Preliminary report of Mycoplasma Wenoynii and Candidatus Mycoplasma haemobos infection in Korean native cattle.

BACKGROUND: Hemotropic mycoplasmas or hemoplasmas are bacteria that attach to the erythrocyte surface and cause bovine hemoplasmosis. Two species, Mycoplasma wenyonii and Candidatus Mycoplasma haemobos, have been identified and shown to be distributed worldwide. However, there is currently no information available on hemoplasmas in cattle in the Republic of Korea. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of hemoplasmas in Korean native cattle and to evaluate the association between hemoplasma infection and anemia. METHODS: One farm was selected, at which blood samples were collected from 104 Korean native cattle [grazing cattle (n = 89) and housed cattle (n = 15)]. Hemoplasmas were detected via polymerase chain reaction analysis and complete blood counts were also performed. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of hemoplasmas was 34% (35/104); 20.2% (21/104) for M. wenyonii, 3.8% (4/104) for C. M. haemobos, and 9.6% (10/104) for co-infection. Candidatus Mycoplasma haemobos was detected only in grazing cattle. Of red blood cell (RBC) parameters, C. M. haemobos-infected cattle had lower RBC and hematocrit, and higher mean cell volume than hemoplasma-negative cattle, although none of these differences were statistically significant. This is the first study to report the occurrence of M. wenyonii and C. M. haemobos. Mycoplasma wenyonii is more prevalent than C. M. haemobos in Korean native cattle. The results did not show an association between hemoplasma infection and anemia. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the infection rate of hemoplasmas shown in this study, further studies, such as on the pathogenicity and clinical significance of hemoplasmas are necessary.

Controllable Synthesis of Carbon Yolk-Shell Microsphere and Application of Metal Compound-Carbon Yolk-Shell as Effective Anode Material for Alkali-Ion Batteries.

Recently, nanostructured carbon materials, such as hollow-, yolk-, and core-shell-configuration, have attracted attention in various fields owing to their unique physical and chemical properties. Among them, yolk-shell structured carbon is considered as a noteworthy material for energy storage due to its fast electron transfer, structural robustness, and plentiful active reaction sites. However, the difficulty of the synthesis for controllable carbon yolk-shell has been raised as a limitation. In this study, novel synthesis strategy of nanostructured carbon yolk-shell microspheres that enable to control morphology and size of the yolk part is proposed for the first time. To apply in the appropriate field, cobalt compounds-carbon yolk-shell composites are applied as the anode of alkali-ion batteries and exhibit superior electrochemical performances to those of core-shell structures owing to their unique structural merits. Co3 O4 -C hollow yolk-shell as a lithium-ion battery anode exhibits a long cycling lifetime (619 mA h g-1 for 400 cycles at 2 A g-1 ) and excellent rate capability (286 mA h g-1 at 10 A g-1 ). The discharge capacities of CoSe2 -C hollow yolk-shell as sodium- and potassium-ion battery anodes at the 200th cycle are 311 mA h g-1 at 0.5 A g-1 and 268 mA h g-1 at 0.2 A g-1 , respectively.