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Lead acetate (300 mg/L) and/or cadmium chloride (50 mg/L) were administered as drinking water to Sprague-Dawley rats for 8 weeks to investigate the possible combined effects of these metals on the damage in renal cortex mitochondria. Increased malonaldehyde levels due to exposure to these metals were detected by colorimetric method, which demonstrated the lipid peroxidation in the renal cortex. Ultrastructural observations and real-time quantitative PCR analyses were performed on kidney cortex pieces to identify the mitochondrial damage and quantify the relative expression levels of cytochrome oxidase subunits (COX-I/II/III), respectively. The most striking ultrastructural modifications involved distortion of mitochondrial cristae and an unusual arrangement, which were more evident when the mixture was ingested. There were significant differences in the expression levels of COX-I, II, and III between the control group and the exposed groups, whereas those in the (lead+cadmium) group were all significantly lower than that in the lead or cadmium group. In conclusion, there was an obvious synergistic oxidative damage effect of lead combined with cadmium on rat kidney cortex mitochondria, which increased defects in mitochondrial oxidative metabolism.

This paper proposes a new method to handle distribution transformers of various winding connections in the backward/forward sweep-based power flow analysis for unbalanced radial distribution systems. The method takes advantage of available nodal admittance matrices of distribution transformers, and can automatically solve the problem of conductively isolated subnetworks to obtain their equivalent phase-to-reference voltages. In addition, this paper presents a limitation of backward/forward sweeps, and an extension of the power summation method for distribution power flow analysis from single-phase to unbalanced three-phase. The validity and effectiveness of the proposed method can be demonstrated by numerous examples and real systems. Index Terms-Backward/forward sweep, distribution transformer model, nodal admittance matrix, radial distribution system, unbalanced power flow. Zhuding Wang (SM'03) received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.He was previously with SKM Systems Analysis, Inc., Manhattan Beach, CA. Currently, he is a Professor of Power

BackgroundGametocyte proteins of Eimeria (E.) spp. are important components of the oocyst wall and some have been used to develop transmission-blocking vaccines against avian coccidiosis.MethodsTotal RNA isolated from E. necatrix gametocytes was utilized as templates for RT-PCR amplification and sequencing of cDNA encoding a gametocyte protein using gene-specific primers. The cDNA was cloned into the bacterial expression vector pET28a(+) and expressed in E. coli BL21 cells. The antigenicity of the recombinant gametocyte protein and its localization in different E. necatrix life-cycle stages were determined by western blot and indirect immunofluorescence analyses, respectively.ResultsA 731-nucleotide sequence of cDNA [GenBank: KF649255] of E. necatrix had 97.7% identity to that of Etgam22 of E. tenella. The cDNA ORF encoded a 186-amino acid protein containing a histidine-proline-rich region. The recombinant gametocyte protein (rEnGAM22) was predominately expressed in the insoluble inclusion body and recognized by antiserum from chickens immunized with oocysts of E. necatrix, E. maxima and E. tenella. A specific antibody to the rEnGAM22 protein recognized the wall-forming bodies in macrogametocytes and the walls of oocysts and sporocysts.ConclusionsThe gene cloned from E. necatrix gametocytes is an ortholog to Etgam22 of E. tenella and presents a potential target for future recombinant subunit vaccines against coccidiosis.