SEROLOGICAL PROCEDURES TO DETERMINE TIME OF INFECTION OF PIGS WITH PORCINE PARVOVIRUS

SUMMARY It was found possible to correlate serological responses to porcine parvovirus (PPV) with the time after infection. Two procedures were used for PPV antibody measurement: an immunodiffusion technique to measure precipitating antibody and a haemagglutination inhibition (Hl) procedure to measure concentration of 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME) sensitive antibody. Both procedures successfully related antibody titres to time post-infection, but it was considered that a 2 M 2-ME HI procedure showed the greater promise for field investigations.     

Inoculation with the ectomycorrhizal fungi <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pisolithus arhizus</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Scleroderma</Emphasis> sp. improves early growth of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Shorea pinanga</Emphasis> nursery seedlings

Trees of the family Dipterocarpaceae are the dominant trees in Southeast Asian tropical forests where they play an important ecological role and are also important commercially. An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of ectomycorrhizal fungi on the growth of dipterocarp species in peat soils. Seedlings of Shorea pinanga were inoculated with spores of two ectomycorrhizal fungi, Pisolithus arhizus and Scleroderma sp. were grown in pots containing sterilized peat soil for 7 months. The percentage of ectomycorrhizal colonization on S. pinanga exceeded 86%. Colonization of S. pinanga roots by ectomycorrhizal fungi resulted in increased shoot height, stem diameter, number of leaves, and shoot fresh and dry weight. Survival rates of S. pinanga were greater for inoculated seedlings than control seedlings. These results suggest that inoculation of ectomycorrhizal fungi can improve the early growth of S. pinanga grown in tropical forests and that this technique will accelerate the rehabilitation of degraded dipterocarp forests.     

Seed Biology,Stand Characteristics,and Regeneration of Fraxinus rhynchophylla Hance

Fruit size and seed moisture content were measured and seed production and dispersal were monitored to understand the seed biology of the Korean ash (Fraxinus rhynchophylla Hance) in two Korean ash forests. A combination of four ground treatments and four crown closure levels were created in a natural forest to understand the site conditions needed for seedling emergence in natural stands and to determine practical regeneration methods for direct seeding. The seed size of Korean ash increased until late May and its moisture content decreased rapidly in early November. Prolific seed bearing occurred every 3 yr. The distance of seed dispersal by wind was about 30 m, but more than 90% of the seeds dispersed within 10 m from the seed trees. Twenty-five seed trees per hectare provided for successful natural regeneration. The seedling emergence in the natural stands was best with scarification treatment and 25～50% of crown closure.     

Effect of Harderian adenectomy on the statistical analyses of mouse brain imaging using positron emission tomography

Positron emission tomography (PET) using 2-deoxy-2-[¹⁸F] fluoro-D-glucose (FDG) as a radioactive tracer is a useful technique for in vivo brain imaging. However, the anatomical and physiological features of the Harderian gland limit the use of FDG-PET imaging in the mouse brain. The gland shows strong FDG uptake, which in turn results in distorted PET images of the frontal brain region. The purpose of this study was to determine if a simple surgical procedure to remove the Harderian gland prior to PET imaging of mouse brains could reduce or eliminate FDG uptake. Measurement of FDG uptake in unilaterally adenectomized mice showed that the radioactive signal emitted from the intact Harderian gland distorts frontal brain region images. Spatial parametric measurement analysis demonstrated that the presence of the Harderian gland could prevent accurate assessment of brain PET imaging. Bilateral Harderian adenectomy efficiently eliminated unwanted radioactive signal spillover into the frontal brain region beginning on postoperative Day 10. Harderian adenectomy did not cause any post-operative complications during the experimental period. These findings demonstrate the benefits of performing a Harderian adenectomy prior to PET imaging of mouse brains.     

The effects of CO2 gas stunning on meat quality of cattle compared with captive bolt stunning

The aim of this study is to assess the effect of CO₂ gas stunning which has not been conducted until now in comparison with captive bolt stunning on the meat quality of cattle. A total of 40 steers were slaughtered following two stunning processes: CO₂ gas stunning (n=20), exposure at 70% CO₂ gas atmosphere for 140 sec; and captive bolt stunning (CBS, n=20). The slaughtered steers were classified into Group A (620–710 kg) and Group B (720–790 kg) by their live weight. CO₂ gas stunning decreases pH value (p<0.05) but increases lightness (p<0.001) and sarcomere length (p<0.001 and p<0.01 for Group A and Group B, respectively) in all live weight groups. Drip loss was increased with CO₂ gas stunning in Group A (620–710 kg of live weight) (p<0.05), whereas WBSF was decreased with CO₂ gas stunning in Group B (720–790 kg of live weight) (p<0.001). Therefore, CO₂ gas stunning negatively affects muscle pH and water-holding capacity in steers but CO₂ gas stunning can improve the tenderness and lightness compared with captive bolt stunning in cattle.     

