Influence of vaccination route on the efficacy of Aujeszky's disease deletion-mutant vaccine.

In order to compare the effect of the route of immunization on the efficacy of a modified live Aujeszky's disease (AD) vaccine, which had deletions in both thymidine kinase (TK-) and glycoprotein gIII genes (gpIII-), 20 six-week-old pigs were vaccinated by either the intramuscular (IM) (n = 10) or subcutaneous (SC) (n = 10) route. All the animals, including five non-vaccinated control animals, were challenged with virulent AD virus 22 days after vaccination. Four of five non-vaccinated animals died within 12 days after challenge. Although none of vaccinated animals died, three of animals in the SC group exhibited clinical signs, and average daily gains in the SC group were depressed. The animals in the IM group were not found to shed challenge virus, but those in the SC group shed the virus up to 9 days. Virus neutralizing antibody titers in the vaccinated animals were low or non-detectable by 21 days after vaccination. A glycoprotein gII (gpII) screening ELISA detected gpII antibody in all animals in the IM group. While, only 30% of animals in the SC group were positive by the same test. The results of this study indicate that TK-, gpIII modified live AD virus vaccine is effective against challenge with virulent AD virus; however, vaccination by the SC route reduced vaccine efficacy in comparison with IM route.     

Theoretical turnover rate of the rumen liquid fraction in dairy cows and its relationship to feed intake,rumen fermentation,and milk production

Ruminant animals are able to convert plant materials (grain and the human‐indigestible portion of carbohydrates) to milk and meat. In this conversion, most of the plant materials are digested by rumen fermentation and are changed to short‐chain fatty acids, microbial cells, and methane, which is released into the atmosphere. The relationships among feed, rumen fermentation, and milk production are poorly understood. Here we report a novel indicator of characteristics of rumen fermentation, theoretical turnover rate (TTOR) of the rumen liquid fraction. The TTOR was calculated from the presumed rumen volume (PRV) which is estimated by dividing the methane yield by the methane concentration of rumen fluid. The formula for the TTOR is: TTOR = PRV/body weight^0.75. Our present analyses confirm that the TTOR as an indicator is capable of connecting feed, rumen fermentation, and milk production, because dry matter intake/TTOR showed a strong correlation with milk yield/TTOR. In addition, the TTOR may be related to ruminal pH, as we observed that the ruminal pH decreased as the TTOR increased. We propose that the TTOR is a factor characterizing rumen fermentation and a good indicator of the productivity of ruminants and dysbiosis of the rumen microbiome.     

High lysyl oxidase expression is an indicator of poor prognosis in dogs with cutaneous mast cell tumours

Mast cell tumour (MCT) is one of the most frequent skin tumours in dogs. Due to their unpredictable biological behaviour, MCTs often cause several therapeutic frustrations, leading to investigation regarding prognostic markers. Lysyl oxidase (LOX) is an enzyme that promotes extracellular matrix stability and contributes to cell migration, angiogenesis and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Its expression positively correlates with poor prognoses in several human and canine mammary cancers. The aim of this study was to characterise the immunohistochemical expression of LOX in MCT samples and compare it with histological grading and post-surgical survival. Twenty-six tumours were submitted to immunohistochemistry for LOX expression evaluation. All samples were positive for LOX, with variable percentages of cytoplasmic and nuclear positivity. Cytoplasmic positivity was significantly higher in high-grade MCTs (P = .0297). Our results indicate that high expression of cytoplasmic LOX in neoplastic mast cells is an indicator of poor prognosis for canine cutaneous MCTs.     

New method to determine the hydroxyl value in liquefied bark as Polyurethane material

Conclusions When the hydroxyl values of materials containing phenolic 3 or sterically hindered hydroxyl groups were determined by the esterification method, the values were considerably smaller than the theoretical values. In contrast, the NCO method provided hydroxyl values much closer to the theoretical values for such materials, though the values varied depending on the kinds and amounts of catalysts.The quantity of hydroxyl groups reacting with the NCO group could be directly determined by the NCO method using a catalyst mixture consisting of DABCO and DBTDL in a molar ratio of 21. Therefore, this method can be considered useful for determining the hydroxyl value before preparing polyurethane from liquefied wood or bark.Part of this paper was presented at the 51st Annual Meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Tokyo, April 1988     

Generation process of growth stresses in cell walls: Relation between longitudinal released strain and chemical composition

