Experimental coryza in broiler chickens. I. Effects of vaccination with Haemophilus gallinarum bacterin and its components on weight gains and resistance to infection

Effects of a Haemophilus gallinarum bacterin and its components were studied in young broiler chickens. When the bacterin was administered subcutaneously in the dorsal neck region at 2 weeks of age, no significant differences in weight gains of vaccinated and control birds were detected at eight weeks of age. In four groups vaccinated at 1, 2, 3, or 4 weeks of age and challenged with virulent haemophilus organisms 3 weeks later, the incidence of clinical signs was 30% in the vaccinates and 60% in controls. The bacterin was equally protective at the four ages of administration. Caseous plugs were found at the vaccination sites in all birds which had received adjuvant either alone or in the complete bacterin. Signs of depression lasting about 24 hours were observed in the youngest birds injected with the bacterin, but overall weight gains were normal.     

Human Mycobacterium bovis infection in the south-west of Ireland 1983-1992: a comparison with M. tuberculosis

Epidemiological and bacteriological aspects of human Mycobacterium bovis disease were investigated in south-west Ireland (counties Cork & Kerry, population 536,000) over the years 1983-92 inclusive and compared to M. tuberculosis. Results showed a small, stable incidence of culture positive M. bovis human disease, mean annual incidence 0.56 per 100,000 population compared to a higher but declining incidence of culture positive M. tuberculosis (15.3 per 100,000 in 1983, 9.0 per 100,000 in 1992). Male patients were the majority, 63.4 per cent of M. bovis; 62.4% of M. tuberculosis (p = 0.03). Fifty three per cent of M. bovis cases (n = 30) were pulmonary, compared to 85% of M. tuberculosis (n = 626; p = 0.0001). M. bovis patients were older (p = 0.02), mean age 58.4 years (SD 18.9) compared to 48.5 (SD 22.2). The mycobacterial smear positive rate was similar in both groups taken as a whole. No rural-urban difference in incidence was found in either disease, suggesting in the case of M. bovis initial infection in childhood via contaminated milk in the pre-pasteurisation era.     

Effects of Cryptosporidium parvum infection on lymphocyte phenotype and reactivity in calves

Cryptosporidium parvum is a protozoan parasite now recognized as a significant cause of neonatal diarrhea in calves, and infection is also widespread in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised humans. No effective treatment or preventive measures against C. parvum infection are available, owing largely to the lack of understanding of immunologic mechanisms of resistance to and recovery from this parasite. In the present study, we compared phenotypes of lymphocytes from peripheral blood, spleen, mesenteric, and prescapular lymph nodes of calves infected or not infected with C. parvum. We also compared reactivity of these lymphocytes to mitogens and C. parvum antigen in vitro. There were more non-T, non-B (null) lymphocytes in all tissues of infected compared with control calves. The percent of CD8+ lymphocytes was significantly increased in spleens of infected compared with control calves, and there were markedly less CD4+ than CD8+ cells in spleens of both groups (i.e. low CD4/CD8 ratios). Splenic lymphocytes showed significantly decreased in vitro proliferation to pokeweed mitogen and C. parvum antigen stimulation compared with lymphocytes from other tissues. These findings suggest that null lymphocytes and CD8+ lymphocytes may be important in the expression and regulation of bovine immune responses to C. parvum in vivo.     

Characterization of the systemic disease and ocular signs induced by experimental infection with Chlamydia psittaci in cats

In addition to the commonly reported ocular signs, Chlamydia psittaci infection of kittens resulted in fever, lethargy, lameness and reduction in weight gain following ocular instillation of virulent organisms. The appearance of these systemic signs was late with respect to the appearance of ocular symptoms and occurred simultaneously with increasing levels of chlamydia-specific IgG. Measurement of acute phase reactants and IL-6 in plasma indicated that both became elevated concurrent with or slightly after the appearance of fever and remained elevated after the fever began to resolve. Preliminary data also indicated that infectious C. psittaci was present in the blood stream during this time period. The results of ocular instillation of three different levels of C. psittaci (10(3.8), 10(2.8) and 10(1.5) TCID50) indicated that the frequency of infection and the severity of ocular signs were diminished in the group receiving the lowest dose. However, the magnitude of systemic disease was similar in all animals which exhibited clinical signs, irrespective of the dose administered. The immune response to infection included elementary body (EB)-specific lymphocyte proliferation as well as the development of EB-specific IgG and IgM antibodies. The predominant antibody response was to a 45 kDa protein, the major outer membrane protein (MOMP), lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a 58 kDa doublet and 32 and 16-19 kDa proteins.     

