The effect of udder infection on the bacterial flora of the bulk milk of ten dairy herds

The significance of udder infection as a factor increasing the bacterial count of herd bulk milk was measured monthly for one year in ten dairy herds in Southern England. Staphylococcus aureus or mastitis streptococci were detected in 86% of samples, usually in numbers between 1000 and 10 000 c.f.u./ml of milk. However, in 8 and 2% of samples respectively greater than 20 000 or 100 000 c.f.u. of mastitis pathogens/ml of milk were detected. This occurred most commonly in the herds with a high incidence of Streptococcus uberis mastitis. The total bacterial counts of the herds' milks varied between 13 960 and 46 230 c.f.u./ml in the winter and between 6510 and 63 000 c.f.u./ml in the summer. No correlation was found between bacteriological quality of herd milk and the cleanliness of the milking machine and pipeline as assessed by plant rinses.     

Solubility of vesicular stomatitis virus M protein in the cytosol of infected cells or isolated from virions.

The peripheral membrane M protein of vesicular stomatitis virus purified by detergent extraction of virions and ion-exchange chromatography was determined to be a monomer in the absence of detergent at high salt concentrations. Reduction of the ionic strength below 0.2 M resulted in a rapid aggregation of M protein. This self-association was reversible by the detergent Triton X-100 even in low salt. However, aggregation was not reversible by high salt concentration alone. M protein is initially synthesized as a soluble protein in the cytosol of infected cells, thus raising the question of how the solubility of M protein is maintained at physiological ionic strength. Addition of radiolabeled M protein purified from virions to unlabeled cytosol from either infected or uninfected cells inhibited the self-association reaction. Cytosolic fractions from infected or uninfected cells were equally effective at preventing the self-association of M protein. Self-association could also be prevented by an irrelevant protein such as bovine serum albumin. Sedimentation velocity analysis indicated that most of the newly synthesized M protein is monomeric, suggesting that the solubility of M protein in the cytosol is maintained by either low-affinity interaction with macromolecules in the cytosol or interaction of a small population of M-protein molecules with cytosolic components.     

Mangrove zooplankton of North Queensland,Australia

Food consumption, growth, fish length distributions,population sizes and habitat use of the salmonids intwo lakes in the Høylandet area were studied in1986–89. The allopatric brown trout (Salmotrutta L.) in the tarn Røyrtjønna (27 ha) fed mainlyon organisms at the lake surface , crustaceanplankton, Trichoptera and Chironomidae. Only 5% ofthe trout reached an age of 6 years and a length of25 cm. Sexual maturation started at age 3 and a lengthof 14 cm. Through mark – recapture technique thenumber of trout >10 cm was estimated to 115 ha^-1.Growth, fish length frequencies and sexualmaturation of the sympatric brown trout and Arcticcharr (Salvelinus alpinus (L.)) in LakeStorgrønningen (530 ha) were not much different. TheStorgrønningen charr fed chiefly on zooplankton whichby volume represented 33% for the trout. The foodconsumption of Storgrønningen trout was at maximum inJuly with 2.06 mg food (d.w.) per g live fish and forcharr in September with 1.26 mg food. The maximumsize-independent growth rate of trout was 5.2%day^-1 in late June, and for charr 4.1%day^-1 in late July. Seventy percent of theirseasonal growth took place before 15 August. The charrstayed mainly deeper than 3-4 m, at water temperatures<15 °C. Brown trout stayed mainly the littoralzone and in near surface water of the pelagic. Thenumber of pelagic charr was estimated hydroacusticallyto 50 ind. ha^-1. The charr spawn in thelake. Mean numbers of juvenile trout in the twolargest tributaries were 26 and 48 per 100 m².Their annual length increment was 2.8–3.4 cm. Noindication of acidification or other human inducedimpacts were found. The lakes and their tributariesrepresent complex aquatic systems, representative forpristine oligotrophic Norwegian lowland lakes.John W. Jensen died shortly after easter in 1996     

Nerve growth factor receptors are preaggregated and immobile on responsive cells.

It has been hypothesized that signal transduction occurs by ligand-induced receptor clustering and immobilization. For many peptide receptors, cross-linking by anti-receptor antibodies is sufficient for receptor activation. This is not, however, the case for nerve growth factor receptor (NGFR). Using fluorescence microscopy and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP), we have analyzed the distribution and diffusibility of NGFR on a series of cell lines. We have found the following: (1) Cells expressing high-affinity responsive NGFR's display clustered NGFR's even in the absence of ligand. In contrast, NGFR's in nonresponsive cell lines are diffusely distributed. (2) Receptors on responsive cell lines are largely nondiffusing while most receptors on nonresponsive cell lines are relatively free to diffuse. (3) NGF does not greatly alter the distribution or diffusion properties of the NGFR on either nonresponsive or responsive cell lines. Thus, NGFR is preclustered and immobile on responsive cells, which suggests that immobilization of NGFR prior to ligand binding is required for signal transduction.     

