Determination of 2,6-diaminopimelic acid in swine feces and chymus

A method is described for estimation of 2.6-diaminopimelic acid (DAP) using an automated amino acid analyzer and MOORE and STEIN ninhydrin reagent. Investigations were made concerning the influence of sample treatment on DAP content of faeces and ileal digesta of pigs and isolated bacteria. Oxidation before hydrolysis did not change DAP content of faeces and bacterial samples, but increased DAP of digesta. Since analytical reasons were excluded, different accessibility of DAP in faeces and digesta for hydrolysis is suggested. Lyophilization or preservation of fresh samples with formaldehyde and phenolic solution, resp., resulted in no significant influence on DAP content.     

The concentration of ascorbic acid in different tissues of calf fetuses in 3 different development stages]

The concentration of ascorbic acid in the cerebrum and in the brain stem of bovine fetuses decreased with increasing body weight; in the cerebellum there was no change. The decrease of the concentration in the lungs, in the heart, in the kidneys, in the M. longissimus and in the M. semimembranosus in the course of the fetal growth was different. In the liver and in the adrenals the concentration in the 3 groups of fetuses with a body weight of 4.18 +/- 2.01, of 9.72 +/- 0.97 and of 17.12 +/- 2.61 kg was similar. The highest concentrations were found in the adrenals, in the testes and in the cerebrum. The functional significance of the changes in the concentration in the tissues of the bovine fetuses is discussed and compared with the results in human fetuses and in adult cattle.     

A rapid and versatile combined DNA/RNA extraction protocol and its application to the analysis of a novel DNA marker set polymorphic between Arabidopsis thaliana ecotypes Col-0 and Landsberg erecta

Background  

Many established PCR-based approaches in plant molecular biology rely on lengthy and expensive methods for isolation of nucleic acids. Although several rapid DNA isolation protocols are available, they have not been tested for simultaneous RNA isolation for RT-PCR applications. In addition, traditional map-based cloning technologies often use ill-proportioned marker regions even when working with the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, where the availability of the full genome sequence can now be exploited for the creation of a high-density marker systems.     

Possibilities of oral iron supplementation for maintaining health status in calves

Oral supply of 100 mg iron as bivalent cations per day effectively prevented clinical and subclinical symptoms of anaemia in calves. Additionally, male and female calves reached optimal growth values. The supplementation of iron to alleviate neonatal masked anaemia ("physiological anaemia") should start on the first day of life. This measure can be terminated at the end of the praeruminal stage of the development, as young calves are able to take up all ferric ions contained in the diet. The real extend of the iron deficiency of calves could not be determined by clinical symptoms. As a practical measure it is recommended to use the packed cell volume test.     

Modeling Water Quality Impacts of Petroleum Contaminated Soils in a Reservoir Catchment

Soil contamination due to spills or leaks of crude oils andrefined hydrocarbons is a common problem. Estimation of spillvolume is a crucial issue in order to determine the expectedcontaminating life span of contaminated soils. The directprocedure to determine the amount of hydrocarbon in soil is to measure the concentration of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) in soil samples. The primary objective of this study was toassess the potential effects of oil contaminated soils on thewater quality of Devegecidi dam reservoir. For this purpose,limited spill data available were evaluated and soil samplingstudies were conducted in the Beykan oil field to analyze forTPH on oil contaminated soils. Available spill and measured soilTPH data were used in a subsequent modeling study to assess thereservoir water quality impacts due to dissolved mass leachingfrom hydrocarbon contaminated soils. Evaluation of availablespill data between 1989 and 1995 revealed that a total of 252recorded spills resulted in a net spill of 395 tons. The majortypes of oil spills were identified as well heads (WH), returnlines/flow lines (RL/FL), and power oil lines (POL). A total of211 soil samples was collected at selected well heads andanalyzed for TPH in the laboratory. TPH results revealed aconcentration range between 600 and 115 500 mg kg^-1 with a meanconcentration of 20 300 mg kg^-1. Modeling studies focused onbehavior assessment and involved two major components. The firstcomponent is a soil-leaching submodel for estimating theleachate concentration and contaminant mass leaching out of thecontaminated soil body. The second component is a reservoirwater quality submodel assuming complete-mix conditions forestimating the changes of hydrocarbon concentration in thereservoir water as a function of time. These two components arecoupled via a mass inflow term present in the reservoir waterquality model, accounting for contaminant mass loadingcontributed by the leaching of contaminated soil. Simulation runs performed under conservative conditions assuming an annualaverage oil spill volume of 95 tons and the minimum reservoirvolume of 7.3 × 10⁶ m³ revealed that there isno imminent threat to reservoir water quality from the dissolved phase contaminants soils. Limited amount of availablemeasurements of TPH concentrations in soil samples and benzeneconcentrations in reservoir water samples supported model results.     

