Age-related changes in mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferation and polymorphonuclear neutrophil function in the piglet

Changes in concentration of plasma cortisol, mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferation and the phagocytic and killing abilities of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) were assessed in 24 crossbred piglets at .5, 1, 3 and 6 wk of age. Concentrations of blood cortisol were high at birth but decreased (P less than .001) thereafter. Spontaneous lymphocyte proliferation was approximately 10-fold higher in the newborn than in pigs 6 wk old. The methods by which data on lymphocyte proliferation were expressed greatly influenced the results of the age-related changes in lymphocyte response. When lymphocyte proliferation was expressed as a stimulation index, there was an increase in mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferation with advancing age. However, when lymphocyte proliferation was expressed as total counts per minute, mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferation decreased with increasing age. In general, no significant age-related changes were observed in PMN function except for a transient decrease in PMN phagocytic ability at wk 3. Piglets were born with high concentrations of blood cortisol; this was associated with age-related changes in lymphocyte proliferation.     

Sensitivity and specificity of the indirect-fluorescent antibody test and two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays in canine dirofilariasis

Ninety dogs naturally infected with Dirofilaria immitis and 103 noninfected dogs, as determined by necropsy, were used to compare the sensitivity and specificity of the cuticular and somatic reactions of the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFA-C and IFA-S, respectively) and 2 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). In microfilaremic and amicrofilaremic heartworm-infected dogs, negative results were common for all serotests. In dogs without adult heartworms at necropsy, 32% to 49% were positive, using 1 ELISA, 27% to 29% were positive with the other ELISA, 15% to 36% were positive with the IFA-S, and 0% to 1% were positive using the IFA-C, depending on the classification of borderline reactions. The prevalence of false positive serotests was probably not due to the detection of precardial stages of D immitis in dogs obtained from areas of low endemicity. Until the causes of the false-positive tests are resolved, the use of currently available serotests for routine diagnostic screening or as criteria for instituting treatment is not recommended.     

Morphological and hydraulic properties of a silt loam soil in New Zealand as affected by cropping history

Abstract. A rotation trial of four years' pasture followed by two years' arable was used to study the effect of cropping on the morphological and hydraulic properties of soil. An adjacent paddock in grass for the past 35 years was included as a permanent pasture reference. Initial infiltration and field saturated hydraulic conductivity ( K _fs) were least for cultivated soil and increased with increasing time under pasture. This could be explained by the contrasting porosities of resin-impregnated blocks of undisturbed soil which had been infiltrated with methylene blue dye. Small K _fs values for cultivated soil resulted mainly from a thin surface crust, although pore discontinuity at the depth of the cultivation pan (130 mm) could also have contributed. Greater K _fs values under short-term pasture resulted primarily from water flowing through biogenic pores connected to the surface. The greatest K _fs values were in soil that had been under pasture for 35 years (P35). This was attributed to flow through biogenic pores and fissures associated with the strongly-developed subangular blocky structure. The amount of water that infiltrated the two- and four-year pasture soils (P2 and P4) under ponding was 2.5 and 5 times greater, respectively, than the soil that had been cultivated for two years (C2).
As irrigation duration cannot be varied under the border-dyking system used on the Canterbury Plains, the interval between irrigations must be varied if the same total amount of water is to be applied to each of these soils through the season. The interval should be less for the cultivated soil than for those under pasture, and should increase with increasing time under pasture (i.e. P35 > P4 > P2 > C2).     

