Monk seal mortality: virus or toxin?

During the past few months, more than half of the total population of about 300 highly endangered Mediterranean monk seals (Monachus monachus) on the western Saharan coast of Africa, died in a mysterious disease outbreak. Epizootiological and postmortem findings were reminiscent of similar outbreaks amongst pinniped and cetacean species in recent years, which were caused by an infection with newly discovered morbilliviruses (for review see osterhaus et al.). Virological, as well as toxicological, analysis performed on tissue samples collected from relatively fresh carcasses during the outbreak indicate that infection with a virus closely related to dolphin morbillivirus (DMV), possibly originating from affected dolphins in the same area, was the primary cause of the outbreak. Therefore it is concluded that vaccination with a safe and effective non-replicating vaccine should be considered as a management tool in the conservation of Mediterranean monk seals.     

Report of a case of traumatic avulsion of the penile skin with amputation of the glans

OBJECTIVES: A case of traumatic avulsion of penile skin with amputation of the penis and sectioning of the urethra is described. METHODS/RESULTS: Surgical management included embedding the penis without scrotal skin and subsequent reconstruction utilizing scrotal skin. The patient has recovered sexual activity, although sensitivity has been reduced as a consequence of penile amputation. Six months postoperatively, the patient has reported orgasm during intercourse. CONCLUSIONS: The surgical technique of embedding the penis is safe and preserves elasticity for subsequent reconstruction of the urethral meatus.     

Euclid’s Elements in the Czech Lands

[Terentianus 1st – 2nd century A.D.]

This article is dedicated to Euclid’s Elements, to translations of this work into Czech, and to the translators who have taken on the task of translation. It contains a short overview of the results achieved during a three-year project supported by the Czech Grant Agency.We explored how Euclid’s Elements were spread around the Czech lands.We will try to describe the circumstances that lay behind attempts to translate the Elements into the Czech language.     

Interacting with notebook input devices: an analysis of motor performance and users' expertise

In the present study the usability of two different types of notebook input devices was examined. The independent variables were input device (touchpad vs. mini-joystick) and user expertise (expert vs. novice state). There were 30 participants, of whom 15 were touchpad experts and the other 15 were mini-joystick experts. The experimental tasks were a point-click task (Experiment 1) and a point-drag-drop task (Experiment 2). Dependent variables were the time and accuracy of cursor control. To assess carryover effects, we had the participants complete both experiments, using not only the input device for which they were experts but also the device for which they were novices. Results showed the touchpad performance to be clearly superior to mini-joystick performance. Overall, experts showed better performance than did novices. The significant interaction of input device and expertise showed that the use of an unknown device is difficult, but only for touchpad experts, who were remarkably slower and less accurate when using a mini-joystick. Actual and potential applications of this research include an evaluation of current notebook input devices. The outcomes allow ergonomic guidelines to be derived for optimized usage and design of the mini-joystick and touchpad devices.     

Exchanging the substrate specificities of pyruvate decarboxylase from Zymomonas mobilis and benzoylformate decarboxylase from Pseudomonas putida

Pyruvate decarboxylase from Zymomonas mobilis (PDC) and benzoylformate decarboxylase from Pseudomonas putida (BFD) are thiamine diphosphate-dependent enzymes that decarboxylate 2-keto acids. Although they share a common homotetrameric structure they have relatively low sequence similarity and different substrate spectra. PDC prefers short aliphatic substrates whereas BFD favours aromatic 2-keto acids. These preferences are also reflected in their carboligation reactions. PDC catalyses the conversion of benzaldehyde and acetaldehyde to (R)-phenylacetylcarbinol and predominantly (S)-acetoin, whereas (R)-benzoin and mainly (S)-2-hydroxypropiophenone are the products of BFD catalysis. Comparison of the X-ray structures of both enzymes identified two residues in each that were likely to be involved in determining substrate specificity. Site-directed mutagenesis was used to interchange these residues in both BFD and PDC. The substrate range and kinetic parameters for the decarboxylation reaction were studied for each variant. The most successful variants, PDCI472A and BFDA460I, catalysed the decarboxylation of benzoylformate and pyruvate, respectively, although both variants now preferred the long-chain aliphatic substrates, 2-ketopentanoic and 2-ketohexanoic acid. With respect to the carboligase activity, PDCI472A proved to be a real chimera between PDC and BFD whereas BFDA460I/F464I provided the most interesting result with an almost complete reversal of the stereochemistry of its 2-hydroxypropiophenone product.     

