Rapeseed Meal and egg taint

1. Certain rapeseed meals in the diet of hens laying brown eggs result in the production, from some birds, of eggs which have a “ fishy ” or “ crabby ” odour because of the presence of trimethylamine.

2. Such susceptible birds have been used to demonstrate that the activity can be extracted from rapeseed meal with appropriate solvents.     

The role of histamine and fish meal in the incidence of gizzard erosion and pro‐ventricular abnormalities in the fowl

1. The role of certain fish meals in the production of localised gizzard erosion is confirmed.

2. Lesions typical of gizzard erosion could be produced by the addition of histamine to the diet.

3. The amount of histamine occurring naturally in fish meal depends on the species of fish and the extent and nature of bacterial spoilage.

4. These variables may explain why histamine has not been implicated previously and also why there have not been consistent associations between the condition and geographical source or common factors in bulk consignments of the meal.     

Culture of Differentiated Adult Rabbit Auricular Chondrocytes

Chondrocytes dedifferentiate to a fibroblast‐like phenotype on plastic surfaces. Dedifferentiation is reversible if these cells are then cultured embedded in gels as alginate, agarose or collagen. Chondrocytes cultured in suspension on a non‐adherent surface are also known to form aggregates of differentiated cells. The knowledge of chondrocyte behavior in culture is relevant for tissue engineering purposes. In this report we describe a simple method to culture differentiated or redifferentiated rabbit auricular chondrocytes on plastic surfaces with a stable phenotype. When chondrocyte aggregates formed in suspension are next seeded on plastic surfaces, most of them attach to the plastic as round or polygonal cells, and this morphological differentiation, confirmed by the presence of type II collagen, is stable for long culture periods. We also report that the addition of aggregates to monolayer cultures of dedifferentiated chondrocytes results in their redifferentiation, as is shown by their morphological changes and the synthesis of type II collagen. Therefore, this simple method can be useful for the study of chondrocyte behavior on plastic surfaces and for redifferentiating previously proliferated chondrocytes in tissue engineering techniques. Furthermore, these results demonstrate that, in addition to culture conditions such as cell isolation method or cell‐density, chondrocyte behavior on plastic depends on the presence or absence of aggregates resulting from the dissociation process.     

‘三棱榄''橄榄果实香气成分分析

1 材料与方法选取广东优良鲜食橄榄品种‘三棱榄’,2001年12月6日采样,采用固相微萃取法(SPME)富集香气成分(鲜橄榄果肉于15℃下捣碎后取样1.0 g放入4 mL聚四氟乙烯硅橡胶垫密封螺口玻璃瓶中,插入100μm聚二甲基硅氧烷纤维头于室温25-30℃顶空取样2 h),用美国Finnigan TRACE GC-MS气相色谱-质谱联用仪进行分析。气相色谱柱为DB-1弹性毛细管柱30 m×0.25 mm,载气为He(99.99％),流速1.0mL/min。程序升温从40℃开始先保持10 min,后以2℃/min的升温速率升至150℃保持10 min。质谱条件:电子能量70 eV,离子源温度250℃,质量范围35-450 aum,不分流进样。2002年12月18日采样重复分析。     

Influences of chronic hypoxia on the gene expression of Kv1.3,Kv2.1 and Kv3.1 induced by acute hypoxia in PASMC of rats

AIM and METHODS: Total RNA was extracted from 6th rat subcultured pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells(PASMC) exposed to continual chronic hypoxia or normoxia and the effects of chronic hypoxia on the changes of Kv1.3,Kv2.1,Kv3.1 mRNA in cultured PASMC induced by acute hypoxia were studied by semiquantitative RT-PCR in vitro. RESULTS:①Kv1.3,Kv2.1,Kv3.1 genes were found to be expressed in PASMC of rats exposed either to hypoxia or normxia.②The expression of Kv2.1 and Kv3.1 in 6th subcultured of PASMC in normaxia group could be upregulated by exposure to acute hypoxia,the levels of Kv2.1 and Kv3.1 mRNA were significantly increased from 0.646±0.092, 0.782±0.104 to 1.059±0.134, 0.985±0.116,respectively (P<0.01,n=5). ③PASMC cultured continuously in chronic hypoxia for 6 subcultures and then exposed to normoxia for 12 h,thereafter the expression of Kv2.1 and Kv3.1 were downregulated by acute hypoxia for 6 hours.The level of Kv2.1 mRNA was significantly decreased from 1.008±0.117 to 0.649±0.097 (P<0.01,n=5). CONCLUSION:Kv2.1,Kv3.1 genes might be oxygen sensitive genes.Chronic hypoxia might change the response of these Kv genes of PASMC to acute hypoxia and down-regulate its expression,which might probably decrease the role of Kv in HPV.     

