Intranasal vaccination of pigs against pseudorabies: absence of vaccinal virus latency and failure to prevent latency of virulent virus

The avirulent Bartha's K strain of pseudorabies virus (PRV) was used to vaccinate 8 pigs at 10 weeks of age by the intransal route (experiment 1). On postvaccination days (PVD) 63 and 91, pigs were treated with corticosteroids. Viral shedding could not be detected. Explant cultures of trigeminal ganglia and tonsils did not produce virus. Four pigs with maternal antibody were vaccinated intranasally with Bartha's (attenuated) K strain of PRV at 10 weeks of age and were challenge exposed with a virulent strain of PRV on PVD 63 (experiment 2). Corticosteroid treatment, starting on postchallenge exposure day 70 (PVD 133) resulted in viral shedding in 1 of 4 pigs. In another pig of these 4, a 2nd corticosteroid treatment was required to trigger reactivation. In both pigs, sufficient reactivated virus was excreted to infect susceptible sentinel pigs. Restriction endonuclease analysis indicated that viruses isolated from the 2 pigs after challenge exposure and corticosteroid treatment were indistinguishable from the virulent virus. Evidence was not obtained for simultaneous excretion of vaccinal and virulent virus. Of 4 pigs without maternal antibody vaccinated twice with 1 of 2 inactivated PRV vaccines, challenge exposed on PVD 84, and treated with corticosteroids on postchallenge exposure day 63 (PVD 147), 1 was latently infected, as evidenced by the shedding of PRV (experiment 3). However, its sentinel pig remained noninfected.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Intranasal vaccination of pigs against Aujeszky's disease: protective immunity at 2 weeks, 2 months and 4 months after vaccination in pigs with maternal antibodies.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the short- and long-term immunity after intranasal vaccination in pigs with maternally derived antibodies (MDA). In two experiments, 10-week-old pigs with moderate MDA titres against Aujeszky's disease virus (ADV) were vaccinated intranasally with the Bartha strain of ADV to evaluate the protective immunity conferred at 2 weeks, 2 months and 4 months after vaccination. Protection was evaluated on the basis of severity of clinical signs, periods of fever and growth arrest, and duration and amount of virus excreted after challenge with a virulent ADV. During the first 2-3 weeks after vaccination, antibodies to ADV continued to decline as in unvaccinated control pigs. After that, antibody titres stabilized or gradually increased. At 2 weeks, 2 months and 4 months after vaccination, vaccinated pigs were significantly better protected than unvaccinated controls. The vaccinated pigs challenged 2 weeks after vaccination hardly developed any sign of disease. Mild signs of Aujeszky's disease and a growth arrest period of 5 days were observed in vaccinated pigs challenged 2 months after vaccination, whereas vaccinated pigs challenged 4 months after vaccination developed severe signs of disease and a growth arrest period of 13 days. Vaccinated pigs challenged 2 weeks after vaccination did not excrete challenge virus, and pigs challenged 2 or 4 months after vaccination excreted far less virus than unvaccinated controls. The results demonstrate that intranasal ADV vaccination of pigs with moderate MDA titres protected them from 2 weeks to at least 4 months after vaccination. Immunity steadily declined, however, after vaccination.     

Prevalence of antibodies against canine herpesvirus 1 in dogs in The Netherlands in 1997-1998

Canine herpesvirus (CHV1) is found in dogs all over the world and may spread by oronasal or sexual contact. We developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of antibodies against CHV1 in dogs. The antigen used for this ELISA was prepared by purifying CHV1 virions from the medium of infected A72 cells. To investigate the prevalence of CHV1 in The Netherlands, a panel of 145 sera of dogs boarding at a kennel in Lelystad, The Netherlands, was screened using this ELISA. The dogs originated from all parts of The Netherlands and represented many different breeds. The sera were collected both at the start and at the end of the boarding period. Of the 145 paired sera 61 (42.1%) were positive, 79 (54.5%) were negative and 5 (3.4%) could not be attributed to either group. None of the negative dogs became seropositive during the boarding period, which lasted normally two to three weeks. We also tested 79 individual sera taken from dogs at various other places in The Netherlands and found that 27 (34.2%) were positive. Hence, in total 224 dog sera, collected from April 1997 to March 1998, were tested and 88 (39.3%) were found positive. We conclude that the prevalence of CHV1 seropositive dogs in The Netherlands in this period was about 40%, and that boarding at a dogs kennel did not contribute to the spread of CHV1. In addition, CHV1 has been isolated from two clinical cases of fatal haemorrhagic disease in The Netherlands.     

Primary production of the biosphere: integrating terrestrial and oceanic components

Integrating conceptually similar models of the growth of marine and terrestrial primary producers yielded an estimated global net primary production (NPP) of 104.9 petagrams of carbon per year, with roughly equal contributions from land and oceans. Approaches based on satellite indices of absorbed solar radiation indicate marked heterogeneity in NPP for both land and oceans, reflecting the influence of physical and ecological processes. The spatial and temporal distributions of ocean NPP are consistent with primary limitation by light, nutrients, and temperature. On land, water limitation imposes additional constraints. On land and ocean, progressive changes in NPP can result in altered carbon storage, although contrasts in mechanisms of carbon storage and rates of organic matter turnover result in a range of relations between carbon storage and changes in NPP.     

Social isolation may influence responsiveness to infection with bovine herpesvirus 1 in veal calves

An experiment was performed to develop a model to study the impact of stress on responsiveness to infection with bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV1) in veal calves. Social isolation after previous group-housing was used as a putatively stressful treatment. Group-housed specific pathogen-free veal calves (n=8) were experimentally infected with BHV1 at the age of 12 weeks. Half of the calves were socially isolated at the time of infection. Clinical, virological and serological responses to BHV1, and adreno-cortical reactivity to exogenous ACTH were examined. In comparison with group-housed calves, calves socially isolated at the time of infection showed a diminished clinical and fever response, and delayed viral excretion after primary infection with BHV1. Four weeks after social isolation, basal cortisol levels before, and the integrated cortisol response after administration of a low dose of ACTH, were significantly depressed in socially isolated calves. The results suggest that social isolation in veal calves influences the response to an experimental BHV1 infection. A possible mechanism is discussed.     

Gold nanoelectrodes of varied size: transition to molecule-like charging

A transition from metal-like double-layer capacitive charging to redox-like charging was observed in electrochemical ensemble Coulomb staircase experiments on solutions of gold nanoparticles of varied core size. The monodisperse gold nanoparticles are stabilized by short-chain alkanethiolate monolayers and have 8 to 38 kilodaltons core mass (1.1 to 1.9 nanometers in diameter). Larger cores display Coulomb staircase responses consistent with double-layer charging of metal-electrolyte interfaces, whereas smaller core nanoparticles exhibit redox chemical character, including a large central gap. The change in behavior is consistent with new near-infrared spectroscopic data showing an emerging gap between the highest occupied and lowest unoccupied orbitals of 0.4 to 0.9 electron volt.