Feline immunodeficiency virus, feline leukaemia virus, Toxoplasma gondii, and intestinal parasitic infections in Taiwanese cats

A population consisting of 70 breeder cats, 43 clinical cases, and 16 feral cats was examined for the presence of Toxoplasma gondii, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), and feline leukaemia virus (FeLV). No oocysts of T. gondii were observed in 96 faecal samples; faecal samples were not available from the feral cats. Other intestinal parasites identified included Isospora felis (three cats), Isospora rivolta (five), Dipylidium canium (two), Toxocara cati (four), Toxascaris leonina (one), and Ancylostoma sp. (two). Using a kinetics-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay on 117 sera including all the feral cats, nine had antibody to T. gondii antigen, three for antigens to FIV, and seven to the p27 antigen of FeLV. Of the nine cats with antibody to T. gondii, only one was also infected with FIV.     

Small ruminant trypanosomiasis in Guyana--a preliminary report

Trypanosomes identified as Trypanosoma vivax were found infecting nine sheep (4.6%) and one goat (1.3%) on four of 11 farms surveyed on coastal Guyana. Animals sampled on another farm situated in the Rupununi savannahs gave negative results. Haematological techniques preferred for studies of this nature were the haematocrit centrifuge technique (HCT) and the thick blood smear technique.     

Enhancement of the insulin antagonistic effect of porcine somatotropin in swine using a monoclonal antibody

A monoclonal antibody (mAb), PS-7.6, to porcine somatotropin (pST) significantly enhanced the growth responses to pST injections in hypophysectomized (hypox) rats but could not be tested in pigs because of the large quantity of antibody required for a growth trial. Because pST inhibits the hypoglycemic effects of insulin, an insulin tolerance test procedure was established to measure pST activity in jugular-catheterized pigs. Doses of 0, 30, 100, and 300 μg/kg per day of pST were split and administered subcutaneously (sc) in equal portions twice daily for 2 d. After a 17-hr fast, plasma samples were obtained at 10-min intervals for 30 min before an intravenous injection of insulin (0.08 IU/kg) and then for an additional 50 min. Because pST increased fasting plasma glucose concentrations, preinsulin glucose values were used as a covariate to adjust the postinsulin concentrations. pST caused a dose-dependent increase in resistance to the insulin injection in these pigs. The areas under the curves (AUC) for plasma glucose were 22.l, 29.0, 39.0, and 47.2 mg/dl per min for the 0, 30, 100, and 300 μg/kg pST doses, respectively. Because different doses of pST could be detected, the PS-7.6 enhancement of pST treatment was evaluated. In the first experiment, five pigs/group each received sc injections of either vehicle, pST (75 μg/kg; 3.0 mg/d), pST (75 μg/kg) + PS-7.6 at 3.75 mg/kg, or pST (75 μg/kg) + PS-7.6 at 15 mg/kg for 2 d before the insulin test. The pST and PS-7.6 were combined and incubated for at least 1 hr at room temperature before being injected. The injection of pST alone did not significantly change insulin tolerance activity (23.1 vs. 21.1, AUC, but insulin resistance was enhanced when this dose of pST also included PS-7.6 (27.4 and 29.5, AUC, respectively; P < 0.05). In a second experiment, the effects of PS-7.6 and PS-4.2, a mAb that did not potentiate the pST-stimulated growth of hypox rats, were compared. The five pigs/treatment received either vehicle, pST (75 μg/kg), pST (75 μg/kg) + PS-7.6 (3.75 mg/kg), or pST (75 μg/kg) + PS-4.2 (3.75 mg/kg) for 2 d. The administration of pST increased the resistance to insulin (26.7 vs. 18.8, AUC; P < 0.01), which was markedly potentiated by PS-7.6 (54.3, AUC, P < 0.001) but not affected by PS-4.2 (27.6 AUC. The injection of PS-7.6 at 7.5 mg/kg without exogenous pST did not alter the sensitivity to insulin. These results indicate that PS-7.6, but not PS-4.2, enhanced the insulin antagonistic activity of pST in swine, suggesting that an enhancement of pST-stimulated growth would also occur in PS-7.6-treated pigs.     

The significance of small vs large intestinal digestion of cereal grain and oilseed protein in the equine

Mature ponies fitted with permanent ileal cannulas were used in two 3×3 Latin square experiments to quantify prececal, postileal and total tract digestion of N. In trial 1, corn, oats and sorghum were each fed with coastal Bermuda grass hay in 75:25 ratios. Apparent prececal digestibilities were similar (P>.05) and averaged 46.6%. By-difference procedures were employed to calculate digestibility of the cereal grain N only and apparent prececal N digestibility averaged 57.1%. In trial 2, a basal corn and hay diet was supplemented with cottonseed meal and soybean meal. Apparent total tract N digestibilities were similar (P>.05) across treatments, and prececal digestibility averaged 45.6%. By-difference calculations were used to determine digestibility of SBM and CSM N alone. Apparent prececal digestibility of SBM was 52.5% and was lower (P<.05) than 81.2% for CSM. It is possible that inadequate or excessive heat treatment of SBM affected enzymatic digestion. True digestibility of total rations fed in trial 2 was estimated by linear regression of nitrogen digested on nitrogen intake or N presented to the large intestine. True N digestibility of diets containing SBM and CSM was 54.7% and 69.4%, respectively.     

Identification and quantification of cyclolinopeptides in five flaxseed cultivars

Cyclolinopeptides are a group of naturally occurring hydrophobic cyclic peptides found in flaxseed and flax oil that have immunosuppressive activity. This study describes the measurement of flaxseed cyclolinopeptide concentrations using an internal standard HPLC method. In addition, the concentration of cyclolinopeptides in the seed of Canadian flax cultivars grown at two locations over two years is reported. The data are consistent with the formation of flaxseed cyclolinopeptides from two ribosome-derived precursors. Each precursor protein includes the sequences corresponding to three cyclolinopeptides from which those cyclolinopeptides are presumably derived by precursor processing. The concentrations of cyclolinopeptides C and E, which are encoded by the same gene sequence, are highly correlated, and the concentrations of cyclolinopeptides D, F, and G, which are encoded by a second gene sequence, are also highly correlated. The strong correlation between the cyclolinopeptides arising from the same gene may prove to be important in understanding how peptide concentration is controlled. Additional research may lead to approaches to improve flax either as a platform for peptide production or as a source of oil with improved drying properties and flavor.     

Plio-Pleistocene ice volume, Antarctic climate, and the global delta18O record

We propose that from approximately 3 to 1 million years ago, ice volume changes occurred in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, each controlled by local summer insolation. Because Earth's orbital precession is out of phase between hemispheres, 23,000-year changes in ice volume in each hemisphere cancel out in globally integrated proxies such as ocean delta18O or sea level, leaving the in-phase obliquity (41,000 years) component of insolation to dominate those records. Only a modest ice mass change in Antarctica is required to effectively cancel out a much larger northern ice volume signal. At the mid-Pleistocene transition, we propose that marine-based ice sheet margins replaced terrestrial ice margins around the perimeter of East Antarctica, resulting in a shift to in-phase behavior of northern and southern ice sheets as well as the strengthening of 23,000-year cyclicity in the marine delta18O record.     

培养基组分对青杄离体花粉萌发和花粉管生长的影响

该文研究了青杄花粉在离体培养条件下,蔗糖、硼(H3BO3)和钙(CaCl2)对其萌发和花粉管生长的影响,同时还优化了培养基的组分配比.培养基中蔗糖浓度对青杄花粉的萌发影响显著,并有明显的域值效应;应用识别酯化果胶的单克隆抗体JIM7和酸性果胶的JIM5,分别对青杄花粉管进行免疫荧光标记,发现无硼培养可导致酸性果胶在其顶端细胞壁大量富集,而酯化果胶减少;荧光探针Fluo--3/AM标记实验揭示,无硼培养使其顶端胞质的Ca2 浓度梯度消失.研究结果表明,硼可能作为一种相关因子影响关键酶活性,改变细胞壁的延展性以至影响花粉管细胞壁的构建,同时破坏了花粉管顶端极性生长依赖的Ca2 梯度,从而影响其花粉管的生长.     

广西6种木本油料植物的资源概况及其在岩溶山区的开发前景

茶条木、狗骨木、蒜头果、石栗、东京桐和蝴蝶果等6个树种是高含油量和多用途的木本油料植物,也是具有一定发展前途的生物质能源树种。野外调查表明,茶条木、狗骨木、石栗和蝴蝶果等分布或栽培范围较广,生境类型比较复杂,现存资源量丰富或较多;蒜头果和东京桐的分布范围较窄,现存资源量较少。在育苗造林试验中,6个树种种子的场圃发芽率较高,病虫害少,苗木生长比较迅速,绝大部分可在1-2年内出圃造林;茶条木、狗骨木、石栗、东京桐和蝴蝶果等5个树种的植苗造林成活率较高,蒜头果的直播造林成活率较低,其中茶条木和狗骨木的适应性良好,生长速度较快,东京桐和蒜头果能适应局部小环境但生长较慢,而石栗和蝴蝶果的适应性较差且生长缓慢。通过对比分析各树种野外调查与试验结果,认为茶条木和狗骨木是岩溶山区发展潜力良好和值得重点开发利用的木本油料植物,蝴蝶果和石栗次之,蒜头果和东京桐则较差。