Summary To advance the discussion on the evolution mechanism of tree growth stresses, the relation between released strain and the chemical components was investigated experimentally. The expansive released strain in the longitudinal direction assumed large values as the lignin content increased in the compression wood, but there was no relation between released strain and lignin content in the normal wood region. The contractive released strain assumed large values as the cellulose content and its crystallinity increased. Their correlation was very high and clear. From these facts, it is considered that the lignin deposition plays an important role in the generation of the growth stresses in compression wood but is not important in normal or tension wood regions. Cellulose microfibrils contract along their longitudinal axis during cell maturation, and the stress included by the contraction creates a longitudinal growth stress in normal and tension woods.The authors thank Prof. R. R. Archer, University of Massachusetts, for his valuable advice. A part of this research was supported by a grant under the Monbusho International Scientific Research Program     

Newly developed nanocomposites from cellulose acetate/layered silicate/poly(ε-caprolactone): Synthesis and morphological characterization

New biodegradable cellulose acetate/layered silicate grafted poly(ε-caprolactone) [(CA/layered silicate)-g-PCL] nanocomposites were prepared by in situ polymerization of ε-caprolactone in the presence of cellulose acetate (CA) and organically modified layered silicate (OMLS). The structures of the resulting composites were investigated. X-ray diffractometry was carried out to survey general structural features of (CA/OMLS)-g-PCL nanocomposites, and revealed that OMLSs having hydroxyl groups in the organic modifiers greatly altered the layered silicate structure by monomer intercalation and successive exfoliation through its polymerization. Two of the representative cases were characterized by wide-angle and small-angle X-ray scattering analyses with a synchrotron source. The morphology of these nanocomposites was further examined by transmission electron microscopy. When SPN, one of OMLSs having one hydroxyl group in its modifier, was used, the silicate layers could not be dispersed thoroughly, but existed as aggregates consisting of several silicate layers. Among them, the crystal growth of PCL developed by transcrystallization, where the crystal growth was restricted in the confined space. When Cloisite 30B, having two hydroxyl groups within the modifier, was used, the silicate layers forming the clay were dispersed completely in the composite and random orientation of the OMLS was observed.     

Characterization of the reproductive cycle in female bharals (Pseudois nayaur) based on the changes in serum progesterone concentrations and parturition season

The purpose of present study was to determine annual changes in serum progesterone (P(4)) concentrations and to clarify basic reproductive characteristics, such as breeding season, estrous cycle, and puberty in female bharals (Pseudois nayaur). Blood was collected from 9 female bharals once or twice weekly for approximately one year. Serum P(4) concentrations were determined by radioimmunoassay. Serum P(4) concentrations showed remarkable and cyclic changes between November/December (winter) and May/June (late spring). The mean estrous cycle was 24.9 +/- 0.5 days. Chasing insistently to other females and discharge of mucus from the vulva were observed around the time when the serum P(4) concentrations began to increase. The chasing behavior and discharge of mucus were considered to be external indicators of estrus in female bharals. Serum P(4) concentrations of a pregnant female had non-cyclic changes, and the values remained high. In this study, all 37 deliveries were between April and September, and about 70% of these were concentrated in May and June. The conception month determined on the day of birth was between October and April for all animals, and the most common month was in December (54%). This month corresponded to an early stage of the period when the serum P(4) concentrations changed cyclically. These results indicate that many female bharals become pregnant at the beginning of the breeding seasons and, if they do not become pregnant, the estrous cycle, about 25 days in length, is repeated.     

Determination of Bovine Serum Low-density Lipoprotein Cholesterol using the N-geneous Method

The N-geneous method is a recently developed method for determination of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in human serum. In the present study, we attempted to adapt this method to bovine serum. The values of LDL-C obtained using the N-geneous method were highly correlated with those from the method using ultracentrifugation and heparin sepharose affinity chromatography (r = 0.934, p < 0.001). The reproducibility of this method was acceptable (intra-assay CV 4.2%, inter-assay CV 7.6%) for clinical use. Using the N-geneous method, serum LDL-C was evaluated in cows around parturition, and in cows with fatty liver induced by fasting. The concentration of LDL-C decreased significantly in cows close to parturition. A reduced concentration of LDL-C was also observed in cows with fatty liver. In both cases, the changes of LDL-C were similar to those of apolipoprotein B (apoB)-100, and the values of LDL-C were highly correlated (r = 0.876, p < 0.001) with those of apoB-100. These results suggest that the concentration of LDL-C reflects the level of apoB-100. The N-geneous method is simple and rapid, and might to be a useful tool to elucidate the clinical significance of LDL-C in bovine serum.