Influence of soy aglycon isoflavones on bone-related traits and lens protein characteristics of ovariectomized rats and bioactivity performance of osteoprogenitor cells

Health benefits of soy isoflavones have attracted the concern of the public and the interest of health-care professionals. In this study, two trials were conducted in characterizing bone-related traits and lens proteins as affected by supplementation of soy aglycon isoflavones (SAI). In trial 1, an in vivo study, 20 Sprague-Dawley rats were ovariectomized (OVX) and randomly distributed into OVX and OVX+SAI (135 mg of SAI/kg of feed; 8.33 mg/kg body weight; 2.5 mg/day) groups. Another group containing 10 rats with a sham operation was control (Sham). The experiment period was 3 months, and the rats were subjected to bone-related traits and lens protein characterization. In trial 2, an in vitro study, osteoprogenitor cells (UMR-106) were divided into SAI-supplemented (0.5 mg of SAI/mL of medium) and unsupplemented groups. Results of the in vivo study indicated that daily BW gains in the OVX and OVX+SAI groups were greater than that of the Sham group (p < 0.05). Bone ash and Ca contents of the Sham and OVX+SAI groups were higher than those of the OVX group (p < 0.05), while bone density, strength, and phosphorus contents among groups varied insignificantly (p > 0.05). When the lens proteins were extracted and analyzed with size-exclusion HPLC, the contents of beta- and gamma-crystallins were lowest in the OVX group and the protein solubility decrease could be recovered by dietary SAI supplementation (shown by OVX+SAI group). Based on Raman spectra of the isolated lens proteins, disulfide bonds were observed more in OVX lens than in the Sham and OVX+SAI lens. Results of in vitro study with osteoprogenitor cells revealed that cell viability, alkaline phosphatase activity, osteocalcin, and Ca contents of the SAI-supplemented group were higher than those of the unsupplemented group (p < 0.05). The likely potency to enhance bone and lens health by SAI supplementation is worth pointing out.     

Development and characterization of a potential diagnostic monoclonal antibody against capsid protein VP1 of the chicken anemia virus

Chicken anemia virus (CAV) is an important viral pathogen that causes anemia and severe immunodeficiency syndrome in chickens worldwide. In this study, a potential diagnostic monoclonal antibody against the CAV VP1 protein was developed which can precisely recognize the CAV antigen for diagnostic and virus recovery purposes. The VP1 gene of CAV encoding the N-terminus-deleted VP1 protein, VP1Nd129, was cloned into an Escherichia (E.) coli expression vector. After isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactopyronoside induction, VP1Nd129 protein was shown to be successfully expressed in the E. coli. By performing an enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay using two coating antigens, purified VP1Nd129 and CAV-infected liver tissue lysate, E3 monoclonal antibody (mAb) was found to have higher reactivity against VP1 protein than the other positive clones according to the result of limiting dilution method from 64 clones. Using immunohistochemistry, the presence of the VP1-specific mAb, E3, was confirmed using CAV-infected liver and thymus tissues as positive-infected samples. Additionally, CAV particle purification was also performed using an immunoaffinity column containing E3 mAb. The monoclonal E3 mAb developed in this study will not only be very useful for detecting CAV infection and performing histopathology studies of infected chickens, but may also be used to purify CAV particles in the future.     

Searching for DNA markers for milk production and composition on chromosome 6 in sheep

Several milk protein polymorphisms are potential tools for selection in dairy ruminants. However, research results for dairy sheep are not as conclusive as those for goats or cattle and are often controversial. The main objective of this study was to find and later use molecular genetic markers in selection to improve milk production and milk composition in Awassi ewes. Chromosome 6 was chosen because several studies have reported the presence of significant quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting milk production traits on ovine and bovine chromosome 6. Altogether, genotypes for 13 microsatellite loci were determined for 258 ewes, which were purebred Awassi or Awassi-Merino crosses. Phenotypic data were lactation yield of milk, milk fat, protein and lactose (kg), average milk protein and fat percentage and average somatic cell count. Five out of the 13 microsatellites showed significant association with at least one of the examined traits.     

