Efficacy of strain RB51 vaccine in protecting infection and vertical transmission against Brucella abortus in Sprague-Dawley rats

Immunizing animals in the wild against Brucella (B.) abortus is essential to control bovine brucellosis because cattle can get the disease through close contact with infected wildlife. The aim of this experiment was to evaluate the effectiveness of the B. abortus strain RB51 vaccine in protecting infection as well as vertical transmission in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats against B. abortus biotype 1. Virgin female SD rats (n = 48) two months of age were divided into two groups: one group (n = 24) received RB51 vaccine intraperitoneally with 3 × 10¹⁰ colony forming units (CFU) and the other group (n = 24) was used as non-vaccinated control. Non-vaccinated and RB51-vaccinated rats were challenged with 1.5 × 10⁹ CFU of virulent B. abortus biotype 1 six weeks after vaccination. Three weeks after challenge, all rats were bred. Verification of RB51-vaccine induced protection in SD rats was determined by bacteriological, serological and molecular screening of maternal and fetal tissues at necropsy. The RB51 vaccine elicited 81.25% protection in SD rats against infection with B. abortus biotype 1. Offspring from rats vaccinated with RB51 had a decreased (p < 0.05) prevalence of vertical transmission of B. abortus biotype 1 compared to the offspring from non-vaccinated rats (20.23% and 87.50%, respectively). This is the first report of RB51 vaccination efficacy against the vertical transmission of B. abortus in the SD rat model.     

复方中药提取物在新城疫B_1株免疫中的免疫增强作用

用自制的中药提取物与新城疫Ｂ１株混合后免疫５５日龄鸡,以血凝抑制试验测定新城疫抗体效价。结果表明,５５日龄鸡的中药提取物最佳用量为１．０ｍＬ,试验组鸡ＮＤ抗体效价明显高于对照组。免疫后６０ｄ用Ｆ４８Ｅ８新城疫强毒进行攻击,试验组的保护率达到１００％,而对照组相对较低。     

野生毛花猕猴桃剥皮型优系‘YH-3'

剥皮型优系‘YH-3''母树来源于江西省宜黄县境内的野生毛花猕猴桃（Actinidia eriantha Benth）优株,系从野生毛花猕猴桃群体中的自然变异选育而成。该优系具有花瓣粉红,果面白毛,果肉墨绿,易剥皮,高Vc等显著特征,表现品质优良,遗传性状稳定,丰产稳产,果实均匀,商品果率高,果实10月下旬成熟,耐热抗旱,适应性强,发展潜力大。     

甘肃菊科牧草霜霉病调查研究

经调查，甘肃12种菊科牧草上发生霜霉病，由盘霜霉属的7个种、轴霜霉属1个种和首次在甘肃发现的类霜霉属2个种侵梁所致，并发现鉴定盘霜霉新组合种和变种各1个。霜霉病一般在河西地区较陇东、陇南发病严重，有的发病率高速40％以上。     

碱茅新品种选育研究初报─—盐分对种子发芽的影响

通过碱茅草新品系耐盐试验，测定出碱茅种子对碳酸钠、硫酸钠及氯化钠的耐盐能力：１５℃恒温，碳酸盐２．０％时发芽率３０％；硫酸盐１．６％时发芽率３３％；氯化物１．０％时发芽率３４％。与原始野生种对比，种间差异显著（Ｐ＜０．０１）。     

鸽副黏病毒Ⅰ型(川沙株)的分离与鉴定

利用SPF鸡胚培养法从上海川沙某具有典型新城疫症状和病理变化的高死亡率发病鸽场的死亡鸽体内分离到一株病毒.对该病毒E5代尿囊液进行病原学鉴定、RT-PCR鉴定、理化特性测定、致病指数、病毒血清学试验及鸽体致病性试验,结果显示该病毒具有血凝性,且血凝特性可被新城疫病毒参考阳性血清所抑制,而不能被减蛋综合征病毒、禽流感病毒（H5、H9和H7）阳性血清抑制;该病毒对氯仿、乙醚和酸敏感;致病指数分别为：最小致死量鸡胚平均死亡时间为55.2 h,1日龄雏鸡脑内致病指数为1.8,6周龄雏鸡静脉致病指数为2.39.经鉴定,该分离毒株为鸽副黏病毒Ⅰ型强毒株,将其命名为鸽副黏病毒Ⅰ型（川沙株）.     

