Effect of mate selection on fuzzy selective mating criteria in closed dairy multiple ovulation and embryo transfer nucleus programs

In order to control rates of response and inbreeding, mate selection using fuzzy selective mating criteria (FMC) was investigated in adult multiple ovulation and embryo transfer nucleus schemes for dairy cattle. Stochastic simulation was used to model the closed nucleus scheme. This mate selection was examined in four alternative mating and male selection schemes: (i) a hierarchical scheme; (ii) a hierarchical sibship scheme (two males per sibship); (iii) a factorial scheme (two sires per dam); and (iv) a factorial sibship scheme (two males per sibship and two sires per dam). Genetic response and inbreeding rate tended to be reduced by increasing the trade-off parameter of FMC between the expected breeding value and inbreeding of progeny. Inbreeding rates in all schemes were reduced by reducing the variance of family size through selection and the average coancestry of mating pairs through mate allocation.     

Intrapancreatic accessory spleen mimicking pancreatic insulinoma with intrapancreatic metastasis in a cat

An 11-year-old neutered male Domestic Shorthair cat presented with a 3-month history of hypoglycemia, two episodes of seizure, and intermittent tick-like signs. Serum biochemistry revealed severe hypoglycemia associated with high insulin concentrations. Dynamic abdominal computed tomography (CT) indicated two pancreatic masses, which were enhanced most during the late arterial phase but had different degrees and variations of attenuation. Partial pancreatectomy was performed. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry confirmed that one mass was an insulinoma and the other was an ectopic splenic tissue, consistent with the differences in imaging findings. When an intrapancreatic lesion with hyper-attenuation on dynamic abdominal CT is detected, not only insulinoma or metastasis of malignancies but also intrapancreatic accessory spleen (IPAS) should be considered as differential diagnoses.     

Occurrence of chrysanthemum virescence caused by “<Emphasis Type="Italic">Candidatus</Emphasis> Phytoplasma aurantifolia” in Okinawa

In 1999, a disease of chrysanthemum [Dendranthema grandiflorum (Ramat.) Kitamura], characterized by virescence of flowers, occurred in Okinawa Prefecture. The causal agent was identified as “Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia” based on 16S rDNA sequencing. The nucleotide sequence data reported are available in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases under accession number AB247462.     

Effects of oral orbifloxacin on fecal coliforms in healthy cats: a pilot study

The study objective was to determine the effect of oral orbifloxacin (ORB) onantimicrobial susceptibility and composition of fecal coliforms in cats. Nine cats wererandomized to two groups administered a daily oral dose of 2.5 and 5.0 mg ORB/kg for 7days and a control group (three cats per group). Coliforms were isolated from stoolsamples and were tested for susceptibilities to ORB and 5 other drugs. ORB concentrationin feces was measured using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The coliformswere undetectable after 2 days of ORB administration, and their number increased in mostcats after termination of the administration. Furthermore, only isolates ofEscherichia coli were detected in all cats before administration, andthose of Citrobacter freundii were detected after termination of theadministration. E. coli isolates exhibited high ORB susceptibility[Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), ≤0.125 µg/ml]or relatively low susceptibility (MIC, 1−2 µg/ml) with asingle gyrA mutation. C. freundii isolates largelyexhibited intermediate ORB susceptibility (MIC, 4µg/ml), in addition to resistance to ampicillin andcefazolin, and harbored qnrB, but not a gyrA mutation.HPLC revealed that the peaks of mean concentration were 61.3 and 141.0µg/g in groups receiving 2.5 and 5.0 mg/kg, respectively. Our findingssuggest that oral ORB may alter the total counts and composition of fecal coliform, but isunlikely to yield highly fluoroquinolone-resistant mutants of E. coli andC. freundii in cats, possibly because of the high drug concentration infeces.     

Thermal stability of carp G-actin monitored by loss of polymerization activity using an extrinsic fluorescent probe

ABSTRACT:   The thermal stability of carp G-actin was investigated by monitoring loss of actin polymerization ability. To determine the amount of native actin remaining after heat treatment, actin was labeled with a fluorescence reagent, N-(1-pyrene)iodoacetamide. The loss of polymerization ability of carp actin during heat treatment, at between 45 and 55°C, occurred faster than that of chicken actin. The inactivation rate was influenced by concentrations of ATP and Ca²⁺ in solution. With the increase of Ca²⁺ concentration, the inactivation of carp actin was markedly suppressed. Furthermore, the activation energy of the inactivation of carp actin obtained from an Arrhenius plot was similar to that of chicken actin. These results indicated that the thermal instability of carp G-actin was due to the low affinites of ATP and Ca²⁺ for carp actin described in a previous report.     

