Sensitivity and Error Limits of Two Tests for Distemper Virus Neutralizing Antibody: A Conventional Neutralization Test and the “Single Dilution-Probit Test”

The sensitivity and error limits of a conventional in ovo neutralization test for antibody to distemper virus were compared with the same parameters of a single dilution-probit test for neutralizing antibody.With the former test, antibody was demonstrable in ferrets 8 days following a single subcutaneous injection of virus while probit analysis of data from the single dilution test revealed the appearance of antibody as early as 4 days post-immunization. The error terms of the single dilution test were relatively large as compared to those of the conventional test for antibody.Distinctly biphasic antibody responses were observed in ferrets following a single subcutaneous injection of distemper virus.     

Novel “filter pellet” sample preparation strategy for quantitative LA-ICP-MS analysis of filter-bound sediments: a “green chemistry” alternative to sediment fingerprinting in Tanzania’s Ruvu River basin

Journal of Soils and Sediments - The goal of this study was to develop a “green chemistry” alternative sample preparation method for elemental analysis of sediments using laser ablation...     

Ionophore taste preferences of dairy heifers

Two taste preference studies were conducted using six Holstein heifers in each experiment to determine preferences for no ionophore, lasalocid, or monensin in the diet. In Exp. 1, individually penned (approx. 5 mo old; 220 +/- 14 kg BW) heifers were fed a basal total mixed ration containing 46% corn silage, 46% grass haylage, and 8% soybean meal (DM basis). There were five treatments (mg/kg BW(-1)*d(-1)): 0 ionophore (control), 1 lasalocid (1L), 2 lasalocid (2L), 1 monensin (1M), or 2 monensin (2M). Ionophores were provided as part of the mineral mix that had been added to the control diet and through an ionophore-grain by-product mix to make the 2L and 2M treatments. All five diets were offered for 7 d, with the first 2 d for adaptation and the last 5 d for measurement of feed intake. The most preferred diet was then removed and the study continued with the four remaining diets. The most preferred diets were again eliminated sequentially, so that only two diets remained on d 13 and 14. Each feeding segment ranking of treatment preferences was determined based on the weight of feed refused at the end of each feeding segment. In Exp. 2, six 6-wk-old heifers (75 +/- 5 kg of BW) were individually fed either 0, 1L, or 1M in a study similar to Exp. 1, except that the most preferred diet was removed after 4 d, with the first day for adaptation and the last 3 d for measurement of feed intake. In Exp. 1, orthogonal contrasts indicated that heifers preferred the 1L and 2L diets over the 1M and 2M diets. Preferences between diet concentrations of ionophores (1 and 2 mg/kg of BW; Exp. 1) and the control and ionophore treatments did not differ, nor was there an interaction between ionophores and their concentration. Dairy heifers previously fed lasalocid prefer lasalocid over monensin when given a choice; however, heifers without previous exposure to an ionophore did not indicate a preference (Exp. 2).     

Stratigraphy of Beds I through IV, Olduvai Gorge, Tanganyika

Bed I at Olduvai Gorge is a conformable sequence of lava flows and varied sedimentary deposits that extend upward from a welded tuff overlying the Precambrian basement to the top of a widespread marker bed. Bed II is a sequence of lacustrine clays and laterally equivalent fluvial, eolian, and pyroclastic deposits. Bed III is made up of alluvial deposits and a laterally equivalent assemblage of fluvial, lacustrine, and eolian beds. Bed IV can be subdivided into a lower unit of fluvial clays, sandstones, and conglomerates, and an upper unit of eolian tuffs. The climate was relatively dry throughout much of the time that these beds were deposited, and semidesert or desert conditions may have prevailed at least twice. Tectonic movement seems to have taken place between the deposition of Beds III and IV.     

