Calcification of Intervertebral Discs in the Dachshund: A Radiographic Study of 21 Stud-Dogs

The vertebral columns of 21 clinically normal, 4.9 to 13.2 year old dachshunds were x-rayed. This sample represented 55.3% of all male dachshunds with 20 or more offspring registered with the Norwegian Kennel Club in the period 1985-1989. Calcified intervertebral discs were identified in 9 (42.9%) of the stud-dogs, and the number of calcified discs in each individual varied from 2 to 5 with a mean of 3.7. The frequency of stud-dogs with 1 or more calcified discs was compared with the corresponding frequency in a material of 327 one-year-old dachshunds. In this comparison, the relative risk was estimated with 95% confidence bounds. When the different composition of size and coat varieties in the 2 materials was not considered, the relative risk of calcified discs was found to be 1.77 (0.99-3.2) times higher in stud-dogs than in young dogs. When the different composition of varieties in the 2 materials was considered, the relative risk was found to be 1.9 (1.1-3.4) times higher in stud-dogs than in young dogs. The results of the present study strongly suggest that an increase in the frequency of dachshunds with 1 or more calcified intervertebral discs occurs after 1 year of age.     

Human and mouse S-protein mRNA detected in Northern blot experiments and evidence for the gene encoding S-protein in mammals by Southern blot analysis

Summary Human S-protein is a serum glycoprotein that binds and inhibits the activated complement complex, mediates coagulation through interaction with antithrombin III and plasminogen activator inhibitor I, and also functions as a cell adhesion protein through interactions with extracellular matrix and cell plasma membranes. A full length cDNA clone for human S-protein was isolated from a lambda gt11 cDNA library of mRNA from the HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma cell line using mixed oligonucleotide sequences predicted from the amino-terminal amino acid sequence of human S-protein. The cDNA clone in lambda was subcloned into pUC18 for Southern and Northern blot experiments. Hybridization with radiolabeled human S-protein cDNA revealed a single copy gene encoding S-protein in human and mouse genomic DNA. In addition, the S-protein gene was detected in monkey, rat, dog, cow and rabbit genomic DNA. A 1.7 Kb mRNA for S-protein was detected in RNA from human liver and from the PLC/PRF5 human hepatoma cell line. No S-protein mRNA was detected in mRNA from human lung, placenta, or leukocytes or in total RNA from cultured human embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (RD cell line) or cultured human fibroblasts from embryonic lung (IMR90 cell line) and neonatal foreskin. A 1.6 Kb mRNA for S-protein was detected in mRNA from mouse liver and brain. No S-protein mRNA was detected in mRNA from mouse skeletal muscle, kidney, heart or testis.     

Colonial breeding and speciation in birds

Summary It was recently suggested that bird species which breed colonially might be under stronger sexual selection, have faster rates of evolution and might therefore speciate more rapidly than bird species which do not. If true, then colonial taxa should contain more species than non-colonial taxa, other things being equal. When similarity through common descent is accounted for, there is little evidence for an association between the number of species in a clade and whether it is colonial or not.     

The macrobenthos of the pristine stream, Skiftesåa, Høylandet, Norway

The species composition of aquatic insects in theboreal stream, Skiftesåa, was investigated usingemergence traps, Malaise traps and kick samples. Atleast 13 Ephemeroptera, 16 Plecoptera, 25 Trichopteraand 120 Chironomidae species were recorded. This faunais representative for non-polluted, northern streams.The production of macrobenthos was estimated to beonly about 1 g dry weight per year and m²,possibly due to the fluctuating flow of water.     

Location and identification of the genes for adenovirus type 2 early polypeptides

Virus-specific RNA was prepared from cells early after adenovirus type 2 infection and fractionated by hybridization to specific fragments of viral DNA. The viral mRNA was used to program cell-free protein synthesis, and the products were analyzed by electrophoresis. The genes for the early polypeptides of apparent molecular weight 44,000, 15,000, 72,000, 15,500, 19,000, and 11,000 daltons were located, respectively, between positions 0–4.1, 4.1–16.7, 58.5–70.7, 75.9–83.4, 89.7–98.6, and 89.7–98.6 of the conventional adenovirus DNA map. The polypeptide of molecular weight 72,000 daltons was shown to be the single-strand DNA-binding protein described by others. RNAs from three different adeno-transformed cell lines each program the synthesis in vitro of predominantly the 15K polypeptide, as well as variable amounts of the polypeptide of molecular weight 44,000 daltons. The genes for these two polypeptides are located in the portion of DNA known to be required for transformation of rodent cells by adenovirus.     

