Thrombocyte aggregation in the cat

Platelet aggregation in healthy and sick cats after adding various aggregating agents is described. Feline platelets aggregate irreversibly in response to 0.15-1.0 micrograms/ml collagen, 1 microM ADP, 0.3 IU/ml test-thrombin and 0.71 NIH/ml Topostasin. Epinephrine, ristocetin and kaolin failed to cause aggregation. The aggregation function was decreased in a cat with liver damage and icterus; in 2 cats with uremia platelet aggregation was normal. Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) (10 mg/kg iv) inhibits platelet aggregation in the presence of collagen in low concentrations; high concentrations of collagen succeeded in inducing platelet aggregation.     

Influence of Low Light Irradiance on Grain Filling in Rice (Oryza saliva L.) cultivars

Time course of grain filling pattern in two rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars, grown under normal and low light intensities, was studied. The number of spikelets, partially filled grains and high density grains were monitored at a 5 day interval during grain filling period from uniform panicles tagged at anthesis. The low light tolerant cultivar Swarnaprabha had more high density grains and less partially filled grains throughout the grain filling period and at harvest compared to cultivar Ratna under both normal and low light intensities. Further, the opening of spikelets in two flushes in Swarnaprabha seemed to result in a more efficient resource allocation and hence better yield as compared to Ratna, in which the opening of spikelets was in a single flush on day 10.     

Experimental and natural infection with the enzootic leukosis virus of cattle

A trial was performed with heifers at the age of six to seven months. The animals were experimentally infected with the lymphocytes of a virus-productive donor. Infection was produced in all the nine cases, as demonstrated by means of the positive syncytial test. As indicated by the results of the trial, the antibodies to the enzootic bovine leucosis virus (BLV) were produced soon after experimental infection. A high sensitivity of the serum-neutralization test and the ELISA method was demonstrated in this connection: by these methods, the antibodies were identified already two to three weeks after experimental infection whereas by the immunodiffusion test they could be detected only after five weeks. Twenty-four animals were exposed to natural contact infection. Within 270 days of the trial, the disease after contact was recorded only in one heifer out of the four that were in close contact with the experimentally infected animals. In this case, as compared with experimental infection, the antibodies were produced much later--after 85 to 93 days. Leucosis was recorded in none of the remaining animals. The reasons why such a favourable result was obtained were the thorough disinfection of the stables after blood collections and the strict observance of the aseptic conditions. The results of experimental infection in three cows were identical with those obtained in young cattle. In the experimentally infected dairy cows, antibodies in milk were determined by the ELISA method. As found, in milk the antibodies to BLV appear two to three weeks later than they do in serum. The ELISA method of BLV antibody detection can be used for the identification of infected animals in herds where enzootic bovine leucosis occurs.     

Pathogenesis of placentitis in the goat inoculated with Brucella abortus. II. Ultrastructural studies

Pregnant goats were inoculated intravenously or in uterine arteries with Brucella abortus, and tissues from the uterus and placenta were examined by electron microscopy. Identification of B. abortus in placentae was with antibody-coated colloidal gold. B. abortus was first seen in phagosomes of erythrophagocytic trophoblasts and in the rough endoplasmic reticulum of chorioallantoic trophoblasts. Subsequently, trophoblast necrosis and ulceration of chorioallantoic membranes were present. Coincidently, B. abortus was present in the lumen of placental capillaries. In late stages of infection, placental vasculitis was present, and placentomal trophoblasts were separated from maternal syncytial epithelium. In lesions with vasculitis, large numbers of B. abortus were in connective tissue of chorionic villi. Within the placentome, trophoblasts that lined chorionic villi contained no intracellular bacteria and were separated from B. abortus by intact basement membranes. These results suggest that bacteremic B. abortus is endocytosed by erythrophagocytic trophoblasts and that B. abortus replicates in the rough endoplasmic reticulum of chorioallantoic trophoblasts. Replication of brucellae in trophoblastic rough endoplasmic reticulum is unique; we believe that B. abortus may utilize endoplasmic reticulum for synthesis and glycosylation of bacterial membrane proteins or that B. abortus catabolizes trophoblast secretory proteins.     