Effects of inorganic and organic copper supplemented to first-calf cows on cow reproduction and calf health and performance

Two experiments were conducted to determine whether the supplementation of Cu in the organic or inorganic form to 2-yr-old cows, before and after calving, affects reproduction rate, calf health and performance, passive transfer of immunoglobulin, or liver and serum Cu concentrations compared with unsupplemented controls. Cows (n = 75 in 1997; n = 120 in 1998) were randomly assigned by estimated calving date and body condition score to one of three treatments: 1) Control, control; 2) Inorganic, inorganic Cu supplement (200 mg Cu from CuSO4); 3) Organic, organic Cu supplement (100 mg Cu from AvailaCu). In 1998, a fourth treatment was added; 4) CU-ZN, organic Cu and Zn (400 mg Zn from AvailaZn in the Organic diet). Cows were fed a hay-based diet and individually fed supplements for approximately 45 d before and 60 d after calving (approximately January 15 to May 15 each year). Liver biopsies were obtained from cows before supplementation began, and from cows and calves at 10 and 30 d after calving. Blood samples were obtained from both cows and calves at calving, and colostrum samples were collected for IgG and mineral content. Cow liver Cu concentrations before supplementation began were 58 mg/kg in 1997 and 40 mg/kg (DM basis) in 1998. By 10 d after calving, liver Cu concentrations of Control cows had decreased (P < 0.05) to 24 mg/kg (Cu deficient) in both years, whereas liver Cu concentrations of Cu-supplemented cows increased (P < 0.05) in both years. Calf liver Cu concentrations at 10 d of age were similar (P > 0.10) for all treatment groups. No differences (P > 0.10) were found in colostrum Cu concentrations, or in calf health among treatments. No differences (P > 0.10) were found in cow BW change, calf serum Cu concentrations, calf weaning weights, or in cow 60-d pregnancy rates among treatments in either year. In 1998, cows in the Organic group had higher (P < 0.05) 30-d pregnancy rate than Control cows. Neither serum samples nor placental tissue were reliable indicators of Cu status in cows. Feeding supplemental Cu (either inorganic, organic, or organic with extra Zn) to cows with liver Cu concentrations of approximately 50 mg/kg before calving did not improve cow 60-d pregnancy rates or the health and performance of their calves when compared with unsupplemented cows.     

Syringomyelia in cavalier King Charles spaniels: the relationship between syrinx dimensions and pain

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to test the hypothesis that pain associated with syringomyelia in dogs is dependent upon size and involvement of the dorsal part of the spinal cord. METHODS: Masked observers determined syrinx dimensions and precise location within the spinal cord on magnetic resonance images of 55 cavalier King Charles spaniels with syringomyelia. After removal of masking, syrinx size and location were compared between the cohorts of dogs that exhibited pain with those that did not. RESULTS: Maximum syrinx width was the strongest predictor of pain, scratching behaviour and scoliosis in dogs with syringomyelia. Both pain and syrinx size were positively correlated with syrinxes located in the dorsal half of the spinal cord. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Large syrinxes associated with damage to the dorsal part of the spinal cord are associated with persistent pain suggesting that the pain behaviour expressed by this group of patients is likely to be "neuropathic pain," resulting from disordered neural processing in the damaged dorsal horn. As such it is likely that conventional analgesic medication may be ineffective.     

Variation of pathotypes and races and their correlations with clonal lineages in Verticillium dahliae

Understanding pathogenic variation in plant pathogen populations is key for the development and use of host resistance for managing verticillium wilt diseases. A highly virulent defoliating (D) pathotype in Verticillium dahliae has previously been shown to occur only in one clonal lineage (lineage 1A). By contrast, no clear association has yet been shown for race 1 with clonal lineages. Race 1 carries the effector gene Ave1 and is avirulent on hosts that carry resistance gene Ve1 or its homologues. The hypothesis tested was that race 1 arose once in a single clonal lineage, which might be expected if V. dahliae acquired Ave1 by horizontal gene transfer from plants, as hypothesized previously. In a diverse sample of 195 V. dahliae isolates from nine clonal lineages, all race 1 isolates were present only in lineage 2A. Conversely, all lineage 2A isolates displayed the race 1 phenotype. Moreover, 900‐bp nucleotide sequences from Ave1 were identical among 27 lineage 2A isolates and identical to sequences from other V. dahliae race 1 isolates in GenBank. The finding of race 1 in a single clonal lineage, with identical Ave1 sequences, is consistent with the hypothesis that race 1 arose once in V. dahliae. Molecular markers and virulence assays also confirmed the well‐established finding that the D pathotype is found only in lineage 1A. Pathogenicity assays indicated that cotton and olive isolates of the D pathotype (lineage 1A) were highly virulent on cotton and olive, but had low virulence on tomato.