Identification of stool proteins in C57BL/6J mice by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry

Gastrointestinal disease is a major cause of mortality in humans and animals, and the detection of disease-associated protein in stool is an established diagnostic method in this context. Yet, no data currently exists about the protein composition of mammalian faeces. Using a newly developed two-dimensional (2D) gel method, 28 of the most abundant proteins in murine faeces were identified. Mammalian faeces contains protein from multiple species (from the individual, from gastrointestinal bacteria, from food, etc.). Yet, it was found that the majority of mouse stool proteins were of mouse origin, with a minority of proteins being derived from food (in particular soybean glycinin and conglycinin) and bacteria (flagellin). Most mouse proteins were proteases and saccharidases derived from the exocrine pancreas. In addition, two unexpected mouse proteins were identified: one was a newly described mucin-like protein from intestinal goblet cells (FcγBP); the other was the secreted form of carbonic anhydrase (type VI) from salivary gland. The data suggest that 2D analysis of faecal protein is likely to provide meaningful information about the physiological stage of the gastrointestinal tract. Compared with studies based on biopsies, faecal protein analysis may reduce the number of laboratory animals, and might also allow quicker bridging from animal studies to humans, where biopsy material is more difficult to obtain and is less relevant for general practice use.     

Antimicrobial activity and structure of a consensus human β-defensin and its comparison to a novel putative hBD10

The spread of multidrug resistant bacteria owing to the intensive use of antibiotics is challenging current antibiotic therapies, and making the discovery and evaluation of new antimicrobial agents a high priority. The evaluation of novel peptide sequences of predicted antimicrobial peptides from different sources is valuable approach to identify alternative antibiotic leads. Two strategies were pursued in this study to evaluate novel antimicrobial peptides from the human β-defensin family (hBD). In the first, a 32-residue peptide was designed based on the alignment of all available hBD primary structures, while in the second a putative 35-residue peptide, hBD10, was mined from the gene DEFB110. Both hBDconsensus and hBD10 were chemically synthesized, folded and purified. They showed antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, but were not hemolytic on human red blood cells. The NMR-based solution structure of hBDconsensus revealed that it adopts a classical β-defensin fold and disulfide connectivities. Even though the mass spectrum of hBD10 confirmed the formation of three disulfide bonds, it showed limited dispersion in ¹H NMR spectra and structural studies were not pursued. The evaluation of different β-defensin structures may identify new antimicrobial agents effective against multidrug-resistant bacterial strains.     

Late Ordovician brachiopods from eastern North Greenland: equatorial offshore migration of the Red River fauna

Abstract: Late Ordovician rhynchonelliformean brachiopods, typical of the North American Red River fauna, are found sporadically in the Børglum River Formation of the Centrum Sø area, Kronprins Christian Land, eastern North Greenland. The geographical distribution of this characteristic brachiopod fauna is thus extended to the easternmost extremity of the Laurentian craton. The assemblage compares specifically with the Hiscobeccus brachiopod fauna, based on key taxa such as notably Hiscobeccus gigas (Wang, 1949), and indicates a late Katian age for this part of the succession. For the first time, this typically inland, shallow‐water fauna is found associated with genera like Bimuria, suggesting a transitional marginal facies with outer shelf benthos. The current study describes a Hiscobeccus fauna that lived at the seaward edge of its preferred habitat. Furthermore, an unpublished Hiscobeccus fauna, from the Børglum River Formation of Peary Land, central North Greenland, as well as several occurrences from the Kap Jackson and Cape Calhoun formations in various parts of Washington Land, western North Greenland, are described here. These show a distinct shift from older strata containing H. capax (Conrad, 1842) to younger strata exclusively yielding specimens of H. gigas. As H. gigas occurs in the upper part of the Cape Calhoun Formation in Washington Land, it indicates that the upper boundary of the Cape Calhoun Formation is considerably younger than previous estimates, reaching into the uppermost Katian (middle Cautleyan–Rawtheyan). The Cape Calhoun Formation correlates with the upper member of the Børglum River Formation and further demonstrates that the Hiscobeccus fauna was widespread in Laurentian marginal settings of North Greenland. Even though the Hiscobeccus fauna was pan‐continental during the late Katian (Richmondian), it possesses a strong provincial signal during the later Ordovician. The new occurrences indicate that this fauna extended to the north‐eastern margin of the Laurentian Craton. It lived in close association with cosmopolitan faunal elements that may have been the earliest sign of the succeeding invasion of migrants from Baltica that arrived later during the Hirnantian. The offshore migration of this atypical Hiscobeccus fauna likely demonstrates the path of warm‐water currents as the Centrum Sø locality was located at the equator during the Late Ordovician.