Volatile components of Japanese cedar cultivars as repellents related to resistance to Cryptomeria bark borer

The response of the essential oils and their components toCryptomeria bark borer has been studied. The oils of inner bark and sapwood of resistant cultivars acted as a repellent toCryptomeria bark borer rather than as an attractant, whereas those of susceptible cultivars acted as an attractant.-Terpineol, nerolidol,-cadinene,-eudesmol, terpinolene, and cedrol showed high repellent activity. The relative contents of the former four compounds were larger in resistant cultivars than in sensitive cultivars. It suggests that these four compounds might be one of the causes of resistance toCryptomeria bark borer. The contents of terpinolene and cedrol were small, and these two compounds may have no or a small influence on resistance. Although some of compounds acted as attractants forCryptomeria bark borer, it was not attributable to the difference in the bark borer response of Japanese cedar because of the relatively low ratio of these compounds in each essential oil and the small differences in the ratios between resistant and susceptible cultivars.     

Improving transport container design to reduce broiler chicken PSE (pale,soft, exudative) meat in Brazil

Throughout the chicken production chain, transport from farm to the commercial abattoir is one of the most critical sources of stress, particularly heat stress. The aim of this work was to describe the performance of a new prototype truck container designed to improve the microenvironment and reduce the incidence of pale, soft and exudative (PSE) meat and dead on arrival (DOA) occurrences. Experiments were carried out for four different conditions: regular and prototype truck, both with and without wetting loaded cages at the farm (for bird thermal stress relief) just before transporting. While there was no difference in the DOA index (P ≥ 0.05), the prototype truck caused a reduction (P < 0.05) in the occurrence of PSE meat by 66.3% and 49.6% with and without wetting, respectively. The results of this experiment clearly revealed a low‐cost solution for transporting chickens that yields better animal welfare conditions and improves meat quality.     

Assay of chitinase and N-acetylglucosaminidase activity in forest soils with 4-methylumbelliferyl derivatives

Chitinase and N-acetylglucosaminidase activities in forest soils were examined by a highly sensitive method using 4-methylumbelliferyl (4MU) derivatives of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine oligomers as substrates. The method involves the fluorometric estimation of the 4-MU released through the activity of the soil enzymes when a soil sample and the substrate are incubated in a buffer. The activities of both enzymes decreased markedly with depth in the 4 forest soil profiles studied (i.e. Andosol, Podzol, 2 Cambisols). The activities of these soil enzymes were highly correlated with the carbon and nitrogen content of the soils.     

Plasma LH, Ovulation and Conception Rates in Cats Mated Once or Three Times on Different Days of Oestrus

Although cats are induced ovulators, the relationship between the day of breeding, the number of matings and the likelihood of ovulation and conception have not been extensively investigated. In this experiment, cats were mated either once or three times on day 1 or day 5 of oestrus to study the incidence of the LH surge, ovulation and conception rates. The percentage ovulating and the conception rates after a single mating on day 1 of oestrus were 60% (6/10) and 33.3% (2/6), respectively, and for cats mated once on day 5 of oestrus were 83.3% (10/12) and 40% (4/10), respectively. When cats were mated three times on day 1 of oestrus, the ovulation rates and conception rates were 70% (7/10) and 85.7% (6/7), respectively, and for those mated three times on day 5 of oestrus were 100% (10/10) and 100% (10/10), respectively. The concentration of LH did not increase in non-ovulating cats, and cats that were mated three times had LH concentrations that were numerically higher than those that were mated once. Litter size was neither related to the day of mating nor to the number of matings. Although an increase in the number of matings on day 1 of oestrus produced a numerically larger LH surge, it did not increase the ovulation rate, suggesting that plasma oestradiol concentrations were not sufficiently elevated to induce a high pituitary response to mating stimulation. The conception rate after a single mating was low, suggesting that the number of sperm per mating was not sufficient. These results suggest that mating more than once in the middle of oestrus is required to improve ovulation rates and conception rates in cats.     

The genetic landscape of the childhood cancer medulloblastoma

Medulloblastoma (MB) is the most common malignant brain tumor of children. To identify the genetic alterations in this tumor type, we searched for copy number alterations using high-density microarrays and sequenced all known protein-coding genes and microRNA genes using Sanger sequencing in a set of 22 MBs. We found that, on average, each tumor had 11 gene alterations, fewer by a factor of 5 to 10 than in the adult solid tumors that have been sequenced to date. In addition to alterations in the Hedgehog and Wnt pathways, our analysis led to the discovery of genes not previously known to be altered in MBs. Most notably, inactivating mutations of the histone-lysine N-methyltransferase genes MLL2 or MLL3 were identified in 16% of MB patients. These results demonstrate key differences between the genetic landscapes of adult and childhood cancers, highlight dysregulation of developmental pathways as an important mechanism underlying MBs, and identify a role for a specific type of histone methylation in human tumorigenesis.     