The development of methylcholanthrene-tumors in mice under the environmental influence of various electrobioclimatological conditions (author's transl)

Comparative analyses of the development rate of a slow Tumor (Methylcholanthrene) in mice were undertaken under conditions of a) an electrostatic field (Field strength 200 V/m, Residual sinus component 0.1%), b) a Faraday cage (Shielding effectivity on atmospheric electrical disturbances: 99%) and c) a laboratory, climatized with conventional methods. The tumor was initiated in each case following a 6-week acclimatisation period to the unaccustomed surroundings. Following this, we observed the appearance rates over a period of 8 months at 14-day intervals. Under customary laboratory conditions these were perceptibly higher than in the electrostatic field or in the Faraday cage. No difference was apparent between the two latter conditions. Any variations in the electrobioclimatological environment can lead to stress reactions resulting in familiar consequences to various defense mechanisms. This allows us to find an explanation for the results otherwise difficult to interpret; for both in the electrostatic field and under shielding from external electrical influences the neoplastic activity was obviously reduced in comparison to normally climatized laboratory conditions. We are continuing the experiments.     

Effects of environmental conditions on food consumption in female and male rats

The present experiment examined food and water consumption under different housing conditions in 20 female and 20 male Wistar rats. Food and water consumption were measured for 6 h a day following an 18-h same-sex crowded or individual housing period for each of 6 days. All subjects were individually housed during the 6-h measurement period and had access to food and water. Female rats consumed more food and water than did male rats during the 6-h period, regardless of their 18-h housing condition. In addition, previously crowded rats consumed more food and water during the 6-h period than did rats that were previously individually housed. During the 18-h period, when subjects were differentially housed, males consumed more food and water than did females; crowded rats ate less than did individually housed rats; and crowded rats drank more water than did individually housed rats. Based on plasma corticosterone data, the female and male rats were differentially affected by housing conditions. The present results are discussed with regard to housing conditions per se and sex differences in stress responses to housing.     

Effects of attachment bereavement and pre-event conditions on subsequent depressive symptoms in older adults.

A sample of 1,411 older adults (age 55+) who had been interviewed both prior to and after bereavement was studied, allowing for pre-event controls. Those who had lost a parent, spouse, or child had the strongest depressive reactions, as predicted by an attachment-bonding hypothesis; however, material losses were also related to depression. Although bereavement/loss events were clearly related to subsequent depression even after pre-event depression, resources, and events were controlled, certain pre-event characteristics were predictive of the bereavement/loss events, including prior undesirable events, age, and urban/rural residency. A further analysis of 1,007 persons with two post-event interviews (at 6-month to 1-year follow-up) revealed an initial depressive reaction to a bereavement/loss event, which then dissipated completely within 1 year's time. Generally, bereavement appeared to have limited etiologic importance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Histamine levels in the blood of humans experimental animals under normal conditions and following vaccination]

The authors present the results of study of the blood histamine content in intact rabbits and in the animals to which commercial vaccines with a different degree of reactogenic property for man were administered. The blood histamine level was also studied in practically healthy individuals and in those vaccinated with inactivated tick-borne encephalitis vaccine. The blood histamine content varied in intact rabbits from 4 to 10 microgram/ml, averaging 6.4 +/- 0.09 microgram/ml. Animal immunization caused elevation of the blood histamine content correlating with the reactogenic properties of the preparations for man: vaccines with low reactogenic properties--inactivated encephalitis and live measles vaccine produced no significant changes in the index under study; as to the typhoid vaccine with sextatoxoid, and smallpox vaccine with marked reactogenic properties--they stimulated significant histaminemia in rabbits. Revaccination of man against tick-borne encephalitis with the inactivated cultural vaccine caused an increase in the blood histamine content.     

