Felis catus gammaherpesvirus 1 (FcaGHV1), recently discovered in the USA, was detected in domestic cats in Australia (11.4%, 95% confidence interval 5.9-19.1, n=110) and Singapore (9.6%, 95% confidence interval 5.9-14.6, n=176) using qPCR. FcaGHV1 qPCR positive cats were 2.8 times more likely to be sick than healthy. Risk factors for FcaGHV1 detection included being male, increasing age and coinfection with pathogenic retroviruses, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) or feline leukaemia virus. FcaGHV1 DNA was detected in multiple tissues from infected cats with consistently high virus loads in the small intestine. FcaGHV1 viral load was significantly higher in FIV-infected cats compared with matched controls, mimicking increased Epstein-Barr virus loads in human immunodeficiency virus-infected humans. FcaGHV1 is endemic in distant geographic regions and is associated with being sick and with coinfections. Horizontal transmission of FcaGHV1 is supported, with biting being a plausible route. A pathogenic role for FcaGHV1 in domestic cats is supported.

Evaluation of the long-term stability of electrocatalysts is typically performed using galvanostatic polarization at a predefined current density. A stable or insignificant increase in the applied potential is usually interpreted as high long-term stability of the tested catalyst. However, effects such as (i) electrochemical degradation of a catalyst due to its oxidation, (ii) blocking of the catalyst surface by evolved gas bubbles, and (iii) detachment of the catalyst from the electrode surface may lead to a decrease of the catalyst's active surface area being exposed to the electrolyte. In order to separate these effects and to evaluate the true electrochemical degradation of electrocatalysts, an advanced evaluation protocol based on subsequently performed electrochemical impedance, double layer capacitance, cyclic voltammetry, and galvanostatic polarization measurements was developed and used to evaluate the degradation of IrO2 particles drop-coated on glassy carbon rotating disk electrode using Nafion as a binder. A flow-through electrochemical cell was developed enabling circulation of the electrolyte leading to an efficient removal of evolved oxygen bubbles even at high current densities of up to 250 mA/cm(2). The degradation rate of IrO2 was evaluated over 225 test cycles (0.733 ± 0.022 mV/h) with a total duration of galvanostatic polarization measurements of over 55 h.

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