Potential role of viral surface glycoproteins in the replication of H3N2 triple reassortant influenza A viruses in swine and turkeys

The H3N2 triple reassortant (TR) influenza viruses emerged in swine in 1998 and then in turkeys in 2003. It was then hypothesized that these viruses crossed the species barrier and transmitted from pigs to turkeys. In previous work we identified viruses with different transmission behavior between the two species, of which A/turkey/Ohio/313053/04 (TK04) transmitted both ways between swine and turkeys, and A/swine/North Carolina/03 (SW03) did not transmit either way between the two species. Utilizing the 12-plasmid reverse genetics (RG) system, we rescued two viruses (TK04 and SW03) with potentially different transmission behavior between pigs and turkeys. Single gene reassortants (SGR) were generated by switching the hemagglutinin (HA) or the neuraminidase (NA) genes between both viruses, and were evaluated for replication in vitro (pig and turkey tracheal/bronchial epithelial cells) and in vivo (pigs and turkeys). RG-created TK04 replicated more efficiently than SW03 in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, TK04 exhibited better binding affinity to plasma membrane preparations (PMP) from pig and turkey tracheal/bronchial epithelial cells compared to SW03. In study with SGR viruses, the HA protein was found to be essential for TK04 virus transmission amongst turkeys, but not sole factor contributing to the efficient replication of virus in turkeys and pigs. Such findings further highlight the polygenic nature of influenza virus pathogenesis.     

Comparison of floral ontogeny in wild-type and double-flowered phenotypes of Syringa vulgaris L. (Oleaceae)

A comparative study of floral ontogeny in normal and double-flowered phenotype of Syringa vulgaris was conducted using the epi-illumination light microscopy. In the wild phenotype, floral differentiation starts with calyx inception and the formation of four sepals in orthogonal positions (two median and two lateral). The corolla emerges as a continuous ring-like structure leading to the appearance of four petal lobes alternating with the sepals. Androecium was formed by initiation of two stamen primordia in transverse plane and finally the bicarpellate gynoecium emerges in median position. In the case of the double-flowered lilac, there are supernumerary petals in an additional whorl. In double-flowered phenotype, a ring meristem is formed acropetally after the first petal whorl initiates. Stamens and carpels initiated similarly in double-flowered as well as in wild-type plants. However, position of stamens deviates from the typical transverse situation. It seems that the appearing of an extra petal whorl did not exhibit any adverse effect on the initiation of other whorls, in terms of organ identity. Therefore, it would be suggested that the double-flowered phenotype of Syringa represents a case of neoheterotopy, with formation of an extra petal whorl, rather than a case of homoheterotopy with transformation of an ancestral androecium whorl into petals.     

Sperm density, seminal plasma composition and their physiological relationship in the endangered Caspian brown trout (Salmo trutta caspius)

Sperm density, mineral and organic composition of the seminal plasma and their physiological relationship were investigated in the Caspian brown trout (Salmo trutta caspius). To establish a rapid and accurate method for assessment of sperm density, three different techniques were used: sperm counting, spectrophotometry (at 480 nm) and determination of the spermatocrit. The seminal plasma contained 159.26±8.84 mM sodium (Na), 33.72±2.01 mM potassium (K), 133.04±5.96 mM chlorine (Cl), 1.68±0.2 mM calcium (Ca) and 0.988±0.13 mM magnesium (Mg). The following organic components were found: total protein 0.75±0.14 mg 100 mL⁻¹, cholesterol 2.86±0.58 mg L⁻¹ and glucose 3.81±1.04 mM L⁻¹. The mean sperm density was estimated to be 3.3 × 10⁹ spermatozoa mL⁻¹. The spermatocrit (%) ranged from 25 to 52 in sperm samples. Highly significant linear relationships were found between sperm density and spermatocrit (R²=0.703, P<0.001) and sperm density and optical density (R²=0.909, P<0.001), indicating that optical density can be used as a quick and accurate method of estimating sperm density. Significant relationships were also found between sperm density and Ca, Mg and total protein of seminal plasma. A significant correlation was also observed between the Ca and Mg concentrations (R²=0.774, P<0.01). The following correlations were observed between mineral and organic components: total protein and Ca (R²=0.462, P<0.05), total protein and Mg (R²=0.518, P<0.05) and glucose and Cl (R²=0.374, P<0.05). These parameters should be considered when developing procedures for either artificial fertilization or for cryopreservation of sperm.     

