The effect of magnetic resonance treatment on chicken embryos]

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is of increasing diagnostic importance especially in human medicine. To evaluate possible side effects of this technology, embryonated chicken eggs were used as a model. Different fields (static magnetic field [1 oder 4 T], variable magnetic field [gradient] or high frequency field) were applied before the beginning and at the fifth day of incubation for different times (18.8, 37.6, 56 or 75.1 min, resp.). According to the criteria embryo-mortality, hatching-rate or vitality of the chickens, influences of the NMR-treatment were not observed.     

An hPer2 phosphorylation site mutation in familial advanced sleep phase syndrome

Familial advanced sleep phase syndrome (FASPS) is an autosomal dominant circadian rhythm variant; affected individuals are "morning larks" with a 4-hour advance of the sleep, temperature, and melatonin rhythms. Here we report localization of the FASPS gene near the telomere of chromosome 2q. A strong candidate gene (hPer2), a human homolog of the period gene in Drosophila, maps to the same locus. Affected individuals have a serine to glycine mutation within the casein kinase Iepsilon (CKIepsilon) binding region of hPER2, which causes hypophosphorylation by CKIepsilon in vitro. Thus, a variant in human sleep behavior can be attributed to a missense mutation in a clock component, hPER2, which alters the circadian period.     

Protease-induced solubilisation of carbohydrates from brewers' spent grain

The impact of microbial proteases on the release of carbohydrates from BSG was studied. The proteases were able to release the non-cellulosic glucose, a portion of feruloylated arabinoxylan and over 50% of the protein from brewers' spent grain (BSG) after 24 h hydrolysis. The non-cellulosic glucose was derived from residual starch-derived products persisting in BSG after mashing. The proteases did not cleave the hydroxycinnamate ester linkages present on the arabinoxylan backbone, and thus do not behave as feruloyl esterases. However, the material solubilised from spent grain by the proteases contained up to 198 μg bound ferulic acid/g extract, which represented 8.6% of the total ferulic acid present in BSG. These results suggest that a portion of water-extractable feruloylated arabinoxylan and starch is trapped within the BSG matrix by a proteinaceous barrier.     

Hemicellulase production in Chrysosporium lucknowense C1

Filamentous fungi are widely used for enzyme production for the biofuel industry. The ascomycetous fungus Chrysosporium lucknowense C1 was isolated as a natural producer of neutral cellulases. It is at present an attractive alternative to well known fungi like Aspergillus sp. and Trichoderma reesei for protein production on a commercial scale. Besides many cellulases, a large number of hemicellulases (particularly xylanases and arabinofuranosidases) and esterases (acetyl xylan esterases and ferulic acid esterases) encoding genes have also been identified in the C1 genome. Many of these extracellular enzymes have been selectively expressed in C1 and then purified and characterized. Four arabinofuranosidases, two acetyl xylan esterases, two ferulic acid esterases, an α-glucuronidase and four xylanases have been purified and characterized. All these enzymes were found to be active towards arabinoxylans, demonstrating the high potential of C1 as a producer of hemicellulolytic enzymes.     

Die Übertragung des Enationenvirus der Erbse durch verschiedene Morphen der BlattlausartenMacrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas) undAcyrthosiphon pisum (Harris)

Zusammenfassung Unterschiedliche Vektoreignungen können zwischen Rassen, Morphen und Altersstadien einer Blattlausart auftreten. Es wurden verschiedene Morphen vonMacrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas) undAcyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) hinsichtlich ihrer Übertragungsfähigkeit für das persistente Enationenvirus der Erbse geprüft. Dabei erwiesen sich ovipare Weibchen und adulte Männchen vonM. euphorbiae als ungeeignete Überträger, während die gleichen Morphen von zweiA. pisum-Populationen die Virose übertrugen. Auch die Fundatrix desA. pisum-BastardsTrifolium pratense rot XSarothamnus scoparius grün übertrug zu einem relativ hohen Prozentsatz. Ovipare Weibchen und Männchen der inaktiven RasseLotus uliginosus gelb konnten keine Infektion bewirken; die persistente Virusübertragungsfähigkeit ist im Falle vonAcyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) offenbar ein genetisch fixiertes Merkmal.

---

Summary Different vector abilities may exist between races, morphs and development instars of a given aphid species. Several morphs ofMacrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas) and ofAcyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) were tested in their transmission ability for the persistent pea enation mosaic virus. Oviparous females and adult males ofM. euphorbiae proved insuitable for transmission, the corresponding morphs of twoA. pisum-populations, however, were successful in transmitting. The fundatrix of theA. pisum hybridTrifolium pratense red xSarothamnus scoparius green transmitted to a relatively high percentage. Oviparous females and males of the inactiv raceLotus uliginosus yellow failed completely in transmitting; in the present case ofA. pisum the transmission character of the persistent virus evidently is genetically fixed.

