Epigenetic Programming of Porcine Endometrial Function and the Lactocrine Hypothesis

Epigenetic programs controlling development of the female reproductive tract (FRT) are influenced by the effects of naturally occurring bioactive agents on patterns of gene expression in FRT tissues during organizationally critical periods of foetal and perinatal life. Aberrations in such important cellular and molecular events, as may occur with exposure to natural or manmade steroid or peptide receptor-modulating agents, disrupt the developmental program and can change the developmental trajectory of FRT tissues, including the endometrium, with lasting consequences. In the pig, as in other mammals, maternal programming of FRT development begins pre-natally and is completed post-natally, when maternal effects on development can be communicated via signals transmitted in milk. Studies involving relaxin (RLX), a prototypic milk-borne morphoregulatory factor (MbF), serve as the basis for ongoing efforts to identify maternal programming events that affect uterine and cervical tissues in the neonatal pig. Data support the lactocrine hypothesis for delivery of MbFs to neonates as a specific consequence of nursing. Components of a maternally driven lactocrine mechanism for RLX-mediated signalling in neonatal FRT tissues, including evidence that milk-borne RLX is delivered into the neonatal circulation where it can act on RLX receptor (RXFP1) -positive neonatal tissues to affect their development, are in place in the pig. The fact that all newborn mammals drink milk extends the timeframe of maternal influence on neonatal development across many species. Thus, lactocrine transmission of milk-borne developmental signals is an element of the maternal epigenetic programming equation that deserves further study.     

Serum Starvation and Full Confluency for Cell Cycle Synchronization of Domestic Cat (Felis catus) Foetal Fibroblasts

Nuclear transfer of domestic cat can be used as a tool to develop reproductive biotechnologies in wild felids. The importance of cell cycle phase during the nuclear transfer has been a matter of debate since the first mammalian clone was produced. The cell cycle phase of donor cells interferes on maintenance of correct ploidy and genetic reprogramming of the reconstructed embryo. The use of G0/G1 arrested donor cells has been shown to improve nuclear transfer efficiency. The present study was conducted to test the hypothesis that domestic cat foetal fibroblasts cultured up to the fifth passage and submitted to full confluency provide a higher percentage of cells at G0/G1 stage than fibroblasts cultured in serum starved media. Results demonstrated that serum starvation increased (p ≤ 0.05) the percentage of G0/G1 fibroblasts when compared with control. Moreover, the combined protocol using confluency and serum starvation was more efficient (p ≤ 0.05) synchronizing cells at G0/G1 stage than serum starvation or confluency alone for the first 3 days of treatment. In conclusion, serum starvation and full confluency act in a synergistic manner to improve domestic cat foetal fibroblast cell cycle synchronization at the G0/G1 stage.     

Investigation of the retronasal perception of strawberry aroma aftersmell depending on matrix composition

The development of strawberry aroma aftersmell after consumption in aqueous and milk model systems was followed. A recently developed sensory approach was used to seize the qualitative, quantitative, and temporal aspects of aroma profile development. The results obtained from sensory evaluation were then correlated to analytical data, obtained by means of intraoral aroma detection using the buccal odor screening system (BOSS). A clear correlation was found between the sensory persistence of single odor impressions and the intraoral detectability of odorants by BOSS. For the strawberry aroma mixture it could be shown that BOSS is capable of selecting those odorants of a complex aroma mixture that elicit a certain aftersmell impression developing after a certain period of time in the oral cavity. Also, the changes in in vivo odorant persistence depending on changes in food matrix composition could be directly followed by means of BOSS.     

Quantification of cysteine S-conjugate of 3-sulfanylhexan-1-ol in must and wine of petite arvine vine by stable isotope dilution analysis

Making use of a convenient synthetic approach to prepare the deuterated S-3-(hexan-1-ol)-cysteine by a Michael addition reaction, an analytical method was developed to measure the presence of the cysteine S-conjugate, precursor of 3-sulfanylhexan-1-ol (3-mercaptohexan-1-ol), in must and wine from Petite Arvine vine. The method uses a stable isotope dilution assay with a suitable one-step sample preparation and HPLC-MS detection. The method has limits of detection and quantification of 3 and 10 microg/L, respectively. A correlation between the increase of the precursor concentration and the increase of the degree of rot has been established.     

Investigation of intra-herd spread of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mycobacterium caprae</Emphasis> in cattle by generation and use of a whole-genome sequence

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) calculated from whole genome sequencing (WGS) are ideally suited to study evolutionary relationships of pathogens and their epidemiology. Mycobacterium caprae infections have been documented frequently in cattle and red deer along the Bavarian and Austrian Alps during the last decade. However, little is still known about the transmission within cattle holdings and possible alterations of the genomes of M. caprae during such events. The aim of this study was to study the molecular epidemiology of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in selected herds based on isolate-specific genome-wide SNPs and to perform a phylogenetic network analysis. In total, 61 M. caprae isolates were collected originating from eight cattle farms over a period of twelve years between 2004 and 2015. Analysis of their sequence data revealed that the M. caprae isolates of an affected farm differ at all in a few SNPs. In contrast, many more SNPs were found when comparing the M. caprae genomes originating from different herds. The results demonstrated that the spread of bTB in the affected farms occurred by direct transmission between the members of each herd rather than between herds and a M. caprae introduction in farms after contact events e. g. on summer pastures can readily be traced by WGS analysis. Furthermore, we assembled a nearly complete whole genome sequence of M. caprae derived from several cattle isolates originating from bTB cases in the Bavarian Alpine region.     

Influence of human salivary enzymes on odorant concentration changes occurring in vivo. 1. Esters and thiols

The influence of human whole saliva on odor-active esters and thiols was investigated. Special emphasis was placed on food-relevant concentrations of the odorants. It was found that the amounts of the esters were reduced during incubation with saliva to different extents according to their chemical structures. Considerable degradations were also observed for 2-furfurylthiol, 2-phenylethanethiol, and 3-mercapto-3-methyl-1-butanol, being reduced from approximately 70 to 20% of their initial concentrations within a period of 10 min. Decrease of the odorants did not occur after thermal treatment of the saliva. Generally, the enzymic processes were found to be dependent on the salivary activity of each individual panelist as well as on the odorant's concentrations applied. These investigations were aimed at finding an explanation for the persistence of aftertaste in humans, as it is induced by some odor-active compounds after the consumption of food materials.     

Infrared Emissivity of the Sahara from Tiros Data

Most rocks, minerals, and sands show strong infrared reflection bands. In the atmospheric window (8 to 12micro), quartz and feldspar show an emissivity near 0.8, calcite near 1.0. These laboratory data are confirmed from observations during a Tiros flight over the Libyan desert. The Mediterranean Sea was used for calibration. Desert emissivity is between 0.7 and 0.9.