaabundant . HoweverP. falciparum and P. vivax are most frequently detected in patients [P. vivax instead of P. malariae by microscopy. Thus, health care workers in this area who are responsible for identification of malaria species should be trained appropriately so that malaria species including P. knowlesi can be correctly identified.It is considered important to correctly identify the malaria species and clarify the mode of transmission for establishing appropriate preventive measures. In Thailand, patients . In thiscsp gene of P. knowlesi obtained from the two patients were identical. Comparison of these two P. knowlesi csp gene sequences and the other Plasmodium csp gene sequences deposited in GenBank confirmed that the P. knowlesi sequences obtained from the Thai and Myanmese patients were closely related to P. knowlesi derived from both monkeys and humans (Figure P. knowlesi and to understand the mode of transmission of this malaria parasite in the Thai-Myanmar border areas.The nucleotide sequences of the s Figure . Blood fP. knowlesi. Both of them work in the Kawthoung district of Myanmar that is close to Ranong province, Thailand and they visited Ranong to seek treatment. This indicates that this Thai-Myanmar border area is one of areas where P. knowlesi is being transmitted.Two blood samples, one obtained from a Thai and from a Myanmese, were each single infections of The authors declare that they have no competing interests.P. knowlesi positive control and helped in manuscript preparation. NS organized blood collection and helped in PCR analysis. MN provided some research funds and helped in study design. VV helped in writing the paper and discussion. All authors read and approved the submitted manuscript.NK carried out the PCR analysis and wrote the manuscript. BS provided


Anopheles sinensis complex are considered the vector species of malaria, but data on their susceptibilities to malaria and vector capacities have been controversial. The intensive use of insecticides has contributed to the rapid development and spread of insecticide resistance in the An. sinensis complex. Knockdown resistance (kdr) to pyrethroids and DDT in the An. sinensis complex is associated with a mutation in codon 1014 of the voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) gene. Because the degree of insecticide resistance varies among mosquito species and populations, the detection of kdr mutations among the six sibling species of the An. sinensis complex is a prerequisite for establishing effective long-term vector control strategies in the ROKIn the Republic of Korea (ROK), six sibling species of the kdr mutations, An. sinensis complex specimens have been collected from 22 sites in the ROK. Because of the difficulties with species identifications that are based only on morphological characteristics, molecular identification methods have been conducted on every specimen. Part of the IIS6 domain of the VGSC was polymerase chain reaction-amplified and directly sequenced.In order to investigate species-specific An. sinensis sensu stricto and no mutations were found in the other five Anopheles species. In An. sinensis s.s., one wild type (TTG L1014) and three mutant types  of kdr alleles were detected. The TTC L1014F mutation was observed for the first time in this species.The molecular analyses revealed that mutations existed at codon 1014 only in kdr gene is only observed in An. sinensis s.s., out of the six Anopheles species and their geographical distribution suggest the need for future studies of insecticide resistance monitoring and investigations of species-specific resistance mechanisms in order to build successful malaria vector control programmes in the ROK.The fact that the highly polymorphic  Plasmodium vivax malaria-endemic country, and malaria prevailed throughout the country. In the late 1970s, malaria was eliminated through eradication efforts by the World Health Organization and the government of the ROK. However, since 1993, malaria has re-emerged in the north-western region of Gyeonggi-do [Anopheles species, are prevalent throughout the Korean Peninsula, most of the incident cases in the ROK have been reported in the northern part of Gyeonggi-do and the north-western part of Gangwon-do near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North Korea and the ROK [Before the 1960s, the Republic of Korea (ROK) was a onggi-do . Althoug the ROK .Anopheles species, including the two recently reported species of Anopheles belenrae and Anopheles kleini, have been recorded so far [Anopheles. The Hyrcanus Group consists of 27 species, six in the Lesteri subgroup, four in the Nigerrimus subgroup, and the rest 17 unplaced species within the group [Anopheles sinensis sensu stricto, Anopheles lesteri, Anopheles pullus, Anopheles sineroides, An. kleini and An. belenrae [An. sinensis sensu lato. Because they occur in sympatry and it is hard to distinguish by morphology An. belenrae and An. kleini from An. pullus and An. sinensis s.s. [Anopheles koreicus and Anopheles lindesayi, belong to the Barbirostris and Lindesayi Groups, respectively [In the ROK, eight d so far ,6. Thesebelenrae ,6,8,9. Tsis s.s. -14. Thussis s.s. ,15,16. TAn. sinensis s.s. [P. vivax malaria susceptibilities and vectorial capacities have been controversial. Recent studies have suggested that An. pullusAn. kleini and An. lesteri are the primary vector species and that An. sinensis s.s. does not play a primary role [An. sineroides and An. belenrae have been reported as P. vivax-positive based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and polymerase chain reactions (PCR) [The primary vector species for malaria in Korea has long been declared sis s.s. ,13, but ary role ,15,17. Ins (PCR) ,19.An. sinensis s.l. in the ROK transmit the malaria parasite P. vivax, studying their discriminative ecology, such as their blood feeding and resting behaviours, their larval habitats, and their responses to insecticides, is necessary for malaria control. Hybridization between related species of the anopheline species, which rarely takes place in natural environments, might complicate malaria vector control [Anopheles gambiae complex [Because all six species of  control -23. Evid complex -26. In a complex .Until now, the use of insecticides has been the most effective and economical vector control method for malaria and other vector-borne diseases, such as dengue and filariasis . Since tkdr), is caused by a single mutation in the S6 transmembrane segment of domain II in the voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) gene [Anopheles species, including An. gambiae, Anopheles arabiensis, Anopheles culicifacies, Anopheles stephensi, An. sinensis complex, Anopheles sacharovi, Anopheles subpictus, Anopheles sundaicus, Anopheles aconitus, and Anopheles vagus [kdr genotype and the resistance phenotype to pyrethroids and DDT in the Anopheles species was well documented by articles [Resistance to pyrethroids and DDT, which is known as knockdown resistance (SC) gene . Severales vagus -37. A poarticles ,38,39.kdr allele of An. sinensis in the ROK ranged from 25.0 to 96.6%, which suggested that pyrethroid resistance was already widespread in natural populations of the ROK [Anopheles species in the ROK [An. sinensis, real-time PCR amplification of a specific allele (rtPASA) has been developed. The results suggested that L1014F mutation was a major allele that showed a high allele frequency, whereas L1014C mutation was a minor allele that showed a low allele frequency within the An. sinensis populations in the ROK [An. sinensis group and species-specific assays have never been conducted because the sibling species are morphologically indistinguishable, and, unlike An. sinensis s.s., the other species have relatively low population densities. Because the mechanisms and degree of insecticide resistance vary among species and populations [kdr resistance alleles in all members of the An. sinensis complex in the ROK.A previous study reported that the frequencies of the  the ROK . A stand the ROK -42, and  the ROK . Howeverulations -46, the An. sinensis complex, the mosquito specimens were isolated based on their morphological characteristics that were determined first under a stereomicroscope in the laboratory compared to the other insects, and then the specific species of all of the Anopheles specimens were identified using multiplex assays [Mosquitoes were collected from 22 locations Figure , Table 1x assays . DNA waskdr mutation, part of the IIS6 domain of the VGSC was PCR amplified and directly sequenced using 5′ASIIS56 and 3′ASIIS56 intron primers [In