An acute case of Pimelea elongata toxicity in cattle in western New South Wales

In May 2019, 96 cattle died from Pimelea toxicity in a period of 19 days after potential exposure, with the first deaths occurring within 5 days. After examining the circumstances, we suspect that several factors contributed to the deaths. These included that recently purchased stock and transported had access to flooded land containing Pimelea elongata. This weed species contains simplexin and 18 other compounds. Roots, flowers and seeds are significantly more toxic than the stem, branches and leaves. We suspect that thirsty and hungry stock consumed seed and roots from flooded pastures and consumed lethal doses of simplexin. Blood tests were not good indicators of the conditions. Management strategies are suggested.     

Effects of sodium nitroprusside after load reduction and/or atropine pre-treatment prior to dexmedetomidine administration on cardiovascular variables in dogs

The purpose of this study was to determine the cardiovascular effects of sodium nitroprusside (SNP)‐induced after load reduction in dogs administered dexmedetomidine (DEX). Using a randomized crossover design and allowing at least 2 weeks between treatments 12 adult hound dogs of either sex weighing 22 ± 1.7 SD kg were anesthetized by face mask administration of 2.9% ET sevoflurane to facilitate instrumentation prior to administration of treatment drugs. Dogs were intubated and instrumented to enable measurement of heart rate (HR), systolic (SAP), mean (MAP) and diastolic (DAP) arterial pressures, mean pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP), pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP), central venous pressure (CVP), pulmonary arterial temperature (TEMP), and cardiac output (CO). Systemic (SVR) and pulmonary vascular resistances were calculated. Following completion of instrumentation dogs were allowed to recover for 40 minutes. After collection of baseline data, dogs were administered one of four treatments at T–10 minutes prior to injection of DEX (500? g M^–2 IM): 1) saline (SAL); 2) atropine (ATR, 0.02 [n = 6] or 0.04 [n = 6] mg kg^–1 IM); 3) SAL + SNP (infused at 1–10 ?g kg^–1 minute^–1, IV as needed to maintain MAP between 90–110 mm Hg; or 4) ATR + SNP. Cardiovascular data were collected at T‐20 minutes prior to administration of DEX, T‐5 and at 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 60 minutes following DEX. Data were analyzed using anova for repeated measures with post hoc differences between means identified using Bonferroni's method (p < 0.05). Differences in ATR dose were not found to be significant and thus results for ATR dose groups were pooled. Administration of SAL (dexmedetomidine alone) was associated with decreases in HR and CO and increases in SAP, MAP, DAP, CVP, and SVR. Administration of ATR was associated with an increase in HR and CO compared with SAL. Administration of SNP was associated with an increase in HR and CO and a decrease in SVR, MAP and CVP compared with SAL. Administration of SNP + ATR was associated with effects similar to that of SNP or ATR alone and resulted in an additive increase in CO. We conclude that SNP‐induced afterload reduction with or without atropine is effective in mitigating DEX‐induced impairment of cardiovascular function.     

Immunolocalization of Aquaporins 1 and 9 in the Ram Efferent Ducts and Epididymis

Aquaporins (AQPs) are essential membrane protein channels for the transport of water across membranes. Fluid movement in the epididymis is important for modulation of the luminal environment, in which sperm mature and reside. This study was designed to understand the morphology and localization of AQPs in ram efferent ducts (ED) and epididymis. For this purpose, the epididymis of seven animals were removed for histologic and immunohistochemical analyses. AQP1 immunoreactivity was observed in the apex of the ED, and AQP9 was found adjacent to the nuclei of the epithelial cells of the ED. The epithelial lining of ram epididymis is pseudostratified columnar and presents principal, basal, apical and narrow cells. In the initial segment (IS), a moderate reaction for AQP1 was observed in the apical cytoplasm of epithelial cells. An intense reactivity for AQP1 was noted over the microvilli of principal cells and in spermatozoa in the caput. In the corpus and cauda, AQP1 was noted only over the endothelial cells of vascular channels located in intertubular spaces. A weak‐to‐moderate reaction for AQP9 was observed in the nuclei of epithelial cells in the IS, caput and corpus of the epididymis. In the cauda, an intense reaction to AQP9 was observed in the epithelial border. In the IS, caput and corpus, the reactivity for AQP9 differed from those observed in domestic animals. The cauda showed a pattern similar to that previously described. These results indicate that AQPs 1 and 9 have reversed locations and roles in rams, suggesting activity variations related with fluid and solute absorption throughout the epididymis.     

