Poly IC therapy in aleutian disease of mink.

Twenty-four virgin female aleutian mink were infected with aleutian disease agent and after 24 hours, 12 of these were treated with a course of polyinosinic acid-polycytidilic acid (Poly IC) injections. After six weeks the gammaglobulin level was significantly lower in the treated group but at 12 weeks this difference was no longer present. Four of the treated mink had normal target organ histology when killed at 20 weeks. The untreated group all showed moderate to marked changes but this difference was not statistically significant. There was a marked increase in the reactive lymphocyte blastogenesis index during the first weeks of infection and the phytohaemagglutinin response was seen to fall progressively. The antiglobulin reaction usually became positive after infection but neither antinuclear nor antierythrocyte antibodies were found. Precipitating antibodies to several polynucleotides were frequently present and were unrelated to infection or to Poly IC treatment.     

Protoporphyrinogen IX-oxidizing activities involved in the mode of action of a new compound N-[4-chloro-2-fluoro-5-{3-(2-fluorophenyl)-5-methyl-4,5-dihydroisoxazol-5-yl-methoxy}-phenyl]-3,4,5,6-tetrahydrophthalimide

N-[4-Chloro-2-fluoro-5-{3-(2-fluorophenyl)-5-methyl-4,5-dihydroisoxazol-5-yl-methoxy}-phenyl]-3,4,5,6-tetrahydrophthalimide (EK-5385) is an experimental substituted bicyclic herbicide. Soil-applied EK-5385 showed good rice selectivity and potent herbicidal activity on barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli var. oryzicola) at rates of 3.9-250 g a.i./ha. Barnyardgrass was exhibited normal growth under dark condition, however, the growth of shoot and root was severely inhibited under light condition (14/10 h of light/dark, 50 μmol/m²/s of photosynthetically active radiation) when treated with EK-5385, oxadiazon, and oxadiargyl. IC₅₀ of EK-5385 and oxadiargyl to chlorophyll loss in cucumber cotyledons was approximately 0.3 and 0.7 μM, respectively. IC₅₀ of EK-5385 and oxadiargyl to carotenoids loss in cucumber cotyledons was about 0.26 and 0.1 μM, respectively. IC₅₀ concentration of EK-5385 and oxadiargyl on Protox activity was approximately 5.5 and 8 nM, respectively. Cellular leakage occurred without lag period from cucumber leaf squares treated with 1 μM of EK-5385 and oxadiargyl under light exposure.     

Characteristics of persistent Salmonella Enteritidis strains in two integrated broiler chicken operations of Korea

The objectives of the study were to investigate the phenotypic and genotypic characterization of the persistent Salmonella Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) isolates in two integrated broiler chicken operations, with attention focused mainly on the epidemiological approach. In the distribution of virulence genes, Salmonella enterotoxin (stn), invading host cell (invA), and Salmonella plasmid virulence (spvC) genes were widely distributed among the S. Enteritidis irrespective of their source of isolation, and Salmonella fimbrial (sefC) and plasmid encoded fimbrial (pef) genes were present in 28 and 20 S. Enteritidis strains, respectively. A total of 5 different XbaI-PFGE types were obtained from 31 S. Enteritidis isolates. Twenty-one types were divided on the basis their PFGE pattern, phage type and antimicrobial resistance pattern determined. There was a significant difference in phenotypic and genotypic characterization by two integrated broiler operations. Also, 8 isolates shown susceptible to all antimicrobials and 11 isolates with resistance to nalidixic acid were partly classified by XbaI PFGE pattern and by the phage type.     

Effect of the polyvinylpyrrolidone concentration of cryoprotectant on mouse embryo development and production of pups: 7.5% of PVP is beneficial for in vitro and in vivo development of frozen-thawed mouse embryos

In this study, we investigated the effect of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) concentration on in vitro and in vivo development of 2 cell stage, vitrified ICR mouse embryos using a cryoprotectant consisting of ethylene glycol (EG) and sucrose. M2 was selected as the basic medium for vitrification and thawing. After equilibration with 4% (v/v) EG at 37 C for 15 min, the embryos were vitrified with 35% EG, 5, 6 or 7.5% (w/v) PVP and 0.4 M sucrose at 37 C for 30 sec. One week later, the cryotubes of cryopreserved embryos in liquid nitrogen were directly immersed into a 37 C water bath for 1 min and transferred serially into 300 mul of 0.5 or 0.3 M sucrose at room temperature for 5 min and M2 medium at 37 C for 10 min. The surviving embryos were cultured in KSOM (potassium simplex optimized medium) for 96-120 h in an atmosphere of 5% CO(2) in humidified air. Survival was evaluated by morphological appearance, including membrane integrity and presence of apoptotic blastomeres after thawing. For in vivo evaluation, blastocysts were transferred to the uteri of pseudopregnant mice. The survival rates of the 5 and 7.5% PVP concentration groups showed a significantly higher difference compared with that of the 6% PVP group (85.5 and 86.5 vs. 71.2%), respectively. Each pup in the of 5 and 6% groups was cannibalized immediately after parturition. A litter of live pups was obtained from only the 7.5% PVP groups. Our study indicated that supplementation of EG and sucrose cryoprotectant solution with 7.5% PVP is optimal for successful vitrification of 2-cell stage ICR mouse embryos.     

