Assessment of the effects of age and joint disease on hydroxyproline and glycosaminoglycan concentrations in synovial fluid from the metacarpophalangeal joint of horses

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of age and joint disease on hydroxyproline and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) concentrations in synovial fluid from the metacarpophalangeal joint of horses and evaluate the association of those concentrations with severity of osteoarthritis and general matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity. SAMPLE POPULATION: Synovial fluid was collected from the metacarpophalangeal joints of foals at birth (n = 10), 5-month-old foals (10), 11-month-old foals (5), and adult horses (73). PROCEDURE: Hydroxyproline and GAG concentrations were determined in synovial fluid samples. The severity of osteoarthritis in adult joints was quantified by use of a cartilage degeneration index (CDI) and assessment of general MMP-activity via a fluorogenic assay. RESULTS: Hydroxyproline and GAG concentrations in synovial fluid were highest in neonates and decreased with age. Concentrations reached a plateau in adults by 4 years and remained constant in healthy joints. In synovial fluid from osteoarthritic joints, hydroxyproline and GAG concentrations were not increased, compared with unaffected joints, but hydroxyproline were significantly correlated with the CDI and general MMP activity. There was no significant correlation between GAG concentration and CDI value or MMP activity. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Changes in hydroxyproline concentration in synovial fluid appeared to indicate damage to collagen of the articular cartilage. In joints with osteoarthritis, the lack of high GAG concentration in synovial fluid and the absence of a significant correlation between GAG concentration and CDI values or MMP activity may severely limit the usefulness of this marker for monitoring equine joint disease.     

陆地棉胚珠及纤维发育过程中miRNA分离与鉴定

microRNA(miRNA)是生物中一类起负调控作用的非编码的小分子RNA,主要在转录后水平上调节生物体的生长与发育。直接克隆法是鉴定植物中miRNA最常用也是最有效的方法之一。利用直接克隆法分离了陆地棉开花后0~10 d(days post anthesis, DPA)胚珠中总RNA,从中筛选17~24 nt小分子RNA构建cDNA文库,对初筛得到的阳性克隆进行测序。通过与miRNA数据库比对,最终获得4个保守的miRNA。进一步对他们的转录表达进行分析,发现所有miRNA在棉花胚珠纤维不同发育时期均能表达。其中miR167a、miR172c和miR394b在棉花幼苗的根茎叶中有不同程度的表达。预测得到55个miRNA的靶基因,多数靶基因编码转录因子、代谢酶类以及发育相关蛋白,进一步证明miRNA参与调控棉花纤维的形态建成、发育等各项生理活动。     

Effects of a short period of drought on changes in tuber volume and specific leaf weight. II. Diurnal changes

Summary Single-stemmed potato plants, cv. Bintje, were grown on a nutrient solution under controlled conditions. They were exposed to a short drought stress, or remained untreated. Short-term changes in tuber volume and in specific leaf weight were measured non-destructively. Tubers from control plants increased rapidly in volume during the night and did not grow, or even shrivelled during the day. Tubers of stressed plants did not show a uniform response; some tubers markedly declined in volume during the day. The patterns of volume increase of stressed plants became erratic after the stress, mainly because some plants never fully recovered. Patterns of diurnal fluctuation in tuber volume were similar to diurnal changes in specific leaf weight; tubers within the same stressed plant sometimes reacted differently. In these cases the effects on the diurnal fluctuation partly reflected the long-term effects, reported in an earlier paper.     

Formation and stability of foam made with various potato protein preparations

In the present study, foam-forming and -stabilizing properties of potato proteins were studied using whipping and sparging tests. The soluble potato proteins are mainly composed of patatin and protease inhibitors. The whipping tests showed that less foam was formed from untreated patatin than from the protease inhibitors, but patatin foam was much more stable. The foam-forming properties of patatin could be strongly improved by partial unfolding of the protein. Whipping tests, at both low (0.5 mg/mL) and high (10 mg/mL) protein concentration, also indicated that foams made with an ethanol-precipitated protein isolate were more stable than those made with beta-casein and beta-lactoglobulin. More generally, it can be concluded that when proteins are used as a foaming agent, a high concentration is required, because the protein available is inefficiently used. Also, there are several variables that may all, in different ways, affect both foam formation (amount of foam, bubbles size distribution) and foam stability. These variables include the type and concentration of protein, solvent conditions (pH, I), and the method used to make the foam.     

