Diagnostic specificity of the African swine fever virus antibody detection enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in feral and domestic pigs in the United States.

African swine fever (ASF) is a highly contagious haemorrhagic disease of pigs that has the potential to cause mortality nearing 100% in naïve animals. While an outbreak of ASF in the United States' pig population (domestic and feral) has never been reported, an introduction of the disease has the potential to cause devastation to the pork industry and food security. During the recovery phase of an outbreak, an antibody detection diagnostic assay would be required to prove freedom of disease within the previously infected zone and eventually nationwide. Animals surviving an ASF infection would be considered carriers and could be identified through the persistence of ASF viral antibodies. These antibodies would demonstrate exposure to the disease and not vaccination, as there is no ASF vaccine available. A well-established commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) detects antibodies against ASF virus (ASFV), but the diagnostic specificity of the assay had not been determined using serum samples from the pig population of the United States. This study describes an evaluation of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)-recommended Ingezim PPA COMPAC ELISA using a comprehensive cohort (n = 1791) of samples collected in the United States. The diagnostic specificity of the assay was determined to be 99.4% (95% confidence interval (CI): [98.9, 99.7]). The result of this study fills a gap in understanding the performance of the Ingezim PPA COMPAC ELISA in the ASF naïve pig population of the United States.

Large-mode-area Nd-doped single-transversemode dual-wavelength microstructure fiber laser.

A novel design for a microstructure fiber (MSF) laser consisting of a large core and a single annulus of 5 air holes is described. The fiber design incorporates a silica core that was doped in the liquid phase with 1300 ppm Nd2O3. The light guiding losses in the structurally very simple MSF are approximately 0.7 dB/m. Single transverse mode emission is demonstrated with a mode field area larger than 200 microm2. The laser simultaneously emits at two groups of wavelengths centered at 1060 nm and 1090 nm. Pumped by a cw Ti:sapphire laser, the fiber laser yields a maximum output power of 280 mW (pump power limited) at a slope efficiency of 52%. Our results indicate how the advanced possibilities of MSF's can be used for optimized fiber laser designs.

[Total hip arthroplasty after treatment of acetabular fracture]. / Arthroplastie de hanche pour séquelle de fracture de l'acétabulum.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: The aim of this retrospective analysis was to examine complications and technical difficulties observed during implantation of total hip arthroplasty (THA) after treatment of an acetabular fracture. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty patients (thirty men and ten women), mean age 50 years, were included in the study. The acetabular fracture had been treated surgically in 23 and orthpedically in 17. Mean time from initial trauma to implantation of the THA was eleven years. Hydroxyapatite-coated cups were inserted without cement in 32 patients. Cemented cups in eight (with two Kerboull cross, one Muller ring, and five simple polyethylene). Five femoral stems were cemented. Preoperative planning was designed to restore the center of the initial hip rotation to avoid excessive cup medialisation. Acetabular defects found intra-operatively were significantly greater in the group of patients treated orthopedically than in those treated surgically (p = 0.02). Autografts were thus used more frequently in the former (65%). RESULTS: One patient presented an intraoperative complication. The postoperative complications included phlebitis (n = 1), infection (n = 1), fibular nerve paralysis (n = 2), dislocation (n = 4), and heterotopic ossification (n = 7). The rate of postoperative complications was significantly higher in the group of patients treated surgically (52.2% versus 17.6%, p < 0.02). At last follow-up, mean 52 months, the mean Postel-Merle-d'Aubigne function score was 16.7. The rate of acetabular revision was 15% with four cemented cups being replaced at more than ten years due to aseptic loosening. Two press-fit cups were replaced early for infection in one patient and disassembly in another. DISCUSSION: Despite the high rate of complications, the mid-term results were good, encouraging us to continue this procedure as the first intention treatment using either a press fit cup with or without an autograft, or a cemented cup with a metal ring (Kerboull or Burch-Schneider).

