Antimicrobial susceptibilities of Mycoplasma isolated from bovine mastitis in Japan.

Mycoplasma spp. are highly contagious pathogens and intramammary Mycoplasma infection is a serious issue for the dairy industry. As there is no effective vaccine for Mycoplasma infection, control depends on good husbandry and chemo-antibiotic therapy.

Reliability in somatic cell count measurement of clinical mastitis milk using DeLaval cell counter.

Somatic cell counts (SCC) measurements are typically performed using quantitative methods, such as the Breed method (Breed) and the Fossomatic method (FSCC). The DeLaval cell counter (DCC) developed recently is a quantitative somatic cell counter with a low initial cost and superior portability. However, since the DCC was specifically developed for measuring SCC of ≤ 4 × 10(6) cells/mL milk from bulk tanks or individual cows, its reliability for estimating SCC that exceed this concentration has not yet been clarified.

Relationship between concentration of lingual antimicrobial peptide and somatic cell count in milk of dairy cows.

Lingual antimicrobial peptide (LAP) belongs to the β-defensin family in cattle and is found in milk. LAP concentrations increase in milk from mastitic udders; however, the relationship between LAP concentrations and the somatic cell count (SCC) in milk remains to be elucidated in detail. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between LAP concentrations and the SCC in bovine milk to assess whether LAP may be used as an indicator of SCC.

Molecular-based identification of yeasts isolated from bovine clinical mastitis in Japan.

This study analyzed molecular-based identification of yeasts that associated with bovine clinical mastitis in Japan. Over 3,200 quarter milk samples from Holstein dairy cows collected in 2011 on Hokkaido and Honshu islands were examined. Yeast isolates were characterized by polymerase chain reaction amplification and sequencing of the D1/D2 region of the 26S rDNA.

[Effects of aboveground and belowground competition between grass and tree on elm seedlings growth in Horqin Sandy Land].

Elm sparse woodland steppe plays an important role in vegetation restoration and landscape protection in Horqin Sandy Land. In this paper, a two-factor and two-level field experiment was conducted to explore the effects of aboveground and belowground competition between grass and tree on the growth of elm seedlings in the Sandy Land. Five aspects were considered, i.