Adjuvant immunotherapy of feline fibrosarcoma with recombinant feline interferon-omega

BACKGROUND: Recombinant feline interferon-omega (rFeIFN-omega) was tested as a treatment option for cats with fibrosarcoma to assess safety and feasibility. HYPOTHESIS: Treatment with rFeIFN-omega in cats with fibrosarcoma is safe and feasible. ANIMALS: Twenty domestic cats. METHODS: In an open-labeled uncontrolled clinical trial 12 injections of 1 x 10(6) U/kg rFeIFN-omega were administered over a 5-week period: the 1st through 4th injections were given intratumorally, and the 5th through 12th injections were administered subcutaneously at the tumor excision site. Wide surgical excision of the tumors was carried out after the 4th injection and before the 5th injection of rFeIFN-omega. A Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) analysis was conducted. Flow cytometry of fibrosarcoma cells after incubation with rFeIFN-omega and recombinant feline interferon-gamma was performed to assess the biological effect of rFeIFN-omega. RESULTS: Changes in blood cell count, increases in serum aspartate-amino-transferase activity, serum bilirubin concentration, serum creatinine and serum electrolyte concentrations, weight loss, anorexia, increased body temperature, and reduced general condition were observed but were mostly minor (grade 1 and 2) and self limiting. Eosinophilia (P = .025), neutropenia (P = .021), and weight loss (P < .001) were statistically correlated with rFeIFN-omega-treatment (analysis of parameters before treatment and after 3 injections of rFeIFN-omega). Flow cytometry of 5 unrelated feline fibrosarcoma cell lines showed increased expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules (P = .026) in response to in vitro incubation with rFeIFN-omega, whereas expression of MHC class II molecules was not affected significantly. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: RFeIFN-omega for the treatment of feline fibrosarcoma is safe, well tolerated, and can be easily performed in practice. To assess the efficacy of the treatment, it should be tested in a placebo-controlled trial.     

Spatiotemporal Distribution of Two Euschistus spp. Stink Bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in Southeastern Farmscapes

Stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) are ubiquitous, cryptic, phytophagous pests that are found in many crops. In agroecosystems, individuals disperse from adjacent noncrop hosts and tend to aggregate or cluster within fields. In this study, we characterized the distribution of Euschistus servus (Say) and Euschistus tristigmus (Say) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) over 2 yr at three southeastern United States farmscapes. Stink bugs were captured in pheromone-baited traps, and Spatial Analysis by Distance Indices (SADIE) used to identify the location of significant aggregations by habitat type and season. Euschistus servus adults were more likely to be captured in pecan orchards, cotton, other crops, or unmanaged habitats than in woodland habitats. Significant aggregations of E. servus were detected in a variety of habitats including pecan, corn, cotton, peanut, and tobacco, as well as fallow and hay fields, pastures, and hedgerows. Fewer adult E. tristigmus were captured than E. servus adults, and E. tristigmus adults were typically trapped and aggregated in woodland habitats. The resulting data provide an important understanding regarding the seasonal movement and relative abundance levels of stink bug populations, which are critical to the development of integrated pest management strategies.     

Hepatocellular adaptation to extreme nutritional conditions in ide,Leuciscus idus melanotus L. (Cyprinidae). A morphofunctional analysis

The adaptive response of the omnivorous ide,Leuciscus idus melanotus, to drastic metabolic conditions was analyzed on different levels of organisation investigating a variety of parameters: Organism (condition factor, liver-somatic index), organ (liver structure), cellular and subcellular level (hepatocyte structure, glycogen and lipid storage, contents and distribution of nucleic acids, enzyme alterations).During starvation, ide were able to maintain liver integrity in a biphasic process: after an initial phase of disturbance, ide established a new structural and metabolic homeostasis. Recovery from starvation was possible only with a complete diet but not with a sucrose diet. Carbohydrate overload, as evoked by sucrose refeeding, did not result in liver or carcass fattening as known from mammals.To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to use enzyme histochemistry in fish nutrition research. In mammals, histochemistry is particularly helpful for understanding processes of hepatic metabolic adaptation. In fish, however, on the basis of our results, enzyme histochemical studies appear to be of limited value, as long as no further data are available on a zonal distribution of enzyme activities in teleost liver parenchyma. Instead, the histochemical detection of the distribution of hepatic storage products and RNA-positive material yielded important information on liver adaptive processes.Abbreviations H starvation - SU sucrose - AD artificial diet - AcP acid phosphatase - G6Pase glucose-6-phosphatase - G6PDH glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase - GLU -glucuronidase - ME malic enzyme - PHO glycogen phosphorylase - UE unspecific esterase - RER rough endoplasmic reticulum     

