A novel bacteriophage that infects S. aureus, SA97, was isolated and characterized. The phage SA97 belongs to the Siphoviridae family, and the cell wall teichoic acid (WTA) was found to be a host receptor of the phage SA97. Genome analysis revealed that SA97 contains 40,592 bp of DNA encoding 54 predicted open reading frames (ORFs), and none of these genes were related to virulence or drug resistance. Although a few genes associated with lysogen formation were detected in the phage SA97 genome, the phage SA97 produced neither lysogen nor transductant in S. aureus. These results suggest that the phage SA97 may be a promising candidate for controlling S. aureus.

A study of donor electron spins and spin-dependent electronic transitions involving phosphorous $\left({}^{31}\text{P}\right)$ atoms in proximity to the (111) oriented crystalline silicon $\left(c\text{-Si}\right)$ to silicon dioxide $\left({\text{SiO}}_2\right)$ interface is presented for $\left[{}^{31}\text{P}\right]={10}^{15}{\text{cm}}^{-3}$ and $\left[{}^{31}\text{P}\right]={10}^{16}{\text{cm}}^{-3}$ at about liquid-${}^4\text{H}\text{e}$ temperatures $\left(T=5–15\text{K}\right)$. Using pulsed electrically detected magnetic resonance (pEDMR), spin-dependent transitions between the ${}^{31}\text{P}$ donor state and two distinguishable interface states are observed, namely, (i) ${\text{P}}_{\text{b}}$ centers, which can be identified by their characteristic anisotropy, and (ii) a more isotropic center which is attributed to $E^{\prime }$ defects of the ${\text{SiO}}_2$ bulk close to the interface. Correlation measurements of the dynamics of spin-dependent recombination confirm that previously proposed transitions between ${}^{31}\text{P}$ and the interface defects take place. The influence of these electronic near-interface transitions on the ${}^{31}\text{P}$ donor spin-coherence time $T_2$ as well as the donor spin-lattice relaxation time $T_1$ is then investigated by comparison of spin Hahn-echo decay measurements obtained from conventional bulk sensitive pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance and surface sensitive pEDMR, as well as surface sensitive electrically detected inversion recovery experiments. The measurements reveal that the $T_2$ times of both interface states and ${}^{31}\text{P}$ donor electron spins in proximity to them are consistently shorter than the $T_1$ times, and both $T_2$ and $T_1$ times of the near-interface donors are reduced by several orders of magnitude from those in the bulk, at $T\le 13\text{K}$. The $T_2$ times of the ${}^{31}\text{P}$ donor electrons are in agreement with the prediction by de Sousa that they are limited by interface-defect induced field noise. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.81.075214 © 2010 The American Physical Society

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is one of the infectious causes of hypertensive anterior uveitis, which is characterized by recurrent episodes of elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) and mild anterior uveitis. Despite the potentially vision-threatening complications of this disease, the underlying mechanisms remain largely undefined. We aimed to investigate whether human trabecular meshwork (TM) cells, the key cell type that regulates IOP, could support CMV replication, as well as demonstrate the relevant pathological changes in TM. When human TM cells were infected with CMV AD169, immediate early antigens were detected 1 day post-infection (dpi); cytopathic changes including rounding, a ballooned appearance with disorganization, and a decreased number of stress fibers were noted in TM cells. The marked increase in viral DNA accumulation was observed most notably at 5 and 7 dpi, suggesting that the active viral infection in human TM cells could be the key mechanism underlying the elevation of IOP in anterior viral uveitis. Notably, CMV infection enhanced the production of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, an upstream molecule that increases the resistance of the outflow pathway in human TM cells. The increase of TGF-β1 was countervailed by additional treatment with corticosteroids. Our results provide a pathogenic mechanism for IOP elevation in viral anterior uveitis.

Norovirus infections were detected in 114 of 762 children with acute gastroenteritis in South Korea from November 2005 to November 2006. Seasonality peaks in December, March, and October were also assessed in this study. We identified seven noroviral genotypes (GI-6, GII-2, GII-3, GII-4, GII-5, GII-6, and GII-8) and a C1-120 strain showing low identity (79.3%) with GII-13 and GII-17.

To inspect the norovirus contamination of groundwater in South Korea, a nationwide study was performed in the summer (June to August) and winter (October to December) of 2008. Three-hundred sites designated by the government ministry were inspected. Water samples were collected for analysis of water quality, microorganism content, and viral content. Water quality was assessed by temperature, pH, turbidity, residual chlorine, and nitrite nitrogen content. Microorganism contents were analyzed bacteria, total coliforms,Escherichia coli, and bacteriophage. Virus analyses included panenterovirus and norovirus. Two primer sets were used for the detection of norovirus genotypes GI and GII, respectively. Of 300 samples, 65 (21.7%) were norovirus positive in the summer and in 52 (17.3%) were norovirus positive in the winter. The genogroup GI noroviruses that were identified were GI-1, GI-2, GI-3, GI-4, GI-5, GI-6, and GI-8 genotypes; those in the GII genogroup were GII-4 and GII-Yuri genotypes. The analytic data showed correlative relationships between the norovirus detection rate and the following parameters: water temperature and turbidity in physical-chemical parameters and somatic phage in microbial parameters. It is necessary to periodically monitor waterborne viruses that frequently cause epidemic food poisoning in South Korea for better public health and sanitary conditions.

Norovirus (NoV) genogroups I and II are frequently recognized as the main causes of acute gastroenteritis and outbreaks of non-bacterial foodborne diseases. Furthermore, variants and recombinant strains of this virus are continuously emerging worldwide. The aim of this study was to identify NoV strains and to investigate and characterize rare genotypes. Stool samples (n = 500) were collected from patients with symptoms of acute gastroenteritis in Korea between December 2004 and November 2007. For analysis of the samples, rapid genotype screening was performed using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Full sequencing, using a newly designed set of 12 primers, revealed GII-12/13 strain. The partial sequence of GII-12/13 strain was compared with published NoV (GII-1 - 14) sequences targeting RdRp and capsid regions using phylogenetic analysis with the SimPlot program, which could evaluate recombination breakpoints. SimPlot analysis was also performed with the strain GII-12/Gifu-96/JPN (AB045603) for the RdRp region and with GII-13/G5175B-83/AUS(DQ379714) for the capsid region. NoV was detected in 19 of the 500 stool samples (3.8%). Genogroup GII-4 was found most frequently (n = 9, 1.8%), followed by GII-3 (n = 4, 0.8%), GII-6 (n = 3, 0.6%), GI-6 (n = 2, 0.4%), and GII-12/13 (n = 1, 0.2%). Importantly, we identified a novel NoV recombinant strain, C9-439 (KF289337), indicating potential risks, which suggested that, recombination occurred in the region between open reading frames 1 and 2 of the GII-12/13 strain and that breakpoints occurred in the polymerase region.