Influence of environment on adrenal cortical response to ACTH stimulation in clinically normal dogs.

Effect of testing environment on adrenal cortical responses to an injection of ACTH in clinically normal dogs was examined in three locations, presumably of increasing order of stress elicitation: in a home; veterinary hospital (VH), 4 hours in a cage; and VH, overnight in a cage. Basal cortisol (hydrocortisone) values for plasma were significantly lower (P less than 0.001) for the home group (1.8 microgram/dl) when compared with values for the VH, 4-hour cage (3.8 microgram/dl) or the VH, overnight cage (3.9 microgram/dl) groups. However, significant differences (P greater than 0.05) were not observed 2 hours after ACTH admininstration for the home group (13.7 microgram/dl); VH, 4-hour cage group (14.8 microgram/dl); or VH, overnight cage group (16.0 microgram/dl). Responses of individual dogs were consistent (P less than 0.005). The testing environment did not markedly affect results of adrenal cortical function tests for dogs when ACTH stimulation was utilized. The response of dogs to ACTH, as monitored by immunologic assay techniques (competitive protein-binding assay or radioimmunoassay), was consistent and was useful as a diagnostic aid for adrenal malfunction.     

正交试验法优化普抗合剂制备工艺

以干浸膏得率和黄芩苷提取率为考核指标,采用正交试验法对普抗合剂水提取醇沉淀制备工艺进行考察.普抗合剂最佳制备工艺方案为加水量10倍,提取2次,每次1 h,55%的乙醇沉淀杂质 .该工艺科学合理,适合于大规模工业生产.     

Determination of Feeder Cell‐Based Cellular Niches Supporting the Colonization and Maintenance of Spermatogonial Stem Cells from Prepubertal Domestic Cat Testes

Recently, isolation and in vitro culture of putative spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) in the domestic cat have been conducted. However, the cellular niche conditions that facilitate the establishment and long‐term maintenance of feline SSCs (FSSCs) have not been described. Therefore, we investigated the type of feeder cells used to stimulate colony formation and growth of FSSCs among the various factors in the FSSC niche. Spermatogonial stem cells isolated from feline testes were cultured on mitotically inactivated testicular stromal cells (TSCs) derived from cats, dogs and mice, and mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). The formation and growth of colonies derived from SSCs cultured on each type of feeder cell were identified at passage 0, and the morphology, alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity and expression of SSC‐specific genes in surviving colonies were investigated at passage 4. Among these diverse feeder cells, TSCs from cat showed the greatest colony formation, growth and maintenance of FSSCs, and SSC colonies cultured by passage 4 showed a typical dome‐shaped morphology, AP activity and expression of SSC‐specific genes (NANOG, OCT4, SOX2 and CD9). Accordingly, these results demonstrate that feline TSCs could be used as feeder cells to support the establishment and maintenance of SSCs from domestic cats.     

Seroprevalence of Hepatitis E Virus in Domestic Pigs and Wild Boars in Switzerland

Hepatitis E is considered an emerging human viral disease in industrialized countries. Studies from Switzerland report a human seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) of 2.6–21%, a range lower than in adjacent European countries. The aim of this study was to determine whether HEV seroprevalence in domestic pigs and wild boars is also lower in Switzerland and whether it is increasing and thus indicating that this zoonotic viral infection is emerging. Serum samples collected from 2,001 pigs in 2006 and 2011 and from 303 wild boars from 2008 to 2012 were analysed by ELISA for the presence of HEV‐specific antibodies. Overall HEV seroprevalence was 58.1% in domestic pigs and 12.5% in wild boars. Prevalence in domestic pigs was significantly higher in 2006 than in 2011. In conclusion, HEV seroprevalence in domestic pigs and wild boars in Switzerland is comparable with the seroprevalence in other countries and not increasing. Therefore, prevalence of HEV in humans must be related to other factors than prevalence in pigs or wild boars.     

