Serological survey of antibody to Neospora caninum in Japanese dogs

Prevalence of antibody to Neospora caninum (NC) in Japanese dogs were examined. The antibody was positive in 15 of 48 dogs (31.3%) reared in the dairy farms that had case of the abortions due to NC infection or had the cattle seropositive to NC, whereas the prevalence was 7.1% (14 of 198 dogs) among the dogs kept in urban areas. In one dog breeder, all 17 Shetland sheepdogs older than 7 months were seropositive, and one pup was diagnosed as neosporosis 2 months before the first serological examination. The antibody titers of the dogs kept at this breeder were almost unchanged for 1.5 years. Serological evidence of the dogs in the dairy farms and urban areas indicates the transmission of NC between dogs and cattle. Also serological results of the dogs in one breeder may suggest the potential horizontal transmission among dogs.     

Pulmonary vasodilator response to adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium channel activation is attenuated during desflurane but preserved during sevoflurane anesthesia compared with the conscious state

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of sevoflurane and desflurane anesthesia on the pulmonary vasodilator response to the adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium channel agonist, lemakalim, compared with the response measured in the conscious state. In addition, the authors assessed the extent to which sympathetic alpha1-adrenoreceptor inhibition and cyclooxygenase pathway inhibition modulate the vasodilator response to lemakalim. METHODS: Twenty-four conditioned male mongrel dogs were chronically instrumented to measure the left pulmonary vascular pressure-flow relationship. After preconstriction with the thromboxane analogue, U46619, dose-response relationships to lemakalim were assessed on separate days in the conscious state and during sevoflurane (approximately 3.5% end-tidal) and desflurane (approximately 10.5% end-tidal) anesthesia (approximately 1.5 minimum alveolar concentration for each anesthetic agent). The effects of sympathetic alpha1-adrenoreceptor inhibition (prazosin) and cyclooxygenase inhibition (indomethacin) on the pulmonary vasodilator response to lemakalim also were assessed in the conscious and desflurane-anesthetized states. RESULTS: Neither sevoflurane nor desflurane had a net effect on the baseline left pulmonary vascular pressure-flow relationship compared with the conscious state. The magnitude of the pulmonary vasodilator response to lemakalim was preserved during sevoflurane anesthesia but was attenuated (P < 0.05) during desflurane anesthesia compared with the conscious state. The attenuated lemakalim-induced vasodilator response during desflurane anesthesia was partially reversed (P < 0.05) by pretreatment with prazosin but not indomethacin. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium channel-mediated pulmonary vasodilation is preserved during sevoflurane anesthesia but is attenuated during desflurane anesthesia. The attenuated response to adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium channel activation during desflurane anesthesia is partially mediated by reflex sympathetic alpha1-adrenoreceptor vasoconstriction.     

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) embedding and subsequent de-embedding as a method for the structural and immunocytochemical examination of biological specimens by electron microscopy

A simple and reliable method to make resinless sections for electron microscopy was recently developed by using polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a transient embedding media. In this paper the practical procedure of this PEG method is described in detail. Normal ultrastructure of several types of in-situ cells in resinless sections is demonstrated. The cytoplasmic matrix of all in-situ cells examined is revealed to consist of the microtrabecular lattice. A result from application of this technique to immuno-electron microscopy is also illustrated. This method is shown to have potential in overcoming the problem of intracellular penetration of macromolecular antibodies. Several artifacts caused by failures in specimen preparations are displayed. The real or artifactual nature of the microtrabecula is briefly discussed.     

Haloaldehyde polymers. XXIII: Thermal and mechanical properties of chloral polymers

Samples of chloral homopolymers and copolymers with aromatic isocyanates of high chloral content were prepared by cryotachensic polymerization as films of 0.1 to 5 mm thickness. Thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties of these polymers were measured. Polychloral is unlike most other linear polymers as it does not show any melting or glass transition below 220°C, at which temperature the polymer starts to degrade by depolymerization to monomer. The polymer is of moderate crystallinity and shows properties characteristic of engineering plastics.     

