Effect of breed of cattle on innate resistance to infection with <i>Babesia bovis, B bigemina and Anaplasma marginale

Objective To assess the innate resistance of naive Bos taurus, Bos taurus cross Bos indicus and Bos indicus cattle to virulent Babesia bovis, B bigemina and Anaplasma marginale parasites. Design Groups of 10, pure B indicus, fi B indicus cross,/B indicus cross and pure B taurus steers were infected with virulent B bovis, B bigemina and A marginale parasites. Procedure Sequential infections were carried out by intravenous inoculation of infected blood containing 1 times 10⁸ parasites of B bovis, followed by B bigemina and then A marginale. To assess resistance, measurements were made of parasitaemia, rectal temperature, packed cell volume and the number within a group requiring chemotherapy to control infection. There was a recovery period between each infection. Results Infection with B bovis showed that pure B indicus steers were significantly more resistant to B bovis infection than the other groups, with none of this group requiring treatment. There was no significant difference between fi B indicus cross and/B indicus cross with 30% and 20%, respectively, of steers in these groups requiring treatment. The pure B taurus steers were significantly more affected then those in the other three groups with 80% requiring treatment. Infections of B bigemina produced a mild response in comparison to that of B bovis and none of the steers required treatment. However, the pure B taurus group was significantly more affected than the other three groups for all other measurements. After the A marginale infection, B indicus steers were moderately affected with 50% requiring treatment, whereas 70% of the fi B indicus group, 80% of the /B indicus cross group and 100% of the pure B taurus group required treatment. Conclusions All breeds of cattle, ranging from pure B indicus to pure B taurus may be at risk of severe disease if exposed to virulent A marginale. The results confirm that pure B indicus cattle are relatively resistant to B bovis, but there could be a significant risk of severe mortalities if cross-bred herds are exposed to virulent infection.     

A bovine herpesvirus isolated from sheep.

A viral agent was isolated from the trachea of a lamb that was suffering from a respiratory disorder. The physical and chemical properties of the isolates are characteristic of the herpesvirus group. It contains DNA in its virion, is ether sensitive, acid labile at pH 3.0 and heat labile at 56 degrees C after five minutes. The cytopathology observed provided further evidence of a herpesvirus isolate. The neutralization of the infectivity of the isolate with antiserum to bovine herpesvirus 1 is evidence that it should be considered an isolate of bovine herpesvirus 1. It is concluded that this is a report of a bovine herpesvirus infection in sheep.     

Comparison of the bacterial flora of the duodenum in healthy cats and cats with signs of gastrointestinal tract disease

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a colony environment predisposes healthy cats to high bacterial counts, including counts of obligate anaerobes, in the duodenum and whether increased numbers of bacteria could be found in the duodenum of cats with signs of chronic gastrointestinal tract disease. DESIGN: Prospective study. ANIMALS: 20 healthy control cats (10 from a colony environment and 10 pet cats) and 19 cats with a history of chronic gastrointestinal tract disease. PROCEDURE: Undiluted duodenal fluid was quantitatively and qualitatively assessed by bacteriologic culture under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Serum concentrations of cobalamin and folate were also measured. RESULTS: Significant differences were not detected in the numbers of bacteria found in the duodenum of cats housed in a colony environment, compared with pet cats fed an identical diet prior to sampling. All healthy cats were, therefore, combined into 1 control group. Compared with healthy cats, cats with clinical signs of gastrointestinal tract disease had significantly lower counts of microaerophilic bacteria, whereas total, anaerobic, and aerobic bacterial counts were not significantly different. None of the cats with disease had total bacterial counts higher than expected from the range established in the control cats. Differences were not detected in regard to serum folate or cobalamin concentrations between diseased and healthy cats. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: These findings indicated that healthy colony cats and pet cats have high numbers of bacteria in the duodenum, including high numbers of obligate anaerobes. Our findings also suggest that bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine is not a common clinical syndrome in cats with chronic nonobstructive gastrointestinal tract disease.     

The Influence of Biochar on Growth of Lettuce and Potato

Pot experiments were conducted in a glasshouse to determine the growth pattern of lettuce, true potato seedlings （TPS） and single node cuttings of TPS in response to biochar. The treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with 5 treatments （0, 10, 30, 50 and 100 t ha^-1） ofbiochar from greenwaste with 5 replications in lettuce, 10 in TPS and 5 in single node cuttings of TPS. The observations recorded on growth parameters showed that biochar had significant effect on growth of lettuce but no consistent effect on growth of TPS and single node cuttings. Among the biochar rates, 30 t ha^-1 had the greatest influence on overall growth of lettuce. The pH and electrical conductivity increased as the biochar rates increased in all experiments. These results provide an avenue for soil management system by using biochar as an amendment in horticultural crops. However, their verification in the field is important for specific recommendations.     

A "Schrodinger Cat" Superposition State of an Atom

A "Schrodinger cat"-like state of matter was generated at the single atom level. A trapped 9Be+ ion was laser-cooled to the zero-point energy and then prepared in a superposition of spatially separated coherent harmonic oscillator states. This state was created by application of a sequence of laser pulses, which entangles internal (electronic) and external (motional) states of the ion. The Schrodinger cat superposition was verified by detection of the quantum mechanical interference between the localized wave packets. This mesoscopic system may provide insight into the fuzzy boundary between the classical and quantum worlds by allowing controlled studies of quantum measurement and quantum decoherence.     

Diabetes mellitus and the gene for Fanconi's anemia

An increased prevalence of diabetes mellitus has been found in relatives of eight probands homozygous for the rare recessive syndrome Fanconi's anemia. Since many of these relatives are expected to be heterozygous for the gene for Fanconi's anemia, this gene may predispose to diabetes in single dose.     

A Climatic Freshening of the Deep Atlantic North of 50{degrees}N over the Past 20 Years

Observations made in summer 1981 show a significant and widespread decrease in salinity, averaging 0.02 per mil, in deep waters of the subpolar North Atlantic over the past two decades. This implies a relatively rapid response of deep water formation to climatic perturbation.