Effects of Fusarium mycotoxins in rations with different concentrate proportions on serum haptoglobin and hepatocellular integrity in lactating dairy cows

It was hypothesized that long‐term intake of a diet contaminated with deoxynivalenol (DON) and differing in the proportion of concentrate might affect hepatocellular integrity and function as well as biomarkers of systemic inflammation in lactating dairy cows. In Period 1 (11 weeks), 26 lactating German Holstein cows (13 primiparous and 13 pluriparous, 31 days in milk, 522 kg body weight, on average) were divided into two groups and fed diets (50% concentrate) with (MYC, n = 12; on average 5.3 mg DON/kg DM) or without (CON, n = 14) DON contaminations. In Period 2 (16 weeks), each group was further divided into two groups to test whether elevated concentrate proportion as additional burden might enhance the toxicity of DON. The cows in MYC60 (n = 6; 4.6 mg DON/kg DM) and CON60 (n = 7) received the diet with 60% concentrate, while cows in MYC30 (n = 6; 4.4 mg DON/kg DM) and CON30 (n = 7) received the diet with 30% concentrate. Blood samples were taken in biweekly intervals for activities of aspartate amino transferase (AST), glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH) and gamma‐glutamyl transferase as well as for concentration of total bilirubin and haptoglobin. Biopsies from liver were collected in week 27 for morphological analyses. No DON effect was found for the variables assessed in blood. The diet with 60% concentrate led to higher activities of AST and GLDH in Period 2. No morphological change was found by both light and electron microscopic analyses of liver samples. Results indicated that long‐term intake of DON‐contaminated diet over 27 weeks led to neither relevant damages of hepatocytes nor systemic inflammatory responses in lactating dairy cows, even if the dietary concentrate proportion was increased to 60%.     

Comparison of Immunoperoxidase Plaque Staining and Neutralizing Tests for Canine Distemper Virus

The use of immunoperoxidase plaque staining (IP) in the antibody test for canine distemper virus (CDV) and its diagnostic value were investigated. Antibody titres by the IP test and neutralizing test (NT) against CDV were compared in 114 specific pathogen-free (SPF) dogs, including 84 CDV-vaccinated and 30 unimmunized dogs. All of the unimmunized dogs, which had negative NT titres, also showed negative IP titres, and all of the CDV-vaccinated dogs, which had positive NT titres, showed positive IP titres. Furthermore, the IP titres showed similar changes with time after vaccination to the NT titres in five CDV-vaccinated SPF dogs. These findings indicate that the IP test has similar specificity to the NT.Next, the IP and NT titres were compared in 190 clinically suspected cases of canine distemper (CD), including 107 dogs with neurological signs and 83 dogs without neurological signs, and also in 50 clinically healthy dogs. Among the suspected cases of CD, of 46 dogs with neurological signs and 29 dogs without neurological signs, and which had negative NT titres, 33 (72%) and 19 (66%), respectively, showed positive IP titres. Many suspected cases of CD showed a high IP titre despite a low NT titre. In contrast, among healthy dogs, none of 9 NT-negative dogs showed positive IP titres.The difference in the IP and NT titres (log₁₀ [reciprocal of IP titre] – log₁₀ [reciprocal of NT titre]) was measured to investigate the agreement between IP test and NT. The differences were 1.488±0.867, 1.245±0.833, 0.595±0.351 and 0.594±0.372, respectively, in the suspected cases of CD with neurological signs, the suspected cases of CD without neurological signs, the healthy dogs and the SPF dogs. The differences in the suspected cases of CD were significantly high compared to those for the SPF dogs (p<0.001).Furthermore, in 8 dogs diagnosed as cases of CD from their paired sera, whose initial sera showed a markedly low NT titre compared to the IP titre, 5 dogs without neurological signs developed neurological signs later.These findings suggest that the IP test can detect CD during its early phases and in dogs with low antibody levels, undetectable by NT, and so would be useful for serological diagnosis.     

Development. p73--guilt by association?