order to detect the  primers . The seq primers . The ded primers .1/x, following the example of Post and Millest [The maximum likely frequency (y) of an allele present or absent in a sample of a given size (x) was obtained from the upper of 95% confidence limit of binomial distribution, given by y = 1-0.05 Millest .An. sinensis complex mosquitoes were collected from 22 sites in the ROK, as briefly described in Figure An. sinensis s.s. , which is known as the dominant species in the ROK, and these were followed by An. kleini , An. pullus , An. sineroides , An. lesteri , and An. belenrae . Hybrid individuals were not detected. An. sinensis s.s. was found at most of the sites (21 of 22), whereas the other species were found at a few sites (one to five of 22) in the northern part of the ROK, and these results were in concordance with previous studies showing topoclinal distributions.A total of 755 An. sinensis s.s. (n = 87), An. kleini (n = 30), An. pullus (n = 26), An. belenrae (n = 2), An. lesteri (n = 13), and An. sineroides (n = 19) from 10 sites in the ROK . But the same amino acid (leucine) occurred at codon 1014. Met-Thr mutation at codon 918 (M918T), or super-kdr, which enhances the resistance in combination with L1014F within the same genetic region was not detected in any of the six species.In order to examine the mutations at codon 1014, 343-bp sequences of part of the IIS6 domain of the VGSC gene were obtained from a total of 177 specimens that consisted of llus n = 6, An. bellus n = 6, An. bellus n = 6, An. bekdr alleles were detected in An. sinensis s.s.. TTC L1014F was found for the first time. TTT L1014F was the dominant mutation in all of the regions, whereas TTC L1014F, which was distributed in the eastern part of the ROK alongside the Taebaek Mountain  and three mutant types , of 014 and tkdr) is caused by mutations at codon 1014 of the VGSC, which is the target of pyrethroids and DDT. In this study, molecular analysis of the VGSC in the An. sinensis complex in the ROK revealed that mutations at codon 1014 existed only in An. sinensis s.s., whereas no kdr mutations were observed in the other five species, including An. pullus, An. kleini, An. sineroides, An. lesteri and An. belenrae. For wild-type L1014, a previous comparative study of the VGSC of various taxa showed different usages of coding triplets at L1014 [An. sinensis s.s., An. pullus, An. kleini, An. lesteri and An. belenrae), whereas for An. sineroides it was TTA, which is observed in a number of species, including An. gambiae An. arabiensis and An. vagus [Knockdown resistance  in the ROK may be explained by their large population size and wide species range. The level of genetic variation within a species is generated by mutation and eliminated by genetic drift due to finite population size [Although the detailed research on fitness costs of pressure . This hy the DMZ ,53-57. Sion size . Large pion size ,60 and aion size .An. sinensis s.s., the geographical distribution of kdr alleles is supported by a previous study that examined the population genetic structure of An. sinensis using mitochondrial control regions, and the results suggested distinct subdivisions in the Northern Group (NG) and Southern Group (SG) in the ROK [kdr alleles including one wild type and three mutant types were observed in this study. The three types of alleles  were observed in both the NG and the SG. Whereas the TTC L1014F allele, which was the rarest allele and which was detected for the first time in An. sinensis s.s. in this study, was only detected in the SG  will be crucial for building successful malaria vector control programmes that can explain and predict the development and spread of insecticide resistance traits.In summary, the different allele statuses of An. sinensis s.s., while the other five species showed no mutations. In An. sinensis s.s., the rarest allele, L1014F (TTC), was detected for the first time in this study, and the distribution of this allele was restricted to the southeast of the ROK. The present study is the first step in exploring species-specific insecticide resistance mechanisms. Further in-depth experiments are needed to prove the current epidemiological and evolutionary dynamics of malaria vectors in the ROK. In addition, these efforts will be one of the prerequisite steps needed to establish effective long-term vector control strategies in the ROK.This is the first report that has explored the presence and absence of 1014 codon mutations in the VGSC of the six malaria-vector species in the ROK. The highly polymorphic 1014 mutations were only observed in The authors declare that they have no competing interests.SK performed the molecular assays, data analysis, and manuscript writing. JJ collected field samples and identified the mosquitoes based on their morphological characteristics. SL and HH identified the mosquitoes by molecular identification methods. JJ and WK supervised the work and manuscript writing. WK was responsible for the management of and fund raising for this study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.


This page is designed to test your understanding of the concepts covered in this issue and to give you an opportunity to reflect on what you have learnt. If anything has changed or improved as a result of reading this issue, tell us about it. Write to The Editor using the contact details provided on page 22. The multiple True/False questions were produced in collaboration with the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) and the Diagnose This Quiz is provided courtesy of the Ophthalmic News and Education (ONE®) Network of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.a. False. Where possible, charge a single fee for all services and place cashiers and dispensaries near the exit. This will prevent unnecessary back and forth movements. B. true. 1. c. False. See the examples in d. true.a. true. b. False. If patients don't come to the clinic because they fear being badly treated, good clinical outcomes are of no use to them. c. False. Closed-ended questions are quick to analyses. Open-ended questions take longer. d. true. Patients may be reluctant to say something negative to staff working in the clinic as they may fear it will affect the care they receive.a. False. Always explain to the patient what you are going to do. b. False. After taping the lower eyelid, check that the eye can still close, or else the patient may be at increased risk of exposure keratitis. c. true. Ask the patient to try to open both eyes. d. true.a. true. Both indicate that the fuse has ‘blown’. b. False. A technician must service the equipment before it can be used again. c. true. d. False. Using foil or another object to replace a fuse is dangerous and can lead to electrocution, fires and damaged equipment.A12-year-old boy fails his school vision screening test. His medical history is benign. Middle-aged relatives of both sexes for three generations reportedly have had central visual loss. His best-corrected visual acuities are 20/80 OD and 20/20 OS. The disc, vessels, and retinal periphery of both eyes appear normal, but the macula of the right eye has a fibrotic scar and the left eye shows a yellow, round, circumscribed lesion of one disc diameter that blocks fluorescence on fluorescein angiogram. The ERG is normal, but the electro-oculogram ratio (light peaK/dark trough) is reduced. What is the most likely diagnosis?Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosisBardet-Biedl syndromeBest's vitel I form macular dystrophyStargardt's diseaseThe most likely diagnosis in this case is Best's disease. Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis causes a hyperfluorescent bull's-eye maculopathy from generalised cone dystrophy, with seizures and progressive dementia in school-age years. In Stargardt's disease, the macular RPE atrophy causes hyperfluorescence against the abnormally dark background of the “silent choroid” sign. Bardet-Biedl syndrome frequently has atrophic maculopathy, but the diffuse photoreceptor loss causes reduced ERG amplitudes by a young age. Bardet-Biedl syndrome is autosomal recessive, and patients frequently have extra digits on their hands or feet. In Best's vitelliform macular dystrophy, visual acuity typically is excellent until the “egg yolk” ruptures or involutes. The yellow lesion is hypofluorescent in the early phases of the fluorescein angiogram but can stain and become hyperfluorescent in the later stages. The condition is transmitted from an affected parent as an autosomal dominant trait. The electro-oculogram is characteristically subnormal despite a normal ERG.


