Frequency of enteropathogen detection in suckling and weaned pigs with diarrhea in Japan.

Fecal samples from suckling (n=153) and weaned (n=116) piglets with diarrhea in Japan were examined for shedding of viral, bacterial, and parasitic pathogens using culture, microscopic, and polymerase chain reaction methods. In suckling piglets, diarrhea was attributed to infection with a single etiologic agent in 60.8% of cases and with combinations of agents in 22.2%. In weaned piglets, diarrhea was attributed to a single etiologic agent in 43.1% and to combinations of agents in 47.4% of cases. Rotavirus was the most prevalent agent in suckling (67.3%) and weaned (65.5%) piglets. The detection of other pathogens was associated with age of the animals examined. Coccidia were predominantly isolated from suckling piglets, whereas Escherichia coli was found predominantly in weaned piglets. Although a relationship was not observed between detection rate of rotavirus and age of piglets, a single group of rotavirus was detected in 87.5% of suckling piglets whereas multiple groups were detected in 51.6% of weaned piglets. The results of this study confirm that diarrhea in piglets can, to a variable degree, be causally associated with multiple agents. Additionally, these results suggest reasons why this syndrome can be difficult to control.     

Comparison of urine and blood as a convenient and practical sample for estimating the contamination level of live cattle with radioactive cesium

Blood and urine were compared to clarify which is a better sample for estimating the concentration of radioactive cesium in muscles of live cattle. The most probable concentration of ¹³⁷Cs in muscles was 21.0 times that in blood, and the error of this estimation was 28%. The concentration of ¹³⁷Cs in blood was estimated accurately using urine samples. The estimation error did not increase so much (33%), even when the concentration of ¹³⁷Cs in muscles was estimated using urine samples. On the other hand, the maximum volume of blood that can be collected with one syringe is 50 ml, whereas it is easy to collect 1,000 ml of urine. It took at least 360 min to confirm that a cow meets the legal standard by inspecting 50 ml of blood. However, with 1,000 ml of urine, a 20 min measurement time was sufficient for this purpose. This difference in the required measurement time is critically important for practical use. In addition, urine can be collected by farmers themselves, whereas the blood collection requires a veterinarian. Therefore, urine is a more convenient and practical sample for estimating the contamination level of live cattle with radioactive cesium.     

Pathological characteristics of thyroid glands from Japanese Black Cattle living in the restricted area of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

To study the effect of ionizing radiation on thyroid glands, 66 Japanese Black cattle residing in the restricted area of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2013–2017 were pathologically examined. There were no clinical symptoms of thyroid disease in these cattle. Three cases of goiter and seven of atrophy were found in two among the four farms examined. Cases of goiter exhibited normal morphological structure without mass or nodule formation in thyroid glands. Cellular atypia or capsular invasion of the follicular epithelium was absent. The estimated integrated dose of external radiation in goiter cases ranged from maximum 797 mSv to minimum 24 mSv. All lobules in the seven atrophic thyroid glands were affected, but pathological findings, such as inflammatory cell infiltration or stromal fibrosis, were not observed. The estimated integrated dose of external radiation in atrophic thyroids ranged from maximum 589 mSv to minimum 8 mSv. Immunohistochemical analysis of anti‐nitroguanosine and the TUNEL method in goiter and atrophic thyroid glands did not reveal any positive findings. The present study indicates that there was no significant relationship between a radiation effect and pathological findings in any thyroid glands.     

Trophinin is expressed in the porcine endometrium during the estrous cycle

We investigated endometrial expression of trophinin mRNA and protein, homophilic cell adhesion molecules, during the estrous cycle of gilts. An immunopositive reaction for trophinin was observed in the luminal and glandular epithelia of the endometrium at all stages of the estrous cycle, but not in endometrial stromal cells or the myometrium. A partial coding sequence of porcine trophinin was similar to sequences in humans and mice, with homologies of 75% and 70%, respectively. As in humans and mice, the trophinin gene is expressed in the endometrium. Trophinin, however, is expressed in the endometrium of the pig throughout the estrous cycle, higher expression levels were observed at some points of the luteal phase, as in humans. These findings suggest that regulation of trophinin gene expression in the pig is different from that in mice, but similar to that in humans. Furthermore, the present results suggest that the pig might be a suitable model for studying the physiological importance of trophinin in early pregnancy in humans.     

