Assessment of the excretion time of electronic capsules placed in the intestinal lumen of cows with cecal dilatation-dislocation, healthy control cows, and cows with left displacement of the abomasum

OBJECTIVE To analyze the transit time from various locations in the intestines of cows with cecal dilatation-dislocation (CDD), healthy control cows, and cows with left displacement of the abomasum (LDA). ANIMALS 15 cows with naturally occurring CDD (group 1), 14 healthy control cows (group 2), and 18 cows with LDA (group 3). PROCEDURES 5 electronic transmitters were encased in capsules and placed in the lumen of the ileum, cecum, proximal portion of the colon, and 2 locations in the spiral colon (colon 1 and colon 2) and used to measure the transit time (ie, time between placement in the lumen and excretion of the capsules from the rectum). Excretion time of the capsules from each intestinal segment was compared among groups. RESULTS Cows recovered well from surgery, except for 1 cow with relapse of CDD 4 days after surgery and 2 cows with incisional infection. High variability in capsule excretion times was observed for all examined intestinal segments in all groups. Significant differences were detected for the excretion time from the colon (greater in cows with CDD than in healthy control cows) and cecum (less in cows with LDA than in cows of the other 2 groups). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE The technique developed to measure excretion time of capsules from bovine intestines was safe and reliable; however, the large variability observed for all intestinal segments and all groups would appear to be a limitation for its use in assessment of intestinal transit time of cattle in future studies.

Quantification of anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol plasma levels to examine potential influences of tetrahydrocannabinol application on the endocannabinoid system in humans

The effects of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and endogenous cannabinoids (endocannabinoids, ECs) are both mediated by activation of the cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2. Exogenous activation of these receptors by THC could therefore alter EC levels. We tested this hypothesis in healthy volunteers (n = 25) who received a large intravenous dose of THC (0.10 mg/kg). Effects on the EC system were quantified by serial measurements of plasma ECs after THC administration. Eleven blood samples were drawn during the first 5 h after THC administration and two more samples after 24 and 48 h. THC, its metabolites THC-OH (biologically active) and THC-COOH (non-active), and the ECs anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) were quantified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. EC-plasma levels showed a biphasic response after THC injection reaching maximal values at 30 min. Anandamide increased slightly from 0.58 ± 0.21 ng/ml at baseline to 0.64 ± 0.24 ng/ml (p < 0.05) and 2-AG from 7.60 ± 4.30 ng/ml to 9.50 ± 5.90 ng/ml (p < 0.05). After reaching maximal concentrations, EC plasma levels decreased markedly to a nadir of 300 min after THC administration (to 0.32 ± 0.15 ng/ml for anandamide and to 5.50 ± 3.01 ng/ml for 2-AG, p < 0.05). EC plasma concentrations returned to near baseline levels until 48 h after the experiment. THC (0.76 ± 0.16 ng/ml) and THC-OH (0.36 ± 0.17 ng/ml) were still measurable at 24 h and remained detectible until 48 h after THC administration. Although the underlying mechanism is not clear, high doses of intravenous THC appear to influence endogenous cannabinoid concentrations and presumably EC-signalling.

Hairless Streaks in Cattle Implicate TSR2 in Early Hair Follicle Formation

Four related cows showed hairless streaks on various parts of the body with no correlation to the pigmentation pattern. The stripes occurred in a consistent pattern resembling the lines of Blaschko. The non-syndromic hairlessness phenotype observed occurred across three generations of a single family and was compatible with an X-linked mode of inheritance. Linkage analysis and subsequent whole genome sequencing of one affected female identified two perfectly associated non-synonymous sequence variants in the critical interval on bovine chromosome X. Both variants occurred in complete linkage disequilibrium and were absent in more than 3900 controls. An ERCC6L missense mutation was predicted to cause an amino acid substitution of a non-conserved residue. Analysis in mice showed no specific Ercc6l expression pattern related to hair follicle development and therefore ERCC6L was not considered as causative gene. A point mutation at the 5'-splice junction of exon 5 of the TSR2, 20S rRNA accumulation, homolog (S. cerevisiae), gene led to the production of two mutant transcripts, both of which contain a frameshift and generate a premature stop codon predicted to truncate approximately 25% of the protein. Interestingly, in addition to the presence of both physiological TSR2 transcripts, the two mutant transcripts were predominantly detected in the hairless skin of the affected cows. Immunohistochemistry, using an antibody against the N-terminal part of the bovine protein demonstrated the specific expression of the TSR2 protein in the skin and the hair of the affected and the control cows as well as in bovine fetal skin and hair. The RNA hybridization in situ showed that Tsr2 was expressed in pre- and post-natal phases of hair follicle development in mice. Mammalian TSR2 proteins are highly conserved and are known to be broadly expressed, but their precise in vivo functions are poorly understood. Thus, by dissecting a naturally occurring mutation in a domestic animal species, we identified TSR2 as a regulator of hair follicle development.