Mycobacterium spp. is one of the most important species of zoonotic pathogens that can be transmitted from cattle to humans. The presence of these opportunistic, pathogenic bacteria in bovine milk has emerged as a public-health concern, especially among individuals who consume raw milk and related dairy products. To address this concern, the Brazilian control and eradication program focusing on bovine tuberculosis, was established in 2001. However, bovine tuberculosis continues to afflict approximately 1,3 percent of the cattle in Brazil. In the present study, 300 samples of milk from bovine herds, obtained from both individual and collective bulk tanks and informal points of sale, were cultured on Löwenstein-Jensen and Stonebrink media. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based tests and restriction-enzyme pattern analysis were then performed on the colonies exhibiting phenotypes suggestive of Mycobacterium spp., which were characterized as acid-fast bacilli.Mycobacterium spp.Of the 300 bovine milk samples that were processed, 24 were positively identified as Mycobacterium bovis, M. gordonae, M. fortuitum, M. intracellulare, M. flavescens, M. duvalii, M. haemophilum, M. immunogenum, M. lentiflavum, M. mucogenicum, M. novocastrense, M. parafortuitum, M. smegmatis, M. terrae and M. vaccae. The isolation of bacteria from the various locations occurred in the following proportions: 9 percent of the individual bulk-tank samples, 7 percent of the collective bulk-tank samples and 8 percent of the informal-trade samples. No statistically significant difference was observed between the presence of Mycobacterium spp. in the three types of samples collected, the milk production profiles, the presence of veterinary assistance and the reported concerns about bovine tuberculosis prevention in the herds.Molecular identification detected 15 unique mycobacterial species: Mycobacterium spp. in milk samples. Using these methods, we found that the Brazilian population may be regularly exposed to mycobacteria by consuming raw bovine milk and related dairy products. These evidences reinforces the need to optimize quality programs of dairy products, to intensify the sanitary inspection of these products and the necessity of further studies on the presence of Mycobacterium spp. in milk and milk-based products.The microbiological cultures associated with PCR-based identification tests are possible tools for the investigation of the presence of  Milk is an important source of proteins, sugars, lipids and other nutrients for humans. However, these nutrients can also serve as substrates for pathogenic microorganisms. The traditional consumption of homemade dairy products, and especially cheeses, that are composed of non-heat-treated milk poses a serious risk to public health . It is eMycobacterium genus, such as Mycobacterium bovis, are highly able to survive in bovine milk and other dairy products. These microbes can be found in the form of viable bacilli in cream cheese and yogurt produced from raw milk for over 14 days and in butter for over 100 days  and analyzed using internet Prasite  and compared with the patterns that were described by Chimara et al. [The amplification of the sing PRA . In thisa et al. .For the data analysis, continuous variables were categorized based on their median values. The total volume milked per day was classified as high (>330 liters) or low (<330 liters), and the mean volume milked per day was classified as high (>12 liters) or low (<12 liters). The number of lactating animals in each herd was categorized as many (>11 cows) or few (<11 cows). Similarly, the number of farmers delivering milk to each collective bulk tank was separated into two categories: many (>14 farmers) or few (<14 farmers).Mycobacterium spp. A logistic regression was then used to estimate the adjusted associations in a multivariable model, and backward variable selection was used to select a possible final model. The data were analyzed using R software (version 2.15.1) [Summary statistics were calculated to describe the characteristics of the farms enrolled in the study. Chi-squared or Fisher’s exact tests were used to identify the farm-related factors that were associated with the isolation of Information regarding the daily total volume milked (in liters), the mean volume milked (in liters), the number of lactating animals, the breeds of the lactating animals, the presence of veterinary assistance and whether concerns existed about the prevention of tuberculosis in the herd was obtained for 228 of the 300 samples that were collected. This information was not collected for all of the samples because the informal milk sellers were not always aware of each product’s origin. The number of farmers who delivered milk to each collective bulk tank was also considered. The sampled population was highly heterogeneous, the descriptive analyses of these data are summarized in Table Mycobacterium spp. Molecular methods identified 15 distinct species among the isolates, as shown in Table M. bovis subsp. bovis), and the other isolates included the environmental nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) M. gordonae, M. fortuitum, M. intracellulare, M. flavescens, M. duvalii, M. haemophilum, M. immunogenum, M. lentiflavum, M. mucogenicum, M. novocastrense, M. parafortuitum, M. smegmatis, M. terrae and M. vaccae. The species that was most frequently isolated was M. gordonae type 9, and the second most frequent was M. haemophilum type 1.Of the 300 samples that were processed, 24 tested positive for Mycobacterium spp.-positive cultures, whereas 7 percent of the samples from the collective bulk tanks and 8 percent of the informal-trade samples resulted in positive cultures  as well as animals (such as udder and skin lesions in cattle) has been reported [M. vaccae is considered to be a nonpathogenic type of NTM and was recently ranked as a bacterium that is beneficial to the central nervous system. More specifically, in 2010, the American Society for Microbiology reported growth stimulation in certain neuronal types and consequently increased serotonin levels and decreased anxiety in mice exposed to M. vaccae[M. parafortuitum is not considered to be a pathogenic species of NTM. Phenotypically, M. parafortuitum resembles M. fortuitum, but certain biochemical differences between the two species motivated the classification of M. fortuitum as a novel species in 1966 [Since the last decade, the isolation of reported . M. vaccM. vaccae. Similar in 1966 .M. fortuitum has been recovered from tap water, water distribution systems and various types of soil. In humans, M. fortuitum is associated with skin lesions but rarely causes pulmonary lesions or spread infections [M. fortuitum has been isolated from milk samples from cows with a positive reaction to the tuberculin test [Mycobacterium spp., is typically due to the excessive intramammary use of oily or antimicrobial drugs for mastitis treatment or is secondary to severe cases of clinical mastitis, as these bacteria act as opportunistic pathogens [fections . This myfections . The bacfections , and in lin test . The occathogens ,38.M. smegmatis also has been recovered from cattle with mastitis [M. smegmatis is frequently found in water and soil [M. smegmatis has not been described in disseminated infections, even in immunocompromised patients [mastitis . As the and soil . Althougpatients ,40.M. immunogenum is a newly described species belonging to the M. chelonae-M. abscessus group. This species mainly causes hypersensitivity pneumonitis secondary to aerosol inhalation. M. immunogenum is also associated with disseminated skin infections, septic arthritis, keratitis and nosocomial infections [fections ,42 and cM. haemophilum and M. duvalii are species associated with infection in immunocompromised patients or patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) [M. intracellulare is an etiological agent of disease in healthy patients [M. novocastrense, first described in 1997, is rarely reported in humans, although there is evidence of this bacterium’s involvement in certain diseases [us (HIV) ,43. In cpatients  that haspatients . This sppatients . In contdiseases .M. terrae is often recovered from samples of soil, water and vegetables. Initially, this species was considered to be nonpathogenic, but several reports have associated this mycobacteria with cases of tenosynovitis and joint and pulmonary infections. Although M. terrae is rarely associated with disseminated infection, this species exhibits relatively high resistance to antimicrobial therapy [ therapy ,46.M. duvalii, M. haemophilum, M. immunogenum, M. lentiflavum, M. mucogenicum and M. novocastrense in bovine raw-milk samples. The contamination of raw milk by mycobacteria is apparently inevitable, even under sanitary conditions, due to the ubiquitous nature of these microorganisms. Only the heat treatment of raw milk using commercial pasteurization protocols ensures the adequate destruction of mycobacterial contaminants. Thus, the transmission of viable mycobacteria to humans through heat-treated bovine milk is unlikely, whereas the consumption of raw bovine milk and related dairy products represents a public-health risk [The current study is the first report of the presence of lth risk .Mycobacterium spp. For example, in many regions of the world, tuberculosis is a major cause of death in HIV-infected individuals [The increasing number of individuals worldwide who are infected with HIV in the world predisposes the increase in the number of cases of diseases that have been recognized as emerging and re-emerging, which are mainly those diseases caused by opportunistic agents, such as ividuals . Such myividuals . In partThe ecology and physiology of mycobacteria are complex and differ between MTBC and NTM. In recent years, the intersection of human, animal and mycobacterial ecology has exposed humans and animals to mycobacteria and has impacted mycobacterial ecology . ResearcMycobacterium spp. in milk samples. Our data indicate that the Brazilian population may be exposed to mycobacteria through the consumption of raw bovine milk and related dairy products. These evidences reinforces the need to optimize quality programs of dairy products, to intensify the sanitary inspection of these products and the necessity of further studies on the presence of Mycobacterium spp. in milk and milk-based products.Microbiological cultures and PCR-based identification tests are possible tools for the investigation of the presence of Mycobacterium; MTBC: Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex; PCR: Polimerase chain reaction; PNCEBT: ‘Programa Nacional de Controle e Erradicação da Brucelose e Tuberculose’; PRA: Restriction enzyme pattern analysis polymerase chain reaction; UNESP: Sao Paulo State University; NTM: Environmental nontuberculous mycobacteria; FAPESP: ‘Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo’; CNPq: ‘Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico’.HIV: Human immunodeficiency virus; M.: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.MMJF: Conducted the mycobacterial culture-based procedures and the molecular identification of the species. Participated in the statistical analysis of the data. Drafted the manuscript. Read and approved the final manuscript. ACP: Conceived of and designed the study. Helped to draft the manuscript. Generally supervised the research group. Read and approved the final manuscript. MGR: Conceived of and designed the study. Helped to draft the manuscript. Generally supervised the research group. Read and approved the final manuscript. CQFL: Participated in the molecular identification of the species. Generally supervised the research group. Read and approved the final manuscript. JCFP: Performed the statistical analysis of the data. Read and approved the final manuscript. RGM: Acquired the samples and data on the population characteristics. Read and approved the final manuscript. ACBS: Participated in the molecular identification of the species. Read and approved the final manuscript. MM: Participated in the molecular identification of the species. Read and approved the final manuscript. FJPL: Participated in the mycobacterial culture-based procedures. Read and approved the final manuscript.MMJF: M.V. M.Sc., School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Sao Paulo State University.ACP: M.V. M.Sc. Ph.D., Professor at School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Sao Paulo State University.MGR: M.V. M.Sc. Ph.D., Professor at School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Sao Paulo State University.CQFL: Pharmaceutist, M.Sc. Ph.D., Professor at School of Pharmacy Sciences, Sao Paulo State University.JCFP: M.V. M.Sc. Ph.D., Professor at School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Sao Paulo State University.RGM: M.V. M.Sc., School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Sao Paulo State University.ACBS: M.V. M.Sc. Ph.D., School of Pharmacy Sciences, Sao Paulo State University.MM: Biologist M.Sc. Ph.D., School of Pharmacy Sciences, Sao Paulo State University.FJPL: Laboratory Technician, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Sao Paulo State University.


