Prevalence of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Toxoplasma gondii</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Neospora caninum</Emphasis> infections in sheep from Federal District,central region of Brazil

Serum samples from 1028 sheep were collected from 32 herds within Federal District, in the central region of Brazil. The samples were examined by indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) using sera diluted 1:64 and 1:50 as cut-off values for the detection of antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum, respectively. The observed prevalence for T. gondii infection was 38.22% (26.81%<CI 0.95<49.62%), and the titers ranged from 64 to 65536. The observed prevalence for N. caninum infection was 8.81% (7.08%<CI 0.95<10.53%). The titers ranged from 50 to 51200. The reactant sera to both pathogens corresponded to 4.67% of the samples. The risk factors were not determined because of the absence of negative herds for T. gondii and the high proportion of positive herds for N. caninum (87.50%). The prevalence for T. gondii infection was significantly higher among males than in females. The present work is the first report on seroprevalence of T. gondii and N. caninum in sheep from Federal District and shows that infection by both parasites is widespread in the ovine population from this region.     

Characterization of bacteriocin produced by Streptococcus bovis J2 40-2 isolated from traditional fermented milk 'Dahi'

A bacteriocin-producing strain Streptococcus bovis J2 40-2 was isolated from traditional fermented milk 'Dahi' in Bangladesh. Despite its narrow antimicrobial spectrum, it showed strong antimicrobial activity against extremely challenging and problematic organisms in foods, such as Listeria monocytogenes . Bacteriocin was sensitive to several proteolytic enzymes and showed antimicrobial activity over a wide pH range of 2.0–10.0. It was stable when heated to 110°C for 20 min, but lost 25% of its activity when heated to 121°C for 15 or 20 min. Optimum bacteriocin production (5600 AU/mL) was achieved when the strain was cultured at 37°C for 24 h in MRS medium rather than in TYLG, GM17, or skim milk medium. Bacteriocin was partially purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation (80% saturation), dialysis (cut-off MW: 3500) and gel filtration chromatography. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed that bacteriocin had a molecular weight of approximately 4.5 kDa.     

Seasonal and Spatial Variations in the Chemical and Sulfur Isotopic Composition of Acid Deposition in Niigata Prefecture, Japan

The following measurements were carried out to clarify acid deposition in Niigata Prefecture, an area facing to the Sea of Japan. 1) Acid deposition fluxes and sulfur isotopic ratios of atmospheric deposition were measured at 9 sites in the prefecture in 1999. 2) Atmospheric deposition was collected daily at one site in 1997, to measure the sulfur isotopic variations of sulfate together with the air mass trajectory for each deposition. It became clear that: (a) The major component that acidifies atmospheric deposition is sulfuric acid. (b) Sulfate deposition increases in winter in the whole study area. (c) The sulfur isotopic ratios indicate that sulfur dioxide emitted from China affects the whole study area in winter. (d) Winter deposition of sulfate estimated to derive from coal combustion in China account for half of nss-sulfate deposition in average at 9 sites.     

Black Acidic Rime Ice in the Remote Island of Yakushima, a World Natural Heritage Area

In order to clarify the long-range transport of atmospheric pollutants in the East Asian regions, we have studied the components in rime ice on Yakushima Island, located in southwestern Japan near the China continent. The presence of a large number of particles has been found in the rime ice. Very small particles whose diameters are around 1 µm were identified as coal fly ash. The air mass at an altitude between 1500 m to 2000 m was probably long-range transported in association with a stable atmospheric layer in which the particles were efficiently scavenged by supercooled droplets. A back trajectory analysis also indicated the predominance of a north wind in the winter and in the other seasons as well. Such transport and deposition mechanisms may produce the greater pollutant deposition sometimes observed in mountain areas. Similar events may not be rare and could make an important contribution to the annual pollutants.     

Identification and quantification of the conjugated metabolites derived from orally administered hesperidin in rat plasma

Hesperidin is a biologically effective flavonoid. Several studies have reported that dietary hesperidin was converted to conjugated metabolites, such as hesperetin-glucuronides and sulfoglucuronides, during absorption and metabolism. However, the chemical structures of the conjugated metabolites, especially the sites of glucuronidation and sulfoglucuronidation in plasma, were unconfirmed. Therefore, the concentrations of the metabolites conjugated at various sites in plasma could not be individually quantified. In the present study, we identified the chemical structures and concentrations of the major conjugated metabolites in rat plasma after oral administration of hesperidin. Two hesperetin-glucuronides were prepared and identified as hesperetin-7-O-beta-D-glucuronide and hesperetin-3'-O-beta-D-glucuronide. Using these authentic compounds, the concentrations of hesperetin-7-O-beta-D-glucuronide and hesperetin-3'-O-beta-D-glucuronide in rat plasma were individually determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. In rat plasma, hesperetin-glucuronides were primarily comprised of hesperetin-7-O-beta-D-glucuronide and hesperetin-3'-O-beta-D-glucuronide. The concentration of hesperetin-7-O-beta-D-glucuronide was slightly higher than that of hesperetin-3'-O-beta-D-glucuronide. Furthermore, not only hesperetin conjugates but also homoeriodictyol conjugates were observed in rat plasma. The present study is the first report elucidating the chemical structures and changes in individual concentrations in rat plasma of glucuronides derived from orally administered hesperidin.     

Reduction of ammonia emission from growing pig rooms by feeding a lower protein diet supplemented with apple pomace

An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of supplementing a reduced crude protein (CP) diet with apple pomace on the ammonia emissions from growing pig rooms. Four pigs (45 kg BW) each were assigned to one of two diets. Each group was housed in a separate room and fed a standard diet (CP 16.6%) or a low CP, amino acid‐supplemented diet (CP 9.1%) containing 23.1% of dried apple pomace for two 7‐day experimental periods. After the completion of the first period, the pigs were switched to the other diet. The daily ammonia emissions, measured for 3 days after a 4‐day adaptation period, were much lower for pigs fed the apple pomace‐supplemented diet than for pigs fed the standard diet (0.47 g/pig vs 7.30 g/pig, respectively). The daily nitrogen intake for the standard diet and the apple pomace‐supplemented diet was 58.1 and 35.5 g/pig, respectively. The pigs fed the apple pomace‐supplemented diet excreted more fecal nitrogen than pigs fed the standard diet (17.5 g/day vs 11.0 g/day, respectively), but urinary nitrogen excretion with the apple pomace‐supplemented diet was estimated to be 2.9 g/day, which was much lower than that for the standard diet (27.0 g/day). The addition of apple pomace to a reduced CP, amino acid‐supplemented diet reduces urinary nitrogen excretion and thereby ammonia emission.