Transport stress increases somatic cell counts in milk, and enhances the migration capacity of peripheral blood neutrophils of dairy cows

The present study was designed to determine the effects of physiological stress on milk-somatic cell counts (SCC) and function of bovine peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL). Nine healthy lactating cows were used in the examination. Five cows were transported 100 km for 4 hr (transported group; TG), and 4 cows were penned (non-transported group; NTG). Blood and milk samples were collected at 0, 2, and 4 hr after loading, and at 2 hr, and 1, 2, 3, and 6 days after unloading. The following activities were measured: adhesion receptor (CD 18 and L-selectin) expression of neutrophils and monocytes, migration capacity and percentage of apoptotic cells of neutrophils, serum soluble L-selectin (sL-selectin), plasma cortisol, and SCC. A significant increase in plasma cortisol and milk SCC was observed in TG. Leukocytosis, derived from neutrophils was recorded in TG, and was indicated by apoptotic measurement as an increase of young cells from the marginal pool. Increased migration and decreased surface expression of both L-selectin and CD 18 in neutrophils were observed after transportation. Elevated serum sL-selectin was also noted as a result of transportation. The present study indicated that transport stress modulates peripheral blood neutrophil function, particularly enhancing migration capacity, and causes diapedesis across the mammary epithelium. Increased milk SCC in transported cattle might be due to these phenomena, and severe physiological stress may bring about an increase in SCC in milk.     

Effects of intramammary infusions of interleukin-8 on milk protein composition and induction of acute-phase protein in cows during mammary involution

The effects of interleukin-8 (IL-8) on bovine mammary functions such as milk protein secretion and the blood-milk barrier during mammary involution were evaluated. Following the final milking, recombinant bovine (rb) IL-8 (5 or 25 microg) and a saline placebo were individually infused into the left- and right-front teat cisterns of 6 cows, respectively. Three cows without treatment at the final milking were also used as controls. Mammary secretions and blood were collected at -24, 0, 10, 24, 72, 168, 336, and 720 h after infusion. In the mammary glands infused with 25 microg of rbIL-8, the increases in somatic cell counts and in the concentrations of serum albumin, IgG1 and IgG2, and the decreases in the concentrations of alpha- and beta-casein and beta-lactoglobulin were greater than in the control glands. In the mammary glands infused with 5 microg of rbIL-8, compared to the glands infused with 25 microg of rbIL-8, these changes were moderate. These results indicate that rbIL-8 impairs the integrity of the blood-milk barrier and suppresses milk-specific protein secretions. In the cows infused with 25 microg of rbIL-8, the rectal temperature and serum haptoglobin level were transiently elevated after the infusion, showing that intramammary infusion of rbIL-8 could elicit systemic inflammation.     

Endocrine Disruptors and Other Food-contaminating Environmental Pollutants as Risk Factors in Animal Reproduction

Pollutants of many chemical classes, derived primarily from anthropogenic activities, are ubiquitous in the environment, persistent, biologically available and can exert adverse effects on the reproductive and other, indirectly related, physiological systems. Food is generally considered to be the major route of animal exposure in vertebrate species but the relative contributions of other routes of exposure such as through lungs, gills or skin are not well studied and may be of importance for certain animal groups, depending on their immediate environment. Animals are particularly sensitive to exposure during developmental stages but the pattern of exposure to chemicals is likely to be different to that of adults. Quantification of the risk posed by the ingestion of pollutants in food is complex and depends on many factors including species, diet composition, duration of exposure to the food, efficiency of pollutant absorption, subsequent metabolism, sensitivity of target organs and stage of development. While the effects of high doses of single chemicals are proven, dietary exposure to pollutants generally involves prolonged, low-level exposure to a large number of compounds, each of which has different chemical characteristics, exerts different biological effects and is present at varying concentrations. Thus, while exposure to pollutants through feed is undoubtedly a significant risk factor for many species and may be the most important one for many terrestrial vertebrates, other routes of exposure may be more important in other groups.     

化肥有机肥配施对水稻养分吸收和产量的影响

【目的】综合评价中国南方双季稻地区化肥有机肥配合施用下水稻产量及土壤肥力效应。【方法】在湖南双季稻区第四纪红土发育的稻田上进行连续6年的田间定位试验,比较不施氮肥（PK）、施用等量氮磷钾养分的有机肥（猪粪,M）、化肥（NPK,氮肥为尿素）及化肥有机肥配合施用（NPKM,化肥有机肥氮各占一半）水稻地上部养分吸收量、水稻产量、氮肥利用率及土壤有机质含量变化。【结果】化肥有机肥配施有利于水稻稳产高产,产量（12.2 t•ha-1•a-1）最高,比不施氮肥对照的产量（7.3 t•ha-1•a-1）增加68%;有机无机肥配施有利于水稻中后期干物质累积和养分吸收,提高单位面积总穗数和穗粒数。化肥有机肥配施的氮肥利用率平均为36.3%,土壤有机质含量5年提高了18.5%,均显著高于化肥处理。【结论】化肥有机肥配合施用能提高水稻产量和肥料利用率、减少环境污染、培肥土壤,是南方水稻田简单易行的环境保护性施肥技术。     

