(C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Cymbidium mosaic virus (CymMV) is the most prevalent orchid virus. A single-tube one-step betaine-free reverse transcription (RI) loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay was developed for the rapid and easy detection of orchid-infecting CymMV. Five
sets of primers were designed based on the conserved regions WH-4-023 among various virus isolates. The specificity and the sensitivity of the assay were then evaluated using the RI-LAMP reaction. Within 1 h under isothermal conditions at 60 degrees C the target viral gene was amplified successfully. This RT-LAMP assay was found to be quick, specific, sensitive and easy to perform assay that involved only one step and was simpler to carry out than alternative approaches. Thus this selleck kinase inhibitor assay is an alternative for the rapid and easy detection of CymMV in orchids.
This is first time that a RI-LAMP method for the detection of an orchid virus has been described. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“Few studies on transcranial brain sonography have been performed in hereditary and non-hereditary ataxias. The objective of the present study was to report transcranial brain sonography findings in a sample of clinically and molecularly proven Machado-Joseph disease patients and to compare these data against those of an age- and gender-matched control group. A cross-sectional study on transcranial brain sonography was conducted in 30 Machado-Joseph disease patients. Transcranial brain sonography was performed by an experienced sonographer blinded to the clinical, genetic, and neuroimaging data. The results were compared with those of a control group of 44 healthy subjects matched for age and gender. The sonographic findings were also correlated with clinical features and genetic data
in Machado-Joseph disease group. A significantly higher frequency of substantia nigra and lenticular nucleus hyperechogenicity was found in unless the Machado-Joseph disease group compared to an age- and gender-matched healthy control group (p < 0.001). The substantia nigra echogenic area proved to be the best predictor for differentiating cases from controls. Third and lateral ventricles were significantly larger in the Machado-Joseph disease patients than in the control subjects. No significant correlations were found between transcranial brain sonography findings and Machado-Joseph disease demographic/clinical data. Transcranial brain sonography findings in Machado-Joseph disease patients differed significantly to those in age- and gender-matched controls. Substantia nigra hyperechogenicity occurred frequently in Machado-Joseph disease patients and was found to be the best predictor for differentiating cases from controls.