Effects of light administration and algae on first feeding of Atlantic halibut larvae, Hippoglossus hippoglossus (L.)

The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of two light regimes that independently had shown positive effects on feeding and growth in cultures of Atlantic halibut, Hippoglossus hippoglossus (L.), larvae. The regimes were low-intensity overhead light and submerged light at intermediate light intensities. Secondly, an alleged beneficial effect of algae was investigated. An experiment was designed to include four different regimes in the larval cultures: low-intensity overhead light with and without algae (Tetraselmis sp.), and submerged light with and without algae. The results showed that submerged light was superior to overhead light with respect to larval growth, survival and feeding incidence. It was further indicated that algae improved larval growth and survival, but no effect was shown on feeding incidence. There was, however, no interaction between the effects of algae and those of the light regime. The causal effect of the algae may be ascribed to indirect factors, such as light attenuation as well as a direct and indirect nutritional effect.     

Synthesis of Novel Thin-Film Materials by Pulsed Laser Deposition

Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is a conceptually and experimentally simple yet highly versatile tool for thin-film and multilayer research. Its advantages for the film growth of oxides and other chemically complex materials include stoichiometric transfer, growth from an energetic beam, reactive deposition, and inherent simplicity for the growth of multilayered structures. With the use of PLD, artificially layered materials and metastable phases have been created and their properties varied by control of the layer thicknesses. In situ monitoring techniques have provided information about the role of energetic species in the formation of ultrahard phases and in the doping of semiconductors. Cluster-assembled nanocrystalline and composite films offer opportunities to control and produce new combinations of properties with PLD.     

Growth and reproductive development in freemartins hormonally treated from 1 to 79 weeks of age

Postnatal growth, steroid hormone profiles and response to steroid hormone treatment were studied in 18 freemartins and one normal female born co-twin with a bull. They were either treated postnatally with testosterone or estrone at one week of age, or left untreated until 50 weeks of age when they received silastic implants calculated to release either 12.9 microgram of estrone or 2.6 microgram of estradiol per day per kg of body weight. Later a dihydrotestosterone-treated group was added. Reproductive development was studied by palpation per rectum and by examination when animals were slaughtered at 79 weeks of age. Treated animals grew slightly faster than untreated animals. Testosterone in untreated freemartins averaged 76 and 87 pg/ml of blood plasma during weeks 1 to 48 and 52 to 56. Corresponding values for those animals with small testosterone implants (weeks 1 to 48) and with larger implants (weeks 52 to 56) were 130 and 272 pg/ml. Estrone and estradiol values appeared to fluctuate between 10 and 50 pg/ml but values are uncertain because they were below the sensitivity of the assay then available. Thus, circulating steroid hormone concentrations were similar to those reported for castrates. Testosterone stimulated clitoral development prenatally and postnatally. None of the treatments influenced vaginal depth, which averaged 4.0, 9.0 and 10.9 cm at 1, 24 and 52 weeks of age. Vaginal depth at birth was not a reliable indicator of freemartinism. Androgen may have inhibited udder development, whereas estrogen appeared to be stimulatory. The reproductive organs of the freemartin were characterized by differences in underdevelopment and the general presence of seminal vesicles. The latter structures, plus clitoral development at birth in 3 animals and postnatal response of the clitoris to testosterone is interpreted to indicate that the presence of androgens is one factor in abnormal development. Otherwise, gross morphology of the reproductive tract was not related to hormone treatment, postnatal gonadal histology, endocrinology or lymphocyte chromosomal karyotypes.     

Bovid herpesvirus 2: natural spread among breeding bulls

Sera collected over a seven year period, together with detailed health and management records, were used in a retrospective study of Bovid herpesvirus 2 (BHV-2) spread within a large herd of breeding bulls. Virus spread rapidly throughout the bulls in one barn. Transfer of infected bulls to other barns was followed by further, although sporadic, spread of virus. Spread of BHV-2 from seropositive animals to susceptible bulls in close contact led to the conclusion that reactivation and transmission of latent virus had occurred. Semen from seropositive bulls did not transmit BHV-2 to seronegative calves that were purposefully inoculated by the intranasal or intravenous routes.     

Cow-level evaluation of a kinetics ELISA with multiple cutoff values to detect fecal shedding of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis in New York State dairy cows

In control programs for Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (Map), the infection status of the cows in a herd is often obtained by testing (a sample of) the herd with an ELISA that may lack some sensitivity and specificity but that is fast and inexpensive. In New York State (NYS), an unabsorbed kinetics ELISA (KELA) has been used extensively for Map control. The objective of this study was to determine the relative sensitivity and specificity of the KELA for detection of fecal shedding of Map for the NYS dairy cow population, taking into account possible confounders such as different antigen batches and Map prevalence in a herd.

The data for the study consisted of all serum samples from NYS dairy cows with concurrent fecal culture results submitted to the NY Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory (NYAHDL) between 1991 and 1996 (n = 10,562). The data represented cows with different levels of fecal shedding from herds with different within-herd Map prevalence, including herds that were whole herd fecal culture negative on repeated testing.

The cutoff values were based on the predictive value for fecal shedding obtained with a multiple logistic regression model that included variables for the three antigen batches and the Map prevalence in the herd. The KELA could not distinguish between non-shedders and low shedders (≤30 total colony forming units (TCFU)) and thus the predictive value of the KELA to detect moderate to heavy fecal shedders (>30 TCFU) was modeled. The three cutoff values of 65, 135 and 170 were based on low (<0.2), moderate (<0.80) and high (>0.95) probabilities for moderate to heavy fecal shedding. The sensitivity and specificity values relative to culture were 67% and 95.2%, 31% and 99.7%, and 11% and 99.9% for the three cutoff values, respectively. Cutoff values for the KELA decreased for herds with increasing within-herd Map prevalence. For the best positive predictive value of a KELA for moderate to heavy fecal shedding, the cutoff values should be determined based on the apparent within-herd prevalence in a herd.     

Probing proton dynamics in molecules on an attosecond time scale

We demonstrate a technique that uses high-order harmonic generation in molecules to probe nuclear dynamics and structural rearrangement on a subfemtosecond time scale. The chirped nature of the electron wavepacket produced by laser ionization in a strong field gives rise to a similar chirp in the photons emitted upon electron-ion recombination. Use of this chirp in the emitted light allows information about nuclear dynamics to be gained with 100-attosecond temporal resolution, from excitation by an 8-femtosecond pulse, in a single laser shot. Measurements on molecular hydrogen and deuterium agreed well with calculations of ultrafast nuclear dynamics in the H2+ molecule, confirming the validity of the method. We then measured harmonic spectra from CH4 and CD4 to demonstrate a few-femtosecond time scale for the onset of proton rearrangement in methane upon ionization.