Survey of thyroglobulin autoantibodies in dogs

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect autoantibodies to thyroglobulin in dogs with and without clinical evidence of thyroid disease. Autoantibodies were found in 59% of 34 clinically hypothyroid dogs, 43% of 65 dogs with nonthyroidal endocrine diseases, 47% of 64 healthy dogs closely related to antibody-positive canine hospital patients, and 13% of 1,057 canine hospital patients without endocrine disorders. Dogs with bacterial skin disease and alopecia of unknown causes had an increased prevalence of autoantibodies compared with the prevalence of autoantibodies in healthy dogs and dogs with other diseases. Three breeds of dogs, Great Danes, Irish Setters, and Old English Sheepdogs, had an increased occurrence of autoantibodies compared with that in other breeds and dogs of mixed breeding. A familial tendency to thyroid autoimmunity was demonstrated in a group of Great Dane dogs. The occurrence of autoantibodies was not influenced by age or sex. Thyroid function, as assessed by total thyroxine estimation, was depressed in hospitalized dogs compared with the thyroid function in healthy dogs, irrespective of thyroglobulin-antibody status. Two of 11 autoantibody-positive dogs monitored for an 18-month period developed low thyroxine concentration and depressed thyroid responsiveness to exogeneous thyrotropin stimulation.     

Soil-solution chemistry in black locust, pine/mixed-hardwoods and oak/hickory forest stands in the southern Appalachians, U.S.A.

Soil-solution chemistry was measured over a 15-month period in three forest stands of contrasting nitrogen mineralization and nitrification rates in the southern Appalachians of North Carolina, U.S.A., using porous-cup lysimeters. In a black-locust-dominated stand, soil solution NO₃---N was 3.73 and 5.04 mg l⁻¹ at 30- and 60-cm depth respectively, and dissolved organic N ( ) was 0.718 and 0.582 mg l⁻¹ respectively. Values at 30 and 60 cm for a pine/mixed-hardwood stand were 0.032 and 0.058 mg l⁻¹ NO₃---N, and 0.201 and 0.168 mg l⁻¹ (values are means over the whole duration of the study). At both depths, soil solution conductivity, pH, Ca, Mg, K and PO₄---P were higher in black locust than in pine/mixed-hardwoods, and there were no differences in soil solution Na. In an oak/hickory stand, soil solution NO₃---N at 30-cm depth was 0.008 mg l⁻¹, and was 0.357 mg l⁻¹. At 30-cm depth, soil-solution conductivity, Ca, Mg and PO₄---P were higher in black locust than in oak-hickory, with no differences in pH, K and Na; , pH and K were higher in oak/hickory than in pine/mixed-hardwoods. In the oak/hickory and pine/mixed-hardwoods forest stands, with relatively lower soil N turnover rates, was a major portion of soil solution N.     

Porcine circovirus-2 and concurrent infections in the field

Porcine circovirus-2 (PCV-2) is the necessary cause of post-weaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) in swine; however, a variety of co-factors, including other infectious agents, are thought to be necessary in the full expression of disease. Porcine parvovirus (PPV) was found in the inoculum used in the first experiments to reproduce PMWS in gnotobiotic swine. Retrospective and prospective studies in the field and laboratory have demonstrated PCV-2 can act synergistically with PPV to enhance the severity of PMWS. PCV-2 has been shown to play a role in the porcine infectious disease complex (PRDC). Other co-infecting agents with PCV-2 in the lung include, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), swine influenza virus (SIV) and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae. Exposure of pregnant sows to PPV, PRRSV, or encephalomyocarditis virus may interact with PCV-2 infected foetuses. The severity of hepatic lesions in PCV-2 infected pigs may be enhanced by co-infection with agents such as swine hepatitis E virus and Aujezsky's disease virus. Additional studies are required to determine the mechanistic basis for the interaction of PCV-2 with other agents in the pathogenesis of the various clinical syndromes that have been associated with PCV-2 infection.     

Biscrolling nanotube sheets and functional guests into yarns

Multifunctional applications of textiles have been limited by the inability to spin important materials into yarns. Generically applicable methods are demonstrated for producing weavable yarns comprising up to 95 weight percent of otherwise unspinnable particulate or nanofiber powders that remain highly functional. Scrolled 50-nanometer-thick carbon nanotube sheets confine these powders in the galleries of irregular scroll sacks whose observed complex structures are related to twist-dependent extension of Archimedean spirals, Fermat spirals, or spiral pairs into scrolls. The strength and electronic connectivity of a small weight fraction of scrolled carbon nanotube sheet enables yarn weaving, sewing, knotting, braiding, and charge collection. This technology is used to make yarns of superconductors, lithium-ion battery materials, graphene ribbons, catalytic nanofibers for fuel cells, and titanium dioxide for photocatalysis.     

1,4-Dimethylnaphthalene treatment of seed potatoes affects tuber size distribution

