A micromethod for measuring swine fever antibody by neutralisation and immunofluorescence

A micromethod employing the neutralisation and direct immunofluorescence technique for the detection of antibodies against swine fever in pig serum samples is described. The micromethod is simple and reproducible when compared with the macromethod. A total of 80 blood samples were randomly collected for comparison. The results are promising and reveal a 100 per cent correlation with the macrotechnique.     

Dairy cow preference for a soft track surface

Abstract

Extract

As dairy herds get larger cows have to walk further, and foot care becomes more important. Lameness from bruising of the soles of the feet is a particular hazard (Tranter and Morris 1991 Tranter, W P and Morris, RS. 1991. A case study of lameness in three dairy herds. New Zealand Veterinary Journal, 39: 88–96. [Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], especially on hard tracks with loose angular stones or grit (Clackson and Ward 1991 Clackson, DA and Ward, WR. 1991. Farm tracks, stockman's herding and lameness in dairy cattle. Veterinary Record, 129: 511–512.  [Google Scholar]. One way of reducing this problem might be to provide an overlay of woodchips on top of the normal hard track. This would provide a softer grit-free surface, which could be more comfortable for the cows.     

Effects of an autumn defoliation on overwintering, spring growth and yield of a white clover/grass sward

An established sward of binary mixtures of meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis) and white clover (Trifolium repens) (either AberHerald, Grasslands Huia or Sandra) was subjected to (A) no further defoliation, (B) a defoliation in late September or (C) a defoliation in late October after four harvests had been taken during the grazing season. About a tonne of dry matter (DM) was removed by the autumn defoliations. There were two levels of nitrogen application in spring, either 0 or 90 kg ha^?1. The development of grass and clover morphology and population sizes from early autumn until the first harvest the following year was followed by regular sampling of the above-ground material. Stolons were analysed for total non-structural carbohydrates (TNCs), and the temperature at stolon level was continuously recorded. There were no interactions between autumn defoliation, clover cultivar or nitrogen treatments on any of the parameters studied. White clover growing-point numbers and stolon morphological characteristics were reduced in size during the winter and did not recover during the spring. A defoliation in late September resulted in the greatest reduction, whereas there were no differences between the other two treatments. The grass tiller population increased from early autumn until the last sampling occasion in May, but both autumn defoliations resulted in a smaller increase. Defoliation in late September had the greatest impact. The TNC content of white clover stolons fell from about 350 g kg^?1 to 150 g kg^?1 DM from late autumn until late April. There were small differences between the treatments, but a defoliation in late September resulted in a significantly lower level in late autumn. The temperature amplitude at stolon level was consistently greater in plots defoliated in late September. Total DM harvested in spring was 4367, 2564 and 3536 kg ha^?1, of which 388, 352 and 460 kg ha^?1 was white clover, from treatments A, B and C respectively. It is concluded that an autumn defoliation may affect the overwintering of white clover negatively, but that the effect on the grass may be even more detrimental.     

Antioxidant and Antiproliferative Activity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Diospyros lotus</Emphasis> L. Extract and Isolated Compounds

The object of the study was to determine the chemical composition of Diospyros lotus L. extract and their antioxidant and antiproliferative properties. Eight compounds were isolated from D. lotus and identified as gallic acid, methylgallate, ellagic acid, kaempferol, quercetin, myricetin, myricetin 3-O-β-glucuronide, and myricetin-3-O-α-rhamnoside. D. lotus extract tested in different in vitro systems (DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, and Fe²⁺ chelating activity assay) showed significant antioxidant activity. The potential antiproliferative properties of D. lotus extract and isolated compounds against nine human cancer cell lines such as COR-L23, CaCo-2, C32, ACHN, A375, A549, Huh-7D12, MCF-7, and LNCaP were investigated in vitro by SRB assay. D. lotus extract demonstrated the highest inhibitory activity against COR-L23 with an IC₅₀ value of 12.2 μg/ml. Among identified hydrolysable tannins, ellagic acid evidenced strong antiproliferative activity against both C32 and A375 cells with IC₅₀ values of 0.8 and 4.1 μg/ml, respectively. Interesting results were observed, also, with gallic acid that showed the highest cytotoxic activity against CaCo-2 (IC₅₀ 2.6 μg/ml). Overall, the results of this study suggest that D. lotus displays a good antioxidant activity and has antiproliferative effects. Both activities are related to identified phenolic compounds.     

玉米蛋白粉替代鱼粉对异育银鲫生长、蛋白酶活性及表观消化率的影响

分别用4%、8%、12%和16%玉米蛋白粉替代异育银鲫饲料中25%、50%、75%和100%鱼粉配制4种等氮、等能的试验饲料,以不替代鱼粉的饲料为对照,试验饲料与对照饲料等氮、等能,在室内循环水养殖系统饲养异育银鲫(初始体重1.32±0.16 g)71 d,旨在研究玉米蛋白粉替代鱼粉对异育银鲫生长、蛋白酶活性以及表观消化率的影响.结果表明,玉米蛋白替代鱼粉对异育银鲫的存活率、肥满度无显著性影响(P>0.05).4%、8%及12%玉米蛋白粉组的相对增重率、相对增长率、饲料系数、蛋白质效率、肠道和肝胰脏蛋白酶活性、干物质和蛋白质表现消化率与对照组无显著差异(P>0.05),玉米蛋白粉完全替代鱼粉组的生长性能、饲料利用、蛋白酶活性和表观消化率均显著低于对照组(P<0.05).因此,本实验条件下,玉米蛋白粉可以替代75%鱼粉.     

不同旱稻品种灌浆期抗旱生理适应性的研究

选择抗旱性不同的4个旱稻品种,对其灌浆期旗叶抗旱性生理指标进行测定。结果表明:超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化物酶(POD)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)活性及游离脯氨酸含量均为抗旱性较强品种(旱稻15号,旱稻2号)极显著地高于抗旱性较弱品种(旱稻1号,旱稻3号);丙二醛(MDA)含量和细胞膜相对透性大小表现为抗旱性较强品种(旱稻15号,旱稻2号)极显著地低于抗旱性较弱品种(旱稻1号,旱稻3号)。SOD、POD、CAT活性和丙二醛含量、游离脯氨酸含量、细胞膜相对透性可用来说明旱稻品种之间的抗旱生理适应性的差异。     

Vascular leakage induced by histamine, bradykinin, serotonin and prostaglandin E2 in Greyhounds

SUMMARY Vascular leakage induced by intradermal injection of histamine, bradykinin and serotonin alone and co-injected with prostaglandin E₂ was measured in Greyhounds using ¹²⁵Iodine-labelled human serum albumin (¹²⁵I-HSA) as a marker in the blood. Histamine and bradykinin produced dose-dependent vascular leakage. At equimolar concentrations, histamine was more than twice as potent as bradykinin. Serotonin did not induce vascular leakage and was irritant. Prostaglandin E₂ did not induce significant vascular leakage (maximum 5μL) when injected alone, but when co-injected with histamine and bradykinin, the vascular leakage of both histamine and bradykinin was increased. This effect was more pronounced if lower concentrations of histamine and bradykinin were injected. The induced vascular leakage was greatest during the first five minutes of lesion development for histamine, during the second five minutes of lesion development for bradykinin, and the synergistic effect of prostaglandin E₂ was maximal during the third five minute period of lesion development.