Rotavirus analyses by SYBR Green real-time PCR and microbiological contamination in bivalves cultivated in coastal water of Amazonian Brazil.

The contamination of mussels and oysters by viruses and bacteria is often associated with water contamination and gastroenteritis in humans. The present study evaluated viral and bacterial contamination in 380 samples, from nine mollusk-producing regions in coastal water north of the Brazilian Amazon. Rotavirus contamination was studied for groups A to H, using a two-step SYBR Green RT-qPCR (quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction), and bacterial families Enterobacteriaceae, Vibrionaceae, and Aeromonadaceae by classical and molecular methods. From the 19 pools analyzed, 26.3% (5/19) were positive for group A Rotavirus, I2 genotype for VP6 region, without amplifications for groups B-H. Bacteriological analysis identified Escherichia coli isolates in 89.5% (17/19) with identification of atypical enteropathogenic E. coli aEPEC in 10.5% (2/19), Salmonella (Groups C1 and G) (10.5%, 2/19), Vibrio alginolyticus (57.9%, 11/19) V. parahaemolyticus (63.2%, 12/19), V. fluvialis (42.1%, 8/19), V. vulnificus (10.5%, 2/19), V. cholerae non-O1, non O139(10.5%, 2/19) and Aeromonas salmonicida (52.6%, 10/19). All the samples investigated presented some level of contamination by enterobacteria, rotavirus, or both, and these results may reflect the level of contamination in the Northern Amazon Region, due to the natural maintenance of some of these agents or by the proximity with human populations and their sewer.

Optimum control of the laser beam intensity profile with a deformable mirror.

A new deformable mirror control system is developed. This system consists of a deformable mirror, a CCD camera, an image processor, a computer, and actuator drive power supplies. A genetic algorithm is adopted as a control algorithm to obtain an optimum surface profile of the deformable mirror. A circular cross-sectional Gaussian beam was transformed into a beam with a rectangular contour using this system. Although the transfer function of this system is complicated and unknown, this system can be used to obtain the optimum beam profile within the achievable limits of a deformable mirror.

Transformation of a laser beam intensity profile by a deformable mirror.

We developed a deformable mirror with nine actuators for transformation of a laser beam intensity profile. A circular-cross-section Gaussian beam was successfully transformed into a rectangular-cross-section beam by the deformable mirror with conservation of spatial coherency.