Effects of chemical treatments on pH and bacterial population in poultry litter: a laboratory experiment

1. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of three chemical treatments on pH and bacterial populations (total aerobic bacteria and gram-negative bacteria) in poultry litter under laboratory conditions. 2. Litter obtained from poultry houses was treated with three chemical treatments (alum, AlCl(3) and FeSO(4)) at the same concentration (8 g/100 g litter), while untreated litter served as a control. The study was conducted for 3 weeks. 3. All of the chemical treatments reduced total aerobic bacteria (22 to 87% of the untreated control) and gram-negative bacteria (63 to 99% of the untreated controls) populations and lowered litter pH values (5.95 to 6.64). However, a significant difference in gram-negative bacteria did not exist among chemical treatments at 0, 1 and 2 weeks. 4. These results suggest that the reduction in total aerobic bacteria and gram-negative bacteria populations is highly related to a decrease in litter pH, and acidifying treatment (alum, AlCl(3) and FeSO(4)) of poultry litter may serve as a means to help the reduction in pathogen populations and to improve economical benefits under commercial production conditions.     

Serum immunoglobulin fused interferon-�� inhibited tumor growth in athymic mice bearing colon 26 adenocarcinoma cells

Interferon (IFN) has therapeutic potential for a wide range of infectious and proliferative disorders. However, the half-life of IFN is too short to have a stable therapeutic effect. To overcome this problem, serum immunoglobulin has been fused to IFN. In this study, the efficacy of serum immunoglobulin fused INFs (si-IFN1 and si-IFN2) was evaluated on athymic mice bearing colon 26 adenocarcinoma cells. Seven days after the implantation of tumor cells, each group of mice was injected once a week with si-IFN1 and si-IFN2 at two different concentrations (10 × : 30 µg/kg and 50 × : 150 µg/kg). A slight anti-tumoral effect was observed in all 10 × groups compared to the control. In the 50 × groups, however, si-IFN1 and si-IFN2 showed significant anti- tumoral effects compared to the control. To gain more information on the mechanisms associated with the decrease of tumor size, a Western blot assay of apoptosis-related molecules was performed. The protein expression of cytochrome c, caspase 9, 6, and 3 were increased by si-IFN1 and si-IFN2. These 2 IFNs also increased the expressions of p53, p21, Bax and Bad. Interestingly, si-IFN1 and si-IFN2 decreased the expression of VEGF-β. Taken together, serum immunoglobulin fused IFNs increased therapeutic efficacy under current experimental condition.     

Inhibition of A549 Lung Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion by Ent-Caprolactin C via the Suppression of Transforming Growth Factor-β-Induced Epithelial—Mesenchymal Transition

The epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) of cancer cells is a crucial process in cancer cell metastasis. An Aquimarina sp. MC085 extract was found to inhibit A549 human lung cancer cell invasion, and caprolactin C (1), a new natural product, α-amino-ε-caprolactam linked to 3-methyl butanoic acid, was purified through bioactivity-guided isolation of the extract. Furthermore, its enantiomeric compound, ent-caprolactin C (2), was synthesized. Both 1 and 2 inhibited the invasion and γ-irradiation-induced migration of A549 cells. In transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-treated A549 cells, 2 inhibited the phosphorylation of Smad2/3 and suppressed the EMT cell marker proteins (N-cadherin, β-catenin, and vimentin), as well as the related messenger ribonucleic acid expression (N-cadherin, matrix metalloproteinase-9, Snail, and vimentin), while compound 1 did not suppress Smad2/3 phosphorylation and the expression of EMT cell markers. Therefore, compound 2 could be a potential candidate for antimetastatic agent development, because it suppresses TGF-β-induced EMT.     

Genetic analysis of ORF5 of recent Korean porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome viruses (PRRSVs) in viremic sera collected from MLV-vaccinating or non-vaccinating farms

The 23 open reading frame (ORF) 5 sequences of Korean type II porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) were collected from viremic sera from the (modified live vaccine) MLV-vaccinating and non-vaccinating farms from 2007 to 2008. The samples were phylogenetically analyzed with previous ORF5 sequences, including type I Korean PRRSV, and previously reported or collected sequences from 1997 to 2008. A MN184-like subgroup of type II Korean PRRSV was newly identified in the viremic sera collected from 2007 to 2008. And of the type I PRRSVs, one subgroup had 87.2~88.9% similarity with the Lelystad virus, showing a close relationship with the 27~2003 strain of Spain. The maximum parsimony tree of type II PRRSV from 1997 to 2008 showed that they had evolved to four lineages, subgroups 1, 2, 3 and 4. Most of the recently collected type II PRRSVs belonged to subgroup 4 (48%). The region of three B-cell epitopes and two T-cell epitopes of ORF5 amino acids sequences was considerably different from the MLV in subgroups 3 and 4. In conclusion, the existence of type I PRRSV, which was genetically different from Lelystad virus (Prototype of type I PRRSV), and heterologous type II PRRSVs of viremic pigs detected even in the MLV-vaccinating farms indicated the need for new vaccine approaches for the control of PRRSV in Korea.     

