Possible factors influencing the immunoglobulin G concentration in swine colostrum

The immunoglobulin (Ig) G concentration in swine colostrum was determined by the single radial immunodiffusion method, using 157 samples collected from farm-raised sows in the Yamaguchi Prefecture of Japan during 1976 and 1977. The mean IgG value was 53.03 mg/ml, and the maximum and minimum values were 101.39 mg/ml and 11.74 mg/ml, respectively. The amount of IgG varied greatly among sows. To clarify the possible factors influencing the amount of IgG in colostrum, the following items were surveyed: season, district, breed, age of sows, number of parturitions, udder section from which samples were collected, kind of feed, vaccinations of swine erysipelas live-organism vaccine, hog cholera live-virus vaccine, Japanese encephalitis live-virus vaccine, tramsmissible gastroenteritis liver-virus vaccine, type of farming, and number of sows raised on a farm. Relationships between the amount of IgG in colostrum and each of these 13 items were analyzed. Seemingly, strong correlations with the amounts if IgG in colostrum were found with five items (district, number of parturitions, kind of feed, type of farming, and number of sows). To the contrary, five items (age, udder section, and vaccinations of swine erysipelas live-organism vaccine, hog cholera live-virus vaccine, and Japanese encephalitis live-virus vaccine) had poor correlations. Other items had moderate correlations. The multiple correlation coefficient obtained was 0.5499.     

Clinical pharmacokinetics of oseltamivir and its active metabolite oseltamivir carboxylate after oral administration in horses

The aim of this study was to investigate the pharmacokinetics of oseltamivir carboxylate (OC) in horses (n=6) after oral administration of its prodrug oseltamivir. The binding rate of OC to horse plasma proteins was negligible (<1%). Oral administration of oseltamivir of 2 mg/kg body weight of oseltamivir to horses provided a plasma concentration of OC (mean maximum concentration: 257.9 ng/ml) above the inhibitory concentrations against equine influenza A viruses determined in vitro. However, because OC is rapidly eliminated from horse plasma (mean elimination half-life: 2.5 hr), administration intervals should be less than 10 hr to retain a suitable concentration when using a single dose of 2 mg/kg oseltamivir.     

Phylogenetic characterization of rabies virus isolates from Carnivora in Brazil

The incidence of canine rabies has been widely reported in Brazil, and new rabies virus (RV) variants, genetically similar to canine RV, have recently been isolated from foxes. In order to derive the epidemiological characteristics of Brazilian Carnivora RV, Brazilian RVs isolated from dogs, cats, and foxes were genetically analyzed. Brazilian Carnivora RV isolates were divided into 2 main lineages. The predominant lineage was found in dogs and cats, which included the Argentinean and Bolivian Carnivora RV isolates, and was extensively distributed throughout Brazil and surrounding countries. The other lineage consisted of three sublineages containing Brazilian dog and fox RV isolates, with the dog sublineages located on an internal branch of 2 fox sublineages, suggesting that RV transmission events might have occurred between foxes and dogs in the past. These results suggest that contact between dogs and wildlife has the potential to generate new rabies variants and that it is important to control RV infection cycles in both dogs and wildlife to prevent spread of rabies infection.     

Effects of leptin and tumor necrosis factor-alpha on degranulation and superoxide production of polymorphonuclear neutrophils from Holstein cows

Leptin, a pleiotropic hormone regulating food intake and energy expenditure, has been shown to directly modulate human polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) functions or indirectly through the action of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). Bovine PMN have considerable different characteristics from human PMN. For example, it does not respond to N-formyl-Methionyl-Leucyl-phenylalanine, a well known human PMN activator. In the present study, we tested the effects of leptin and TNF-alpha on superoxide production and degranulation of bovine peripheral PMN, in which both long isoform of leptin receptor (Ob-Rb) and TNF receptor 1 were expressed. Human leptin, human TNF-alpha, phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and opsonized zymosan particles (OZP) did not stimulate degranulation responses, while zymosan-activated serum (ZAS) did. Neither leptin nor TNF-alpha enhanced the ZAS-induced degranulation responses. TNF-alpha, PMA, OZP and ZAS increased superoxide production in different magnitudes, whereas leptin did not. TNF-alpha, but not leptin, enhanced OZP- and ZAS-induced superoxide production, possibly, in part due to facilitating translocation of p47(phox), a component of NADPH oxidase. These results indicate that, unlike in human PMN, leptin does not have any direct effect on degranulation and superoxide production in bovine PMN, although TNF-alpha influences superoxide production.     

