A subset D of ( ) V G is called an equitable dominating set if for every ( ) v V G D   there exists a vertex u D  such that ( ) uv E G  and | ( ) ( ) | 1 deg u deg v   . A subset D of ( ) V G is called an equitable independent set if for any , u D v   ( ) e N u for all { } v D u   . The concept of equi independent equitable domination is a combination of these two important concepts. ...

A simple and portable assay for detection of Streptococcus equi subspecies equi has been developed based on amplification of S. equi-specific sequence using a thermophilic helicase-dependent reaction followed by visual detection of the amplicon in a disposable lateral flow cassette. An experimental kit (IsoAmp™ SE) was evaluated. Analytical sensitivity was 50 copies of S. equi genomic DNA per r...

The actinomycete Rhodococcus equi is an important pathogen of horses and an emerging opportunistic pathogen of humans. Identification of R. equi by classical bacteriological techniques is sometimes difficult, and misclassification of an isolate is not uncommon. We report here on a specific PCR assay for the rapid and reliable identification of R. equi. It is based on the amplification of a frag...

Equine babesiosis is a hemoprotozoan tickborne disease with worldwide distribution and caused by Theileria equi and Babesia caballi. This study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of T. equi and B. caballi infection in Turkoman breed horses in North Khorasan Province of Iran. Blood samples were collected from 100 apparently healthy horses and examined by microscopy and indirect immuno...

Rhodococcus equi is a close relative of Mycobacterium spp. and a facultative intracellular pathogen which arrests phagosome maturation in macrophages before the late endocytic stage. We have screened a transposon mutant library of R. equi for mutants with decreased capability to prevent phagolysosome formation. This screen yielded a mutant in the gene for β-ketoacyl-(acyl carrier protein)-synth...

Equine piroplasmosis (EP) has not been considered indigenous in The Netherlands. However, following the detection of an apparently indigenous subclinical Babesia caballi infection in a horse on Schouwen-Duiveland (an island in the Zeeland Province), a survey was undertaken between May and September 2010 to assess the prevalence of the causative agents of EP in the South-West of The Netherlands....

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The goal of this research was to examine the role of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) in the control of Rhodococcus equi and specifically to determine if R. equi-specific CD8+ CTL occurred in the blood of immune horses. Equine peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated with antigen-presenting cells either infected with R. equi or exposed to soluble R. equi antigen lysed R. equi-infected target ...

This study aims at evaluating the importance of the two-component regulatory system VicRK to virulence of the horse pathogen Streptococcus equi subspecies equi and the potential of a vicK mutant as a live vaccine candidate using mouse infection models. The vicK gene was deleted by gene replacement. The DeltavicK mutant is attenuated in virulence in both subcutaneous and intranasal infections in...