E_1级麻屑板用脲醛树脂胶的研究

根据亚麻屑的胶接特性,从脲醛胶的固体含量、粘度、游离甲醛、耐水性、固化时间、施工胶液特性及经济效益等方面系统地研究了适合低甲醛释放量麻屑板生产用脲醛树脂胶的物理力学及化学性能。研究结果表明,使用改进的脲醛树脂胶(命名为DN—9号和DN—11号低毒腮醛胶)可以压制出甲醛释放量小于10mg/100g的E1级麻屑板,其物理力学性能达到GB 4896—4905—35标准     

Impact of successive drought and re-watering cycles on growth and specific leaf area of two Populus x canadensis (Moench) clones, 'Dorskamp' and 'Luisa_Avanzo'

Responses to successive drought and re-watering cycles (1-3 cycles) were compared in greenhouse-grown cuttings of Populus x canadensis (Moench) clones, 'Luisa_ Avanzo' and 'Dorskamp.' Total leaf number increment rate, duration of leaf expansion, total and individual leaf area expansion rates and stomatal conductance were recorded periodically during the experiment. Soil water content (SWC) and predawn leaf water potential (Psi(WP)) were measured four times during each drought cycle. In parallel, relative leaf water content (RWC) and specific leaf area (SLA) were estimated on leaves collected from the top to bottom of each cutting. Under well-watered conditions, 'Luisa_Avanzo' and 'Dorskamp' differed in their patterns of leaf area expansion. Although duration of leaf expansion was similar between clones, 'Luisa_ Avanzo' exhibited higher total leaf number increment rates and individual leaf area increases than 'Dorskamp.' As a result, 'Luisa_Avanzo' cuttings reached larger individual and total leaf areas than 'Dorskamp.' 'Dorskamp' leaves had lower SLA than 'Luisa_Avanzo' leaves. In response to successive drought cycles, both clones underwent decreases in total leaf number increment rates and in total leaf area expansion rates, but both whole-plant and individual leaf areas were drastically reduced only in 'Luisa_Avanzo.' 'Dorskamp' maintained a constant leaf area as a result of an increase in the duration of leaf expansion during drought and a significant stimulation of individual leaf area expansion rate and total leaf number increment rate in response to re-watering. Drought caused a greater decrease in SLA in 'Luisa_Avanzo' than in 'Dorskamp.' Expanded leaves of 'Dorskamp' were constitutively dense or thick, or both, whereas leaves of 'Luisa_Avanzo' became dense or thick, or both, only in response to drought. In both clones, re-watering caused partial recovery of SLA to control values. Our data confirm previous field and greenhouse observations that 'Dorskamp' is more tolerant to successive drought and re-watering cycles than 'Luisa_Avanzo.' We conclude that this difference is mainly attributable to the plasticity of 'Dorskamp' after re-watering, rather than to clonal differences in drought responses.     

Differential responses of Bolivian timber species to prescribed fire and other gap treatments

We followed the establishment and growth response of 13 commercial tree species to canopy opening, above-ground biomass removal, and experimental burns of low and high intensities in a lowland dry forest in Bolivia. Three patterns of response to treatments were observed among the most abundant commercial tree species. (1) Shade-intolerant species regenerated mostly from seed and had the highest survival and growth rates following high-intensity burns. (2) Shade-tolerant species were abundant in gap control and plant removal treatments. Treatments had little effect on the height growth of these species. (3) Individuals of root sprouting species were most abundant following plant removal and low-intensity burn treatments. Treatments had little effect on the height growth of these species. The wide variation in species responses to gap treatments found in this study not only reinforces the concept that species are distributed along a continuum of shade-tolerance levels, but that other aspects of species biology, such as seed dispersal type or sprouting behavior, further differentiate regeneration strategies. The variety of regeneration strategies found among the species at this forest site will require a flexible management scheme that mixes more intensive silvicultural treatments such as prescribed burning with less intensive treatments.     

Cost minimization through the use of taungya system in pulpwood plantation establishment

The costs and benefits of the use of three labour alternatives: direct permanent, direct casual and taungya labour in Gmelina arborea pulpwood plantation establishment in Nigeria were investigated. Results show that cost per hectare is lowest with taungya labour and highest with permanent labour with savings in cost of as much as 30% and 47% by taungya labour over casual and permanent labour respectively. The net present value per hectare of investment is highest when taungya labour is used and lowest and negative with permanent labour. Also, the internal rate of return of investment is highest with taungya labour and lowest with permanent labour. The net present values and internal rates of return for Gmelina plantations calculated for the three pulp and paper mills in Nigeria show the same trend in favour of taungya labour.     

