Economic evaluation of artificial insemination of sex‐sorted semen on a Brown Swiss dairy farm—A case study

Artificial insemination using sex‐sorted semen is employed to efficiently increase the number of female dairy calves born. Previous studies have determined that using sex‐sorted semen is beneficial to improve the management, but the mechanism by which it increases cattle numbers through objective indices of breeding remains unclear. This study focused on a Brown Swiss cattle herd in which frozen female sex‐sorted semen was systematically employed to increase the number of cattle. We analyzed the correlation between the increase in the number of cattle and the screening accuracy of sex‐sorted semen, measuring indices such as pregnancy rate and birth rate of female calves. Study revealed that: (1) production cost for female calves is influenced by the pregnancy rate, rate of female calves, and using sex‐sorted semen is less expensive than using nonsorted semen; (2) improvements in screening accuracy nearly doubled the number of cows and tripled the number of heifers in 5 years; and (3) use of sex‐sorted semen improved milk quality. The pregnancy rate was lower when sex‐sorted semen was used, but the birth rate of heifers was improved. Results suggest that artificial insemination using sex‐sorted semen is beneficial because it economically produces offspring to increase the herd.     

Which source and level of dietary sodium is appropriate for broiler chickens reared in a high‐altitude area?

This study investigated effect of increasing level of dietary sodium using sodium bicarbonate or sodium chloride on growth performance, mortality, characteristics of carcass, organs and tibia, calcium and phosphorus of serum in broilers reared in a high‐altitude area (1,700 m above sea level). A total of 588 Ross 308 male broiler chicks were used in seven treatments, six replicates per treatment of 14 birds per each from 1 to 38 d of age. Seven dietary treatments consisted of a basal diet (with 0.16% sodium and 0.23% chloride), top‐dressed for six diets to give three supplementary levels of sodium (0.07%, 0.14% and 0.21%) from sodium bicarbonate (respectively by 0.26%, 0.52% and 0.78%) or sodium chloride (respectively by 0.18%, 0.36% and 0.54%), resulting in seven diets with total sodium and chloride levels of 0.16% and 0.23%, 0.23% and 0.23%, 0.30% and 0.23%, 0.37% and 0.23%, 0.23% and 0.33%, 0.30% and 0.44%, 0.37% and 0.55% respectively. Increasing sodium level improved feed conversion ratio (FCR) linearly and quadratically. However, when FCR was calculated without adjusting for feed intake of mortalities, the enhanced sodium level did not improve this parameter. Increasing sodium level via sodium chloride enhanced ascites mortality, total mortality, relative weight of heart and right ventricle linearly. Increasing sodium level reduced serum calcium and enhanced serum phosphorus linearly; however, there was a linear tendency to increase tibia ash when sodium level was enhanced by sodium bicarbonate (p = 0.08) or sodium chloride (p = 0.07). Increasing sodium level via sodium bicarbonate tended (p = 0.08) to reduce tibia strength linearly. In conclusion, a diet with 0.16% sodium and 0.23% chloride is enough for broiler chicken reared in a high‐altitude area, and increasing dietary sodium level via sodium chloride has detrimental effect on survivability of broiler in such condition.     

STATIC AND DYNAMIC 18FDG‐PET IN NORMAL HISPANIOLAN AMAZON PARROTS (AMAZONA VENTRALIS)

Positron emission tomography (PET) is often used to stage and monitor human cancer and has recently been used in a similar fashion in veterinary medicine. The most commonly used radiopharmaceutical is 2‐Deoxy‐2‐[¹⁸F]‐Fluoro‐d ‐glucose (¹⁸F‐FDG), which is concentrated and trapped within cells that use glucose as their energy substrate. We characterized the normal distribution of ¹⁸F‐FDG in 10 healthy Hispaniolan Amazon parrots (Amazona ventralis) by performing whole body PET scans at steady state, 60 min after injection. Significant variability was found in the intestinal activity. Avian species are known to reflux fluid and electrolytes from their cloaca into their colon. To evaluate reflux as the cause of variability in intestinal distribution of ¹⁸F‐FDG, dynamic PET scans were performed on the coelomic cavity of six Hispaniolan Amazon parrots from time 0 to 60 min postinjection of radiotracer. Reflux of radioactive material from the cloaca into the colon occurred in all birds to varying degrees and occurred before 60 min. To evaluate the intestinal tract of clinical avian patients, dynamic scans must be performed starting immediately after injection so that increased radioactivity due to metabolism or hypermetabolic lesions such as cancer can be differentiated from increased radioactivity due to reflux of fluid from the cloaca.     

