Effects of difructose anhydride III on serum immunoglobulin G concentration and health status of newborn Holstein calves during the preweaning period.

This experiment was performed to investigate the effects of increases in passively acquired immunoglobulin G (IgG) by difructose anhydride (DFA) III supplementation on subsequent serum IgG concentration and health status in calves during the preweaning period. Thirty newborn female Holstein calves were paired by birth order, and 2 calves in each pair were fed 2 L of the same batch of colostrum within 2 h and at 10 h after birth, and followed by 2 L of the same batch of pooled colostrum at 20 h after birth. One calf from each pair was assigned to the control (n = 15) or treatment (n = 15) group. All calves in the treatment group received 18 g of DFA III at each feeding from birth to 7 d of age, whereas calves in the control group did not receive DFA III. Blood samples were collected before feeding at 0, 10, 20, and 36 h, and 4 and 7 d of age, and sampling was repeated at 7-d intervals thereafter until 49 d of age for serum IgG analysis. Calves were monitored daily for diarrhea and respiratory diseases. Serum IgG concentrations peaked at 36 h of age in both groups. Apparent efficiency of IgG absorption and peak serum IgG concentration were higher in the treatment group than in the control group. Using multiple regression analysis, we showed that peak serum IgG concentration in the newborn calves was positively correlated with colostral IgG concentration and DFA III supplementation. Moreover, peak serum IgG concentration (36 h of age) positively influenced subsequent serum IgG concentration until 35 d of age for all calves in both groups. The treatment group had higher serum IgG concentration from 20 h to 21 d of age than the control group. However, we detected no differences between the groups in number of calves with diarrhea or respiratory disease.

Effect of difructose anhydride III supplementation on passive immunoglobulin G transfer and serum immunoglobulin G concentration in newborn Holstein calves fed pooled colostrum.

Difructose anhydride (DFA) III acts on intestinal epithelial tight junctions and promotes calcium absorption through the paracellular pathway in dairy cows. This trial was done to investigate the effects of DFA III supplementation on passive IgG transfer and serum IgG concentration in calves. Twenty-four newborn Holstein male calves were grouped as 12 pairs, with each pair receiving a separate batch of pooled colostrum (PC) from the first 2 milkings. One calf from each pair was allocated to the treatment group (n=12) and received 18g of DFA III in each feeding; the other calf was assigned to the control group (n=12) and did not receive DFA III. All calves were fed 2 L of PC per feeding at 1, 10, and 24 h after birth. Prefeeding blood samples taken at 0 h, 10 h, 24 h, 36 h, 4 d, and 7 d were analyzed for serum IgG concentration. Apparent efficiency of IgG absorption in the treatment group was higher compared to that in the control group. Serum IgG concentration of calves in the treatment group was higher for all sampling time points except for 0 h of age. Mean serum IgG concentrations in the treatment and control groups at 36 h of age were 22.3 and 17.7 g/L, respectively. Serum IgG concentration at 36 h of age was positively related with the IgG concentration in the PC in both groups, and it was higher in the treatment group than in the control group at the same IgG concentration in the PC. These results indicate that absorption of ingested IgG by endocytosis as well as a nonselected concentration gradient process of the paracellular pathway of the intestinal epithelium could be enhanced by DFA III supplementation. Supplementation of DFA III in PC containing various IgG concentrations could improve IgG absorption as well as calf serum IgG concentration.

Influence of cell fabrication procedure on the performance of the dye sensitized solar cell.

The recent technological advancements of the Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) fabrication technology is gaining momentum as a low cost and simple fabrication technology to convert solar energy into electric energy. A systematic study of the DSSC fabrication procedure and its influence on the cell efficiency are presented in this paper. Preparation of the titanium dioxide (TiO2) layer on the working electrode was the most significant process improvement made to enhance cell efficiency. The Coatema tool was used to develop an automated TiO2 coating process, which yielded layer thicknesses with minimum micro cracks and repeatable TiO2 weight loading in the range of 8-13 microm. Secondary process improvements implemented were: vacuum drying step for the TiO2 layer, dilution ratio of the sensitized dye and sealant thickness. These optimized cell fabrication steps enhanced cell efficiencies over 200% and reduced total process time. The work in progress demonstrated higher cell efficiency slightly greater than 9% by reducing the cell size using the optimized fabrication process described in this paper. We are confident that higher efficiency cells can be fabricated with this optimized fabrication process illustrated in this paper.

National anti-tuberculosis drug resistance survey, 2002, in Myanmar.

SETTING: Thirty townships of Myanmar. OBJECTIVES: To determine the proportions of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) in new and previously treated pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) cases in Myanmar. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. Drug susceptibility was tested by the proportion method at the National Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory, Yangon. RESULTS: Of 874 TB patients included from 30 sites, 849 isolates obtained from individual patients (733 from new cases and 116 from previously treated cases) were tested for susceptibility to four primary anti-tuberculosis drugs. Of 733 isolates tested from new TB patients, 10% were resistant to any one of the anti-tuberculosis drugs, 6.5% to isoniazid (INH), 4.6% to rifampicin (RMP) and 4.0% were multidrug-resistant (MDR). Of the 116 previously treated patients, 30.2% were resistant to any one of the drugs, 26.7% to INH, 15.5% to RMP and 15.5% were MDR. Previous anti-tuberculosis treatment of more than 1 month was strongly associated with the development of MDR-TB (adjusted OR 4.8, 95% CI 2.5-9.1). CONCLUSION: The first national drug resistance survey in Myanmar revealed 4% and 15.5% MDR-TB among new and retreatment cases, respectively. Previous antituberculosis treatment was an important risk factor for MDR-TB. Continuous monitoring of drug resistance trends is needed