[Surgical treatment of acetabular fractures: outcome in a series of 60 consecutive cases]. / Traitement chirurgical des fractures de l'acétabulum: résultats d'une série continue de 60 cas.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: The aim of this study was to analyze clinical and radiographic results after surgical treatment of acetabular fractures. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We reviewed 60 consecutive fractures of the acetabulum with loss of joint congruency at mean 5-years follow-up after treatment. There were 49 men and 11 women, mean age 41 years. According to the R.O. grading, the fractures were: 22 class A (33.3%) including 17 type A1, 23 class B (38%) including 10 type B1a2, 14 class C (23.3%) and 1 unclassifiable. Eight of the patients had associated pelvic injury, 40 had hip dislocations and 9 had sciatic nerve injury. Ten femoral head fractures were discovered during the surgical procedure. Three surgical approaches were used: 1) Kocher Langenbeck approach (28 cases), 2) Mears and Rubash triradiate approach (8 cases), 3) extended iliofemoral approach (22 cases), 4) other approaches (2 cases). Anteroposterior and 45 degrees oblique view of the pelvis were obtained for all patients following admission. Computerized tomography scans were performed in all cases. Fracture displacement and congruency of the femoral head with the roof were documented according to the SOFCOT radiographic criteria. The quality of reduction was assessed using the Matta criteria and the Duquennoy and Senegas criteria. Clinical outcome was assessed at follow-up using the Postel-Merle-d'Aubigné score. RESULTS: Anatomic reduction was achieved in 62% of the cases (1 mm or less displacement on all views) and congruency of the femoral head with the roof was excellent in 73% of the cases. Clinical outcome was satisfactory in 80% (excellent or good). Operative complications included significant ectopic bone in 21, and in 2 others sciatic nerve palsy that had resolved at 1 year follow-up. Three patients developed avascular necrosis of the femoral head. DISCUSSION: Clinical outcome depends on the quality of the reduction. Class C and class B fractures with roof injury should thus be treated by large surgical exposure. The triradiate approach increases the incidence of ectopic bone. The higher incidence of ectopic bone in patients treated by osteotomy of the trochanter compared with patients without osteotomy of the trochanter was significant (p<0.05). Avascular necrosis of the femoral head was associated with delayed reduction (66% of the cases). CONCLUSION: Our good clinical results are encouraging; we are pursuing the use of surgical treatment for displaced acetabular fractures. Clinical outcome depends on the use of the appropriate surgical approach.

[The first anti-cancer center in Lyon (1923): surgeon Leon Berard and Auguste Lumiere]. / Le premier centre anticancéreux de Lyon (1923) Le chirurgien Léon Bérard et Auguste Lumiére.

At present, little is known about the creation of cancer hospitals. I will report on that of Lyons, France, with the famous surgeon, Léon Bérard (1870-1956). A specialist of neck surgery, he was the first to carry out major thoracoplasties. The cancer hospital was inaugurated in 1923 under the Great Dome of the hôtel-Dieu hospital. (The dome is the creation of the famous architect Germain Soufflot (1748)). In 1933, the cancer hospital moved in the newly-built Edouard Herriot Hospital; it became independent in 1958, two years after the famous surgeon's death, and it was rightly named after him: "Centre anticancéreux Léon Bérard". Its creation and its quick development owes a lot to generosity of Auguste Lumière, one of the two inventors of cinematograph. Auguste Lumière sponsored radiotherapy material and, at Léon Bérard's request (as there was a lack of space in Edouard Herriot hospital), created a centre for cancer patients (Bon Abr Hospital, rue Mistral, with Dr Vigne). A Lumière gave his time as well as his money for the centre; he was the car-driver, he helped L. Bérard with his university classes, and he often comforted the patients while running a private clinic (La Clinique Lumière), which combined dispensary services with research. (Micheline Bonin)

Combined phase locking and beam shaping of a multicore fiber laser by structured mirrors.

We present a novel mirror geometry combining the two features of phase locking and simultaneous beam shaping of the emission of a multicore fiber (MCF) laser. In the experiments we applied a Talbot cavity to a diode-pumped MCF laser with 18 microcores placed on a ring. The feedback mirror consisted of a highly reflecting structure with 18 spokes and a circle in the center deposited on a glass substrate. The spokes increased the discrimination between the supermodes and suppressed independent lasing of the individual emitters. The central dot caused strong diffraction of the output radiation, leading to a shaped beam profile. The output power of the phase-locked MCF laser exceeded 5 W.

Assembly of the Hatching Envelope Around the Eggs of Trachypenaeus similis and Sicyonia ingentis in a Low Sodium Environment.

The eggs of many penaeoidean shrimp undergo two dramatic morphological events when spawned into normal seawater (Lynn et al., 1991). Following the initial release of jelly precursor from crypts in the cortex of the egg, an extracellular envelope elevates and transforms into a substantial "hatching envelope" (HE) 30-40 min after spawning. The HE's of Sicyonia ingentis and Trachypenaeus similis eggs have distinct laminar morphologies and range from 90 to 110 nm thick. The HE elevates approximately 80 µm from the egg in T. similis and 40 µm from the egg in S. ingentis. Although eggs spawned into low Na+ artificial seawater (with choline chloride or Tris-HCl substituted for the NaCl) underwent normal release and formation of the jelly layer, the HE failed to develop normally. The HE retained a 100-nm thickness, but lacked the distinctive inner flocculent zone and dense outer covering. The HE collapsed to the egg surface, reducing the perivitelline space. Assembly of the HE resembles the formation of the sea urchin fertilization envelope and demonstrates a similar sensitivity to the lack of Na+ in the ambient environment.

