Concentration and prevalence of Escherichia coli O157 and Salmonella serotypes in sheep during slaughter at two Australian abattoirs

Objective This study aimed to determine the presence and concentration of Escherichia coli O157 and Salmonella spp. on fleece, faeces and carcases of sheep during slaughter. Procedure Faeces, fleece and pre-chill carcase samples were collected from 164 sheep slaughtered at two Australian abattoirs. The presence of E. coli O157 and Salmonella spp. were determined by use of automated immunomagnetic separation (AIMS) with enumeration by use of the ‘most probable number’ (MPN) method. Results Escherichia coli O157 was isolated from 5% of faeces, 3% of fleeces and 0.6% of pre-chill carcases. The mean log₁₀ count of E. coli O157 positive faecal samples was 2.32 MPN/g, but counts on fleeces and carcases were below the countable limit (−1 log₁₀ MPN/cm²). Salmonella spp. were isolated from 20% of faeces, 13% of fleeces and 1.3% of pre-chill carcases. The mean log₁₀ count of Salmonella spp. in faeces was 1.43 MPN/g and on fleece was −0.24 MPN/cm², but counts on carcases were below the countable limit (−1 log₁₀ MPN/cm²). Conclusion The prevalence and concentration of pathogens were low in the sheep tested in this study, indicating a low risk of human infection from products derived from these animals.     

Neuronal generation of the leech swimming movement

The swimming movement of the leech is produced by an ensemble of bilaterally symmetric, rhythmically active pairs of motor neurons present in each segmental ganglion of the ventral nerve cord. These motor neurons innervate the longitudinal muscles in dorsal or ventral sectors of the segmental body wall. Their duty cycles are phase-locked in a manner such that the dorsal and ventral body wall sectors of any given segment undergo an antiphasic contractile rhythm and that the contractile rhythms of different segments form a rostrocaudal phase progression. This activity rhythm is imposed on the motor neurons by a central swim oscillator, of which four bilaterally symmetric pairs of interneurons present in each segmental ganglion appear to constitute the major component. These interneurons are linked intra- and intersegmentally via inhibitory connections to form a segmentally iterated and inter-segmentally concatenated cyclic neuronal network. The network appears to owe its oscillatory activity pattern to the mechanism of recurrent cyclic inhibition.     

Effect of denaturants on the emulsifying activity of proteins

The relationship between protein flexibility and emulsifying activity was investigated by disrupting disulfide bonds and/or noncovalent interactions of the protein. Oil-in-water emulsions using model proteins (apomyoglobin, beta-casein, alpha-casein, lysozyme, bovine serum albumin, kappa-casein, and beta-lactoglobulin) were made in the presence of chemical denaturants (dithiothreitol and/or urea). In most cases, the presence of denaturants enhanced emulsifying activity. The effect was protein-specific and depended on the relative importance of disulfide bonds and noncovalent interactions in stabilizing the native conformation of each protein. Implications for the design of novel protein emulsifiers are discussed.     

The influence of haemocyte number on the resistance of the freshwater crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus Dana, to the parasitic fungus Aphanomyces astaci

Abstract. The number of circulating haemocytes in crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus Dana, was reduced after injection of yeast cell walls (Zymosan) into the animals. Crayfish harbouring the parasitic fungus A. astaci as a 'latent' infection in melanized areas in the cuticle died due to unrestricted growth of unmelanized hyphae when they were injected with Zymosan. The β–1,3–gIucan laminaran, introduced into the haemocoel of P. leniusculus harbouring A. astaci hyphae in the cuticle, also caused a decrease in the total haemocyte counts (THC), but these animals survived the treatment and no unmelanized hyphae of A, astaci were found. The recovery of THC was found to be more rapid after laminaran injection than after Zymosan injection, which could explain why laminaran treated crayfish retained their resistance and could combat the A. astaci hyphae in the cuticle. The importance of the number of haemocytes in defence and well-being of crayfish is discussed.     

Superconducting and Magnetic Behavior in La2-xNaxCuO4

New phases of the type La2-xAx(l+)CUO4-y have been prepared where A(l+) is sodium or potassium. The sodium phases are superconducting for x values from 0.2 to 0.5 at temperatures up to about 40 K. In addition, there are unusual magnetic properties below about 10 K that may be indicative of spin glass behavior. Phases of the type La2-xKxCuO4-y could only be prepared with x values up to about 0.1, and these phases are not superconducting above 4.2 K.     

Electron localization in metallic quasicrystals

Bulk icosahedral-quasicrystalline aluminum-palladium-rhenium alloys of high structural quality and thermal stability are found to exhibit low-temperature electrical resistivities that are four orders of magnitude larger than those found in disordered metals and metallic glasses. Experiments suggest that these quasiperiodic alloys, which have a semimetallic electron density, are insulators at low temperature. The findings are discussed in light of theories on electron localization and band-gap formation in ordered metallic systems.     

规模化猪场猪支原体肺炎控制及净化技术研究

在四川蒲江某规模化８养猪场 ,对该场的猪支原体肺炎采用以监测、免疫为主,隔离、治 疗、淘汰、消毒等综合防制技术进行控制与净化,对全场有猪支原体肺炎症状的猪及可疑病猪进行隔治疗,治愈后的猪经与易感猪同居感染不发病,分离猪肺炎支原体为阴性,试验表明治愈后的猪不带菌。对全场种猪和后备健康猪群进行猪支原体肺炎疫苗的免疫接种,经抗体监测和攻毒试验,免疫后２４０天猪支原体肺炎的ＩＨＡ抗体仍可达到１：１０,保护率     

Characterisation of a novel Mannheimia sp from Australian feedlot cattle

OBJECTIVE: To characterise eight isolates of a Gram-negative organism obtained from the upper respiratory tract of cattle showing evidence of mild upper respiratory tract disease. DESIGN: The isolates were compared with the five recognised species within the genus Mannheimia - M haemolytica, M glucosida, M granulomatis, M ruminalis and M varigena--using a range of phenotypic and genotypic methods. RESULTS: Phenotypic characterisation indicated that the isolates belonged to the trehalose-negative [Pasteurella] haemolytica complex. This complex has recently been reorganised into five species within the new genus Mannheimia. Ribotyping performed using HindIII and a computerised analysis system indicated that the eight Australian isolates formed a distinct cluster that was related to, but different from, the five recognised species of Mannheimia. The 16S rRNA sequence of one isolate (BNO311) was determined and a phylogenetic analysis performed. Isolate BNO311 was distinct from the five named Mannheimia spp but did join a larger cluster consisting of rRNA cluster IV (M varigena) and the unnamed rRNA cluster V of Mannheimia. DNA:DNA hybridisation between isolate BNO311 and M haemolytica NCTC 9380T, M granulomatis P411 and Actinobacillus ligniersii NCTC 4189T all suggested similarities of approximately 30%. CONCLUSIONS: These phenotypic and genotypic characterisation studies suggest that the eight Australian isolates represent a new species of Mannheimia. Until further characterisation studies are performed, we are unwilling to propose a name for this taxon, preferring to refer to this possible new species as Bisgaard taxon 39 of cluster V of Mannheimia.