Frequency of prenatal loss in a macaque breeding colony

An accurate knowledge of the historical incidence of prenatal loss is essential for management of breeding colonies and for performing developmental toxicity studies in nonhuman primates. Data from the California Regional Primate Research Center indoor (timed-mated) and outdoor (random-mated) colonies of rhesus, cynomolgus, and bonnet macaques (Macaca mulatta, M. fascicularis, and M. radiata) were evaluated for a 10 year breeding period from 1984 to 1993. Pregnancy outcome data for the three species of macaques summarized in this report indicate that early pregnancy as well as term are vulnerable periods of gestation in terms of prenatal loss. Prematurity as well as twinning were additionally associated with elevated rates of loss during the prenatal or neonatal period. The incidence of pregnancy failure did not appear to be related to different housing/management conditions (i.e., indoor timed-mated vs. outdoor random-mated), parity, animal handling, shipping, or relocation. Some of the annual fluctuations in abortions could be related to disease outbreaks (e.g., measles, pneumonia) in the colony. These data will be invaluable in planning for research needs which focus on developmental biology and perinatology, and in interpreting the significance of abortions following exposure to experimental agents in small numbers of animals. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

广西地区脑血管病城乡抽样对比分析

本文着重分析了广西城市和农村脑血管病发病情况的差异。我们发现城市CVD发病率、患病率明显高于农村,但是农村CVD的死亡率高于城市,其中我们对其原因作了初步的探讨。     

臭氧对细菌杀灭作用的初步研究

本文以枯草杆菌,大肠杆菌,八迭球菌,金黄色葡萄球菌为研究对象,研究了臭氧作用时间,臭氧浓度与它们致死的关系,用臭氧作用前后细胞形态的变化。实验结果表明,在恒定的臭氧浓度下,随着作用时间的增长,致死率明显升高,且能达到１００ ％ 的致死率;作用时间相同,臭氧浓度减少,致死率下降     

Comparative analysis of oyster (Crassostrea gigas) immune responses under challenge by different Vibrio strains and conditions

Screening a virulent Vibrio strain to study the interactions between bacterial infection and host immune defence is important to resolve large-scale summer oyster mortalities. Using adductor muscle injection we tested the oyster responses to phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), lipopolysaccharide (LPS), or Vibrio strains. Mortalities and stress gene expressions were used to characterize oyster immune responses. At 5 days post injection, the cumulative mortality rates in PBS, LPS, Vibrio tubiashii, Vibrio anguillarum, Vibrio alginolyticus and Vibrio aestuarianus groups were 8%, 16%, 36%, 40%, 40% and 76%, respectively, indicating that V. aestuarianus induced the highest death rate. Two-factor analyses of variance revealed that expression of SOD, CAT, GPX and HSP70 was influenced by bacterial injections in a time-dependent manner. The expression of all genes increased and reached their peak 3 or 12 h after bacterial injection and then decreased. These genes could be applied as immune responsive biomarkers to monitor early changes in oysters in response to bacterial infection. The greatest changes were observed in the V. aestuarianus-injected group, which may indicate that V. aestuarianus could be used as one of the more virulent strains for experimental infections.     

Sex differences in total body water in adolescent rhesus macaques estimated by ethanol dilution

Abstract: Non‐human primates are widely used in research, yet relatively few studies have addressed potential pharmacokinetic differences between males and females. The present study examined the relationship between total body water, sex, age, and weight in the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta). Ethanol‐naïve, adolescent rhesus macaques (n = 119) were administered ethanol (males, 2.1 g/kg; females, 2.0 g/kg) intravenously, and blood samples for blood ethanol concentration obtained at 5, 10, and 60 minutes following the end of the infusion. Non‐linear regression was used to compare and contrast a series of pharmacokinetic models examining the relationship between weight, sex, age, V_d and zero‐order elimination rate. V_d (mean ± SEM) for male rhesus was 0.771 ± 0.008 l/kg and for females was 0.730 ± 0.008 l/kg, different at P < 0.00001. There were no sex differences in the rate of zero‐order ethanol elimination, estimated to be 0.0032 ± 0.0004 g/kg/minute. The data reported here may be useful in designing and interpreting pharmacokinetic studies using rhesus monkeys.     

多个遗传标记情形下的RFLP的可诊断率估计

限制性酶切片段长度多态性(RFLP)作为共显性的遗传标记,已广泛应用于遗传病的产前诊断。为评价各遗传标记的适用性,本文给出了在多个遗传标记情形下的RFLP的可诊断率的估计方法,即在使用若干个遗传标记时,群体中可被诊断后代罹病与否的婚配类型的比例的估计方法,包括致病基因为常染色体显性、常染色体隐性、X连锁显性和X连锁隐性的情况,并认为增加遗传标记的个数和选择具较多等位基因的遗传标记,是提高产前诊断可诊断率的有效途径。同时,根据各遗传标记在群体中的多态性分布,可估计各遗传标记及其各种不同组合的可诊断率,以此选择在该群体中最为适合的遗传标记或其组合,以指导RFLP在产前诊断中的应用。     

Peculiarities of Ethanol Metabolism in an Acinetobacter sp. Mutant Strain Defective in Exopolysaccharide Synthesis

