Detection of Torque teno sus virus types 1 and 2 by nested polymerase chain reaction in sera of sows at parturition and of their newborn piglets immediately after birth without suckling colostrum and at 24 hr after suckling colostrum

This study was performed to clarify the sow-to-fetus transmission pathway of Torque teno sus virus (TTSuV) types 1 (TTSuV1) and 2 (TTSuV2). For this purpose, detection of TTSuV1 and TTSuV2 (TTSuVs) in sera of 6 sows (Sows 1-6) at parturition and in sera of their newborn piglets immediately after birth without suckling colostrum was performed by nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR). These sows were bred using semen that had tested negative for TTSuVs. In a TTSuV1- and TTSuV2-positive sow (Sow 1), TTSuV1 and TTSuV2 were detected in 4 and 5 of 12 newborn littermates, respectively. In a TTSuV1-positive sow (Sow 2), TTSuV1 was detected in 1 of 8 newborn littermates. In 4 TTSuV1- and TTSuV2-negative sows (Sows 3-6), TTSuV1 was detected in 6 out of the 25 newborn piglets of 3 sows (Sows 3-5), while TTSuVs were not detected in all 13 piglets of 1 sow (Sow 6). In addition, to investigate the possibility of a sow-to-piglet transmission pathway of TTSuV via colostrum, TTSuV1 and TTSuV2 in sera of 12 newborn piglets from Sows 1-3 were examined by nPCR. Immediately after birth without suckling colostrum, TTSuV1 and TTSuV2 were not detected in 10 and 8 of 12 newborn piglets, respectively; however, at 24 hr after suckling colostrum, TTSuV1 was detected in 6 piglets, while TTSuV2 was not detected in any piglets. These results confirmed the existence of a sow-to-fetus transmission pathway of TTSuV during normal pregnancy and suggested a possibility of sow-to-piglet transmission of TTSuV via colostrum.     

Soil development on Late Quaternary river terraces in a high montane valley in Bhutan,Eastern Himalayas

We examined the geochemistry and micromorphology of the soils on a suite of morphologically well-defined and visually distinct fluvial terraces, up to 40 m elevation above the current riverbed, at Thangbi in the upper Bumthang Valley, Bhutan. The alluvia forming each of the terraces are lithologically and structurally similar, with shallow or moderately deep, clast-free sandy loam overbank deposits capping deep clast-supported beds of rounded boulders and interstitial sand. The topsoils on the 40 m terrace have more silt than those on the lower terraces. The soils are interpreted mainly as a monoclinal post-incisive chronosequence. Features that indicate progressive pedogenesis with increasing elevation include subsoil rubefaction, crystallinity of free Fe sesquioxides, and weathering of susceptible primary minerals, such as biotite and hornblende. However other soil attributes show no systematic trends and the overall impression is of limited pedogenesis, even in the soils on the higher terraces. We examine possibilities that the immaturity of the soils is due to pedogenic rejuvenation by post-incision additions to the soil parent materials.     

A mucinous histochemical study on malignancy of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in rat colon

The relationship between malignancy and number of crypts (crypt multiplicity) comprising aberrant crypt foci (ACF) was investigated, by studying changes in the mucous nature of ACF with 5 crypts or less, ACF with 6-13 crypts, adenomas and invasive adenocarcinomas induced by 1,2-dimethylhydrazine in distal colon of rats. A paradoxical Con A-staining was performed for goblet cell mucins. Of the sulfomucin-dominant ACF with 1-3 crypts, 82.6% had labile class III mucin, similar to the distal colon in the normal rats. However, in most of the goblet cell mucin produced by the ACF with 4-5 crypts with an indicated relation to colorectal carcinoma or the sialomucin (SiM) -dominant ACF with 1-3 crypts, mucin types other than class I were rarely present. The incidence of class I mucin decreased with the increase in crypt multiplicity of ACF or in the degree of histological malignancy, with the lowest incidence of 40% in adenocarcinomas. In contrast, the incidence of class II mucin increased markedly with the increase in crypt multiplicity of ACF or in the degree of histological malignancy, with the highest incidence in adenocarcinomas (95%). The ACF with 6-13 crypts had a mucous profile similar to that of adenomas. These results suggested that malignancy of ACF related to the crypt multiplicity. In the ACF with 1-3 crypts, SiM-dominant ACF had the potential to progress to malignant lesions.     

