Equine pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction: current understanding and recommendations from the Australian and New Zealand Equine Endocrine Group

The purpose of this article is to provide a review of the current knowledge and opinions about the epidemiology, clinical findings (including sequelae), diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of equine pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction, particularly in the Australian context. This information and the recommendations provided will assist practitioners in making informed decisions regarding the diagnosis and management of this disorder.     

Investigation of the efficacy of a genetically-stabile live Salmonella typhimurium vaccine for use in swine

Hybrid swine (Landrace x Pietrain) aged 3-4 weeks were immunized twice at an interval of 3 weeks solely by the oral route and by the oral/parenteral route to evaluate the efficacy of a live S. Typhimurium vaccine. In each experiment a control group was run without vaccination. The animals were challenged at the age of 8-10 weeks by oral test infection with a labelled S. Typhimurium DT 104 strain. An ELISA was used to establish the presence of antibodies to S. Typhimurium in serum samples, coupled with clinical investigation. The presence of the challenge strain in the ileal and caecal mucosa and in the ileocolic lymph nodes was investigated quantitatively using the Koch plating method to determine the degree of colonization of those organs at the time of slaughter. The clinical course of disease was used to assess the success of vaccination. However, it was not possible to trigger, in a reproducible manner, clinical signs of disease in unvaccinated animals through infection. The vaccinated animals had a significantly lower (p < 0.05) colonization of the ileal and caecal mucosa than the unvaccinated animals. This was also seen to a lesser degree for the ileocolic lymph nodes.     

The humeral immune response of swine after experimental infection with Salmonella typhimurium

LPS antibody reaction of S. Typhimurium was detected in a total of 111 two- to ten-week-old pigs, which had been exposed to experimental oral infection with this serovar in 16 separate experiments. The total antibody level was determined according to the meat juice ELISA provided for the Salmonella control programme and the antibody concentrations of the isotopes IgG1, IgG2, IgA and IgM. Although there were significant differences between the individual experiments with respect to the reaction intensity and proportion of the individual immune globulin isotypes, the following general statements on the dynamics of the antibody reaction can be made: Clearly elevated antibody levels could be observed one week after the onset of infection. After one and two weeks, respectively, 22.5 and 52.9% of the infected animals showed antibody levels which were to be evaluated as positive in the sense of the Salmonella control programme (> or = 40%). While the concentration of the IgM-related antibodies decreased again during the second week already, the antibody concentration of IgG1 and IgG2 continued to increase until the end of the experiment after 3 weeks. The clear differences in the reactions between the experiments cannot be explained solely by defined conditions of infection such as strain of infection, infective dose or age of the pigs. Obviously, other non-defined or non-recognized factors may have a decisive influence on the dynamics of the antibody reaction in the animal groups.     

Accelerated chilling of carcasses to improve pork quality

Our objectives were to determine the optimal accelerated chill time immediately postmortem necessary to improve the quality of pork muscle and to decrease the incidence of pale, soft, and exudative pork. Carcasses from 81 market hogs were cooled either by conventional chill (CC) at 2 degrees C or by accelerated chill (AC) at -32 degrees C for 60, 90, 120, or 150 min, and then placed into a 2 degrees C cooler for the remainder of the 24-h chill period. Loin muscle pH was higher (P < 0.05) for the carcasses that were accelerated chilled longer than 60 min. Although loin visual color, texture, and firmness scores increased (P < 0.05) with AC time, no improvements were noted beyond 60 min. Color, pH, texture, firmness, and CIE L*a*b* values of fresh ham muscles were not (P > 0.05) affected by AC. In addition, AC did not (P > 0.05) affect purge, drip, or thaw loss of fresh products, sensory scores of loins or processed hams (except initial juiciness; P < 0.05), water-holding capacity of processed hams, or processing characteristics of hams. Cooking loss and Warner-Bratzler shear values for hams and loins were not (P > 0.05) affected by AC. Accelerated chilling caused loins to be darker (lower L* value; P < 0.05) and to have lower (P < 0.05) b* values (less yellow) than CC loins. Accelerated chilling increased water-holding capacity in fresh hams, bound water being the greatest (P < 0.05) in the 120- and 150-min AC groups. These results demonstrate that improvements in pork loin quality can be made using freezer-accelerated chilling for carcasses.     