Factors Affecting Small-Scale Farmers’ Land Allocation and Tree Density Decisions in an <Emphasis Type="Italic">Acacia decurrens</Emphasis>-Based <Emphasis Type="Italic">taungya</Emphasis> System in Fagita Lekoma District,North-Western Ethiopia

The development of woodlots as an additional source of livelihood and as a land management option for small-scale farmers is a challenging issue in the cereal-based subsistence farming systems of north-western Ethiopia. There is a need to understand why and which factors determine the decisions of small-scale farmers to grow short-rotation woodlots on their land. Data used in this study were collected from a survey of 200 randomly selected households in the region. A Tobit regression model was used to determine predictor variables for farmers’ decisions to allocate land to planting Acacia decurrens (J.C. Wendl.) Willd. and at what density trees are planted on the respective plots. The most important motivations for planting A. decurrens were income, soil fertility management, and soil and water conservation. Having a male head of household, long distance to markets and plots being on marginal land, among other factors, increased the allocation of land to A. decurrens woodlots. Having a male head of household, access to credit and plots being on marginal land, among other factors, increased tree planting density. Age had a negative effect on both allocation of land to woodlots and tree density, whereas farm size had an inverted U-shaped relationship with both decisions. These results suggest that wider expansion of A. decurrens-based plantation systems could be achieved through improving extension, credit access and road infrastructure to connect small-scale farmers to markets and finance.     

Structure of xylan from culms of bamboo grass (Sasa senanensis Rehd.)

Xylan prepared from culms of kumaizasa (Sasa senanensis Rehd.), a representative species of bamboo grass, was hydrolyzed with-xylanase ofStreptomyces olivaceoviridis E-86. Four arabinoxylo-oligosaccharides and two glucuronoxylo-oligosaccharides were isolated from the enzymatic hydrolysate of the xylan by chromatography on a charcoal column, a Dowex 1-x8 column, a Toyo-pearl HW-40S column, and a LiChrospher 100 NH₂ column and on preparative paper chromatography. The results of the structural analyses of the saccharides showed that the isolated oligosaccharides had the structures of 3²--l-arabinofuranosyl-xylobiose, 3²--l-arabinofuranosyl-xylotriose, 3²--[-d-xylopyranosyl-(1 2)-l-arabinofuranosyl]-xylobiose, 3³--[-d-xylopyranosyl-(1 2)-l-arabinofuranosyl]-xylotriose, 2³--4-O-methyl-d-glucuronosyl-xylotriose, and 2³--d-glucuronosyl-xylotriose. From the structural analysis of the oligosaccharides derived from the xylan, kumaizasa xylan was concluded to be a kind of arabinoglucuronoxylan having not only stubs of singlel-arabinose and singled-glucuronic acid but also stubs of disaccharide units such as-d-xylopyranosyl-(1 2)-l-arabinofuranose.     

Strength properties of laminated veneer lumber in compression perpendicular to its grain

Tests of compression perpendicular to the grain were carried out on laminated veneer lumber (LVL) and timber. The species tested were sugi, radiata pine, karamatsu, akamatsu, and dahurian larch; two sets of sugi specimens were tested, with the sugi LVL products being manufactured in different plants. The strength properties of the materials for different loading directions were compared for LVL and timber. At 5% compressive strain in the same materials, the average stress in the tangential direction of timber was larger than that in the radial direction for all species except for radiata pine, and the average stress in the edge-wise direction of LVL was larger than that in the flat-wise direction for all species except for radiata pine. When the stress at 5% strain was compared in the same direction, the average stress of LVL in the edge-wise direction was larger than that in timber in the tangential direction for all species, but there were no great differences between the average stress of LVL in the fl at-wise direction and that of timber in the radial direction for all species except for radiation pine. There was a close relationship between density and stress at 5% strain in LVL, especially in the edge-wise direction. For all results, radiata pine did not follow the trend of the other species; The large annual ring width of radiata pine was considered to have affected the results.