自然保护区管理中生态与娱乐属性的权衡:一个选择实验的应用

随着自然保护区多样化的发展以及旅游需求的日益增长,保护区管理者面临着保护生态环境与满足娱乐需求的双重压力,这使得保护区管理者需要更多的信息进行决策。以中国东北部的扎龙国家级自然保护区为例,进行了一项选择实验,选取生物多样性、预期游客数量、景区的环境教育设施、门票价格等4个属性,分别采用多项logit模型、随机参数logit模型和潜在分类模型,探究游客在可能存在冲突的管理优先级之间的偏好。目的是揭示游客如何评价保护区不同的管理属性,以及各属性的边际支付意愿和偏好,并根据这些信息制定有效的保护区管理指南。研究结果表明生物多样性是保护区游客最关注的属性,并且游客对于生态属性的关注度高于娱乐属性。因此,保护区管理者应首先维持并改善生物多样性及其生态环境,在不破坏生态环境的基础上开发具有环境教育作用的娱乐服务。此外,研究发现游客可分为生态友好型和价格敏感型两种类别,不同类型的群体对游览保护区存在不同偏好,女性和年轻的受访者对生态更友好,男性和年长的受访者对价格更敏感。本文的贡献是将某一方面属性价值的描述扩展到涵盖多个管理属性的研究,并为保护区管理中生态与娱乐的权衡问题提供了更具体的见解。     

Cerebral artery reactivity changes during pregnancy and the postpartum period: a role in eclampsia?

Eclampsia is thought to be similar to hypertensive encephalopathy, whereby acute elevations in intravascular pressure cause forced dilatation (FD) of intrinsic myogenic tone of cerebral arteries and arterioles, decreased cerebrovascular resistance, and hyperperfusion. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that pregnancy and/or the postpartum period predispose cerebral arteries to FD by diminishing pressure-induced myogenic activity. We compared the reactivity to pressure (myogenic activity) as well as factors that modulate the level of tone of third-order branches (<200 microm) of the posterior cerebral artery (PCA) that were isolated from nonpregnant (NP, n = 7), late-pregnant (LP, 19 days, n = 10), and postpartum (PP, 3 days, n = 8) Sprague-Dawley rats under pressurized conditions. PCAs from all groups of animals developed spontaneous tone within the myogenic pressure range (50-150 mmHg) and constricted arteries at 100 mmHg (NP, 30 +/- 3; LP, 39 +/- 4; and PP, 42 +/- 7%; P > 0.05). This level of myogenic activity was maintained in the NP arteries at all pressures; however, both LP and PP arteries dilated at considerably lower pressures compared with NP, which lowered the pressure at which FD occurred from >175 for NP to 146 +/- 6.5 mmHg for LP (P < 0.01 vs. NP) and 162 +/- 7.7 mmHg for PP (P < 0.01 vs. NP). The amount of myogenic tone was also significantly diminished at 175 mmHg compared with NP: percent tone for NP, LP, and PP animals were 35 +/- 2, 11 +/- 3 (P < 0.01 vs. NP), and 20 +/- 7% (P < 0.01 vs. NP), respectively. Inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) with 0.1 mM N(omega)-nitro-l-arginine (l-NNA) caused constriction of all vessel types that was significantly increased in the PP arteries, which demonstrates significant basal NO production. Reactivity to 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin) was assessed in the presence of l-NNA and indomethacin. There was a differential response to serotonin: PCAs from NP animals dilated, whereas LP and PP arteries constricted. These results suggest that both pregnancy and the postpartum period predispose the cerebral circulation to FD at lower pressures, a response that may lower cerebrovascular resistance and promote hyperperfusion when blood pressure is elevated, as occurs during eclampsia.     

