Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae osteomyelitis in pigs demonstrated by fluorescent in situ hybridization.

Necrotizing osteomyelitis and fibrinopurulent arthritis with isolation of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotype 2 is reported in two pigs from a herd with lameness and mild coughing problems among 8 to 12-week-old pigs. Application of fluorescent in situ hybridization targeting 16S ribosomal RNA of A. pleuropneumoniae in formalin-fixed tissue was performed to verify the association of A. pleuropneumoniae with the bone and joint lesions. By in situ hybridization A. pleuropneumoniae was demonstrated as multiple microcolonies or single cells dispersed in focal fibrinonecrotizing pleuropneumonia, in joints with arthritis, and in bone necroses including lysis of growth plate and suppurative inflammation in the adjacent trabecular metaphysis, thus demonstrating that well-known infections manifest new, unusual lesions.     

Neither hippurate-negative Brachyspira pilosicoli nor Brachyspira pilosicoli type strain caused diarrhoea in early-weaned pigs by experimental infection

A hippurate-negative biovariant of Brachyspira pilosicoli (B. pilosicolihipp-) is occasionally isolated in diarrhoeic pigs in Finland, often concomitantly with hippurate-positive B. pilosicoli or Lawsonia intracellularis. We studied pathogenicity of B. pilosicolihipp- with special attention paid to avoiding co-infection with other enteric pathogens. Pigs were weaned and moved to barrier facilities at the age of 11 days. At 46 days, 8 pigs were inoculated with B. pilosicolihipp- strain Br1622, 8 pigs were inoculated with B. pilosicoli type strain P43/6/78 and 7 pigs were sham-inoculated. No signs of spirochaetal diarrhoea were detected; only one pig, inoculated with P43/6/78, had soft faeces from day 9 to 10 post inoculation. The pigs were necropsied between days 7 and 23 after inoculation. Live pigs were culture-negative for Brachyspira spp., but B. pilosicolihipp- was reisolated from necropsy samples of two pigs. The lesions on large colons were minor and did not significantly differ between the three trial groups. In silver-stained sections, invasive spirochaetes were detected in colonic mucosae of several pigs in all groups. Fluorescent in situ hybridisation for genus Brachyspira, B. pilosicoli and strain Br1622 was negative. However, in situ detection for members of the genus Leptospira was positive for spirochaete-like bacteria in the colonic epithelium of several pigs in both infected groups as well as in the control group. L. intracellularis, Salmonella spp., Yersinia spp. and intestinal parasites were not detected. The failure of B. pilosicoli strains to cause diarrhoea is discussed with respect to infectivity of the challenge strains, absence of certain intestinal pathogens and feed and management factors.     

The microbiota of pigs influenced by diet texture and severity of Lawsonia intracellularis infection

Pigs with and without naturally occurring Lawsonia intracellularis infection were fed diets with different texture. In a previous study from 79 pig herds using a similar feeding on pelleted or non-pelleted form showed that the non-pelleted diet was associated with a reduced prevalence of L. intracellularis. In this study a mechanistic approach was taken for explaining and testing this observation by studying the microbiota and the occurrence of L. intracellularis in the distal ileum of 54 pigs by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis, Real-Time PCR and in situ hybridization. The texture of the diet influenced the microbiota, and from a quantitative discriminative analysis of the terminal restriction fragments (T-RFs) of ileum samples it was deduced that Clostridium spp. and Lactobacillus spp. were associated with the non-pelleted diet and Streptococcus spp. with the pelleted diet. In experimentally infected pigs it was verified that 89bp and 90bp sized T-RFs (HhaI) from ileum represented L. intracellularis. The non-pelleted diet seemed to reduce the relative amount of L. intracellularis in the total microbiota of the ileum, but the number of pigs detected positive with L. intracellularis by Real-Time PCR was not influenced. The five pigs with highest L. intracellularis content showed T-RFs that were not present in profiles from less or non-infected pigs, which may indicate that some bacterial species were associated with L. intracellularis infection.     

Production of soy protein concentrates using a combination of electroacidification and ultrafiltration

Soy protein concentrates produced by combining electroacidification and dead-end ultrafiltration with a membrane of 100 kDa (pH 7 and 6) were compared with concentrates produced by ultrafiltration (pH 9) and a traditional acid precipitation procedure at pH 4.5. Mineral removal during ultrafiltration (mainly potassium, phosphorus, and calcium) was enhanced for the pH 6 electroacidified extract, compared to the extract at pH 9. This yielded a concentrate with improved solubility characteristics. The solubility for the concentrate prepared at pH 6 was enhanced by as high as 45% when compared to the concentrate at pH 9. The concentrate produced according to the traditional acid precipitation process showed mineral contents and solubility profile similar to those of the pH 6 concentrate, but required twice as much water during the process. The effect of electroacidification treatments on ultrafiltration permeate flux was quantified through the measurement of the different hydraulic resistances. Cake resistance was the main resistance to the permeate flux, and it was minimum at pH 9, maximum at pH 7, and intermediate at pH 6.     

Net sulfur mineralization potential in Swedish arable soils in relation to long-term treatment history and soil properties

The long-term treatment effect (since 1957–1966) of farmyard manure (FYM) application compared with crop residue incorporation was investigated in five soils (sandy loam to silty clay) with regards to the net sulfur (S) mineralization potential. An open incubation technique was used to determine accumulated net S mineralization (S_AccMin) and a number of soil physical and chemical properties were determined. Treatments and soil differences in S_AccMin, as well as correlations with soil variables, were tested with single and multivariate analyses. Long-term FYM application resulted in a significantly (p = 0.012) higher net S mineralization potential, although total amounts of C, N, and S were not significantly (p < 0.05) increased. The accumulated S mineralization differed significantly (p < 0.05) between soils within this treatment. The measured soil variables were not significantly correlated to S_AccMin. Conclusively, different treatment histories influenced the quality (e.g., chemical composition) and cycling rate of the organic S pool, rather than its size.     

