The molecule possessing ankyrin-repeats induced by lipopolysaccharide (MAIL) protein is a novel member of the $Ikappa{\beta}$ family. In the present study, we examined the effect of norepinephrine (NE) on MAIL mRNA expression in primary cultured mouse hepatocytes and non-parenchymal liver cells. MAIL mRNA expression in hepatocytes and non-parenchymal liver cells was not directly influenced by NE. However, MAIL mRNA expression in hepatocytes was significantly induced by incubation with a culture medium of non-parenchymal liver cells, treated with NE. Pretreatment with an interleukin (IL)-1 receptor antagonist significantly attenuated the stimulatory effect of the medium. Moreover, exogenous $IL-1{\beta}$ induced MAIL mRNA expression in hepatocytes, while IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor $\alpha$ did not. The concentration of $IL-1{\beta}$ in the medium of non-parenchymal liver cells was significantly increased after NE-treatment. These results suggest that NE can induce MAIL mRNA expression in hepatocytes through $IL-1{\beta}$, released from non-parenchymal liver cells.

The large amount of tissue culture medium (TCM), which contains some of the active secretory components of Korean wild ginseng (KWG; Panax ginseng) such as saponins, is usually discarded after harvest of KWG. The present study was aimed to investigate the efficacy of oral administration of the TCM-KWG on growth performance and diseases resistance in broiler chickens. A day old broiler chickens randomized in 6 groups (n = 60/groups) were administered orally with 0, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32 mL/L TCMKWG through drinking water for 5 weeks and examined the change of weight gain, feed intake and blood components. Also, five weeks old broiler chickens (n = 15/groups) were challenged orally with Salmonella (S.) gallinarum and investigated the mortality in broiler chickens. An average weight gain and feed intake significantly didn't change in TCM-KWG administration groups as compared to control group. The concentration of calcium (Ca), phosphate (Pi) and potassium (K) in serum were increase by TCM-KWG administration in broiler chickens. We also found that oral administration of TCM-KWG through drinking water significantly reduced the mortality in broiler chickens experimentally infected with virulent S. gallinarum. The results of this study indicated that TCM-KWG administration may elevate the resistance on disease and improved the skeleton formation and body homeostasis of chickens, and TCM-KWG can be used as a cost-effective and environmentally alternative additives to control of the disease and growth.

This study investigated the potential effects of amitraz on the pre- and postnatal development, behavior, and reproductive performance of offspring of parent rats given amitraz during pre-mating, gestation, and lactation. The test chemical was administered via the drinking water containing 0, 40, 120, and 360 ppm to male rats from 2 weeks before mating to the end of 14-day mating period and to females from 2 weeks before mating, throughout mating, gestation and lactation up to weaning. Based on fluid consumption, the male rats received an average of $0,\;5.7{\pm}1.33,\;13.2{\pm}2.08,$ and $35.8{\pm}3.42$ mg/kg/day amitraz, and the female rats received an average of $0,8.7{\pm}4.42,\;20.1{\pm}9.60,\;and\;47.6{\pm}22.38$ mg/kg/day amitraz, respectively. At 360 ppm, an increase in the incidence of abnormal clinical signs, a suppression in the body weight gain, a decrease in the food consumption and litter size, an increase in the post-implantation loss, and a decrease in the seminal vesicle weight were observed in the parent animals. In addition, a suppression in the body weight gain, a decrease in the grip strength, a delay in the negative geotaxis, an increase in the pre- and post-implantation loss, and a decrease in the number of live embryos were observed in the offspring. At 120 ppm, suppressed body weight gain and reduced food consumption were observed in the parent rats. Suppressed body weight gain and decreased grip strength were also observed in the offspring. There were no signs of either reproductive or developmental toxicity at 40 ppm. Under these experimental conditions, the no-observed-adverse-effect level of amitraz for parent rats and their offspring was estimated to be 40 ppm in rats.

Carnosine is a dipeptide $(\beta-alanyl-L-histidine)$ found in mammalian brain, eye, olfactory bulb and skeletal muscle at high concentrations. Its biological functions include antioxidant and anti-glycation activities. The objectives of this study were to investigate anti-diabetic effects of carnosine as determined by blood glucose levels, glucose tolerance test (GTT), glycosylated hemoglobin, and serum biochemical and lipid levels in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice. There were five experimental groups including normal (ICR mice), control (saline), and three groups of carnosine at doses of 6, 30, and 150 mg/kg b.w.. Carnosine was orally administered to the diabetic mice everyday for 12 weeks. There was no significant difference in body weight changes in carnosine-treated groups compared to the control. The treatments of carnosine at the dose of 6 mg/kg significantly decreased the blood glucose level compared with the control at 2 and 4 weeks. The treatments of carnosine at the doses of 6 and 30 mg/kg significantly decreased the blood glucose levels in GTT and glycosylated hemoglobin compared with the control. Carnosine significantly increased total proteins compared with the control. Carnosine at the dose of 6 mg/kg significantly decreased total cholesterol and triglyceride in the serum compared to the control. These results suggest that carnosine at a low level has a hypoglycermic effect resulting from reduction of blood glucose and that a carnosine-containing diet or drug may give a benefit for controlling diabetes mellitus in humans.