Xenopsylla fleas parasitizing murid rodents on the Canary Islands have been reported. Three Xenopsylla species, X. cheopis, X. brasiliensis and X. guancha, have been detected on two rodents species, Mus musculus and Rattus rattus. X. guancha has been the most prevalent species detected, specifically on M. musculus, the most abundant rodent, but it has been detected only on three eastern islands, where the species is endemic. X. cheopis has been shown to be the most widely distributed species throughout the archipelago and the species most frequently found on R. rattus. X. brasiliensis has been shown to be the least prevalent Xenopsylla species, with the lowest geographical distribution on the Canary Islands and focused only on R. rattus. The detection of both X. cheopis and X. brasiliensis on the island of Lanzarote, and of X. guancha on the island of Fuerteventura and the islet of La Graciosa represents the first report of these species on those particular Canary Islands.The geographical and host distributions of  Rattus rattus  and Mus musculus  are the most abundant sylvatic rodents, and precisely murid species on these islands.The Canary Islands form the southernmost Palearctic archipelago, located at latitude and longitude 27º 29º N and 13º 18º W, respectively. On the archipelago, field-rats as well as house-rats are found along with house mice. Xenopsylla species have been reported on the Canary Islands, three of them, X. brasiliensis , X. cheopis  and X. guanchaX. gratiosa  on sea-birds  and X. gratiosa, are parasites of warm-blooded animals other than rodents, respectively rabbit and petrel.Four ea-birds . Xenopsyribution . X. cheoXenopsylla species detected on the archipelago.Reports on the flea fauna of the Canary Islands have been, until now, scarce and rather old . As partM. musculus, 215 R. rattus and 13 R. norvegicus  – were trapped and then they were scarified by cervical dislocation.During the course of these projects, seven main islands and one islet have been prospected; four western , and four eastern . In each island, different biotopes were prospected throughout a week, and, in average, 200 live-capture traps were used every night. As is displayed in Flea specimens detected on rodents were kept in 70 % alcohol. Each specimen was subjected to a clearing treatment with 20 % potassium hydroxide and to a process of dehydration, using a series of ethanol rinses of ascending concentration up to 100 %. Finally, for identification purposes, the specimens were mounted in Canada balsam.The specific and sub-specific flea determination was based on their morphological characteristics .R. norvegicus captured was parasitized by Xenopsylla fleas. The three murids Xenopsylla species, X. cheopis, X. brasiliensis and X. guancha, already reported on the Canary Islands were also detected in this study. A total of 98 Xenopsylla spp. fleas  were found on 61 rodents .None of the 13 X. cheopis  were found on 22 rodents, four X. brasiliensis  on three rodents and 51 X. guancha  on 36 rodents. The global prevalence and mean intensity for all the rodents trapped over the entire archipelago was: 2.5 % and 1.9 for X. cheopis; 0.3 % and 1.3 for X. brasiliensis; 4.0 % and 1.4 for X. guancha. Xenopsylla fleas were absent on the rodents from La Palma and La Gomera  but was focused on M. musculus . As in previous studies, X. cheopis was absent on two of the western islands, La Palma and La Gomera, and also on one of the eastern, La Graciosa islet , where the flea species was found and its two rodent hosts were trapped.The actual detection of sa islet . The curX. brasiliensis was the least prevalent Xenopsylla species and also the least widespread flea on the archipelago. The presence of this species had been reported on three western  and on one eastern Canary Island (Gran Canaria) and also only on R. rattus . Consequently, it would seem that the eastern islands’ climate and proximity to the African continent influence the abundance of Xenopsylla and, in some cases, influence their endemicity as X. guancha. The results of this study show that no


Antibiotics are a valuable addition to health practitioners for the management of bacterial infections. During endodontic treatment and when managing trauma to the teeth, antibiotics may be applied systemically or locally. Due to the potential risk of adverse effects of systemic applications, and the ineffectiveness of systemic prescribed antibiotics in necrotic or pulpless teeth and the periradicular tissues, the local application of antibiotics may be a more effective mode for delivering antibiotics to infected root canals. The purpose of this article is to review the history, rationale, and applications of antibiotics and antibiotic-containing irrigants in endodontics. The surface demineralization widens the orifices of the dentinal tubules and exposes the cementum collagen matrix which stimulates fibroblast attachment and growth  of the isolates were susceptible to tetracycline and doxycycline.Carson et al.  used an o et al.  evaluateet al. 2 were 100% effective in eliminating the E. faecalis biofilm, whereas ampicillin, co-trimoxazole, vancomycin, and vancomycin followed by gentamicin were ineffective. Based on the hypotheses that microorganisms can reach the apical area of recently replanted teeth from the oral cavity , and that tetracyclines can potentially inhibit this route of bacterial contamination, Cvek et al. , respectively. However, after the longer time periods, the CHX group showed the lowest number of CFU’s.Abbott 12 weeks . Khademi , otherwise known as MTAD , is a relatively new root canal irrigant which was introduced by Torabinejad and Johnson  in 2003.ar layer  and is efaecalis -37.et al.  and the minimum lethal concentration (MLC) of MTAD. After irrigating with 1.3% NaOCl, the root canals and the external root surfaces were exposed to MTAD for five minutes. This treatment regimen was effective in completely eliminating growth of seven of the eight strains of E. faecalis. The MIC/MLC tests showed that MTAD inhibited growth of most strains of E. faecalis when diluted 1:8192 times and it killed most strains of E. faecalis when diluted 1:512 times.Davis et al.  investigy et al.  determinet al.  showed positive cultures of E. faecalis. These results clearly showed that, although the addition of chlorhexidine did not negatively impact on the efficacy of MTAD, the substitution of doxycycline with chlorhexidine significantly reduced the efficacy of the resultant solution.Recently, Shabahang et al.  evaluatein vitro study, Mohammadi and Yazdizadeh  readily attach to dentine and are subsequently released without losing their antibacterial activity . The prezdizadeh  evaluatezdizadeh . In anotzdizadeh  assessedTetraclean , Italy), like MTAD, is a mixture of an antibiotic, an acid and a detergent. However, the concentration of the antibiotic, doxycycline (50 mg/ml), and the type of detergent (polypropylene glycol) differ from those of MTAD (48).et al.  is effective in removing the smear layer. However, the antimicrobial efficacy against E faecalis of 1.3% NaOCl/MTAD compared with that of the combined alternate use of 5.25% NaOCl and 15% EDTA is still controversial.5. Substantivity of MTAD has been shown to last for up to 4 weeks. Furthermore, application of MTAD to 1.3% NaOCl-irrigated dentine may reduce its substantivity.6. Tetraclean, is a mixture of an antibiotic (doxycycline), an acid, and a detergent (like MTAD), with a very low surface tension, and high degree of efficacy against bacterial biofilms.