Rhythmicity of torpor in a marsupial hibernator, the mountain pygmy-possum (Burramys parvus), under natural and laboratory conditions

Circadian rhythms have been observed in most mammals, but their importance and function remain controversial with respect to daily cycles during hibernation. We investigated the timing of arousals from and entries into hibernation for both free-living and captive mountain pygmy-possums (Burramys parvus). Under both natural and laboratory conditions most arousals and entries were entrained with the light-dark cycle. Entries occurred mainly during the night and arousals preferably around dusk, which coincides with the onset of the normal activity phase for the nocturnal pygmy-possums. This entrainment prevailed throughout the hibernation season although only the laboratory animals were constantly subjected to photoperiodic stimuli, whereas under natural conditions hibernacula are shielded from photic cues and diurnal temperature fluctuations. Nevertheless, possums left their hibernacula frequently throughout winter and were occasionally trapped close to the snow surface suggesting that during the periods of post-arousal normothermia they can be exposed to environmental stimuli. It thus appears that the synchronisation with the photocycle was governed by a temperature-compensated circadian clock which was reset periodically during short activity periods. For the mountain pygmy-possum, entrainment with the photocycle probably has two functions: 1. Entrainment ensures that foraging bouts during the hibernation season remain synchronised with the dark phase. 2. Information about the prevailing climatic conditions sampled during short activity periods enables them to time final spring emergence from hibernation when snow melt begins and ensures that the breeding season can commence as early as possible.     

Effects of endothelin-1 on the rat pituitary-adrenocortical axis under basal and stressful conditions

Endothelins (ETs) and their receptor subtypes A and B (ETA and ETB) are expressed in the various components of the mammalian hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, but their involvement in the functional regulation of HPA is controversial. To gain insight into this topic, we have investigated the effects of ET-1 and/or the specific antagonists of ETA and ETB receptors (BQ-123 and BQ-788, respectively) on the plasma concentrations of ACTH, corticosterone and aldosterone of non-stressed (control) and ether- or cold-stressed rats. The study of the effects of the administration of the two ET-receptor antagonists alone could provide informations about the possible action of endogenous ETs on the HPA axis. Exogenous ET-1 increased ACTH, corticosterone and aldosterone blood levels in control rats, as well as evoked a sizable enhancement of the HPA axis response to ether stress and a marked depression of the response to cold stress. BQ-123 and BQ-788 did not prevent the stimulatory effect of exogenous ET-1 in control rats, but when administered alone, raised the plasma concentrations of ACTH, corticosterone and aldosterone. Both ET-receptor antagonists magnified the HPA axis response to ether and cold stresses, but their effect was not counteracted by exogenous ET-1. Although very difficult to interpret, our present findings allow us to conclude that endogenous ETs play a role in the maintenance of the basal activity of rat HPA axis acting through ETA and ETB receptor subtypes, which are partially insensitive to BQ-123 and BQ-788. Conversely, the involvement of ETs in the modulation of the HPA axis responses to various stresses is very doubtful.     

The viral genome status studied under the conditions of a mixed infection in lymphoblastoid cells by adenovirus and the Epstein-Barr virus

Some indices have been studied which characterized the state of Epstein-Barr virus genome and adenovirus in the implanted lines of lymphoblastoid cells of B and T phenotype under the mixed or monoinfection. It has been shown that super infection by type 2 adenovirus rather sharply affects the state of Epstein-Barr virus genome in the Raji cells containing integrated Epstein-Barr virus genome. The state of adenovirus genome in the studied cells is less subject to changes. Its early area is revealed by hybridization using DNA-DNA method in a form of two fragments of different intensity which is maximum in the Raji and Jurkat cells, which evidences for the more expressivity of adenovirus genome in these cells.     

Effects of copper deficiency and copper deficiency coupled with high dietary iron or molybdenum on phagocytic cell function and response of calves to a respiratory disease challenge

A study was conducted to determine the effects of supplementing a diet marginally deficient in copper (Cu) with iron (Fe), molybdenum (Mo), or Cu on phagocytic cell function and disease resistance of calves. Thirty-one calves were born to heifers fed a corn silage-based diet containing 4.5 mg of Cu/kg. Treatments consisted of 1) control (CON; no supplemental Cu, Fe, or Mo), 2) 600 mg of Fe added/kg (FE), 3) 5 mg of Mo added/kg (MO), or 4) 10 mg of Cu added/kg of DM (CU). Activity of superoxide dismutase was lower (P < .06) in neutrophils from MO vs CON or CU calves at 170 d of age. bactericidal activity of neutrophils from MO calves tended (P = .15) to be lower compared with those from CU calves at 70 d of age. Calves were inoculated intranasally with live infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus (IBRV) 2 d after weaning, followed by intratracheal administration of Pasteurella hemolytica 5 d later. Iron- and Cu-supplemented calves exhibited higher (P < .01) body temperatures and lower (P < .06) feed intakes following IBRV inoculation compared with CON and MO calves. Copper-supplemented calves had higher levels of plasma tumor necrosis factor (TNF) than MO calves at weaning (P < .05) and tended to have higher plasma TNF (P = .11) than FE and MO calves 5 d after IBRV inoculation. These data indicate that dietary levels of Mo and Cu can affect body temperature and feed intake responses to disease by affecting TNF and perhaps other cytokines.     

