Brain and spinal cord lesions in encephalitozoonosis in mink

Central nervous system lesions were studied by light microscopy in 43 farmed mink, aged 5 months to 2 1/2 years, with spontaneous encephalitozoonosis and showing cataractous eye changes. Lesions were found in the brain and spinal cord of all animals examined but were generally mild and chronic. The lesions were consistent with those previously described in spontaneous encephalitozoonosis in other carnivores. Parasites in parasitophorous vacuoles and free or phagocytosed in necrotic and granulomatous lesions were demonstrated in animals aged 5 months to 1 year. The occurrence of arterial lesions of the polyarteritis nodosa type found in the youngest animals probably indicates fetal infection. In animals aged 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 years active lesions were usually lacking and the changes were characterized by arterial sclerosis, sometimes with aneurysmal formations, small perivascular lympho-plasmacytic cuffings and focal gliosis.     

Evaluation of glucose tolerance and intestinal luminal membrane glucose transporter function in horses with equine motor neuron disease

OBJECTIVE: To confirm whether the plasma glucose concentration curve obtained during oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs) in horses with equine motor neuron disease (EMND) is decreased, compared with that obtained in clinically normal horses, and determine whether that decrease is a result of defective glucose metabolism or intestinal glucose transport dysfunction. ANIMALS: 8 horses with EMND and 44 matched control horses. PROCEDURE: Electromyography and OGTTs were performed in all 8 affected horses and 10 control horses. Intravenous GTTs (IVGTTs) were performed in 6 affected horses and another 11 control horses. The activity and levels of jejunal luminal membrane glucose transporter (Na+ / glucose cotransporter isoform 1 [SGLT1]) were measured in 2 affected horses and 23 control horses. RESULTS: In horses with EMND, generalized neuropathy was detected via quantitative electromyography; the mean increase in plasma glucose concentration during the OGTT was significantly decreased, compared with the value in control horses. During the IVGTT the mean increase in plasma glucose concentration was significantly lower than that of control horses. The activity and levels of SGLT1 in 2 affected horses were similar to those of control horses. Diagnosis of EMND was confirmed postmortem in all affected horses. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Data suggest that the decreased plasma glucose curve obtained in horses with EMND during OGTTs (compared with control horses) is a result of overall enhanced glucose metabolism or abnormalities in the facilitated glucose transporters; definitive identification of the underlying mechanisms could aid in the development of appropriate treatments of EMND in horses.     

Herpesvirus interference with virus-specific antibodies: bridging antibodies, internalizing antibodies, and hiding from antibodies

Herpesviruses have developed different tools to thwart efficient antibody-dependent neutralisation and lysis of virions and elimination of infected cells. This overview will briefly summarize different of these tools, including (i) viral Fc receptors and the resulting process of antibody bridging, (ii) internalization of individual viral proteins and clustered antibody-antigen complexes from the plasma membrane of infected cells, and (iii) directed egress of virus particles to sites of intimate cell-cell contact that are difficult to access for antibodies.     

Effects of physiologic agonists on canine whole blood flow cytometry assays of leukocyte-platelet aggregation and platelet activation

Platelets play a role in both the innate and adaptive immune systems. Methods for detecting activated platelets and leukocyte-platelet aggregates (LPAs) are useful for basic and applied research concerning the role of platelets in inflammation and immune disorders. The aim of the study was to develop flow cytometric assays for detection of platelets binding to monocytes and neutrophils and for activated platelets in canine whole blood and to investigate the effect of physiologic agonists. Citrate anticoagulated whole blood was incubated with monoclonal antibodies against CD14 and CD61 for detection of LPAs, and the effect of various agonists was investigated. For detection of activated platelets, whole blood was incubated with monoclonal antibodies against CD62P and against a receptor-induced binding site on fibrinogen (CAP1) with CD61 as a platelet identifier. Isotype controls were prepared in parallel. The individual physiologic agonists ADP, collagen and epinephrine increased LPAs, CD62P and CAP1 binding only modestly. However, combinations of agonists gave more substantial increases. A dose-response relationship was seen using alpha- and gamma-thrombin, and ADP as agonists. In conclusion, we have developed flow cytometry assays to measure LPAs and platelet activation in canine whole blood, and have explored the effect of various physiologic agonists at different concentrations.     