Morphological Evidence for a Chitin-Like Glycoprotein in Penaeid Hatching Envelopes.

When chitin hydrolytic enzymes (chitinase and N-acetylglucosaminidase) were used as treatment during formation of the hatching envelope (HE) of the penaeid shrimp Sicyonia ingentis, results indicated the presence of carbohydrate moieties in the envelope. Eggs exposed to these enzymes had abnormal HEs that might elevate and often collapsed. The finding that chitin synthase inhibitors (tunicamycin, nikkomycin Z, and polyoxin D) also interfered with normal HE formation is further evidence for a carbohydrate component. The application of these synthase inhibitors resulted in more fragile envelopes that elevated and collapsed or were easily lost during processing. Similar results were seen in the absence of divalent ions (magnesium and calcium) considered critical for normal chitin formation. This morphological evidence is indicative of a chitin-like, linked carbohydrate in the HE of Sicyonia ingentis.

Oxidase Activity Associated with the Elevation of the Penaeoid Shrimp Hatching Envelope.

When penaeoid shrimp spawn into seawater, the ova elevate a hatching envelope (HE) within 30-50 min. By 60 min after spawning, the bilayered HE is completely formed. In other animal systems, peroxidatic enzymes are responsible for the hardening of the extra-embryonic coat. In this study, observations are made consistent with the involvement of an oxidase in the assembly of the shrimp HE. As observed by electron microscopy, eggs of Sicyonia ingentis and Trachypenaeus similis spawned in seawaters containing peroxidase inhibitors had abnormally assembled HEs compared to control eggs in seawater. Dihydrotetramethylrosamine, an oxidase-sensitive fluorescent dye, supravitally stained the cortex of S. ingentis eggs at the time of initial HE formation. The HE fluoresced from elevation (40-50 min postspawn in S. ingentis) until 60-70 min postspawn. By first cleavage (90-120 min postspawn), HE staining was no longer visible, although staining persisted in the egg cortex. In eggs treated with the peroxidase inhibitors 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole or sodium sulfite, the egg cortex fluoresced, but no fluorescence appeared in the HE before, during, or after its elevation.

Abnormal Sea Urchin Fertilization Envelope Assembly in Low Sodium Seawater.

The structuralization of the sea urchin fertilization envelope (FE), a model for extracellular macromolecular assembly, was found to require sodium ions, the predominant cation of seawater. Eggs from Strongylocentrotus purpuratus activated in sea waters with sodium chloride substitutes (choline or Tris chloride) elevated incomplete FEs. In addition, the conversion of the microvillar casts of the FE from blunt (I-form) to angular (T-form) did not occur. The permeability of the abnormal FEs was also compromised, as approximately eight times more protein than normal was released into the ambient seawater. There were also significant increases in the escape of two cortical granule (CG) enzymes, {beta}- 1,3-glucanase and ovoperoxidase. Furthermore, FEs elevated in choline chloride (ChCl) seawater appeared to be deficient in the incorporation of ovoperoxidase, an enzyme that is normally bound to the FE and that cross-links structural proteins in the nascent FE. The morphology of FEs elevated in potassium chloride-substituted seawater was similar to those in normal sodium seawater. Thus, it appears that sodium, or at least a similar ion, is necessary for the proper functioning of ovoperoxidase and structural proteins in the elevation and normal assembly of the sea urchin FE.

Fertilization envelope assembly in sea urchin eggs inseminated in Cl- deficient sea water: I. Morphological effects.

Elevation and hardening of the fertilization envelope (FE) occur within 15 min following insemination of the sea urchin egg. When chloride ions were replaced in the media with various anion substitutes, including methyl sulfonate, nitrates, bromide, and isethionate, the fertilization envelope failed to harden and collapsed back to the surface of the egg of Lytechinus variegatus, L. pictus, and Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. At the light microscopy level, the collapse of the envelope was accompanied by a decrease in birefringence, compared with controls. When examined with electron microscopy, the FEs of eggs inseminated in reduced Cl- solutions failed to transform from an amorphous layer into the more robust laminar structure observed around eggs incubated in normal sea water. Furthermore, in the case of S. purpuratus, the I-T transformation of the FE did not occur. When transfer of the inseminated eggs from the Cl- -deficient sea water to normal sea water was carried out before 10 min elapsed, the envelope did not collapse, and the birefringence of the envelope was similar to that of controls. Partial envelope collapse was also observed in a dose-dependent manner, varying with the concentration of the Cl- in the sea water solution. The results suggest that lack of Cl- in the media may interfere with proper fertilization envelope assembly. Possible mechanisms, including proper incorporation of the cortical granule exudate into the nascent envelope structure, are discussed.