1,4-DMN is a relatively new sprout inhibitor for use on maincrop and seed potatoes. Despite its registration as a “dormancy enhancer” for seed, relatively little is known about its effects on plant establishment and productivity. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of 1,4-DMN on the productivity of seed potatoes. ‘Umatilla Russet’ (UR), ‘Ranger Russet’ (RR), and ‘Russet Burbank’ (RB) seed tubers were stored at 4, 7, and 9 C over three seasons to create 80-, 554- and 642-degree-day seed, and 1,4-DMN was applied to maintain dormancy several times during each season. 1,4-DMN residue levels at the end of storage were lower in seed aged at higher temperatures. Multiple applications of 1,4-DMN at higher-than-label rates were necessary to effectively inhibit sprouting of seed of all cultivars stored above 4 C. In field trials, depending on cultivar and year, 1,4-DMN either delayed plant emergence slightly or had no effect. 1,4-DMN increased stem numbers from RB and UR seed, but not from RR seed. 1,4-DMN reduced total tuber yields by 3.2 to 5.6 t ha^?1 (5% to 9%), and U.S. No. 1 tuber yields by 4.8 to 7.8 t ha^?1 (8% to 15%) in all cultivars, regardless of seed tuber age. 1,4-DMN also reduced the average tuber weight for all three cultivars and shifted the size distribution from larger (> 284 g) to smaller tubers. 1,4-DMN reduced the respective yields of > 397-g, 340-to 397-g, and 284-to 340-g tubers by 43%, 19%, and 18% for RR seed, 31%, 14%, and 11% for RB seed, and 40%, 47%, and 27% for UR seed. Conversely, depending on cultivar, yields of smaller tubers (≤170 g) were 11% to 38% higher from 1,4-DMN-treated seed. The shift in tuber size distribution for RR was accompanied by a 1,4-DMN-induced increase in tuber number per plant and per hectare. However, no such effects on tuber set occurred in RB and UR. Moreover, in most cases, the 1,4-DMN effects on yield and tuber size distribution were independent of seed age. Since the 1,4-DMN-induced shifts in tuber size distribution were greater than the reductions in total and U.S. No. 1 yields, 1,4-DMN may be a suitable treatment to reduce average tuber size and increase yield and uniformity of specific size classes of tubers to more closely match market requirements.     

Particle Track, X-ray, Thermal, and Mass Spectrometric Studies of Lunar Material

Particle tracks in Apollo 11 samples are dominantly of cosmic ray and solar origin: primary galactic and solar flare particles, likely spallation recoil tracks, and possible solar-wind heavy particles. The energy spectrum of irongroup nuclei is inferred from track density gradients in surface layers, and a limit of < 10(-7) centimeter per year is deduced for the surface erosion rate. From cosmic ray tracks in rock and core samples it is clear that the lunar soil is stirred often during each few million years. X-rays reveal augite, anorthite, olivine, ilmenite, troilite, nonmeteoritic iron, and assorted glasses, but no major structural damage. Hydrogen, helium, and other gases in the fines are compatible with expected solar wind ratios.     

Plasma cell sarcoma in a cat

Lytic lesions occurring in conjunction with plasma cell sarcoma (multiple myeloma) have rarely been reported in cats.

A plasma cell sarcoma was diagnosed in a 13 year old castrated male Siamese cat with hind limb paresis resulting from osteolysis of the second lumbar vertebra. Serum electrophoresis showed a monoclonal gammopathy. A uniform population of plasma cells was found in and around the second lumbar vertebra and in the bone marrow of the femora, humeri, pelvis and the fifth lumbar vertebra. The neoplastic cells were identified as IgA and kappa chain specific by direct immunofluorescence.

     

Immunohistochemical expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor associated with tumor cell proliferation in canine cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas and trichoepitheliomas

The expression of 5 markers associated with angiogenesis was studied in canine squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) (n = 19) and canine trichoepitheliomas (TCPs) (n = 24). SCCs were assigned histologic grades, and tissue sections from both tumor types were immunohistochemially stained for the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2), as well as intratumoral microvessel density (iMVD), tumor proliferation index (PI), and tumor apoptotic index (AI), using antibodies against VEGF, VEGFR-2, von Willebrand's factor, Ki-67 antigen, and the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated 2'-deoxyuridine 5'-triphosphate end-labeling method (TUNEL), respectively. VEGF and VEGFR-2 were detected in 17/19 (89.4%) and 19/19 (100%) SCCs and in 17/24 (70.8%) and 20/24 (83.3%) TCPs, respectively. In SCCs, there was substantial correlation between histologic grade and PI (r = 0.51); and moderate correlation between VEGF and histologic grade (r = 0.43), VEGFR-2 and histologic grade (r = 0.47), VEGF and PI (r = 0.47), and VEGFR-2 and PI (r = 0.47) (Spearman rank correlation coefficient). In TCPs, there was substantial correlation between VEGF and PI (r = 0.51) and a moderate correlation between VEGFR-2 and iMVD (r = 0.36). The median iMVD of SCCs (15.5) was significantly higher than the median iMVD of TCPs (9.05) (P value < .05). It was concluded that VEGF and VEGFR-2 may promote tumor cell proliferation in TCPs and SCCs. An autocrine pathway for VEGF probably operates in canine SCCs and TCPs, as VEGF and VEGFR-2 expression was found in most tumors and was associated with evidence for tumor cell proliferation.     

Inhibition of orthotropic replacement shoots with auxin treatment on decapitated hoop pine,Araucaria cunninghamii,for seed orchard management

Seed production in orchards of Araucaria cunninghamii involves grafting plagiotropic scions (using a terminal-side graft) which exhibit a lateral growth habit onto decapitated stock trees. Decapitation effectively releases buds in the leaf axils of the stock plant from apical dominance and orthotropic replacement shoots develop rapidly. To prevent suppression of the grafted scion, frequent removal of orthotropic shoots is necessary. The trial application of several plant auxins at different concentrations to decapitated stock plants identified a suitable technique to simulate apical dominance and temporarily suppress the production of replacement shoots. The synthetic auxin IBA most effectively controlled the production and growth rate of replacement shoots with the least amount of damage to the treated tissues. Auxin application apparently enhanced the growth of lateral branches in the whorl immediately below the treated stem, suggesting that grafted scions would not be adversely affected by auxin treatment. Routine application of auxin to plagiotropic grafts will reduce maintenance costs in seed orchards and clone banks of A. cunninghamii.