Unilateral hysterectomy (cornuectomy) in the bitch and its effect on subsequent fertility

During caesarean section of bitches a beginning tissue necrosis of the uterus is often encountered. These alterations mostly require ovariohysterectomy that means the end of breeding life. The aim of this study was to create a model for unilateral hysterectomy during dystocia and to evaluate subsequent fertility. Unilateral cornuectomy was performed in 18 clinically healthy bitches of different ages, breeds, and at different stages of the sexual cyclus. Four bitches were not available for follow-up examinations. Twelve bitches were mated at the first obvious estrus period postoperatively and 10 pregnancies were diagnosed. Nine bitches delivered one to five puppies (mean 3.8) after a gestation period of 63-67 days. The puppies (n=38) were in a very good condition and showed high vitality. Unilateral cornuectomy of the uterus had no adverse effects and postoperative mating revealed pregnancy without complications and normal parturition. In the case of pathological changes in one uterine horn during a caesarean section unilateral hysterectomy seems to be an alternative to ovariohysterectomy.     

Investigation of a Great Number of Actinomycete Isolates on Their Antagonistic Effects Against Soil-Borne Fungal Plant Pathogens by an Improved Method

By means of a modified agar-ring method, the antibiotic efficacy of 300 isolates of actinomycetes, obtained from soil samples from Turkey, against six different test fungi was investigated. A wide range in their degree of sensitivity was evident. Whereas Sclerotinia sclerotiorum was completely inhibited by more than 90 % of the tested isolates, Rhizoctonia solani and Alternaria alternata were suppressed by only 17 and 14 %, respectively; Pythium debaryanum, Cochliobulus sativ, us and Macrophomina phaseolina held an intermediate position. Isolates which completely prevented the growth of Rhizoctonia solani and Alternaria alternata, were usually also highly effective against the other test fungi. Possible conclusions which may be drawn from these results are discussed.     

Complete nucleotide sequences of bovine alpha S2- and beta-casein cDNAs: comparisons with related sequences in other species

The nucleotide sequences corresponding to bovine alpha S2- and beta- casein mRNAs have been determined by cDNA analysis. Both sequences appear to be complete at their 5' ends. The nucleotide sequence of alpha S2-casein, when compared with the corresponding cavine A sequence, helps to define the boundaries of a large amino acid repeat (approximately 80 residues) whereas comparisons with the nucleotide sequences of rat gamma- and mouse epsilon-casein mRNAs also reveal extensive sequence similarities. An alignment of these four sequences shows that the divergence of their translated regions has been characterized by the duplication and deletion of discrete segments of sequence that probably correspond to exons. A high degree of nucleotide substitution is also found when the four sequences are compared, except for well-conserved leader-peptide and phosphorylation-site sequences and, to a lesser extent, the 5'-untranslated regions. Similar comparison of the bovine and rat beta-caseins shows that their divergence has involved a high rate of nucleotide substitution but that no major insertions or deletions of sequence have occurred. The several splice sites that have veen defined in the rat beta-casein gene are likely to have been conserved in the bovine. The contrasting evolutionary histories of the alpha- and beta-casein coding sequences correlate with the distinctive functions of these proteins in the casein micelle system in milk.      

The suppression of salinity-associated oxygen radicals production, in pepper (Capsicum annuum) fruit, by manganese, zinc and calcium in relation to its sensitivity to blossom-end rot

We investigated the possibility that oxidative stress contributes to blossom-end rot (BER) initiation in bell pepper ( Capsicum annuum L.) grown under high salinity. Pepper plants (cv. Mazurka, Rijk Zwaan, the Netherlands) were grown in a greenhouse and irrigated with nutrient solution made up with either desalinated water (control — rising from E.C. 1.9 to 2.4 dS m⁻¹) or saline water (salinity – rising from E.C. 3.2 to 7.0 dS m⁻¹). Irrigation was by a circulation system. BER symptoms were observed throughout the experiment but were highly enhanced in the salinity–grown plants during the spring and summer. The fruit calcium concentration was not affected by salinity, but manganese concentrations in both leaves and fruits were significantly reduced under these conditions. Under salinity there was an enhancement of apoplast reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, which was partly a result of increase in NAD(P)H oxidase activity in the pericarp of pepper fruit at the stage that it was most sensitive to BER. Apoplast ROS production and extracted NAD(P)H oxidase activity were inhibited by manganese, zinc and to a lesser extent by calcium. These cations also negated the enhancement of ROS production caused by incubation of fruit pericarp discs in NaCl solutions. Manganese, zinc and calcium also inhibited NAD(P)H oxidase activity, extracted following their infiltration into fruit pericarp discs. The results suggest that generation and scavenging of oxygen free radicals in the apoplast may contribute to the appearance of BER symptoms in pepper fruits under saline conditions. It is suggested that manganese may serve as antioxidant in pepper fruit and that manganese addition to peppers grown under salinity may alleviate BER symptoms in the fruits.     

The Role of Polygalacturonase (PG) in the Ripening of Apple Fruits

Polygalacturonase (PG) activity and changes in respiratory intensity of apple fruits were investigated. The respiratory rate was decreased to a preclimacteric minimum from 30 Aug. to 20 Sept., Then increased to a climacteric peak (20–30 Sept.) and again drop down gradually with approaching the senescence stage. The PG activity was undetectable in a developing fruit until the onset climacteric phase. It rose rapidly after harvest, and reaching its highest level on 27 Oct. Just a month after the climacteric peak. The PG activity fell gradually. The amount of the fractions of pectic acid in fruits changed with the modifications of PG activity. With the ripening of fruits, the content of alcohol-soluble small molecules of pectic acids was increased from 12 to 13 5 mg/100 g of tissue, while the amount of alcohol- insoluble large molecules of pectic acids reduced from 530 to 280/100 g of tissue. PG activity would indicate the destruction of cell walls and the separation of cells. The onset of softening of fruits occurred 20 days after the rise of PG activity. It is supposed that the process of softening is directly controlled by PG activity.     