Estimating population and livestock density of mobile pastoralists and sedentary settlements in the southeastern Lake Chad area

Mobile pastoralists provide major contributions to the gross domestic product in Chad, but little information is available regarding their demography. The Lake Chad area population is increasing, resulting in competition for scarce land and water resources. For the first time, the density of people and animals from mobile and sedentary populations was assessed using randomly defined sampling areas. Four sampling rounds were conducted over two years in the same areas to show population density dynamics. We identified 42 villages of sedentary communities in the sampling zones; 11 (in 2010) and 16 (in 2011) mobile pastoralist camps at the beginning of the dry season and 34 (in 2011) and 30 (in 2012) camps at the end of the dry season. A mean of 64.0 people per km2 (95% confidence interval, 20.3-107.8) were estimated to live in sedentary villages. In the mobile communities, we found 5.9 people per km2 at the beginning and 17.5 people per km2 at the end of the dry season. We recorded per km2 on average 21.0 cattle and 31.6 small ruminants in the sedentary villages and 66.1 cattle and 102.5 small ruminants in the mobile communities, which amounts to a mean of 86.6 tropical livestock units during the dry season. These numbers exceed, by up to five times, the published carrying capacities for similar Sahelian zones. Our results underline the need for a new institutional framework. Improved land use management must equally consider the needs of mobile communities and sedentary populations.

37,X/38,XY Mosaicism in a Cryptorchid Bengal Cat with Müllerian Duct Remnants

A 23-month-old tomcat was referred to our clinic because of male behavioral problems, cryptorchidism, and an undefined intra-abdominal organ resembling a uterus. Ultrasonography and computed tomography showed 2 fluid-filled tubular structures dorsolaterally to the bladder and connected to the pelvic urethra. The cat was castrated, and the tubular structures were surgically removed. Histology identified them as Müllerian duct remnants. The testes were hypoplastic, the epididymes and deferent ducts were normal. Cytogenetic analyses revealed the presence of a mosaic 37,X/38,XY karyotype which explains the clinical findings.

Na 50 Nachlass Arthur Schopenhauer - 'Schopenhauer-Archiv', 2 - Korrekturen einer philosophischen Abhandlung von David Asher

u.a.: kritische Anmerkungen zum Aufsatz von David Asher in den Litterarischen Blättern (Aufsatz ist erschienen in: David Asher, Arthur Schopenhauer, Neues von ihm und über ihn, Berlin 1871, Druck); Kunstakademie Dresden; Karl Georg Bähr; Friedrich Schelling;

Na 50 Nachlass Arthur Schopenhauer - 'Schopenhauer-Archiv', 38 - Replik auf die gegen ihn erhobene Kritik einer falschen Darstellung der Ethik Schopenhauers

u.a.: Kritik an der "Die beiden Grundprobleme der Ethik: Ueber die Freiheit des menschlichen Willens; Ueber das Fundament der Moral"; Auseinandersetzung mit der Ethik von Jean-Baptiste Antoine Monet de Lamarck; Erfahrungen in England mit Animal-Magnetism und Phrenologie; Corpus Iuris Civilis; Kritik an der Parerga und Paralipomena; Kapitalismuskritik; Auseinandersetzung mit dem Prinzip des Individuums in "Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung"; Grenzen des Egoismus, Kastendenken im Buddhismus; Definition von Erscheinung; Christentum; Auseinandersetzung mit der "Kritik der reinen Vernunft" von Immanuel Kant; Das Ding an Sich; Definition von Naturzusammenhang; Willensphilosophie; Bezug auf die "Deutsche Grammatik" von Jacob Grimm; Vergleich mit Baruch Spinoza; Naturwissenschaft; Rezeption der Philosophie von Angelus Silesius; Vorhaben einer eigenen kritischen Publikation zur Ethik Schopenhauers; Sexualität; Lebensverneinung; Praxis der Hegelianer und Herbatianer; Friedrich Schelling; Platon; Silesius;

Na 50 Nachlass Arthur Schopenhauer - 'Schopenhauer-Archiv', 56 - Bitte nach weiteren Hintergrundinformationen für eine geplante Publikation

u.a.: Kritik an Immanuel Kant; Herausgeber der Publikation "Spekulation seit Kant"; historische Methode; Biographie Schopenhauers; Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz; Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling; Immanuel Kant;

Na 50 Nachlass Arthur Schopenhauer - 'Schopenhauer-Archiv', 194 - Anfrage anlässlich einer Namensermittlung

u.a.: Aufsatz von David Asher "Schelling und Schopenhauer"; Wille in der Natur; Photographie; Seidemann;

Na 50 Nachlass Arthur Schopenhauer - 'Schopenhauer-Archiv', 173 - Hervorhebung von J. Kormann der "Parerga und Paralipomena"

u.a.: Traumbeschreibung; Abdruck der Parerga und Paralipomena in einer Hamburger Modezeitung; Immanuel Kant; Friedrich Schelling;

Na 50 Nachlass Arthur Schopenhauer - 'Schopenhauer-Archiv', 1155 - Eindrücke aus dem akademischen Leben in Leipzig

u.a. Studium der "Welt als Wille und Vorstellung"; Besuch von Fedor Stauwe; Vortrag über Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling; Ethik Schopenhauers;

Na 50 Nachlass Arthur Schopenhauer - 'Schopenhauer-Archiv', 1156 - Bericht über ein Schopenhauer-Referat an der Universität

u.a. Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling; Friedrich Schleiermacher; Identitätsphilosophie; David Hume; Immanuel Hermann Fichte; Jean Paul;

Bruno oder über das göttliche und natürliche Princip der Dinge : ein Gespräch

hrsg. von Schelling

Ideen zu einer Philosophie der Natur : als Einleitung in das Studium dieser Wissenschaft ; erster Theil

von F. W. J. Schelling

Na 50 Nachlass Arthur Schopenhauer - 'Schopenhauer-Archiv', 1083 - Mitteilung über den Stand der Drucklegung

u.a. Briefwechsel zwischen Johann Wolfgang von Goethe und Friedrich Schiller; Ästhetik;