Relationship of climatic conditions to fecal corticosterone levels of captive cheetahs reared in Japan

To assess the stress level of cheetahs reared in Japan and to identify the prime components of the climatic conditions that affect their thermal stress, fecal corticosterone was monitored for 8 months from May to the following January. A total of 203 fecal samples were gathered in the morning from seven adult cheetahs that were kept at a zoological garden in Wakayama, Japan. Cheetahs were on exhibit singly or together with a harmonious conspecific during the day, but housed singly at night. Although the monthly fluctuation in corticosterone concentrations was not significant, the concentrations were relatively low during the summer season. Individual differences among cheetahs and the interaction effect between individual and month on the corticosterone concentrations were significant. Whereas the corticosterone concentrations negatively correlated with air temperature, they were positively correlated with the amount of rainfall. The highest air temperature and the amount of rainfall were extracted as the prime factors affecting corticosterone concentrations. These results suggest that cheetahs reared in Japan are somewhat subjected to thermal stress, particularly on cooler and/or rainy days.     

Dominance in domestic dogs revisited: Useful habit and useful construct?

In the last decade, the validity and relevance of the dominance model was regularly put into question regarding relationships between canids like dogs and wolves, and consequently, human–dog relationships as well. The concept underlying this model, scientifically defined as an intervening variable reflecting status difference between individuals, is applicable when formal status signals symbolize the long-term relationship between individuals, resulting in a formalized dominance hierarchy. This article reviews the basics underlying the concept of dominance and reflects on the value and importance of some new quantitative studies on the applicability of the concept of dominance in domestic dogs. The conclusions are, first, that formal dominance is present in the domestic dog, expressed by context-independent unidirectional formal status signals. Consequently, formal dominance (e.g., submission) plays an important role in assessing status in dog–dog relationships. Second, that nonverbal status–related communication in humans resembles that in dogs to a considerable degree, and hence dogs may be well able to interpret this human status–related nonverbal communication from their perspective. Dominance is therefore also likely to play a role in human–dog relationships. Hence, the dominance concept might be useful to explain the development of certain problems in dog–dog and dog–human relationships. However, enforcing a dominant status by a human may entail considerable risks and should therefore be avoided.     

复方中药体外抗猪衣原体活性研究

应用微量Vero细胞培养法,检测复方中药的体外抗衣原体活性,为防治猪衣原体病提供依据。结果表明,复方中药的MIC值是39.06mg/mL,随着中药浓度升高,包涵体的体积缩小、数量减少,直至消失,对照组未见中药对Vero细胞有毒性作用。试验结果显示,复方中药体外对猪衣原体有抗菌活性。     

Effects of different sources of carbohydrates on intake,digestibility, chewing,and performance of Holstein dairy cows

To investigate the effects of different sources of carbohydrates on intake, digestibility, chewing, and performance, nine lactating Holstein dairy cows (day in milk= 100±21 d; body weight=645.7 ± 26.5 kg) were allotted to a 3 × 3 Latin square design at three 23-d periods. The three treatments included 34.91% (B), 18.87% (BC), and 18.86% (BB) barley that in treatment B was partially replaced with only corn or corn plus beet pulp in treatments BC and BB, respectively. The concentration of starch and neutral detergent soluble carbohydrate varied (22.2, 20.2, and 14.5; 13.6, 15.9, and 20.1% of DM in treatments B, BC, and BB, respectively). Cows in treatment BB showed a higher DMI and improved digestibility of DM, NDF, and EE compared with treatments B or BC. Ruminal pH was higher in cows fed on BB (6.83) compared with those that received B or BC treatments (6.62 and 6.73, respectively). A lower proportion of propionate accompanied the higher pH in the BB group; however, a greater proportion of acetate and acetate: propionate ratio was observed compared with cows fed either on the B or BC diet. Moreover, cows fed on the BB diet showed the lowest ruminal passage rate and longest ruminal and total retention time. Eating time did not differ among treatments, rumination time was greater among cows fed on the BB diet compared with the others, whereas total chewing activity was greater than those fed on BC, but similar to those fed on B. The treatments showed no effect on milk yield. Partially replacing barley with corn or beet pulp resulted in an increase in milk fat and a lower protein concentration. Changing dietary NFC with that of a different degradability thus altered intake, chewing activity, ruminal environment, retention time or passage rate, and lactation performance. The results of this study showed that beet pulp with a higher NDF and a detergent-soluble carbohydrate or pectin established a more consistent ruminal mat than barley and corn, thus resulting in higher mean retention time and chewing activity, whereas no changes in 3.5% FCM and milk fat were observed.     