The current study uses the Language Independent Functional Evaluation (L.I.F.E.) to evaluate disability in a smaller Ghanaian coastal town to characterize the extent and nature of disability. The L.I.F.E. is a video animated, language free equivalent of the standard 10-item verbal/written Barthel Index functional assessment.Over a four-month period, the L.I.F.E. survey was given to members of the village of Anomabo in a preliminary survey which consisted of recruitment in an un-controlled manner, followed by a systematic, comprehensive survey of three neighborhood clusters. Basic demographics were also collected, along with the observer's assessment of disability.541 inhabitants (264 in the preliminary survey and 277 in systematic survey) completed the L.I.F.E. Participants ranged from 7-100 years old  and were 55.9% female. In the systematic study, 16.6% of participants had a less than perfect score on the L.I.F.E., indicating some degree of impairment. Significant differences were found between age groups, but not between sexes, the preliminary and systematic survey, and study location (a=.05).The L.I.F.E. and this study methodology can be used to measure the prevalence of disability in African communities. Disability in this community was higher than the frequently cited estimate of 10%. African policymakers can use the L.I.F.E. to measure disability and thus more rationally allocate resources for medical rehabilitation. The personal and economic burden of disabling medical illnesses across the world is unquestioned. The World Disability Report is often cited to state that 10% of the world population lives with a disability . In AfriThe reasons for misallocation of resources are many and complex. However one probable reason is the difficulty in obtaining information on the extent and cost of disability in low-resource regions. This is an especially challenging problem for African epidemiologists and policy makers, who must deal with hundreds of languages and relatively high illiteracy rates.Recently a tool for measuring disability without the use of language has been designed. The Language Independent Functional Evaluation (L.I.F.E.) is a video pictorial representation of the functions portrayed in the commonly used Barthel Index , 5. AfteThe current study brings the L.I.F.E. back to Africa to evaluate disability in a smaller Ghanaian coastal town. Results may shed light on the extent and nature of disability in such a community, but also demonstrate the viability of this relatively high-tech approach to the problem in a low-resource region.The L.I.F.E. has been described in detail previously , 7. InstIn a previous study the summary L.I.F.E. scores have been shown to relate well to the Barthel Scores , except bowel and bladder, which had moderate correlations [The Ghanaian coastal village of Anomabo was chosen because it is familiar to the various investigators. Anomabo is situated directly on the main highway between Accra and Cape Coast. It has a well organized local government health care system with a clinic in both central Anomabo and its close neighbor Biriwa. The village of Anomabo itself has a population of roughly 3,000. Because of its location on the main highway yet also on the ocean front, the town's main economy is split between fishing and tourist attractions. Nearly half of the men in the village seem to be fisherman, while there are also three different hotels and guest houses in Anomabo itself. Although the official language of Ghana is English, most of the villagers speak Fante, so the introduction and instructions were recorded in Fante and played before the L.I.F.E. was given.The project was performed over a four month period. Surveys were performed by an American (BWK) who lived in the community for the duration of the study. He had cursory knowledge of the Fante language, and was provided with extensive guidance on local culture and community from the local Ghana Health Service nurse.To test the functionality of L.I.F.E. the investigators first used an uncontrolled open method of subject recruitment, basically approaching people on the street and near the clinic. Subsequently a more specific methodology was used, in which the investigators comprehensively surveyed neighborhoods in regions referred to in this paper as “Rural West North”; Rural West South, and Town Center.The investigators surveyed three main large clusters, two from the western corner and one from the center of town. Because the town, particularly on the outskirts, is not very clearly organized in terms of streets, geographic landmarks were used to delineate the borders of the clusters.The first cluster extended from the western border of Anomabo past the beach resort and the road attached to the beach resort and all the way to the next cluster of houses as an eastern border. The main highway and the ocean made up the North and the South borders respectively.The second cluster began on the northern side of the highway at the western border of Anomabo. It extended in the East all the way to the row of houses just past the opposing entrance to the Beach Resort. In the North it extended back until there seemed not to be any houses left that had been completed. In the West it extended to the Western border of Anomabo, just past the gas station.The third cluster was in the center of town. The center of Anomabo extends South from the main road towards the beach. There are three main streets extending away from the Accra-Cape Coast road. The length of the westernmost of these streets all the way from the Accra-Cape Coast road to its southernmost dead-end were surveyed. We defined occupants of houses as permanent habitations. Thus vendors who occasionally slept in their store along the street were not included in the cluster survey.Households living on selected streets or paths in these regions were all included. If a person was away or a house was empty, the investigator returned in subsequent days to ensure participation. With subject consent, the survey began with an informal assessment as to whether the person interviewed had an obvious disability, using information and criteria obvious to the public. . The subjects performed the L.I.F.E., and were dismissed.Data was transferred to an excel spreadsheet for further analysis. Data from the initial informal survey was separated from the more stringent survey, but is also reported. Statistical analyses were performed with SPSS software . Descriptive statistics were tabulated, along with one-sample Kolmogorov Smirnov (K-S) tests which showed non-parametric distribution of scores for participants. Spearman's rho correlation coefficient, Mann Whitney-U Test, and Kruskall-Wallis tests were conducted to assess the relationships between disability  and demographic factors (a=.05).Approval was obtained from the Ghana Health Service, and the local authorities, and the study was formally exempted from review by the American university's ethical review board.The L.I.F.E. and demographics were collected for a total of 541 individuals residing in the village of Anomabo. The preliminary survey consisted of 264 inhabitants and the final survey, which included the areas of Rural West North, Rural West South, and the Town Center, was comprised of 277. In the final survey, 55.9% of participants were female, with ages ranging from 7-100 years old . Out of these, 66.5% of participants had received some formal education. In this community 16.6% of participants provided a less than perfect score on the L.I.F.E., indicating some degree of impairment. The average L.I.F.E. score in the final survey was 18.48 (s.d. 1.81). 2  =42.13, p=.000. The proportion of variability in the ranked dependent variable accounted for by study location was .156, indicating moderate relationship between L.I.F.E. scores and age. Post-hoc tests were conducted to evaluate pair-wise differences across groups, controlling for Type I error across tests by using the Bonferroni approach. The results of these tests are shown in The relationship between age and disability is complex, as outlined in An independent samples Mann-Whitney U test was employed to examine the differences in L.I.F.E. scores in the final survey for the sexes. There were no significant differences in scores by sex z= -.176, p=.860. When examined by final survey location, Rural West North approached significance, z= -1.746, p=.081, while Rural West South and Town Center did not, z= -.670, p=.503 and z=1.006, p=.314, respectively.From the researcher's informal observations, 3.9% of participants appeared to have an impairment. This is in contrast to the 16.6% of participants who scored some disability on the L.I.F.E. While 2  =.915, p=.822. One goal is to determine whether convenience sampling is sufficient in comparison to the more arduous task of systematic survey. For the systematic survey there was no statistically significant difference in the crude rate of disability between the areas sampled.  No significant difference in any disability as measured by the L.I.F.E. between preliminary survey and final survey locations. A Kruskal-Wallis test conducted to evaluate differences in the % of people disabled between survey settings, corrected for tied ranks, showed no significant differences X2  =32.461, p=.000. The proportion of variability in the ranked dependent variable accounted for by study location was .061, indicating a weak relationship between study location and participant age. Follow-up tests were conducted to evaluate pair-wise differences across groups, controlling for Type I error across tests by using the Bonferroni approach. The results of these tests indicated a significant difference between the preliminary survey and all three locations of the final survey, along with a significant difference in age between Rural West South and Town Center. Participants in the preliminary survey were significantly younger than in the final survey locations, along with those participants in the Town Center being significantly older than those in the Rural West South.A Kruskal-Wallis test was conducted to evaluate differences in median age among study settings . The test, which was corrected for tied ranks, was significant; XThe study results show 17% of inhabitants of this rural African village have varying degrees of disability as measured by the L.I.F.E. in the final survey, and that the computer animated L.I.F.E. is accepted as a survey method among rural Africans. Further it showed that a systematic survey results in some differences compared with a convenience sample in the community, and that casual observation is grossly insufficient to detect most disability found with the L.I.F.E. Specific findings are worth comment and the methodology should be further discussed.The population studied is not intended to reflect all of Africa, but rather the type of community in which accurate data on disability might be difficult to obtain. Nevertheless, the distribution of age, sex, educational levels, and absence of rehabilitation services are likely not different from other rural communities. This does not represent all disabilities. The L.I.F.E. does not measure communication or cognitive functions, for instance. To the extent Anomabo represents other African communities, the 10% number frequently cited by national governments is a gross underestimate of the prevalence and cost of disability. The relationships between function and basic demographics, as noted in It is not surprising that mobility related disabilities were found most commonly. Difficulties in bowel and bladder function were next most common, however it is important to note that the psychometric properties of surveys for these functions are typically not good, and the L.I.F.E. is no exception , 7. AlsoQualitatively, the investigators observed significantly less functional disability than they had expected. Subjects with obvious disabilities often answered negatively with regard to their own function. In fact, subject's self-assessment of disability seemed to be associated most with increasing age and family support. The conclusion to be drawn from these counter-intuitive observations is not that the poverty and lack of medical care in Anomabo is somehow protective against disability. Rather, the lack of self-reported disability points to the fact that, in Anomabo, disability is most often fatal. Persons who cannot get themselves out of bed will not get out of bed; there is little support to help them with their disability beyond their own ingenuity and resistance.The need to systematically survey disability is illustrated by some of the differences between our preliminary study and the final protocol. There were not drastic differences in percentage of persons with disability between the early and formal survey. However there were age differences. Whether the area of the preliminary survey was inhabited more by younger people or whether younger people were more ‘on the move’ and accessible to the convenience sample, can be debated. On the other hand it may be quite reasonable to believe that older people live closer to the center of town, as found here.Overall the findings of this paper point to a more significant burden of disability than expected. Incontrovertible evidence points towards the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of medical rehabilitation in reversing disability . To dateThe second finding of this paper-that a high-tech solution can be practical in measuring disability in rural, non-English speaking populations, provides an important solution. African governments and policymakers can use the L.I.F.E. to measure the burden of disability in their communities. The results can lead to rational allocation of resources — undoubtedly an increase in investment in medical rehabilitation.The L.I.F.E. and this study methodology can be used to measure the prevalence of disability in African communities. Disability in this community was higher than the frequently cited estimate of 10%. African policymakers can use the L.I.F.E. to measure disability and thus more rationally allocate resources for medical rehabilitation.