Microglial Activation in Rat Experimental Spinal Cord Injury Model

Background: The present study was designed to evaluate the secondary microglial activation processes after spinal cord injury (SCI). Methods: A quantitative histological study was performed to determine ED-1 positive cells, glial cell density, and cavitation size in untreated SCI rats at days 1, 2, and 4, and weeks 1, 2, 3, and 4. Results: The results of glial cell quantification along the 4900-µm long injured spinal cord showed a significant increase in glial cell density percentage at day 2 as compared to other days. Whereas the highest increase in ED-1 immunoreactive cells (monocyte/phagocyte marker in rats) was observed at day 2 (23.15%) post-injury. Evaluation of cavity percentage showed a significant difference between weeks 3 and 4 post-injury groups. Conclusions: This study provides a new insight into the multiphase immune response to SCI, including cellular inflammation, macrophages/microglia activation, glial cell density, and cavitation. Better understanding of the inflammatory processes associated with acute SCI would permit the development of better therapeutic strategies. Key Words: Spinal cord injuries, Inflammation, Microglia, Macrophages     

Effect of different levels of dried citrus pulp on performance,egg quality,and blood parameters of laying hens in early phase of production

Utilization of agricultural wastes in animal nutrition is a matter of great concern. Dried citrus pulp (DCP) is a potential source of some valuable nutrients for animal and poultry. In an experiment with completely randomized design, the effect of different levels (0%, 4%, 8%, 12%, and 16%) of DCP was evaluated on performance, egg quality, and blood parameters of laying hens from 25 to 37 weeks of age. The birds were randomly allocated to five groups with six replicates and three birds in each replicate. The results showed that with increasing the level of DCP up to 12%, there were no significant differences among treatments for feed intake, egg production, egg mass, feed conversion ratio, final body weight, yolk index, and yolk color. There were no significant differences between treatments in shell thickness, eggshell index, egg score, and Haugh unit. Utilization of DCP up to 16% significantly increased serum glucose and high-density lipoprotein and reduced cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, and triglycerides (P < 0.05). Results of the present study indicated that use of 12% DCP in laying hen diets had no adverse effect on performance and egg quality of laying hens in early phase of production.     

Physiological,ionoregulatory, metabolic and immune responses of Persian sturgeon,Acipenser persicus (Borodin, 1897) to stress

The physiological ionoregulatory, metabolic and immune responses of Persian sturgeon, Acipenser persicus, to acute stress were investigated. Water levels were lowered to the fish dorsal scutes, and fish were blood‐sampled before stress (pre‐stress), and 0, 6, 24 and 72 h after stress. Results showed that serum cortisol rapidly increased after stress, returning to initial levels at 24 h. Serum glucose significantly increased at 6 h, declining to the pre‐stress levels at 72 h. Serum triglyceride and cholesterol showed significant decreases at 0 h, then increasing to higher than the initial levels at 72 h. Serum T₃ and T₄ significantly decreased at 0 h and recovered at 72 h. Serum chloride levels showed no significant changes while serum calcium showed a significant increase at 0 h and a further increase until 72 h poststress. Serum total protein and alternative complement activity showed a significant initial decrease and recovery at 24 h with further increase at 72 h. Serum lysozyme activity increased significantly at 24 and 72 h after stress. Serum total immunoglobulin significantly increased at 0 h and peaked at 24 h. This is the first work showing thyroid hormone and immunological responses in Persian sturgeon subjected to stress, and the results show that this species follows a classical hormonal and energetic stress response, although, in the low range among the sturgeons. Although transient and moderate, confinement stress can induce significant changes in the innate immune response.     

Barley growth,yield, antioxidant enzymes,and ion accumulation affected by PGRs under salinity stress conditions

Application of plant growth regulator (PGR) may alleviate some negative effects of environmental stresses such as salinity. A controlled environment experiment was conducted to study barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Reyhane) growth, yield, antioxidant enzymes and ions accumulation affected by PGRs under salinity stress conditions at Shiraz University during 2012. The treatments were PGRs at four levels—water (as control), cycocel (CCC, 19 mM), salicylic acid (SA, 1 mM), and jasmonic acid (JA, 0.5 mM)—and four salinity levels—no stress (0.67 dS m^?1, as control), 5, 10, and 15 dS m^?1, which were arranged in a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with four replicates. The results showed that salinity stress significantly decreased plant height, peduncle length, leaf area, ear length, grain number, dry weight, grain yield, harvest index, potassium (K⁺) accumulation, and potassium/sodium (K⁺/Na⁺) concentration ratio, which were closely associated with stress severity. However, PGRs compensated some of these negative effects, so that SA foliar application had the most ameliorative effect. Salt stress also increased Na⁺ accumulation as well as the activity of peroxidase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Since ion discrimination and enhanced antioxidant enzymes are associated with salt tolerance, in this experiment PGRs application might have enhanced K⁺ accumulation and antioxidant enzyme activity. The activity of SOD and K⁺/Na⁺ ratio were found to be useful in salt tolerance manipulation in barley plants.     

