Influence of HMB (beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate) on antibody secreting cells (ASC) after in vitro and in vivo immunization with the anti-Yersinia ruckeri vaccine of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

In practice, protection of fish against disease by immunization is of limited effectiveness. Therefore, research is concentrated on how to improve the potency and efficacy of vaccines and how to optimally activate the cell-mediated immunity and the specific antibody response. In the present study, the influence of HMB (beta-Hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate) on the antibody secreting cells (ASC) after both in vitro and in vivo immunization of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) with the anti-yersiniosis vaccine was studied. For in vitro immunization, the spleens from 160 fish were sampled and placed each in 35 mm sterile wells with medium containing HMB at concentrations of 0, 0.1, 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 or 100 microg/mL of medium. The spleens from 80 fish were injected with the vaccine and incubated at 14 degrees C for 10 days. For the in vivo study, fish were fed pellets containing HMB at doses of 0, 10, 25 and 50 mg/kg bw per day. After 2 weeks of HMB supplementation, the fish were immunized by intraperitoneal injection of the vaccine. At 7, 14, 18, 21, 28 and 35 days after immunization, pronephros were taken from 10 fish in each group for testing. When analyzed by the ELISPOT assay, HMB increased the number of splenic ASC after in vitro immunization at concentrations between 10 and 100 microg/mL (P < 0.05). Dietary HMB also increased the number of total and specific ASC when the fish were vaccinated in vivo. In conclusion, the results of the present study showed that HMB increases the levels of specific ASC after both in vitro and in vivo immunization of rainbow trout with the anti-Yersinia ruckeri vaccine.     

Sensitivity of boreal forest carbon balance to soil thaw

We used eddy covariance; gas-exchange chambers; radiocarbon analysis; wood, moss, and soil inventories; and laboratory incubations to measure the carbon balance of a 120-year-old black spruce forest in Manitoba, Canada. The site lost 0.3 +/- 0.5 metric ton of carbon per hectare per year (ton C ha-1 year-1) from 1994 to 1997, with a gain of 0.6 +/- 0.2 ton C ha-1 year-1 in moss and wood offset by a loss of 0.8 +/- 0.5 ton C ha-1 year-1 from the soil. The soil remained frozen most of the year, and the decomposition of organic matter in the soil increased 10-fold upon thawing. The stability of the soil carbon pool ( approximately 150 tons C ha-1) appears sensitive to the depth and duration of thaw, and climatic changes that promote thaw are likely to cause a net efflux of carbon dioxide from the site.     

Quantitative ecological risk assessment for fishing effects on diverse data-poor non-target species in a multi-sector and multi-gear fishery

Assessment of ecological sustainability for all species impacted by fishing is one of the most important and practical steps towards an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries. We extend methods for Sustainability Assessment for Fishing Effects (SAFE) to assess diverse bycatch species in a multi-sector and multi-gear fishery. We develop methods for estimating fishing mortality rate, based on limited data, for demersal trawl, Danish seine, gillnet, and longline. The general approach involves estimating spatial overlap between species distribution and fishing effort distribution, catchability resulting from probability of encountering the gear and size-dependent selectivity, and post-capture mortality. We define three reference points (F_msm, F_lim, and F_crash) and use six methods to derive these reference points. As an example, we apply this method to nearly 500 fish species caught in the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery, a multi-sector and multi-gear fishery in Australia. We assess sustainability risk for all captured fish species in each sub-fishery and the cumulative impact across all the sub-fisheries. The results indicate that chondrichthyans are more vulnerable to fishing impact than teleosts, and that impact differs among sectors of the fishery. This method could be easily applied to other fisheries. However, the results may require fine tuning by other means such as expert judgment.     

Biomimetic Pathways for Assembling Inorganic Thin Films

Living organisms construct various forms of laminated nanocomposites through directed nucleation and growth of inorganics at self-assembled organic templates at temperatures below 100°C and in aqueous solutions. Recent research has focused on the use of functionalized organic surfaces to form continuous thin films of single-phase ceramics. Continuous thin films of mesostructured silicates have also been formed on hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces through a two-step mechanism. First, under acidic conditions, surfactant micellar structures are self-assembled at the solid/liquid interface, and second, inorganic precursors condense to form an inorganic-organic nanocomposite. Epitaxial coordination of adsorbed surfactant tubules is observed on mica and graphite substrates, whereas a random arrangement is observed on amorphous silica. The ability to process ceramic-organic nanocomposite films by these methods provides new technological opportunities.     

The aetiology of diarrhoea in pigs weaned at two days of age.

When pigs are weaned at two days of age large numbers of Excherichia coli appear in the anterior gut and the incidence of diarrhoea rises. The two phenomena do not appear to be directly related because the strains of E coli isolated are not serotypes previously found to be associated with neonatal pig scouring. Representative strains of the non-enteropathogenic serotypes did not produce enterotoxin and did not adhere to small intestine brush borders. Moreover when antibiotics were fed to eliminate E coli from the gut, the pigs still scoured. Rotavirus was detected in the gut contents and gut epithelium of scouring pigs and a bacteria-free filtrate of gut contents produced diarrhoea when administered to germ-free pigs. It is suggested that rotavirus may be one of the causes of the scouring seen shortly after weaning pigs at two days of age.     

How commercial fishing effort is managed

Wild capture fisheries produce 90 million tonnes of food each year and have the potential to provide sustainable livelihoods for nearly 40 million people around the world ( http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5555e.pdf ). After decades of overfishing since industrialization, many global fish stocks have recovered, a change brought about through effective management. We provide a synthetic overview of three approaches that managers use to sustain stocks: regulating catch and fishing mortality, regulating effort and regulating spatial access. Within each of these approaches, we describe common restrictions, how they alter incentives to change fishing behaviour, and the resultant ecological, economic and community‐level outcomes. For each approach, we present prominent case‐studies that illustrate behaviour and the corresponding performance. These case‐studies show that sustaining target stocks requires a hard limit on fishing mortality under most conditions, but that additional measures are required to generate economic benefits. Different systems for allocation allow stakeholder communities to strike a locally acceptable balance between profitability and employment.     

Oesophageal compliance in naturally occurring canine megaoesophagus

SUMMARY The passive blomechanical property of oesophageal compliance (OC) was measured in 8 naturally occurring cases of canine megaoesophagus, 8 matched control and 7 vagotomised control dogs. Of the 8 dogs with megaoesophagus, 6 had congenital Idiopathic megaoesophagus and 2 had secondary megaoesophagus attributable to generalised skeletal muscle disease. Stepwise distension of the whole oesophagus was employed for measurement of OC at the 4.0 and 8.0 mL/kg Injected volume steps within the control volume range (0 to 12.0 mL/kg). At both Injected volume steps OC was higher In megaoesophagus dogs than in either matched control or vagotomised control dogs (P / 0.01 In both cases), and no significant difference was observed In OC between matched control and vagotomised control dogs. No correlation was demonstrated between OC and the estimated duration of clinical signs of dogs with megaoesophagus. These findings suggest that In most cases of canine megaoesophagus the viscoelastic properties of the oesophageal wall are significantly altered, that In such cases the disorder is unlikely to be purely dynamic and that processes other than the duration of oesophageal dilatation are responsible for the alteration in oesophageal wall blomechanical properties. The relevance of these findings to current concepts on pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the evolution and resolution of various forms of canine megaoesophagus Is discussed.