Drosophila (Diptera: Drosophilidae) on Chamundi hill of Mysore, Karnataka State, India. A total of 16,671 Drosophila flies belonging to 20 species of 4 subgenera were collected at altitudes of 680 m, 780 m, 880 m and 980 m. The subgenus Sophophora was predominant with 14 species and the subgenus Drosilopha was least represented with only a single species. Cluster analysis and constancy methods were used to analyze the species occurrence qualitatively. Altitudinal changes in the population density, and relative abundance of the different species at different seasons were also studied. The diversity of the Drosophila community was assessed by applying the Simpson and Berger-Parker indices. At 680 m the Simpson Index was low at 0.129 and the Berger- Parker index was high at 1.1 at 980 m. Linear regression showed that the Drosophila community was positively correlated with rainfall but not elevation, Furthermore the density of Drosophila changed significantly in different seasons . The distributional pattern of a species or related group of species was uneven in space and time. D. malerkotliana and D. nasuta were found at all altitudes and can be considered as dominant species.A year long study was conducted to analyze the altitudinal and seasonal variation in a population of  Drosophilidae (Diptera) is composed of more than 3,500 described species that occur in a number of ecosystems all over the world . It is a small mountain (11′36′ N Latitude and 76′ 55′ E) with scrubby forest that was uninhabited about forty years ago with a small temple at the hilltop. However, the hill has become a famous tourist spot of Mysore  since about thirty years ago with a small township built at the top with a population of 2,000 and experiences the inflow of many tourists.The present analysis of Drosophila fauna was studied in four different wild localities of Chamundi hill, Mysore. For this purpose monthly collection of flies were made at the altitudes of 680 m, 780 m, 880 m, and 980 m between February 2005 to January 2006. Both bottle trapping and net sweeping methods were used. For bottle trapping, milk bottles of 250 ml capacity containing smashed ripe banana sprayed with yeast were tied to the twigs underneath small bushes at a height of three to five feet above the ground. Five traps each were kept at each altitude. The following day the mouth of each bottle was plugged with cotton and removed from the bushes. The flies that were collected in the bottles were transferred to fresh bottles containing wheat cream agar medium  includes, Drosophila populations on the hill. In the cluster study, Euclidean distance was chosen to measure the similarity between different species and Ward's Strategy  using SPSS 10.5. In order to verify the occurrence of a species qualitatively, the occurrence constancy method  was usedStrategy  was folln-Wiener .The relationship between the abundance, richness and diversity of all groups of flies collected throughout the year was assessed by Simpson (D) and Berger-Parker (1/d) indices (Berger- Parker index (1/d) which shows the relative abundance was calculated using the formula,Drosophila species at four different altitudes of Chamundi hill is shown in Sophophora, Drosophila, Dorsilopha, Scaptodrosophila. Most of the species belonged to the D. melanogaster species group. D. buskii was the only species belonging to subgenus Dorsilopha. The total number of the flies captured through out the year was 16,671 and number of the species collected was 20. At 680 m, the number of flies collected was the highest  compared to all other altitudes and the least number was collected at 980 m. D. nasuta, D. neonasuta, D. malerkotliana, D. rajasekari, D. jambulina, and D. bipectinata were the most common species found at all altitudes compared to other species such as D. anomelani, D. coonorensis, D. punjabiensis, D. mysorensis and D. gangotrii. D. kikkawii, D. takahashii, D. suzukii, D. repleta, D. immigrons, D. buskii, D. brindavani, D. nigra, D. mundagensis were not found at all altitudes  of all species present at all altitudes along with absolute numbers (A) and relative abundance (r) are presented in  species . The valDrosophila flies decreased with increasing altitude , altitude , rainfall . There was negative correlation with altitude and temperature and positive correlation with rain.The number of altitude . The appmontium sub group and included D. kikkawii, D. coonorensis, D. gangotrii, D. takahashii, D. anomelani, D. punjabiensis, D. mundagensis, D. mysorensis but D. suzukii, belongs to suzukii subgroup. Both these subgroups belong to the melanogaster species group of the subgenus Sophophora. D. repleta, D. buskii, and D. immigrons of the same cluster belong to subgenus Drosophila, while D. nigra belongs to subgenus Scaptodrosophila. D. jambulina, belongs to the montium subgroup and D. bipectinata belongs to the ananassae subgroup which is linked with the first cluster. In the second cluster, D. rajasekari belongs to suzukii subgroup of the melanogaster species group of subgenus Sophophora while D. neonasuta belongs to the subgenus Drosophila. D. malerkotliana and D. brindavani sub-cluster which joins with D. rajasekari and D. neonasuta belong to two different taxonomic categories. Among these, D. malerkotliana belongs to subgenus Sophophora and D. brindavani belongs to subgenus Scaptodrosophila. D. nasuta the lone third tier species which joins with the second cluster belong to the subgenus Drosophila and taxonomically more related to D. neonasuta of tier 1 species of this cluster. Thus most of the species of first cluster have closer taxonomic relationships than the second.The cluster analysis performed on the basis of densities of different species showed two clusters . Of thesDrosophila at different altitudes of Chamundi hill decreased with increasing altitude  geographical (e.g. latitude and longitude); 2) environmental (an environment with a greater variety of niches would be able to host a greater variety of species); and 3) biological . These factors may have important consequences on the number of species in a given ecosystem. The changes in the natural environment caused by the alteration of seasons, would result in the change in relative frequency of different species from season to season  0 represent infinite diversity and 1, no diversity, i.e, the greater the value of D the lower is the diversity but the reverse is true in case of Berger-Parker and Shannon-Wiener indices . Althoug


The complete statement appears below.In “Is the Relationship between Prenatal Exposure to PCB-153 and Decreased Birth Weight Attributable to Pharmacokinetics?” by Verner et al. [Environ Health Perspect 121:1219–1224; This study was supported by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) Long-Range Research Initiative and the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health. M.-A.V. conducted this study as a consultant for the Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences, an independent nonprofit organization. M.P.L. received no compensation from the ACC. The authors certify that their freedom to design, conduct, interpret, and publish research was not compromised by any sponsor.EHP regrets the error.