基于浮游藻类生物完整性指数的永安河小流域健康评价

[目的]根据2018年夏季对常州市永安河小流域10个样点进行浮游藻类及环境因子的监测,运用生物完整性的方法和理论,构建夏季永安河小流域浮游藻类生物完整性指数,评价夏季永安河小流域水生态健康状态.[方法]采用文献调查法筛选确定参照河流及参照点,对20个候选指标进行分布范围筛选、判别能力分析、参数间相关性分析等.[结果]获得了永安河小流域丰水期P-IBI指数的5个核心指标:藻类属的总数、硅藻属数量比例、小环藻属密度百分比、细小平裂藻属细胞密度和蓝藻门密度百分比.采用比值法统一各参数的量纲,累加后得到丰水期太湖P-IBI分值,并划分健康评价标准.[结论]应用P-IBI对研究区域水生态进行评价,1个样点评价结果为健康,7个样点评价结果为亚健康,2个样点评价结果为一般.     

Evaluation of vaginal discharge with the Metricheck device and the relationship to reproductive performance in postpartum dairy cows

Vaginal mucus during estrus was examined with the Metricheck device and the relationship to the reproduction of high‐yielding dairy cows was studied. The study was conducted in 99 dairy herds located in Western Germany and 1348 Holstein‐Friesian heifers and cows showing spontaneous estrus were examined. Independent of the Metricheck result, the animals were inspected by professional insemination technicians and those suitable for insemination (n = 989) were bred by artificial insemination (AI). Reproductive performance was characterized by non‐return rate at 90 days (NRR90). The discharge of the animals predominantly had a clear appearance (70%) and a stringy consistency (80%). Animals with clear vaginal discharge had higher NRR90 (56%; n = 697) than animals with abnormal (turbid, mucopurulent, purulent, sanguineous) vaginal secretion (48%, n = 292; P < 0.05). NRR90 was lower in animals with short calving to AI interval (< 70 days; 39%) than with medium (70–130 days; 54%) or long (> 130 days; 62%) intervals (P < 0.05). NRR90 decreased by 12% from the lowest (< 15 kg) to the highest (> 45 kg) milk yield class. In conclusion, the use of the Metricheck device integrated into the insemination procedure is recommended to identify dairy cows suffering severely from uterine disease.     

Efficient inhibition of the Alzheimer's disease beta-secretase by membrane targeting

beta-Secretase plays a critical role in beta-amyloid formation and thus provides a therapeutic target for Alzheimer's disease. Inhibitor design has usually focused on active-site binding, neglecting the subcellular localization of active enzyme. We have addressed this issue by synthesizing a membrane-anchored version of a beta-secretase transition-state inhibitor by linking it to a sterol moiety. Thus, we targeted the inhibitor to active beta-secretase found in endosomes and also reduced the dimensionality of the inhibitor, increasing its local membrane concentration. This inhibitor reduced enzyme activity much more efficiently than did the free inhibitor in cultured cells and in vivo. In addition to effectively targeting beta-secretase, this strategy could also be used in designing potent drugs against other membrane protein targets.