Prognostic value of tumour‐associated macrophages in canine mammary tumours

Tumour‐associated macrophages (TAMs) have already been associated in human breast cancer to a poor prognosis. As a part of a tumoural microenvironment, TAMs have an important contribution influencing neoplastic progression. Hitherto, in canine mammary tumours (CMT) the prognostic value of TAMs has not been reported. In this study, MAC387 immunohistochemical expression was evaluated in 59 CMTs (20 benign and 39 malignant). The TAM value was significantly higher in malignant than benign CMT (P = 0.011). In malignant CMT, TAMs were associated with skin ulceration (P = 0.022), histological type (P = 0.044), nuclear grade (P = 0.031) and tubular differentiation (P = 0.042). The survival analysis revealed a significant association between tumours with higher levels of TAMs and the decrease in overall survival (P = 0.030). TAMs have proven to have a prognostic value. These findings suggest the future possibility of using TAMs as a novel therapeutic target in CMT.     

A direct and active influence of gravity on the behavior of a marine invertebrate larva

Larvae of the bryozoans Bugula neritina and Bugula stolonifera exhibit an apparent negative geotaxis under conditions of darkness and constant temperature. This behavior cannot be accounted for by buoyancy since the larvae are negatively bouyant, nor is it a consequence of gradients in the partial pressures of dissolved gases since the response occurs under conditions where the gradient is reversed or when experiments are conducted in chambers with interfaces of only glass and water. Pressure bomb experiments indicate that the behavior is not a barokinesis. Centrifuge experiments, however, showed that larvae of Bugula stolonifera orient directly and actively to gravity, while those of Bugula neritina have some other measure of geographic up. Since bryozoan larvae lack statocysts, the sensory apparatus mediating the gravity response in Bugula stolonifera is still unknown.     

Atypical ocular Chelonoid herpesvirus manifestations in a captive Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta)

A captive loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) of unknown sex, 3 years of age, presented with bilateral mucoid secretions, severe chemosis, conjunctival hyperemia, and globe retraction. The animal was evaluated ophthalmologically and systemically, and hematological, microbiological, and conjunctival cytological and biopsy samples were collected for complementary diagnosis. The histopathological examination showed amphophilic intranuclear inclusions associated with severe inflammatory infiltrate. The diagnosis of Chelonid alphaherpesvirus 5 (ChAHV 5) was confirmed with end point PCR. Following systemic treatment with L‐lysine, acyclovir and vitamin A, the ocular signs resolved. No amphophilic intranuclear inclusions were seen in a follow‐up biopsy 5 months later, and there has been no recurrence of clinical ophthalmic signs during a 4‐year follow‐up. It is suggested that ChAHV 5 be considered as a differential diagnosis in captive marine turtles that present for conjunctival disease other than fibropapillomatosis.     

Assessment of soil structure repair due to wetting and drying cycles through 2D tomographic image analysis

Soil structure is very important in agriculture since it affects soil and plant root attributes, such as root system distribution, soil water and nutrient transport, and heat transfer. Degraded soil structures may be repaired by wetting and drying cycles due to changes in the soil pore system. Gamma-ray computed tomography (CT) was used as a tool to evaluate the effect of wetting/drying cycles on soil structure repair, using samples collected in aluminum cylinders. A first-generation tomograph with an ²⁴¹Am source and a 7.62 cm × 7.62 cm NaI(Tl) scintillation crystal detector coupled to a photomultiplier tube were employed. Image analysis and tomographic unit profiles showed that CT can provide an insight into sample structure in order to evaluate repairs and so improves the use of this tool in relation to the judgement of the quality of measured soil physical properties.     

Factors contributing to temporal stability in spatial patterns of water content in the tillage zone

The rates of many biological processes vary across an agricultural landscape in response to the spatial patterns of water content in the tillage zone. Although, water content varies temporally through the growing season, the combined effects of soil properties, landscape attributes, tillage or position relative to the crop row on the temporal variation in the spatial pattern in soil water content are not well understood. We measured the soil water content (0–0.20 m) regularly through three growing seasons at 32 positions along each of two transects in a side-by-side comparison of corn under conventional tillage (plowing and secondary tillage) and no till in order to identify factors with the strongest influence on the spatial patterns in water content. The tillage comparison traversed a landscape in which the clay content (cl) varied from 5.8 to 37.4% and the organic carbon content (OC) varied from 0.9 to 3.9%. The spatial pattern in water contents during wetting and drying events were temporally stable, as reflected in R²>0.7 of correlation analysis of water contents on successive measurement dates. Multiple regression analyses indicated that the water contents, averaged over all measurement dates, were positively correlated with cl and ln(OC) and were smaller in the row than the inter-row position. The reduction in water content due to conventional tillage was diminished with increasing OC. However, application of multiple regression analyses to each set of water contents measured on a given day for each year indicated that the impact of soil properties, tillage and position relative to the row varied within and among seasons.     