Combining agent-based and stock-flow modelling approaches in a participative analysis of the integrated land system in Reichraming, Austria

The integrated modelling of coupled socio-ecological systems in land-change science requires innovative model concepts capable of grasping the interrelations between socioeconomic and natural components. Here, we discuss the integrated socio-ecological model SERD (Simulation of Ecological Compatibility of Regional Development) that was developed for the municipality of Reichraming in Upper Austria in a participative 2-year process involving local stakeholders. SERD includes three main components: (1) an agent-based actors module that simulates decisions of farmsteads, the municipal administration and other important actors; (2) a spatially explicit (GIS based) land-use module that simulates land-use change at the level of individual parcels of land and (3) an integrated socio-ecological stock-flow module that simulates carbon and nitrogen flows through both socioeconomic and ecological system compartments. We report on outcomes of a scenario analysis that outlines possible future trajectories depending on both external (e.g. agricultural subsidies and prices) and internal (e.g. innovation, willingness to co-operate) factors. We find that both external and internal factors can affect the behaviour of the integrated system considerably. Local and regional policies are found to be able to counteract adverse global socioeconomic conditions to some extent, but not to reverse the trend altogether. We also find strong interdependencies between socioeconomic and ecological components of the system. Fully evaluating these interdependencies is, however, not possible at the local scale alone and will require explicit consideration of higher-level effects in future research.     

Antioxidant effectiveness of phenolic apple juice extracts and their gut fermentation products in the human colon carcinoma cell line caco-2

Apples represent a major dietary source of antioxidative polyphenols. Their metabolic conversion by the gut microflora might generate products that protect the intestine against oxidative damage. We studied the antioxidant effectiveness of supernatants of fermented apple juice extracts (F-AEs, 6 and 24 h fermentation) and of selected phenolic degradation products, identified by HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS. Cell free antioxidant capacity of unfermented apple juice extracts (AEs) was decreased after fermentation by 30-50%. In the human colon carcinoma cell line Caco-2, F-AEs (containing <0.5% of original AE-phenolics) decreased the reactive oxygen species (ROS) level more efficiently than the F-blank (fermented without AE) but were less effective than the respective AEs. Similarly, antioxidant effectiveness of individual degradation products was lower compared to respective AE constituents. Glutathione level was slightly increased and oxidative DNA damage slightly decreased by fermented AE03, rich in quercetin glycosides. In conclusion, F-AEs/degradation products exhibit antioxidant activity in colon cells but to a lesser extent than the respective unfermented AEs/constituents.     

Carryover of maduramicin from feed containing cross-contamination levels into eggs of laying hens

Maduramicin is a coccidiostat authorized as feed additive in the European Union for chickens and turkeys for fattening but not for laying hens, considering the risk of residues in eggs. The unavoidable cross-contamination of non-target feed with coccidiostats is regulated by Commission Directive 2009/8/EC and resulting carry-over in food by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 124/2009. To verify the compliance of the maximum levels for maduramicin in feed (50 μg/kg) and eggs (2 μg/kg), the carry-over from feed into eggs was investigated. Diets containing 10, 30, and 50 μg of maduramicin/kg of feed were fed to laying hens. Feed, egg white, and yolk were analyzed by LC-MS/MS. Maduramicin residues were only detected in in egg yolk. Feeding the 10 μg/kg maduramicin diet resulted in maduramicin concentrations up to 2.5 μg/kg in whole eggs, already exceeding the maximum level. A carry-over rate of 8% maduramicin from feed into eggs was calculated.     