It has been assumed that the new members of the p53 protein family, p63 and p73, would have the same job as p53, namely, forcing cells to die if they or their DNA is damaged. Now, as Morrison and Kinoshita explain in their Perspective, one particular form of p73 has been found to be a survival factor rather than a death factor for sympathetic neurons during development (Pozniak et al.).     

Polyol accumulation in galactosemic and diabetic rats: control by an aldose reductase inhibitor

An orally active inhibitor of aldose reductase, 1,3-dioxo-1H-benz[de]-isoquinoline-2(3H)acetic acid (AY-22,284), prevented cataractous changes in cultured lenses exposed to high concentrations of galactose. When given orally, AY-22,284 markedly decreased the accumulation of polyols in the lenses and sciatic nerves of galactosemic rats and rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes. In addition, treatment of galactosemic rats with AY-22,284 effectively suppressed the formation of cataracts.     

Differential expression of heat-shock proteins in F2 offspring from F1 hybrids produced between thermally selected and normal rainbow trout strains

Rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss is a cold-water aquaculture species, and a thermally selected strain has been developed by multigenerational high-temperature breeding in Japan. We examined the expression of heat-shock proteins as candidates responsible for thermotolerance in rainbow trout using F2 offspring from F1 hybrids produced between thermally selected and normal strains. From F2 offspring, two groups were selected for western blot analysis, namely, low- and high-thermotolerance groups (times to loss of equilibrium were <30 and ??60?min, respectively). We demonstrated that the expression levels of Hsp70, Hsp60, and Hsp40 in tail fin tissues were significantly higher in the individuals with high thermotolerance than in those with low thermotolerance under non-heat-shock conditions. In particular, Hsp70 was expressed only in the individuals with high thermotolerance. These results suggest that Hsp70 is a major protein responsible for conferring thermotolerance in rainbow trout.     

Retinal capillaries: basement membrane thickening by galactosemia prevented with aldose reductase inhibitor

A twofold thickening of capillary basement membranes of rat retinas resulting from dietary galactose was prevented by sorbinil, an inhibitor of aldose reductase. Since the basement membrane thickening was ultrastructurally similar to that typical of diabetic retinopathy, it may indicate changes in vessel permeability and susceptibility to hemorrhage. Galactosemic rats should be useful models for studying basement membrane-related complications of diabetes and for examining the potential biochemical regulation of basement membrane synthesis by aldose reductase inhibitors.     

Spatial and temporal controls on post-fire hydrologic recovery in Southern California watersheds

The current study investigates the spatial and temporal dynamics of post-fire vegetation and the subsequent influence on seasonal and annual hydrologic responses in chaparral-dominated watersheds. Post-fire climatology, burn severity, slope aspect, and vegetation behavior are evaluated for two basins burned during the 2003 Old Fire in the San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California. Climate and discharge data are used to evaluate seasonal and annual variability of post-fire hydrologic fluxes. Data obtained from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) are used to estimate Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR). A Savitzky–Golay filtering technique and an integrated EVI annual fraction are utilized to assess vegetation recovery under a range of potential controls. Vegetation recovery is highly variable in both watersheds and is related to slope aspect (solar and water availability), initial biomass levels, and burn severity. South and west facing slopes show higher pre-fire EVI (biomass) and significant loss of vegetation cover after fire. Vegetation in both watersheds responds to an extreme wet season during the second post-fire year, however recovery rates are not sustained. North and east aspects show the quickest biomass gain relative to pre-fire conditions by the end of the study period (WY 2010), while the west and south slopes show lower biomass recovery. High burn severity areas show the slowest recovery across all slope aspects, with these regions just approaching 90% of pre-fire biomass by the end of the seven-year post-fire period. The variable rate of vegetation recovery across the watersheds results in significant changes in annual and seasonal discharge throughout the post-fire period. Runoff ratios remain elevated in both systems and there is increased dry season flow for much of the study period, indicating that plant water consumption and flowpaths are not back to pre-fire behavior by the end of WY 2010.