Interleukin-1β infusion in bovine mammary glands prior to challenge with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Streptococcus uberis</Emphasis> reduces bacterial growth but causes sterile mastitis

Dairy cows are especially vulnerable to intramammary infection by the bacterial pathogen Streptococcus uberis in the dry period. Use of immunotherapeutic agents at drying off could increase cellular defences in the gland and prevent establishment of new S. uberis infections. This study investigated the potential of infusing recombinant bovine interleukin-1 beta (rbIL-1beta) in the mammary glands as a prophylactic agent against subsequent intramammary challenge with S. uberis in the early dry period. Immediately after the last milking at commencement of the dry period, one cow from each of 10 monozygous twinsets was infused with 10 microg of rbIL-1beta in two quarters and the other twin was infused with the carrier agent, sterile phosphate buffered saline. Twenty-four hours later, the quarters were infused with 10(3) colony-forming units (CFU) of S. uberis. Bacteriology, somatic cell count (SCC), concentrations of specific cytokines and antibody responses were monitored in mammary gland secretions and sera for the next 21 days. Infusion of rbIL-1beta into mammary glands at commencement of the dry period was associated with less new S. uberis intramammary infections, as determined by the number of quarters with bacterial growth. However, high SCC in quarters following infusion of rbIL-1beta masked the full beneficial effect of this procedure.     

The effect of two modifications of unilateral arytenoid lateralization on rima glottidis area in dogs

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the clinical outcome and percentage increase in rima glottidis area achieved using a combined technique of cricoarytenoid and thyroarytenoid cartilage lateralization compared with cricoarytenoid cartilage lateralization alone in live anesthetized dogs clinically affected with bilateral laryngeal paralysis. STUDY DESIGN: Randomized prospective clinical study. ANIMALS: Twenty dogs with bilateral laryngeal paralysis. Methods-Bilateral laryngeal paralysis was diagnosed by direct laryngoscopy. Each dog was allocated randomly to 1 of 2 surgical groups: CAL (cricoarytenoid lateralization) and CTAL (cricoarytenoid and thyroarytenoid lateralization). Photographs were taken of each larynx before and after surgery, the images were digitized, and the preoperative and postoperative areas of each rima glottidis were measured. The percentage increase in rima glottidis area produced by each of the arytenoid lateralization procedures was compared. Follow-up was obtained by telephone survey of owners and referring veterinarians. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in mean (+/- SD) percentage increase in rima glottidis area for the CAL group (241.5 +/- 42.9%) or the CTAL group (236.4 +/- 44.5%). Clinical follow-up (median, 18 months postoperatively) indicated 60% of the dogs were still alive and only 1 dog had died as a result of complications related to surgery. CONCLUSIONS: CTAL for the treatment of canine laryngeal paralysis does not significantly increase rima glottidis area compared with CAL alone. The mean percentage increase in rima glottidis area obtained with both procedures was comparable to previously reported mean increases with CAL in live anesthetized dogs. Both procedures resulted in good long-term clinical outcome. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: CTAL is as effective as CAL in providing an increased rima glottidis for the treatment of bilateral laryngeal paralysis in dogs.     

Evaluation of goose serum amyloid a acute phase response by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

Serum amyloid A (SAA) is of interest as the circulating precursor of amyloid A protein, the fibrillar component of AA (secondary) amyloid deposits, and also as an extremely sensitive and rapid major acute phase protein. Serum concentrations of acute phase proteins (APPs) provide valuable information about the diagnosis and prognosis of various diseases, and thus the relevance of APPs for monitoring the health status of domestic animals is widely accepted. More importantly, the measurement of SAA concentration assists in assessing the prognosis in secondary amyloidosis, which is a common disease of geese, affecting an increasing number of animals. In the present study we introduce a highly sensitive goose-specific ELISA method for measuring SAA concentration in goose serum or plasma samples. Samples were taken from geese of the Landes Grey and Hungarian White breeds, which were stimulated for an acute phase reaction by administration of a commercially available fowl cholera vaccine containing inactivated Pasteurella multocida. Strong and characteristically rapid acute phase responses were measured in both breeds, peaking at approximately 24 h after inoculation. The maximum SAA concentration was 1200 microg/ml. At 72 h postinoculation, the concentrations returned to pre-inoculation values. There was significantly (p = 0.004) less intense response in the control groups; however, a very mild increase of SAA levels was detected due to the stress inevitably caused by the sampling procedure.     

