Failure to Use Cubicles and Concentrate Dispenser by Heifers after Transfer from Rearing Accommodation to Milking Herd

Thirty-three dairy farms in the Norwegian counties of ?stfold and Akershus in which cubicle sheds had been in use for at least one year and with a herd size of less than 60 cows, were contacted and asked to participate in a study. The study focused on heifers' use of cubicles and concentrate dispenser just after being transferred from rearing accommodation to the milking herd. For each heifer, the farmer recorded cubicle use once nightly between 9 and 11 pm. The daily amount of concentrate released in the dispenser and the allotted daily ration were also recorded. The recording period was 15 consecutive days for cubicle use and 7 days for concentrate dispenser use. Cubicle refusal behaviour, i.e. lying outside the cubicles, was analysed by logistic regression using rearing accommodation of heifers, herd size, heifer age, and housing layout as independent variables, and herd as a clustering variable. On Day 2 after transfer, 34% of the heifers were showing cubicle refusal behaviour (N = 340). By Day 15 this percentage had dropped to 23. Cubicle refusal was lower throughout the whole period among heifers which used the cubicles on the 3 first days after transfer compared to those which did not. This tendency could also be detected several months later. The analysis showed cubicle refusal to be significantly associated with rearing accommodation (OR = 6.1, c.i._95%OR = 1.5–24.3, P = 0.01) and cubicle layout in the shed (OR = 0.2, c.i._95%OR = 0.0–0.7, P = 0.01). None of the tested variables were found to be significant for failure to use the concentrate dispenser, a behaviour which was less frequent than cubicle refusal. However, 8 percent of the heifers did not visit the dispenser at all throughout the 7 days of observation.     

Changes in Triphasic Mechanical Properties of Proteoglycan-Depleted Articular Cartilage Extracted from Osmotic Swelling Behavior Monitored Using High-Frequency Ultrasound

This study aims to obtain osmosis-induced swelling strains of normal and proteoglycan (PG) depleted articular cartilage using an ultrasound system and to investigate the changes in its mechanical properties due to the PG depletion using a layered triphasic model. The swelling strains of 20 cylindrical cartilage-bone samples collected from different bovine patellae were induced by decreasing the concentration of bath saline and monitored by the ultrasound system. The samples were subsequently digested by a trypsin solution for approximately 20 min to deplete proteoglycans, and the swelling behaviors of the digested samples were measured again. The bi-layered triphasic model proposed in our previous study (Wang et al., J Biomech Eng-Trans ASME 2007; 129: 413-422) was used to predict the layered aggregate modulus Hafrom the data of depth-dependent swelling strain, fixed charge density and water content. It was found that the region near the bone, for the normal specimens, had a significantly higher aggregate modulus (Ha₁= 20.6±18.2 MPa) in comparison with the middle zone and the surface layer (Ha₂= 7.8±14.5 MPa and Ha₃= 3.6±3.2 MPa, respectively) (p < 0.001). The normalized thickness of the deep layer h₁ was 0.68±0.20. After the trypsin digestion, the parametric values decreased to Ha₁ = 13.6±9.6 MPa, Ha₂ = 6.7±11.5 MPa, Ha₃ = 2.7±3.2 MPa, and h₁ = 0.57±0.28. Other models were also used to analyze data and the results were compared. This study showed that high-frequency ultrasound measurement combined with the triphasic modeling was capable of nondestructively quantifying the alterations in the layered mechanical properties of the proteoglycan-depleted articular cartilage.     

A tetravalent bispecific TandAb (CD19/CD3), AFM11, efficiently recruits T cells for the potent lysis of CD19+ tumor cells

To harness the potent tumor-killing capacity of T cells for the treatment of CD19⁺ malignancies, we constructed AFM11, a humanized tetravalent bispecific CD19/CD3 tandem diabody (TandAb) consisting solely of Fv domains. The molecule exhibits good manufacturability and stability properties. AFM11 has 2 binding sites for CD3 and 2 for CD19, an antigen that is expressed from early B cell development through differentiation into plasma cells, and is an attractive alternative to CD20 as a target for the development of therapeutic antibodies to treat B cell malignancies. Comparison of the binding and cytotoxicity of AFM11 with those of a tandem scFv bispecific T cell engager (BiTE) molecule targeting the same antigens revealed that AFM11 elicited more potent in vitro B cell lysis. Though possessing high affinity to CD3, the TandAb mediates serial-killing of CD19⁺ cells with little dependence of potency or efficacy upon effector:target ratio, unlike the BiTE. The advantage of the TandAb over the BiTE was most pronounced at lower effector:target ratios. AFM11 mediated strictly target-dependent T cell activation evidenced by CD25 and CD69 induction, proliferation, and cytokine release, notwithstanding bivalent CD3 engagement. In a NOD/scid xenograft model, AFM11 induced dose-dependent growth inhibition of Raji tumors in vivo, and radiolabeled TandAb exhibited excellent localization to tumor but not to normal tissue. After intravenous administration in mice, half-life ranged from 18.4 to 22.9 h. In a human ex vivo B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia study, AFM11 exhibited substantial cytotoxic activity in an autologous setting. Thus, AFM11 may represent a promising therapeutic for treatment of CD19⁺ malignancies with an advantageous safety risk profile and anticipated dosing regimen.     