Indirect measurement of systemic blood pressure in conscious dogs in a clinical setting

The present study compared 2 indirect methods, Doppler sphygmomanometry and oscillometry, for measurement of the systemic blood pressure level in 100 conscious, client-owned dogs in a clinical setting on 2 separate occasions. The mean systemic blood pressure values, measured by Doppler sphygmomanometry on 2 separate occasions, were 156 +/- 38.2 mmHg and 150 +/- 34.1 mmHg, respectively. Using oscillometry, the mean systolic blood pressure values were 138 +/- 36.9 mm Hg and 133 +/- 33.5 mm Hg on 2 separate occasions. There were significant differences between the systemic blood pressure readings for both methods on the same occasion (P<0.001). The coefficients of variance from 5 consecutive measurements in the same dog obtained by Doppler sphygmomanometry on the 2 separate occasions were 4.1 +/- 3.2% and 3.1 +/- 1.7%; that of the oscillometric method on the 2 separate occasions were 18.7 +/- 11.3% and 17.2 +/- 12.5%. The coefficients of variance of these 2 methods were statistically different on each occasion (P<0.001). Five consecutive systemic blood pressure readings were obtained for each dog within 6 min on both occasions using Doppler sphygmomanometry. More than 15 min was required to complete 5 consecutive systemic blood pressure readings by oscillometric sphygmomanometry for all dogs on each occasion. The results of this study indicate that Doppler sphygmomanometry provides more efficient and precise measurements of the systemic blood pressure level than oscillometric testing in conscious dogs in a clinical setting.     

Iatrogenic hyperadrenocorticism in 28 dogs.

Twenty-eight dogs with iatrogenic hyperadrenocorticism were studied. The most common clinical signs were cutaneous lesions (27/28), polydipsia (21/28), polyuria (19/28), and lethargy (16/28). The most predominant findings on biochemical profile were elevated alkaline phosphatase (ALP, 15/28) and alanine transferase (ALT, 14/28); hypercholesterolemia (14/28); elevated aspartate transferase (AST, 12/28); and elevated triglycerides (12/18). Baseline cortisol levels of all 28 dogs were at the lower end of the reference range and exhibited suppressed or no response to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulation. The mean time for each dog to show initial improvement of clinical signs after corticosteroid withdrawal was six weeks, with another mean time of 12 weeks to demonstrate complete remission.     

Possible effects of the recent Australian ban on prawn imports

Australia banned imports of uncooked prawns from Asia in early 2017 after an outbreak of the deadly white spot disease in southern Queensland. The ban expired after 6 months, and it remains unclear what the source of the epidemic was, or the mechanism through which it may have entered the country. The Queensland State Government offered financial assistance to selected producers, although as a group, producers benefit from the higher prices resulting from the ban. In fact, the major cost of the ban is borne by domestic consumers and foreign producers. The major impact is a transfer from Australian consumers to Australian producers. These transfers are quantified in this analysis, as are the impacts on developing country exporters.     

Tracing possible drivers of synchronously fluctuating species catches in individual logbook data

Abstract Recreational fisheries statistics can provide valuable information on the dynamics of fish stocks and their exploitation. For some reservoirs in the Czech Republic, there are conspicuous synchronous fluctuations in catches of different species that might be caused by fishing skills and strategies. This study describes a method that could detect signatures of such phenomena in individual logbooks. It classifies anglers by species reported during 1 year and compares the resulting angler groups by group size, fishing effort, catch per unit effort (CPUE) and annual catch. The method is illustrated by data from one reservoir, showing that the number of generalist anglers who caught several species was higher than expected. Generalists also had higher catches and effort but lower CPUE than specialists who caught only one of the species. The results indicate that generalist anglers with a low degree of specialisation and high effort could contribute to long‐term correlations in species catches.     

