Effect of intramammary infusion of rbGM-CSF on SCC and expression of polymorphonuclear neutrophil adhesion molecules in subclinical mastitis cows

The effect of rbGM-CSF intramammary infusion on the subclinical mastitis was evaluated by the somatic cell count (SCC) and expression of adhesion molecules (CD62L and CD11b) on the surface of neutrophils (PMN) in blood and milk. Fifteen cows diagnosed to have subclinical mastitis were used in this study. Seven cows showed a decrease in the SCC (decreased group), whereas 8 cows showed an increase in the SCC (increased group) 7 days after infusion of rbGM-CSF compared to pre infusion level. The percentage of CD62+ cells tended to be lower and CD11b+cells tended to be higher at 6 h on blood PMN in the decreased group of cows. Increased group of cows showed opposite tendencies. The mean fluorescent intensity of these adhesion molecules expressed on PMN in blood and milk was similar in both groups. These results suggested some association between expression of adhesion molecules and changes in SCC by rbGM-CSF. Responsiveness of PMN adhesion molecules to rbGM-CSF might determine the changes in SCC of the subclinical mastitic cows after infusion of rbGM-CSF.     

Kujigamberol, a new dinorlabdane diterpenoid isolated from 85million years old Kuji amber using a biotechnological assay

A new compound, 15,20-dinor-5,7,9-labdatriene-18-ol (1), named kujigamberol, was isolated from amber, fossilized tree resin from the Kuji area in Japan, has been dated as being 85 million years old (late Cretaceous). Kujigamberol was identified using the hypersensitive mutant yeast (zds1? erg3? pdr1? pdr3?) with respect to Ca²⁺-signal transduction. The structure was elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis including 1D NMR, 2D NMR and HR-EI-MS. It was different from known diterpenoids with a similar activity isolated from Baltic amber (agathic acid 15-monomethyl ester (2), dehydroabietic acid (3) and pimaric acid (4)). Kujigamberol showed glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) inhibition activity involving the growth restored activity against the mutant yeast and was cytotoxic to HL60 cells (IC₅₀ = 19.6 μM).     

Predicting the price of Vietnamese shrimp products exported to the US market using machine learning

Accurately predicting the price of exported fishery products is an important task for fisheries because it will enable market trends to be determined, leading to the development of high-quality fishery products. In this study, we predicted prices in selected base periods (2, 3, 6, and 12 months) to investigate how historical data influenced the Vietnamese export price. A dataset (from May 1995 to May 2019) was collected from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). We initially hypothesized that the dependent variable, Vietnamese export price, was affected by 33 independent variables, but ultimately used 15 key variables, which were chosen on the basis of Akaike information criterion (AIC) to train the models. A tree-based machine learning technique, including the random forest and gradient boosting tree algorithms, was applied for predictions. It was found that the random forest algorithm performed well for historical data for periods of more than 6 months, while the gradient boosting tree algorithm was better over short durations of less than 6 months.

     

An evaluation of the growth-promoting effects of green light on spotted halibut for its practical application in aquaculture

Fisheries Science - We examined the effects of tank color and stocking density on the growth of spotted halibut (Verasper variegatus) under a green light-emitting diode (LED). Fish reared for...     

Role of coresistance in the development of resistance to chloramphenicol in Escherichia coli isolated from sick cattle and pigs

OBJECTIVE: To determine the cause of persistent resistance to chloramphenicol (CP) after the ban on its use in food-producing animals in several countries. SAMPLE POPULATION: 71 CP-resistant and 104 CP-susceptible Escherichia coli strains isolated from sick cattle and pigs in Japan. PROCEDURE: Susceptibility of all bacterial strains to thiamphenicol (TP) and florfenicol (FFC) was tested by use of an agar dilution method. The CP-resistance genes and variable region within class 1 integrons in CP-resistant strains were identified by use of a PCR assay. RESULTS: The CP acetyltransferase gene (ie, cat1) was identified as the predominant CP-resistance gene in strains isolated from cattle, and the cat1and nonenzymatic CP-resistance gene (ie, cmlA) were the predominant CP-resistance genes in strains isolated from pigs. Additionally, strains with cat1 isolated from cattle often were resistant to ampicillin, dihydrostreptomycin (DSM), oxytetracycline, and trimethoprim (TMP), whereas strains with cat1 or cmlA isolated from pigs often were resistant to DSM and TMP. Class 1 integrons were significantly more prevalent in strains with CP-resistance genes, compared with prevalence in strains without CP-resistance genes. All gene cassettes within the integrons were involved in resistance to DSM, TMP, or both. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Coresistance that develops because of the use of DSM and TMP in cattle and pigs apparently contributes to the selection of CP-resistant strains of E coli. Thus, it is possible that bacterial resistance to CP in animals would persist despite a ban on the use of CP in cattle and pigs.     

Antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella isolates from apparently healthy food-producing animal from 2000 to 2003: the first stage of Japanese veterinary antimicrobial resistance monitoring (JVARM)

Antimicrobial susceptibility of 183 Salmonella isolates from apparently healthy food-producing animals obtained during the period from 2000 to 2003 throughout Japan was examined. Of 29 serovars identified, Salmonella Infantis (37.7%) was the most prevalent, followed by S. Typhimurium (19.7%). Salmonella bacteria resistant to dihydrostreptomycin (77.6%) were about 10% more prevalent than those resistant to oxytetracycline (67.8%), though the nation-level veterinary use of tetracycline antibiotics is much greater than that of streptomycin in Japan. In seventeen isolates (9.3%) resistant to nalidixic acid, single point mutations were detected at 84 or 87 in the quinolone resistance-determining region of the gyrA gene.     

