Investigating associations between milk metabolite profiles and milk traits of Holstein cows.

In the field of dairy cattle research, it is of great interest to improve the detection and prevention of diseases (e.g., mastitis and ketosis) and monitor specific traits related to the state of health and management. During the standard milk performance test, traditional milk traits are monitored, and quality and quantity are screened. In addition to the standard test, it is also now possible to analyze milk metabolites in a high-throughput manner and to consider them in connection with milk traits to identify functionally important metabolites that can also serve as biomarker candidates. We present a study in which 190 milk metabolites and 14 milk traits of 1,305 Holstein cows on 18 commercial farms were investigated to characterize interrelations of milk metabolites between each other, to milk traits from the milk standard performance test, and to influencing factors such as farm and sire effect (half-sib structure). The effect of influencing factors (e.g., farm) varied among metabolites and traditional milk traits. The investigations of associations between metabolites and milk traits revealed groups of metabolites that show, for example, positive correlations to protein and casein, and negative correlations to lactose and pH. On the other hand, groups of metabolites jointly associated with the investigated milk traits can be identified and functionally discussed. To enable a multivariate investigation, 2 machine learning methods were applied to detect important metabolites that are highly correlated with the investigated traditional milk traits. For somatic cell score, uracil, lactic acid, and 9 other important metabolites were detected. Lactic acid has already been proposed as a biomarker candidate for mastitis in the recent literature. In conclusion, we found sets of metabolites eligible to predict milk traits, enabling the analysis of milk traits from a metabolic perspective and discussion of the possible functional background for some of the detected associations.

VirB7 lipoprotein is exocellular and associates with the Agrobacterium tumefaciens T pilus.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens transfers oncogenic T-DNA and effector proteins to plant cells via a type IV secretion pathway. This transfer system, assembled from the products of the virB operon, is thought to consist of a transenvelope mating channel and the T pilus. When screened for the presence of VirB and VirE proteins, material sheared from the cell surface of octopine strain A348 was seen to possess detectable levels of VirB2 pilin, VirB5, and the VirB7 outer membrane lipoprotein. Material sheared from the cell surface of most virB gene deletion mutants also possessed VirB7, but not VirB2 or VirB5. During purification of the T pilus from wild-type cells, VirB2, VirB5, and VirB7 cofractionated through successive steps of gel filtration chromatography and sucrose density gradient centrifugation. A complex containing VirB2 and VirB7 was precipitated from a gel filtration fraction enriched for T pilus with both anti-VirB2 and anti-VirB7 antiserum. Both the exocellular and cellular forms of VirB7 migrated as disulfide-cross-linked dimers and monomers when samples were electrophoresed under nonreducing conditions. A mutant synthesizing VirB7 with a Ser substitution of the lipid-modified Cys15 residue failed to elaborate the T pilus, whereas a mutant synthesizing VirB7 with a Ser substitution for the disulfide-reactive Cys24 residue produced very low levels of T pilus. Together, these findings establish that the VirB7 lipoprotein localizes exocellularly, it associates with the T pilus, and both VirB7 lipid modification and disulfide cross-linking are important for T-pilus assembly. T-pilus-associated VirB2 migrated in nonreducing gels as a monomer and a disulfide-cross-linked homodimer, whereas cellular VirB2 migrated as a monomer. A strain synthesizing a VirB2 mutant with a Ser substitution for the reactive Cys64 residue elaborated T pilus but exhibited an attenuated virulence phenotype. Dithiothreitol-treated T pilus composed of native VirB2 pilin and untreated T pilus composed of the VirB2C64S mutant pilin distributed in sucrose gradients more predominantly in regions of lower sucrose density than untreated, native T pili. These findings indicate that intermolecular cross-linking of pilin monomers is not required for T-pilus production, but cross-linking does contribute to T-pilus stabilization.

[Surgical treatment of patients with rheumatoid diseases]. / Chirurgische Behandlung der Rheumakranken.

The selection of surgery methods in the treatment of rheumatism, and the success one can expect, depends on the stage of the disease and the location of the affected joint(s). A distinction is made between preventive methods (synovectomy, tenosynovectomy, tenotomy, relocation or lengthening of tendons, capsulotomy) and reconstructive/corrective operations (corrective osteotomy, arthrodesis, plastic arthrectomy, alloarthroplasty). The author also points to the limits of operative therapy, especially as regards social rehabilitation. The accent in rheumatism orthopedics should gradually shift toward early preventive operation.

Hydroxyproline levels and collagenolytic activity in synovial fluids of patients with rheumatic diseases.

Free, total, and peptide hydroxyproline levels were determined in synovial fluid obtained from the knee joints of 60 patients with theumatoid arthritis (RA), and 26 patients with degenerative joint disease. In addition, in 160 synovial fluid samples obtained from 121 patients including 50 with degenerative joint disease, 60 with RA, 3 with Reiter's syndrome, 3 with hydarthrosis intermittens and 5 with ankylosing spondylitis, the collagenolytic activity was determined. The mean values of free and peptide hydroxyproline in the inflammatory and degenerative fluids were the same, but slight differences were found in the mean values of total hydroxyproline. No effect on the level of free and bound hydroxyproline was observed after treatment with intra-articular hydrocortisone and gold salts. The collagenolytic activity of synovial fluid was registered in 38% of cases of RA and in some cases of Reiter's syndrome and hydrarthrosis intermittens, but it was not found in 50 cases of degenerative joint disease or in cases of ankylosing spondylitis. During a longer observation of patients with inflammatory forms of RA a variability in the collagenolytic activity was observed in repeated examinations of the fluid obtained from the same patient; this activity appeared and disappeared. The incidence of collagenolytic activity and its values were higher in patients with active rheumatoid process and this activity was present more frequently in patients with a short history of the disease (up to 3 years). The collagenolytic activity of rheumatoid fluids was, to a high degree, inhibited by normal human serum. The problem of presence or lack of collagenolytic activity in rheumatoid fluids is discussed.