LFA—3和IL—2对机体免疫增强作用

以绵羊红细胞膜提取的ＬＦＡ－３和猪外周血单个核细胞所产生的ＩＬ－２，同时或分别与新城疫Ⅳ系疫苗胸肌注射２２日龄雏鸡，测定鸡体ＨＩ抗体效阶及Ｅｔｇ花环形成率的变化，结果表明，ＬＦＡ－３组抗体效价与对照组差异极显著，ＩＬ－２也可显著提高ＩＶ系苗免疫后ＨＩ抗体效价，且两者的作用具有剂量依赖性。     

利用反向遗传技术拯救H9N2重组病毒

为研制高效特异的H9N2亚型AI疫苗,选取我国具有代表性的毒株A/chicken/Shanghai/10/01(H9N2)(简称SH10),以12质粒系统为基础,利用反向遗传操作技术构建了1株表面基因由SH10提供、内部基因由12质粒系统提供的重组病毒SH/PR8,为新型疫苗的研制提供了新的毒株。     

Multiple amino acid substitutions are involved in the adaptation of H9N2 avian influenza virus to mice

To explore adaptation of avian influenza virus to mice we previously performed serial lung-to-lung passages of the influenza A/Chicken/Jiangsu/7/2002 (H9N2) strain, resulting in the isolation of a variant influenza strain lethal for mice. We now report that virulence correlates with improved growth characteristics on mammalian cells and extended tissue tropism in vivo. Sequencing of the complete genomes of the wild-type and mouse-adapted viruses revealed 25 amino acid substitutions. Some were found to reiterate known substitutions in human and swine H9N2 influenza isolates. Functions affected include nuclear localization signals and sites of protein and RNA interaction, while others are known determinants of pathogenicity and host specificity such as the viral polymerase PB2 E627K substitution. These observations suggest that enhanced growth characteristics and modified cell tropism may contribute to increased virulence in mice. We conclude that multiple amino acid substitutions are likely to be involved in the adaptation of H9N2 avian influenza virus to mice.     

血红素氧合酶-2基因真核表达载体的构建

为构建血红素氧合酶-2（HO-2）真核表达载体pEF1α-HO-2-AcGFP,并观察其在小鼠脑血管内皮细胞中的表达情况。试验利用PCR技术从C57BL/6小鼠海马组织中扩增出HO-2基因cDNA序列,用双酶切法将此序列克隆到真核表达载体pEF1α-IRES-AcGFP上,构建HO-2的真核表达载体pEF1α-HO-2-AcGFP,重组载体经EcoRI和BamHI双酶切和测序鉴定。电穿孔法转染小鼠脑血管内皮细胞,48h后,实时定量PCR、Western blot检测HO-2在小鼠脑血管内皮细胞中mRNA和蛋白质水平的表达情况。结果表明,pEF1α-HO-2-AcGFP载体构建正确;重组载体转染小鼠脑血管内皮细胞后HO-2在mRNA水平表达量较空载体转染极显著增高（P〈0.01）,在蛋白水平表达量较空载体转染显著增高（P〈0.05）。表明HO-2基因的真核表达载体pEF1α-HO-2-AcGFP构建成功,为进一步研究其机制和功能奠定了基础。     

Is the metabolic syndrome a useful clinical concept in dogs? A review of the evidence

The metabolic syndrome is a set of risk factors for the development of type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease and stroke in human beings. The term has recently been applied to dogs that exhibit components of the human metabolic syndrome, specifically visceral obesity, hypercholesterolaemia, hypertriglyceridaemia, hypertension and fasting hyperglycaemia. Obese dogs, like obese humans, are known to develop resistance to the glucose-lowering effects of insulin, and develop increased circulating concentrations of triglycerides, cholesterol and blood pressure. Unlike humans, however, obese dogs do not develop fasting hyperglycaemia or atherogenic hyperlipidaemia. Importantly, there is no evidence that dogs develop type 2 diabetes. Atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease and stroke are rare and not known to be associated with obesity in dogs. On the basis of current knowledge, the use of the term ‘metabolic syndrome’ in dogs does not appear to have merit.     

Phospholipid compositions of sera and synovial fluids from dog, human and horse: a comparison by 31P-NMR and MALDI-TOF MS

Alterations of the phospholipid (PL) compositions of body fluids are assumed to be indicative of inflammatory diseases, e.g. rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Recently, we have shown that particularly the phosphatidylcholine/lysophosphatidylcholine (PC/LPC) ratio determined in human synovial fluids (SF) and sera represents a reliable measure of the inflammatory state in RA patients. However, it is not yet clear to what extent the PC/LPC ratio is also affected by nutrition habits. In the present study, the PL and the corresponding acyl chain compositions of human body fluids (SF and serum of RA patients as well as serum from healthy volunteers) are compared with those of two other mammalian species (horses and dogs suffering from degenerative joint diseases as well as healthy controls) by high-resolution 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and matrix-assisted laser desorption and ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). The most important result of this study is that the PL compositions of SF and serum of horse and dog are comparable with those of human body fluids. Compared with humans, however, the horse body fluid contains less PCs with highly unsaturated arachidonoyl residues, while that of dogs possesses the highest content of arachidonoyl-containing PC. These species-related differences stem primarily from different nutrition habits (meat vs. plants).