Physiological tonicity improves human chondrogenic marker expression through nuclear factor of activated T-cells 5 <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis>

Introduction  

Chondrocytes experience a hypertonic environment compared with plasma (280 mOsm) due to the high fixed negative charge density of cartilage. Standard isolation of chondrocytes removes their hypertonic matrix, exposing them to nonphysiological conditions. During in vitro expansion, chondrocytes quickly lose their specialized phenotype, making them inappropriate for cell-based regenerative strategies. We aimed to elucidate the effects of tonicity during isolation and in vitro expansion on chondrocyte phenotype.     

Analyses of short-chain fatty acids and exhaled breath volatiles in dietary intervention trials for metabolic diseases

As an alternative to pharmacological treatment to diseases, lifestyle interventions, such as dietary changes and physical activities, can help maintain healthy metabolic conditions. Recently, the emerging analyses of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from breath and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) from plasma/feces have been considered as useful tools for the diagnosis and mechanistic understanding of metabolic diseases. Furthermore, diet-induced changes of SCFAs in individuals with diagnosed metabolic abnormalities have been correlated with the composition changes of the gut microbiome. More interestingly, the analysis of exhaled breath (breathomics) has gained attention as a useful technique to measure the human VOC profile altered as a result of dietary interventions. In this mini-review, we examined recent clinical trials that performed promising dietary interventions, SCFAs analysis in plasma/feces, and VOC profile analysis in exhaling breath to understand the relationship between dietary intervention and metabolic health.     

Phylogenetic and coalescent analysis of three loci suggest that the Water Rail is divisible into two species, <Emphasis Type=Italic>Rallus aquaticus</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type=Italic>R. indicus</Emphasis>

Background  

Water Rails (Rallus aquaticus) inhabit fragmented freshwater wetlands across their Palearctic distribution. Disjunct populations are now thought to be morphologically similar over their vast geographic range, though four subspecies had been recognized previously. The fossil record suggests that Water Rails (R. aquaticus) were already spread across the Palearctic by the Pleistocene ~2 million years ago, and the oldest fossil remains thought to be closely related to the common ancestor of water rails date from the Pliocene.     

Using an evolutionary algorithm and parallel computing for haplotyping in a general complex pedigree with multiple marker loci

Background  

Haplotype reconstruction is important in linkage mapping and association mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTL). One widely used statistical approach for haplotype reconstruction is simulated annealing (SA), implemented in SimWalk2. However, the algorithm needs a very large number of sequential iterations, and it does not clearly show if convergence of the likelihood is obtained.     

Bestimmung von Fumonisinen in komplexen Lebensmittelmatrices mittels Accelerated Solvent Extraktion (ASE)

Accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) is an alternative sample extraction procedure for fumonisins in corn and corn products. ASE gave results comparable to that of a draft CEN method, but required less extraction time. Furthermore, ASE gave significantly higher quantitative values than another method reported for extraction of fumonisins (Trucksess et al., 1995).     

Simultaneous fine mapping of closely linked epistatic quantitative trait loci using combined linkage disequilibrium and linkage with a general pedigree

Causal mutations and their intra- and inter-locus interactions play a critical role in complex trait variation. It is often not easy to detect epistatic quantitative trait loci (QTL) due to complicated population structure requirements for detecting epistatic effects in linkage analysis studies and due to main effects often being hidden by interaction effects. Mapping their positions is even harder when they are closely linked. The data structure requirement may be overcome when information on linkage disequilibrium is used. We present an approach using a mixed linear model nested in an empirical Bayesian approach, which simultaneously takes into account additive, dominance and epistatic effects due to multiple QTL. The covariance structure used in the mixed linear model is based on combined linkage disequilibrium and linkage information. In a simulation study where there are complex epistatic interactions between QTL, it is possible to simultaneously map interacting QTL into a small region using the proposed approach. The estimated variance components are accurate and less biased with the proposed approach compared with traditional models.