Familial canine pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism in wirehaired Dachshunds

Canine pituitary hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing's disease) caused by neoplasia of the corticotrope cells is one of the most common endocrine diseases especially in smaller dog breeds. Cushing's disease was diagnosed in eleven wire-haired Dachshunds and for further six wire-haired Dachshunds Cushing's disease was suspected on the basis of clinical signs. A joined pedigree could be ascertained for all these 17 dogs. Eleven of these dogs were so closely related to each other, that they were summarized in four nucleus families. Two fullsiblings were examined by means of clinical, laboratory diagnostic and morphological methods. The main lesions consisted of atrophic dermatosis with alopecia, increase of activity of liver enzymes in plasma and bilateral adrenocortical hyperplasia and therefore corresponded to the typical signs of a secondary hyperadrenocorticism. A rather unusual finding was the pituitary carcinoma in one of these dogs. Similarly to human patients affected by hyperadrenocorticism, real-time PCR analysis showed a 2.9-fold increase of expression of the canine MDR1 gene in the liver of one affected wirehaired Dachshund. This study documents the first familial occurrence of pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism in wirehaired Dachshunds, the overexpression of the MDR1 gene in the dog and the third case of familial hyperadrenocorticism in dogs ever described.     

Effects of cadmium chloride inhalation on airflow limitation to histamine, carbachol and adenosine 5'-monophosphate assessed by barometric whole body plethysmography in healthy dogs

The effects of pharmacological bronchoprovocation on airflow patterns and surrogate respiratory parameters assessed by barometric whole body plethysmography (BWBP) were investigated in healthy dogs, previously exposed to cadmium chloride inhalation. BWBP-derived respiratory variables were calculated (1) at baseline and (2) following nebulisation of increasing concentrations of histamine, carbachol and adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP) until enhanced pause (PENH) increased to 300% of baseline (PCPENH300). Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cytology before (BCC) and after (ACC) cadmium chloride inhalation revealed cadmium-induced airway inflammation. Neutrophils increased from 6.7 +/- 7.3% (728 +/- 104/microL) BCC to 77.8 +/- 8.6% (3255 +/- 1407/microL) ACC. PCPENH300 for all three agonists significantly decreased ACC (means+/-SD) as follows: PCPENH300(histamine) 0.72 +/- 0.28 mg/mL BCC, and 0.35 +/- 0.31 mg/mL ACC (P<0.02); PCPENH300(carbachol) 0.34 +/- 0.16 mg/mL BCC, and 0.064 +/- 0.032 mg/mL ACC (P<0.02); PCPENH300(AMP) 1000 mg/mL BCC, and 415 +/- 398 mg/mL ACC (P<0.03). The only clinical sign shown was coughing. It was concluded that airway hyperresponsiveness after induced airway inflammation can be determined by BWBP in conscious small sized dogs. BWBP could be a suitable technique to study the respiratory effects of urban environmental pollution in pets.     

Proanthocyanidins: target compounds as antibacterial agents

Grape seeds accumulate in huge quantities as byproduct during wine production and are therefore a cheap source for pharmacologically active agents. However, studies prove poor antibacterial activity, and results of analyses are sometimes contradictory. The aim of this study was, thus, to determine the antibacterial activity of grape seed extracts with special focus on the chromatographic characterization of active fractions. In the course of these investigations, extraction protocols were optimized so that microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) guaranteed highest preconcentration efficiency. Proanthocyanidins, monomeric flavonoid aglycones, as well as some of their glycosides could be identified within yielded extracts via high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). By that means the coherence number of possible isomers of procyanidins was approximated by a newly developed equation. As far as antibacterial activity determined via screening tests is concerned, the extracts generally have been found to be positively responsive toward 10 different gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria strains. After fractionation of the raw extracts, proanthocyanidins P2, P3, P4 and gallate esters P2G and P3G (P = proanthocyanidin consisting of catechin and epicatechin units, n = oligomerization degree, G = gallate ester) were determined as active antibacterial agents toward 10 different pathogens. Only moderate activity was found for monomeric flavonoid fractions.     

Screening for nutritive peptides that modify cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase expression

Bioactive peptides with a variety of effects have been described from several nutritive proteins. They exhibit antimicrobial, blood-pressure lowering, antithrombotic, immunomodulatory, and cholesterol-modulating effects. In this study, we have examined whether peptides derived from food proteins might influence bile acid synthesis. A reporter gene cell line that carries a cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase promoter fragment fused to firefly luciferase ( cyp7a-luc) was used to screen for nutritive peptides affecting cyp7a expression, the enzyme catalyzing the rate-limiting step in bile acid synthesis. Proteolytic hydrolysates were prepared from soy protein and bovine casein with pepsin, trypsin, chymotrypsin, and elastase and size fractionated using ultrafiltration. Several bioactive hydrolysates could be identified that inhibited luciferase expression. Also, an activation of kinase (AKT, ERK, p38-MAPK) signaling could be observed. Selected hydrolysates were further fractionated by reversed-phase HPLC. Bioactive HPLC-fractions were obtained from casein but not from soy hydrolysates; however, activity could not be recovered in single peak fractions. Peptides in such fractions were identified by mass spectrometry. Five selected peptides from alpha S1-casein present in active fractions were synthesized, but none of these showed activity in the cyp7a-luc screening system. However, two of them activated MAP-kinase signaling similar to the hydrolysates, which suggests, that these peptides are involved in cyp7a regulation by the casein hydrolysates.     