Enzymatic hydrolysis of brewers' spent grain proteins and technofunctional properties of the resulting hydrolysates

Brewers' spent grain (BSG) is the insoluble residue of barley malt resulting from the manufacture of wort. Although it is the main byproduct of the brewing industry, it has received little attention as a marketable commodity and is mainly used as animal feed. Our work focuses on one of the main constituents of BSG, i.e., the proteins. The lack of solubility of BSG proteins is one of the limitations for their more extensive use in food processing. We therefore aimed to generate BSG protein hydrolysates with improved technofunctional properties. BSG protein concentrate (BPC) was prepared by alkaline extraction of BSG and subsequent acid precipitation. BPC was enzymatically hydrolyzed in a pH-stat setup by several commercially available proteases (Alcalase, Flavourzyme, and Pepsin) for different times and/or with different enzyme concentrations in order to obtain hydrolysates with different degrees of hydrolysis (DH). Physicochemical properties, such as molecular weight (MW) distribution and hydrophobicity, as well as technofunctional properties, such as solubility, color, and emulsifying and foaming properties, were determined. Enzymatic hydrolysis of BPC improved emulsion and/or foam-forming properties. However, for the hydrolysates prepared with Alcalase and Pepsin, an increasing DH generally decreased emulsifying and foam-forming capacities. Moreover, the type of enzyme impacted the resulting technofunctional properties. Hydrolysates prepared with Flavourzyme showed good technofunctional properties, independent of the DH. Physicochemical characterization of the hydrolysates indicated the importance of protein fragments with relatively high MW (exceeding 14.5 k) and high surface hydrophobicity for favorable technofunctional properties.     

Effects of hydrochar application on the dynamics of soluble nitrogen in soils and on plant availability

Before hydrochars can be applied as soil amendments in agriculture, information about how hydrochar application affects soil nutrient cycles and plant growth are necessary. In this study, incubation experiments were performed to investigate hydrochar effects on N concentrations (NO$ _3^- $ , NH$ _4^+ $ ) in soils with different N pools (soil N, fertilizer N). A set of pot trials with three crop species (barley, phaseolus bean, leek) was conducted to determine hydrochar effects on plant N availability and biomass production after mineral‐N fertilization. Results of the incubation experiments show that hydrochar reduced the concentration of mineral N in soil within the first week after incorporation, especially that of nitrate. This was particularly evident, when hydrochars with high C : N ratio, high DOC and low mineral‐N contents were applied. Hydrochars promoted biomass production of barley and phaseolus bean in pot trials, which can be partly attributed to an increase in soil pH after hydrochar incorporation. Dry‐matter yield of leek tended to decrease after hydrochar application. Hydrochars with high C : N ratio decreased the plant's N content, an effect that was strongest with increased hydrochar concentration. Hydrochars with low C : N ratio did not affect the crop's N uptake. Our results show that the use of hydrochars as amendment in arable field or horticultural pot production will require an adjustment of N‐mineral‐fertilization strategies.     

Experiments on the effects of seedbed characteristics on seedling emergence in a dry weather situation

A research program concerning the seedbed preparation problems in Swedish agriculture included a series of pot experiments in shallow plastic boxes. Seedbeds of well-defined characteristics were arranged, and seedling emergence was determined by daily plant countings. In the experiments reported, the main subject of study was the efficiency of the seedbed in controlling evaporation. Clay or clay loam soils were used, and the crops were mainly small grain cereals.Seven experiments with unstratified seedbeds showed that for small grains in a dry weather situation, the seed should be placed directly onto the moist bottom of a harrowed layer, which should be 4–5 cm deep and mainly consist of aggregates smaller than 4 mm. If the bottom layer contains less than 5% plant available water, or if a fine enough seedbed structure cannot be produced, the depth of both harrowing and sowing should be increased. In four experiments with stratified seedbeds, no reasons were found for sorting the coarse aggregates to the soil surface, provided the initial moisture content increased with depth.Effects of seed quality were studied in two experiments. Seed lots with equal germinability under optimum moisture conditions gave large differences in emergence in a moisture stress situation. Within a rather wide seed size range, the size as such had only minor influence on the emergence rate.