Cannibalism of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brontocoris tabidus</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Podisus nigrispinus</Emphasis> during periods of pre-release without food or fed with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eucalyptus cloeziana</Emphasis> plants

Pre-release techniques aim to increase the searching by the predators for their prey. Keeping bug predators for periods without food before their release can increase the search ability of these insects. However, this practice can increase the cannibalism during mass rearing. Brontocoris tabidus (Signoret) and Podisus nigrispinus (Dallas) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) were kept for 12, 24, 36 and 48 h without food or with only Eucalyptus cloeziana plants in order to verify the occurrence of cannibalism on adults and eggs. Insects kept for periods longer than 24 h showed higher cannibalism on adults and eggs and the presence of a E. cloeziana plant decreased the cannibalism during all the treatment periods. These predators preferred to attack first the eggs rather than the adults, probably because of the inability of the former to avoid predation. The pre-release period should not exceed 24 h and plants must be provided to the predators in order to reduce the occurrence of cannibalism and increase the predatory capacity of these natural enemies.     

Linking process capability analysis and least limiting water range for assessing soil physical quality

In the process of evaluating the physical quality of soil for crop production, measurable sources of stress that the soil imposes on growing crops must be identified. Approaches for monitoring or evaluating soil physical quality should then be based on properties or processes that relate to these stresses and must be measured against definable standards. We hypothesized that process capability analysis applied to measurements of soil water content and the least limiting water range (LLWR) would meet these requirements and could be used to evaluate the physical quality of soils for crop growth. Previously published data obtained over 3 years in a field with a variable landscape planted to corn under no-till were used to test the hypothesis. The temporal variability of soil water content was regarded as a process which aims to generate individual values for soil water content inside the limits specified by the LLWR. Process capability analysis successfully linked the temporal variability of soil water content in relation to the LLWR. The main process capability parameter, i.e. distance to nearest specification (DNS) varied by a factor of three across the landscape and was related to clay and organic carbon contents. Values of DNS were strongly correlated with shoot growth (R² = 0.97) suggesting that DNS effectively characterized the spatial variability in stresses imposed on plant growth by soil and described changes in the soil physical quality for crop growth across the site. The results supported our hypothesis.     

Postpartum toll-like receptors and β-defensin 5 mRNA levels in the endometrium of Holstein cows

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and β-defensins are important components of the innate immune system. This study aimed to evaluate endometrial mRNA levels of TLRs (1/6, 2, 4, and 5) and β-defensin 5 in Holstein cows by quantitative real time RT-PCR. Uterine biopsies were performed from 6 to 12 h after parturition, and cows were divided into two groups: (i) cows with placental retention and clinical signs of uterine infection until 45 days postpartum (n=10) or (ii) cows with normal puerperium (n=10). All cows had detectable levels of TLRs and β-defensin 5 mRNAs, but these levels did not differ between groups (P>0.05). Levels of TLR4 mRNA had a positive and significant correlation with the time required for uterine involution in both groups.     

Tumour necrosis factor in the canine endometrium: an immunohistochemical study

Tumour necrosis factor (TNF), a pleiotropic cytokine that regulates cell growth and differentiation as well as the synthesis of other cytokines, has been identified in the uterus of several species describing a cyclic pattern, eventually under ovarian steroid regulation. Information is yet limited on the presence of TNF protein in the canine endometrium during the oestrous cycle and early pregnancy. This study depicts the temporal immunolocalization of TNF in the bitch endometrium along the oestrous cycle and changes associated with the early steps of embryo invasion. TNF immunolabelling was found in both the stromal fibroblasts and epithelial components of the canine endometrium in all stages studied. Stromal immunostaining was more intense than that of the epithelia, in all the stages of the oestrous cycle. In addition, a tendency for a decrease in the surface epithelium intensity score was found in early dioestrus. A positive glandular content was only observed in anoestrus and proestrus stages. In early pregnancy (days 13-16), TNF immunolabelling was detected at the embryo-maternal surface, in the syncytium cords and the trophoblast, as well in the endometrial stroma and the basal endometrial glands, but not in the lacunar epithelium. The overall TNF immunoreactivity was higher in early pregnancy samples in comparison with those of the early dioestrus and dioestrus stages, suggesting it plays a role during implantation.