Relationship between indocyanine green clearance test and feed intake and impaired hepatic function in dairy cows

The purposes of this study were 1) to examine changes in the indocyanine green (ICG) clearance by feeding and 4-day fasting in dry cows, and (2) to investigate the relationship between ICG clearance and blood chemistry profile in postpartum cows. In 3 dry cows, post-feeding ICG half-life (T(1/2)) was shorter than the pre-feeding value, and post-fasting T(1/2) was longer than pre-feeding and post-feeding values. In 16 lactating cows, T(1/2) value at 2 weeks postpartum showed positive correlations with AST, T-Bil and γ-GTP. These results suggested that ICG clearance correlated with T-Bil and liver enzymes can be sensitive and accurate diagnostic marker for impaired liver function in dairy cows. In addition, ICG clearance is greatly affected by feeding and fasting.     

Optimal timing for canine artificial insemination with frozen semen and parentage testing by microsatellite markers in superfecundency

Parentage testing was performed in sixteen litters by canine artificial inseminations with frozen semen from different sires on Days 5 and 7 after the LH surge. It became apparent that only 25% of dams had superfecundation, but 43.8% of dams were whelped after insemination only on Day 5 after the LH surge and 31.3% of dams after insemination only on Day 7. Of the total 87 puppies, 46% were born after insemination on Day 5 after the LH surge and 54% after insemination on Day 7. This result strongly suggested that canine artificial insemination with frozen semen could be sufficiently successful also on Days 5 and 7 after the LH surge.     

圈养大熊猫麻疹病毒易感性流行病学调查

成都大熊猫繁育研究基地对圈养的7只8～21岁的大熊猫血清犬瘟热病毒(CDV)中和抗体滴度进行了测定.结果显示,尽管这些大熊猫自2003年起每年接受2次CDV弱毒疫苗接种,该弱毒疫苗是由未知家犬犬瘟热病毒株制作的,大熊猫血清犬瘟热病毒中和抗体滴度却在2×到256×的较大范围内(平价值=16)波动.通常单次的麻疹病毒弱毒疫苗注射足以导致宿主产生相应的稳定的免疫反应,在大熊猫上抗犬瘟热中和抗体变化幅度较大提示在宿主与疫苗的关系中存在某种程度的不足.     

Clinical significance of circulating vascular endothelial growth factor in dogs with mammary gland tumors

Increase in circulating vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is suggested as a prognostic indicator in human patients with malignant tumors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical significance of circulating VEGF in dogs with mammary gland tumors (MGT). Both plasma and serum VEGF were significantly higher in dogs with MGT when compared with those in the healthy dogs. In dogs with MGT, the plasma and serum VEGF of the malignant group increased significantly compared with those of the benign group. Additionally, there was a significant difference between the plasma and serum VEGF in the groups with postoperative metastasis and no metastasis. Circulating VEGF is expected to be clinically available for the determination of prognosis in canine MGT.     

Characterization of CD34+ cells from canine umbilical cord blood, bone marrow leukocytes, and peripheral blood by flow cytometric analysis

Characterization of CD34+ cells in canine bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, and peripheral blood was performed by flow cytometric analysis. The ratio of CD34+CD45hi cells, which are absent in human blood, was high in the CD34+ cell fraction, but 98% of these was suggested B-cells. The remaining CD34+CD45lo cells may comprise canine hematopoietic progenitor cells, and these cells accounted for 0.23 +/- 0.07% of the fraction in cord blood, 0.30 +/- 0.07% in bone marrow, and 0.02 +/- 0.01% in peripheral blood.     

Improvement of fire retardancy of plywood by incorporating boron or phosphate compounds in the glue

A practical approach to enhancing the fire retardancy of wood-based materials by adding fire-retardant chemicals to the glue was developed. Plywoods were manufactured using urea melamine formaldehyde resin mixed with ammonium pentaborate or dihydrogen phosphate. Treated plywoods had better incombustibility than untreated ones. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis clearly demonstrated the distribution of boron and phosphorus, which had migrated from the glue to the wood, contributing to better fire retardant properties. The cross-sectional micrographs from scanning electron microscopy showed that untreated specimens exhibited a foamy structure near the interface in the glue layer and the deformed structure of wood cells. The cell structure and cell wall thickness retained intact in the specimens treated with urea melamine formaldehyde resin mixed with ammonium pentaborate or dihydrogen phosphate. When observing the effect of the thickness of overlay veneers on incombustibility, a shorter glowing time was obtained from the specimens with a thicker surface layer when the fire retardant chemical was added at 2%, but the differences were smaller at the higher chemical retention of 4%. A similar tendency was observed for the char length.Part of this paper was presented at the International Tropical Wood Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, June 1997     

