Surfactant Protein C in Canine Pulmonary Fibrosis

Background: Canine pulmonary fibrosis (CPF) occurs most commonly in West Highland White Terriers. The differing incidences of CPF among dog breeds suggest that genetic factors contribute to its pathophysiology. Pulmonary fibrosis in humans is associated with mutations in the gene coding for lung surfactant protein C (SP-C) ( SFTPC ).
Hypothesis/Objectives: To investigate the histopathologic changes and SP-C composition and genetic structure in dogs with CPF.
Animals: Five dogs with PF, 2 dogs with other lung diseases, and 3 healthy dogs.
Methods: Lung tissue from dogs with clinically suspected CPF and 5 control cases was analyzed histopathologically. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) collected postmortem from 3 terriers with histopathologically confirmed pulmonary fibrosis and the 5 controls were analyzed by Western blots, and the exons of SFTPC were sequenced for 2 dogs with PF and 1 dog with other lung disease.
Results: SP-C could not be detected in BALF of 1 dog with PF, although SP-B was present. A mutation was detected in SFTPC exon 5 of this dog. From 2 dogs with PF and in all 5 control dogs SP-B and SP-C were detected in BALF.
Conclusions: Taken together, the results indicate that canine and human lung fibrosis share histopathologic features and that analysis of SP-C and its gene in a larger set of dogs with PF is warranted.     

Finite element study of growth stress formation in wood and related distortion of sawn timber

Lack of straightness in timber is the most frequent complaint regarding solid (and laminated) timber products worldwide. Nowadays, customers demand higher quality in the shape stability of wood products than they did earlier. The final distortion of timber boards is mostly caused by moisture-related stresses in wood (drying distortions) and growth-related stresses (distortions appearing when logs are split up to timber boards by sawing). To get more knowledge on how these distortions can be reduced in wooden products, there is a need for improved understanding of this material behaviour through good numerical tools developed from empirical data. A three-dimensional finite element board distortion model developed by Ormarsson (Doctoral thesis, Publ. 99:7, 1999) has been extended to include the influence of growth stresses by incorporating a one-dimensional finite element growth stress model developed here. The growth stress model is formulated as an axisymmetric general plane strain model where material for all new annual rings is progressively added to the tree during the analysis. The simulation results presented include how stresses are progressively generated during the tree growth, distortions related to the redistribution of growth stresses during log sawing, and distortions and stresses in drying reflecting the effects of growth stresses. The results show that growth stresses clearly vary during tree growth and also form a large stress gradient from pith to bark. This in itself can result in significant bow and crook deformations when logs are sawn into timber boards. The distortion results from the simulations match well with the results observed in reality. The parametric study also showed that the radial growth stress distribution is highly influenced by parameters such as modulus of elasticity, micro fibril angle and maturation strain.     

Genetic trends for fertility,udder health and protein yield in Swedish red cattle estimated with different models

The aim of this study was to estimate and compare genetic trends in Swedish Red cattle using a full multiple-trait (MT) model and trait-group-wise models for female fertility, udder health and protein yield. Field data for maiden heifers from 1989 and cows with a first and second lactation between 1990 and 2007 were included. (Co)variance components were estimated prior to prediction of breeding values. The estimated genetic trends were clearly favourable for protein yield and udder conformation, and in most cases neutral to favourable for clinical mastitis and calving to first insemination. In maiden heifers, the trends were neutral for number of inseminations per service period. Unfavourable genetic trends were estimated for number of inseminations in the first two lactations, but the trends seemed less unfavourable from evaluations within trait groups compared with when using the full MT model. Excluding maiden heifer data affected genetic trends less than using trait-group-wise analyses instead of a full MT model. Unfavourable genetic trends in functional traits may be missed unless the traits are evaluated in a MT model including traits under strong selection.     

Detection of Chalara fraxinea from tissue of Fraxinus excelsior using species‐specific ITS primers

Chalara fraxinea (teleomorph: Hymenoscyphus albidus) is known as a serious pathogen of Fraxinus excelsior, causing massive dieback of trees in Europe. The fungus is able to cause latent infections, and has been previously detected as an endophyte in asymptomatic tissues. Chalara fraxinea is a slow grower in culture, and is thus likely to be overgrown by faster growing fungi whenever pure culture isolations are being attempted. This study reports species‐specific ITS primers allowing fast and reliable detection of the pathogen directly from infected tissues of F. excelsior.     

Concentrations and fluxes of dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen in a Picea abies chronosequence on former arable land in Sweden

Shifting land use from agriculture to forestry induces major changes in the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles, including fluxes of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON). This study investigated the long-term effects of afforestation on ecosystem DOC and DON dynamics using a chronosequence approach comprising four arable fields and nine differently aged (10–92 years) Norway spruce stands growing on similar former arable soils in the same area. Along the chronosequence, concentrations and fluxes of DOC and DON were determined in bulk precipitation, throughfall, O horizon leachate and mineral soil solution during a 2–3-year period. Soil water fluxes were calculated using a soil hydrological model (SWAP). Results showed that DOC concentrations and fluxes with throughfall were strongly positively correlated with tree height (r² = 0.95; P < 0.05 for both conc. and flux) and stand age, while DON showed no such trends, suggesting different origins of DOC and DON in throughfall. The highest concentrations and fluxes of DOC and DON occurred in soil leachate from the O horizon. Here, DOC flux was 250–310 kg C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ and DON flux 8–9 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ in stands afforested between 65 and 92 years ago. Concentrations and fluxes of DOC and DON in the mineral subsoil were consistently low. Flux calculations suggest that there was a net loss of >90% (230–280 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹) of DOC leached from the O horizon within 0–60 cm of the mineral soil. There was no significant effect of land use or forest age on DOC concentrations in solution from the lower part of the A horizon. The effect of time since afforestation was masked by soil properties that influence DOM retention in the mineral soil. Our data indicate that DOC concentrations in the A horizon of the sites studied were primarily related to the oxalate-extractable Al and Fe amounts in the same horizon. Afforestation of arable land induced a gradual qualitative change in soil organic matter (SOM) and dissolved organic matter (DOM), with significantly increasing C:N ratios in soil and soil solution over time. The development of an O horizon and the subsequent leaching of DOC and DON to the underlying mineral soil are important drivers of a changing soil C and N turnover following afforestation.     

Protein Composition of Seminal Plasma in Fractionated Stallion Ejaculates

Seminal plasma (SP) contains several types of compounds derived from the epididymides and accessory glands. The aim of this study was to examine the protein composition of different ejaculate fractions. Trial I: fractionated ejaculates were collected from two normal and two subfertile stallions. Samples containing pre‐sperm fluid and the first sperm‐rich jets (HIGH‐1), the main sperm‐rich portion (HIGH‐2), the jets with low sperm concentrations (LOW), and a combined whole‐ejaculate (WE) sample was centrifuged, and the SP was filtered and frozen. A part of each SP sample was stored (5°C, 24 h) with spermatozoa from HIGH‐2 and skim milk extender. Sperm motility was evaluated after storage in extender mixed with the stallion’s own SP or SP from one of the other stallions (sperm from a normal stallion stored in SP from a subfertile stallion and vice versa). Protein composition was analysed using reverse‐phase liquid chromatography (RP‐HPLC), N‐terminal sequencing and mass spectrometry. The area‐under‐the‐curve (AUC) was used for quantitative comparison of proteins within fractions. Trial II: semen samples were collected from seven stallions. Fractions with the highest (HIGH) and lowest (LOW) sperm concentrations and WE samples were examined using SDS‐PAGE and densitometry. No significant differences emerged between fractions in the AUC‐values of the Horse Seminal Protein‐1 (HSP‐1) and HSP‐2 peaks, or the peak containing HSP‐3 and HSP‐4 (HSP‐3/4). Levels of HSP‐1, HSP‐2 and HSP‐3/4 were not significantly correlated with total sperm motility, progressive sperm motility or average path velocity after storage. Significant differences between ejaculate fractions in the amount of different protein groups present in SP were not found in Trial I; but in Trial II, the proteins in the 60–70 kDa range were more abundant in LOW than in HIGH and WE, indicating that this band contained proteins derived mainly from the seminal vesicles, which produce most of the SP in LOW.     

Udder health and female fertility traits are favourably correlated and support each other in multi-trait evaluations

Genetic parameters were estimated for protein yield (PY), clinical mastitis (CM), somatic cell score, number of inseminations (NI) and days from calving to first insemination (CFI) in first‐parity Swedish Red cows by series of tri‐variate linear animal models. The heritability of PY was moderate (0.34 ± 0.004), and the heritabilities of the functional traits were all low (0.014 ± 0.001–0.14 ± 0.004). The genetic correlation between CM and CFI (0.38 ± 0.05) was stronger than the correlation between CM and NI (0.05 ± 0.06), perhaps because CM and CFI usually are observed in early lactation when the cow is likely to be in negative energy balance, whereas NI generally is recorded when the cow is not in negative energy balance any more. The genetic correlation between NI and CFI was very close to zero (?0.002 ± 0.05), indicating that these two fertility traits have different genetic backgrounds. All genetic correlations between PY and the functional traits were moderate and unfavourable, ranging from 0.22 ± 0.02 to 0.47 ± 0.03. In addition, the effect of including genetic and phenotypic correlations between the trait groups milk production, udder health and female fertility on the accuracy of the selection index was quantified for a heifer, a cow and a proven bull. The difference between the accuracy obtained by multi‐trait and single‐trait evaluations was largest for the cow (0.012) and small for the heifer and the bull (0.006 and 0.004) because the phenotype of the cow for one trait could assist in predicting the Mendelian sampling term for a correlated trait.     

Tick paralysis in dogs and cats in Australia: treatment and prevention deliverables from 100 years of research

This review of tick paralysis caused by Ixodes holocyclus in Australia addresses the question: What are the key discoveries that have enabled effective treatment and prevention of tick paralysis in dogs and cats? Critical examination of 100 years of literature reveals that arguably only three achievements have advanced treatment and prevention of tick paralysis in animals. First, the most significant treatment advance was the commercial availability of tick antiserum in the 1930s. Hyperimmune serum currently remains the only specific anti-paralysis tick therapy available to veterinarians in Australia. Second, advances in veterinary critical care have increased survival rates of the most severely affected dogs and cats. Critical care advancements have been enabled through specialised veterinary hospitals that can provide appropriate care 24 h a day, and advanced training of veterinarians, veterinary nurses and technicians. Third, perhaps that biggest advance of all in the last 100 years of research has been the commercial availability of the isooxazoline class of acaricidal preventatives in Australia specifically for I. holocyclus. This highly effective class of preventatives offers long duration of action, low cost, spot-on or oral formulations and a low rate of adverse reactions. Animal owners and veterinarians now have the most useful tool of all – a reliable preventative. This review reveals the key events in research over the last 100 years and the tortuous pathway to delivering better treatment and preventative options for this enigmatic Australian parasite.