Comparison of adjuvants with respect to serum IgG antibody response in orally immunized chickens

We have previously shown that oral immunization with non-replicating antigens hardly induced serum IgG antibody response in chickens and addition of sodium fluoride (NaF) to the immunogen markedly improved their immunological states. In the present study, taurine, lithium and Quillaja saponin (Q-SAP) were compared with NaF with respect to their enhancement of serum IgG antibody response in chickens after oral immunization. The antibody titer of chickens which received Q-SAP as the mucosal adjuvant tended to be higher than that of chickens which received antigen plus NaF. Simultaneous administration of antigen with lithium or taurine elicited a higher antibody titer in chickens compared to those of chickens orally immunized with antigen alone, but the effect of these two adjuvants was less efficient compared with that of NaF. These results suggested that Q-SAP as well as NaF is useful as an oral adjuvant for chickens.     

Effect of Changing Temperature on the Deterioration of Soya Beans

Deterioration rates as indicated by carbon dioxide evolution for soya bean (Glycine max L. Merr.) stored under changing temperature conditions were quantified and compared with those predicted using equations. Experiments included soya bean moisture contents of 18, 22, and 26% (wet basis), constant storage temperatures of 15, 20, 25, and 30°C, and cyclical storage temperatures that changed between 15 and 25°C and between 20 and 30°C on a 24 h basis. Also, the growth of micro-organisms was identified after 10 days from the treatments by using the pour plate method.The results indicated an increase in deterioration by increasing storage temperature and moisture content of soya bean. Equations of carbon dioxide weight versus time for each moisture content and storage temperature were fitted. The longest allowable storage time to reach 0·5% dry matter loss (1132 h) occurred at lower moisture content and lower constant storage temperature, while the shortest allowable storage time (170 h) occurred at higher moisture content and higher constant storage temperature. The allowable storage times for soya bean stored under cyclical temperatures were close to the allowable storage time for soya bean stored at a constant temperature equal to the average cyclical temperature. Microbial infection levels increased with increasing storage temperature and moisture content. The increasing rate of micro-organism growth decreased by increasing the storage temperature over 25°C. However, this increasing rate of micro-organism growth for soya bean exposed to a cyclical storage temperature was usually lower than that for soya bean held at constant storage temperatures of about 20°C (the average of 15 and 25°C) and 25°C (the average of 20 and 30°C).     

Ability of CD8+ T cell anti-feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) activity and FIV proviral DNA load in mononuclear cells in FIV-infected cats

We investigated the relationship between CD8+ T cell anti-feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) activity and FIV proviral DNA load integrated in mononuclear cells. The anti-FIV activity and the proviral DNA load were correlated, and the number of proviral DNA copies was high in cats with decreased anti-FIV activity. Particularly, no anti-FIV activity was detected in the cats staged as having an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related complex or AIDS, and the number of proviral DNA copies was obviously increased compared to those in the cats in the asymptomatic stage. These results suggest that decreased anti-FIV activity destroys the control of in vivo FIV replication, which leads to an increased proviral DNA load with the progression of the clinical stage of disease.     

A case of canine gastrinoma

The dog of this case was a 10-year-old Shih Tzu with refractory vomiting, diarrhea and anorexia. Endoscopy revealed an unclear at gastric angle, a stenosis at pyloric antrum and congestion in duodenal mucosa. Since abnormal shadows of irregular echo-levels were disclosed by pancreas ultrasonography, serum gastrin level was determined with a suspect of gastrinoma. And an increase of serum gastrin was demonstrated. In addition, postmortem histological examination revealed that the pancreatic cells were positive for gastrin. Based on these findings, the dog was diagnosed as pancreatic gastrinoma.     

Mapping of QTLs controlling epicotyl length in adzuki bean (Vigna angularis)

Epicotyl length (ECL) of adzuki bean (Vigna angularis) affects the efficiency of mechanized weeding and harvest. The present study investigated the genetic factors controlling ECL. An F₂ population derived from a cross between the breeding line ‘Tokei1121’ (T1121, long epicotyls) and the cultivar ‘Erimo167’ (common epicotyls) was phenotyped for ECL and genotyped using simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. A molecular linkage map was generated and fifty-two segregating markers, including 27 SSRs and 25 SNPs, were located on seven linkage groups (LGs) at a LOD threshold value of 3.0. Four quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for ECL, with LOD scores of 4.0, 3.4, 4.8 and 6.4, were identified on LGs 2, 4, 7 and 10, respectively; together, these four QTLs accounted for 49.3% of the phenotypic variance. The segregation patterns observed in F₅ residual heterozygous lines at qECL10 revealed that a single recessive gene derived from T1121 contributed to the longer ECL phenotype. Using five insertion and deletion markers, this gene was fine mapped to a ~255 kb region near the end of LG10. These findings will facilitate marker-assisted selection for breeding in the adzuki bean and contribute to an understanding of the mechanisms associated with epicotyl elongation.     

Spontaneous well-differentiated pancreatic islet cell carcinoma with vascular invasion in a male F344 rat

This case report describes a case of spontaneous pancreatic islet cell carcinoma with vascular invasion in a 110-week-old male F344 rat. Histologically, a pancreatic nodule consisting of tumor cells and many blood-rich vessels, and covered with a fibrous capsule showed local invasion in the capsule and adjacent acinar tissues, encircling a large duct-like structure (DS). The tumor was composed of well-differentiated tumor cells resembling normal pancreatic islet cells, which had small round nuclei and eosinophilic cytoplasm. Mitotic figures were rare. Immunohistochemistry revealed that the tumor cells were positive for insulin. Although endothelial cells were not detected, the DS wall showed cells positive for α-smooth muscle actin and elastic fibers, suggesting that the DS is the pancreatic artery. This is a rare case of islet cell carcinoma consisting of well-differentiated tumor cells with invasion of the pancreatic artery in a rat.     

Analysis of the spatial distribution of identical and two distinct virus populations differently labeled with cyan and yellow fluorescent proteins in coinfected plants

ABSTRACT Apple latent spherical virus (ALSV) expressing yellow and cyan fluorescent proteins (ALSV-YFP and ALSV-CFP) was used to investigate the distribution of identical virus populations in coinfected plants. In Chenopodium quinoa plants inoculated with a mixture of ALSV-YFP and ALSV-CFP, fluorescence from YFP and CFP was always distributed separately in both inoculated and upper uninoculated leaves. Inoculation of each ALSV-YFP and ALSV-CFP to different leaves of a C. quinoa plant resulted in the separate distribution of each virus population among different upper leaves. When C. quinoa leaves were first inoculated with ALSV-CFP and then ALSV-YFP was reinoculated into the same leaves at various times after the first inoculation, ALSV-YFP infected only tissues where ALSV-CFP infection had not been established. The spatial separation was also found in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves coinoculated with Bean yellow mosaic virus (BYMV)-YFP and BYMV-CFP. In contrast, both YFP and CFP fluorescence signals were observed in the same tissues of N. benthamiana leaves mixed infected with ALSV-YFP and BYMV-CFP. YFP fluorescence from ALSV-YFP in mixed-infected leaves was brighter and longer than in leaves infected with ALSV-YFP singly.