Polyneuropathy associated with forage sources in Norwegian horses

BACKGROUND: Cases of hindlimb digital extensor weakness of unknown etiology have been observed in Norway since 1995. HYPOTHESIS: We hypothesized that the observed bilateral extensor weakness was attributable to neuropathy of the distal nerves and that this was related to environmental factors, possibly dietary. ANIMALS: Seventy-five horses with digital extensor weakness occurring from 1995 to 2004 are described. METHODS: Eleven horses were examined at The Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, and the medical records of 64 horses seen in ambulatory practice were reviewed. RESULTS: There was no apparent sex, age, or breed predilection, but the majority were horses kept for pleasure or breeding purposes. Clinical signs varied from intermittent knuckling of the hindlimbs to paraplegia. Some horses showed no or only slow progression of signs, whereas others developed severe signs within hours. No other neurologic deficits were detected in any of the horses. Epidemiologic data and laboratory results were not supportive of an infectious etiology. The only common factor for all affected horses seemed to be feeding big bale silage or, occasionally, hay of poor microbiologic quality. Forty of the 75 horses were euthanized. Histopathologic examination of peripheral nervous tissue was performed in 22 horses, all of which had neuronal fiber degeneration. The majority of horses with mild signs recovered after 5-6 months of rest. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Clinical signs correlated with polyneuropathy involving sciatic nerves.     

Correction to: Population genetic structure of lumpfish along the Norwegian coast: aquaculture implications

The original version of this article unfortunately contained an error where the figure caption for Figures 3 and 4 was mixed.     

Taxation and investment implications of non-industrial private forestry within a Boreal Swedish municipality

The Swedish tax system affects distribution of forest revenue between national, municipal and individual interests. The study reported here takes a Boreal municipality perspective, with the objective of investigating the tax and investment implications of non-industrial private forestry (NIPF) in a case-study municipality at these three interest levels. Sales revenue, operating costs, investment, disposable income and direct tax revenue generated in NIPF within the boreal municipality are quantified, drawing on income tax return data. The question addressed is, does NIPF contribute to the local economy and thereby to development and maintenance of infrastructure in a typical boreal municipality, given the present NIPF ownership structure and tax system? Results support two different views. On one hand, tax revenues generated from NIPF to the resource municipality amounted to only 17% of the direct tax revenues or less then 1% of the tax revenues in the municipality budget. On the other hand, NIPF owners returned as much as 72% of sales revenue back into their firms in form of operating costs, and 20% in from of investments.     

Why is the antibody response of Atlantic cod so poor? The search for a genetic explanation

ABSTRACT:   The immune system of the Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua L) is unusual in that it cannot produce a specific antibody response upon immunization. Despite this, the cod is not particularly susceptible to infectious disease in its normal environment. This review examines the potential genetic basis for the lack of a specific antibody response in the cod. The genetics of cod immunoglobulins are compared with those of other well-characterized teleost fish. A review of the evidence suggests that deficiencies in the number, structure, organization, diversity and expression of both Immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy and Ig light chain genes in cod cannot explain its unusual antibody response. It is concluded that a deficiency in cod major histocompatibility (MH) class II molecules is a prime suspect for the lack of a specific antibody response in cod, and that testing of this hypothesis must await future experimentation.     

Potential of semiconductor sensor arrays for the origin authentication of pure Valencia orange juices.

Sensor array is a new method used in aroma analysis. This technique was employed for the differentiation of 49 pure Valencia orange juices from 5 different origins representative of the main culture areas of citrus according to their volatile organic fractions. An experimental design was used to set analytical factors, which control the generation of the static headspace; therefore, the preliminary optimization of analytical conditions allows the evaluation of the potential of such an apparatus in this kind of survey. Results obtained were then statistically treated by multivariate analyses such as principal component analysis and factorial discriminant analysis. Sensor arrays performed a good discrimination of the whole juices in classing them according to the origin of Valencia oranges used. A calibration of the sensors was then performed to build a database aiming to classify the juices according to the origin of oranges involved. New supplementary samples were then analyzed to assess the efficiency of the database. This technique coupled with other ones such as high-pressure liquid chromatography and gas chromatography may be a new tool for the investigation of adulteration detection due to the authentication of the origin of raw materials employed in the orange juice processes.     

