Furthermore, the amount of PCV2 DNA and cytokine concentrations in serum and plasma samples were not different between the 2 PCV2-inoculated groups. The severity of PCV2-associated microscopic lesions was different between Landrace and Pietrain pigs; Landrace-PCV2 pigs had significantly (P < 0.05) more severe lymphoid lesions than the Pietrain-PCV2 Birinapant pigs. Although the pigs originated from the same farm where their dams were commingled, passively acquired anti-PCV2-antibodies waned in Pietrain pigs by approximately 12 wk of age, whereas the majority of the Landrace pigs

remained PCV2 seropositive until 18 wk of age and beyond. The results from this study indicate that a genetic difference exists between these 2 breeds of pigs in susceptibility to PCV2-associated

lesions.”
“Chlamydia trachomatis serovars D-K are obligate intracellular bacteria that have tropism for the columnar epithelial cells of the genital tract. Chlamydia trachomatis infection has been reported to induce modifications in immune cell ligand expression on epithelial host cells. In this study, we used an in vitro infection model that resulted in a partial infection of C.similar to trachomatis-exposed Sapanisertib primary-like immortalized endocervical epithelial cells (A2EN). Using this model, we demonstrated that expression of the natural killer (NK) cell activating ligand, MHC class I-related protein A (MICA), was upregulated on C.similar to trachomatis-infected, MK-2206 order but not on noninfected bystander cells. MICA upregulation was concomitant with MHC class I downregulation and impacted the susceptibility of C.similar to trachomatis-infected cells to NK

cell activity. The specificity of MICA upregulation was reflected by a higher cytolytic activity of an NK cell line (NK92MI) against C.similar to trachomatis-infected cells compared with uninfected control cells. Significantly, data also indicated that NK cells exerted a partial, but incomplete sterilizing effect on C.similar to trachomatis as shown by the reduction in recoverable inclusion forming units (IFU) when cocultured with C.similar to trachomatis-infected cells. Taken together, our data suggest that NK cells may play a significant role in the ability of the host to counter C.similar to trachomatis infection.”
“Optical detection of small single silicon nanocrystals is reported for crystals embedded in various environments. It is found that an external dielectric material has considerable influence on the photoluminescence (PL) properties of optically active states localized in the SiO2 shell. The PL is controlled by two interfaces, namely the Si/SiO2 and SiO2/matrix interfaces. The electron-phonon interaction, as well as the electronic stabilization energy, is controlled by these interfaces. A simple model is derived that can qualitatively describe the effect of the different embedding matrices on the electron-phonon coupling. (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.