0 real-time PCR machine (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany). The results were read at 530 and 640 nm for BVDV 1 and 2, respectively. Bovine viral diarrhoea virus was detected in a total of 103 samples that included 91 tissue samples, 1 blood sample and 11 trans-tracheal aspirates. Eighty-five (82.5 %) of the strains were genotype 1 and 18 (17.5 %) were genotype 2. Comparing the sequencing data, genotypes 1 and 2 from the field strains did not cluster with vaccine strains currently used in feedlots in South Africa. The present JQEZ5 study

revealed the presence of BVDV genotype 2 in cattle in South Africa based on the high sequence similarity between genotype 2 field strains and strain 890 from North America. The presence of genotype 2 viruses that phylogenetically belong to different clusters and coexist in feedlots is consistent with the possibility of multiple virus introductions. These results represent the first documented evidence for the presence of BVDV genotype 2 in African cattle.”
“Chemically mediated synaptic transmission results from fusion

of synaptic vesicles with the presynaptic plasma membrane, subsequent release of the vesicular content into the cleft and binding to postsynaptic receptors. Previous modelling studies of excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate were based on simplified geometries failing to account for the biologically realistic synaptic environment, in particular, the presence of astrocytes, the geometry of extracellular SB273005 space, and the neurotransmitter

uptake mechanism. Using 3-dimensional reconstructions of hippocampal glutamatergic synapses including the surrounding astrocytic processes we have developed a biologically realistic model to analyse receptor activation in different conditions. We used the finite element method to simulate glutamate release, analyse glutamate diffusion following single and multiple vesicle release and binding at the postsynaptic site to AMPA and NMDA receptors. We demonstrate that: (1) the transmitter diffusion is highly temperature-sensitive; (2) release conditions and geometry more specifically affect AMPARs than NMDARs; (3) the sensitivities of AMPARs and NMDARs to simultaneous STI571 vesicular release are different; (4) in the case of multivesicle neurotransmitter release with variable delays, the binding of glutamate to AMPARs is additive up to 1 ms after the release, then becomes independent, but to NMDARs the binding is additive up to 33 ms; (5) the number of AMPARs varies more than the number of NMDRs in response to the input firing patterns; (6) the presence of astrocytes effectively blocks synaptic crosstalk; and (7) synaptic cross-talk, mediated by NMDARs but not AMPARs, is only possible after quasi-simultaneous multivesicular release at physiological temperature (35 degrees C) without intervening astrocytes, but not at 25 degrees C.