Fire cycle of the Canada's boreal region and its potential response to global change

Interactions of fire cycle and plant species' reproductive characteristics could determine vegetation distribution pattern of a landscape. In Canada's boreal region, fire cycles before the Little Ice Age (c. 1850s) ranged from 30-130 years and 25-234 years afterwards until the settlement period (c. 1930s) when longer fire cycles occurred in response to climatic change and human interference. Analysis indi-cated that fire cycles were correlated with growing season (April-October) temperature and precipitation departure from the 1961-1990 nor-mal, varying by regions. Assuming that wildfires will respond to future warming similar to the manner during the past century, an assess-ment using climatic change scenarios CGCM1, CGCM2 and HadCM2 indicates fire cycles would divert to a range of 80-140 years in the west taiga shield, more than 700 years for the east boreal shield and east taiga shield, and 300-400 years for the boreal plains in 2050.     

The persistence of foot-and-mouth disease virus on wool

SUMMARY Five Suffolk sheep, held in a high-security isolation room, were exposed for 2 hours to the aerosol of 3 mature pigs that had been infected with foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), strain O₁-BFS. The fleeces of 3 of the sheep were contaminated with FMDV at 2 days post exposure (dpe), while at 5 dpe the fleeces of all 5 sheep were more extensively, and more heavily, contaminated. The persistence of FMDV on contaminated wool was examined in vitro using multiple 0.5 g samples of Merino wool that were each contaminated with one of 3 strains of FMDV in tissue-culture medium: O₁-BFS, O-Morocco (O-MOR 9/91) or an Asia 1 strain (TAI 1/90). Wool samples were held at either 4°C, 18°C or 37°C, and decay curves were established for each virus at each temperature. These curves predicted that O₁-BFS, O-MOR 9/91 and TAI 1/90 would fall below detect-able levels at 72, 70 and 48 days post contamination (pc), respectively, for wool stored at 4°C; at 11, 12 and 12 days pc, respectively, for wool stored at 18°C; and at 57, 68 and 33 hours pc, respectively, for wool stored at 37°C. For wool contaminated with O₁-BFS-infected sheep faeces, urine or blood, or with O₁-BFS-infected cattle saliva, decay curves predicted virus to persist for 5 to 11 days pc at 18°C. We demonstrated that the simulated scouring of FMDV-contaminated wool at 60° to 70°C would usually reduce virus to below detectable levels. The detergent component of the scouring process had little, if any, antiviral activity, and scouring at 20°C or 50°C had limited impact on FMDV titres . We recommend that either (1) simple storage of FMDV-contaminated wool for 4 weeks at temperatures of 18°C or higher, or (2) scouring of contaminated wool at 60° to 70°C would be sufficient to remove the threat of FMDV-contaminated wool being infectious to other animals .     

Investigation of two candidate genes for meat quality traits in a quantitative trait locus region on SSC6: the porcine short heterodimer partner and heart fatty acid binding protein genes

A highly significant quantitative trait locus (QTL) on pig chromosome 6, affecting intramuscular fat (IMF), has previously been detected by our group and others. Two genes of positional and biological interest, the small heterodimer partner (SHP; NR0B2) and the heart fatty acid binding protein (FABP3; H‐FABP), were investigated for meat quality traits and IMF respectively. SHP was partially sequenced (GenBank: DQ002896 and DQ002897 ) and mapped to the QTL region on porcine chromosome 6, affecting IMF. The map shows no recombination between SHP and FABP3, which was previously mapped to the same QTL region. Twelve single nucleotide polymorphisms were detected in the sequenced region of SHP gene. Haplotype information was used to investigate association between genetic variation and different meat quality traits. SHP haplotype combinations were found to have significant effect on connective tissue. However, further studies are needed to evaluate this possible association more effectively. The FABP3 is involved in fatty acid transport and has been studied as a candidate gene for IMF by several research groups. In our study, FABP3 genotypes were confirmed to be significantly associated with IMF in pigs. The average content of IMF in our population was 1.6%, which may indicate that the FABP3 polymorphism explains as much as 30–35% of the variation in IMF in our pig cross‐population.