The effect of dietary tryptophan levels on oxidative stress of liver induced by diquat in weaned piglets

Oxidative stress can induce abnormal tryptophan metabolism. The present study was mainly conducted to determine the effect of dietary tryptophan levels on oxidative stress in the liver of weaned pigs challenged by diquat. A total of 36 PIC piglets weaned at 21 days of age were randomly allotted to 1 of 3 diets containing dietary tryptophan levels of 0.18, 0.30, and 0.45% for 14 d. On day 8, the piglets were injected intraperitoneally with sterile 0.9% NaCl solution or diquat (10 mg/kg body weight). During the first 7 d of trial, increasing dietary tryptophan levels enhanced average daily gain (P = 0.09) and average daily feed intake (P = 0.08), and decreased the feed efficiency (P < 0.05) of piglets. The growth performance was decreased by diquat injection (P < 0.05). Diquat injection also decreased the activities of the superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in the plasma and liver (P < 0.05), increased plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) (P < 0.05) and urea nitrogen (P < 0.05) concentrations, and enhanced MDA concentration (P = 0.09) and tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (TDO) activity (P = 0.07) in liver of piglets. Increasing dietary tryptophan levels could attenuate the effects of diquat injection on the MDA (P = 0.06) concentration and the activities of SOD (P = 0.09) and GPx (P = 0.05) of the liver, and plasma urea nitrogen (P = 0.06) concentration in the piglet. There was a synergistic role for increasing TDO activity in the liver between dietary tryptophan levels and diquat injection (P < 0.05). These results suggest that increasing dietary tryptophan levels could attenuate the oxidative stress of the liver in weaned piglets intraperitoneally injected with diquat via enhancing the antioxidant capacity.     

Novel human H7N9 influenza virus in China

Outbreaks of H7N9 avian influenza in humans in 5 provinces and 2 municipalities of China have reawakened concern that avian influenza viruses may again cross species barriers to infect the human population and thereby initiate a new influenza pandemic. Evolutionary analysis shows that human H7N9 influenza viruses originated from the H9N2, H7N3 and H11N9 avian viruses, and that it is as a novel reassortment influenza virus. This article reviews current knowledge on 11 subtypes of influenza A virus from human which can cause human infections.     

Phage and MLVA Typing of Salmonella Enteritidis Isolated from Layers and Humans in Belgium from 2000–2010, A Period in which Vaccination of Laying Hens was Introduced

The aim of the study was to characterize isolates of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) obtained from humans and layer farms in Belgium collected during 2000–2010. Three periods were compared, namely (i) before implementation of vaccination (2000–2004), (ii) during voluntary vaccination (2005–2006) and (iii) during implementation of the national control program (NCP) for Salmonella including mandatory vaccination against S. Enteritidis (2007–2010). The characteristics compared across time periods were distributions of phage type and multiple‐locus variable number tandem‐repeat assay (MLVA). While PT4 and PT21 were predominantly isolated in Belgium in layers and humans before 2007, a significant reduction of those PTs was observed in both populations in the period 2007–2010. The relative proportion of PT4b, PT21c and PT6c was found to have increased considerably in the layer population since 2007. In the human population, PT8, PT1 and the group of ‘other’ PTs were more frequently isolated compared to the previous periods. When comparing the proportion of the predominant MLVA types Q2 and U2, no significant difference was found between the layer and human population in the three periods and between periods within each category (layer and human). A significant difference in isolate distribution among MLVA clusters I and II was found between human and layer isolates recovered during Period 3 and in the human population between Period 1 and 3. Results suggest that the association between S. Enteritidis in layers and the occurrence of the pathogen in humans changed since implementation of the NCP in 2007.     

First Report of Human Trypanosoma cruzi Infection Attributed to TcBat Genotype

Chagas disease is an endemic disease of the American continent caused by Trypanosoma cruzi and divided into six discrete typing units (TcI – TcVI). Nearly 10 million people harbour the infection representing a serious issue in public health. Epidemiological surveillance allowed us to detect a bat‐related T. cruzi genotype (henceforth named TcBat) in a 5‐year‐old female living in a forest area in northwestern Colombia. Molecular tools determined a mixed infection of T. cruzi I and TcBat genotypes. This represents the first report of TcBat infection in humans; the epidemiological consequences of this finding are discussed herein.