Effect of ovary lipid of skipjack tuna on rat serum components after stress application

Lipid extracted from the ovary of skipjack tuna by the method that we developed is rich in phospholipid-type docosahexaenoic acid. The ovary lipid of skipjack tuna (OLS) was studied for its anti-stress activity in male Wistar rats, focusing on stress-related blood components: recovery from stress was examined after application of water immersion restraint stress. As a result, serum corticosterone (CORT) secretion was inhibited and decreased rapidly after stress application in rats given OLS compared with control rats. As CORT acts as a glucocorticoid, non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) is expected to increase by stress application. However, the concentration tended to be lower in rats given OLS than in control rats. With respect to OLS concentration, OLS increased serum dehydroepiandrosterone, secretion concentration-dependently. In addition, as with the recovery study, it tended to inhibit the increase in NEFA. These results indicate that OLS may have an anti-stress activity against acute stress.     

Effects of testosterone on rat placental development

We investigated the morphological effects of testosterone on placental development in a rat model of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Testosterone propionate (TP), which was subcutaneously administered to pregnant rats with 5 mg/animal from gestation day (GD) 14 to GD 18, induced a maternal weight reduction without mortality or clinical signs from GD 19 onwards. A decrease in fetal and placental weight, an increase in intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) rates, and histological changes in the placenta were observed on GD 21 but not on GD15 or 17. Histopathologically, on GD 21, the trophoblast septa thickened, and the maternal sinusoids were narrowed in the labyrinth zone, resulting in a small placenta. Additionally, the placental weight, thickness, and histological morphology in the labyrinth zone on GD 21 in the TP-treated group were nearly identical to those on GD 17 in the control and TP-treated groups. Therefore, it was assumed that the testosterone-induced small placenta was induced in association with the developmental inhibition of the fetal part of the placentas from GD 17 onwards.     

Recording cerebellar neuron activities in swimming goldfish

ABSTRACT:   Neuronal activities were investigated in the cerebellum of immobilized and swimming goldfish Carassius auratus . Extracellularly recorded neural activities of the cerebellum in immobilized goldfish were characterized and classified into five types. Based on the waveforms and recording depths, these five neural activity types were estimated to originate from three identified classes of cerebellar neurons: Purkinje cells, eurydendroid cells, and granule cells. Chronic recording of cerebellar neuron activities in unrestrained goldfish was performed for more than 100 h. During the chronic recordings, a submersible amplifier attached to the goldfish head, and a multielectrode array developed for the present study were used. Neuronal activities in the cerebellum of free-swimming fish could also be classified into five types as in the immobilized condition. Firing patterns of two neurons identified as Purkinje cells and eurydendroid cells were analyzed during turning movements of the goldfish. The firing patterns of these neurons changed in relation to turning movements. Although some improvements are required, the chronic recording method developed in the present study can be applied to further investigations concerning the direct relationship between brain neural activities and certain behavior.     

Beneficial effects on meat quality of yellowtail Seriola quinqueradiata induced by diets containing red pepper

The meat quality of farmed yellowtail Seriola quinqueradiata fed on extruded pellets (EP) containing 0.5% (v/v) red pepper (experimental group) was compared with yellowtail of the same age fed on EP (control group). In 1-year-old yellowtail, the crude lipid content of the dorsal muscle of the experimental group tended to be lower than that of the control group. In contrast, there was no difference in the lipid content of the dorsal muscle between the control group and the experimental group in 2-year-old yellowtail. The muscle texture of the experimental group was significantly firmer than that of the control group, with the effect of red pepper unrelated to fish age and lipid content. Color change of red muscle of the experimental group was significantly lower than that of the control group, and the content of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances in the red muscle was significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group. These results are the first to demonstrate that the inclusion of red pepper in the diet is able to reduce the loss of muscle texture firmness and to slow down color change in red muscle of yellowtail.