Neutrophil Gelatinase–Associated Lipocalin in Dogs with Naturally Occurring Renal Diseases

Background

Neutrophil gelatinase–associated lipocalin (NGAL) is released from renal tubular cells after injury and serves in humans as a real‐time indicator of active kidney damage, including acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, NGAL concentrations in dogs with naturally occurring AKI or CKD rarely have been explored in detail.

Hypothesis/Objectives

The goal of this study was to evaluate whether NGAL can serve as a useful biomarker in dogs with naturally occurring renal disease.

Animals

Client‐owned dogs with renal disease (57) and control dogs without any disease (12) were examined.

Methods

Serum NGAL (sNGAL) and urine NGAL (uNGAL) concentrations were measured in each animal by a newly developed ELISA system. Demographic, hematologic, and serum biochemical data were recorded. Survival attributable to AKI and CKD was evaluated at 30 days and 90 days, respectively.

Results

Serum and urine NGAL concentrations in azotemic dogs were significantly higher than in nonazotemic dogs and were highly correlated with serum creatinine concentration (P < .05). Among CKD dogs, death was associated with significantly higher sNGAL and uNGAL concentrations compared with survivors. Receiver‐operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis showed that sNGAL was better than serum creatinine concentration when predicting clinical outcomes for CKD dogs (P < .05). The best cutoff point for sNGAL was 50.6 ng/mL, which gave a sensitivity and a specificity of 76.9 and 100%, respectively. Furthermore, dogs that had higher concentrations of sNGAL survived for a significantly shorter time.

Conclusion

sNGAL is a useful prognostic marker when evaluating dogs with CKD.     

Effect of hypoxia on generation of neurospheres from adipose tissue-derived canine mesenchymal stromal cells

Adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (AT-MSCs) are good candidates for cell therapy due to the accessibility of fat tissue and the abundance of AT-MSCs therein. Neurospheres are free-floating spherical condensations of cells with neural stem/progenitor cell (NSPC) characteristics that can be derived from AT-MSCs. The aims of this study were to examine the influence of oxygen (O₂) tension on generation of neurospheres from canine AT-MSCs (AT-cMSCs) and to develop a hypoxic cell culture system to enhance the survival and therapeutic benefit of generated neurospheres.AT-cMSCs were cultured under varying oxygen tensions (1%, 5% and 21%) in a neurosphere culture system. Neurosphere number and area were evaluated and NSPC markers were quantified using real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). Effects of oxygen on neurosphere expression of hypoxia inducible factor 1, α subunit (HIF1A) and its target genes, erythropoietin receptor (EPOR), chemokine (C-X-C motif) receptor 4 (CXCR4) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), were quantified by qPCR. Neural differentiation potential was evaluated in 21% O₂ by cell morphology and qPCR.Neurospheres were successfully generated from AT-cMSCs at all O₂ tensions. Expression of nestin mRNA (NES) was significantly increased after neurosphere culture and was significantly higher in 1% O₂ compared to 5% and 21% O₂. Neurospheres cultured in 1% O₂ had significantly increased levels of VEGF and EPOR. There was a significant increase in CXCR4 expression in neurospheres generated at all O₂ tensions. Neurosphere culture under hypoxia had no negative effect on subsequent neural differentiation. This study suggests that generation of neurospheres under hypoxia could be beneficial when considering these cells for neurological cell therapies.     

Loss of genetic diversity due to fishing pressure

Loss of genetic diversity in the orange roughy, Hoplostethus atlanticus, caught off New Zealand, was measured by gel electrophoresis of nine polymorphic enzyme loci. There has been a significant reduction in genetic diversity on three spawning sites over the past 6 years, during which time the virgin biomass has been reduced by 70%. It is suggested that fishing activities which concentrate on spawning populations differentially remove the older and more heterozygous individuals from the virgin stock. Commercial fishing activities may have had significant genetic effects on fish stocks without reducing them to near-extinction levels.