Phase locking in a multicore fiber laser by means of a Talbot resonator.

We report phase locking of a diode-pumped multicore fiber laser with a circular array of 18 Nd-doped emitters (microcores) acting as an active medium. Phase locking was achieved in a Talbot resonator configuration. We present calculations of the effective reflection coefficients that are due to self-imaging. Far-field distributions and near-field pattern of several supermodes are calculated and compared with experimental results.

Embryonic Coat of the Grass Shrimp Palaemonetes pugio.

The embryo of the grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio, is surrounded during development by a protective extracellular coat designated as the embryonic coat (EC). At hatching, this EC is composed of four embryonic envelopes (EE), each of which is composed of multiple layers. The outermost layer of the EC, the outer investment coat (OIC), is derived primarily, if not completely, from pleopods of the female. The first envelope (EE1) forms as a bilayered envelope, EE1a and EE1b, immediately after oviposition. The OIC becomes closely associated with EE1 and remains in close contact with EE1 until hatching occurs. An additional layer, EE1c, is added to the inner side of EE1 between 3 and 5 d after oviposition. Three more embryonic envelopes, EE2, EE3, and EE4, are formed between the embryo and EE1 by 7 d after oviposition. Formation of embryonic envelopes continues until 10 d after oviposition; by this time each envelope is morphologically distinct in composition, with "outer" and "inner" sides clearly identifiable. All but the innermost embryonic envelope (EE4) are shed by the embryo about 6 h before hatching. Permeability of the EC during the 12-d incubation period is found to decrease between 0 and 5 d after oviposition, and then increase until hatching. Fluorescently labeled lectins react positively with the OIC, indicating the presence of glucose and N-acetylglucosamine residues. Thus, the palaemonid EC is a dynamic structure throughout embryonic development.

Fertilization envelope assembly in sea urchin eggs inseminated in chloride-deficient sea water: II. Biochemical effects.

Eggs of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus were fertilized in normal and in several chloride-deficient sea waters ([ Cl-]: normal greater than isethionate greater than methyl sulfonate greater than bromide). The fertilization envelopes (FE) were thinner and failed to harden, and the characteristic I-T transition did not occur. The permeability of the experimental FEs, as determined by release of protein from the perivitelline space, increased in the order of decreasing [Cl-]. Release of the enzymes beta-1,3-glucanase and cortical granule protease were not significantly altered. On the other hand, release of ovoperoxidase was increased three to four times in bromide sea water. Furthermore, a dose-response was observed in varying concentrations of bromide-normal sea water. With decreasing chloride (increasing bromide) concentration, more ovoperoxidase activity was observed. Cytochemical localization of ovoperoxidase activity with diaminobenzidine revealed almost a total lack of staining of FEs from bromide-substituted sea water. The results suggest that in chloride-deficient sea waters protein incorporation into the nascent FE is impaired. At least in the case of bromide, the incorporation of ovoperoxidase into the nascent FE was also inhibited.

Short-Length 10-W cw Neodymium-Doped M-Profile Fiber Laser.

A comparative analysis of the mode field distributions of the pump radiation in a double-clad fiber laser and in an M-profile fiber laser shows the superiority of the latter design with respect to absorption efficiency. This efficiency is accurately modeled by the modal analysis, allowing the description of the lasing field within the same model. Based on this approach, the optimization of the recently invented M-profile fiber laser was carried out, leading to an output power of nearly 10 W at lambda = 1050 nm with a slope efficiency of 54% utilizing a fiber length of 190 cm.

Diode-pumped 1-W Er-doped fluoride glass M-profile fiber laser emitting at 2.8 mum.

We report a novel short-length diode-pumped cw fiber laser with high output power at a wavelength of 2.8mum . The system combines continuous-wave diode pumping at 970 nm, a high doping concentration (5-mol. % ErF(3)) of the active fiber, and an annular geometry of the laser medium, an M-profile fiber. Output powers in excess of 1 W with a slope efficiency of 25% were obtained.

Self-starting mode locking of a Nd:glass fiber laser by use of the third-order nonlinearity of low-temperature-grown GaAs.

We present a diode-pumped Nd:glass fiber laser, emitting at 1060 nm, that is passively mode locked by fast nonlinear loss in low-temperature-grown GaAs (LT-GaAs). This new mode-locking mechanism is based on intensity-dependent defocusing in LT-GaAs that occurs after nonresonant generation of free carriers by two-photon absorption. Mode locking is self-starting and produces pulses as short as 4.1 ps.