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Neospora caninum is an important cause of abortion in cattle worldwide, but the isolation of a viable parasite from an abortus is difficult, and viable N. caninum has not been isolated from any host in China. In the present study, peripheral blood samples were collected from a jugular vein of an adult dairy cow that had aborted; the cow was seropositive to N. caninum antibodies by ELISA. White blood cells were separated and seeded onto Vero cell monolayer cultures for parasite isolation. Tachyzoites were first observed in cell culture on day 84 after initial inoculation. The parasite was confirmed to be N. caninum by gene sequencing and immunofluorescence, and by bioassays in BALB/c mice. The new N. caninum isolate (NC-Bj) has a unique pattern on microsatellite Cont-14. To our knowledge, this is the first successful isolation of N. caninum in China from any host. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corrosion caused component rupture and structural collapse accidents occur frequently. Therefore, it is important to assess the fracture risk of corroded in-service steel structures. Corrosion morphology is found to be a significant factor deteriorating the ductility of the steel. Therefore, fracture properties of a tensile corroded Q235structural steel, which has been in-service in the outdoor environment in Beijing for 25 years with protection from the original anti-corrosion coating, are investigated in the paper. To this end, a series of experiments on the steel, including monotonic tension and surface scanning tests on raw samples, tension and shear tests on non-corrosion samples fabricated with the core material of the rusted steel, as well as electronic microscope scanning (EMS) on fracture surfaces of samples, are conducted. Sensitivity analyses of morphology parameters on fracture properties of raw samples are performed. Further, Finite element (FE) models are developed to replicate the experimental results. Additionally, in order to predict the probability of crack failure and assess the residual performance of corroded steel components, both Void Growth Model (VGM) and Stress-Weighted Damage Model (SWDM) and a micromechanical fracture model (known as LOU) which are more suitable for complex stress states, are employed to evaluate the accuracy through comparisons with test and FE results. Finally, fracture modes of corroded steel samples are analyzed. Research results in this study indicate that, although the aggressiveness level of the Q235 steel with only initial coating and served outdoor for 25 years in Beijing is roughly mild, the ductility of the tensile sample could be reduced by up to about 36.811 %. Several fractures may initiate almost simultaneously at both the rough surface and core of seriously rusted samples. Fracture mechanism of the sample is mixed microvoid coalescence and quasi cleavage. It can also be concluded that, compared to VGM micromechanical fracture model, SWDM and LOU model are more appropriate for fracture prediction of corroded steel components. • Tensile and EMS tests are conducted on outdoor Q235 steel in-service for 25 years in Beijing. • Effect of morphology parameters on fracture properties of samples is quantitatively analyzed. • Micromechanical models more suitable for complex stress states are employed for fracture prediction of rust steel. • The fracture mechanism of corroded steel samples is clarified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Cats are essential in the epidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii because they are the only hosts that can excrete the environmentally resistant oocysts in nature. This study was aimed to determine the seropositivity, distribution of genotypes and mouse virulence of T. gondii from stray cats in Beijing, China. A total of 64 serum samples, 23 feces and tissue samples were collected from stray cats in Beijing. Antibodies to T. gondii were assayed by the modified agglutination test (MAT). 57.8% (37/64) of these stray cats had titers of 1:20 or higher and were considered positive with infection. T. gondii oocysts were not found in feces of the 23 cats. Tissues of 23 cats were bioassayed in mice and 11 T. gondii isolates were obtained. The genotype of these isolates were identified by 11 PCR-RFLP markers, including SAG1, (3′+5′)SAG2, alt.SAG2, SAG3, BTUB, GRA6, c22-8, c29-2, L358, PK1, and an apicoplast marker, Apico. Only one genotype was identified. This genotype, designated as ToxoDB genotype #9, was previously reported in cats, pigs and human from Guangdong and Gansu provinces in China and animals from a few other countries. To determine mouse virulence of this lineage of parasites, one isolate was randomly selected and inoculated into BABL/c mice, the result showed that it is intermediately virulent to mice. These results indicated that an atypical, intermediately virulent T. gondii lineage is widespread in China. The high seropositivity of T. gondii in stray cats posts potential risk of transmission of the parasite to human population in the region. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]