Effect of propylene glycol and undegradable protein source on rumen fermentation, blood metabolism and milk production in lactating dairy cows

Eight lactating Holstein cows were divided into two groups ( n  = 4) and used in a double reversal trial with three periods of 14 days each, to evaluate diets containing propylene glycol (PG) and ruminally undegradable protein (RUP) blend on milk yield and composition, ruminal fermentation and blood metabolism. The control diet contained 20% chopped Sudangrass hay, 20% cubed alfalfa hay, 12% corn silage, and 48% of the respective concentrate mixtures (dry matter basis). The experimental diet (PG + RUP) partially replaced the concentrate mixture from the control diet with 1.4% PG and 2.1% RUP. Both diets contained about 16% crude protein and 71% total digestible nutrients. Dry matter intake was similar between the two diets. Daily production of milk, milk lactose and milk solids-not-fat increased by 9.0%, 11.3% and 9.3%, respectively ( P  < 0.1), for cows fed diets with PG + RUP; milk composition was unchanged. Although the concentration of ruminal total volatile fatty acids was unchanged, the proportion of propionic acid increased, and the proportion of acetic acid decreased with PG + RUP. The concentration of ruminal ammonia nitrogen and number of ciliate protozoa was not significantly affected by PG + RUP. The concentration of glucose in blood plasma increased, the concentration of urea nitrogen was unaffected, and the concentration of some essential free amino acids decreased with PG + RUP. It is suggested that these changes might be caused predominantly by PG, and the addition of PG may exert a favorable effect on milk production through increased metabolism.     

Induced resistance in tomato plants to the toxin-dependent necrotrophic pathogen Alternaria alternata

A necrotrophic pathogen, the tomato pathotype of Alternaria alternata (Aa) causes Alternaria stem canker on tomato. Its pathogenicity depends on the production of host-specific AAL-toxin. Pre-inoculation with nonpathogenic Aa or pretreatment an elicitor prepared from Aa reduced disease symptoms by the pathogen. Salicylic acid (SA)- and jasmonic acid (JA)-dependent defense responses in tomato are not involved in the resistance to the pathogen induced by nonpathogenic Aa. The results suggest that an alternative and unknown signaling pathway independent of SA- and JA-signaling might modulate the induced resistance by activating the expression of the multiple defense genes.     

Fecal D- and L-lactate, succinate and volatile fatty acid levels, and relationships with fecal acidity and diarrhea in neonatal calves

To clarify the significance of fecal organic anions in neonatal diarrhea, a total of 252 fecal samples (91 diarrheic, 161 normal) were collected from 136 dairy calves (including three crossbreds) less than 4 weeks old. Fecal pH, D‐ and L‐lactate, succinate and volatile fatty acid (VFA) were analyzed. In normal feces, lactate was highest and VFA was lowest at week 1 of age, and lactate progressively decreased and VFA progressively increased with advancing age. In diarrheic samples, although higher pH and lower lactate levels were confirmed at week 1, samples at weeks 3–4 showed lower pH and VFA accompanied by higher lactate of D and L‐isomers. In diarrhea, fecal butyrate was significantly lower at all stages, but succinate levels did not differ significantly. The proportion of lactate to organic anions (sum of lactate, succinate and VFA) in diarrheic feces was lower at week 1, and higher in weeks 2–4, while that of VFA to organic anions showed the opposite pattern. Strong relationships were observed between fecal pH and lactate, and VFA proportions in organic anions, though the relationship was weak in diarrhea. Most of the elevated lactate was observed in fecal samples with lower VFA. However, succinate had no relationship with VFA or lactate levels.     

Extraction of rice-planting area and identification of chilling damage by remote sensing technology: a case study of the emerging rice production region in high latitude

Rice is the second largest staple crop in the world and therefore plays an important role in food security. As a thermophilic crop, rice is sensitive to temperature changes. Thus, research on the chilling damage of rice is essential. The Sanjiang Plain is an emerging rice production area and is located at high latitudes in China, the world’s largest rice-producing country. Landsat data were used to extract rice-planting area from 1985 to 2015. MODIS 13Q1, which was uniformly distributed during the growing period of rice, was used to obtain NDVI values of paddies during 2002–2015. Dynamic Identification Index of sterile-type chilling damage and monitoring standard of delayed-type chilling damage were the proposed methods used in this paper, which were used to judge the chilling damage of rice. The results show that in the study region, the rice-planting area in 2015 is nearly 12 times larger than that in 1985. Delayed-type chilling damage occurred in 2002 and 2009, while sterile-type chilling damage occurred in 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2014, and 2015. Comparing with the prevalent meteorological standards, the results indicate that the index and standards proposed in this paper are precise, applicable, and more sensitive than them. The method is a macroscopic and accurate method to identify chilling damage in rice and can also provide a scientific basis to ensuring the stability of rice yield.