Clostridium perfringens type A and beta2 toxin associated with enterotoxemia in a 5-week-old goat

Postmortem examination of a Boer buck kid that died peracutely revealed diffusely congested, edematous bowel. Clostridium perfringens Type A was isolated. Some isolates carried the gene for beta2 toxin, suggesting a role for beta2 toxin in caprine enterotoxemia, a common cause of death in growing kids.     

A scoring index for disease activity in canine inflammatory bowel disease

The clinical course of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in dogs is characterized by spontaneous exacerbations and remissions, which makes assessment of disease burden difficult. The objectives of this study were to develop a scoring system for evaluation of canine IBD activity and to validate this scoring method by correlating it to objective laboratory and histologic indices of intestinal inflammation. Fifty-eight dogs with IBD were evaluated prospectively and compared to 9 disease-free control dogs. Clinical disease activity was quantified by a simple scoring system, the canine IBD activity index (CIBDAI), and compared to serum concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP), haptoglobin (HAP), alpha-acid glycoprotein (AGP), and serum amyloid A (SAA), as well as histology scores derived from endoscopic biopsy specimens. Forty-six dogs were available for a reevaluation of the CIBDAI, CRP HAP, and AGP, and 34 dogs had repeat analysis of SAA performed after medical therapy. Serum concentrations of CRP were significantly (P < .02) increased in dogs with CIBDAI scores > or = 5 (mild disease activity or greater) compared to controls. Among IBD dogs, the CIBDAI showed good correlation (r = 0.82, P < .0001) to both histology and HAP scores, but CRP also was a strong co-correlate of disease activity. The IBD dogs showed significantly (P < .0001) decreased CIBDAI and CRP values but significantly (P < .0001) increased HAP concentrations after medical therapy compared to pretreatment values. We conclude that the CIBDAI is a reliable measure of inflammatory activity in canine IBD and that CRP is suitable for laboratory evaluation of the effect of therapy in these patients.     

Osteochondrosis of the occipital condyles and atlanto-occipital dysplasia in a Belgian horse

A lesion in the cervical region of a 14-month-old Belgian gelding with severe ataxia was suspected. Necropsy revealed symmetric focal cartilage defects compatible with osteochondrosis of the occipital condyles and atlanto-occipital dysplasia. To our knowledge this is the first equine report of symmetrical osteochondrosis of the occipital condyles causing neurologic signs.     

Effects of feeding aspirin and supplemental vitamin E on plasma concentrations of 3-methylindole, 3-methyleneindolenine-adduct concentrations in blood and pulmonary tissues,lung lesions,and growth performance in feedlot cattle

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of feeding aspirin and supplemental vitamin E on growth performance, lung lesions, plasma concentrations of 3-methylindole (3MI), and 3-methyleneindolenine (3MEIN)-adduct concentrations in blood and pulmonary tissues of feedlot cattle. ANIMALS: 256 crossbred steers; 64 cattle were used in experiment 1 and 192 cattle were used in experiment 2. PROCEDURES: A 2 X 2 factorial design was used for each experiment. Treatment factors were aspirin (0 or 3 g daily) and vitamin E (200 or 1,500 IU daily). Steers were housed in pens (8 steers/pen). Steers were slaughtered on days 59 and 138 for experiments 1 and 2, respectively. Lungs were grossly evaluated. 3MEIN-adduct concentrations were determined, and blood and pulmonary tissues. RESULTS: Treatment was not associated with improvement or adverse effects on weight gain, dry-matter intake, or feed efficiency in experiment 2. In experiment 1, 36 of 63 (57.1%) steers had lung lesions. Lesions were not associated with treatment or concentrations of 3MI and 3MEIN-adduct. Plasma 3MI concentration and concentrations of 3MEIN-adduct in blood and pulmonary tissues were 3.11 microg/mL, 0.51 U/microg of protein, and 0.49 U/microg of protein, respectively. Aspirin was associated with increased blood concentrations of 3MEIN-adduct for diets that did not contain supplemental vitamin E. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Differences n performance of feedlot steers were not associated with treatment diet. It is possible that concurrent exposure of feedlot cattle to other factors typically associated with development of respiratory tract disease would affect these findings.     