Regolith and soils in Bhutan, Eastern Himalayas

Bhutan lies at altitudes of 100–7500 m on the steep, long and complex southern slopes of the Eastern Himalayas. Soil surveys show that, despite steep gradients, there are many moderately or deeply weathered soils. Many slopes are mantled with polycyclic, layered drift materials, so soil horizons owe as much to regolith heterogeneity as to pedogenesis. In the limited arable areas soil profiles are further complicated by rice cultivation and the construction, maintenance and irrigation of flat terraces on steep slopes. Some natural pedogenic horizonation is apparent, and there is an altitudinal zonation of soil types. Although the climate is warm and seasonally wet, most soils on the subtropical southern foothills are not particularly weathered and leached. The foothills are seismically active, and many soils are formed in unstable landslide debris. Elsewhere the regoliths are more stable. The main soils up to about 3000 m in the inner valleys are moderately weathered and leached, and have bright subsoil colours and thin dark topsoils. Above these there is a zone of bright orange‐coloured non‐volcanic andosolic soils. Further upslope there are acid soils with thick surface litter, stagnogleyic topsoils, and drab brown subsoils with organic cutans. These grade to weak podzols, which extend from about 3500 m up to the treeline, around 4000 m. Above this, alpine turf soils, with deep, dark, and friable topsoils and yellowish friable subsoils, are intermixed with unweathered glacial deposits. The interactions between pedogenesis and the deposition of the varied and layered drift materials complicate mapping and classification of the soils.     

A Case Report of a Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma in a T-cell Receptor β Chain and p53 Double-knockout Mouse

A subcutaneous tumor was found in the right abdomen of a 16-week-old male TCRβ and p53 double-knockout mouse. The tumor had indistinct borders with the surrounding tissue. The cut surface after formalin fixation was pale yellowish white, partially dark red and partly white. Histologically, the tumor was composed of three distinct regions. The first region showed pleomorphic cells arranged in sheets. The second region showed spindle cells arranged in interlacing fascicles. The final region contained a mixture of the above mentioned two types of cells. Furthermore, a small amount of collagen fibers, round cells, multinucleated giant cells, and cells with eosinophilic granules were observed between these tumor cells. Immunohistochemical examination and electron microscopy identified that the pleomorphic cells and spindle cells were histiocytes and fibroblasts, respectively, and that the round cells were undifferentiated mesenchymal cells. Based on these findings, the tumor was diagnosed as a malignant fibrous histiocytoma.     

A Japanese Black breeding herd exhibiting low blood urea nitrogen: A metabolic profile study examining the effect on reproductive performance

Ten reared cows of a Japanese Black cattle herd in Kagoshima prefecture, Japan, exhibited extremely low blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentration (2.6 ± 0.6 mg/dL). Examination of dietary feed nutrition and relevant pastureland soil content suggested a correlation with crude protein (CP) deficiency or unbalanced nutritional dietary feeds. Thirteen months after the introduction of a dietary remedial measure (bean cake supplementation), BUN, total cholesterol and albumin concentration from five of the original 10 cows increased significantly compared with their values of before the dietary remedy. The postpartum day open period was significantly lower after the dietary remedial measure than that before it. The abnormally low BUN levels of the cattle herd may be due to inadequate dietary nutritional content, primarily from the imbalance of total digestible nutrient and CP of the feed and far lower han average CP value. In conclusion, routine examination of serum biochemical parameters in Japanese Black breeding cattle may be a useful strategy for determining subclinical metabolic failure of cattle herds, and consequently, its effect on reproductive performance of the herd.