Specific sequence amplification of bovine virus diarrhea virus (BVDV) and hog cholera virus and sequencing of BVDV nucleic acid.

The pestiviruses are small enveloped RNA viruses and are causative agents of economically important animal diseases in cattle, swine, sheep and goats worldwide. We used the polymerase chain reaction to amplify one common fragment of several different strains of both hog cholera virus and bovine virus diarrhea virus (BVDV). The fragment is located at the 5'-end of the genome immediately upstream of the open reading frame. This is a highly conserved region among the different published pestivirus sequences. An internal restriction digest of the amplified fragment with XhoI and PstI was performed in order to confirm specificity of the amplified fragment. The fragment was sequenced for a number of different BVDV strains, and the sequences obtained were compared to those published and used to deduce genetic relationships between strains. Apart from this common fragment we have amplified several other fragments of the Danish BVDV strain Ug59 and obtained specific amplification fragments of the expected size.     

Ionic strength and pH-induced changes in the immunoreactivity of purified soybean glycinin and its relation to protein molecular structure

This study examined the immunogenic response of glycinin under varying conditions of pH and ionic strength using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to investigate the conformational changes induced as a result of these conditions, and the correlation with the changes observed in glycinin immunoreactivity were determined. A highly purified glycinin obtained by isoelectric precipitation followed by native preparative continuous flow electrophoresis was used for these studies. Purity was confirmed by two-dimensional-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and mass spectroscopy. DSC and FTIR results suggest that glycinin immunoreactivity is affected by changes in the tertiary and secondary packing of the protein, when flexibility, stability, and accessibility of certain substructures are modified. Aggregation and/or increased compactness of glycinin subcomponents could have potentially prevented epitopes from reacting with the IgG antibodies.     

Quantification of chemical sulphur species in bulk soil and organic sulphur fractions by S K‐edge XANES spectroscopy

A new data treatment method for fitting spectra obtained by sulphur (S) K‐edge X‐ray absorption near‐edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy was used to quantify the chemical S speciation at three experimental sites with arable soils receiving the same long‐term field treatments. Two treatments, crop residue (CR) incorporation and farmyard manure (FYM) application, with equal applications of mineral nutrients were included in the study. In the new data treatment method, internally calibrated spectra of dilute solutions (30 mm ) of model compounds were used to fit the sample spectra. This greatly enhanced the reliability of quantitative determination of contributing S species in soil samples and soil extracts. The results indicated that long‐term FYM application shifted S species composition from highly oxidized towards intermediate oxidization in two of the soils, but in the third soil the opposite trend was observed. Sulphur XANES spectroscopy of acetylacetone extracts of physically protected and unprotected organic S in two of the soils revealed that physical protection was not related to S speciation; however, intermediate forms of oxidized S species appeared to accumulate in the residual S pool (not extractable by acetylacetone).     

Characterization of a gluten reference material: Wheat-contaminated oats

Oat could be a good addition to the Gluten Free diet, but the purity of the oat supply is under scrutiny. As celiac disease becomes more prevalent, better detection tools for gluten in oats are necessary. We aimed to produce reference materials (RMs) of Canada Western Red Spring wheat (CWRS)-contaminated oat flour. Pure, uncontaminated oats flour (cultivars Navan and Gehl) was supplied by Cream Hill Estates. CWRS samples were provided by the Canadian Grain Commission from the 2009 Harvest Sample program. RMs containing 0, 20 and 100 ppm CWRS gluten-contaminated oats were created using a V-shell blender and tested by sandwich-type ELISA for gluten. Marked variations in ELISA results for the RMs were found among different test kits due to differences in capture antibodies and kit construction. The Veratox test was accurate at the 0, 20 and 100 ppm levels but detected only 30% (Veratox) and 50% (Veratox R5) of gluten at the 1000 ppm level; the Ridascreen test was accurate at all levels; the Biokits test detected roughly 10% of the gluten dosage; the Gluten-Check test detected some 30% of the gluten dosage. The RMs created could serve as standards for gluten detection in oat containing foods.     

地黄根圈土壤拮抗放线菌筛选、鉴定及发酵条件优化

为研究中药地黄根圈土壤拮抗性放线菌在植物病害生物防治中的应用潜力,用常规方法从地黄根圈土壤中分离获得42株放线菌。采用琼脂块法进行初筛,用纸片扩散法和生长速率法对抑菌效果最好的菌株DHR11进行抑菌活性复筛,通过形态、培养特征及16S rDNA序列分析研究其分类地位,并采用正交设计对从6种培养基中筛选的最佳培养基进行优化。结果表明:4株放线菌对供试植物病原真菌有较好的拮抗作用,其中菌株DHR11对苹果炭疽病菌Colletotrichum gloeospori-oides的抑菌活性最高,抑菌圈直径达30mm,抑菌率达52.5%;菌株DHR11发酵9天时抑菌活性最高;最优培养基组成为:蔗糖15 g、可溶性淀粉25 g、大豆粉10 g、酵母膏7.5 g、K2HPO40.5 g、自来水1000 mL;最佳发酵条件为:培养基初始pH7.5,接种量15%(v/v),摇床转数220 r/min,装瓶量80mL/250 mL,28℃发酵9天。根据形态、培养特征及16S rDNA序列分析,初步鉴定DHR11为加利利链霉菌Streptomyces galilaeus。