对FC株猪源性肠毒素型大肠杆菌致病因子的研究

FC菌株是一株从腹泻仔猪粪便中分离的肠毒素型大肠杆菌(Enterotoxigenic E.coli,ETEC)。在MRHA反应中,本菌能凝集人O型、豚鼠、马、绵羊、牛、鸡和兔的红细胞,对人O型和豚鼠红细胞有很高的血凝性,血抗K88和K99血清不能抑制其对豚鼠和绵羊红细胞的血凝。在体外小肠上皮细胞吸附试验中,本菌对仔猪小肠上皮细胞具有强烈的吸附作用;透射电镜和扫描电镜观察证实了FC株菌除表面具有一种纤毛样结构外,还能定居在仔猪小肠段。血清学试验结果表明,本菌的O抗原属于O101。K88和987P两种抗血清均不能凝集本菌,而K99和F41抗血清均可凝集。对纯化的FC株菌粘着素抗原作等电聚焦和聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳分析,结果表明,该菌的粘着素是由等电点分别为4.61和9.78,分子量分别为29500和17500的两种蛋白质抗原所组成。此外,用乳鼠胃内投服试验和兔肠结扎试验证明,该菌只产生热稳定肠毒素。总之,本菌是一株能产生ST的K99,F41的肠毒素型大肠杆菌。     

A spline polynomial model to describe serum IGF-I concentration from birth to slaughter in calves: effects of weaning age,pre-weaning concentrate feeding and breed

The statistical analysis of hormones sampled throughout the production cycle is complicated because factors such as age and weight at the measuring date interfere. Spline curves constructed from pieces of low-degree, random-effects polynomials could be used for a more accurate analysis of data. Concentration of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), weight gain, and concentrate intake of Parda de Montaña (PM) (n = 27) and Pirenaica calves (n = 14) were modeled with a spline model according to age at weaning, pre-weaning concentrate feeding, and breed. At birth, calves were randomly assigned to early weaning (EW) at 90 d or traditional weaning (TW) at 150 d. During lactation, half of PM calves received concentrates (S), whereas the remainder received no concentrates (NS). After weaning, calves received concentrates on an ad libitum basis until they reached a weight of 450 kg. The spline model had better likelihood than a polynomial of 6 degrees or a split-plot model. Serum IGF-1 concentration was greatly affected by age at weaning and pre-weaning concentrate feeding, but not by breed. In NS calves, IGF-1 concentration was greater in EW than in TW calves from 120 to 300 d, irrespective of breed. During lactation, S calves had greater IGF-1 concentration than NS calves. After weaning, EWNS calves reached the IGF-1 concentration of EWS calves after 4 mo on concentrates, whereas TWNS calves attained IGF-1 concentration of TWS calves after only 2 mo, because of their increased concentrate intake relative to TWS calves. Concentration of IGF-1 was positively correlated with the immediate weight gains and intake, but it was not a good predictor of performance in the long term.     

Rough vaccines in animal brucellosis: structural and genetic basis and present status

Brucellosis control and eradication requires serological tests and vaccines. Effective classical vaccines (S19 in cattle and Rev 1 in small ruminants), however, induce antibodies to the O-polysaccharide of the lipopolysaccharide which may be difficult to distinguish from those resulting from infection and may thus complicate diagnosis. Rough attenuated mutants lack the O-polysaccharide and would solve this problem if eliciting protective immunity; the empirically obtained rough mutants 45/20 and RB51 have been used as vaccines. Strain 45/20 is reportedly unstable and it is not presently used. RB51 is increasingly used instead of S19 in some countries but it is rifampicin resistant and its effectiveness is controversial. Some controlled experiments have found good or absolute protection in adult cattle vaccinated orally (full dose) or subcutaneously (reduced dose) and in one field experiment, RB51 was reported to afford absolute protection to calves and to perform better than S19. Controlled experiments in calves, however, have shown reduced doses of RB51 to be ineffective, full doses only partially effective, and RB51 less effective than S19 against severe challenges. Moreover, other observations suggest that RB51 is ineffective when prevalence is high. RB51 is not useful in sheep and evidence in goats is preliminary and contradictory. Rough mutants obtained by molecular biology methods on the knowledge of the genetics and structure of Brucella lipopolysaccharide may offer alternatives. The B. abortus manBcore (rfbK) mutant seems promising in cattle, and analyses in mice suggest that mutations affecting only the O-polysaccharide result in better vaccines than those affecting both core and O-polysaccharide. Possible uses of rough vaccines also include boosting immunity by revaccination but solid evidence on its effectiveness, safety and practicality is not available.     