Development of vaccination strategies for the management of rabies in African wild dogs

The standard objective of a vaccination strategy is to reduce the reproductive ratio, R₀, defined as the number of secondary host infections arising directly from introduction of a single infected individual into an otherwise fully susceptible population, to below 1. This ensures that only very small outbreaks are likely to arise. However, this objective usually requires a high level of vaccination coverage that is often expensive and logistically difficult to achieve. For the purposes of conserving rare species that are threatened by outbreaks of infectious disease, population persistence may be assured by a vaccination strategy designed to suppress only the largest outbreaks of disease that reduce the population to below a minimum viable population size. Such strategies targeting only a viable minimal ‘core’ of the population are likely to be logistically less demanding. Here we explore how these core vaccination strategies might be designed for African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus), an endangered canid species whose remaining populations are threatened by rabies outbreaks. We develop and analyse a population viability model with an explicit epidemiological model embedded within it. The model predicts that core vaccination campaigns, using vaccines that provide two years of immunity, and targets 30-40% of individuals within a population every 1-2 years would be successful in ensuring persistence of small populations, and required coverage levels can be even lower in larger populations. This strategy appears robust to synchronized introduction of rabies into packs, possible Allee effects, and the use of vaccines providing only one year of immunity.     

A class of potent antimalarials and their specific accumulation in infected erythrocytes

During asexual development within erythrocytes, malaria parasites synthesize considerable amounts of membrane. This activity provides an attractive target for chemotherapy because it is absent from mature erythrocytes. We found that compounds that inhibit phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis de novo from choline were potent antimalarial drugs. The lead compound, G25, potently inhibited in vitro growth of the human malaria parasites Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax and was 1000-fold less toxic to mammalian cell lines. A radioactive derivative specifically accumulated in infected erythrocytes to levels several hundredfold higher than in the surrounding medium, and very low dose G25 therapy completely cured monkeys infected with P. falciparum and P. cynomolgi.     

The dispersal of Culicoides brevitarsis in eastern New South Wales and associations with the occurrences of arbovirus infections in cattle

Distributions of the vector Culicoides brevitarsis Kieffer (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) (determined from light trap data) and 2 arboviruses (determined from seroconversions in sentinel cattle) were studied in eastern New South Wales in 1993–94. C brevitarsis was recorded progressively from endemic areas on the north coast, to Nowra on the south coast, and westward to Scone, in the Hunter Valley. C brevitarsis also survived through winter at Paterson, in the Hunter Valley. Its apparently focal reappearance in this marginal area had no obvious effect on the broad pattern of its progression or the dispersal of Akabane and bluetongue viruses. These viruses were first recorded from foci near Coffs Harbour, on the mid-north coast. Their first occurrences at different locations were associated with those of C brevitarsis, but not with each other. The viruses were found only within the recorded limits of the vector's distribution. Delays between the initial occurrence of C brevitarsis and first evidence of virus transmissions at locations ranged from 2 to 7 months. The delays decreased away from the points of focus and were negatively associated with the time of initial occurrence of the vector. Seroconversions to the viruses were related to the presence of C brevitarsis. However, the densities of C brevitarsis had no apparent effect on the initial numbers of cattle seroconverting to either virus. The results support the conclusion that the progressions of C brevitarsis and Akabane and bluetongue viruses were the result of gradual movements by the vector.     

Unconditional quantum teleportation

Quantum teleportation of optical coherent states was demonstrated experimentally using squeezed-state entanglement. The quantum nature of the achieved teleportation was verified by the experimentally determined fidelity Fexp = 0.58 +/- 0.02, which describes the match between input and output states. A fidelity greater than 0.5 is not possible for coherent states without the use of entanglement. This is the first realization of unconditional quantum teleportation where every state entering the device is actually teleported.     

Role of Fatty Acids in Energy Provision During Oocyte Maturation and Early Embryo Development

While much is known about the metabolism of exogenous nutrients such as glucose, lactate, pyruvate, amino acids by oocytes and pre-implantation mammalian embryos, the role of endogenous stores, particularly lipid, has been largely overlooked. The presence of lipid within oocytes and early embryos has been long known, and comparisons between species indicate that the amounts and types of lipid present vary considerably. Large amounts of intracellular lipid can compromise the success of cryopreservation and the removal of such lipid has been the subject of considerable effort. In this review, we present evidence that strongly suggests a metabolic role for lipid, specifically with regard to energy provision, in the late-stage oocyte and the pre-implantation embryo. We focus initially on oxygen consumption as a global indicator of metabolic activity, before reviewing different approaches that either have been designed to investigate directly, or have revealed indirectly the role of endogenous lipid in energy generation. These fall under five headings: (i) fatty acid oxidation; (ii) inhibition of triglyceride oxidation; (iii) culture in the absence of exogenous substrates; (iv) cytoplasmic organization; and (v) delipidation. On the basis of the data derived from these studies, we conclude that there is strong evidence for the utilization of endogenous lipid as an energy substrate by oocytes and early embryos.