The advantages of the use of vitamin E and selenium for the prevention and therapy of porcine stress syndrome

In a feeding trial lasting for months Halothane-positive fattening pigs were put on a diet containing different concentrations of vitamin E and selenium. After a Myostress application vitamin E and selenium were additionally injected in order to examine stress resistance (CK-test) and regenerative capacity (histological examination of Musculus longissimus dorsi) of skeletal muscle. The study revealed that neither high dietary levels of vitamin E/selenium nor a vitamin E/selenium treatment applied after stress are capable of preventing stress related myopathy nor can they influence its healing up favourably.     

Pilot study of the effect of acemannan in cats infected with feline immunodeficiency virus.

Acemannan, a complex carbohydrate shown to stimulate interleukin-1, tumor necrosis factor alpha and prostaglandin E2 production by macrophages, has also demonstrated antiviral activity in vitro against human immunodeficiency virus, Newcastle disease virus and influenza virus. A pilot study was undertaken to determine acemannan's effect in 49 feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infected cats with clinical signs of disease (Stage 3, 4 or 5), 23 of which had severe lymphopenia. Cats received acemannan either by intravenous (Group 1) or subcutaneous (Group 2) injection once weekly for 12 weeks, or by daily oral (Group 3) administration for 12 weeks. Upon entry into the study, cats were randomly assigned to one of the three groups. Laboratory analyses were performed at the beginning of the study and at Weeks 6 and 12. Cats were allowed to continue with a predetermined maintenance regimen of acemannan after completing the 12-week study. Thirteen cats died during the course of treatment. Upon necropsy, the most frequent histopathologic findings were neoplastic, kidney and pancreatic disease. Friedman's two-way ANOVA test showed no significant differences in efficacy among groups administered acemannan by the different routes. Therefore, groups were combined and a signed-ranks test was used to determine changes over time. A significant increase was seen in lymphocyte counts (P < 0.001). Neutrophil counts decreased significantly (P = 0.007), as did incidence of sepsis (P = 0.008). When cats entering with lymphopenia were analyzed separately, a much greater increase in lymphocyte counts was noted (235%) compared with non-lymphopenic cats (42%). A survival rate of 75% was found for all three groups. Thirty-six of 49 animals are alive 5-19 months post-entry. These results suggest that acemannan therapy may be of significant benefit in FIV-infected cats exhibiting clinical signs of disease.     

Antibody response to crustacean ectoparasites in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), immunized with Argulus foliaceus L. antigen extract

Abstract. A humoral antibody response was demonstrated by ELISA in rainbow trout immunized intraperitoneally with extracts from the branchiuran ectoparasite Argulus foliaceus. A similar immunization protocol produced a higher titre response in a rabbit. Both trout and rabbit identified several antigenic components on immunoblots. ELISA and immunoblotting indicated that rainbow trout and rabbit anti-A. foliaceus sera identified components from the parasitic copepods Lepeophtheirus salmonis and Caligus elongatus.     

Immunocytochemical Study of the Ultimobranchial Tubule in Wistar Rats

A systematic immunohistochemical study of the ultimobranchial tubule (UBT) has been carried out in 45 Wistar rats of different ages (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 60 and 120 days). The existence of calcitonin immunoreactive cells in the UBT wall has been demonstrated in a 5-days old rat. In addition, immunohistochemical studies for thyroglobulin revealed positive staining in follicular cells connected to the UBT and, occasionally, in isolated cells lying within solid clusters from the UBT. These last results together with the continued and repeated existence of numerous mitosis and PAS (+) microfollicles, apparently rising from the UBT, support the hypothesis that the ultimobranchial body (UBB) may contribute partially to the formation of a part of the follicular component.     

Requirement for MHC class II positive accessory cells in an antigen specific bovine T cell response

Purified populations of bovine antigen presenting cells (APCs) and T cells have been isolated from peripheral blood and characterised using various monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for cell surface markers. Bovine APCs were found in an adherent cell fraction and were non-specific esterase positive, phagocytic and expressed bovine major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II determinants, all of which are typical macrophage characteristics. T cells were rigorously depleted of accessory cell function before being used in an antigen presenting cell assay. The generation of T helper cells in response to the soluble antigen, ovalbumin, was entirely dependent upon a critical number of APCs. Further the proliferative response was inhibited by several mAbs to bovine MHC class II molecules. Thus the interaction between bovine APCs and helper/inducer T lymphocytes (TH/I) appears to be similar to that in other species.     

Antitumor effect of adriamycin entrapped in liposomes conjugated with anti-bovine tumor antigen monoclonal antibody in leukemic cows

Monoclonal antibody c143 against tumor-associated antigen (TAA) expressed on bovine leukemia cells was conjugated to liposomes containing adriamycin (ADM), and therapeutic effects of conjugates were examined in leukemic or preleukemic cows to prevent the progression of the disease. Five cows with TAA-positive in their peripheral blood lymphocytes were divided into two groups. Each group of cows received 4 injections of ADM alone (0.4 mg/kg) or c143-conjugated liposomes containing the same dose of ADM (L-AMD-c143) through the jugular vein at about 4 day intervals. In three animals treated with L-ADM-c143, the TAA-positive cells gradually decreased with treatment and finally two animals became TAA-negative during a 6 week period and a 14 week period after treatment, respectively. In the control, two animals treated with ADM alone showed only a slight decrease of TAA-positive cells.     

Filtration of Green Algae and Cyanobacteria by Freshwater Mussels in the Partitioned Aquaculture System

Abstract.— The freshwater mussel Elliptio complanata was provided water containing green algae and cyanobacteria delivered from the Partitioned Aquaculture System (PAS) at eight flow rates to determine algal filtration rates as mg of particulate organic carbon (POC)/kg wet tissue weight per h. The dominant taxon in cyanobacterial waters was Microcystis while the dominant taxa in green algal waters were Scenedesmus and Ankistrodesmus . The cell counts of Scenedesmus and Ankistrodesmus were the only algal taxa that were significantly different between the incoming water and water filtered by mussels. Filtration rates of POC obtained from green algal water were significantly greater than from cyanobacteria-dominated waters at all flow rates. A significant increase in mean filtration rate was observed as flow rates increased. The filtration rate of green algae increased as POC concentration increased, peaking at 28 mg C/L. A maximum filtration rate was not observed with cyanobacterial waters.     

Seasonal changes in serum total thyroxine, free thyroxine, and canine thyroid-stimulating hormone in clinically healthy beagles in Hokkaido.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate seasonal influences on thyroid hormone levels of healthy outdoor dogs in Hokkaido. We surveyed serum basal total thyroxine (tT4), free thyroxine (fT4), and canine thyroid-stimulating hormone (cTSH) levels, and tT4 levels after administration of TSH for a year. Basal tT4 levels decreased in January, and increased in August and September. fT4 levels increased in January and November. No significant seasonal variation was found in cTSH. tT4 levels after administration of TSH in August and November increased. These results suggested that the thyroid gland may have been activated in November. We should take seasonal variation into consideration when thyroid function is tested.