Variation of bacterial communities and expression of Toll-like receptor genes in the rumen of steers differing in susceptibility to subacute ruminal acidosis

In order to determine differences in the ruminal bacterial community and host Toll-like receptor (TLR) gene expression of beef cattle with different susceptibility to acidosis, rumen papillae and content were collected from acidosis-susceptible (AS, n=3) and acidosis-resistant (AR, n=3) steers. The ruminal bacterial community was characterized using PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) and quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis. Global R analysis of bacterial profile similarity revealed that bacterial diversity was significantly different between AR and AS groups for both rumen content (P=0.001) and epithelial (P=0.002) communities. The copy number of total bacterial 16S rRNA genes in content of AS steers was 10-fold higher than that of AR steers, and the copy number of total 16S rRNA genes of epimural bacteria in AR steers was positively correlated with ruminal pH (r=0.59, P=0.04), and negatively correlated with total VFA concentration (r=-0.59, P=0.05). The expressions of host TLR2 and 4 genes were significantly higher in AR steers compared to those in AS steers. These findings enhance our understanding about the ruminal microbial ecology and host gene expression changes that may be useful in the prevention of ruminal acidosis.     

Propionate is not an important regulator of plasma leptin concentration in dairy cattle

Propionate was recently shown to increase leptin synthesis in rodents. To determine if a similar effect occurs in ruminants, propionate was administered to lactating dairy cows. In experiment 1, 31 cows were given an intrajugular Na propionate bolus (1,040 micromol/kg body weight), increasing plasma propionate from 160 to 5,680 microM and plasma insulin from 6.8 to 77.8 microIU/mL. Plasma leptin concentration decreased from 2.11 ng/mL before bolus to 1.99 ng/mL after dosing (P<0.05) with no differences in leptin concentrations at 20, 50, and 100 min post-bolus (P>0.10). In experiment 2, 12 cows were used in a duplicated 6 x 6 Latin square experiment to assess the dose-response effect of ruminal propionate infusion on plasma leptin concentration. Sodium propionate was infused at rates of 0, 260, 520, 780, 1040, or 1,300 mmol/h, while total short-chain fatty acid infusion rate was held constant at 1,300 mmol/h by addition of Na acetate to the infusate. Coccygeal blood was sampled following 18 h of infusion. Increasing the rate of propionate infusion linearly increased plasma propionate concentration from 180 to 330 microM (P<0.001) and plasma insulin concentration from 6.7 to 9.1 microIU/mL (P<0.05). There was a quadratic response in plasma leptin concentration (P=0.04) with a maximum at 780 mmol/h propionate, but leptin concentrations increased by no more than 8% relative to the 0 mmol/h propionate infusion. Leptin concentrations were correlated with insulin concentrations but not with propionate concentrations in plasma. Propionate is not a physiological regulator of leptin secretion in lactating dairy cows.     

Erwinia isolates from the bacterial shoot blight of pear in Japan are closely related to Erwinia pyrifoliae based on phylogenetic analyses of gyrB and rpoD genes

The phylogenetic relationships among Erwinia amylovora biovar 4 (the pathogen of bacterial shoot blight of pear in Japan), other biovars of E. amylovora, and Erwinia pyrifoliae were investigated using the sequences of 16S rRNA, gyrB, and rpoD genes. The tested isolates formed two distinct monophyletic groups in the phylogenetic trees constructed based on the gyrB gene, rpoD gene, or a combination of the three genes: group 1 contained E. amylovora biovars 1, 2, and 3; group 2 contained E. amylovora bv. 4 and E. pyrifoliae. This phylogenetic analysis showed that E. amylovora bv. 4 was more closely related to E. pyrifoliae than to other biovars of E. amylovora. The nucleotide sequence data reported are available in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases under the accession numbers AB242876 to AB242925.     

Matricaria chamomilla CH12 decreases handling stress in Nelore calves

Matricaria chamomilla CH₁₂ is a phytotherapeutic or homeopathic product, which has been used to reduce stress. Here, we examined its effect on preventing handling stress in bovines. Sixty Nelore calves were randomly distributed into two equal groups. One group was administered Matricaria chamomilla CH₁₂ in diet and the other the ''control'' was not. Animals in both groups were maintained unstressed for 30 days to adjust to the feeding system and pasture, and were then stressed by constraint on the 31th, 38th, 45th and 60th experimental days. Blood samples were taken on these days after animals had been immobilization in a trunk contention for 5 min. Stress was followed by analyzing serum cortisol levels. These peaked on the 45th day and then decreased, but not to baseline, on the 60th day. On the 45th day cortisol levels were significantly lower in animals fed Matricaria chamomilla CH₁₂, suggesting that this product reduces stress. These effects may be a consequence of its inhibiting cortisol production and its calming and anxiolytic effects.