Roles of the Kv1.2, Kv1.5, Kv2.1 potassium channels in hypoxia pulmonary vasoconstriction

AIM: To determine the role of Kv1.2, Kv1.5, Kv2.1 in the hypoxia pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV). METHODS: Male Wistar rats were divided into two groups: normoxic group and hypoxic group. The single smooth muscle cell was obtained from pulmonary artery of Wistar rats with acute enzymatic digestion method. The conventional whole-cell patch clamp technique was used to record the resting membrane potential (Em) and the potassium currents of voltage-gated potassium channel (IKv) in rat pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMC). Intracellular application of Kv1.2/Kv1.5/Kv2.1 antibodies (1∶125) was conducted through the whole-cell patch clamp system. RESULTS: ① Em of PASMC was depolarized after 24 h hypoxia compared with that of control cells . IKv of PASMC was decreased after 24 h hypoxia, . ② The mixture of Kv1.2/Kv1.5/Kv2.1 antibodies depolarized Em and inhibited IKv in PASMC from normoxic rat, whereas the mixture of Kir2.1/Kir2.3/Kir4.1 antibodies had no effects on them. ③ The mixture of Kv1.2/Kv1.5/Kv2.1 antibodies and the mixture of Kir2.1/Kir2.3/Kir4.1 antibodies had no effects on IKv and Em from rats hypoxic for 24 h. CONCLUSION: Kv1.2, Kv1.5, Kv2.1 might be oxygen sensitive potassium channels which mediated HPV.     

Effects of blocking the expression of PKARⅠβ gene with antisense nucleotide on Shuang long-Jie gu Pill (SLJGP) containing serum osteoblast proliferation

AIM: To further investigate the role of PKARⅠβ in the growth-promoting effects of shuang long Jiegu pill (SLJGP), a Chinese medicine, on cultured osteoblasts. METHODS: pcDNA- antiPKARⅠβ, a recombinant expressing the antisense sequence of PKARⅠβ, was constructed and transformed HFOB1.19 by lipofectin. MTT was undertaken to assess the cell growth with the treatment of high dosage of SLJGP containing serum. RESULTS: Antisense gene blocked the growth-promoting effects of SLJGP containing serum on HFOB1.19. CONCLUSION: The function of SLJGP is closely related to cAMP-dependent protein kinase A.     

Antiviral Effect of Saccharomyces cerevisiaeβ‐glucan to Swine Influenza Virus by Increased Production of Interferon‐γ and Nitric Oxide

The aim of these experiments was to investigate the potential antiviral effect of Saccharomyces cerevisiaeβ‐glucan on the pneumonia induced by swine influenza virus (SIV). Forty colostrum‐deprived 5‐day‐old piglets were randomly divided into four groups of 10. The 20 pigs in groups 1 and 2 were administered Saccharomyces cerevisiaeβ‐glucan orally (50 mg/day/pig; En‐Bio Technology Co., Ltd) for 3 days before SIV infection and those in groups 3 and 4 were given culture medium/diluent alone. Groups 1 and 3 were inoculated intranasally with 3 ml of tissue culture fluid containing 2 × 10⁶ tissue culture infective doses 50% (TCID₅₀)/ml of SIV and those in groups 2 and 4 were exposed in the same manner to uninfected cell culture supernatant. The microscopic lung lesions induced by SIV infection (group 1 pigs) were significantly more severe than those induced by infection in animals pre‐administered β‐glucan (group 3) (P < 0.05). Significantly more SIV nucleic acid was detected in the lungs of pigs experimentally infected with SIV only (group 1) at 5, 7 and 10 days post‐inoculation (dpi) compared with lungs from pigs pre‐administered β‐glucan and infected with SIV (group 3) (P < 0.05). The concentrations of interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ) and nitric oxide (NO) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from pigs pre‐administered β‐glucan and infected with SIV (group 3) were significantly higher than for any other group at 7 and 10 dpi for IFN‐γ, and at 5, 7 and 10 dpi for NO (P < 0.05). Saccharomyces cerevisiaeβ‐glucan reduced the pulmonary lesion score and viral replication rate in SIV‐infected pigs. These findings support the potential application of β‐glucan as prophylactic/treatment agent in influenza virus infection.     

Review: The strobilurin fungicides

The original article to which this Correction refers was published in Pest Management Science 58 (7): 649–662 (2002).Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry