Use of AI technician scores for body condition, uterine tone and uterine discharge in a model with disease and milk production parameters to predict pregnancy risk at first AI in Holstein dairy cows

Technicians recorded body condition score (BCS) and several parameters related to estrus and/or metritis for 1694 first insemination cows on 23 farms. Additional variables for modeling the adjusted odds ratios (OR) for pregnancy were data on disease prior to or within 21 days of AI and test day milk yields. Significant predictors for pregnancy were farm, year and season, BCS, uterine tone, contaminated insemination gun after AI, fat-protein corrected kilograms milk (FPCM), days in milk (DIM), and diseases. Vaginal mucus, ease of cervical passage, and lameness were not significant predictors for pregnancy. Pregnancy risk at AI increased with increasing DIM, reaching a near optimum after 82 days. Lack of uterine tone was associated with a lowered pregnancy risk (OR = 0.69) as was contaminated insemination gun (OR = 0.67), first-parity lactation, FPCM >33 kg (OR = 0.71), BCS 2.5 at AI (OR = 0.65), clinical mastitis (OR = 0.53), cystic ovarian disease (OR = 0.53), and metritis (OR = 0.74). It was concluded that data on BCS and uterine findings, as collected by AI technicians, are significant predictors of AI outcome. Dairy producers and veterinarians should jointly examine the potential costs and value of such AI technician-based data to improve herd fertility.     

Comprehensive molecular phylogeny of the sub-family Dipterocarpoideae (Dipterocarpaceae) based on chloroplast DNA sequences

Dipterocarpoideae, the largest sub-family of well-known plant family Dipterocarpaceae, dominates in South Asian rain forests. Although several previous studies addressed the phylogeny of the Dipterocarpaceae family, relationships among many of its genera from the Dipterocarpoideae sub-family are still not well understood. In particular, little is known about the relationships of the genera Vateriopsis, Stemonoporus, Vateria and inconsistence remains between phylogenetic results and taxonomic classifications of Shorea and Hopea species. We studied molecular phylogeny of the sub-family Dipterocarpoideae using the trnL-trnF spacer, trnL intron and the matK gene sequences of chloroplast DNA (cpDNA). This study is the first comprehensive phylogeny reconstruction for the sub-family Dipterocarpoideae based on cpDNA, as it includes most genera (14) and a large number of species (79) with most species endemic to Sri Lanka, as well as one species from Seychelles and one species from the genus Monotes from Madagascar. Phylogenetic trees were constructed using the Neighbor Joining (NJ) and Maximum Likelihood (ML) methods using combined set of sequences including all three cpDNA regions. The topologies of the NJ and ML trees were to a certain extent, consistent with the current taxonomy of Dipterocarpoideae based on morphology and with previous molecular phylogenies based on cpDNA. Furthermore, our results provided new evidence regarding the relationships of the following genera: Vateriopsis and Stemonoporus and about the validity of the previous morphology based classifications of Shorea species. In addition, the topology of our trees was consistent with the classification of Shorea species proposed by Maury (1978), Maury-Lechon (1979) and Symington (1943). Finally, our results provided evidence for the affinity of the genus Monotes to Asian Dipterocarpoideae rather than to Tiliaceae and indicated that it is a good candidate for outgroup species for future studies of the former sub-family.     

Clinical Profiles and Factors Associated with Death in Adults with Dengue Admitted to Intensive Care Units,Minas Gerais,Brazil

The purpose of our study was to describe the clinical profile of dengue-infected patients admitted to Brazilian intensive care units (ICU) and evaluate factors associated with death. A longitudinal, multicenter case series study was conducted with laboratory-confirmed dengue patients admitted to nine Brazilian ICUs situated in Minas Gerais state, southeastern Brazil from January 1, 2008, to December 31, 2013. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data; disease severity scores; and mortality were evaluated. A total of 97 patients were studied. The in-ICU and in-hospital mortality rates were 18.6% and 19.6%, respectively. Patients classified as having severe dengue according to current World Health Organization classifications showed an increased risk of death in a univariate analysis. Nonsurvivors were older, exhibited lower serum albumin concentrations and higher total leukocyte counts and serum creatinine levels. Other risk factors (vomiting, lethargy/restlessness, dyspnea/respiratory distress) were also associated with death in a univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis indicated that in-hospital mortality was significantly associated with Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II and the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score. The ICU and in-hospital mortality observed in this study were higher than values reported in similar studies. An increased frequency of ICU admission due to severe organ dysfunction, higher severity indices and scarcity of ICU beds may partially explain the higher mortality.     

Small tropical forest trees have a greater capacity to adjust carbon metabolism to long-term drought than large canopy trees

The response of small understory trees to long-term drought is vital in determining the future composition, carbon stocks and dynamics of tropical forests. Long-term drought is, however, also likely to expose understory trees to increased light availability driven by drought-induced mortality. Relatively little is known about the potential for understory trees to adjust their physiology to both decreasing water and increasing light availability. We analysed data on maximum photosynthetic capacity (J_max, V_cmax), leaf respiration (R_leaf), leaf mass per area (LMA), leaf thickness and leaf nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations from 66 small trees across 12 common genera at the world's longest running tropical rainfall exclusion experiment and compared responses to those from 61 surviving canopy trees. Small trees increased J_max, V_cmax, R_leaf and LMA (71, 29, 32, 15% respectively) in response to the drought treatment, but leaf thickness and leaf nutrient concentrations did not change. Small trees were significantly more responsive than large canopy trees to the drought treatment, suggesting greater phenotypic plasticity and resilience to prolonged drought, although differences among taxa were observed. Our results highlight that small tropical trees have greater capacity to respond to ecosystem level changes and have the potential to regenerate resilient forests following future droughts.     

Periodontitis in established rheumatoid arthritis patients: a cross-sectional clinical,microbiological and serological study

Introduction

The association between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and periodontitis is suggested to be linked to the periodontal pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis. Colonization of P. gingivalis in the oral cavity of RA patients has been scarcely considered. To further explore whether the association between periodontitis and RA is dependent on P. gingivalis, we compared host immune responses in RA patients with and without periodontitis in relation to presence of cultivable P. gingivalis in subgingival plaque.

Methods

In 95 RA patients, the periodontal condition was examined using the Dutch Periodontal Screening Index for treatment needs. Subgingival plaque samples were tested for presence of P. gingivalis by anaerobic culture technique. IgA, IgG and IgM antibody titers to P. gingivalis were measured by ELISA. Serum and subgingival plaque measures were compared to a matched control group of non-RA subjects.

Results

A higher prevalence of severe periodontitis was observed in RA patients in comparison to matched non-RA controls (27% versus 12%, p < 0.001). RA patients with severe periodontitis had higher DAS28 scores than RA patients with no or moderate periodontitis (p < 0.001), while no differences were seen in IgM-RF or ACPA reactivity. Furthermore, RA patients with severe periodontitis had higher IgG- and IgM-anti P. gingivalis titers than non-RA controls with severe periodontitis (p < 0.01 resp. p < 0.05), although subgingival occurrence of P. gingivalis was not different.

Conclusions

Severity of periodontitis is related to severity of RA. RA patients with severe periodontitis have a more robust antibody response against P. gingivalis than non-RA controls, but not all RA patients have cultivable P. gingivalis.     

Performance of LBSap Vaccine after Intradermal Challenge with L. infantum and Saliva of Lu. longipalpis: Immunogenicity and Parasitological Evaluation

In the last decade, the search for new vaccines against canine visceral leishmaniasis has intensified. However, the pattern related to immune protection during long periods after experimental infection in vaccine trials is still not fully understood. Herein, we investigated the immunogenicity and parasitological levels after intradermal challenge with Leishmania infantum plus salivary gland extract in dogs immunized with a vaccine composed of L. braziliensis antigens plus saponin as an adjuvant (LBSap vaccine). The LBSap vaccine elicited higher levels of total anti-Leishmania IgG as well as both IgG1 and IgG2. Furthermore, dogs vaccinated had increased levels of lymphocytes, particularly circulating B cells (CD21⁺) and both CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T lymphocytes. LBSap also elicited an intense in vitro cell proliferation associated with higher levels of CD4⁺ T lymphocytes specific for vaccine soluble antigen and soluble lysate of L. infantum antigen even 885 days after experimental challenge. Furthermore, LBSap vaccinated dogs presented high IFN-γ and low IL-10 and TGF-β1 expression in spleen with significant reduction of parasite load in this tissue. Overall, our results validate the potential of LBSap vaccine to protect against L. infantum experimental infection and strongly support further evaluation of efficiency of LBSap against CVL in natural infection conditions.     

Agrobacterium mediated transformation of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) embryo axes

 Embryo axes of four accessions of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) were treated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains C58C1/GV2260 carrying the plasmid p35SGUSINT and EHA101 harbouring the plasmid pIBGUS. In both vectors the GUS gene is interrupted by an intron. After inoculation shoot formation was promoted on MS medium containing 0.5 mg/l BAP under a selection pressure of 100 mg/l kanamycin or 10 mg/l phosphinothricin, depending on the construct used for transformation. Expression of the chimeric GUS gene was confirmed by histochemical localization of GUS activity in regenerated shoots. Resistant shoots were grafted onto 5-day-old dark-grown seedlings, and mature plants could be recovered. T-DNA integration was confirmed by Southern analysis by random selection of putative transformants. The analysis of 4 plantlets of the T1 progeny revealed that none of them was GUS-positive, whereas the presence of the nptII gene could be detected by polymerase chain reaction. Received: 30 May 1997 / Revision received: 18 September 1997 / Accepted: 22 March 1999     

Hydrogen peroxide inhibits epidermal growth factor receptor internalization in human fibroblasts

Several cellular signal transduction cascades are affected by oxidative stress. In this study, the effect of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) on the endocytosis of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor was investigated. Exposure of HER14 cells to H2O2 resulted in a concentration-dependent inhibition of EGF receptor internalization. Binding studies demonstrated that this H2O2-induced inhibition in internalization was not due to altered binding of EGF to its receptor. Addition of H2O2 at different time points during internalization showed that EGF receptor internalization was rapidly reduced, suggesting that one of the first steps in the internalization process is inhibited. In addition, H2O2 inhibited the internalization of a different receptor, the chicken hepatic lectin receptor, in a concentration-dependent manner as well. Treatment of cells with another inducer of oxidative stress, cumene hydroperoxide, also resulted in a decreased internalization. Finally, we showed that H2O2 inhibited EGF-induced mono-ubiquitination of the EGF receptor pathway substrate clone 15, a process that normally occurs during EGF receptor endocytosis. These results clearly show that oxidative stress interferes with EGF signaling.     

Factors affecting population regulation of a colonial vulture

Two hypotheses have been proposed to link population regulation to density‐dependent changes in demographical parameters: the habitat heterogeneity hypothesis (HHH) states that, as population density rises, an increasing proportion of individuals are forced to occupy low‐quality territories, which provokes a decline in average per‐capita survival and/or productivity although some individuals show no decline in fecundity; and the individual adjustment hypothesis (IAH), which suggests that increased densities lead to reductions in survival and/or fecundity by enhancing agonistic interactions, which affect all individuals to a similar extent. However, density‐dependent effects can be affected by density‐independent factors (DIF), such as weather. We test the effects of density dependence on annual reproductive success in Griffon Vultures Gyps fulvus at four spatial scales, nest‐site, cliff, colony and metacolony, in northern Spain from 2008 to 2015. Our results showed most support for the HHH at all scales. At the colony and cliff scale, IAH and DIF had similar importance, whereas there was little evidence of IAH at the metacolony and the nest scale. The best protected eyries (caves, potholes and sheltered ledges) produced the most fledglings and were used preferentially, whereas low‐quality eyries (exposed ledges or open crevices) were used only when the number of breeders increased. The significant interaction between breeding failure and density found for the more exposed eyries suggests that at higher densities, breeding pairs are forced to use poorer nesting areas, and the negative effect of density at the cliff scale could be due to the combined effect of a higher proportion of pairs using low‐quality eyries and the negative effect of rainfall.