Gas Exchange of Five Warm‐Season Grain Legumes and their Susceptibility to Heat Stress

Objective of this study was to compare the heat stress performance of four pulses from dry and hot areas (mungbeans, limabeans, and teparybeans and cowpeas) with that of soybeans. Two experiments were conducted in growth chambers, and data were pooled because results of both experiments were similar. Plants were raised up to flowering at 24/17 °C (day/night) and were then either exposed to these temperatures until maturity or stressed with 33/24 °C for 2 weeks starting at day 1 or 15 after onset of flowering (early vs. late stress). Before, during and after these stress intervals, gas exchange of representative upper leaves was examined; additionally, immediate effects of increasing leaf temperatures from 24 to 32 or 40 °C on chlorophyll fluorescence were assessed. Without heat stress rates of photosynthesis (P_n), and of transpiration (TR), stomatal and mesophyll conductance (g_s, g_m) and intrinsic transpiration efficiency (iTE) differed significantly among the five crops at each date. However, because of crop‐specific time‐courses ranking among unstressed crops was instable with time, so values were integrated or averaged over time. This procedure revealed high P_n potentials in mung‐ and teparybeans and high iTE values in limabeans compared to the other crops. Heat stress lowered P_n and g_s considerably, but increased TR in all five crops. Relative lowering of P_n during heat stress displayed a crop‐specific pattern with limabeans being least susceptible to both early and late heat stress, while cowpeas were highly susceptible to early stress. Effects on P_n were mainly attributable to lowering of g_s and only in part to g_m. The latter was supported by very small changes (<10 %) of various chlorophyll fluorescence signals shortly after raising leaf temperature to 32 °C in all species. However, in limabeans, a decreased electron transport rate (e‐rate, ?18 %) and an increased non‐photochemical quenching (Q_N, +16 %) pointed to an adaptive mechanism to avoid oxidative strains under heat. Leaf temperatures of 40 °C immediately provoked stronger changes in all fluorescence signals than 32 °C; substantial damages at 40 °C were indicated by effective quantum yield, photochemical quenching and ratio of fluorescence decrease in mungbeans and low ones in cowpeas and soybeans. Nevertheless, some adaptive responses of e‐rates and Q_N were observed in all crops and were most expressed in limabeans.     

Efficacy of oxolinic acid and other bactericides in suppression ofErwinia amylovora in pear orchards in Israel

The efficacy of oxolinic acid (at 200 and 300 μg a.i./l) and of several antibiotic compounds (streptomycin sulfate at 100 μg a.i./l, glycocide B at 700 μg a.i./l, kasugamycin at 80 μg a.i./l and gentamicin sulfate at 30 and 60 μg a.i./l) againstErwinia amylovora, the causal agent of fire blight in pears, was evaluated in 43 orchard experiments in 1997–2000 in Israel. In addition to the above orchard experiments, the efficacy of the bactericides was tested in live experiments with artificial inoculation. Natural fire blight symptoms were observed in 16 of the 43 experiments; in 13 of them, disease intensity and its distribution among the experimental plots provided a basis for data analysis, leading to reliable conclusions concerning the efficacy of the tested bactericides. Oxolinic acid at 300 μg a.i./l was highly effective againstE. amylovora and reduced disease severity significantly in all experiments, as compared with the untreated plots; however, a concentration of 200 μg a.i./l was not effective in some cases. Among the tested antibiotics, only gentamicin sulfate was as effective as oxolinic acid. Results of the artificial inoculation experiments corroborated those obtained in the naturally infected orchards. The pre-infection activity of oxolinic acid was determined on blossom clusters that were sprayed with the bactericide before inoculation. Control efficacy on blossom clusters sprayed 1–4 days before inoculation ranged from 68% to 80%, a level which did not differ significantly from that observed on blossom clusters sprayed on the day of inoculation (80% control). The postinfection activity of oxolinic acid was determined on blossom clusters that were sprayed with the compound after inoculation. Oxolinic acid was as effective when applied 1 or 2 days after inoculation as when it was applied on the day of inoculation; however, application of the bactericide 3 days after inoculation no longer resulted in significant disease suppression. Oxolinic acid has been used commercially in Israel since 1998 with appreciable success. Contribution No. 533-00 from the Agricultural Research Organization