A number of Helicobacter species may confound experimental data because of their association with disease progressing in various kinds of laboratory animals. Screening of Helicobacter species is particularly desirable, because they are prevalent in commercial and research animal facilities. The aim of the present study was to compare three diagnostic methods [e.g. Helicobacter stool antigen kit (HpSA), polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and rapid urease test (RUT)] for the identification of Helicobacter spp. in stools or gastric biopsy specimens collected from eight dogs suffering from gastritis. The gastroscopic biopsy specimens were tested using RUT and PCR, while stool specimens were evaluated using both HpSA and PCR. DNAs from the gastric biopsies and stool specimens were analyzed by both a consensus PCR that amplified the RNA polymerase beta-subunit-coding gene (rpoB) of Helicobacter spp. and a species-specific PCR to amplify the urease B gene of Helicobacter heilmannii, Helicobacter pylori, and Helicobacter felis. Helicobacter spp. were detected in 62.5% of the dogs, while H. heilmannii and H. felis were identified in 37.5 and 25% of the dogs, respectively. The HpSA did not efficiently detect Helicobacter spp. in the stool samples compared to the RUT and PCR assays, both of which successfully detected Helicobacter spp. in the two sample types. Finally, we recommend that consensus PCR with stool specimens could be used before the species-specific PCR for identifying Helicobacter species in laboratory dogs.

SnMo4O6 was synthesized at low temperature from the mixture of MoO2 and Mo2O3 using Sn flux. The structure of this compound was determined by the single-crystal X-ray diffraction method. It crystallizes in the tetragonal space group P4/mbm with a = 9.580(4) and c = 2.843(6). The structure of SnMo4O6 is composed of edge-sharing Mo6O12 chains extending down the c axis, and four chains are connected to form channels filled with Sn cations. The resistivity measurement for SnMo4O6 along the chain direction shows that the compound is metallic down to 50 K, and it exhibits semiconducting behavior as the temperature lowers further. It was found from extended Huckel tight-binding band calculation that the compound is likely to be a quasi-one-dimensional metal. The metal−insulator transition in this compound is due to the Fermi surface nesting phenomenon, which originates in the one-dimensional characteristic.

Synthesis, Characterization, and Electronic Structure of a New Molybdenum Bronze SnMo 4 O 6 .-Silvery needle shaped crystals of the title compound are prepared from a mixture of MoO 2 and Mo 2 O 3 using an excess of Sn as flux (850 • C, 2 weeks). As revealed by single crystal XRD, SnMo 4 O 6 crystallizes in the tetragonal space group P4/mbm with Z = 2. The structure is composed of edge-sharing Mo 6 O 12 chains extending along the c axis. Four of these chains are connected to form channels filled with Sn cations. Resistivity measurements along the chain direction show that the compound is metallic down to 50 K, and it exhibits semiconducting behavior at lower temperatures. As evidenced by extended Hueckel tight-binding band structure calculations it is likely to be a quasi-one-dimensional metal.