Chemical Diversity as a Function of Temperature in Six Northern Diatom Species

In this study, we investigate how metabolic fingerprints are related to temperature. Six common northern temperate diatoms (Attheya longicornis, Chaetoceros socialis, Chaetoceros furcellatus, Porosira glacialis, Skeletonema marinoi, and Thalassiosira gravida) were cultivated at two different temperatures, 0.5 and 8.5 °C. To exclude metabolic variations due to differences in growth rates, the growth rates were kept similar by performing the experiments under light limited conditions but in exponential growth phase. Growth rates and maximum quantum yield of photosynthesis were measured and interpreted as physiological variables, and metabolic fingerprints were acquired by high-resolution mass spectrometry. The chemical diversity varied substantially between the two temperatures for the tested species, ranging from 31% similarity for C. furcellatus and P. glacialis to 81% similarity for A. longicornis. The chemical diversity was generally highest at the lowest temperature.     

Marine Benthic Diatoms Contain Compounds Able to Induce Leukemia Cell Death and Modulate Blood Platelet Activity

In spite of the high abundance and species diversity of diatoms, only a few bioactive compounds from them have been described. The present study reveals a high number of mammalian cell death inducing substances in biofilm-associated diatoms sampled from the intertidal zone. Extracts from the genera Melosira, Amphora, Phaeodactylum and Nitzschia were all found to induce leukemia cell death, with either classical apoptotic or autophagic features. Several extracts also contained inhibitors of thrombin-induced blood platelet activation. Some of this activity was caused by a high content of adenosine in the diatoms, ranging from 0.07 to 0.31 μg/mg dry weight. However, most of the bioactivity was adenosine deaminase-resistant. An adenosine deaminase-resistant active fraction from one of the extracts was partially purified and shown to induce apoptosis with a distinct phenotype. The results show that benthic diatoms typically found in the intertidal zone may represent a richer source of interesting bioactive compounds than hitherto recognized.     

Population genetic structure of lumpfish along the Norwegian coast: aquaculture implications

The potential for genetic contamination of stocks arising from translocation and subsequent release or escape of translocated and/or genetically mixed stocks may be a significant risk to wild populations. In this context, we undertook a population genetic survey of stocks of lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) along the Norwegian coast to establish the existing genetic population structure, which will aid the development of policy of the species’ use as cleaner fish in salmonid aquaculture. This was done by using 14 microsatellite loci and 287 specimens collected at five fishing grounds, covering most of the Norwegian coastline from south to north, with additional 18 samples of first-generation reared fish from a fish farm outside Tromsø (North Norway). Overall, there was no indication of significant spatial genetic structuring or of positive correlation between geographic and genetic distance among the wild lumpfish samples. These results suggest that, should translocated individuals escape from aquaculture in Norway, this will probably have little to no impact on the genetic composition of the local fish population.     

Specific Metabolites in a Phaeodactylum tricornutum Strain Isolated from Western Norwegian Fjord Water

We have searched for special characteristics in growth, protein expression, fatty acids and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in a local Phaeodactylum tricornutum Bohlin strain (Bergen Marine Biobank), by comparing it with a common accession strain (CCAP). Differences in growth and expressed proteins were detected between the BMB strain and the CCAP strain, and the BMB strain reached the highest cell densities under the given growth conditions. Fatty acid (FA) analyses showed highest relative eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) levels in the exponential phase (25.73% and 28.31%), and highest levels of palmitoleic acid (16:1 n-7) in the stationary phase (46.36% and 43.66%) in the BMB and CCAP strain, respectively. The most striking finding of the VOCs analyses was the relatively high levels of ectocarpene, 6-((1E)-butenyl)-1,4-cycloheptadiene, hormosirene, and desmarestene and structurally related compounds, which were exclusively detected in the BMB strain. Many of the VOCs detected in the CCAP and, in particular, in the BMB strain have been reported as antimicrobial agents. We suggest that the array of pheromones and antimicrobial substances could be part of an allelopathic strategy of the BMB strain, dominated by oval cells, thus reflecting the benthic life stage of this morphological form. These findings show the potential for bioactive metabolites in the BMB strain.