Ovariectomized steroid-treated mares as embryo transfer recipients and as a model to study the role of progestins in pregnancy maintenance

Embryo transfer into ovariectomized steroid-treated mares was used as a model to evaluate various progestin/estradiol treatments and to determine the level of progesterone necessary for the maintenance of pregnancy in mares. Once a donor mare was in estrus and had a >/=35 mm follicle, an ovariectomized recipient was selected and assigned to one of three groups: 1) 1 mg estradiol (E(2)) was injected subcutaneously daily until the donor mare ovulated; on the day of the donor mare's ovulation, daily intramuscular injections of 300 mg progesterone (P4) were commenced and continued until the end of the experiment (Day 35); 2) E(2) and P4 treatments were identical except E(2) was continued daily until Day 20; and 3) The same E(2) treatment as Group 1, 0.044 mg altrenogest per kilogram body weight were administered daily until Day 35. Embryos were recovered 7 d after the donor mare's ovulation and were transferred via surgical flank incision. Twenty additional embryos (controls) were transferred into intact recipients that ovulated 1 d before to 3 d after the donor. Pregnancy rates did not differ (P>0.05) among groups at Days 14 or 35. Pregnancy rates at Day 35 for mares administered injectable P4 (70%) were identical to those given altrenogest. Overall, pregnancy rates for ovariectomized-progestin treated recipients (28 of 40, 70%) were similar (>0.05) to that of intact mares (16 of 20, 80%). Dose of P4 was decreased in Groups 1 and 2 to 200 mg (Days 35 to 39), 100 mg (Days 40 to 44), 50 mg (Days 45 to 49) and 0 mg (>/=Day 50). Blood samples were collected once on Days 34, 35, 39, 40, 44, 45, 49 and 50 and assayed for P4. Dose of altrenogest was decreased to 0.022, 0.011, 0.0055 and 0 mg per kilogram body weight at Days 35 to 39, 40 to 44, 45 to 49 and >/=50. Number of mares in Groups 1 and 2 that lost their pregnancy while given 200, 100, 50 or 0 mg P4 was 0, 2, 8 and 4, respectively. Doses of 0.022, 0.011, 0.0055 and 0 mg altrenogest per kilogram body weight resulted in 0, 6, 4 and 3 mares aborting. Fetal death did not occur until concentrations of P4 decreased below 2.56 ng/ml 24 h after injection.     

Neisseria gonorrhoeae Suppresses Dendritic Cell-Induced, Antigen-Dependent CD4 T Cell Proliferation

Neisseria gonorrhoeae is the second most common sexually transmitted bacterial pathogen worldwide. Diseases associated with N. gonorrhoeae cause localized inflammation of the urethra and cervix. Despite this inflammatory response, infected individuals do not develop protective adaptive immune responses to N. gonorrhoeae. N. gonorrhoeae is a highly adapted pathogen that has acquired multiple mechanisms to evade its host's immune system, including the ability to manipulate multiple immune signaling pathways. N. gonorrhoeae has previously been shown to engage immunosuppressive signaling pathways in B and T lymphocytes. We have now found that N. gonorrhoeae also suppresses adaptive immune responses through effects on antigen presenting cells. Using primary, murine bone marrow-derived dendritic cells and lymphocytes, we show that N. gonorrhoeae-exposed dendritic cells fail to elicit antigen-induced CD4+ T lymphocyte proliferation. N. gonorrhoeae exposure leads to upregulation of a number of secreted and dendritic cell surface proteins with immunosuppressive properties, particularly Interleukin 10 (IL-10) and Programmed Death Ligand 1 (PD-L1). We also show that N. gonorrhoeae is able to inhibit dendritic cell- induced proliferation of human T-cells and that human dendritic cells upregulate similar immunosuppressive molecules. Our data suggest that, in addition to being able to directly influence host lymphocytes, N. gonorrhoeae also suppresses development of adaptive immune responses through interactions with host antigen presenting cells. These findings suggest that gonococcal factors involved in host immune suppression may be useful targets in developing vaccines that induce protective adaptive immune responses to this pathogen.     

Microbiome Composition and Function Drives Wound-Healing Impairment in the Female Genital Tract

The mechanism(s) by which bacterial communities impact susceptibility to infectious diseases, such as HIV, and maintain female genital tract (FGT) health are poorly understood. Evaluation of FGT bacteria has predominantly been limited to studies of species abundance, but not bacterial function. We therefore sought to examine the relationship of bacterial community composition and function with mucosal epithelial barrier health in the context of bacterial vaginosis (BV) using metaproteomic, metagenomic, and in vitro approaches. We found highly diverse bacterial communities dominated by Gardnerella vaginalis associated with host epithelial barrier disruption and enhanced immune activation, and low diversity communities dominated by Lactobacillus species that associated with lower Nugent scores, reduced pH, and expression of host mucosal proteins important for maintaining epithelial integrity. Importantly, proteomic signatures of disrupted epithelial integrity associated with G. vaginalis-dominated communities in the absence of clinical BV diagnosis. Because traditional clinical assessments did not capture this, it likely represents a larger underrepresented phenomenon in populations with high prevalence of G. vaginalis. We finally demonstrated that soluble products derived from G. vaginalis inhibited wound healing, while those derived from L. iners did not, providing insight into functional mechanisms by which FGT bacterial communities affect epithelial barrier integrity.