Factors affecting calf mortality in Iranian Holstein dairy herds

The objective of this study was to document mortality reasons and risk factors for mortality in dairy calves in the northeast of Iran. This was a prospective cohort study of calves born on ten commercial dairy herds from 21 March 2009 to 20 March 2010. A total of 4097 live calves were followed for 90 days after birth. For each calf details of sex, parity of the dam, type of parturition and season of birth were recorded. The interval (in days) from the date of birth to the date of death and the reason for death was recorded for those calves that died before 90 days of age. A Cox proportional hazards model, including a frailty term to account for unmeasured herd-level effects was developed to quantify the effect of factors associated with time to death. Two hundred and sixty-six (6.5%, 95% CI: 5.8-7.3%) of the 4097 live-born calves died or were euthanised before 90 days of age. The most important reasons for death were digestive tract disorders (58% of all deaths, 95% CI: 52-64%) followed by respiratory diseases (13% of all deaths, 95% CI: 9-17%). Calves exposed to dystocia at birth had 2.09 (95% CI: 1.49-2.92) times the daily hazard of death compared with calves born from a normal calving. The daily hazard of death for calves born in the summer was 1.93 (95% CI: 1.41-2.64) times greater than the hazard for those calves born in the autumn. Inclusion of the herd-level frailty term had a significant effect on hazard estimates indicating that the study herds were heterogeneous in the distribution of unmeasured herd-level factors influencing calf survival. Our results show that diarrhoea is the most important cause of calf mortality in dairy herds in this area of Iran and that environmental and management factors affect calf mortality rate.     

Can the polyculture with South American catfish improve the feeding efficiency of rainbow trout culture?

The objective of this study was to determine if the South American catfish (Rhamdia quelen) is suitable to be farmed in polyculture with rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in intensive systems during the juvenile phase to maximize feed efficiency. Juveniles of rainbow trout (3.94?±?0.11 g) and South American catfish (2.07?±?0.04 g) were distributed in 16 tanks (100 L) with continuous water renewal at the density of 50 fish/tank. The experimental design was completely randomized with four treatments (proportions between species) and four replicates. The treatments were 100% trout (100T), 70% trout and 30% catfish (70T30C), 50% trout and 50% catfish (50T50C), and 100% catfish (100C). Fish were fed twice daily with pelleted commercial feed (45% crude protein) during an experimental period of 56 days. No feed was provided for the catfish in polyculture. The weight gained by the trout was higher in polyculture. Fish survival did not differ among the treatments. The average survival of the trout in all tanks was 99.6?±?1.0%, while the survival of the South American catfish was 97.9?±?2.7%. The total feed conversion ratio was lower in the 70T30J treatment, followed by the 100T treatment. Rainbow trout and South American catfish are compatible species for farming together in the first phase of their juvenile development. The different spaces occupied by these species inside tanks probably prevent competition or agonistic behavior. Catfish eat the non-ingested leftover diet from the trout, which improves feed conversion and increases sustainability.     

Simultaneous Bayesian estimation of genetic parameters for curves of weight,feed intake,and residual feed intake in beef cattle

Rates of gain and feed efficiency are important traits in most breeding programs for growing farm animals. The rate of gain (GAIN) is usually expressed over a certain age period and feed efficiency is often expressed as residual feed intake (RFI), defined as observed feed intake (FI) minus expected feed intake based on live weight (WGT) and GAIN. However, the basic traits recorded are always WGT and FI and other traits are derived from these basic records. The aim of this study was to develop a procedure for simultaneous analysis of the basic records and then derive linear traits related to feed efficiency without retorting to any approximation. A bivariate longitudinal random regression model was employed on 13,791 individual longitudinal records of WGT and FI from 2,827 bulls of six different beef breeds tested for their own performance in the period from 7 to 13 mo of age. Genetic and permanent environmental covariance functions for curves of WGT and FI were estimated using Gibbs sampling. Genetic and permanent covariance functions for curves of GAIN were estimated from the first derivative of the function for WGT and finally the covariance functions were extended to curves for RFI, based on the conditional distribution of FI given WGT and GAIN. Furthermore, the covariance functions were extended to include GAIN and RFI defined over different periods of the performance test. These periods included the whole test period as normally used when predicting breeding values for GAIN and RFI for beef bulls. Based on the presented method, breeding values and genetic parameters for derived traits such as GAIN and RFI defined longitudinally or integrated over (parts of) of the test period can be obtained from a joint analysis of the basic records. The resulting covariance functions for WGT, FI, GAIN, and RFI are usually singular but the method presented here does not suffer from the estimation problems associated with defining these traits individually before the genetic analysis. All the results are thus estimated simultaneously, and the set of parameters is consistent.