Evaluation of left ventricular function with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and echocardiography after administration of dobutamine and esmolol in healthy beagle dogs

Unlike echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cardiac MRI) results in a near-exact assessment of cardiac structures and function. However, most veterinary studies have focused on dogs with normal cardiac function. We hypothesized that there would be significant differences in cardiac measurements between cardiac MRI and echocardiography when left ventricular (LV) function was abnormal. This study was undertaken to compare measurements of LV function produced by cardiac MRI and echocardiography in dogs whose LV function was altered by pharmacological agents. This study was conducted with six healthy beagle dogs. We increased left ventricular contractility by administration of dobutamine; we decreased cardiac contractility with esmolol. Stroke volume measurements were made by using both cardiac MRI and echocardiography under seven different conditions with general anesthesia: control, three doses of esmolol (100, 200, and 500 µg/kg/min), and three doses of dobutamine (10, 20, and 50 µg/kg/min). Experiments involving each condition were conducted at least 1 week apart. When LV contractility was normal, ejection fraction (EF) and stroke volume (SV), as measured by echocardiography and cardiac MRI, were not significantly different. However, when contractility was changed by pharmacological agents, EF and SV were overestimated by echocardiography, compared to MRI. Evaluation of cardiac function in patients treated with pharmacological agents should be conducted carefully because EF and SV measured by echocardiography can be overestimated, compared with EF and SV obtained by cardiac MRI.     

Flow cytometric assessment of ethylene glycol monoethyl ether on spermatogenesis in rats

The effects of ethylene glycol monoethyl ether (EGEE) on testicular cell populations in rats were investigated by a flow cytometric method. Rats were administered by gavage with EGEE at the various doses of 0 (saline alone), 100, 200, 400, and 800 mg/kg body weight/day for 4 weeks. The treatment of EGEE caused decreases in the weight of testis and epididymis and in the number of testicular cells. Histopathologically, exfoliation of germ cells into the tubular lumen was observed at the doses of above 200 mg/kg. The treatment of EGEE at the dose of 400 mg/kg caused moderate testicular degeneration. A significant depletion of haploid cells and a disproportionate ratio of diploid and tetraploid cells were observed as determined by flow cytometric analysis. These results indicate that the toxic effect of EGEE on the male reproductive system may be strongly associated with the disproportion of testicular germ cells.     

Serologic and genetic characterization of North American H3N2 swine influenza A viruses

The H3N2 subtype of influenza A viruses isolated from pigs in the United States and Canada has shown both genetic and antigenic diversity. The objective of this study was to determine the serologic and genetic characteristics of contemporary strains of these viruses. Genetic analysis of 18 reference strains and 8 selected strains demonstrated differences in 1% to 9% of the nucleotides of the hemagglutinin (HA) gene. Phylogenetic analysis of the HA gene revealed 3 genetic clusters, as well as divergence of cluster III viruses from a cluster III prototype virus (A/Swine/Illinois/21587/99). By means of 1-way cross-hemagglutination inhibition with antiserum against 5 field isolates and 3 vaccine viruses, most of 97 isolates tested could be placed in 1 of 3 serogroups. The several isolates that did not react with any antiserum were in genetic cluster III, which suggests that continuous antigenic drift in cluster III may have resulted in virus variants. The efficacy of commercial vaccines against these virus variants should be evaluated with vaccination and challenge studies.     

Botryosphaeria dothidea在苹果果实上的侵染过程(英文)

对Botryosphaeria dothidea通过皮孔侵入果实的过程进行了光学显微镜和扫描电镜观察,发现接种后2d分生孢子完成萌发和附着胞形成过程。接种后10d,菌丝体在皮孔表面缓慢生长。从20￣30d菌丝体加速扩展并形成几个分枝,通常从皮孔外围侵入果实,但仅限于皮孔表面组织。从40～50d,菌丝体扩展更为繁茂,一些菌丝开始突入皮孔的第2层组织。接种皮孔中可检测到多聚半乳糖醛酸酶(PG),但活性比对照高。皮孔有3层,第1层为含果胶的死组织,易被病菌侵染降解,底部的第3层非常坚固,是阻止病菌侵染的有效屏障。随果实发育,皮孔大小、数目和裂口均有规律地增加。我们的研究结果进一步证实了苹果轮纹病的潜伏侵染特性。     

Determination of reference intervals for metabolic profile of Hanwoo cows at early,middle and late gestation periods

Background

Metabolic profile was initially designed as a presymptomatic diagnostic aid based on statistical analyses of blood metabolites to provide an early warning of certain types of metabolic disorder. However, there is little metabolic profile data available about Korean Hanwoo cows. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the reference intervals of metabolic profile for Korean Hanwoo cows.

Methods

Healthy animals (2,205) were selected and divided into early (day 1 to 95), middle (day 96 to 190) and late (day 191 to 285) period according to their gestating period. Metabolic profile including total protein (TP), albumin (Alb), urea (UREA), glucose (Glu), total cholesterol (T-Cho), long-chain fatty acid (LCFA), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), creatinine (Crea), calcium (Ca), inorganic phosphorous (iP) and magnesium (Mg) were analyzed using a TBA-40FR automatic biochemical analyzer. The data of Korean Hanwoo cows were then compared to those of the Japanese Wagyu cows.

Results

Most of the data of the Korean Hanwoo cows were relatively higher than those of Japanese Wagyu cows, with the exception of Glu and GGT. This may indicate that the nutritional level of feed for the Korean Hanwoo cows was higher than that of the Japanese Wagyu cows because of the different feeding system. In particular, relatively higher levels of UREA and LCFA were observed in the Korean Hanwoo cows, and this may also contribute to the low reproduction efficiency.

Conclusions

These findings may provide some theoretical basis for understanding the reproductive and feeding situation of Korean Hanwoo cows.     

Protective effect of heat-processed American ginseng against diabetic renal damage in rats

We investigated the effects of American ginseng (AG) and heat-processed American ginseng (H-AG) on diabetic renal damage using streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats in this study. The diabetic rats showed a loss of body weight gain, and increases in kidney weight, food intake, water intake, and urine volume, whereas the oral administration of H-AG at a dose of 100 mg/kg of body weight per day for 20 days attenuated these diabetes-induced physiological abnormalities. Among the renal function parameters, the elevated urinary protein levels in diabetic control rats were significantly decreased by the AG or H-AG administrations, and the decreased creatinine clearance level was significantly increased in H-AG-administered rats. In addition, the markedly high serum levels of glucose and glycosylated protein in diabetic control rats were significantly decreased by the administration of H-AG, implying that H-AG might prevent the pathogenesis of diabetic complications caused by impaired glucose metabolism and glycosylation of serum proteins. Although no significant ameliorations were shown in overexpressed protein expressions related to diabetic oxidative stress by the AG or H-AG administrations, the accumulation of N (epsilon)-(carboxymethyl)lysine and receptors for advanced glycation endproduct (AGE) expressions were significantly reduced by the administration of H-AG. On the basis of these results, we found that AG and H-AG inhibit AGE accumulation in diabetic rat kidney by their hypoglycemic and renal function ameliorating effects, and this effect was stronger in the H-AG-administered group than in the AG-administered group. These findings indicate that H-AG may have beneficial effect on pathological conditions associated with diabetic nephropathy.