Influence of Dietary Fat and Short-Time Starvation on the Composition of Sow-Milk Fat

The influence of cottonseed oil and of linseed oil upon the fatty-acid composition of milk fat was each studied in one sow. Each oil was added to the basic diet in an amount of 6.3 % for two periods of the lactation. As cottonseed oil has a fatty-acid composition that is similar to that of the basic diet, the supplement with this oil will, in general, increase the same kind of fat in the diet. The linoleic-acid content in the milk fat will be nearly redoubled (11.7 % to 20.5 %) when the cottonseed oil is added. The supplement with linseed oil (of which linolenic acid constitutes about 58 %) to the food raised the linolenic-acid level in the milk fat from 1.1 % to 18.3 %. The increase of linoleic and linolenic acid is counterbalanced by a decrease of shorter fatty acids (G 14 and G 16 acids). The fatty-acid composition of the milk fat adjusts itself to the dietary changes within two or three days.By feeding a diet containing 16.7 % cottonseed oil to a sow, about 27 % linoleic acid was obtained in the sow’s milk fat.The influence of 30 hours of starvation upon the fatty-acid composition was studied in two sows. The content of G 18 acids rose during starvation and that of shorter acids (C14 and C16) diminished.     

Influence of age,sex, capture technique,and restraint on hematologic measurements and serum chemistries of wild California sea otters

Hematologic and/or serum chemical analyses were done on a total of 27 non-tranquilized adult and juvenile wild sea otters, 66 tranquilized adult and juvenile wild sea otters, and 26 wild sea otter pups. The median and inner 90 percentile range were determined for the adult, juvenile, and pup groups and for the following subgroups: adult male versus adult female, juvenile male versus juvenile female, pup male versus pup female, captured with dip net versus captured with Wilson trap, and tranquilized adults and juveniles versus non-tranquilized adults and juveniles. When values for adults were compared to values for juveniles and pups, hematocrits, red blood cell counts, and hemoglobin levels were significantly lower in pups. This is consistent with documented findings in other species. White cell counts were also somewhat lower in younger animals. Among the subgroups, significantly higher hemoglobin levels, white cell counts and neutrophil counts were found in adult females than in adult males. This is in direct contrast to what is seen in other mammalian species and warrants further documentation. Method of capture and tranquilization did not appear to influence either hematologic or serum biochemical determinations from a clinical perspective.     

Inhibition of DNA polymerase β activity in isolated bovine liver nuclei by captan and related compounds

The effects on DNA synthesis of the fungicide captan and several structurally related compounds were investigated in isolated bovine liver nuclei. Captan, folpet, captafol, and trichloromethanesulfenyl chloride inhibited DNA synthesis to the same degree with ID₅₀ values of approximately 50 μM in a 40-min assay. The inhibition is concentration dependent and the degree of inhibition increases with time. Studies with structural analogs of captan indicated that inhibition of DNA synthesis by captan is mediated through the trichloromethylthio moiety of the captan molecule. In addition, the data indicate thiophosgene is probably not the toxic species involved in the inhibition of DNA synthesis. The isolated nuclei used in this study were shown to exhibit only a single DNA polymerase activity which was determined to be of the β or low-molecular-weight type. In addition to its inhibition in intact nuclei, captan inhibited the activity of the β polymerase in nuclear extracts as well as in partially purified enzyme preparations. These results indicate that captan inhibits DNA synthesis in our preparation of isolated nuclei by acting directly on the DNA polymerase-catalyzed reaction rather than by causing a nonspecific or indirect effect in the nuclear system such as alterations in the nuclear membrane or aggregation of the nuclei. The site of captan's inhibitory action is the DNA polymerase molecule. The interaction of captan with the polymerase results in irreversible inhibition of the enzyme. Interaction of captan with the template, if it occurs, does not appear to be involved in mediating the inhibition.     

Application of nox-restriction fragment length polymorphism for the differentiation of Brachyspira intestinal spirochetes isolated from pigs and poultry in Australia.

Sixty-nine intestinal spirochetes isolated from pigs and poultry in eastern Australia were selected to evaluate the effectiveness of a species-specific PCR-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the Brachyspira nox gene. For comparative purposes, all isolates were subjected to species-specific PCRs for the pathogenic species Brachyspira hyodysenteriae and Brachyspira pilosicoli, and selected isolates were examined further by sequence analysis of the nox and 16S ribosomal RNA genes. Modifications to the original nox-RFLP method included direct inoculation of bacterial cells into the amplification mixture and purification of the PCR product, which further optimized the nox-RFLP for use in a veterinary diagnostic laboratory, producing sufficient product for both species identification and future comparisons. Although some novel profiles that prevented definitive identification were observed, the nox-RFLP method successfully classified 45 of 51 (88%) porcine and 15 of 18 (83%) avian isolates into 5 of the 6 recognized species of Brachyspira. This protocol represents a significant improvement over conventional methods currently used in veterinary diagnostic laboratories for rapid specific identification of Brachyspira spp. isolated from both pigs and poultry.     

