Serologic, virologic, and histopathologic observations of encephalomyocarditis virus infection in mummified and stillborn pigs

Stillborn and mummified swine fetuses from swine farms experiencing reproductive problems were investigated for evidence of infection with encephalomyocarditis (EMC) virus by fetal serology, virus isolation, and histopathologic examination. Fetal sera or thoracic fluids of 478 abnormal fetuses collected during January through December 1987 were tested for the presence of antibody specific to EMC virus. Of 478 samples tested, 175 (36.6%) had EMC virus serum neutralizing antibody titers of 1:64 or greater. The samples positive for EMC virus antibody were obtained from 38 swine farms located in 9 states in the United States. In addition to serologic observations, tissue samples of some abnormal fetuses were examined for the presence of virus and histopathologic lesions. The EMC virus was isolated in 1 case from the fetuses of an aborted litter. The isolate was serologically identical to a reference EMC virus. Nonsuppurative encephalitis and myocarditis were observed in the fetal samples collected from 2 different herds. Thoracic fluid of 1 stillborn pig with lesions was positive for EMC virus antibody at a titer of 1:512. We suggest that a widespread reproductive problem recently experienced in several major swine-producing areas of the United States may have been caused by EMC virus infection.     

Muscarinic receptor subtypes in equine tracheal smooth muscle

Selective muscarinic receptor antagonists were used to identify muscarinic receptor subtypes in equine trachealis strips. The M₁ receptor antagonist pirenzepine (10^–7 mol/L to 3 × 10^–5 mol/L) and the M₃ receptor antagonist 4-diphenylacetoxy-N-methylpiperidine (4-DAMP, 10^–9 mol/L to 3 × 10^–7 mol/L³) dose dependently inhibited the contractile responses to electrical field stimulation (EFS) and exogenous acetylcholine (ACh). Schild plots yielded a pA₂ value for pirenzepine vs ACh of 6.75 ± 0.09, which is consistent with the affinity for M₂ or M₃ receptors, and a pA₂ value for 4-DAMP vs ACh of 8.47 ± 0.09, which is in agreement with the affinity for M₃ receptors. The M₂ receptor antagonist gallamine (10^–5 mol/L and 10^–4 mol/L) did not affect the response of trachealis to exogenous ACh and low-frequency EFS (0.1–2 Hz) but decreased the responses to high-frequency EFS (4–16 Hz). These results suggest that the muscarinic receptors mediating contractions induced by ACh in equine tracheal smooth muscle are of the M₃ subtype. The lack of an increase in the response to EFS following gallamine suggests that functional prejunctional inhibitory M₂ receptors are not present on the cholinergic nerves innervating equine tracheal smooth muscle.     

Recent studies on the enterotropic strain of avian infectious bronchitis virus

Avian infectious bronchitis (AIB) is an economically important disease of chickens. Recent studies have revealed enterotropism by at least one strain of AIB virus with pathological lesions in parts of the gut. This review highlights the findings of the studies so far made on this enterotropic strain of AIB virus.     

Light and electron microscopic studies of calf kidneys after exposure to subtoxic lead levels]

Eight calves were fed from the fourth to the twentieth week of age a milk powder diet containing 40 mg lead acetate per kg dry substance. This is twice the lead concentration legally permitted. In average, each animal has daily taken up 0.834 mg lead per kg body weight. Eight calves were used as controls. The animals gained the usual fattening weights and did not show clinical symptoms. Beginning with week 14, increased levels of blood urea were encountered in the animals which received lead in their diet. Morphologically, severe renal lesions were found in these calves. The kidneys were increased in weight, pale and of firm consistency. Histologically, fibrosis and periglomerular interstitial non-purulent nephritis were found. Light- and electronmicroscopically, numerous intranuclear inclusion-bodies typical for lead poisoning were demonstrated in epithelial cells of proximal tubules. The results show, that daily uptake of less than 1 mg lead per kg body weight must be considered as a toxic dose for calves, and not 5-7 mg as stated in literature.     

冻融中土壤的水热动态

根据在北京郊区的试验,认为土壤水冻融过程可分为三阶段,其中第二阶段有聚墒现象,平均聚墒8.6mm,所聚的墒在融化过程中又逐渐消失。气温回升至-2℃左右是冻层下部由冻到融的转折温度。冬灌水保存到来年春季的数量有限,本试验中1m 土层内平均不足20mm。     

香菇简易开放式栽培高产菌株的早期鉴定

试验对５个香菇菌株进行简易开放式栽培并观察其特性，发现菌丝生长速度、锁状联合数与生物学效率相关性不密切，香菇的酶活性，子实体形成所需时间、子实体单重、菌盖重与生物学效率密切相关。     

Epidemiological studies on the expectation of life for cats computed from animal cemetery records

Based on the Chiang's method, the life table for cats was constructed from the death data of 3936 cats. They died in the Kanto area and were buried in an animal cemetery in Tokyo from June 1981 through May 1982. This life table seems to be the first one for domestic pet cats. The expectation of life for cats was 4.2 years at age 0, 5.0 years at age 1, 5.4 years at age 4, 5.3 years at age 5, 3.5 years at age 10, and 2.2 years at age 15. The maximum age at death was 22 years. From age 0 to age 5, the probability of dying for cats was higher than that for dogs, but over 6 years of age it seemed that Gompertz's equation was applicable to this life table for cats. From these results, if the probability of dying for cats at early ages decreases, the fundamental pattern of dying curve for cats seems to be a similar figure of dogs. The life table was constructed for different breeds and localities. Comparing the expectation of life at age 1 (e1) of the two populations divided by breeds or localities, there was significant difference in the e1 among different localities but not among different breeds. These facts suggest the existence of some factors which may influence the life span of cats among different localities.     

Correlated Responses in Two Traits when Selection is Practised on their Ratio

In many fields of application in plant breeding and crop science, ratios of two component traits X and Y are of interest (harvest index in cereals, leaf-to-stem ratio in forage legumes, height-to-diameter ratio in forest trees etc.). When selection is practised on the ratio X/Y of two traits X and Y, the experimenter may be interested in the resulting changes of both trait means. Based on improved approximations for the covariances between X and X/Y and between Y and X/Y and for the variance of X/Y the changes in the means of X and Y can be predicted by applying the regression approach from conventional selection theory. Explicit expressions for these correlated responses in X and Y when selection is practised on their ratio X/Y are derived and discussed. The different outcomes (decrease, zero change or increase) for the selection pressures on X and Y are characterized by phenotypic coefficients of variation of X and Y, phenotypic and genotypic correlations between X and Y and heritabilities of X and Y.     

Determination of the protease activity in a Cuban strain of Babesia bovis]

The attenuation of a Babesia bovis strain depends on its protease content. The present work evaluates this parameter on a virulent strain, before and after attenuation by quick passages on splenectomized calves. The protease activity at different pH values was determined in protein fractions from the blood of calves. The enzymatic test showed marked differences between the protease content of both substrains.