Effect of fusion/activation protocol on in vitro development of porcine nuclear transfer embryos constructed with foreign gene-transfected fetal fibroblasts

The effect of fusion/activation protocol on in vitro development of porcine nuclear transfer (NT) embryos constructed with foreign gene-transfected somatic cells were investigated. NT embryos were produced by using enucleated M II oocytes and enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP) gene-transfected or non-transfected porcine fetal fibroblasts. One group of NT embryos received a single electrical pulse to induce fusion and activation simultaneously (FAS). The other group was fused 2 hr before activation (FBA) using two kinds of electrical pulses. Electrically activated NT embryos in both groups were treated with cycloheximide (CHX) before culture to assess the development to the blastocyst stage. After 6 days of culture, all morulae and blastocysts derived from EGFP-transfected fibroblasts emitted green fluorescence without mosaicism, and EGFP-gene product was also detected in all morulae and blastocysts examined. NT embryos undergoing FAS showed higher developmental capacity to blastocysts than those undergoing FBA, regardless of the EGFP transfection into the nuclear donor cells. The results also indicated that EGFP-gene transfection into nuclear donor cells has no obvious deleterious effect on the development of NT embryos to blastocysts.     

Dietary salmon milt deoxyribonucleic acid prevents hepatosteatosis in mice

With the increased incidence of lifestyle-related diseases, prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasing at an unprecedented rate, leading to rising interest in studying the role of functional foods in its prevention. This study demonstrated the efficacy of salmon milt deoxyribonucleic acid (SM DNA) in preventing liver dysfunction in a diet-induced obesity model. Seven-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were fed normal diet (ND), high-fat diet (HFD), and HFD supplemented with 3% SM DNA (HFD?+?SM DNA) for 12 weeks. Increased body weight, fat-to-body weight ratio, and fat accumulation in HFD-fed mice demonstrated successful establishment of an obesity model. The HFD group showed increased alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels, a marker of liver function, and NAFLD activity score (NAS) based on histological observations showed steatosis and mild inflammation but no fibrosis, indicating NAFLD but no nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. In the HFD?+?SM DNA group, the improved superoxide dismutase activity and NAFLD activity score suggested that SM DNA prevented liver dysfunction while maintaining antioxidant capacity and suppressing intrahepatocyte fat droplet formation. SM DNA attenuated fat accumulation in the liver and improved hepatic function. This study explored the potential of SM DNA as a functional food to prevent NAFLD and other visceral obesity-related diseases.

     

Evaluation of genetic diversity of eight grouper species <Emphasis Type="Italic">Epinephelus</Emphasis> spp. based on microsatellite variations

ABSTRACT:   Genetic diversity among eight species of grouper, Epinephelus bleekeri , E. coioides , E. malabaricus , E. ongus , E. akaara , E. maculatus , E. merra and E. fuscoguttatus , was studied using six microsatellite loci, Em-01 *, Em-03 *, Em-07 *, Em-08 *, Em-10 *, and CA-07 *, with the aim of exploring the feasibility of using microsatellite data for species identification. The results showed high levels of genetic differentiation among species ( F _ST  = 0.4403 and R _ST  = 0.4954). Species identification based on fixed allelic differences was possible between E. coioides , E. ongus , and E. fuscoguttatus at Em-01 * and between E. fuscoguttatus and E. ongus at Em-08 *. Private alleles were found in all species, except for E. ongus . Pairwise F _ST ranged 0.238–0.578 ( P  < 0.008 Bonferroni correction), and Nei's genetic distance ranged 0.433–2.710. Size homoplasy was observed at Em-03 * 157 allele, which was characterized by a T–C transition at the 119th nucleotide site of PCR products. The genetic assignment test unambiguously assigned each individual to the correct species. Thus, this test can be used for species identification of unknown individuals when the multilocus genotypes of the six microsatellite loci are available. The phylogenetic (neighbor-joining) tree, which was constructed based on the genetic distance matrix, separated the eight grouper species into two main groups.     

Effect of feeding rice whole crop silage on growth rate,levels of vitamin A, β‐carotene,vitamin E and IGF‐1 in plasma and skeletal muscle protein degradation in Japanese black calves

This study evaluated the effects of rice whole crop silage (RWCS) on growth, plasma levels of vitamin A, β‐carotene, vitamin E and IGF‐1, and expression of genes involved in muscle protein degradation and synthesis in Japanese Black calves. Eleven calves were divided into RWCS (fed RWCS ad libitum and concentrate, n = 5) and control groups (fed hay ad libitum and concentrate, n = 6). Final body weight and dairy gain were significantly larger in the RWCS group compared with the control group. Plasma β‐carotene and vitamin E concentrations were significantly higher in the RWCS group compared with control group. Although plasma vitamin E concentration in the RWCS group significantly increased from 4 to 9 months of age, it did not increase in the control group. At 6 months of age in the RWCS group, ubiquitin B (p < 0.05) and calpain 1 (p = 0.097) mRNA expression were lower than control group, but they were not different between groups at 9 months of age. These results indicate that RWCS increases plasma β‐carotene level and promotes muscle growth because of a decrease in the rate of protein degradation, but the effect is lost with the increase in plasma vitamin E level.