Simultaneous detection and differentiation of pathogenic and nonpathogenic Leptospira spp. by multiplex real-time PCR (TaqMan) assay

Leptospirosis, caused by pathogenic Leptospira, is one of the most important zoonoses in the world. Several molecular techniques have been developed for detection and differentiation between pathogenic and saprophytic Leptospira spp. The aim of this study was to develop a rapid and simple assay for specific detection and differentiation of pathogenic Leptospira spp. by multiplex real-time PCR (TaqMan) assay using primers and probes targeting Leptospira genus specific 16S ribosomal RNA gene, the pathogen specific lig A/B genes and nonpathogen Leptospira biflexa specific 23S ribosomal RNA gene. Sixteen reference strains of Leptospira spp. including pathogenic and nonpathogenic and ten other negative control bacterial strains were used in the study. While the 16S primers amplified target from both pathogenic and non-pathogenic leptospires, the ligA/B and the 23S primers amplified target DNA from pathogenic and non-pathogenic leptospires, respectively. The multiplex real-time PCR (TaqMan) assay detection limit, that is, the sensitivity was found approximately 1 x 10(2) cells/ml for ligA/B gene and 23S ribosomal RNA gene, and 10 cells/ml 16S ribosomal RNA. The reaction efficiencies were 83-105% with decision coefficients of more than 0.99 in all multiplex assays. The multiplex real-time PCR (TaqMan) assay yielded negative results with the ten other control bacteria. In conclusion, the developed multiplex real-time PCR (TaqMan) assay is highly useful for early diagnosis and differentiation between pathogenic and non-pathogenic leptospires in a reaction tube as having high sensitivity and specificity.     

The Turkish validation of the Brief International Cognitive Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis (BICAMS) battery

Background

Cognitive impairment may be seen in as many as 43–70% of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and may be observed in all MS subtypes. The Brief International Cognitive Assessment in Multiple Sclerosis (BICAMS) battery may be used to evaluate cognition status. The purpose of the current study is to validate the BICAMS battery in Turkish.

Methods

Patients with MS attending our clinic between September 2014 and April 2015 were invited to participate. Healthy control participants were matched in terms of age, gender and years of education.

Results

One hundred seventy-three MS patients and 153 healthy control participants were enrolled in the study. MS patients performed significantly worse in all trials than the members of the healthy control group. In addition, cognitive dysfunction was identified in 78 of the 173 (45.1%) patients. In the MS with cognitive impairment group, 64 out of 151 (42.4%) subjects were RRMS patients, 12 out of 18 (66.7%) were secondary progressive MS patients, and 2 out of 4 (50%) were primer progressive MS patients.

Conclusions

The BICAMS has been proposed for assessing cognitive impairment in MS patients. This study shows that the battery is suitable for use in Turkey.

     

Effect of zinc ion on cadmium-induced auditory changes

Cadmium, which has adverse effects on many physiological systems, is an important environmental pollutant. Our previous experimental study showed that cadmium also has a dose-dependent deleterious effect on the auditory system in rats. Because zinc reverses cadmium cytotoxicity in many systems, we investigated the possible preventive effect of a zincenriched diet given isochronally on cadmium-induced hearing loss in rats. Fifty-four male rats were divided into three equal groups. Control rats were fed normal rat food and tap water, whereas the cadmium group was subjected to 15 ppm cadmium-containing water as CdCl₂. The third group received 15 ppm CdCl₂ and food enriched with 200 ppm zinc as ZnSO₄ for 30 d. On d 30, eight animals from each group were used for the measurement of kidney functions. In the remaining animals, hearing functions were measured by auditory brainstem response and distortion product otoacoustic emission. Blood cadmium increased from 1.87±1.69 to 6.08±2.62 μg/dL and elevated cadmium contents of ear ossicles and kidney cortex were associated with a decreased glomerular filtration rate in rats subjected to high cadmium. A zinc-enriched diet obviously reduced cadmium accumulation in the kidney and prevented the nephrotoxicity. Our data indicated that cadmium-induced ototoxicity seems to be partially zinc preventable and zinc addition to diet without altering cadmium content in ear ossicles may help to prevent cadmium-induced hearing loss.     

Effect of self-association on the structural organization of partially folded proteins: inactivated actin

The propensity to associate or aggregate is one of the characteristic properties of many nonnative proteins. The aggregation of proteins is responsible for a number of human diseases and is a significant problem in biotechnology. Despite this, little is currently known about the effect of self-association on the structural properties and conformational stability of partially folded protein molecules. G-actin is shown to form equilibrium unfolding intermediate in the vicinity of 1.5 M guanidinium chloride (GdmCl). Refolding from the GdmCl unfolded state is terminated at the stage of formation of the same intermediate state. An analogous form, known as inactivated actin, can be obtained by heat treatment, or at moderate urea concentration, or by the release of Ca(2+). In all cases actin forms specific associates comprising partially folded protein molecules. The structural properties and conformational stability of inactivated actin were studied over a wide range of protein concentrations, and it was established that the process of self-association is rather specific. We have also shown that inactivated actin, being denatured, is characterized by a relatively rigid microenvironment of aromatic residues and exhibits a considerable limitation in the internal mobility of tryptophans. This means that specific self-association can play an important structure-forming role for the partially folded protein molecules.