Distribution of two groups of melon landraces and inter-group hybridization enhanced genetic diversity in Vietnam

To understand the genetic diversity and differentiation of Vietnamese melon (Cucumis melo L.), we collected 64 landraces from the central and southern parts of the country and assessed molecular polymorphism using simple sequence repeat and random amplified polymorphic DNA markers. The Vietnamese melon was divided into seven cultivar groups, namely “Dua le”, “Dua vang”, “Dua bo”, “Dua gang-andromonoecious”, “Dua gang-monoecious”, “Dua thom”, “Montok”, and the weedy-type melon “Dua dai”. Among these, Dua le, Dua vang, Dua bo, and Dua gang-andromonoecious are cultivated on plains and they formed cluster II along with the reference accessions of Conomon and Makuwa. Based on genetic distance, Dua le and Dua vang were regarded as Makuwa and Dua bo and Dua gang-andromonoecious as Conomon. In contrast, Dua thom and Montok are cultivated in highlands, and they formed cluster III along with landraces from the southern and eastern foot of the Himalayas. Dua gang-monoecious which is commonly cultivated in the southern parts of Vietnam, exhibited the greatest genetic diversity, as explained by its possible origin through the hybridization between Dua gang-andromonoecious and Montok. Genetic differences in melon landraces between plains and highlands and hybridization between these two geographical groups have contributed to the enhancement of genetic diversity in Vietnamese melon.     

Effect of salinity change and exposure time on the egg stages of two abalone species Haliotis discus discus and H. gigantea

Fisheries Science - The embryonic developmental response of two abalone species (disk abalone Haliotis discus discus, giant abalone Haliotis gigantea) to a drop in salinity with different exposure...     

Impacts of short-term salinity and turbidity stress on the embryonic stage of red sea bream Pagrus major

Fisheries Science - Heavy rainfall can reduce salinity and increase turbidity in coastal waters, creating stressful conditions for the organisms found there, especially for the early stages of...     

The Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative: Promoting scientific support for global ocean governance

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Modulation of mTOR signaling by radiation and rapamycin treatment in canine mast cell cancer cells

Rapamycin has been reported to reduce cancer cell survival in certain tumors following radiation therapy, but the mechanisms driving this phenomenon are unclear. Rapamycin inhibits mTOR signaling, a pathway responsible for several essential cell functions. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of rapamycin and radiation on the activation and inhibition of mTOR signaling and the relationship between mTOR signaling and DNA damage response in vitro using canine mast cell tumor (MCT) cancer cell lines. Rapamycin rapidly inhibited S6K phosphorylation in a dose-dependent manner. Ionizing radiation (3, 6, or 10 Gy) was able to activate mTOR signalling, but the combination of radiation and rapamycin maintained mTOR inhibition. The comet assay revealed that co-treatment with rapamycin induced modest increases in the severity of DNA damage to MCT cells, but that these differences were not statistically significant. Although the relationship between mTOR and DNA damage response in MCT cancer cell lines remains unclear, our findings suggest the possibility of interaction, leading to enhancement of radiation response.     

Endothelial cell gene expression of a neutrophil chemotactic factor by TNF-alpha, LPS, and IL-1 beta

Human endothelial cells produced a neutrophil chemotactic factor (NCF) upon stimulation with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), or lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The expression of endothelial cell-derived NCF messenger RNA and biological activity was both time- and concentration-dependent. Maximal NCF mRNA expression occurred at 10 and at 2 nanograms per milliliter for TNF and IL-1 beta, respectively; mRNA expression was first observed 1 hour after stimulation and was maintained for at least 24 hours. In situ hybridization analysis showed that NCF mRNA peaked in treated cells by 24 hours, whereas unstimulated cells were negative. These studies demonstrated that endothelial cells may participate in neutrophil-mediated inflammation by synthesizing a chemotactic factor in response to specific monokines and LPS.