Abstract: A cake shield with a top cover and side wall dimensioned to enclose a cake to prevent contamination during celebration is disclosed. Recesses in the top cover may include a recessed track dimensioned to hold multiple candles, a deeper cylindrical or conical recess, or a recess dimensioned for a candle with a rectangular footprint. Use of transparent material allows the cake to be viewed under the shield. The cake shield may comprise a base wall that supports the side wall of the top cover, and two or more pieces may interlock to form the base wall. A kit may also include a base plate for supporting both the cake and the side wall, as well as decorations for the top cover that may include candles and other materials.

Abstract: A cake shield with a top cover and side wall dimensioned to enclose a cake to prevent contamination during celebration is disclosed. Recesses in the top cover may include a recessed track dimensioned to hold multiple candles, a deeper cylindrical or conical recess, or a recess dimensioned for a candle with a rectangular footprint. Use of transparent material allows the cake to be viewed under the shield. The cake shield may comprise a base wall that supports the side wall of the top cover, and two or more pieces may interlock to form the base wall. A kit may also include a base plate for supporting both the cake and the side wall, as well as decorations for the top cover that may include candles and other materials.

Abstract: The use of the 17 kDa outer surface lipoprotein (OspA) of Piscirickettsia salmonis, or its homologues, as the basis of, or part thereof, a recombinant vaccine for salmonid rickettsial septicaemia and other rickettsial diseases is disclosed. Surface antigens of the bacterial pathogen P. salmonis are characterized and an immunoreactive antigen, namely the 17 kDa outer surface lipoprotein OspA of P. salmonis, as well as the nucleic acid segment that encodes the OspA immunoreactive antigen, is identified and characterized. Diagnostic techniques including the use of hybridization probes and primers as well as the production of specific antigens and antibodies that may be used in immunization techniques for inducing immunity against P. salmonis and other rickettsial diseases are disclosed, as are the development of recombinant vaccines for SRS and other rickettsial diseases based on the 17 kDa lipoprotein OspA.