Chemopreventive efficacy of lycopene on 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene-induced hamster buccal pouch carcinogenesis.

The chemopreventive efficacy of lycopene on 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced hamster buccal pouch (HBP) carcinogenesis was examined using lipid peroxidation, reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and glutathione reductase (GR) as biomarkers of chemoprevention. Twenty four male Syrian hamsters were divided into four groups of six animals each. The right buccal pouches of the animals in group 1 were painted with a 0.5% solution of DMBA in liquid paraffin three times a week. The animals in group 2 were painted with DMBA as in group 1 and in addition received 2.5 mg/kg body weight lycopene orally three times a week on days alternate to DMBA application. Group 3 animals received lycopene as in group 2. Animals in group 4 received neither DMBA nor lycopene and served as control. The hamsters were killed after an experimental period of 14 weeks. Biochemical measurements were carried out in tumour and normal tissues. All hamsters painted with DMBA alone for 14 weeks developed well-differentiated squamous cell carcinomas. Diminished lipid peroxidation in the oral tumour tissue was accompanied by a significant increase in the levels of GSH, GPx, GST and GR. Administration of lycopene significantly suppressed DMBA-induced oral carcinogenesis as revealed by the absence of carcinomas. The results of the present study suggest that lycopene may exert its chemopreventive effects by modulating lipid peroxidation and enhancing the activities of the enzymes in the glutathione redox cycle.     

Reproductive roles predict sexual dimorphism in internal and external morphology of lake whitefish,Coregonus clupeaformis

Abstract – The different reproductive roles of the sexes can predict the direction and magnitude of sexual dimorphism of external and internal morphology. Males should have enlarged structures that enhance the acquisition of mating opportunities, whereas females are predicted to have enlarged organs that are associated with the production of eggs. We tested these predictions in male and female lake whitefish, a species in which both sexes have similar overall body size and shape. After controlling for body size, male lake whitefish had significantly longer jaws and pectoral and pelvic fins, larger hearts, and more muscle than females. Sexual dimorphism in relative muscle mass may be one of the most fundamental morphological differences between males and females. Females had relatively heavier livers than males. Because the liver is important for the breakdown of fats and vitellogenesis, selection should favour an enlarged liver in females for the processing of energy and the production of large numbers of eggs.     

P‐20 Clinical,cytopathological and histopathological evaluation of sporotrichosis in experimentally infected cats

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinicopathological aspects of experimental sporotrichosis in cats and compare the sensitivity of cytopathology, histopathology and culture as diagnostic tools in different phases of the infection. Twenty adult, mixed‐breed cats (10 males and 10 females) were inoculated subcutaneously with 10⁶ fungal microorganisms. Clinical examination was performed weekly. Cytopathologic, histopathologic and culture examinations were performed at 15, 30 and 60 days postinoculation. Culture of multiple organs was performed after euthanasia at 30 (10 cats) and 60 (10 cats) days postinoculation. Friedman parametric and nonparametric statistical analysis were applied to the results. The nodular, tumoral and necrotic lesionsprogressed significantly until day 30 postinoculation, and partial spontaneous regression occurred at day 60, particularly in males. An intense inflammatory pyogranulatomous and lymphocytic infiltrate with rare giant cells and sparse fibrosis associated with numerous, pleomorphic, intra‐ and extracellular fungal cells were observed on day 30. These findings gradually decreased by day 60. Despite the inflammatory granuloma associated with feline sporotrichosis, a tendency for dissemination was observed, with fungal isolation in the lymph nodes, spleen and liver at the 30 and 60 days postinoculation. No significant differences were observed between cytopathology, histopathology and fungal culture during the different phases of the disease. Therefore, cytological examination was considered a simple, rapid and inexpensive diagnostic method at all stages of this disease. Funding: Self‐funded.