Babesia bovis: the effect of acute inflammation and isoantibody production in the detection of babesial antigens

Summary Immunoblots ofBabesia bovis antigen contain dominant antigens which react not only with antisera toB. bovis but with sera from naive calves recovering from an acute inflammatory reaction. It seems likely these antigens are from the host rather than the parasite.     

Effect of albendazole on the metacestodes ofTaenia saginata in calves

Summary Albendazole, a benzimadazole-carbamate anthelmintic, has been shown to effectively cause destruction of the metacestodes ofTaenia saginata in calves.Supported by the Smith Kline Corporation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.The authors thank Cophelia Pertz for her technical assistance.     

油泥与煤混合滤饼燃烧过程的数值模拟与分析

为解决辽河油田油泥所带来的环保、污泥排放及治理问题,利用Fluent软件平台着重对油泥和煤制成的混合滤饼在循环流化床炉内燃烧过程的温度场和速度场进行计算模拟并分析。结果表明,混合滤饼在炉内燃烧情况良好,实现了油泥彻底的无害化和燃料化,而且结合CFB锅炉技术滤饼燃烧效率更高,为油田的油泥处理处置提供全新的途径。     

Toxicity ofParthenium hysterophorus L. to cattle and buffaloes

Summary Parthenium hysterophorus L., when fed to buffalo bull calves and cross bred bull calves resulted in acute toxicity leading to death. The former animals developed severe dermatitis. Autopsy revealed ulceration of alimentary tract. Extensive pathological changes were noticed in liver, kidney and skin.Acknowledgments. We thank, Dr Satish Dhawan and Mr M. A. Sethu Rao for their keen interest. The help rendered by Bangalore City Corporation authorities in the supply of Parthenium is gratefully acknowledged.     

Possibility of using131I-albumin as a marker for the estimations of microbial protein synthesis rates in the rumen

Summary Total microbial protein synthesis rates in the rumen of buffaloes were estimated by isotope dilution technique, using¹³¹I-albumin treated with tannic acid as a marker. The animals were fed groundnut cake treated with formaldehyde to meet 50% of their digestible crude protein (DCP) requirement and 2.5% urea molasses mixture was given to meet the remaining requirement of DCP. Wheat straw was fed as the basal roughage. The total average microbial protein synthesis was 58.14 g/day.     

Development of plasma cortisol in calves from birth to 14 days of age]

Plasma cortisol was recorded in 15 calves from birth to 14 days of age by a radio-immunoassay technique. At birth mean cortisol value is 67.3 ng/ml; 6 hrs. later it decreases by 58.4% then it gradually diminishes and about 14 days after, it reaches adult levels (5.1 ng/ml).     

Potassium transfer from brain to blood during sustained hyponatraemia in the newborn calf

Summary The effect of dilutional hyponatraemia on cerebral blood flow and oxygen consumption, and net transfer of K⁺ to the circulation from brain tissue drained by the sagittal sinus was investigated in anaesthetized calves. Cerebral blood flow decreased, and net transfer of K⁺ to the circulation increased during hyponatraemia.Acknowledgments. The expert assistance of Miss B.N. O'Connor, Miss D. McNaughton and Mr P.M.M. Bircham is gratefully acknowledged.     

Changes in the concentration of vasoactive intestinal peptide in intestinal lymph in response to vagal stimulation in the calf

Summary Stimulation of both vagi caused a significant rise in arterial plasma vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) concentration in 3–5-week-old calves with cut splanchnic nerves. This was associated with a pronounced rise in the VIP concentration of intestinal lymph showing that vagal stimulation causes release of VIP from splanchnic viscera.Acknowledgment. This work has been supported by grants from the Agricultural Research Council and the Medical Research Council and we are indebted to Dr D.M. Burley (CIBA) for his continued support.     

Calcium transport by red blood cell membranes from young and adult cattle

Summary It is shown using inside-out membrane vesicles that cattle red cells extrude calcium by means of a calmodulin sensitive Ca-pump whose activity is high in calves and extremely low in adult cows. The deline is not due to loss of calmodulin susceptibility nor to a drop in Ca-affinity.     

Calcium transport by red blood cell membranes from young and adult cattle

It is shown using inside-out membrane vesicles that cattle red cells extrude calcium by means of a calmodulin sensitive Ca-pump whose activity is high in calves and extremely low in adult cows. The decline is not due to loss of calmodulin susceptibility nor to a drop in Ca-affinity.     

Reduction of bovine pulmonary hypertension by normoxia,verapamil and hexaprenaline

Summary In calves with hypoxic pulmonary hypertension, resistance was reduced by 40±3% with normoxia, 19±4% with verapamil, and 60±1% with hexoprenaline. It is possible that the increased resistance during normoxia is due partly to vasoconstriction rather than solely to vascular thickening, and that the vasoconstriction is due to an abnormality in calcium metabolism by the hypertensive vasculature.Acknowledgments. We thank Rosann Glas, Mary Munroe, Diann Smith and Linda Panepinto for technical assistance. This work was supported by the Colorado Heart Association and by the National Institutes of Health Grants HL-05973 and HL-29237. Verapamil (Isoptin) was supplied by Knoll Pharmaceutical Co. Hexoprenaline (ST 1512 HCl, Ipradol) was supplied by Österreichische Stickstoffwerke Linz.     

Influence of age on the plasma hormonal iodine response to thyrotropin injection in young calves]

The influence of age upon the increase in plasma hormonal iodine level following an intravenous injection of bovine TSH (0.2 USP units/kg) was studied in young jersey calves. The response to TSH increased between birth and the 7th day, then decreased regularly until the end of the third month. Reasons for these variations are discussed according to some results obtained following TSH injections.     

Nitric oxide-related pancreatic endocrine responses to hyperglycaemia in the conscious calf

Mean plasma insulin concentration was reduced and mean plasma glucose concentration increased following the administration of N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 100 mol kg^–1 i.a.) in conscious calves given continuous infusions of exogenous glucose (30–60 mol min^–1 kg^–1 i.v.). It is concluded that the rise in plasma insulin concentration which occurs in these animals in response to glucose is mediated, at least in part, by a nitric oxide-related factor (NOx).     

The glucose dependence of pancreatic endocrine responses to 2-deoxyglucose in the calf

Summary The initial plasma glucose concentration of unanesthetized calves with cut splanchnic nerves, given 2-deoxyglucose (1.2 mmoles/kg, i.v.), was either lowered by prior starvation, or raised by a continuous infusion of exogenous glucose. Raising the initial plasma glucose concentration completely suppressed the release of pancreatic glucagon and pancreatic polypeptide but substantially enhanced the release of insulin in response to 2-deoxyglucose.This work has been supported by the Medical Research Council and the Leverhulme Trust. We are also indebted to Mr P.M.M. Bircham and Mr G.P. Macgregor for their skilled technical assistance.     

Responses to stimulation of the peripheral end of the right splanchnic nerve in the conscious calf

Summary The ratio at which adrenaline and noradrenaline are released from the adrenal medulla in response to stimulation of the splanchnic nerve has been established in the conscious calf. The proportion of adrenaline: noradrenaline was closely similar to that in which the 2 amines are stored in the gland and released in response to other stimuli in conscious, but not anaesthetized, calves.Acknowledgments. This work has been supported by a grant from the Agricultural Research Council, and we are also indebted to Dr D.M. Burley (Ciba) for his continued support. It is a pleasure to acknowledge the skilled technical assistance provided by Mr P.M.M. Bircham.     

Chemical and tactile communication between the root aphid parasitoidParalipsis enervis and trophobiotic ants: consequences for parasitoid survival

Females of the aphid parasitoidParalipsis enervis received liquid food by regurgitation (trophallaxis) from workers of the ant speciesLasius niger, but were not fed by workers ofMyrmica laevinodis andTetramorium caespitum. WhileP. enervis was not treated aggressively by workers of any of these species,Lasius flavus workers killed the parasitoid. This different ant behaviour resulted in a different parasitoid longevity. WhileP. enervis survived for only 10 min in the presence ofL. flavus (due to ant aggression) or for approximately one day in the presence ofT. caespitum andM. laevinodis (due to lack of trophallaxis), survival increased significantly to more than five days in the presence ofL. niger, which provided food regularly to the parasitoids. Our study suggests thatP. enervis mimics behavioural signals ofL. niger, as well as odor cues of its host aphidAnoecia corni, to avoid aggression byL. niger.     