Soil respiration, N2O, and CH4 emissions from an Andisol under conventional-tillage and no-tillage cultivation for 4 years

No-tillage (NT) management is a promising method to sequester soil C and mitigate global warming caused by agricultural activities. Here, we report 4 years of continuous soil respiration rates and weekly nitrous oxide (N₂O) and methane (CH₄) emissions in NT and conventional-tillage (CT) plots in a typical Japanese volcanic soil. Overall, the soil respiration, N₂O emission, and CH₄ uptake decreased significantly in the NT plot. A difference in soil respiration and N₂O emission between the two plots began after the tillage treatment and the incorporation of crop residues and fertilizers, whereas the CH₄ uptake did not vary significantly during the fallow period after the treatments. The N₂O emission was higher from the CT than from the NT plot during the fall. The overall lower CH₄ uptake in the NT than in the CT plot likely resulted from a combination of decreased soil gas diffusivity and higher mineral N content at the soil surface. Higher soil respiration and N₂O emission occurred in the NT plot in the summer of 2003 and were plausibly caused by an increase in the soil moisture content that resulted from lower temperatures during July and August; the higher soil moisture must have accelerated the decomposition of organic matter accumulated in the topsoil. These results indicate that NT management is generally effective for the mitigation of the total GWP by reducing soil respiration and N₂O emission in temperate regions; however, NT management may increase rather than decrease these emissions when fields experience cool summers with frequent rainfall.     

Virtual screening identifies a novel piperazine-based insect juvenile hormone agonist

Juvenile hormone (JH) agonists constitute a subclass of insect growth regulators and play important roles in insect pest management. In this work, a multi-step virtual screening program was executed to find novel JH agonists. A database of 5 million purchasable compounds was sequentially processed with three computational filters: (i) shape and chemical similarity as compared to known JH-active compounds; (ii) molecular docking simulations against a Drosophila JH receptor, methoprene-tolerant; and (iii) free energy calculation of ligand–receptor binding using a modified MM/PBSA (molecular mechanics/Poisson–Boltzmann surface area) protocol. The 11 candidates that passed the three filters were evaluated in a luciferase reporter assay, leading to the identification of a hit compound that contains a piperazine ring system (EC₅₀=870 nM). This compound is structurally dissimilar to known JH agonists and synthetically easy to access; therefore, it is a promising starting point for further structure optimization.     

DNA marker for resistance to Puccinia horiana in chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) “Southern Pegasus”

White rust caused by Puccinia horiana Henn. adversely affects chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) production. The breeding of resistant varieties is effective in controlling the disease. Here we aimed to develop DNA markers for the strong resistance to P. horiana. We conducted a linkage analysis based on the genome-wide association study (GWAS) method. We employed a biparental population for the GWAS, wherein the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) allele frequency could be predicted. The population was derived from crosses between a strong resistant “Southern Pegasus” and a susceptible line. The GWAS used simplex and double-simplex SNP markers selected out of SNP candidates mined from ddRAD-Seq data of an F₁ biparental population. These F₁ individuals segregated in a 1:1 ratio of resistant to susceptible. Twenty-one simplex SNPs were significantly associated with P. horiana resistance in “Southern Pegasus” and generated one linkage group. These results show the presence of a single resistance gene in “Southern Pegasus”. We identified the nearest SNP marker located 2.2 cM from P. horiana resistance locus and demonstrated this SNP marker-resistance link using an independent population. This is the first report of an effective DNA marker linked to a gene for P. horiana resistance in chrysanthemum.     

Regional Distribution of Natural Stream Nitrate in Central Japan

Over 60 natural streams with forested catchments were surveyed for nitrate (NO₃ ^?) concentration in central Japan. Stream NO₃ ^? concentrations showed a clear zonal gradient with a range nearly as large as 100-fold, where their small seasonal variations (av. CV = 27%) justified respective statuses. Elevated NO₃ ^? concentrations (more than 70 µM) described a distribution of N saturation along a course of polluted air advection in the Kanto Plain. The extent of NO₃ ^? leaching from forests was not proportional to atmospheric N deposition probably because of ecosystem N retention. A dependency of NO₃ ^? level on the watershed altitude and quite constant δ¹⁵N of stream NO₃ ^? over a wide NO₃ ^? range were observed, which could be also related to this cause.     

Acidification of Growing Cloud Droplet by Rainout of SO2(g)

Growing cloud droplets absorb such atmospheric gaseous pollutant as SO₂(g), condensing atmospheric water vapor into themselves. Then, the cloud droplets are acidified by absorption of SO₂(g) during condensational growth on cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). Characteristics of this process, which is a part of rainout, have not been made clear yet. In order to estimate the contribution of rainout to acid rain formation, the acidification of growing cloud droplets is investigated numerically, using a mathematical model. The numerical simulations show that: (1) the time to attain the equilibrium state for mass transfer (acidity and growth) and heat transfer (temperature) is much longer than the time for disappearance of CCN; (2) time variation of acidity and temperature of cloud droplets are greatly dependent on the existence of undissolved CCN; and (3) there seems to be a close correlation between the time variation of the acidity and that of the temperature.