Activities of the key enzymes of ethanol metabolism were assayed in ethanol-grown cells of an Acinetobacter sp. mutant strain unable to synthesize exopolysaccharides (EPS). The original EPS-producing strain could not be used for enzyme analysis because its cells could not to be separated from the extremely viscous EPS with a high molecular weight. In Acinetobacter sp., ethanol oxidation to acetaldehyde proved to be catalyzed by the NAD⁺-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.1.). Both NAD⁺ and NADP⁺ could be electron accepters in the acetaldehyde dehydrogenase reaction. Acetate is implicated in the Acinetobacter sp. metabolism via the reaction catalyzed by acetyl-CoA-synthetase (EC 6.2.1.1.). Isocitrate lyase (EC 4.1.3.1.) activity was also detected, indicating that the glyoxylate cycle is the anaplerotic mechanism that replenishes the pool of C₄-dicarboxylic acids in Acinetobacter sp. cells. In ethanol metabolism by Acinetobacter sp., the reactions involving acetate are the bottleneck, as evidenced by the inhibitory effect of sodium ions on both acetate oxidation in the intact cells and on acetyl-CoA-synthetase activity in the cell-free extracts, as well as by the limitation of the C₂-metabolism by coenzyme A. The results obtained may be helpful in developing a new biotechnological procedure for obtaining ethanol-derived exopolysaccharide ethapolan.     

Chronic ethanol consumption alters cardiovascular functions in conscious rats

Chronic ethanol intake and hypertension are related. In the present work, we investigated the effect of chronic ethanol (20% v/v) intake for 2, 6 and 10 weeks on basal arterial blood pressure, baroreflex and heart rate levels, as well as on the cardiovascular responses to the infusion of vasoactive agents in unanesthetized rats. Mild hypertension was observed after 2 weeks, 6 weeks or 10 weeks of treatment. On the other hand, no changes were observed in heart rate after long-term ethanol intake. Similar baroreflex changes were observed in 2- or 6-week ethanol-treated rats, and affected all parameters of baroreflex sigmoid curves, when compared to the control group. These changes were characterized by an enhanced baroreflex sympathetic component and a reduction in the baroreflex parasympathetic component. No differences in baroreflex parameters were observed in 10-week ethanol-treated animals. The pressor effects of i.v. phenylephrine were enhanced in 2-week ethanol-treated rats; not affected in 6-week treated animals and reduced in 10-week ethanol-treated rats, when compared to respective control and isocaloric groups. The hypotensive response to i.v. sodium nitroprusside (SNP) was enhanced at all different times of treatment, when compared to respective control and isocaloric groups. In conclusion, the present findings showed increased arterial pressure in the early phase of chronic ethanol consumption, which was consequent of rise in both systolic and diastolic pressures. Ethanol intake affected both the sympathetic and the parasympathetic components of the baroreflex. Vascular responsiveness to the pressor agent phenylephrine was initially enhanced and later on decreased during chronic ethanol intake. Vascular responsiveness to the depressor agent SNP was enhanced during chronic ethanol intake.     

Too hot to handle? Balancing increased trapability with capture mortality in hot weather pitfall trapping

Trapping at air temperatures close to, or exceeding, critical thermal maxima is important for comprehensive sampling of vertebrate assemblages and collection of sufficient data for impact assessment. However, pitfall trapping on hot days also potentially exposes trapped animals to stress or death through overheating or desiccation. We investigate causes of mortality from 14 305 captures over a 22‐year pitfall trap study in arid South Australia and compared mortality rates with maximum temperatures, solar radiation and rainfall. Overall mortality rate was 3.2% with chewing by rodents and handling accidents the most influential cause of death recorded. The highest mortality rates were experienced by the tiny skink, Lerista labialis, which was difficult to detect in traps each day and hence problematic to assess the effect of weather variables on capture mortality. For all other abundant species, high maximum temperature was only a significant explanatory variable for increased death rates of the house mouse Mus domesticus, and increased solar radiation was positively related to capture mortality for the house mouse, the frog Neobatrachus sudelli and the small skink Ctenotus schomburgkii. However, capture rates for these taxa and eight other common species would have been significantly lower if trapping did not occur on days of 40 °C or more. We conclude that trapping in hot weather is both desirable and justifiable and suggest techniques for further reducing mortality rates in pitfall studies.     

Dynamics and estimates of growth and loss rates of bacterioplankton in a temperate freshwater system

The growth rate and losses of bacterioplankton in the epilimnion of an oligo-mesotrophic reservoir were simultaneously estimated using three different methods for each process. Bacterial production was determined by means of the tritiated thymidine incorporation method, the dialysis bag method and the dilution method, while bacterial mortality was assessed with the dilution method, the disappearance of thymidine-labeled natural cells and ingestion of fluorescent bacterial tracers by heterotrophic flagellates. The different methods used to estimate bacterial growth rates yielded similar results. On the other hand, the mortality rates obtained with the dilution method were significantly lower than those obtained with the use of thymidine-labeled natural cells. The bacterial ingestion rate by flagellates accounted on average for 39% of total bacterial mortality estimated by the dilution method, but this value fell to 5% when the total mortality was measured by the thymidine-labeling method. Bacterial abundance and production varied in opposite phase to flagellate abundance and the various bacterial mortality rates. All this points to the critical importance of methodological aspects in the elaboration of quantitative models of matter and energy flows over the time through microbial trophic networks in aquatic systems, and highlights the role of bacterioplankton as a source of carbon for higher trophic levels in the studied system.