Ixodes festai Rondelli, 1926 is a poorly known bird parasite tick. Its immature forms have not been described yet, while the adult forms only insufficiently, especially the male. In this note the presence of the male of Ixodes festai for the first time in Sardinia  is reported and a detailed redescription is provided. Morphometric data as well as photographs performed both with optical and electron microscope (ESEM FEI Quanta 200) are also shown. Ixodes festai was originally described by Rondelli in 1926 on a female specimen collected in Derna (Libya) from Alectoris barbara (Phasianidae).The Ixodidae Ixodes festai specimens collected in the forest of Néfifik (Morocco) on Oryctolagus cuniculus (Leporidae) providing a redescription of the female and the first description of the male , Phasianus colchicus (Phasianiade) and Turdiade, mostly Turdus sp. This ectoparasite mainly occurs in the West Mediterranean, where it is known in Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, France (including Corsica)  . Its preI. festai remained moreover unknown until 2007, when Pérez-Eid described the male among specimens collected by Gilot in Bormes-les-Mimosas, Var, France . The sampling was performed in the countryside of the Teulada and Capoterra municipalities . More recently I. festai in two Italian islands, Ventotene  and Montecristo , examining two unidentified ingorged females collected by Manilla in 1990 on Turdus torquatus and T. philomelos (Turdiadae). This record, which the authors stated to be the first in Italy, did not take into account the previous report of The presence in Italy of I. festai remains a poorly known species. Its immature forms have not been described yet, while the adult forms only insufficiently. In particular the male has only been barely described by To date, I. festai has never been reported in Sardinia  before. In this paper we provide a detailed description of the male of I. festai, thus deepening the one given by In addition the male of I. festai, all of them collected from T. philomelos and T. merula.Following the publication of I. festai specimens were mainly associated with T. philomelos in rural areas of the municipalities of Teulada  and Capoterra .Examining the collected material, five males and five females in copula were detected, as well as a free male lying on the abdomen of a female. The specimens were first treated in heated 10% KOH solution for 20 minutes, washed several times in a mild solution of acetic acid and distilled water, then in distilled water only and finally mounted in Faure’s liquid. The morphological characters were studied in the five males in copula. The morphometric data are presented in SEM photographs were performed on specimens stored in 70% ethanol solution, using the ESEM FEI Quanta 200 microscope.Body very small, average length 1.7 mm , 3, of oDorsal surface of the basis capituli with 12-13 punctuations. The ventral surface is equipped with seven shields  not veryHypostome  short, pI. festai within the same biotope, as remarked by The new samples gathered in Sardinia are interesting as they provide further information. In particular they confirm the persistency of Turdus sp. as key host species in particular in Italy, which is an important aspect for the biology of this ectoparasites until now only rarely detected.The samples also confirm I. festai from other Italian Ixodinae.Below, we provide the main morphological characters useful for differentiating the male of Ixodes Latreille includes the following four species: I. ricinus , I. gibbosus Nuttal, 1916, I. acuminatus Neumann, 1901 and I. ventalloi Gil Collado, 1936. Males of I. festai are separable from males of these species using the following diagnostic characters:I. festai, I. ventalloi and I. acuminatus, absent in I. ricinus and I. gibbosus;cornuae present in I. festai and I. ventalloi, absent in I. acuminatus, present and forming a right angle in I. ricinus.auriculae strongly reduced in I. festai, pointed and arcuated in I. ventalloi;internal thorn of the coxa I robust, straight and blunted in I. festai, shorter, wider with untapered end in I. ventalloi;tarsus I long and slender in I. festai, significantly divergent anteriorly in I. acuminatus;basis capituli with margins subparallel dorsally in I. festai, more evident in I. acuminatus.internal thorns of the coxae II and III rudimentary in According to I. festai, adds new information regarding the distribution of this species. Further considerations about the reasons for such a strong presence of I. festai in Sardinia, would need to be deepened by further research.In conclusion, this work besides providing a detailed description of the male of


Due to an error in production, an incorrect competing interests statement was published. The correct competing interests statement is:The authors have read the journal's policy and have the following conflicts: Joseph T. Bruder has ownership of stocks and options and paid employment at GenVec, Inc. Elena Semenova has stock options and paid employment at GenVec, Inc. Ping Chen has ownership of stocks and options and paid employment at GenVec, Inc. Svetlana Konovalova has ownership of stocks options and paid employment at GenVec, Inc. Melissa Hamilton has ownership of GenVec, Inc. stock. The following authors have no competing interests: Keith Limbach, Noelle B. Patterson, Maureen E. Stefaniak, Thomas L. Richies and Denise L. Doolan. This does not alter the authors' adherence to all the PLoS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.


Brassica rapa has already been assembled, it is the time to do deep mining of the genome data.Brassica species include both vegetable and oilseed crops, which are very important to the daily life of common human beings. Meanwhile, the Brassica species represent an excellent system for studying numerous aspects of plant biology, specifically for the analysis of genome evolution following polyploidy, so it is also very important for scientific research. Now, the genome of Brassica rapa (Chiifu-401-42). It provides datasets, such as the complete genome sequence of B. rapa, which was de novo assembled from Illumina GA II short reads and from BAC clone sequences, predicted genes and associated annotations, non coding RNAs, transposable elements (TE), B. rapa genes' orthologous to those in A. thaliana, as well as genetic markers and linkage maps. BRAD offers useful searching and data mining tools, including search across annotation datasets, search for syntenic or non-syntenic orthologs, and to search the flanking regions of a certain target, as well as the tools of BLAST and Gbrowse. BRAD allows users to enter almost any kind of information, such as a B. rapa or A. thaliana gene ID, physical position or genetic marker.BRAD, the Brassica database, is a web-based resource focusing on genome scale genetic and genomic data for important Brassica crops. BRAD was built based on the first whole genome sequence and on further data analysis of the Brassica A genome species, http://brassicadb.org.BRAD, a new database which focuses on the genetics and genomics of the Brassica plants has been developed, it aims at helping scientists and breeders to fully and efficiently use the information of genome data of Brassica plants. BRAD will be continuously updated and can be accessed through  Arabidopsis thaliana. Brassica species include both vegetable and oilseed crops that contribute about 10% of the world's vegetable production and about 12% of world's edible vegetable oil production [B. rapa, B. oleracea, B. nigra, B. juncea, B. napus, and B. carinata, respectively [B. rapa, is a major vegetable and also an oil crop in Asia and Europe. Because of their importance as crops and as models to study complex genome hybridization and polyploidization [Brassica species belong to the Brassicaceae family, which contains about 3700 species from 338 genera, including the widely studied model plant dization ,5, genetB. rapa cultivar line 'Chiifu-401' is now available [B. rapa, Chiifu-401), including the de novo assembled genome sequence derived from second-generation sequencing technologies and from BAC end sequences, predicted genes, associated annotations , as well as genetic markers and maps of B. rapa.The recently completed initial assembly of the whole genome sequence of the vailable . Based oIn this article we present an overview of the major sections of BRAD, and introduce a keyword searching tool that we have developed and the tools of BLAST and Gbrowse that enable data mining in BRAD.With the analysis of the first available genome sequence of B. rapa, We developed BRAD, the Brassica database. There are four major sections in BRAD Figure : Browse,B. rapa: RCZ16_DH, JWF3P, and VCS_DH. These markers, including 758 SSR and 402 InDel markers, cover all ten chromosomes [de novo assembled scaffolds to the 10 chromosomes. The other two maps, JWF3P and VCS_DH, were integrated from the public database http://www.brassica-rapa.org to offer users more options.In this section, BRAD provides 1, 160 genetic markers from three population lines of omosomes . There aB. rapa. Totally, there are 41, 174 genes predicted in genome of B. rapa. There are slightly less CDS for each gene in B. rapa when comparing to that of A. thaliana, while the size of each intron of B. rapa is a little bigger than that of A. thaliana  of predicted B. rapa proteins in the Swiss-Prot and TrEMBL databases; B. rapa genes are then mapped to KEGG pathway maps based on the