Evaluation of a competitive ELISA for antibody detection against avian influenza virus

Active serologic surveillance is necessary to control the spread of the avian influenza virus (AIV). In this study, we evaluated a commercially-available cELISA in terms of its ability to detect AIV antibodies in the sera of 3,358 animals from twelve species. cELISA detected antibodies against reference H1- through H15-subtype AIV strains without cross reactivity. Furthermore, the cELISA was able to detect antibodies produced following a challenge of the AIV H9N2 subtype in chickens, or following vaccination of the AIV H9 or H5 subtypes in chickens, ducks and geese. Next, we tested the sensitivity and specificity of the cELISA with sera from twelve different animal species, and compared these results with those obtained by the hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) test, the "gold standard" in AIV sera surveillance, a second commercially-available cELISA (IZS ELISA), or the agar gel precipitation (AGP) test. Compared with the HI test, the sensitivities and specificities of cELISA were 95% and 96% in chicken, 86% and 88% in duck, 97% and 100% in turkey, 100% and 87% in goose, and 91% and 97% in swine, respectively. The sensitivities and specificities of the cELISA in this study were higher than those of IZS ELISA for the duck, turkey, goose, and grey partridge sera samples. The results of AGP test against duck and turkey sera also showed significant correlation with the results of cELISA (R-value >0.9). In terms of flock sensitivity, the cELISA correlated better with the HI test than with commercially-available indirect ELISAs, with 100% flock sensitivity.     

Cytotoxic Effect on Human Cancer Cells and Antioxidant Activity of Extracts of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Codonopsis lanceolata</Emphasis> Root using Different Solvent Fractions

This study was conducted to investigate cytotoxic effect, phenolic content, DPPH, ABTS radical scavenging rate and nitrite scavenging rate from different solvent fractions of Codonopsis lanceolate root. At all extracts concentration, the cytotoxic effect on different fractions against human cancer cells was higher in n-hexane and butyl alcohol fractions than in the other fractions. The IC₅₀ value on HeLa cell showed the lowest by 62.70 μg.mL^-1 on n-hexane fraction, and exhibited the values of butyl alcohol fraction 341.36 μg.mL^-1, methylene chloride 598.33 μg.mL^-1, ethyl acetate fraction 860.44 μg.mL^-1, DW fraction 2896.82 μg.mL^-1. Total polyphenol content on different solvent fractions varied from 102.43 to 153.52 mg.g^-1, and that of ethyl acetate fraction showed the highest amount. The DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity showed that the increase was proportional to the concentration, and the scavenging activity also showed the highest in ethyl acetate fraction. The nitrite scavenging activity of each fraction at pH 1.2 was in the order of EA > BA > MC > n-H > DW, and the lower the acidity, the higher nitrite scavenging activity, and there was no distinct detection of nitrite scavenging effects of the pH range 6.0. The results of this study suggested that the extract of Codonopsis lanceolate root may assist in the potential biological activities, and it was found that the activity was different depending on the organic solvent fraction and the water fraction.     

Nutritional Properties of Various Tissues from New Kenaf Cultivars

Kenaf is an economically important crop that contains various functional compounds. The objective of this study was to evaluate the nutritional properties of leaves, stem bark, flowers, and seeds collected from three mutant kenaf cultivars (Jangdae, Baekma, and Jeokbong) and two original cultivars (Jinju and C14). For all analyzed tissues, there were no significant differences in the proximate compositions (moisture, crude protein, crude fiber, crude fat, ash, and nitrogen-free extract) among the tested genotypes, except for the leaf crude protein content, which was highest in Jinju plants. Of the tested minerals, potassium and calcium were the most abundant in all tissues. Additionally, we detected significant differences in the mineral contents (e.g., calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, zinc, and iron) of various tissues in all cultivars. Proline and phenylalanine were the major amino acids detected in leaves, and the highest total amino acid (TAA) and essential amino acid (EAA) contents were observed in Jinju plants. The TAA and EAA contents were lower in stem bark than in the other tissues, except in Baekma plants, in which the lowest levels were observed in flowers. Moreover, the TAA and EAA contents were approximately 20 times lower in white flowers (Baekma) than in ivory flowers. Furthermore, the highest TAA and EAA concentrations were observed in Jangdae seeds. These results may be useful for identifying the optimal cultivar and tissues for use in food products.     

Effect of catheter size and injection rate of contrast agent on enhancement and image quality for triple‐phase helical computed tomography of the liver in small dogs

Rapid contrast injection is recommended for triple‐phase helical computed tomography (CT) of the liver. However, a large‐gauge catheter is needed for faster contrast injection and this is not practical for small breed dogs or cats. The purpose of this crossover group study was to evaluate applicability of a lower injection rate with a small‐gauge (G) catheter for triple‐phase hepatic CT in small dogs. Triple‐phase CT images were acquired for six beagle dogs using three protocols: an injection rate of 1.5 ml/s with a 24 G catheter, 3.0 ml/s with a 22 G catheter, and 4.5 ml/s with a 20 G catheter. Enhancement of the aorta, portal vein, and hepatic parenchyma was measured in each phase (arterial, portal, and delayed) and image quality was scored subjectively by two observers. Injection duration, time to scan delay, and time to peak enhancement were also recorded. Contrast injection duration decreased with a higher injection rate (n = 6, P ≤ 0.01), but time to peak enhancement and time to scan delay were not significantly affected by injection rates and catheter sizes. Contrast injection rate did not significantly affect aortic, portal, and hepatic enhancement. In addition, separation between each phase and quality of images was subjectively scored as good regardless of injection rate. Findings from the current study supported using an injection rate of 1.5 ml/s with a catheter size of 24 G for triple‐phase hepatic CT in small dogs (weight < 12 kg).