Circadian variations in salivary chromogranin a concentrations during a 24-hour period in dogs

The purpose of this study was to determine if salivary chromogranin a secretion in dogs exhibits a circadian rhythm. Saliva sampling was performed during three different sessions occurring in three nonconsecutive 24-h periods. Sixteen healthy adult beagle dogs (8 males and 8 females) were moved to a sampling room and housed individually in cages. Saliva samples were obtained every 4 h from 12:00 p.m. to 12:00 p.m. the following day. In the interest of habituation, saliva was obtained hourly from each dog 3 h before the experiment was started. Salivary chromogranin A concentrations were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. No circadian rhythm was detected for salivary chromogranin A secretion, and no differences in salivary chromogranin A concentrations measured every 4 h were demonstrated during the 24-h cycle in dogs.     

A comparative analysis of acceptance by Japanese females and price of goat milk from different sources

A sensory survey was carried out using 4 different types of whole goat milk among middle‐class females to investigate consumer acceptability of goat milk and whether there is an opportunity to expand the sale of goat milk products in Japan. Four different types of whole milk powder (domestic concentrate‐fed, domestic pasture‐fed, USA commercially canned, and New Zealand commercially canned) were used. Fresh cow milk was served as a control. Thirty‐one housewives evaluated the 5 liquid milk samples for smell, taste and overall characteristics on a scale of 1 (low) to 3 (high). Chi‐square analyses were carried out to detect significant differences between the milk types in each category. The goat milk from the USA was the most preferred goat milk with respect to smell and overall evaluation. Domestic pasture‐fed milk received the lowest grade in the evaluation for its ‘grassy and goaty’ smell. This result shows us that pasture intake affects the taste and smell of powdered milk which gives the lowest evaluation by the participants. If Japanese goat milk producers want to be successful in the domestic goat milk market and compete against goat milk products from other countries, they should improve production methods and flavor of their products.     

Effect of administration of acid‐ and bile‐tolerant lactobacilli on pigs intestinal microbial population

The effects of the administration of four Lactobacillus strains as probiotics on the constitution of microbial populations in the intestine of pigs were investigated by using a litter of pigs. The experimental group was fed a diet blended with the freeze‐dried powder containing lactobacilli at a concentration of 0.2% (W/W). After 4 weeks of probiotics administration, the total viable count of anaerobes in the feces was not significantly different between the pigs fed a diet supplemented with probiotics and the pigs given the non‐supplemented diet. However, viable counts of eubacteria were significantly higher (P < 0.01) in the feces of pigs fed a diet supplemented with probiotics than in the pigs given the non‐supplemented diet. Conversely, viable counts of clostridia were significantly lower (P < 0.01) in the feces of pigs fed a diet supplemented with probiotics than the pigs given the non‐supplemented diet. The total volatile fatty acid concentrations in the feces of pigs that were given a diet supplemented with probiotics were significantly lower (P < 0.05) than those given the non‐supplemented diet. Further, the molar proportion of n‐butyric acids in the feces of pigs that were given a diet supplemented with probiotics, was significantly lower (P < 0.05) than those given the non‐supplemented diet.     

Endostatin inhibits bradykinin-induced cardiac contraction

.Endogenous fragments of extracellular matrix are known to possess various biological effects. Levels of endostatin, a fragment of collagen type XVIII, increase in certain cardiac diseases, such as cardiac hypertrophy and myocardial infarction. However, the influence of endostatin on cardiac contraction has not been clarified. In the present study, we investigated the effects of endostatin on bradykinin-induced atrial contraction. Isometric contractile force of mouse isolated left atria induced by electrical current pulse was measured. Voltage-dependent calcium current of guinea pig ventricular myocytes was measured by a whole-cell patch-clamp technique. Endostatin (100–1,000 ng/ml) alone treatment had no influence on left atrial contraction. On the other hand, pretreatment with endostatin (300 ng/ml) significantly inhibited bradykinin (1 µM)-induced contraction and voltage-dependent calcium current. These data suggest that endostatin may decrease bradykinin-induced cardiac contraction perhaps through the inhibition of voltage-dependent calcium channel.     

Effect of farm household income levels and rice-based diet or water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) supplementation on growth/cost performances and meat indexes of growing and finishing pigs in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam

An on‐farm trial was carried out to improve the current low‐income farmers’ diet and to assess farm conditions that could accept the new ingredients using locally available feed resources in the Mekong Delta region. A total of 42 local Large White‐type pigs, comprising 20 barrows and 22 gilts with initial‐to‐final mean live weight of 34.2–93.0 kg, were used. The trial was designed as a 3 × 3 factorial with three agricultural gross income levels of seven farm households and three dietary treatments. The annual income levels were high income (HI; $US2355 on average), medium income (MI; $US1439) and low income (LI; $US1116). The three types of diets were farmers’ common diet (FCD), rice‐based diet (RBD) and water‐hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)‐supplemented diet (WHD). A total of 12 pigs, consisting of two barrow–gilt couples in each diet treatment, were slaughtered at the end of the trial. The daily weight gain (DG) was higher and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) was lower in the MI and LI pigs than in the HI pigs over the entire fattening period (P < 0.01). No significant effect of the diet treatments was observed on the aforementioned two parameters, but the backfat thickness was least in WHD (16.8 mm) and next least in RBD (17.1 mm), compared with that of FCD pigs (19.4 mm; P < 0.05). The iodine values of RBD and WHD backfat were lower (P < 0.001) than those of FCD backfat. The cost performance, defined as feed cost per kg weight gain, was lowest for MI, intermediate for LI and highest for HI levels (P < 0.05). Therefore, the benefit was highest at the MI level and lowest at the HI level (P < 0.05). In contrast, cost performance of the diet treatments tended to be higher in FCD, and lower in RBD and WHD (P < 0.1). Then, the benefit tended to be higher in RBD and WHD than in the FCD diet (P < 0.1). Overall, these results suggest that the RBD and WHD diets be recommended especially to households with medium and low agricultural incomes.