Snow forces on forest plants due to creep and glide

Snow forces impede afforestation in the subalpine region; in particular juvenescent trees can be damaged by extraction from the ground. Such forces are mainly triggered by intense snow gliding which is a frequent phenomenon on slopes with a smooth ground surface.     

Vertical distribution of the ectomycorrhizal community in the top soil of Norway spruce stands

The vertical distribution of the ectomycorrhizal (ECM) community was studied in four old high-mountain Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) stands in northern Italy. The aim was to verify if the variability in the community structure could be explained by characteristics of the organic and mineral soil horizons. The community structure was evaluated in terms of both fungal species and their ability to explore soil (exploration types). From the 128 humus profiles sampled over the two study periods, 31 ECM species were recorded. The study demonstrated that the number of both non-vital tips and vital non-mycorrhized tips decreases with soil depth, from organic to mineral horizons, while the number of ectomycorrhizal tips mainly increases with soil depth. A preference was found of some ECM species and exploration types for specific organic or mineral soil layers and their features, especially moisture and available nitrogen. These results can help in understanding how the functional role of the single consortia and the ecological features determining this “adaptive diversity” in ectomycorrhizal communities could be of major importance to assess the resilience in forest soil ecosystems.     

Improvement of a diagnostic procedure in surveillance of the listed fish diseases IHN and VHS

Infectious haematopoietic necrosis (IHN) and viral haemorrhagic septicaemia (VHS) are OIE‐listed and notifiable viral fish diseases which are controlled by eradication and surveillance programmes globally. The present study provides improved RT‐qPCR procedures based on recently described OIE protocols. Improvements comprise the design of a new TaqMan® probe, replacing a TaqMan® MGB probe that turned out to show impaired binding. Reason for this is SNPs detected in the nucleoprotein N gene sequences of IHNV strains targeted by the RT‐qPCR. Furthermore, the IHNV and VHSV RT‐qPCR assays were realized as one‐step and one‐run procedures supplemented by an endogenous control system. The IHNV and VHSV RT‐qPCR assays are characterized by a technical sensitivity of 19 and 190 gene equivalents (cRNA) and an analytical sensitivity of 2–7 and 13 TCID₅₀/ml, respectively. For verification purposes, 105 IHNV and 165 VHSV isolates and several non‐targeted viral and bacterial pathogens were included and returned adequate results. However, in field samples divergent results left 14 samples of 154 undetected for IHNV and one sample of 127 for VHSV using cell culture. The study shows that RT‐qPCR assays ensure facilitated and reliable testing on IHNV and VHSV in eradication and surveillance programmes.     

Silikate im Pflanzenschutz: Elektrostatische Applikation und Abhängigkeit der Wirksamkeit von der Schichtdicke

Natural occurring amorphous silica is ubiquitous on the earth in soils and sediments. Both, natural derived silica and synthetically produced amorphous silica are used against stored product pests and parasites in animal houses. New formulations, active even under higher relative humidity's can be possible used against horticultural arthropod pests. Since many horticultural pests hide on the undersides of leaves and silica is a physical contact insecticide, an appropriate application method is needed. This paper reviews electrostatic application of natural derived amorphous silica to Brassica chinensis leaves. Due to the inherent high volume resistivity of silica powder, induction charging was ineffective for electrostatic powder coating. Corona charging involves a reliable current source, but typically is inefficient in charging the powder particles and creates a high density of free ions between the gun and grounded substrate as well as within the coating layer. These factors resulted in poor coating quality and inefficient particle deposition. The best leave coating was archived using tribo charging. Here we have been able to apply coatings with different thickness. While a silica coating of 25–50?μm in petri dish experiments resulted in a reduced mortality of the granary weevil, Sitophilus granarius (L.), there was no difference between mortality with coatings of 50–100?μm and 100–125?μm. Silica applications on B. chinensis leaves resulted within two hours in a 45% reduction of the CO₂-absorption. Absorption level stayed reduced over a period of seven days and was between 45 and 73% compared to the control. Even after removing silica dust using pressurized air CO₂-absorption was between 19 and 28% reduced. This might be the case because silica particles where so small that they could possible clog the stomata opening resulting in a reduced transpiration and photosynthesis rate.     

Hydrocarbons Emissions from a Municipal Wastewater Treatment Pilot Plant in Vienna

Hydrocarbons emissions were measured from an aerationtank of a municipal wastewater treatment pilot plant. The collected off-gas samples werecharacterised for C₂–C₇ hydrocarbons usingGC-FID analytical technique while the total volatileorganic compounds (TVOC) were measured using acontinuous hydrocarbon gas analyser. Approximately,the estimated emission rates for 1 m³ of wastewaterfrom this aeration tank were 5 mgC of C₂–C₇hydrocarbons, and an average of 7 gC of TVOC. Withexception to toluene, all other measured hydrocarbonsare emitted less than 1 mgC day^-1. The results supportthe view that a significant reduction in annualemissions of hydrocarbons from wastewater treatmentplants in Vienna has taken place.