Evaluation of an electronic device used as a quick screening method to detect changes in the red cell content of the blood in horses participating in endurance trail rides

Dehydration, to varying degrees, will inevitably occur in horses participating in endurance trail rides. This water loss is directly related to the amount of body water lost through evaporative cooling, that in turn being related to the amount and rate of work performed, and to the environmental temperature and humidity.An electronic apparatus that can substitute for the conventional and time-consuming venous haematocrit was developed to measure the animals' hydration status. The mechanism of this electrometer is based upon the relationship between the red cell content and the electrical conductivity of the blood. The electrometer reading gave a significant correlation (p<0.001) with the venous haematocrit, thus indicating that the electrometer is a reliable apparatus for determining the animals' hydration status within seconds of venepuncture.     

近红外光谱分析技术在蚕桑等动物科学领域中的研究进展

近红外光谱技术作为一种快速、无损的检测技术,近年来在动物科学领域获得了越来越广泛的应用。本文综述了国内外近红外光谱技术在蚕桑、饲料、肉制品、奶制品、畜禽代谢等动物科学领域的研究进展,分析了该技术在应用中的优势,指出了存在的主要问题,展望了未来几年的应用前景。     

Skull size and shape variation in Psammomys spp. (Rodentia,Gerbillinae) from Tunisia,with emphasis on the impact of allometric variation on species recognition

In Tunisia both Psammomys obesus and P. vexillaris are found. These taxa have been the subject of taxonomic controversy for some time, due to variability in the classical morphological characters used for taxonomic recognition. In this study we investigated skull size and shape variation in the genus Psammomys by using geometric morphometrics to evaluate the extent of intra- and interspecific shape variation and explicitly tested for the impact of allometric shape variation on species discrimination. Eleven populations of the two species from 10 localities in Tunisia were studied. Statistical analyses of size and shape showed large size variation within P. obesus, but no shape differences were revealed among populations of this species. Interspecific analysis revealed that P. vexillaris had the smallest skull. Principal component analysis and Procrustes distances showed good discrimination between the two species after removal of the allometric component of shape variation. The results obtained show that allometric-related shape variation could mask discrimination between the two Psammomys species. This finding might explain the uncertainty in classification of these species in the past. The interspecific allometric-free phenotypic differences observed may be associated with adaptive processes linked to the different environmental and trophic preferences of the two species.     

Fine mapping of a calving QTL on Bos taurus autosome 18 in Holstein cattle

Decreased calving performance not only directly impacts the economic efficiency of dairy cattle farming but also influences public concern for animal welfare. Previous studies have revealed a QTL on Bos taurus autosome (BTA) 18 that has a large effect on calving traits in Holstein cattle. In this study, fine mapping of this QTL was performed using imputed high‐density SNP chip (HD) genotypes followed by imputed next‐generation sequencing (NGS) variants. BTA18 was scanned for seven direct calving traits in 6113 bulls with imputed HD genotypes. SNP rs136283363 (BTA18: 57 548 213) was consistently the most significantly associated SNP across all seven traits [e.g. p‐value = 2.04 × 10^?59 for birth index (BI)]. To finely map the QTL region and to explore pleiotropic effects, we studied NGS variants within the targeted region (BTA18: 57 321 450–57 625 355) for associations with direct calving traits and with three conformation traits. Significant variants were prioritized, and their biological relevance to the traits was interpreted. Considering their functional relationships with direct calving traits, SIGLEC12, CD33 and CEACAM18 were proposed as candidate genes. In addition, pleiotropic effects of this QTL region on direct calving traits and conformation traits were observed. However, the extent of linkage disequilibrium combined with the lack of complete annotation and potential errors in the Bos taurus genome assembly hampered our efforts to pinpoint the causal mutation.     

Influenza surveillance in birds in Italian wetlands (1992-1998): is there a host restricted circulation of influenza viruses in sympatric ducks and coots?

We report the results of a 6-year serological and virological monitoring performed in ducks and coots in Italy, in order to assess the degree of influenza A virus circulation in these birds during wintering. A total of 1039 sera collected from 1992 to 1998 was screened by a double antibody sandwich blocking ELISA (NP-ELISA): seroprevalence of antibodies to influenza A viruses was significantly higher in ducks compared to coots (52.2% vs. 7.1%, respectively). The hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) assay, performed on NP-ELISA positive sera, showed that 16.9% of these duck sera and 33.3% of these coot sera had antibodies to at least one influenza virus HA subtype: ducks showed HI antibodies against most of the HA subtypes, except for the H3, H4, H7, and H12; coots were seropositive to the H3 and H10 subtypes, only. From 1993 to 1998, 22 virus strains were obtained from 802 cloacal swabs, with an overall virus isolation frequency of 2.7%. Viruses belonging to the H1N1 subtype were by far the most commonly circulating strains (18/22) and were isolated mainly from ducks (17/18). The remaining viruses were representative of the H10N8, H5N2 and H3N8 subtypes. Our data indicate some differences between influenza A virus circulation in sympatric ducks and coots and a significant antigenic diversity between some reference strains and viruses recently isolated in Italy.     