Fate of the promastigotes of Leishmania tropica major and L. gymnodactyli in the body of Phlebotomus papatasi under conditions of a mixed infection

We have shown that 8S and U2 fractions of low molecular weight nuclear RNA lmwn RNA) have tow stable conformational states with different electrophoretic mobilities. We have shown also that fractions UIa and UIb are conformational isomers. Fractions 8S and U2 are present only in one conformational state during electrophoresis, while UI RNA is always represented by both conformations. The conformation of lmwn RNAs is dependent upon conditions of isolation of nuclei and of extraction of RNA. It may change during storage of water solution of RNA at -20 degrees. Conformational changes discovered are not the result of degradation. Only one of two stable conformations of any lmwn RNA may be physiologically active, as it is the case of 5S rRNA and tRNAS. One ought to keep this in mind while studying the functions of low molecular weight nuclear RNAs.     

Effects of stress on the performance of normally anxious and high-anxious subjects under chance and skill conditions.

Studied whether a belief in personal control over a stressor would improve the performance of high-anxious Ss. Ss were 30 normal-anxious and 30 high-anxious undergraduates, classified according to Taylor Manifest Anxiety scale scores. The 2 groups did not differ on a complex learning task under nonstress conditions. Under a stress-chance condition, in which Ss were told they had no control over a shock stressor, the performance of high-anxious Ss was disrupted while that of the normals was not. In a stress-skill condition, Ss were told that they could control the stressor through their performance. Normals showed a marked improvement in performance in the stress-skill condition, but high-anxious Ss showed no significant improvement. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of instructions and reward conditions on the generalization of a prohibition.

Studied effects of instructions and reward contingency on conformity to a prohibition in 48 male and female preschoolers. Ss built with blocks of graduated sizes but were told to use only big (little) blocks. Some were given explicit information as to the permitted sizes; some were not. For some Ss, a prize was contingent upon following instructions; for others, it was not. All groups conformed, displaying a gradient for blocks used according to size. Interactions between instruction and reward conditions are discussed in terms of the effects of task difficulty on performance under threat of negative consequences for errors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of pectin structure on the interaction with bile acids under in vitro conditions

Structural parameters of pectin (a polysaccharide and important component of dietary fibre) influence the interaction with bile acids (BA). The effect of experimental conditions (concentration of pectin, BA and Ca2+) on such interactions was studied at pH 6.0. Series of pectins were used, prepared from virtually fully esterified pectin by gradual de-esterification with alkali or with pectinesterase from oranges. Further amidated and acetylated pectins were also tested. The greatest interaction with BA was found with a very highly esterified pectin under in vitro conditions. The interaction diminished with decreasing degrees of esterification (DE). This decrease was more intensive for pectins possessing a blockwise arrangement of free-COOH groups. Derivatives of pectin generally interacted less with BA. These results were principally confirmed with commercial pectins, with pectins prepared on a pilot-plant scale and with pectins originating from a defined botanical source. The interactions of these preparations with BA were less intensive than with those of pectins having an ideal random distribution of free -COOH groups in the polysaccharide molecules at the same DE. The interaction with pectin is also likely to be influenced by the structure of BA.     

Effects of diet enrichment with glucose and casein on blood cortisol concentration of calves in early postnatal period

The studies were carried out on 30 calves from the 4th to the 25th day of life, divided in three groups; control, glucose and casein. The glucose group was fed a diet containing 25% more glucose than the control. The increased dietary glucose supply decreased cortisol concentration in blood serum. The casein group was fed a diet containing 25% more protein-casein-than the control. The increased dietary casein supply increased the blood serum cortisol concentration. The changes discussed were observed not only during the period of diet application, but also a few days following the termination of the diet.