Notable diversity in hemoglobin expression patterns among species of the deep-sea clam, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Calyptogena</Emphasis>

The deep-sea clams Calyptogena nautilei and C. tsubasa, which live in the cold-seep area at a depth of 3570 m in the Nankai Trough, Japan, have abundant hemoglobins (Hbs) in erythrocytes, similar to other Calyptogena species. We determined the cDNA-derived amino acid sequences of Hbs from two Calyptogena species. C. tsubasa was found to contain two dimeric Hbs, Hb I consisting of 145 amino acid residues and Hb II with 137 residues, similar to known Hbs from C. soyoae and C. kaikoi. Sequence identity was over 90% among the orthologous chains of Calyptogena Hbs. On the other hand, surprisingly, C. nautilei contained two monomeric Hbs, Hb III containing 141 residues and Hb IV with 134 residues. In addition, Hbs III and IV showed only 33–42% sequence identity with Hbs I and II from other Calyptogena species. The distal (E7) histidine, one of the functionally important residues of the heme protein, is replaced by glutamine in all Hb chains of Calyptogena species. A phylogenetic analysis indicated that C. nautilei Hb III is closer to Hb I from other Calyptogena species. We suppose that a Hb gene was duplicated at least three times in an immediate ancestor of Calyptogena and, presumably depending on physiological conditions different Hb sets are being expressed: dimeric Hbs I and II in C. soyoae, C. kaikoi and C. tsubasa, and monomeric Hbs III and IV in C. nautilei. Received 13 May 2003; received after revision 5 June 2003; accepted 12 June 2003     

Forecasting for the generation of trading signals in financial markets

In this paper we show that optimal trading results can be achieved if we can forecast a key summary statistic of future prices. Consider the following optimization problem. Let the return r_i (over time i=1, 2, ..., n) for the ith day be given and the investor has to make investment decision d_i on the ith day with d_i=1 representing a ‘long' position and d_i=0 a ‘neutral' position. The investment return is given by r=Σⁿ_i=1r_id_i−cΣⁿ⁺¹_i=1∣d_i−d_i−1∣, where c is the transaction cost. The mathematical programming problem of choosing d₁, ..., d_n to maximize r under a given transaction cost c is shown to have an analytic solution, which is a function of a key summary statistic called the largest change before reversal. The largest change before reversal is recommended to be used as an output in a neural network for the generation of trading signals. When neural network forecasting is applied to a dataset of Hang Seng Index Futures Contract traded in Hong Kong, it is shown that forecasting the largest change before reversal outperforms the k‐step‐ahead forecast in achieving higher trading profits. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Short-range linkage relationships, genomic organisation and sequence comparisons of a cluster of five HSP70 genes in Fugu rubripes

Twelve cosmids containing sequences resembling genes encoding members of the 70-kDa heat-shock protein family, HSP70, have been isolated from Fugu rubripes. They can be broadly divided into three groups of overlapping cosmids. Restriction analysis and sequencing of one set of five cosmids have revealed five intronless Fugu HSP70 genes spanning 42 kb, arranged in a combined head-to-head, tail-to-tail and head-to-tail orientation. The levels of DNA and amino acid identity are very high with respect to one another, and are most similar to HSP70 sequences linked to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region in other species. Putative heat-shock consensus elements are identified. Non-HSP70 sequences with homology to known genes have been found physically linked to this Fugu HSP70 cluster: the Drosophila melanogaster SOL gene, the Drosophila melanogaster nemo gene, the Caenorhabditis elegans T17E9.1 gene and the sequence encoding the serine protease domain. The linkage relationships described here so far bear no resemblance to those of HSP70 in other organisms. Convergence of mammalian HSP70 and MHC class I and II loci probably occurred after fish had diverged. Received 17 November 1998; received after revision 25 February 1999; accepted 26 February 1999