Evaluation of two commercial PRRSV antibody ELISA kits with samples of known status and singleton reactors

Two commercial PRRSV ELISA kits (IDEXX and Bionote) were evaluated for their sensitivity and specificity using 476 PRRS-positive serum samples collected from 7 animal challenge experiments and 1,000 PRRS-negative sera. Both ELISA kits exhibited 100% sensitivity with sera collected 14 to 42 days post-infection, and the results from the kits were highly correlated (R²=0.9207). The specificity of IDEXX or Bionote kit was 99.9% or 99.7%, respectively. In addition, the Bionote ELISA kit was used to examine 100 sera that were determined to be falsely positive either by IDEXX 2XR or 3XR ELISA, and only 7 of these samples were found to be positive. These results indicate that both ELISA kits exhibited similar levels of sensitivity and specificity and would complement one another for the verification of false-positive samples.     

Effect of dietary inclusion of various plant ingredients as an alternative for Sargassum thunbergii on growth and body composition of juvenile sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus

Two feeding experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of dietary inclusion of different plant ingredients on growth and body composition of juvenile sea cucumber. In the first experiment, three replicate groups of the sea cucumber (average weight of 1.5 ± 0.05 g) were fed one of the seven experimental diets containing Sargassum thunbergii (CON), Undaria (UND), Laminaria (LAM), Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata (BRA), fermented soybean (FSB), distillers dried grain (DDG) and rice straw powder (RIC) for 10 weeks. After the feeding trial, survival was not significantly different among the dietary treatments. Specific growth rate (SGR) of sea cucumber fed the FSB diet (0.73) was significantly higher than that of sea cucumber fed the other diets (P < 0.05), except for the DDG diet (0.64). The lowest SGR was observed in sea cucumber fed the CON diet (0.14). Based on the result of the first experiment, the second experiment was conducted to determine the proper level of dietary DDG for growth of juvenile sea cucumber. Three replicate groups of sea cucumber (average weight of 1.6 ± 0.02 g) were fed one of the five experimental diets containing different levels (g kg^?1) of DDG (DDG0, DDG10, DDG20, DDG30 and DDG40) for 12 weeks. Survival was not significantly different among the treatments (P > 0.05). The best SGR was obtained in sea cucumber fed the DDG10 diet (10.1) and the value of sea cucumber fed the DDG40 diet (5.6) was the lowest (P < 0.05). The SGR of sea cucumber fed the DDG10 diet did not differ from that of sea cucumber fed the DDG20 diet (P > 0.05). Moisture, crude protein, crude lipid and ash contents of whole body in sea cucumber among the dietary treatments (P > 0.05) did not differ significantly at both experiments. Results of two feeding trial suggest that dietary inclusion with 100 g kg^?1 FSB or 100–200 g kg^?1 DDG may improve growth of juvenile sea cucumber, and especially DDG could be used as a good ingredient for the low‐cost feed formulation.     

蒸煮过程中稻米水分状态的质子核磁共振谱测定

对3种稻米蒸煮过程中水分的状态进行了¹H-NMR测定。结果表明, 不同品种的原料稻米具有相近的弛豫特征。但在蒸煮过程中，纵弛豫时间会因品种的不同而呈现出显著的差异。分析结果认为，稻米中水分的存在状态有自由水、构造水和结合水等3种形式。蒸煮过程中各种稻米水分状态的差异与谷粒中有机物的理化特性密切相关，并可能是导致米饭具有不同食味特性的重要原因。     

Soil texture affects the conversion factor of electrical conductivity from 1:5 soil-water to saturated paste extracts

Electrical conductivity (EC) of soil-water extracts is commonly used to assess soil salinity. However, its conversion to the EC of saturated soil paste extracts (EC_e), the standard measure of soil salinity, is currently required for practical applications. Although many regression models can be used to obtain EC_e from the EC of soil-water extracts, the application of a site-specific model to different sites is not straightforward due to confounding soil factors such as soil texture. This study was conducted to develop a universal regression model to estimate a conversion factor (CF) for predicting EC_e from EC of soil-water extracts at a 1:5 ratio (EC_1:5), by employing a site-specific soil texture (i.e., sand content). A regression model, CF=8.910 5e^{0.010 6sand}/1.298 4 (r²=0.97, P < 0.001), was developed based on the results of coastal saline soil surveys (n=173) and laboratory experiments using artificial saline soils with different textures (n=6, sand content=10%-65%) and salinity levels (n=7, salinity=1-24 dS m^-1). Model performance was validated using an independent dataset and demonstrated that EC_e prediction using the developed model is more suitable for highly saline soils than for low saline soils. The feasibility of the regression model should be tested at other sites. Other soil factors affecting EC conversion factor also need to be explored to revise and improve the model through further studies.     

Comparison of intraoperative cardiorespiratory and behavioral responses to medetomidine combined with tramadol or butorphanol during standing laparoscopic ovariectomy in horses

The purpose of this study was to assess the cardiorespiratory and behavioral responses to the combination of medetomidine and tramadol (M-T) or butorphanol (M-B) in standing laparoscopic ovariectomy in horses. One ovary was removed under M-T and the contralateral ovary was removed under M-B with at least 4 weeks between operations at random. Horses were sedated using intravenous medetomidine (5 µg/kg) followed by tramadol (1 mg/kg) or butorphanol (10 µg/kg) after 5 min. Sedation was maintained through the repeated injection of medetomidine (1 µg/kg) and tramadol (0.4 mg/kg) or medetomidine (1 µg/kg) and butorphanol (4 µg/kg) every 15 min. Cardiorespiratory function and behavioral responses, including, sedation, ataxia, and analgesia, were assessed during the surgery. There were no significant differences in cardiorespiratory values and sedation and analgesia scores between M-T and M-B. Ataxia scores were significantly lower in M-T than in M-B. This result suggests that M-T could maintain smooth and stable standing surgery with minimal cardiorespiratory changes in horses.     

茶汤浓度对绿茶水浸出物含量及其感官审评的影响

本文对采用不同的加工方法和嫩度所加工出来的且其外形有较大差异的绿茶进行不同冲泡方法试验,测定其水浸出物的浸出速度和浸出总量,以及水浸出物含量对感官品质审评的影响。结果表明：茶水浸出物的浸出速度和总量与茶叶的加工方法、嫩度、造型及冲泡时间、冲泡温度有关。感官审评时感觉茶汤最为适宜的浓度在0．45g／ml左右。     

Cortical laminar necrosis detected by diffusion-weighted imaging in a dog suspected of having hypoglycemic encephalopathy

We describe a 5-year-old castrated male dog suspected hypoglycemic encephalopathy that was evaluated by using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). The dog experienced hypoglycemia after prolonged generalized and continued partial seizures. In the acute phase, DWI showed hyperintensity in the left temporal lobe. After about a month, DWI maintained hyperintensity, and left middle cerebral artery dilation was noted on magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). In the chronic phase, the left temporal lobe lesion was replaced by cerebrospinal fluid. In humans, it was reported that cortical laminar necrosis (CLN) with hypoglycemic encephalopathy presents hyperintensity in the cerebral cortex on DWI and increased vascularity of the middle cerebral artery branches on MRA. In conclusion, DWI has detected CLN in a dog suspected hypoglycemic encephalopathy.