Viral and Bacterial Pathogens in Bovine Respiratory Disease in Finland

Pathogens causing bovine respiratory tract disease in Finland were investigated. Eighteen cattle herds with bovine respiratory disease were included. Five diseased calves from each farm were chosen for closer examination and tracheobronchial lavage. Blood samples were taken from the calves at the time of the investigation and from 86 calves 3–4 weeks later. In addition, 6–10 blood samples from animals of different ages were collected from each herd, resulting in 169 samples. Serum samples were tested for antibodies to bovine parainfluenza virus-3 (PIV-3), bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV), bovine coronavirus (BCV), bovine adenovirus-3 (BAV-3) and bovine adenovirus-7 (BAV-7). About one third of the samples were also tested for antibodies to bovine virus diarrhoea virus (BVDV) with negative results. Bacteria were cultured from lavage fluid and in vitro susceptibility to selected antimicrobials was tested. According to serological findings, PIV-3, BAV-7, BAV-3, BCV and BRSV are common pathogens in Finnish cattle with respiratory problems. A titre rise especially for BAV-7 and BAV-3, the dual growth of Mycoplasma dispar and Pasteurella multocida, were typical findings in diseased calves. Pasteurella sp. strains showed no resistance to tested antimicrobials. Mycoplasma bovis and Mannheimia haemolytica were not found.     

Thrombocyte substitution in acute leukemia. Effect of histocompatibility on the clinical efficacy

Thrombocyte substitution is an essential prerequisite for intensive cytoreductive therapy in acute leukemia. Evaluating 228 thrombocyte transfusions in 17 patients shows that the clinical effectiveness of thrombocyte concentrates can be increased by making the coordination of HLA antigens of donor and receiver as good as possible. When measured in the corrected increment (CI) 24 hours after transfusion, the effectiveness of A3/B1 match preparations (CI = 7.0 +/- 1.6) is significantly higher than that of random preparations (CI = 3.0 +/- 0.5). With the presence of HLA antibodies an effective substitution (CI24 greater than or equal to 4.5) can only be achieved by A3/B1 match thrombocytes. This can only be realized by applying the fourfold thrombapheresis of single donors.     

Daphniopsis australis nov.sp. (Crustacea: Cladocera), a further daphniid in Australian salt lakes

Daphniopsis australis, a new species of cladoceran in Australian salt lakes, is described, and some brief comments on its distribution are given.     

Chemical composition of a preparation of the cell walls of Corynebacterium diphtheriae

The chemical characteristics of 6 batches of the preparation, obtained from the cell wall of C. diphtheriae grown in liquid and solid culture media, with respect to their content of nitrogen, hexoses, pentoses, total amino sugars, lipids and to the possible admixture of nucleic acids are presented. From the results of the chemical analysis of these batches their standardization according to the ratio of total amino sugars and pentoses to total nitrogen in C. diphtheriae cell-wall preparation is proposed.     

Action of alcohol in chronic emotional pain stress in rats

Male albino rats were exposed to daily emotional painful stress (EPS) for 4 weeks. The arterial blood pressure of the stressed animals increased and the dynamics of the heart rate changed after functional loading (hypokinesis during one or two hours) as compared with the control group. The increase of the heart weight and activation of cytochrome oxidase activity in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of rats exposed to EPS were also demonstrated. The use of 20% ethyl alcohol instead of drinking water during EPS partially prevented vegetative disturbances and activation of hippocampal cytochrome oxidase and fully prevented the heart hypertrophy and activation of the enzyme in the cortex. Alcoholization resulted in the increased weight of the spleen and brown adipose tissue and thymus involution. A possible mechanism of the antistress action of alcohol linked with normalization of intensified lipid peroxidation under stress is discussed.     

Stimulation induced recurrent epileptiform discharges block cortical and subcortical spreading depression in rats

Blockade of the spread depression [SD] in chemically or electrically stimulated areas of the cerebral cortex was analyzed in a series of experiments performed in 40 curarized, locally anaesthetised rats. Longlasting stimulation of the cerebral cortex (0.5 to 1.7 mA, 6 Hz, 0.1 ms) elicited recurrent episodes of enhanced evoked potentials propagating to remote cortical areas [Co], the caudate nucleus [Cd], the hippocampus [Hi] and the thalamus [Th] and was accompanied by marked slow potential shifts (4-6 mV amplitude, 2-3 min duration, at 2-5 min intervals]. The projected discharge interfered with SD initiation and propagation in all the examined structures. The SD blockade was most pronounced during the episodes and almost absent in the intervals between them. The block was manifested by reduced amplitude and duration of the slow potential of SD. Pentobarbital [20 mg/kg] suppressed the recurrent discharges and eliminated the corresponding SD blockade. Recurrent excitability changes induced by Cd and Th stimulation elicited similar effects but the threshold was higher in Cd and Th than in Co. SD was less effectively blocked by the projected discharge than by stimulation of the same structure, particularly in the vicinity of the recording electrodes, where the blockade could be observed even under pentobarbital. The SD blockade outlasted stimulation by a considerably longer period of time in Th (about 10 min) than in the Cd (about 3 min). The onset of stimulation and the projected episodes sometimes elicited SD waves but SD blockade prevailed with continued stimulation. The present findings support the hypothesis that excessive neural activity increases the potassium clearance and thus prevents the autoregenerative accumulation of potassium ions, mediating SD propagation.     

Characterisation of dissolved organic matter in Parisian urban aquatic systems: predominance of hydrophilic and proteinaceous structures

Understanding the nature of organic matter is a necessary first step in assessing contaminant bioavailability and allowing water supply managers to optimise the treatment train in the aim of providing safe and inexpensive drinking water. This study provides further insight into the composition, structure and functional groups of dissolved organic matter (DOM) (both hydrophobic and hydrophilic) from urban aquatic systems by means of various analytical techniques (DAX-8/XAD-4 fractionation, elemental analysis, UV and FTIR spectroscopies, ¹³C and ¹⁵N isotopic analysis, size exclusion chromatography and Pyrolysis-GC-MS). The analytical range chosen for this study constitutes a powerful tool in the characterisation of DOM in urban water. The inclusion of information from one technique to the next might not only serve as a support to each one, but also as a complement. The DOM fraction from treated effluent and, more generally, DOM from urban water (i.e. receiving treated effluent) display a strong hydrophilic characteristic [i.e. low humic substance (HS) content, low SUVA], along with a high distribution in molecular weights observed by SEC and low average molecular weight. Due to the origin of this DOM, proteinaceous structures constitute the main compounds, as observed by FTIR and Py-GC-MS. Such characteristics (i.e. heterogeneity, low average molecular weight and diverse functional groups, which make up a total of N) could explain that DOM from treated effluent displayed a strong reactive potential metals pollutants as previously demonstrated.