Risk factors and clinical presentation of cats with feline idiopathic cystitis

Feline idiopathic cystitis (FIC) is the most common cause of feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD). This retrospective, case-controlled study evaluated possible risk factors associated with FIC and compared different clinical presentations in 64 cats with FIC. Several risk factors known to be involved in FLUTD were identified as playing a role in FIC. Of the stressful situations considered, most did not occur with increased frequency in cats with FIC compared to controls, except for a house move. The presence of pyuria, haematuria and an increased urine protein:creatinine ratio were significantly higher in obstructed males compared with non-obstructed males. An obstruction was significantly more likely in cats with struvite crystalluria compared with cats without struvite crystalluria. These findings suggest that urethral plugs might be an important cause or contributing factor of obstruction in FIC. Episodes of FIC seem to occur mainly in susceptible cats in combination with a deficient environment.     

Genotype by environment effects and selection for drought tolerance in tropical maize. II. Three-mode pattern analysis

A selection program in three tropical maize populations aimed to improve tolerance of mid-season to late season drought environments while maintaining grain yield (GY) potential. The selection process employed other attributes that included maintaining a constant anthesis date (AD) and, under drought, shortening the anthesis-silking interval (ASI) and increasing ear number per plant (EPP). Three-mode (genotypes × environments × attributes) pattern analysis, which consists of clustering and ordination, should be able to collectively interpret these changes from ten evaluation trials. Mixture maximum likelihood clustering identified four groups that indicated the populations' performance had changed with selection. Groups containing the advanced cycles of selection were higher yielding in most environments and had lower ASI and higher EPP, particularly in drought environments. Check entries with no selection for drought tolerance remained grouped with the initial cycles of selection. A 3 × 2 × 3 (genotypes by environments by attributes) principal component model explained 70% of the variation. For the first environmental component, ASI was shown to be highly negatively correlated with both GY and EPP while anthesis date (AD) was virtually uncorrelated with other traits. The second environmental component (explaining 10% of the variation) contrasted droughted and well-watered environments and showed that EPP and GY were better indicators of this contrast (in terms of changes in population performance) than were AD or ASI. Three-mode analysis demonstrated that improvements with selection occurred in both droughted and well-watered environments and clearly summarised the overall success of the breeding program. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Changes in mineral nitrogen, phosphorus availability and salt-extractable aluminium following the application of green manure residues in two weathered soils of South Vietnam

Phosphorus deficiency and aluminium toxicity in weathered soils can be amended by applying organic residues. Nitrogen mineralization, changes in P-availability and changes in salt-extractable Al following the incorporation of residues of various green manures (Flemingia congesta, Mucuna pruriens, Pueraria phaseoloides, Tithonia diversifolia) were quantified in a field core incubation experiment. Dried residues were added at an application rate of 45 kg P ha⁻¹ to two soils representative for the main soil groups of the South Vietnamese uplands, set up in incubation cores in an experimental field near Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.Decomposition of the residues proceeded at high rates. Mineralized nitrogen from the residues was recovered mainly as ammonium during the first 2 weeks of incubation. Nitrogen release from Tithonia residues with the highest lignin content and lignin:N ratio occurred more gradually compared to the three legumes. Resin-extractable P was significantly increased by residue treatments. Largest and sustained increases in resin-extractable P (0.67 and 2.06 mg P kg⁻¹ in the two soils) were observed in samples amended with Tithonia, which was related to the large P-content (0.37%) and small C:P ratio (110) of the residues. The P-concentration in the residues, rather than the total amount of P applied through the residues, affected the increase in P-availability. The increase in resin-extractable P was correlated to the P-content (R=0.64) and C:P ratio (R=−0.65) of the residues. Salt-extractable Al-concentrations were considerably reduced by the organic amendments, up to 70 and 50% in the two soils. At the rate of 45 kg P ha⁻¹, no significant differences between the residue treatments to reduce soil acidity were observed.As such, the application of high quality residues that are rich in P, in particular T. diversifolia, may enhance crop production by creating favourable soil conditions during the initial stages of plant development of the main crop.     

Contaminant and formulation analysis of MSMA using high-pressure liquid chromatography — graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry

High-pressure liquid chromatography with an ion-exchange column combined with graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry was used to analyse commercial formulations of sodium hydrogen methylarsonate (MSMA). No arsenite or arsenate salts or dimethylarsinic acid were detected as contaminants in the formulations, and the MSMA concentrations were found to be in accordance with the concentrations given on the containers.