A multicentric retrospective study of serum/plasma urea and creatinine concentrations in dogs using univariate and multivariate decision rules to evaluate diagnostic efficiency

BACKGROUND: Urea and creatinine are the most frequently used indirect markers in plasma and serum of glomerular filtration rate in dogs. Both have been shown to lack sensitivity but their diagnostic efficiency for the diagnosis of kidney disease has been minimally investigated. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this retrospective study was to investigate the influence of possible factors of variation on both analytes and to determine whether specific decision rules should be drawn up for subpopulations of dogs. METHODS: The results of urea and creatinine measurements, breed, sex, age, and health status (healthy, renal disease, or nonrenal disease) of 3822 dogs were collected from the archives of 5 veterinary clinics. Data were analyzed with univariate and multivariate decision rules with and without adjustment. RESULTS: There were significant effects and interactions of almost all of the sources of variation. Slight improvements in diagnostic efficiency were obtained by adjusting the decision rules to these sources of variations. Univariate decision rules gave approximately the same diagnostic efficiency for urea and creatinine concentrations, with sensitivity and specificity in the range of 70% and 90%, respectively, using the upper limit of the reference interval as the threshold value. Multivariate decision rules provided only minor improvements in diagnostic efficiency. CONCLUSION: Simultaneous measurement of both urea and creatinine is of limited diagnostic value over the analysis of a single variable. Creatinine is the preferred analyte as it is affected by fewer extrarenal factors of variation.     

Seroprevalence and risk factors for Neospora caninum in sheep in the state Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with infection due to Neospora caninum in serum samples from 488 sheep originating from 63 farms in 63 municipalities distributed across eight of the twelve mesoregions of the state Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. For detection of N. caninum the sheep serum samples were subjected to the indirect fluorescence antibody test (IFAT ≥ 50). To identify the risk factors associated with infection due to N. caninum a questionnaire was filled out for each herd by interviewing, the individual responsible for the herd, demanding information on the general characteristics of the property. Sixty-four sheep sera (13.1%; 95% CI=10.3-16.4) presented IgG-specific anti-N. caninum antibodies with the following titers: 50 (49; 76.6%), 100 (7; 10.9%), 200 (4; 6.2%), 400 (3; 4.7%) and 800 (1; 1.6%). The prevalence of infected sheep per mesoregion ranged from 0 to 28.1%. Out of the 63 farms sampled, 31 (49.2%; 95% CI=36.4-62.1) presented at least one seropositive sheep. No significant association was found between the presence of anti-N. caninum antibodies and the risk factors evaluated on the farms, except for the mesoregion variable (p=0.004; OR=0.429; CI95%=0.182-1.008). These results indicate that there is a need for additional research to define the epidemiological importance of this parasite as a cause of reproductive problems in sheep herds in Minas Gerais.     

Sex‐dependent responses of perch to changes in water clarity and temperature

Rising temperatures and decreasing water transparency of lakes have strong wide ranging effects on fish. Fish responses to various changes in the environment are usually species‐dependent, but responses may also vary within species. In general, large individuals are considered to be more sensitive to environmental variation due to higher energy demand, than smaller individuals. Similarly, large individuals require more food to maintain bodily functions and are thus more sensitive to resource and food scarcity. These size‐specific responses to environmental gradients are also sex‐dependent in species that exhibit sexual size dimorphism (SSD). We studied in enclosures with short‐term experiments how rising temperatures and decreasing water transparency regulate the feeding rates of female and male European perch (Perca fluviatilis L.). To explore experimental results, we calculated perch SSD in nine lakes with varying environmental conditions using previously collected field data. The results of the experiments revealed that the combined effect of water transparency and temperature on the feeding rate of fish is gender‐dependent: feeding rate of females decreased more than that of males. The experimental results were also supported by field data that revealed a negative relation between water transparency and the magnitude of SSD in perch. Our results suggest that rising temperatures and decreasing water transparency may potentially decrease fish size in a sex‐dependent manner. As female size is one of the main demographic traits determining the reproductive success of a fish population, changing environments may have unexpected and far‐reaching consequences on fish population dynamics.     

Black carbon estimation in French calcareous soils using chemo‐thermal oxidation method

We studied the black carbon (BC) content of ca. 405 samples from French topsoil and artificial soil and carbonate mixtures. Our protocol involved three main steps: (i) decarbonation by HCl, (ii) elimination of non‐pyrogenic organic carbon in a furnace at 375 °C, and (iii) quantification of residual carbon by CHN analysis. BC content increased for calcareous soils according to their carbonates content. Subsequent analyses confirmed the existence of a methodological artefact for BC determination only in calcareous soils. Decarbonation changes the thermal properties of organic matter, creating more recalcitrant carbon than in the initial sample. Higher CaCO₃ and organic carbon content results in a more pronounced artefact. The reversal of the first two steps of the chemo‐thermal oxidation method (i.e. thermal oxidation before soil decarbonation) eliminates this artefact. Overall, our results suggest that BC content may have been overestimated in a large number of studies on calcareous soils.