A prevalence study of past Lyme borreliosis in persons with outdoor occupations was done. Consenting individuals (n = 302) were administered a questionnaire eliciting demographic and occupational data and a clinical history, and were asked to donate a serum specimen for detection of antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunoblotting, and borrelia inh...

The co-infection of Maize chlorotic mottle virus (MCMV) and Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) can cause maize lethal necrosis. However, the mechanism underlying the synergistic interaction between these two viruses remains elusive. In this study, we found that the co-infection of MCMV and SCMV increased the accumulation of MCMV. Moreover, the profiles of virus-derived siRNAs (vsiRNAs) from MCMV and...

Evolution of insect resistance to transgenic crops containing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) genes is a serious threat to the sustainability of this technology. However, field resistance related to the reduced efficacy of Bt maize has not been documented in any lepidopteran pest in the mainland U.S. after 18 years of intensive Bt maize planting. Here we report compelling evidence of field resistan...

In April 2004, one of the largest aflatoxicosis outbreaks occurred in rural Kenya, resulting in 317 cases and 125 deaths. Aflatoxin-contaminated homegrown maize was the source of the outbreak, but the extent of regional contamination and status of maize in commercial markets (market maize) were unknown. We conducted a cross-sectional survey to assess the extent of market maize contamination and...

BACKGROUND The work- or environmental-related type I sensitization to maize pollen is hardly investigated. We sought to determine the prevalence of sensitization to maize pollen among exposed workers and to identify the eliciting allergens. METHODS In July 2010, 8 out of 11 subjects were examined who were repeatedly exposed to maize pollen by pollinating maize during their work in a biologica...

When maize calluses are grown in the presence of the RGD peptide, important morphological changes are observed indicating the presence of a likely RGD-binding receptor. Polyclonal antibodies generated against the human beta1 integrin subunit, the platelet integrin alphaIIbeta3 (P23) and antibodies specific for either the beta3 platelet chain or the alphaIIb polypeptide cross-react with glycopro...

BACKGROUND Nested association mapping (NAM) is a novel genetic mating design that combines the advantages of linkage analysis and association mapping. This design provides opportunities to study the inheritance of complex traits, but also requires more advanced statistical methods. In this paper, we present the detailed algorithm of a QTL linkage mapping method suitable for genetic populations ...

fajr (ksc 260) is an early maturity grain maize hybrid that has been developed from a cross between two inbred lines (k1264/5-1×k615/1). this cross was carried out in 1998, for the first time. several characteristics of fajr hybrid were studied in different trials (preliminary, semi final, final and on-farm trails) over several locations during 1998 to 2005. the mean grain yield of the hybrid o...