A new live Salmonella enteritidis vaccine for chickens--experimental evidence of its safety and efficacy

Within the works for the registration of a new live Salmonella Enteritidis vaccine for layers, safety and efficacy of the vaccine strain were tested by experimental studies. After oral administration of the single and the tenfold dose, no incompatibility reactions were seen in day-old chicks. The laying performance and the egg weight were not affected by the vaccination of the chickens during the laying period. There was only a limited period in which the excretion of the vaccine strain and its persistency in organs were seen. Even after the threefold oral vaccination the vaccine strain could not be isolated from eggs and internal organs of slaughtered chickens. Moreover, a high safety for non-target animals (cattle, pigs) could be established. Studies with BALB/c mice proved that a cell-mediated immunity and the development of complement-fixing antibodies is induced by the vaccine. Efficacy studies in target animals were carried out by a proved dependable oral challenge system that reproduces a latent infection with marked S. Enteritidis strains and by means of the seeder-bird method. The test results demonstrate that the vaccination is capable to avert or to reduce an infection significantly.     

Optimization of extraction conditions for active components in Hypericum perforatum using response surface methodology

Optimal conditions for extraction of Hypericum perforatum were determined using response surface methodology. A 3 x 4 x 4 full factorial design representing three extraction temperatures, four extraction times, and four solvent concentrations was executed. The overall extraction efficiency was defined by comparing either the total extractable material weight or the individual component peak area to the peak area of luteolin as internal standard. Of the tested variables, the extraction temperature most significantly affected extraction efficiency. Higher temperatures gave better extraction efficiencies, but high temperature also caused decomposition of hypericin. Within the test range, responses for most variables had local maxima. Optimum ranges of time and concentration for individual variables were overlaid. Considering all variables, optimum ranges for extraction time and extraction solvent concentration (percent ethanol in acetone) were 5.0-6.7 h and 44-74% at 23 degrees C, 5.4-6.9 h and 45-72% at 40 degrees C, and 5.3-5.9 h and 44-69% ethanol in acetone at 55 degrees C, respectively.     

Bidirectional transmembrane signaling by cytoplasmic domain separation in integrins

Although critical for development, immunity, wound healing, and metastasis, integrins represent one of the few classes of plasma membrane receptors for which the basic signaling mechanism remains a mystery. We investigated cytoplasmic conformational changes in the integrin LFA-1 (alphaLbeta2) in living cells by measuring fluorescence resonance energy transfer between cyan fluorescent protein-fused and yellow fluorescent protein-fused alphaL and beta2 cytoplasmic domains. In the resting state these domains were close to each other, but underwent significant spatial separation upon either intracellular activation of integrin adhesiveness (inside-out signaling) or ligand binding (outside-in signaling). Thus, bidirectional integrin signaling is accomplished by coupling extracellular conformational changes to an unclasping and separation of the alpha and beta cytoplasmic domains, a distinctive mechanism for transmitting information across the plasma membrane.     

Whither or wither microbicides?

After disappointing results from all efficacy trials conducted to date, the field of microbicides research now faces substantial challenges. Poor coordination among interested parties and the choice of nonvalidated scientific targets for phase III studies have hampered progress and created mistrust about the use of microbicides as a method to prevent HIV-1 sexual transmission. Although new promising strategies are available, there will need to be serious reappraisals of how decisions are made to advance the next generations of candidates into clinical trials, and the use of appropriate animal models in this process will be critical.     

A molecular phylogeny for bats illuminates biogeography and the fossil record

Bats make up more than 20% of extant mammals, yet their evolutionary history is largely unknown because of a limited fossil record and conflicting or incomplete phylogenies. Here, we present a highly resolved molecular phylogeny for all extant bat families. Our results support the hypothesis that megabats are nested among four major microbat lineages, which originated in the early Eocene [52 to 50 million years ago (Mya)], coincident with a significant global rise in temperature, increase in plant diversity and abundance, and the zenith of Tertiary insect diversity. Our data suggest that bats originated in Laurasia, possibly in North America, and that three of the major microbat lineages are Laurasian in origin, whereas the fourth is Gondwanan. Combining principles of ghost lineage analysis with molecular divergence dates, we estimate that the bat fossil record underestimates (unrepresented basal branch length, UBBL) first occurrences by, on average, 73% and that the sum of missing fossil history is 61%.