Age, dose of FSH and other factors affecting superovulation in Holstein cows

Effects of age of donor and other factors on superovulation and production of transferable embryos were investigated. Data were obtained on 987 recoveries of embryos performed between November 1980 and June 1984 by Select Embryos, Inc. The 339 Holstein donors ranged in age from 1.8 to 17.8 yr. The effects of age of donor and dose of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) were examined using regression analysis. For on-farm recoveries, numbers of embryos, rates of fertilization, quality scores of all embryos and numbers of transferable embryos decreased (P less than .01, P less than .001, P less than .05, P less than .01, respectively) with increasing age of donor. For in-clinic recoveries, numbers of embryos plus ova recovered were affected by age of donor, dose of FSH and the interaction of the two (P less than .05). Among older donors, increasing doses of FSH were associated with an increase in the number of ova plus embryos recovered. However, among younger donors, increasing doses of FSH had a negative effect. Numbers of embryos, rates of fertilization and numbers of transferable embryos decreased (P less than .05) with advancing age and increased (P less than .05) with increasing doses of FSH. Greater numbers of ova plus embryos were recovered when treatment with FSH was begun on d 10 or 11 as compared with d 7, 8, 9, 12, 13 or 14 (P less than .001). It was concluded that an increase in age of donor had a negative influence on the success of superovulation and the production of transferable embryos, and that the response to FSH was affected by age of donor.     

Schizophrenia: dopamine beta-hydroxylase activity and treatment response

Cerebrospinal fluid levels of dopamine beta-hydroxylase, found to be relatively constant over time in individual patients, were significantly lower in schizophrenic patients who became nonpsychotic during neuroleptic treatment than in those who remained psychotic. Dopamine beta-hydroxylase activity may delineate a subgroup of patients who have a dopamine-sensitive brain disorder.     

Investigation of the association between the interval from internal teat sealant administration to calving and early lactation clinical mastitis in New Zealand dairy heifers

AIMS: To examine the association between the interval from internal teat sealant (ITS) administration to calving and the incidence of farmer-recorded clinical mastitis in the first 30 days of lactation in pasture-based dairy heifers.

METHODS: Heifers that were administered an ITS by a single veterinary business in the South Island of New Zealand over the winter of 2014 were enrolled in a cross-sectional observational study. ITS was administered to all heifers on each participating farm on a single calendar day. The dates of calving and farmer-diagnosed clinical mastitis were recorded by farm staff. The interval from ITS administration to calving was categorised into four approximately evenly sized groups: <35, 35–48, 49–69 and >69 days. The quartile of the farm’s calving period in which each heifer calved was also investigated as a potential confounding variable. A hierarchical logistic regression model was constructed to determine the association between the interval from ITS administration to calving with the odds of clinical mastitis in the first 30 days of lactation.

RESULTS: Analysis was performed on 7,126 eligible heifers from 31 farms, with ITS administered between 9 May and 11 July 2014. The mean interval from ITS administration to calving was 52.9 (SD 24.4, min 1, max 137) days. Clinical mastitis was diagnosed in 420/7,126 (5.9 (95% CI=5.4–6.5)%) heifers between calving and day 30 of lactation. In the final multivariable model, which included calving period quartile, interval from ITS administration to calving was not associated with the odds of clinical mastitis (p=0.516). Compared to an interval from ITS administration to calving of <35 days, the adjusted OR of clinical mastitis for intervals of 35–48, 49–69 and >69 days were 0.83 (95% CI=0.59–1.17), 0.71 (95% CI=0.45–1.11) and 0.68 (95% CI=0.36–1.29), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Within the range of intervals from ITS administration to calving observed in this study, there was no association with the odds of clinical mastitis in the first 30 days of lactation in dairy heifers. This study suggests that veterinary clinics may be able to extend their ITS administration service and treat dairy heifers earlier than the current recommendation of approximately 4 weeks before the planned start of calving.     

Catalytic antibodies

Monoclonal antibodies elicited to haptens that are analogs of the transition state for hydrolysis of carboxylic esters behaved as enzymic catalysts with the appropriate substrates. These substrates are distinguished by the structural congruence of both hydrolysis products with haptenic fragments. The haptens were potent inhibitors of this esterolytic activity, in agreement with their classification as transition state analogs. Mechanisms are proposed to account for the different chemical behavior of these antibodies with two types of ester substrates. The generation of an artificial enzyme through transition state stabilization by antibodies was thus demonstrated. These studies indicate a potentially general approach to catalyst design.     