best hit from the Swiss-Prot database; InterPro is used to annotate motifs and domains in B. rapa genes by comparison to public databases, including Pfam, PRINTS, PROSITE, ProDom and SMART using applications hmmpfam, fprintscan, ScanRegExp profilescan, blastprodom, and hmmsmart. Gene Ontology information is extracted from the InterPro results. We also use orthologous genes between B. rapa and the model plant A. thaliana to annotate B. rapa genes. These datasets are used to annotate predicted genes according to different aspects, such as nucleotide sequences, proteins and domains.There are six annotation datasets collected here: Swissprot annotation, Trembl annotation, KEGG annotation, InterPro domain annotation, Gene Ontology and the BLASTX (best hit) of A. thaliana and B. rapa were provided in BRAD to help users to link B. rapa gene information to that of the well studied model plant A. thaliana.Syntenic and non-syntenic orthologs between A. thaliana and the three subgenomes of B. rapa (the three subgenomes originated from genome triplication), and that are listed according to the genes' order in A. thaliana. We determined a gene-pair to be in synteny not only by their sequence homozygosity but also by the homozygosity of their flanking genes. With this rule, 30, 773 syntenic pairs between B. rapa and A. thaliana were obtained, and there were 9, 293, 6, 683 and 2, 346 A. thaliana genes which have 1, 2 and 3 paralogous copies in the B. rapa's subgenomes LF, MF1, and MF2, respectively. LF, MF1 and MF2 are abbreviations for less fractionized, more fractionized 1 and more fractionized 2, respectively, denoting subgenomes with more or fewer genes retained. We separated the three subgenomes according to comparative analysis with the A. thaliana genome and then with respect to both gene orders and gene densities of the subgenomes [BRAD presents a set of genes that show conserved synteny between A. thaliana and B. rapa were determined under two rules. First, the parameters of BLASTP alignment should be satisfied: identity > 70%, coverage of A. thaliana gene > 75%, coverage of B. rapa gene > 75%. Second, two genes from an orthologous pair should not be syntenic genes. Totally, there were 17, 159 such non-syntenic orthologous pairs determined.Non-syntenic genes between This section was developed to help users find genomic elements that are co-located with or that flank a region of interest. Users can input a physical position, for example of a gene ID or genetic marker, to perform the search. All the genomic features, such as genes, transposons, RNAs  that are located near the searched region are collected and displayed in a table. A link to Gbrowse provides an option to visualize the search region under the background of the chromosome. This is a useful tool for certain studies, such as the fine mapping of QTLs. Once QTLs have been obtained, markers can be aligned to the genome sequence with the BLAST tool to get the physical positions of the markers. The flanking region of these markers can then be searched to locate candidate genomic elements, such as genes or miRNAs, which might be the causal factors of the QTLs.As research progresses, we will further enable the searching of flanking regions by adding more datasets, making it an integrative and valuable resource pool for molecular geneticists, breeders and all other researchers who are interested in Brassica plants.BLAST and Genome browse (Gbrowse) are embedded to help users mine and visualize the genome data.B. rapa, EST sequences of B. rapa, Brassicas, and Cruciferaes are provided here.We utilized the standard wwwblast modules to help users perform sequence analysis. BLAST databases, such as genome, gene and protein sequences of http://gmod.org to visualize the genome of B. rapa [We used the Genome Browser tools developed by the Generic Model Organism Database Project,  B. rapa . Three mIn addition to the Browse, search, and tools described above, BRAD provides bulk data downloads, including genome and gene sequences, gene annotations and other predicted genomic elements. In addition, BRAD makes numerous community resources available either as data or as website links. These include other websites of laboratories focusing on Brassicaceae, meetings of potential interest to Brassica researchers and collections of sites about Brassica breeding.Browse genetic markers and maps.Search using annotations and Syntenic genes.Gbrowse: genome visulization.For each marker in the part of Browse genetic markers and maps, we present its genetic and physical positions and primer information and the parental populations. Users can access these data in the Browse section by following order: chromosome selection → population specification → detailed marker information → click marker ID for primer information.In section of search using annotations, users can find genes with functions of interest by submitting a keyword, such as flower or growth, then relevant records will be selected from the six annotation datasets as described above. Clicking on the selected records will then lead users to genes with annotations related to the keyword. A further click of the gene ID will provide users with more further information of this gene in BRAD.A. thaliana and B. rapa gene IDs. In the web of syntenic paralogs, the pull-down 'flanking' menu has two options (10 or 20), which means it can extend 10 or 20 genes up- and down-stream from the searched gene. In the tabulated output  of the matching gene, as shown in Figure The Gbrowse visualizes functional elements  of the genome of B. rapa and A. thaliana. For B. rapa gene, the navigation window integrates resources as the annotations, syntenic or non-syntenic orthologs, gene sequence, functional elements in gene's flanking regions and data visualization in Gbrowse, etc. For A. thaliana gene, navigation window provides links to resources of the syntenic or non-syntenic orthologs, annotations in BRAD and the TAIR databases.In order to help users to quickly access to all the information of an interested gene in BRAD, we embedded a javascript dialog window as navigation to each gene ID in the output tables of BRAD. Through combining the accesses of many datasets at one window, this navigation can lead users to different resources of the target genes, which facilitates the use of BRAD. There are two types of genes in BRAD now, genes of Brassica rapa, such as BrassEnsembl database http://www.brassica.info/BrassEnsembl/index.html, CropStore database http://www.cropstoredb.org/brassica/, and Brassica Genome Database http://www.plantgdb.org/BrGDB/, mainly focused on genome data dissemination  and visualization (BrassEnsembl). BRAD was built to help users to mine data from the genome sequence of Brassica rapa easily and effectively, it had its own specific features and advantages when comparing to existing databases. First, BRAD made accurate and useful links from the bulk information of model plant A. thaliana to the newly assembled genome of B. rapa and offered detail annotation of B. rapa genes, it provided features as syntenic and non-syntenic orthologs between A. thaliana and B. rapa, main gene families in B. rapa according to that in A. thaliana, gene annotation information from multiple annotation databases , etc. Second, BRAD was an initial genome data repository of B. rapa, other databases used or will use data in BRAD as basic data to develop their specific functions, we will improve and continuously update the assembled genome and release it in BRAD.A few databases of B. oleracea, B. nigra and B. napus) when they are available. In addition, new data will be processed first and then appropriately integrated or linked to the existing datasets. The data types listed below will soon be added to BRAD:BRAD will include data sets of all Brassica plants  of the B. rapa.- levels of gene expression generated from transcriptome data in different organs of B. rapa to B. oleracea.- synteny browser of B. rapa, as well as the use of the information from the model plant A. thaliana. Aimed at helping scientists and breeders to fully and efficiently use the information of genomics and genetics datasets of Brassica plants, BRAD will continuously improve its applications and integrate more available datasets in the future. We propose that BRAD will be a valuable resource for the scientists of comparative genomics, plant evolution, and molecular biology, and the breeders of Brassiceae.BRAD, a new database which focuses on the genetics and genomics of the Brassica plants has been developed. Comparing with the existing database of Brassica plants, BRAD has its specific functions and advantages, specially for its annotations and deep mining of the recently assembled genome of Database name: BRADhttp://brassicadb.orgDatabase homepage: Browser requirement: the application is optimized for Internet Explorer. However, it also works well with Mozilla Firefox and Safari.Datasets in BRAD are freely available. Please use the link 'Contact Us' on the BRAD homepage or email Dr. Xiaowu Wang wangxw@mail.caas.net.cn to request specific data subsets.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.XW and FC conceived the study. FC processed the data and developed the database. FC prepared the manuscript, XW and JW improved the manuscript. JW tested the web application and tools and provided feedback. LF maintained the database. SL, SS, BL, PL and WH prepared the basic datasets. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.