Global and Phylogenetic Distribution of Quorum Sensing Signals,Acyl Homoserine Lactones,in the Family of Vibrionaceae

Bacterial quorum sensing (QS) and the corresponding signals, acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs), were first described for a luminescent Vibrio species. Since then, detailed knowledge has been gained on the functional level of QS; however, the abundance of AHLs in the family of Vibrionaceae in the environment has remained unclear. Three hundred and one Vibrionaceae strains were collected on a global research cruise and the prevalence and profile of AHL signals in this global collection were determined. AHLs were detected in 32 of the 301 strains using Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Chromobacterium violaceum reporter strains. Ethyl acetate extracts of the cultures were analysed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (MS) with automated tandem MS confirmation for AHLs. N-(3-hydroxy-hexanoyl) (OH-C6) and N-(3-hydroxy-decanoyl) (OH-C10) homoserine lactones were the most common AHLs found in 17 and 12 strains, respectively. Several strains produced a diversity of different AHLs, including N-heptanoyl (C7) HL. AHL-producing Vibrionaceae were found in polar, temperate and tropical waters. The AHL profiles correlated with strain phylogeny based on gene sequence homology, however not with geographical location. In conclusion, a wide range of AHL signals are produced by a number of clades in the Vibrionaceae family and these results will allow future investigations of inter- and intra-species interactions within this cosmopolitan family of marine bacteria.     

Axonal neuregulin-1 regulates myelin sheath thickness

In the nervous system of vertebrates, myelination is essential for rapid and accurate impulse conduction. Myelin thickness depends on axon fiber size. We use mutant and transgenic mouse lines to show that axonal Neuregulin-1 (Nrg1) signals information about axon size to Schwann cells. Reduced Nrg1 expression causes hypomyelination and reduced nerve conduction velocity. Neuronal overexpression of Nrg1 induces hypermyelination and demonstrates that Nrg1 type III is the responsible isoform. We suggest a model by which myelin-forming Schwann cells integrate axonal Nrg1 signals as a biochemical measure of axon size.     

Dipolar antiferromagnetism and quantum criticality in LiErF₄

Magnetism has been predicted to occur in systems in which dipolar interactions dominate exchange. We present neutron scattering, specific heat, and magnetic susceptibility data for LiErF(4), establishing it as a model dipolar-coupled antiferromagnet with planar spin-anisotropy and a quantum phase transition in applied field H(c|| = 4.0 ± 0.1 kilo-oersteds. We discovered non-mean-field critical scaling for the classical phase transition at the antiferromagnetic transition temperature that is consistent with the two-dimensional XY/h(4) universality class; in accord with this, the quantum phase transition at H(c) exhibits three-dimensional classical behavior. The effective dimensional reduction may be a consequence of the intrinsic frustrated nature of the dipolar interaction, which strengthens the role of fluctuations.     