猪伪狂犬病病毒双基因缺失突变株(HB-98株)安全性、稳定性和免疫原性测定

对以伪狂犬病病毒鄂A株为亲本毒株构建的TK和gG双基因缺失突变株（PrV HB-98株）的增殖能力、安全性、毒力稳定性和免疫原性进行了测定。结果表明，PrV HB-98株在BHK-21细胞上的增殖滴度为10^7.0 TCID50／0．1mL以上，与亲本毒株相当，但高于Bartha株；与PrV鄂A株相比，病毒量为10^7.0TCID50的PrV HB-98株不引起BALB／c小鼠的死亡，毒力也低于Bartha株；将PrV HB-98株在PK-15细胞连续培养25代和在猪体内上连续继代5次，各代次突变株TK基因和LacZ基因能被稳定扩增，未出现毒力回复现象．表明该毒株具有良好的遗传稳定性；以10^5.0、10^6.0、10^7.0TCID50等3个不同剂量的PrV HB-98株接种于妊娠50～60d母猪和1日龄仔猪，母猪均能正常产仔．仔猪也未出现任何临床症状，证明该毒株有较好的安全性。另外，以10^5.0TCID50的PrV HB-98株接种于妊娠50～60d母猪和1日龄仔猪，分别于接种后28d和20d，用10^7.0TCID50 PrV鄂A强毒进行攻击．结果免疫猪都能抵抗强毒的攻击．获得保护，表明该毒株具有很强的免疫原性。综合上述结果表明，PrV HB-98株可以作为候选毒株．用于伪狂犬病基因工程疫苗的研制。     

Age-related declines in ejaculate quality and sperm kinematics vary among strains of Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica)

For successful breeding programs, it is important to quantify the useful period of a male's reproductive life and it is often done simply by measurement of semen quality. This information is lacking for Japanese quail so we tested whether there is a decline in ejaculate quality and sperm kinematics with age, and whether the decline varies among strains. Nine males (n = 9) from each of 5 strains (A, B, C, D and E) were subjected to 4 semen collections (n = 16 per male) at 8, 16, 26 and 36 weeks of age. Ejaculate volume, sperm concentration and total sperm per ejaculate were measured, and sperm kinematics were analysed using a Sperm Class Analyser (SCA^®). There was a significant effect of age for ejaculate volume, total sperm per ejaculate and per cent medium sperm. The effect of the interaction between age and strain was significant for percent progressive motile sperm, percent rapid sperm, velocity curvilinear, velocity straight line, velocity average path, linearity, straightness and beat cross frequency. Ejaculate volume peaked at Week 26 in all strains, while peak values for sperm concentration and total sperm per ejaculate were observed at Week 16 for most strains. There were declines in percent motile sperm, progressive motile sperm and rapid sperm, and in velocity curvilinear velocity, velocity straight line and velocity average path, by Week 16 for most strains. Linearity declined by Week 26 in some strains, and all strains showed a significant decline in beat cross frequency by that age. In conclusion, the ability of CASA to detect age-related changes in sperm kinematics makes it a valuable tool for identifying the best males and thus improving quail flock fertility. It is essential that breeders understand that age affects both sperm production and sperm kinematics, and that the changes vary with strain.     

Genotyping of Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Viruses Isolated from Cattle in Northern Italy

Following the first official report of a clinically severe outbreak of bovine viral diarrhoea disease occurring in a farm in northern Italy, which had originated from the use of a live vaccine contaminated with a strain of BVD genotype II virus, a retrospective study on the prevalence of BVDV genotypes in Italy became highly relevant. For this purpose, the genotype of 78 BVDV-positive specimens, obtained in 1998–1999 from dairy cattle in an area near to where the outbreak occurred, was characterized by PCR technology. Two sets of primers, spanning the 5 UTR of BVDV genome, were used sequentially in a first round of RT-PCR, performed on viral RNA extracted directly from 15 clinical samples and 63 BVDV-infected cell-culture fluids; a second PCR assay followed to selectively amplify only BVDV genotype II. All the viruses under study were characterized as BVDV genotype I. As well as contributing to a better understanding of the prevalence of BVDV genotypes in the field, the results of the present study illustrate the possibility that novel BVDV strains can emerge in susceptible animals through the use of contaminated immunobiological products for bovine use.