Effect of various sources of dietary additive on growth,body composition and serum chemistry of juvenile olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus)

Asia traditional herbal feed additives have often been shown to have beneficial effects on disease resistance, growth, feed conversion and protein conversion. There have been few studies on the use of these feed additives in olive flounder diets. The present study was designed to determine if there are benefits associated with the inclusion of any of these traditional herbal feed additives in olive flounder diets. One thousand two hundred sixty juvenile fish averaging 6.5 g were randomly distributed into 36, 180‐L flow‐through tanks. No additive was included into the control (Con) diet. The aqueous type of additives: 2.5% bamboo (BB), 0.25% Prunus mume (PM), 2.5% Artemisia capillaris (AC), 2.5% cinnamon (CC), 2.5% Cirtus junos (CJ), 0.25% Cudrania tricuspidata (CT) and 2.5% Ficus carica (FC), and the powder type of additives: 1% Houttuynia cordata (HC), 1% safflower (SF) and 1% sea tangle (ST) were included into the experimental diets. Finally, 0.1% emulsifying oil (EO) was included into the experimental diet. Feed efficiency ratio (FER) of fish fed the BB, CT and SF diets was higher than that of fish fed the FC and HC diets. Protein efficiency ratio (PER) of fish fed the BB and SF diets was higher than that of fish fed the AC, FC and HC diets. None of serum criteria of fish was affected by any of dietary additives. Dietary additives did not affect weight gain and serum chemistry of olive flounder, but 2.5% bamboo extract and 1% safflower powder was effective to improve FER and PER.     

Modelling the effects of herbicide dose and weed density on rice‐weed competition

The effects of herbicide dose on rice‐weed competition were investigated to develop a combined model, which can be utilised to estimate an optimum herbicide dose for a given weed density in paddy rice cultivation. Field studies were conducted in Suwon for rice‐Echinochloa crus‐galli competition and Iksan for rice‐Eleocharis kuroguwai during 2007. The competitive effect of the weeds E. crus‐galli and E. kuroguwai decreased with increasing doses of flucetosulfuron and azimsulfuron, respectively, in the same manner as the standard dose–response curve. The combination of the rectangular hyperbolic model and the standard dose–response curve adequately described the complex effects of herbicide dose and weed competition on rice yield. Parameter estimates were used with the model to predict rice yield and estimate the doses of flucetosulfuron and azimsulfuron required to restrict rice yield loss caused by E. crus‐galli and E. kuroguwai, respectively, to an acceptable level. For a rice yield of 5.0 t ha^?1, the model recommended flucetosulfuron doses of 8.7, 13.4 and 20.1 g a.i. ha^?1 when infested with E. crus‐galli at 12, 24 and 48 plants m^?2 respectively. For a rice yield of 5.2 t ha^?1, the model recommended azimsulfuron doses of 3.9, 7.5 and 12.6 g a.i. ha^?1 when infested with E. kuroguwai at 24, 48 and 96 plants m^?2 respectively. The theoretical outputs of the combined model appear robust and indicate there are opportunities for reduced herbicide use in the field. These now require evaluation under field conditions.     

Genotype and virulence of Streptococcus iniae isolated from diseased olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus in Korea

In the study, we characterized 29 Streptococcus iniae isolates from diseased olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus in Korea from 2000 to 2005. Biochemical characteristics of 29 isolates using API 20 strep were identical. Through analysis of repetitive sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) using BoxA primer and random amplified polymorphic DNA using p14 primer, 29 isolates of S. iniae were divided into two genotypes. The isolates were divided into two clusters by comparison of genetic distance using a sequence of the capsular polysaccharide D gene that was consistent with genotyping by the rep-PCR. The isolates belonging to genotype 1 in rep-PCR analysis showed a high virulence in the flounder, while the isolates belonging to genotype 2 were relatively low in virulence. Therefore, a correlation between the genotype and the virulence of S. iniae isolates has been identified.