Oxidation of mixed copper-iron sulfide

. A rectangular plate of mixed copper-iron sulfide composed of bornite (Cu₅FeS₄) and troilite (FeS) was oxidized in an O₂-Ar mixed gas stream at 1023 to 1123 K. At the start of the oxidation, iron was preferentially oxidized with the rapid formation of a dense Fe₃O₄ layer of about 10 μm thickness on the sample surface, without the evolution of SO₂ gas. Following this reaction, layers of both Fe₃O₄ and Fe₂O₃ grew on the sulfide surface in accordance with the parabolic rate law. The diffusion of iron through the oxide layers was assumed to control the oxidation rate during this stage. The effect of oxygen partial pressure on the parabolic rate constants was minor and an apparent activation energy of 126 kJ/mol was obtained. During the later stages of the reaction, when the sulfur activity in the inner sulfide core increased, the oxidation proceeded irregularly to the interior of the remaining sulfide with the formation of a porous oxide and the evolution of gaseous SO2. The remaining sulfide core was found to be a mixture of bornite (Cu₅FeS₄) and djurleite (Cu_1.96S). H. TSUKADA, former Graduate Student at Kyoto University     

Polarization Switching in (100)/(001) Oriented Epitaxial Pb(Zr, Ti)O3 Thin Films

Thin films made of (100)/(001)-oriented Pb(Zr, Ti)O₃ (PZT) were deposited by liquid-delivery metal-organic chemical vapor deposition on Ir/MgAl₂O₄/SiO₂/Si(100) substrates. For comparison, PZT thin films were also deposited on Ir/MgO(100) substrates. The X-ray scan spectra for the (202) reflections revealed that the PZT films have four-fold symmetry. It indicates that the PZT films were epitaxially grown as a cube-on-cube structure on both substrates. The switchable polarization (Q_sw) of the PZT capacitors on the silicon substrate was only 23 C/cm² at 1.8 V; however, Q_sw of PZT capacitors on MgO was 99 C/cm². In the case of PZT films deposited on silicon, the volume fraction of (001)-oriented domains (which contribute to polarization switching) was 15.1% (calculated from an XRD pattern). This result is due to the lower Q_sw of PZT capacitors on silicon. By piezoresponse-force microscopy, switchable and unswitchable domains could be identified by imaging color contrast, namely, (001) and (100) domains, respectively. Consequently, domain distribution of the PZT film on a silicon substrate indicates that the (001) domain exists in the (100) domain matrix.     

Computer-based extraction of the inferior alveolar nerve canal in 3-D space

Computed tomography (CT) is increasingly employed in orthodontic treatment. One of the most successful applications is in dental implantology, in which an artificial root is surgically inserted into the jawbone to provide anchorage for a dental prosthesis. For successful implant surgery, it is crucial to locate internal structures such as the inferior alveolar nerve canal (IAC). This paper presents a computerized technique for extracting the IAC. To facilitate the extraction, we first generate panoramic CT images (panoramics) by reformatting the original CT images. The panoramics are a series of cross-sectional images along curved planes through the mandible (lower jawbone). Hollow canals are subsequently detected by analyzing the voxel intensities and 3-D gradient orientations in the panoramics. The axis of the IAC is then traced out by a novel 3-D line-tracking technique. The method is effective for extracting the IAC despite the open structure of the surrounding bone.     

Computation of multiweight

In learning machines the key problem is to determine weight vectors satisfying linear inequalities. In two-category classification only one weight is needed, but in multicategory classification the weight vectors which have to be found are as many as the number of pattern classes. The letter shows that, for linear machines, it is necessary to find only one weight vector, which the authors call the multiweight, by applying the steepest descent method in a learning algorithm.     

Highly specific enzyme immunoassay for human chorionic gonadotropin

A highly specific enzyme immunoassay for determining hCG was established by using beta-D-galactosidase as label. In order to increase the specificity of the assay, an antiserum against whole hCG was purified on a column of hCG beta carboxyl-terminal peptide (residues 123-145) covalently linked to Sepharose 4B. The antibody (N101S) thus prepared showed a weak cross-reactivity with human LH in an assay using hCG-enzyme conjugate, but the slight cross-reactivity was virtually avoided when an hCG beta carboxyl-terminal peptide was used as a peptide in the enzyme conjugate. N101S antibody was compared with antiserum (B1B) directed against a carboxyl-terminal peptide (123-145). In hCG measurement N101S gave about 30 times higher sensitivity than B1B, although the former antibody was less sensitive to carboxyl-terminal peptides of hCG beta. The enzyme immunoassay using a combination of N101S antibody and a carboxyl-terminal peptide (130-145)-enzyme conjugate was able to detect as little as 0.25 mIU of hCG without the interference of LH. The performance and validity of this assay were comparable to those of conventional radioimmunoassay.