Steam-dried ginseng berry fermented with Lactobacillus plantarum controls the increase of blood glucose and body weight in type 2 obese diabetic db/db mice

This study examined whether steam-dried ginseng berries fermented with Lactobacillus plantarum (FSGB) could improve the indices of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in obese db/db mice. FSGB was shown to have an effect on body weight and blood glucose/serum parameters when administered at a dose of 0.5 g/kg. In the intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT) and insulin tolerance test (ITT), FSGB was clearly shown to improve insulin tolerance and glucose tolerance. Moreover, FSGB was shown to enhance immune activities by increasing the immune cell population, and glucose transpoter 1 (GLUT1) mRNA expression in L6 cells was up-regulated, suggesting that FSGB can increase glucose transport activity in target cells. These results indicate that steam- and dry-processed ginseng berries fermented with L. plantarum can be used to effectively control blood sugar metabolism via improving insulin and glucose tolerance and body weight gain in db/db mice.     

Enhanced mechanical and thermal properties of carbon fiber composites with polyamide and thermoplastic polyurethane blends

In this article, we demonstrated the preparation of carbon-fiber-reinforced composites using a polyamide 6 (PA6)/thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) blend, in which the addition of TPU resulted in superior mechanical performances and increased thermal stability. According to various characterization techniques, these results are attributed to an enhanced adhesion and a homogeneous dispersion of long-carbon-fibers (LCFs) with TPU sizing in blended polymer matrix. Above all, dynamic-mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) measurements clearly show that the dynamic storage modulus (E') of the blend composites is increased by threefold with temperature ranges below and above the glass transition temperature. The presence of LCFs in TPU systems induces effective fiber orientation, exhibiting simultaneous improvements in the tensile strength, flexural strength, and thermal stability.     

A powerful chiral counterion strategy for asymmetric transition metal catalysis

Traditionally, transition metal-catalyzed enantioselective transformations rely on chiral ligands tightly bound to the metal to induce asymmetric product distributions. Here we report high enantioselectivities conferred by a chiral counterion in a metal-catalyzed reaction. Two different transformations catalyzed by cationic gold(I) complexes generated products in 90 to 99% enantiomeric excess with the use of chiral binaphthol-derived phosphate anions. Furthermore, we show that the chiral counterion can be combined additively with chiral ligands to enable an asymmetric transformation that cannot be achieved by either method alone. This concept of relaying chiral information via an ion pair should be applicable to a vast number of metal-mediated processes.     

Pathogenicity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Beauveria bassiana</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Metarhizium anisopliae</Emphasis> against <Emphasis Type="Italic">Galleria mellonella</Emphasis>

The greater wax moth Galleria mellonella L. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) is occasionally found in beehives and is a major pest of stored wax. Entomopathogenic fungi have recently received attention as possible biocontrol elements for certain insect pests. In this study, 90 isolates of Beauveria bassiana and 15 isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae were screened for proteases and lipases production. The results showed significant variations in the enzymatic action between the isolates. In the bioassay, the selected isolates evinced high virulence against the 4th instar of the G. mellonella larvae. The isolates BbaAUMC3076, BbaAUMC3263 and ManAUMC3085 realized 100% mortality at concentrations of 5.5 × 10⁶ conidia ml⁻¹, 5.86 × 10⁵ conidia ml⁻¹, and 4.8 × 10⁶ conidia ml⁻¹, respectively. Strong enzymatic activities in vitro did not necessarily indicate high virulence against the tested insect pest. The cuticle of the infected larvae became dark and black-spotted, indicating direct attack of fungus on the defense system of the insects. The LC₅₀ values were 1.43 × 10³, 1.04 × 10⁵ and 5.06 × 10⁴ for Bba3263AUMC, Bba3076AUMC and Man3085AUMC, respectively, and their slopes were determined by computerized probit analysis program as 0.738 ± 0.008, 0.635 ± 0.007 and 1.120 ± 0.024, respectively.