Direct measurement of o2-depleted microzones in marine oscillatoria: relation to n2 fixation

Among the nitrogen (N(2))-fixing Cyanobacteria, the filamentous, nonheterocystous marine Oscillatoria spp. (Trichodesmium) appears enigmatic; it exhibits N(2) fixation in the presence of oxygenic photosynthesis without structural protection of the N(2-)fixing apparatus (nitrogenase) from potential inhibition by molecular oxygen (O(2)). Characteristically, N(2) fixation is largely confined to aggregates (bundles) of filaments. Previous work has suggested that spatial partitioning of photosynthesis and of N(2) fixation occurs in the bundles as a means of allowing both processes to occur contemporaneously. The probing of freshly sampled bundles with O(2) microelectrodes directly confirmed such partitioning by showing the presence of O(2-)depleted (reduced) microzones in photosynthetically active, N(2-)fixing bundles. Bundle size was directly related to both the development of internal reduced microzones and cellular N(2) fixation rates. By enhancing microzone formation, bundles optimize N(2) fixation as a means of supporting Oscillatoria spp. blooms in surficial, nitrogen-depleted tropical and subtropical waters.     

Literature review of an underutilized legume: Canavalia gladiata L.

The literature related to the legume commonly known as sword beans (Canavalia gladiata) that belongs to the genus Canavalia which is considered to be an underutilized legume, is reviewed. The legume seeds are considered to be a cheap source of good protein and calories that are easily available. However, even with this knowledge, the utilization of most legumes is apparently low. Sword beans have favorable agronomic features suitable for cultivation in the tropics and a high average yield comparable to that of soybeans. The agroclimatic conditions suitable for cultivation, morphological features, uses, chemical composition and the antinutritional factors of the plant are discussed.     

马属动物破伤风的诊治

主要介绍了马属动物破伤风的病原、发病特点及防治方法,并以实践中的典型病例为例具体介绍了该病的治疗方法及注意事项,旨在为兽医同仁提供参考。     

Utility of Metabolomics toward Assessing the Metabolic Basis of Quality Traits in Apple Fruit with an Emphasis on Antioxidants

A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry approach was employed to evaluate the use of metabolite patterns to differentiate fruit from six commercially grown apple cultivars harvested in 2008. Principal component analysis (PCA) of apple fruit peel and flesh data indicated that individual cultivar replicates clustered together and were separated from all other cultivar samples. An independent metabolomics investigation with fruit harvested in 2003 confirmed the separate clustering of fruit from different cultivars. Further evidence for cultivar separation was obtained using a hierarchical clustering analysis. An evaluation of PCA component loadings revealed specific metabolite classes that contributed the most to each principal component, whereas a correlation analysis demonstrated that specific metabolites correlate directly with quality traits such as antioxidant activity, total phenolics, and total anthocyanins, which are important parameters in the selection of breeding germplasm. These data sets lay the foundation for elucidating the metabolic basis of commercially important fruit quality traits.     

Hibernation in black bears: independence of metabolic suppression from body temperature

Black bears hibernate for 5 to 7 months a year and, during this time, do not eat, drink, urinate, or defecate. We measured metabolic rate and body temperature in hibernating black bears and found that they suppress metabolism to 25% of basal rates while regulating body temperature from 30° to 36°C, in multiday cycles. Heart rates were reduced from 55 to as few as 9 beats per minute, with profound sinus arrhythmia. After returning to normal body temperature and emerging from dens, bears maintained a reduced metabolic rate for up to 3 weeks. The pronounced reduction and delayed recovery of metabolic rate in hibernating bears suggest that the majority of metabolic suppression during hibernation is independent of lowered body temperature.     

New low-dimensional molecular metals: single-crystal electrical conductivity of nickel phthalocyanine iodide

Single crystals of NiPcI(1.0) (Pc = phthalocyanine), which are composed of one-dimensional stacks of (NiPc)(+0.33) molecules and chains of I(3)(-) molecules, exhibit metallic electrical conductivity in the stacking direction. At room temperature the mean free path of the carrier is 3.3 to 8.2 angstroms.