Electroacupuncture-induced neural activation detected by use of manganese-enhanced functional magnetic resonance imaging in rabbits

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of acupuncture on neural activity detected by use of manganese-enhanced functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and elucidate the relationship between somatic acupoint stimulation and brain activation. ANIMALS: 40 New Zealand White rabbits. PROCEDURE: Manganese-enhanced fMRI was performed in anesthetized rabbits manipulated with electroacupuncture (EA) on Zusanli (ST-36) and Yanglingquan (GB-34) acupoints. Image acquisition was performed on a 1.5T superconductive clinical scanner with a circular polarized extremity coil. T1-weighted images were acquired sequentially as follows: baseline, after mannitol injection, after manganese infusion, and 5 and 20 minutes after initiation of EA. RESULTS: Changes in focal neural activity were detected by use of manganese-enhanced fMRI. Stimulation on Zusanli (ST-36) for 5 minutes resulted in activation of the hippocampus, whereas stimulation on Yanglingquan (GB-34) resulted in activation of the hypothalamus, insula, and motor cortex. Activation became less specific after 20 minutes of EA. Furthermore, stimulation on ipsilateral acupoints led to bilateral brain activation. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Each acupoint has a corresponding cerebral linkage, and stimulation on these points resulted in time-dependent neural activation. Understanding the linkage between peripheral acupoint stimulation and central neural pathways may provide a useful guide for clinical applications of acupuncture.     

Prevalence of antibodies to equine viruses in the Netherlands

Summary The prevalence of antibodies to various viruses was investigated in a series of serum samples collected from horses in the Netherlands between 1963 and 1966 and from 1972 onwards. Neutralizing antibodies to equine rhinopneumonitis virus, equine arteritis virus and to equine rhinovirus types 1 and 2 were detected in respectively 76%, 14%, 66% and 59% of the equine serum samples tested. The observed incidence of serum samples positive to equine adenovirus in the complement fixation test was 39%. Precipitating antibodies to equine infectious anaemia virus were detected only in serum samples from two horses imported from abroad. Haemagglutination inhibiting antibodies to Myxovirus influenzae A / equi-1, M. Influenzae A / equi-2, and Reovirus types 1, 2, and 3 were present in respectively 82%, 50%, 10%, 33% and 3.6% of the serum samples tested. The most frequently observed incidence of antibodies to the various equine respiratory viruses occurred in the groups of horses having repeatedly contact with other horses.     

Two-dimensional,long-axis echocardiographic ratios for assessment of left atrial and ventricular size in dogs

Introduction

Left ventricular (LV) and left atrial (LA) enlargement affect management and outcome of dogs with cardiac disease. Short-axis, two-dimensional echocardiographic (2DE) images, indexed to the aorta (Ao), are frequently used to identify cardiomegaly. Long-axis images offer complementary views of the left heart.

Further studies on graft-induced off-season flowering and fruiting in mango (Mangifera indica L.)

Summary

Defoliated shoots of cvs Alphonso, Dashehari, Totapari etc. (receptors), could be induced to flower within four weeks during the off-season by veneer grafting them to leafy shoots of the off-season flowering cv. Royal Special (donor) during the non-flowering season. Experiments on defoliating the donor and receptor shoots revealed the crucial dual role of the leaves in flowering. In the ‘floral cycle’, leaves from the donor promoted flowering, whereas leaves on the receptors, in the vegative phase, were inhibitory, and prevented graft-induction of the receptors. Thus, for graft induction, leafy donors and defoliation of receptors were essential. The inhibitory effect of the leaves on the receptors was localized and did not affect flowering of the donor shoots’ The similarity between these findings and those in the herbaceous, day-length sensitive species strengthens the view that flower formation is controlled in the same way in herbaceous and in woody perennial species. A minimum threshold of the floral stimulus appeared to be another requirement for an optimum flowering response. This was concluded from an experiment in which the leafy receptors were defoliated on different dates during the off-season flowering cycle. At the end of cycle, the defoliated receptors produced small panicles, and finally only vegetative shoots, probably indicating sub-threshold levels of the stimulus. Bud activity at the apex in the receptor was also an important pre-requisite for graft-induction. Some veneer-grafted scions which remained dormant during the flowering cycle of the donor and which sprouted much later after the completion of off-season flowering, ‘escaped’ the stimulus and invariably turned out to be vegetative. It is postulated that the cyclic synthesis of the floral stimulus in the leaves in an inductive cycle, and the gap between two such cycles, mainly decides the flowering behaviour of mango cultivars—biennial, annual and multiflowering. Two other requiremets are the absence of non-induced leaves and the synchronization of meristematic activity in the bud with the inductive cycle. Juvenile shoots from one to four year old seedlings could not be graft-induced—unlike the shoots from mature, six year old seeding trees. This juvenility effect continued into the second year when defoliation of the receptor shoots had no effect and failed to induce them to flower.     

Testing of the protective effect of cell-free lyophilized vaccine against Marek's disease in field trials]

The protective effect of a lyophilized vaccine against Marek's disease ("Keramvac"--Pfizer), prepared from a cell-free turkey's herpesvirus (strain FC 126), was compared in field trials with losses in the group of non-vaccinated chickens. Under the indicated conditions, the vaccine had only a 50.86% effectiveness. The possible causes of the reduced vaccination effect are discussed with regard to the pathomorphological and virological findings suggesting, among others, an increased incidence of the symptoms of the classical form of Marek's disease in the population investigated.     

Crystalluria. Observations, interpretations, and misinterpretations

Crystalluria results from oversaturation of urine with crystallogenic substance. However, oversaturation may occur as a result of in vitro as well as in vivo events. The microscopic appearance of crystals only represents a tentative identification of their composition because variable conditions associated with their formation, growth, and dissolution may alter their appearance. Definitive identification is dependent on physical methods such as optical crystallography, x-ray diffraction, and electron microscopic analysis.