An astronomical 2175 angstrom feature in interplanetary dust particles

The 2175 angstrom extinction feature is the strongest (visible-ultraviolet) spectral signature of dust in the interstellar medium. Forty years after its discovery, the origin of the feature and the nature of the carrier(s) remain controversial. Using a transmission electron microscope, we detected a 5.7-electron volt (2175 angstrom) feature in interstellar grains embedded within interplanetary dust particles (IDPs). The carriers are organic carbon and amorphous silicates that are abundant in IDPs and in the interstellar medium. These multiple carriers may explain the enigmatic invariant central wavelength and variable bandwidth of the astronomical 2175 angstrom feature.     

Blood and bone marrow findings in two pups with mucopolysaccharidosis type VII

Routine blood smear findings in two of four 11‐day‐old mixed‐breed dog littermates were suggestive of a lysosomal storage disease (LSD) that was documented to be mucopolysaccharidosis type VII (MPS VII) by molecular testing. In this condition, a functional β‐glucuronidase deficiency results in the accumulation of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in cells and tissues where β‐glucuronidase is important in GAG degradation. Most neutrophils and a moderate number of lymphocytes within the blood had atypical cytoplasmic magenta inclusions. The bone marrow assessment from one of the two affected pups at 24 days of age revealed similar magenta granulation in myeloid precursor cells that was most prominent in promyelocytes and myelocytes. Moreover, atypical magenta material was present within vacuoles as well as extracellularly in some osteoblasts and macrophages. Histologic bone marrow sections revealed prominent vacuolation of osteoblasts, and some osteoclasts appeared separated from the bone by layers of osteoblasts or hematopoietic cells. At 2 months of age, the second affected dog showed moderate growth retardation and had similar but more prominent hematologic findings that extended to monocytes, eosinophils, and eosinophil precursors. It had an increased number of bone marrow macrophages with many vacuoles that could be seen cytologically to contain magenta material, and there was mild nonselective phagocytosis of hemic cells. Of the hematologic cells, inclusions were most prominent in promyelocytes, myelocytes, and macrophages, cells with relatively high β‐glucuronidase activity, and GAG exposure within lysosomes or lysosome‐like primary granules of granulocyte precursors.     

Nasal bacterial microbiota during an outbreak of equine herpesvirus 1 at a farm in southern Ontario

The objective of this study was to investigate the nasal bacterial microbiota of healthy horses and horses infected with equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1). The nasal bacterial microbiota of 10 horses infected with EHV-1 and 11 control horses from a farm experiencing an outbreak was characterized using the Illumina MiSeq platform targeting the V4 region of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene. The nasal bacterial microbiota of healthy horses and EHV-1 horses was significantly different in community membership and structure. Horses shedding EHV-1 had lower bacterial richness (P = 0.002), evenness (P = 0.008), and diversity (P = 0.026) than healthy horses. Healthy horses had a higher relative abundance of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, but lower Proteobacteria than horses with EHV-1 (P < 0.05). This study provides the basis for generating hypotheses and investigations on the role of bacterial-viral interactions in the health and diseases of adult horses.     

Evaluation of signal detection algorithms within the Elanco Animal Health Pharmacovigilance database

Statistical algorithms for detecting safety signals are beginning to be applied to Animal Health Pharmacovigilance (PV) databases. How these signal detection algorithms (SDAs) perform in an animal health PV database is the subject of this report. Statistical methods and SDAs were assessed against a set of known signals in order to identify which SDAs were most appropriate for signal detection using the Elanco Animal Health PV database. A reference set of adverse events that should signal was created for 31 products across four species. Nine SDAs based on five disproportionality statistical methods were evaluated against the reference set. The performance metrics were sensitivity, precision, specificity, accuracy, and F score. For bovine and porcine products, the Observed‐to‐Expected (O/E) SDA was the closest in terms of geometric distance to 100% sensitivity and 100% precision. For canine and feline products, the Information Component (IC) SDA was geometrically closest to 100% sensitivity and 100% precision. Principal Component Analysis confirmed that the O/E and IC SDAs were unique performers with respect to one another and other SDAs. The performance of the SDAs was dependent on the choice of the statistical method with differences seen between animal species.     

Survival is negatively associated with glucocorticoids in a wild ungulate neonate

It is unknown how ungulate physiological responses to environmental perturbation influence overall population demographics. Moreover, neonatal physiological responses remain poorly studied despite the importance of neonatal survival to population growth. Glucocorticoid (GC) hormones potentially facilitate critical physiological and behavioral responses to environmental perturbations. However, elevated GC concentrations over time may compromise body condition and indirectly reduce survival. We evaluated baseline salivary cortisol (CORT; a primary GC in mammals) concentrations in 19 wild neonatal white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in a northern (NS) and southern (SS) area in Pennsylvania. After ranking survival models consisting of variables hypothesized to influence neonate survival (i.e. weight, sex), the probability of neonate survival was best explained by CORT concentrations, where elevated CORT concentrations were associated with reduced survival probability to 12 weeks of age. Cortisol concentrations were greater in the SS where predation rates and predator densities were lower. As the first evaluation of baseline CORT concentrations in an ungulate neonate to our knowledge, this is also the first study to demonstrate CORT concentrations are negatively associated with ungulate survival at any life stage. Glucocorticoid hormones could provide a framework in which to better understand susceptibility to mortality in neonatal white-tailed deer.     

FTIR-ATR analysis of brewed coffee: effect of roasting conditions

FTIR-ATR was used to study the effect of roasting conditions on the flavor of brewed coffee using Guatemala Antigua coffee beans. The 1800-1680 cm(-1) carbonyl region for vinyl esters/lactones, esters, aldehydes, ketones, and acids was found to provide a flavor-print of the brewed coffee. A study of light, medium, and dark roasts indicated that when the rate of heating to the onset of the first and second cracks was kept constant, the types of carbonyl compounds formed were similar, varying only in their concentration. This difference in concentration is apparently due to the additional heating of the coffee bean beyond the second crack. When the heating rate to the onset of the first and second crack was varied, both the types and concentration of the carbonyl compounds formed during roasting were affected. Thus, heating rates of green coffee beans to the onset of the first and second cracks are important determinants of the basic taste and aroma of brewed coffee.     

Analysis of Piperaceae germplasm by HPLC and LCMS: a method for isolating and identifying unsaturated amides from Piper spp extracts

A method for extraction and high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer (HPLC-MS) analysis of the medicinally important genus Piper (Piperaceae) was developed. This allows for a rapid and accurate measure of unsaturated amides, or piperamides, in black pepper, Piper nigrum L., and in wild species from Central America. Reflux extraction provided the highest recovery of piperine (>80%) from leaf and peppercorn material. HPLC analysis using a binary gradient of acetonitrile and water separated the major amide peaks between 5 and 12 min. Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI)-MS improved the detection limit to 0.2 ng, 10-fold below the 2 ng limit of the HPLC-diode array detector (DAD) based on linear standard curves between 0.1 and 250 microg/mL (R2 = 0.999). The HPLC-MS method identified pellitorine, piperylin, 4,5-dihydropiperlonguminine, piperlonguminine, 4,5-dihydropiperine, piperine, and pipercide. The biological activity of six Costa Rican Piper species assessed by mosquito larval bioassays correlated well with piperamide content.