Effect of hypoxia on generation of neurospheres from adipose tissue-derived canine mesenchymal stromal cells

Adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (AT-MSCs) are good candidates for cell therapy due to the accessibility of fat tissue and the abundance of AT-MSCs therein. Neurospheres are free-floating spherical condensations of cells with neural stem/progenitor cell (NSPC) characteristics that can be derived from AT-MSCs. The aims of this study were to examine the influence of oxygen (O₂) tension on generation of neurospheres from canine AT-MSCs (AT-cMSCs) and to develop a hypoxic cell culture system to enhance the survival and therapeutic benefit of generated neurospheres.AT-cMSCs were cultured under varying oxygen tensions (1%, 5% and 21%) in a neurosphere culture system. Neurosphere number and area were evaluated and NSPC markers were quantified using real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). Effects of oxygen on neurosphere expression of hypoxia inducible factor 1, α subunit (HIF1A) and its target genes, erythropoietin receptor (EPOR), chemokine (C-X-C motif) receptor 4 (CXCR4) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), were quantified by qPCR. Neural differentiation potential was evaluated in 21% O₂ by cell morphology and qPCR.Neurospheres were successfully generated from AT-cMSCs at all O₂ tensions. Expression of nestin mRNA (NES) was significantly increased after neurosphere culture and was significantly higher in 1% O₂ compared to 5% and 21% O₂. Neurospheres cultured in 1% O₂ had significantly increased levels of VEGF and EPOR. There was a significant increase in CXCR4 expression in neurospheres generated at all O₂ tensions. Neurosphere culture under hypoxia had no negative effect on subsequent neural differentiation. This study suggests that generation of neurospheres under hypoxia could be beneficial when considering these cells for neurological cell therapies.     

中西药结合治疗雏鹅病毒性肝炎的试验研究

观察3种方法治疗雏鹅病毒性肝炎的疗效,选出较好的治疗方案,以提高雏鹅病毒性肝炎的治愈率。分别进行人工感染预防及治疗试验和临床治疗试验。在临床治疗试验中选自然发病的莱茵雏鹅共5466只,将患鹅随机分为4组,分别采用保肝散、病毒灵、保肝散加病毒灵治疗,并设空白对照组。结果表明,保肝散配合病毒灵组治疗效果最好,治愈率达96.05%;保肝散组次之,为77.97%;病毒灵组再次,为72.18%;对照组为14.72%。采用保肝散配合病毒灵组治疗雏鹅病毒性肝炎高于其他两种方法,为临床治疗该病提供了确实可行的治疗方法。     

Mammary stem cells： expansion and animal productivity

Identification and characterization of mammary stem cells and progenitor cells from dairy animals is important in the understanding of mammogenesis, tissue turnover, lactation persistency and regenerative therapy. It has been realized by many investigators that altered lactation, long dry periods （non-milking period between two consecutive lactation cycles）, abrupt cessation of lactation （common in water buffaloes） and disease conditions like mastitis, greatly reduce milk yield thus render huge financial losses within the dairy sector. Cellular manipulation of specialized cell types within the mammary gland, called mammary stem cells （MaSCs）/progenitor cells, might provide potential solutions to these problems and may improve milk production. In addition, MaSCs/progenitor cells could be used in regenerative therapy against tissue damage caused by mastitis. This review discusses methods of MaSC/progenitor cell manipulation and their mechanisms in bovine and caprine animals. Author believes that intervention of MaSCs/progenitor cells could lessen the huge financial losses to the dairy industry globally.     

三倍体皱纹盘鲍活体倍性检测

以皱纹盘鲍的血细胞为材料，采用植物血球凝集素(PHA)体外浸泡法，运用正交实验设计，探讨PHA处理时间、PHA浓度、抽血时间对细胞分裂频度的影响。根据正交实验直观分析结果，得出用血细胞直接制备染色体标本进行三倍体皱纹盘鲍活体倍性检测的最优组合：PHA处理时间18h、PHA浓度0．04％，抽血时间22：00-24：00，3因素的主次顺序：PHA处理时间→PHA浓度→抽血时间。并可获得大量图象清晰、长度适中、分散良好的中期分裂相，是皱纹盘鲍活体倍性检测的最佳方法。同时，通过流式细胞仪测定皱纹盘鲍血细胞DNA相对含量进行三倍体皱纹盘鲍活体倍性检测，该方法制样简单，测试速度快。     

Fixed location hydroacoustic monitoring of fish populations in the tidal River Hull, north-east England, in relation to water quality

Abstract  Fixed location hydroacoustic fish monitoring was carried out at a series of sites in the tidal River Hull, north-east England, in July 1996 during periods of moderate freshwater flows and spring tides. This was followed by a corresponding series during a period of lower freshwater flows and spring tides in autumn 1996. The surveys indicated substantial numbers of fish living upstream and downstream of a depleted oxygen zone which exists in the tidal Hull. Conditions in this zone of poor water quality deteriorated further during low flow periods due to reduced dilution of effluents. Fish populations moved with the tide apparently in response to gradients of dissolved oxygen and salinity. Under conditions of low freshwater flow and high tides, gradients of salinity and oxygen were steeper and fish responses appeared more marked: at higher salinities, the response to increasing salinity overrode the response to decreasing oxygen availability.     

Site of acid-base relevant ion transfer in the gills of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) exposed to environmental hypercapnia

In order to delineate the contribution of primary vs. secondary circulatory circuits in the gill for acid-base and ionic regulation, the flow and composition of the fluids in the central venous sinus (CVS) and the systemic circuit of rainbow trout were studied by application of a previously developed microcannulation technique during normocapnic and hypercapnic conditions. The average haematocrit (Hct) of blood from dorsal aorta (DA) and sinus venosus (SV) ranged from 20.1 to 26.7%, whereas average Hct in the fluid from the branchial vein (BV), representing drainage from the central venous sinus (CVS), was in the range of 4.2 to 7.0%. Under normocapnic conditions, the largest fraction of cardiac output, 92.9%, was directed through the systemic vascular circuit, whereas the CVS circuit was perfused with 7.1 % of cardiac output. Hypercapnia did not significantly affect the blood flow distribution between the two circuits. The pattern of acid-base regulation in dorsal aortic blood reflected the characteristic response of fish exposed to environmental hypercapnia. Upon initiation of environmental hypercapnia (2% CO₂), plasma P_{CO 2} was elevated in all three flow compartments (CVS, DA, SV), inducing an extracellular respiratory acidosis of about 0.4 pH units. pH and [HCO₃ ^-] values in the DA were consistently lower, than those for both CVS and SV sites throughout the hypercapnic period. During the 8h of exposure plasma bicarbonate concentration was elevated by about 12 mM, complemented by a fall in extracellular [Cl^-] of about 10 mM in all three compartments. The amount of HCO₃ ^- gained at the CVS site during 8h of hypercapnia (3.3 mmol · kg^-1) exceeds the amount accumulated in the extracellular space (2.1 mmol·kg^-1), suggesting the CVS as the main site of ionic acid-base regulation in trout.     

马蹄肥料田间试验初报

对马蹄＂3414＂肥料田间试验。结果表明：供试田块氮、磷、钾肥施用量与产量有显著的回归关系;应用回归方程分析,获得最佳施肥量为：N 268.5 kg/hm2,P2O5154.5 kg/hm2,K2O 352.5 kg/hm2,该肥力条件下马蹄最佳产量46 332.0 kg/hm2。