Specific detection of Histomonas meleagridis in turkeys by a PCR assay with an internal amplification control

Histomoniasis or blackhead is a disease of gallinaceous birds, caused by the protozoon Histomonas meleagridis. Since traditional diagnostics for the detection of this disease are complex and far less sensitive than molecular tools, a PCR would provide a more rapid and sensitive alternative. However, intestinal material and droppings, which are preferably used in epidemiological studies of histomoniasis, often contain PCR inhibitory substances. To detect these false negative results, the use of an internal amplification control is essential. Nevertheless, the recently developed PCR tests lack this internal control. Therefore, a new PCR assay with H. meleagridis specific primers was developed which does include an internal amplification control. The diagnostic value of the PCR assay was evaluated in comparison to three other conventional H. meleagridis specific PCR tests (HIS5, HM1 and HM2). None of the organ samples originating from uninfected turkeys, showed positive PCR results in any of the tests. Among the lesion-positive, inhibition-free samples, 95.4% were positive by our PCR assay, while only 50, 66.7 and 83.3% of the lesion-positive organs tested positive by the HM1, the HIS5 and the HM2 PCR respectively. In conclusion, our PCR offers the use of the internal control to detect false negative results and an increased sensitivity, and thus should be useful for routine diagnosis of H. meleagridis in poultry.     

Antiapoptotic activity of bovine herpesvirus type-1 (BHV-1) UL14 protein

Viruses have evolved different strategies to interfere with apoptotic pathways in order to halt cellular responses to infection. One previous study showed that transient transfection of bovine herpesvirus type-1 (BHV-1) UL14 protein is efficient in protecting Madin Darby kidney (MDBK) and human chronic myelogenous leukemia (K562) cells from sorbitol-induced apoptosis. This protein corresponds to a putative protein of BHV-1, which shares aminoacid sequence with a part of the peptide-binding domain conserved in human heat shock protein (HSP70) family. The pBK-CMV-UL14 plasmid transfected MDBK cells treated with sorbitol did not show caspase-3 and caspase-9 activation with respect to non-transfected MDBK cells (UL14 negative). Furthermore, we report that the expression of the full length sequence of BHV-1 UL14 is evident after 7 h of infection of BHV-1 on MDBK cells which were then treated with sorbitol. These results indicate that UL14 gene product has important implications to enhance cell survival in response to apoptotic stimuli.     

宁夏典型草原不同退耕年限草地植物-土壤生态化学计量特征

为了研究宁夏典型草原不同退耕年限草地优势植物及土壤 C、N、P化学计量特征,本研究以宁夏南部典型草原区退耕草地为对象,分别对退耕0、1、3、5、6、8、11、15、20年草地优势植物及土壤碳、氮、磷等生态化学计量特征进行研究。结果表明,各植物全氮含量均表现为地上部分大于地下部分,且猪毛蒿整体全氮含量较其他植物高。全磷含量除赖草外也表现为地上部分大于地下部分。退耕1年狗尾草和退耕3年赖草有机碳含量表现为地下部分大于地上部分,其余各退耕年限地上部分大于地下部分。优势植物C∶N、C∶P、N∶P整体表现为退耕20年长芒草最大。赖草和猪毛蒿最小。退耕6年以上20年以内土壤有机碳含量由表层向深层逐层递减;全氮含量退耕0~6年呈波动式变化,退耕8年后全氮含量由表层向深层逐层递减;全磷含量变化趋势与全氮相同。研究区土壤C∶N变化范围为7.08~19.62,C∶P变化范围为6.60~35.25,N∶P变化范围为0.82~2.17。各层土壤C∶N平均值变化范围为11.18~15.03,C∶P平均值变化范围为14.09~24.55,N∶P平均值变化范围为1.06~1.98;除C∶N接近我国土壤C∶N均值外,研究区土壤C∶P和N∶P均低于我国土壤C∶P和N∶P均值。并且相应地表优势植物C∶N、C∶P、N∶P明显高于表层土壤。本研究中土壤C∶N与土壤有机碳之间相关性不显著,与全N呈负相关,意味着C∶N主要受N控制,而C∶P与有机碳呈显著正相关,与全P相关性不显著。土壤N∶P与土壤全N含量呈显著正相关,与土壤全P含量相关性不显著,说明主要受N控制,而土壤全N含量随退耕年限的增加呈波动式上升趋势。植物与土壤碳、氮、磷相关性显示:植物全N与土壤N之间相关性不显著(P>0.05),植物全P与土壤全N、全P呈极显著的相关关系(P<0.01),与土壤有机碳和N∶P呈显著的相关关系(P<0.05)。     

Detection of early embryonic development in chicken eggs using visible light transmission

1. In two separate experiments, the possibility of detecting embryonic development in chicken eggs was assessed using the same spectrophotometric method used to detect blood in Table eggs, using a combination of two wavelengths (577 and 610 nm) of the transmission spectrum. 2. In the first experiment, during the first 10 d of incubation, transmission spectra of 30 Hisex White eggs and 30 Hybro eggs were measured daily. 3. In the second experiment, 292 Hisex White eggs were incubated. Seven groups were randomly assigned. Six received an injection of sodium azide (NaN3) at different times during incubation in order to stop embryonic development, and during the first 12 d of incubation the transmission spectrum was measured daily. The acoustic resonance analysis method was also used on a group of uninjected eggs. 4. In the first experiment, it was possible to detect embryonic development from 120 h of incubation onwards in fertile eggs. In the second experiment changes in light transmission due to embryonic development were detected from 108 h of incubation. Detection of embryonic development using the acoustic resonance analysis method in the second experiment was possible only from 120 h of incubation. 5. It was concluded that the detection of embryonic development using visible light transmission is not directly linked with the formation of blood, but with the formation of sub-embryonic fluid, which takes place from 72 h of incubation onwards. This fluid makes the yolk sac translucent so that absorption of light at 577 nm can be detected.