Estimation of Milk Production in Lactating Sows by Determination of Deuterated Water Turnover in Three Piglets per Litter

The milk intake in piglets from four lactating sows was measured in three 48 h periods, starting on days 3, 10 and 17 of lactation, using the deuterium oxide (D 2 O) dilution technique. The milk intake was estimated from the water turnover in the piglets corrected for the production of metabolic water. The water turnover was estimated from the water dilution space and the fractional turnover of body water, determined by the rate of D 2 O dilution. To determine the magnitude of isotopic recycling, a randomly selected piglet in each litter was not enriched with D 2 O. Milk production of the four lactating sows was also measured by the weigh-suckle-weigh (WSW) method on days 4, 11 and 18 of lactation. The average daily milk production determined by the D 2 O dilution technique (9.91 - 0.69 kg) was higher ( P <0.05) than that determined by the uncorrected WSW method (8.65 - 0.81 kg). Different procedures for selecting piglets were evaluated to obtain the best possible estimation of total milk production from three piglets in each litter. The total milk production of a sow based on three piglets in the litter was obtained from a quadratic model of the relationship between milk intake and daily gain. When the daily gain of all piglets were known the Pearson correlation between milk production determined for the whole litter ( n -1) and only three median piglets was 0.98.     

Managing anthelmintic resistance: Modelling strategic use of a new anthelmintic class to slow the development of resistance to existing classes

AIM: To test the hypothesis that a single strategic treatment with a new class of anthelmintic could slow the development of resistance to existing classes of anthelmintic.

METHODS: An existing model was used to simulate nematode parasite dynamics and the development of anthelmintic resistance. Variations on a five-drench preventive programme of treatments for lambs, in which either zero, the first, third or fifth treatment was substituted with a different class of drug, were compared for the time to reach treatment failure (defined as efficacy <95%). The sensitivity to variations in the death rate of adult worms, that varied from 1 to 5%, and the dominance of resistance genes were also assessed.

RESULTS: Replacing one of the five treatments with a different class of anthelmintic almost always slowed the development of resistance, and was never worse than using the same drug for all treatments. Further, there were large differences in the relative time to treatment failure depending on which treatment was substituted. Changing the first treatment always had the least benefit, whereas changing the fifth treatment always had the greatest. This pattern was independent of the daily death rate of adult worms, and was not influenced by the dominance of resistance under treatment.

CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that strategic substitution of a single treatment with a new class of anthelmintic, at the end of a series of preventive treatments to lambs using an existing class, could slow the further development of resistance to the latter. This strategic use of a new anthelmintic class has the potential to greatly extend the life of existing anthelmintics if these are still effective.     

Antioxidant effectiveness of phenolic apple juice extracts and their gut fermentation products in the human colon carcinoma cell line caco-2

Apples represent a major dietary source of antioxidative polyphenols. Their metabolic conversion by the gut microflora might generate products that protect the intestine against oxidative damage. We studied the antioxidant effectiveness of supernatants of fermented apple juice extracts (F-AEs, 6 and 24 h fermentation) and of selected phenolic degradation products, identified by HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS. Cell free antioxidant capacity of unfermented apple juice extracts (AEs) was decreased after fermentation by 30-50%. In the human colon carcinoma cell line Caco-2, F-AEs (containing <0.5% of original AE-phenolics) decreased the reactive oxygen species (ROS) level more efficiently than the F-blank (fermented without AE) but were less effective than the respective AEs. Similarly, antioxidant effectiveness of individual degradation products was lower compared to respective AE constituents. Glutathione level was slightly increased and oxidative DNA damage slightly decreased by fermented AE03, rich in quercetin glycosides. In conclusion, F-AEs/degradation products exhibit antioxidant activity in colon cells but to a lesser extent than the respective unfermented AEs/constituents.     

Does Administrative Status Matter for Urban Growth? Evidence from Present and Former County Capitals in East Germany

Public sector activities are often neglected in the economic approaches used to analyze the driving forces behind urban growth. The institutional status of a regional capital is a crucial aspect of public sector activities. This paper reports on a quasi‐natural experiment on county towns in East Germany. Since 1990, East German cities have demonstrated remarkable differences in population development. During this same period, many towns have lost their status as a county seat due to several administrative reforms. Using a difference‐in‐differences approach, we compare the annual population development of former county capitals to population change in towns that have successfully held on to their capital status throughout the observed period. The estimations show that losing county capital status has a statistically significant negative effect on annual changes in population. This effect continues to increase over time after the respective reforms have been implemented.