Mitotic misregulation and human aging

Messenger RNA levels were measured in actively dividing fibroblasts isolated from young, middle-age, and old-age humans and humans with progeria, a rare genetic disorder characterized by accelerated aging. Genes whose expression is associated with age-related phenotypes and diseases were identified. The data also suggest that an underlying mechanism of the aging process involves increasing errors in the mitotic machinery of dividing cells in the postreproductive stage of life. We propose that this dysfunction leads to chromosomal pathologies that result in misregulation of genes involved in the aging process.     

Sequence-specific peptide cleavage catalyzed by an antibody

Monoclonal antibodies have been induced that are capable of catalyzing specific hydrolysis of the Gly-Phe bond of peptide substrates at neutral pH with a metal complex cofactor. The antibodies were produced by immunizing with a Co(III) triethylenetetramine (trien)-peptide hapten. These antibodies as a group are capable of binding trien complexes of not only Co(III) but also of numerous other metals. Six peptides were examined as possible substrates with the antibodies and various metal complexes. Two of these peptides were cleaved by several of the antibodies. One antibody was studied in detail, and cleavage was observed for the substrates with the trien complexes of Zn(II), Ga(III), Fe(III), In(III), Cu(II), Ni(II), Lu(III), Mg(II), or Mn(II) as cofactors. A turnover number of 6 x 10(-4) per second was observed for these substrates. These results demonstrate the feasibility of the use of cofactor-assisted catalysis in an antibody binding site to accomplish difficult chemical transformations.     

A convergent enantioselective route to structurally diverse 6-deoxytetracycline antibiotics

Complex antibiotics based on natural products are almost invariably prepared by semisynthesis, or chemical transformation of the isolated natural products. This approach greatly limits the range of accessible structures that might be studied as new antibiotic candidates. Here we report a short and enantioselective synthetic route to a diverse range of 6-deoxytetracycline antibiotics. The common feature of this class is a scaffold of four linearly fused rings, labeled A through D. We targeted not a single compound but a group of structures with the D ring as a site of structural variability. A late-stage, diastereoselective C-ring construction was used to couple structurally varied D-ring precursors with an AB precursor containing much of the essential functionality for binding to the bacterial ribosome. Five derivatives were synthesized from benzoic acid in yields ranging from 5 to 7% over 14 to 15 steps, and a sixth, (-)-doxycycline, was synthesized in 8.3% yield over 18 steps.     

Autoimmune encephalomyelitis and ocular lesions in monkeys sensitized during the neonatal period

The neonatal rhesus monkey is susceptible to the induction of autoimmune encephalomyelitis. The disease has been produced regularly by injection of neonatal animals with guinea pig spinal cord antigen in complete Freund's adjuvant. The onset of the disease, as compared with onset in adults, is delayed and is most often heralded by intrinsic eye lesions, notably widespread retinal hemorrhages.     

Water distribution pattern in treated wastewater irrigated soils: hydrophobicity effect

The shortage of fresh water (FW) in Israel and other semiarid regions has forced farmers to significantly expand the use of treated wastewater (TWW). Recently, farmers utilizing reclaimed wastewater (TWW) reported a unique type of water distribution regime in drip-irrigated soils, as follows: (i) limited wetted area on the soil surface; and (ii) small saturated areas around and below the dripper, in TWW irrigated soil as opposed to an even, onion-like wet profile, formed under fresh water (FW) irrigation. Following this observation in the field and after conducting preliminary tests in the laboratory, we hypothesized that TWW irrigation introduces water-repellent organic constituents into the soil. Tests characterizing the water distribution showed the diameter of the saturated area on the soil surface and its water content (at a depth of 0–10 cm) was smaller with TWW than with FW irrigation. The TWW accumulated on the soil surface in small lenses and then flowed rapidly into the ground. The repellency of soils irrigated with FW and TWW was measured with the water drop penetration time test. Soils irrigated with FW were hydrophilic, whereas those irrigated with TWW exhibited hydrophobicity. Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) and ¹³C-NMR analyses of organic components extracted from the soils with organic solvents indicated differences in composition only at a depth of 0–2 cm. Extracting soils with a methanol + chloroform (1:1, by volume) mixture was found to be very effective in the removal and extraction of hydrophobic aliphatic components from soils irrigated with TWW.