RT—PCR检测南方菜豆花叶病毒

根据南方菜豆花叶病毒（ＳＢＭＶ）两株系Ｂ和Ｃ的核酸序列设计两对引物，利用ＲＴ－ＰＣＲ可以特异地区分纯化的和０．２ｇ病叶中的两株系，ＲＴ－ＰＣＲ检测ＳＢＭＶ－Ｂ的灵敏度为１０ｐｇ。     

Anthropogenic influences on potential fire spread in a pyrogenic ecosystem of Florida, USA

Fire has historically been an important ecological factor maintaining southeastern U.S. vegetation. Humans have altered natural fire regimes by fragmenting fuels, introducing exotic species, and suppressing fires. Little is known about how these alterations specifically affect spatial fire extent and pattern. We applied historic (1920 and 1943) and current (1990) GIS fuels maps and the FARSITE fire spread model to quantify the differences between historic and current fire spread distributions. We held all fire modeling variables (wind speed and direction, cloud cover, precipitation, humidity, air temperature, fuel moistures, ignition source and location) constant with exception of the fuel models representing different time periods. Model simulations suggest that fires during the early 1900's burned freely across the landscape, while current fires are much smaller, restricted by anthropogenic influences. Fire extent declined linearly with patch density, and there was a quadratic relationship between fire extent and percent landscape covered by anthropogenic features. We found that as little as 10 percent anthropogenic landcover caused a 50 percent decline in fire extent. Most landscapes (conservation or non-conservation areas) are now influenced by anthropogenic features which disrupt spatial fire behavior disproportionately to their actual size. These results suggest that land managers using fire to restore or maintain natural ecosystem function in pyrogenic systems will have to compensate for anthropogenic influences in their burn planning. This revised version was published online in May 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Pocono mesic till barrens in retreat: topography,fire and forest contagion effects

The Pocono mesic till barrens (PMTB) are a unique assemblage of fire-maintained shrub communities that support numerous rare species. Historically these barrens covered a large area in the vicinity of Long Pond, Pennsylvania, USA. However, due largely to regional fire suppression instituted in the early 1960s, over 70% of the area covered by barrens succeeded to fire-intolerant forest that does not support the rare species. We investigated the influence of forest proximity on barrens succession across three geomorphic types during periods of high fire frequency and fire suppression, testing the hypothesis that forest processes such as seed rain, shading, and detrital enrichment of soils enhances barrens succession through a contagion effect. Evidence of a forest contagion effect should be shown by increased rates of barrens succession with increasing proximity to the nearest forest edge. In order to detect a forest contagion effect, barrens persistence and barrens succession were modeled in proximity zones of 0-50 m, 50-100 m, 100-200 m, and greater than 200 m from the nearest forest edge. We used existing GIS data layers for fire, geomorphology, and vegetation distribution in 1938, 1963, and 1992. The layers were modified and overlain using ArcView software to determine persistence and succession rates for each unique combination of layers in each proximity zone from 1938 to 1963 (pre-fire suppression) and 1963 to 1992 (post-fire suppression). ANCOVA results indicate that proximity to the nearest forest edge significantly affected barrens persistence rates in both time periods, but succession rates were significantly affected in 1938 to 1963 only. Twenty-eight percent of the 1938 barrens succeeded to forest by 1963; 56% of the 1963 barrens became forest by 1992. Results support previous findings that barrens persistence is enhanced by increased fire frequency, and that barrens persist longer where they overlie flat glacial till than on other geomorphology types.     

Preliminary study of plasma vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) during low- and high-dose radiation therapy of dogs with spontaneous tumors

High plasma vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) concentrations are associated with radiation resistance and poor prognosis. After an exposure to ionizing radiation in cell culture an early phase and a late phase of increased VEGF have been documented. The activation was dependent on the radiation dose. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to measure baseline plasma VEGF and changes in VEGF over the course of fractionated radiation therapy in dogs with spontaneous tumors. Dogs with tumors had a significantly higher pretreatment plasma VEGF than did dogs without tumors. Immediately after irradiation no increased plasma VEGF was observed. Over the course of radiation therapy there was an increased plasma VEGF in dogs treated with low doses per fraction/high total dose, whereas plasma VEGF remained stable in dogs irradiated with high doses per fraction/low total dose. The regulatory mechanisms are very complex, and therefore the value of plasma VEGF measurements as an indirect marker of angiogenesis induced by radiotherapy is limited.     

The Welfare of Laboratory Animals

Veterinary Research Communications -