Impact of Different Hop Compounds on the Overfoaming Volume of Beer Caused by Primary Gushing

When weather conditions favour the growth of moulds on barley, beers brewed from the resulting malts often tend to gush. Certain Fusarium species (e.g., F. graminearum and F. culmorum) may cause this problem. Supersaturated with CO₂, a primary gushing beer contains an overcritical concentration of microbubbles; these are reputed to be stabilised by Fusarium‐derived hydrophobins. Research with varying brewhouse parameters has been performed to investigate the factors of primary gushing. As hops are known to contribute to a wide range of both gushing positive and negative substances in beer, the hopping regime has emerged as an important aspect. This paper examines the impact of different hop varieties on gushing. Hop oils and unsaturated fatty acids are reputed to be gushing‐suppressors. Compounds such as dehydrated humulinic acid can intensify the effect. Hop pellets, with a prevalent range of conductometric values (5–10% α‐acid), commonly employed in breweries to adjust bitterness and aroma were selected. By working with the same “gushing malt”, the spectrum of compounds in the finished beer only differed through the hop product used. The overfoaming volumes of different samples were determined according to MEBAK guidelines. Respective hop oil and fatty acid concentrations (by GC) and iso‐α‐acid contents (by HPLC) were compared and a chronological sequence of the changing percentages of beer loss is shown.     

Optimisation of the Mashing Procedure for 100% Malted Proso Millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) as a Raw Material for Gluten‐free Beverages and Beers

Proso millet is a gluten‐free cereal and is therefore considered a suitable raw material for the manufacturing of foods and beverages for people suffering from celiac disease. The objective of this study was to develop an optimal mashing procedure for 100% proso millet malt with a specific emphasis on high amylolytic activity. Therefore, the influence of temperature and pH on the amylolytic enzyme activity during mashing was investigated. Size exclusion chromatography was used to extract different amylolytic enzyme fractions from proso millet malt. These enzymes were added into a pH‐adjusted, cold water extract of proso millet malt and an isothermal mashing procedure was applied. The temperatures and pH optima for amylolytic enzyme activities were determined. The α‐amylase enzyme showed highest activity at a temperature of 60°C and at pH 5.0, whereas the β‐amylase activity was optimum at 40°C and pH 5.3. The limit dextrinase enzyme reached maximum activity at 50°C and pH 5.3. In the subsequent mashing regimen, the mash was separated and 40% was held for 10 min at 68°C to achieve gelatinisation. The next step in the mashing procedure was the mixture of the part mashes. The combined mash was then subjected to an infusion mashing regimen, taking the temperature optima of the various amylolytic enzymes into account. It was possible to obtain full saccharification of the wort with this mashing regimen. The analytical data obtained with the optimised proso millet mash were comparable to barley wort, which served as a control.     

Fabrication of a Macroporous Microwell Array for Surface‐Enhanced Raman Scattering

Here, a colloidal templating procedure for generating high‐density arrays of gold macroporous microwells, which act as discrete sites for surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), is reported. Development of such a novel array with discrete macroporous sites requires multiple fabrication steps. First, selective wet‐chemical etching of the distal face of a coherent optical fiber bundle produces a microwell array. The microwells are then selectively filled with a macroporous structure by electroless template synthesis using self‐assembled nanospheres. The fabricated arrays are structured at both the micrometer and nanometer scale on etched imaging bundles. Confocal Raman microscopy is used to detect a benzenethiol monolayer adsorbed on the macroporous gold and to map the spatial distribution of the SERS signal. The Raman enhancement factor of the modified wells is investigated and an average enhancement factor of 4 × 10⁴ is measured. This demonstrates that such nanostructured wells can enhance the local electromagnetic field and lead to a platform of ordered SERS‐active micrometer‐sized spots defined by the initial shape of the etched optical fibers. Since the fabrication steps keep the initial architecture of the optical fiber bundle, such ordered SERS‐active platforms fabricated onto an imaging waveguide open new applications in remote SERS imaging, plasmonic devices, and integrated electro‐optical sensor arrays.     

Physical properties of burnt timber, with special focus on the drying performance

Burnt wood has been found to perform different from sound (green) wood when dried together, but also with regards to other physical and mechanical properties. In this study the drying performance of wood burnt to different degrees in recent plantation fires was investigated, and the physical, chemical and wood anatomical properties of these different wood types were determined. Different cell structure and chemical composition due to thermal degradation could be observed as well as different drying performance and variation in mechanical properties. An explanation for the deviant drying performance was attempted with the observed structural changes.