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Erysipelas was diagnosed in a free-range laying flock with a high mortality of up to 7% per day and a severe decrease in egg production to 45%. The disease had a short course and unusual clinical features for erysipelas, including swollen, lacrimating and encrusted eyes. Bacteriologically, trapped poultry red mites and affected animals were culture-positive for Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae. Isolates from layers and mites were both serotype 1b. Histopathology revealed disseminated intravasal coagulopathy in conjunctival small vessels as the cause of the oedema of the eye adnexes. After treatment with penicillin, mortality and egg production returned to normal levels. Although erysipelas in laying hens is rarely reported, it can develop as an emerging disease in alternative rearing systems and should always be considered if mortality increases in an older flock, especially with a high infestation of poultry red mites.

Staff burnout is increasingly viewed as a concern in the mental health field. In this article we first examine the extent to which burnout is a problem for mental health services in terms of two critical issues: its prevalence and its association with a range of undesirable outcomes for staff, organizations, and consumers. We subsequently provide a comprehensive review of the limited research attempting to remediate burnout among mental health staff. We conclude with recommendations for the development and rigorous testing of intervention approaches to address this critical area.

With this work, we report on further insights into the chemistry of 1-deoxy-D-erythro-hexo-2,3-diulose (1-deoxyglucosone, 1-DG). This alpha-dicarbonyl plays an important role as a highly reactive intermediate in the Maillard chemistry of hexoses. Degradation of 1-DG in the presence of the amino acid l-alanine led to the formation of several products. Lactic acid and glyceric acid were found to be major degradation products. Their formation was dependent on the presence of oxygen. Therefore, a mechanism is postulated based on oxidation leading to a tricarbonyl intermediate. Carbonyl cleavage of this structure should then give rise to carboxylic acids. This mechanism was supported by the isotope distribution observed during degradation of different (13)C-labeled D-glucose isotopomers. Furthermore, we identified 3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-2,3-dihydro-4H-pyran-4-one (gamma-pyranone) to be capable of rehydration forming 1-DG to a minor extent and therefore leading to the same degradation products. The formation of carboxylic acids from gamma-pyranone was also dependent on the presence of oxygen in agreement with the postulated oxidative fragmentation. Finally, we investigated the formation of aldehydes expected as retro-aldol products formed within the degradation of 1-DG. Results seemed to rule out this reaction as an important degradation pathway under the conditions investigated herein.

Plasma etching of densely packed arrays of polystyrene particles leads to arrays of spherical nanostructures with adjustable diameters while keeping the periodicity fixed. A linear dependence between diameter of the particles and etching time was observed for particles down to sizes of sub-50 nm. Subsequent deposition of Co/Pt multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy onto these patterns leads to an exchange-decoupled, single-domain magnetic nanostructure array surrounded by a continuous magnetic film. The magnetic reversal characteristic of the film-particle system is dominated by domain nucleation and domain wall pinning at the particle locations, creating a percolated perpendicular media system.

Glycation or the Maillard reaction in proteins forms advanced glycation end products (AGEs) that contribute to age- and diabetes-associated changes in tissues. Dideoxyosones, which are formed by the long-range carbonyl shift of the Amadori product, are newly discovered intermediates in the process of AGE formation in proteins. They react with o-phenylenediamine (OPD) to produce quinoxalines. We developed a monoclonal antibody against 2-methylquinoxaline-6-carboxylate coupled to keyhole limpet hemocyanin. The antibody reacted strongly with ribose and fructose (+OPD)-modified RNase A and weakly with glucose and ascorbate (+OPD)-modified RNase A. Reaction with substituted quinoxalines indicated that this antibody favored the 2-methyl group on the quinoxaline ring. We used high performance liquid chromatography to isolate and purify three antibody-reactive products from a reaction mixture of N alpha-hippuryl-L-lysine+ribose+OPD. The two most reactive products were identified as diastereoisomers of N1-benzoylglycyl-N6-(2-hydroxy-3-quinoxalin-2-ylpropyl)lysine and the other less reactive product as N1-benzoylglycyl-N6-[2-hydroxy-2-(3-methylquinoxalin-2-yl)ethyl]lysine. Our study confirms that dideoxyosone intermediates form during glycation and offers a new tool for the study of this important pathway in diabetes and aging.

The Maillard reaction, or nonenzymatic browning, proceeds in vivo, and the resulting protein modifications (advanced glycation end products) have been associated with various pathologies. Despite intensive research only very few structures have been established in vivo. We report here for the first time N(6)-[2-[(5-amino-5-carboxypentyl)amino]-2-oxoethyl]lysine (GOLA) and N(6)-glycoloyllysine (GALA) as prototypes for novel amide protein modifications produced by reducing sugars. Their identity was confirmed by independent synthesis and coupled liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Model reactions with N(alpha)-t-butoxycarbonyl-lysine showed that glyoxal and glycolaldehyde are immediate precursors, and reaction pathways are directly linked to N(epsilon)-carboxymethyllysine via glyoxal-imine structures. GOLA, the amide cross-link, and 1,3-bis(5-amino-5-carboxypentyl)imidazolium salt (GOLD), the imidazolium cross-link, share a common intermediate. The ratio of GOLA to GOLD is greater when glyoxal levels are low at constant lysine concentrations. GOLA and GALA formation from the Amadori product of glucose and lysine depends directly upon oxidation. With the advanced glycation end product inhibitors aminoguanidine and pyridoxamine we were able to dissect oxidative fragmentation of the Amadori product as a second mechanism of GOLA formation exactly coinciding with N(epsilon)-carboxymethyllysine synthesis. In contrast, the formation of GALA appears to depend solely upon glyoxal-imines. After enzymatic hydrolysis GOLA was found at 66 pmol/mg of brunescent lens protein. This suggests amide protein modifications as important markers of pathophysiological processes.