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The paper deals with the breeding and exploitation of cattle in view of meat production and efficient capitalization of natural and cultivated pastures, by applying the "Meat cow" technology. An experimental lot was set up, consisting of 8 cows of the Romanian Piebald breed, with a natural disposition towards the production of meat-milk. The accent was mainly put on the reproduction activity, the dynamics of body evolution for calves, the organization of a rational grazing with the aid of the electric fence and the economic efficiency of the activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Telomerase is an RNA-dependent polymerase that synthesizes telomeric DNA (TTAGGG)n repeats. The overall goal of our work was to establish human cancer models that can be used to design clinical trials with telomerase inhibitors. The objectives of this study were (1) to set up a human breast cancer system that allows evaluation of the effects of telomerase inhibitors in cultured cells using a non-amplified telomerase assay and (2) to test this system using two drugs (cisplatin and TMPyP4) that affect the telomerase expression in breast cancer cells in culture. We first compared the telomerase activity in a variety of human breast cancer cell lines to that of other tumour types using a new biotinylated-primer extension assay. Our method, based on a non-amplified primer extension assay shows the direct incorporation of 32P-labelled nucleotides induced by telomerase on human telomeric primers. The 32P-dGTP labelled telomerase-extended 5'-biotinylated (TTAGGG)3 primer can subsequently be separated using streptavidin-coated magnetic beads. As compared to other non-amplified method, we showed that this procedure improved the characterization and the quantification of the banding pattern resulting from telomerase extension by reducing the radioactive background. Using this method, we observed that telomerase activity varies markedly in a panel of 39 human cancer cell lines. For example, MCF7 breast cancer cells in culture showed intermediate telomerase activity corresponding to 33.8+/-3.4% of that of the HeLa cells (reference cell line). Similarly, the telomere length varied with each cell line (average: 6.24+/-6.16). No correlation between the level of telomerase and telomere length was observed, suggesting that a high processivity is not required to maintain telomeres and that, in some cell lines, another mechanism of telomere elongation can maintain telomere length. From this study, we selected MCF7 and MX1 models that showed reproducible telomerase activity and a relatively limited telomere length for the testing of potential telomere-telomerase interacting agents. Using cisplatin and a new porphyrin-derived compound TMPyP4, we showed that our model was able to detect a down-regulation of the telomerase activity in MCF7 cells in culture and in a human MX1 tumour xenografts. Based on these results, a breast cancer model for evaluating telomerase and telomere interactive agents is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Femoral-facial syndrome (FFS), also known as femoral hypoplasia-unusual facial syndrome (FHUFS) is a rare disorder, which has been more frequently described in females. Only a few cases diagnosed prenatally have been reported so far in the literature. FFS is characterized by femoral hypoplasia and various facial abnormalities, which can be associated with a variety of other malformations, Cases: In this report, we present two male fetuses which were diagnosed with FFS after detection of short femora, micrognathia, and other anomalies by ultrasonography at the age of 14 and 16 weeks, respectively. The sonographic findings were confirmed at autopsy. The differential diagnosis of FFS with other disorders characterized by hypoplastic femora is discussed, Conclusion: FFS represents a severe condition; hence, the importance of an early prenatal diagnosis, especially in light of offering counseling for affected parents., (Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

We identified aberrations leading to spontaneous autoimmune orchitis (AIO) in mink, a seasonal breeder and natural model for autoimmunity. This study provides evidence favoring the view that a malfunction of the clearance mechanisms for apoptotic cell debris arising from imbalances in phagocyte receptors or cytokines acting on Sertoli cells constitutes a major factor leading to breakdown of self-tolerance during spontaneous AIO. Serum anti-sperm antibody titers measured by ELISA reflected spermatogenic activity without causing immune inflammatory responses. Orchitic mink showed excess antibody production accompanied by spermatogenic arrest, testicular leukocyte infiltration, and infertility. AIO serum labeled the postacrosomal region, the mid and end piece of mink sperm, whereas normal mink serum did not. Normal serum labeled plasma membranes, whereas AIO serum reacted with germ cell nuclei. Western blot analyses revealed that AIO serum reacted specifically to a 23- and 50-kDa protein. The number of apostain-labeled apoptotic cells was significantly higher in orchitic compared with normal tubules. However, apoptosis levels measured by ELISA in seminiferous tubular fractions (STf) were not significantly different in normal and orchitic tubules. The levels of CD36, TNF-alpha, TNF-alpha RI, IL-6, and Fas but not Fas-ligand (L), and ATP-binding cassette transporter ABCA1 were changed in AIO STf. TNF-alpha and IL-6 serum levels were increased during AIO. Fas localized to germ cells, Sertoli cells, and the lamina propria of the tubules and Fas-L, to germ cells. Fas colocalized with Fas-L in residual bodies in normal testis and in giant cells and infiltrating leukocytes in orchitic tubules.

In previous studies, we demonstrated that CRA and FRA recombinant proteins, used for diagnosis of Chagas' disease, elicited a humoral immune response in susceptible and resistant mice. To understand better the immune response to these proteins, we have evaluated, the cellular immune response in CRA- and in FRA-immunized BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice. A specific cellular lymphoproliferative response was observed in both strains of mice. Spleen cell cultures mainly from CRA-immunized C57BL/6 and FRA-immunized BALB/c mice produced high levels of IFN-y, indicating the induction of a Type 1 immune response. Regarding the T cell subsets, CD4+ T cells were the major source of IFN-y in CRA- and FRA-immunized mice. These results suggest that CRA and FRA are important immunogens in inducing a Type 1 immune response and that they may be considered as potential vaccine antigens.

We describe a procedure for microscopically mapping the relative positions of DNA probes along extended strands of DNA. The procedure referred to as direct visual hybridization (DIRVISH) DNA mapping involves the simultaneous hybridization of multiple probes and the fluorescent colors, red green and blue to produce images that convey high-resolution mapping information. The images appear as long strings of fluorescent signals positioned as they are in the genome. A visual multi-color map is generated within 2 days. Cosmid probes span a distance of 10 microms or more and have been observed to contain patterns within the strings of signals. We have developed computer imaging programs to scan through the strings of signals and plot the intensities. Scans through multiple signal strings for one cosmid probe revealed consistent patterns. We have interpreted the patterns as the result of suppression of repetitive DNA sequence hybridization. These patterns may prove useful as fingerprints for regions of DNA.