Removal of mercury and other metals by carbonized wood powder from aqueous solutions of their salts

Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) wood powder was carbonized at varying temperatures and used as a material to remove heavy metals from their aqueous solutions. Single solutions of mercuric chloride and mixed aqueous solutions containing lead nitrate, arsenic chloride, and cadmium chloride as well as mercuric chloride (1, 5, and 10 ppm) were prepared to determine the efficiency of removing heavy metals by these materials. Wood powder and carbonized wood at 200°, 600°, and 1000°C removed mercury within the concentration range 1–10ppm; mercury was preferentially removed even when mixed with other heavy metals. Wood powder carbonized at 1000°C achieved the best removal of heavy metals among the wood-based materials and even commercial activated carbon in both single and mixed solutions.This paper was presented at the 45th annual meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society in Tokyo, April 1995     

Abnormal clonalities of B-lymphocytes in bovine leukemia virus-infected cattle with persistent lymphocytosis

Peripheral B-lymphocyte clonality of 274 bovine leukemia virus-infected cattle with lymphocytosis was analyzed using clonality PCR based on sequences of the variable region of the bovine immunoglobulin H chain. None of the cattle showed monoclonal proliferation, while 10, 31, and 233 showed minor-clonal, oligoclonal, and polyclonal proliferation, respectively. A total of 163 cattle were analyzable the following year, and lymphocytosis was maintained in 157, indicating persistent lymphocytosis (PL). B-lymphocyte clonality of the 157 PL cattle was minor-clonal in 6 (3.8%), oligoclonal in 8 (5.1%), and polyclonal in 143 (91.1%). A higher rate of enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL) onset within a year was observed in PL cattle with minor-clonal (50.0% (3/6)) and oligoclonal (25.0% (2/8)) proliferation compared to those with polyclonal (5.6% (8/143)) proliferation. Minor-clonal and oligoclonal proliferation in PL cattle may be a prognosis factor for developing EBL.     

Spontaneous Adenosquamous Carcinoma with Rapid Growth and EMT-like Changes in the Mammary Gland of a Young Adult Female BALB/c Mouse

This study histopathologically and immunohistochemically investigated a spontaneously occurring single mass subcutaneously located in the left lower abdomen of a female BALB/cAJcl−nu/+ mouse at 10 weeks of age. The mass was about 20 × 15 × 10 mm in size after formalin fixation; nevertheless, it was not detected by clinical observations at 9 weeks of age. H&E staining revealed the tumor origin was epithelial and probably arose from the mammary gland, and the tumor cells demonstrated a squamous, acinar or polyhedral/basal pattern. A cell kinetics analysis revealed that many of the tumor cells of the squamous, acinar or polyhedral/basal component were positive for PCNA and cyclin D1, although there were a few of TUNEL-positive tumor cells in all of the components. An epithelial/mesenchymal analysis demonstrated that most of the tumor cells of the squamous and acinar components contained keratin and E-cadherin; however, most of the tumor cells of the polyhedral/basal component were less or very weakly positive for these markers. The tumor cells of the squamous component were negative for vimentin and SMA; however, many of the tumor cells of the polyhedral/basal component exhibited vimentin. In addition, expression of SMA was confirmed in some tumor cells of the acinar and basal components. Based on the microscopic and immunohistochemical characterizations, the tumor was diagnosed to be adenosquamous carcinoma that originated from the mammary gland with rapid growth, and the tumor cells demonstrated epithelial-mesenchymal transition-like changes.     

Effect of short-term fasting on hepatic steroid hormone metabolism in cows

In the present study, the effect of 4-day fasting on steroid hormone metabolism in the liver and secretion of LH was examined in cows. Six non pregnant, dry Holstein cows were used. The estrous cycle was synchronized in all cows using CIDR-Ovsynch. Cows were allocated to a control group (n=3) and a fasting group (n=3). In the fasting group, cows were fasted for four days from day -4 to day -1 (day 0=day of 2nd GnRH injection) but otherwise were fed ad libitum. The experiment was repeated in a crossover design after an interval of about one month. The peripheral progesterone (P(4)) concentration in the fasting group was significantly higher than in the control group on day -1 and 0. The peripheral estradiol-17β concentration in the fasting group was also significantly higher than in the control group on day -1 and 0. The portal vein P(4) concentration in the fasting group was significantly higher than in the control group. On day 0, there was no difference in LH secretion between groups. The mean percentages of lipid droplets in liver cells in the fasting group were significantly higher than in the control group on day 0. These results suggest that short-term fasting leads to reduced hepatic steroid hormone metabolism by accumulation of fat in the liver, which causes high peripheral steroid hormone concentrations.