---

Résumé Différentes aptitudes de vecteur peuvent se trouver entre les races, les morphes et les périodes d'âge d'une espèce de pucerons. Différentes morphes deMacrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas) et deAcyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) ont été examinées en ce qui concerne leurs aptitudes de transmettre le virus persistant du pois(pea enation mosaic). En ce cas les femelles ovipares et les mâles adultes deM. euphorbiae se montraient impropres à la transmission, pendant que les mêmes morphes de deux populations deA. pisum transmettaient la virose. C'était la fondatrice du bâtard deA. pisum Trifolium pratense rouge avecSarothamnus scoparius vert qui transmettait à une pourcentage relativement haute. Les femelles ovipares et les mâles de la race «inactive» deLotus uliginosus jaune ne pouvaient pas effectuer d'infection; en cas deAcyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), l'aptitude persistante à transmettre le virus évidemment est un caractère fixé d'une façon génétique.

---

, . Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas) Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) peaenation mosaic virus). M. euphorbiae , {A. pisum} . A. pisum-Trifolium pratense Sarothamnus scoparius . «» Lotus uliginosus ; Acrythosiphon pisum (Harris) .

     

Multicausal infectious respiratory tract disease of young fattening turkeys]

The outbreak of the disease occurred in a large multiple-age farm with about 50,000 meat turkeys, where groups of 6-8000 one-day-old birds were stalled up every 14 days. All the turkey poults housed were affected mostly in the 1.-3. week of the life. The respiratory disease spread rapidly within the flocks and were characterised clinically by inclination of huddle, ruffled feathers, anorexia, stunted growth, swelling of the infraorbital sinus and nasal discharge. The clinical apparent disease lasted 3 to 4 weeks on the average in the affected flocks and were associated with a mortality from 7-20 percent. The main pathoanatomical lesions were catarrhal-fibrinopurulent rhinitis, sinusitis, tracheitis, bronchopneumonia and air sacculitis as well as atrophy of the thymus. Fibrinous adhesive peri- and epicarditis, perihepatitis, miliary necrotic foci in the liver and diarrhea have been found less frequently. The results of cultural and serological examinations of moribund and dead turkey poults of 6 different flocks indicate that Bordetella avium and Chlamydia psittaci are the primary inciting agents of the respiratory disease. However, the following severe course of the disease were mainly caused by concurrent infections with Klebsiella pneumoniae subsp. pneumoniae, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas fluorescens. In some cases coccidiosis with lesions in ceca were additionally diagnosed. Campylobacter jejuni could be always isolated culturally from the liquid cecal content of diseased birds.     

Ovarian Responses, Hormonal Profiles and Embryo Yields in Anoestrous Ewes Superovulated with Folltropin®-V after Pretreatment with Medroxyprogesterone Acetate-releasing Vaginal Sponges and a Single Dose of Oestradiol-17β

In ruminants, superovulatory treatments started at the time of follicular wave emergence result in greater and less variable ovulatory responses and embryo yields compared with the treatments begun in the presence of a large growing antral follicle(s) from the previous waves. The progesterone–oestradiol treatment is routinely used for follicular wave synchronization in cattle. The main objective of this study was to characterize the ovarian responses, hormonal profiles and in vivo embryo production in anoestrous Rideau Arcott ewes (May‐June), which were superovulated after pretreatment with medroxyprogesterone acetate (MAP)‐releasing intravaginal sponges and a single dose of oestradiol‐17β (E₂‐17β). Six days after insertion of MAP sponges, eight ewes were given an i.m. injection of 350 μg of E₂‐17β (E₂‐17β‐treated ewes); 10 ewes were given an i.m. injection of vehicle (control ewes). Multiple‐dose Folltropin®‐V treatment, followed by the bolus injection of GnRH (50 μg i.m.), began 6 days after E₂‐17β/vehicle injection. Transrectal ovarian ultrasonography revealed that: (i) the interval between E₂‐17β/vehicle injection and regression of all follicles ≥5 to 3 mm in diameter was shorter (p < 0.01; 2.6 ± 0.4 vs 4.8 ± 0.6 days respectively); and (ii) the interval between injection and emergence of the next follicular wave was longer (p < 0.05; 5.4 ± 0.3 vs 1.2 ± 0.4 days, respectively) in E₂‐17β‐treated than in control ewes. During the 6 days after injection, the mean FSH peak concentration and basal FSH concentration were lower (p < 0.01) in E₂‐17β‐treated ewes. The mean ovulation rate and the number of recovered embryos did not differ (p > 0.05) between the two groups of ewes. However, the number of luteinized unovulated follicles per ewe, and the variability in the number of luteal structures and overall embryo yield were less (p < 0.05) in E₂‐17β‐treated compared with control ewes. In conclusion, the MAP–E₂‐17β pretreatment significantly reduced the variability in ovarian responses and embryo yields, without affecting the embryo production in superovulated anoestrous ewes.