Serological evidence of USUTU virus occurrence in north-eastern Italy

In the recent years, USUTU virus (USUV), a flavivirus of the Japanese encephalitis virus complex, has been reported in Central Europe. As part of a systematic surveillance programme to monitor possible entrance and/or circulation of vector-borne viruses, since 2001, sentinel-chicken flocks were placed throughout the Italian territory nearby areas considered at risk of virus introduction. They have been periodically checked for the presence of antibodies against flaviviruses by indirect ELISA, plaque reduction neutralization test for USUTU, West Nile and tick-borne encephalitis viruses. In July 2007, a sentinel chicken in a flock of 20 animals located within the Ravenna province seroconverted to USUV reaching neutralizing titres up to 1:5120. A second chicken seroconverted to the same virus 2 months later. Although no virus was rescued from these animals and from wild or farm birds sampled in the area, these results still provided evidence of the circulation of USUV in north-eastern Italy.     

水合氧化铁提前施用对持续淹水条件下水稻甲烷的减排效应

水合氧化铁是一种弱晶质三价铁氧化物,可用来减少稻田甲烷（CH4）的排放。采用水稻盆栽试验,研究水合氧化铁的提前施用对持续淹水条件下水稻CH4排放的影响。结果表明:水合氧化铁在水稻移栽前47 d施用,加Fe处理的全生育期CH4总排放通量比对照减少17.52%,其CH4减排效应仅出现于水稻生长后期。在移栽后第70天,加Fe处理的根孔隙度、根表铁膜含量和单株根表铁膜数量均显著高于对照,而稻根产CH4速率则显著低于对照。因此,提前施用水合氧化铁能够通过促进植株介导的根表铁膜的形成抑制稻根的产CH4潜力,进而实现持续淹水条件下水稻CH4的减排。     

Keratometry in normal cats: a cross-sectional study in Japan using an automated handheld keratometer

Keratometry was performed in 73 domestic cats of varied signalment in Japan using an automated handheld keratometer. The mean corneal curvature radius was significantly lower for cats younger than 1 year than for those older than 2 years (8.04 mm vs. 8.80−8.99 mm, P<0.01). The radius was significantly greater in males than in females among the cats older than 11 years (9.22 mm vs. 8.84 mm, P=0.01), while the age distributions of the males and females were similar. Corneal astigmatism did not significantly differ across the gender and age groups. The predictability of the corneal curvature and astigmatism was approximately 41−43% and less than 3%, respectively, as a function of age and bodyweight. The results highlighted some age- and sex-related keratometric variations in domestic cats in Japan.     

沙棘叶提取物抗登革病毒的实验研究

登革病毒依抗原性不同,可分为1、2、3、4四个血清型。它除了能导致一定范围内发热的典型登革热外,还能引致更严重的登革出血热和登革休克综合症。由于没有具体有效的治疗药物,目前尚无好的治疗登革热的方法,治疗方案多是支持性的。本实验评估了在2型登革病毒感染的人血源性巨噬细胞中沙棘叶提取物的抗登革病毒活性,选择巨噬细胞的原因是因为巨噬细胞是登革病毒感染的首要目标。受感染的细胞用沙棘叶提取物治疗并与市售的抗病毒药物利巴韦林作比较,研究发现沙棘叶提取物维持登革病毒感染细胞活力的能力几乎等同于利巴韦林。传统的空斑试验进一步确定了沙棘叶提取物的抗登革病毒活性。这些试验结果表明,沙棘叶提取物具有显著的抗登革病毒活性及治疗登革热的潜力。     

Primary bilateral corneal nerve sheath neoplasm in a dog

A 15‐year‐old, neutered male, Shih Tzu cross developed progressive corneal stromal thickening and vascularization of the right eye, and 5 months later, of the left eye. Both eyes became blind due to extensive corneal opacification and were enucleated. Light microscopic examination revealed a diffuse corneal infiltrate of neoplastic mesenchymal cells, and immunohistochemistry revealed diffuse cytoplasmic vimentin immunoreactivity and variable cytoplasmic and nuclear immunoreactivity for S100 in the neoplastic cells. Transmission electron microscopy revealed desmosomes between contiguous cells, thread‐like cytoplasmic processes coated with basement membrane, extracellular bundles of collagen, and axonal degeneration consistent with features of a nerve sheath neoplasm. This is the first report of primary, bilateral corneal nerve sheath sarcoma in a canine.