To determine the prevalence of Escherichia (E.) coli O157 : H7 from pigs after the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system has been applied to Korean swine farm since 2006, 291 fecal samples were tested between May and December in 2008. Four E. coli O157:non-H7 (1.4%) were isolated from 4 different non-HACCP-accredited farms and they didn't have virulent genes which can cause illness for human. Also, Clostridium (C.) perfringens, Salmonella spp. and E. coli enterotoxins were tested using multiplex PCR. The positive rate for these pathogens of non-HACCP-accredited farms was higher than that of HACCP-accredited farms, and especially in case of C. perfringens, E. coli enterotoxins LT and STa, it was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Thus, the early implementation of the HACCP program is expected to greatly contribute to the safety of livestock products as well as food hygiene.

Members of the genus Brucella are facultative intracellular bacteria and cause brucellosis, a chronic disease in humans and abortion in animals. In this study, we tested sera for brucellosis of 15 Hanwoo farms in the western part of Gyeong-buk province, resulting 5 farms were brucellosis positive in 2008. We collected blood from 277 heads in the brucellosis positive 5 farms, and performed serological diagnosis, brucella positive cattle which had shown higher than 200 antibody titer in tube agglutination test were slaughtered, supramammary lymph nodes were collected, and Brucella spp. wild type isolation and identification were performed. From these results, 15 of Brucella spp. wild type strains were isolated and all strains were identified as B. abortus biotype 1 by biological and molecular analysis. In the antimicrobial susceptibility test, all 15 strains had a similar susceptibility and resistance pattern. This study may be useful for bacteriological and epidemiological understanding of cattle brucellosis in Korea.

Bacterial contamination is an unavoidable finding of the semen collection process in boar and can lead in deleterious effects on semen quality and longevity if left uncontrolled. The purpose of this study is to identify the bacteria in extended boar semen and to select the effective antimicrobials to control of the contaminants. Of 116 extended boar semen samples submitted from eight AI centers in Korea, 39 (33.6%) samples were positive for bacterial contamination. Among 39 contaminated semen, most of them (84.6%) were contaminated with one or two bacterial species and there was no significant difference between two age groups $(\leq\;24\;and\;>\;24\;month\;old).$ Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (n = 18) was the most predominant bacterium followed by Elizabethkingia meningoseptica (n = 12), Sphingomonas paucimobilis (n = 12), Myroides spp. (n = 5), Ochrobactrum anthropi (n = 3), and so on. Enrofloxacin (72.9%), florfenicol (72.9%), bacitracin (49.2%) and tylosin (49.2%) showed higher sensitivity compared with penicillin (13.6%) or aminoglycosides (6.8%-18.6%). Brucella spp., Leptospira spp., Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, Mycoplasma hyorhinis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex were not detected in semen by PCR.

Rabies virus (family Rhabdoviridae, genus Lyssavirus, RV) is the causative agent of rabies in mammals. We conducted a sero-epidemiological survey for RV using sera from South Korean stray and companion dogs in the present study. A total of 533 canine serum samples were collected between February 2006 and December 2007 and were screened for rabies immunity with a neutralizing peroxidase linked assay. Both companion (49.1%) and stray (60.1%) dogs demonstrated RV seropositivity. Regional RV antibody prevalence was measured in the Jeju (87.5%), Gyeonggi (62%), Gyeongsang (59.1%), Jeonra (42%), Chungcheong (37.9%), and Gangwon (30.4%) provinces. Prevalence increased with age but did not exceed 80% in any age group. Stray and companion dogs had RV antibody prevalence values of 26.7% and 23.7%, respectively. Seroprevalence was significantly associated with age $({\chi}2\;=\;9.46;\;p\;=\;0.024)$ for companion dogs, although this association was not evident in stray dogs. There were no significant differences in age between stray and companion dogs and no gender differences in RV seroprevalence. Our results suggested that a widespread and reinforced vaccination program must be applied to Korean dogs.

A 2-month-old male Jeju native black calf with respiratory distress was died and requested to the Veterinary Pathology Laboratory of Jeju National University for diagnosis. Grossly, lungs were focally attached to the pleura and heart with fibrin. Purple red sublobar consolidations were distributed in both apical and cardiac lobes of lungs. Histopathologically, diffuse severe bronchointerstitial pneumonia characterized by multifocal necrotizing bronchiolitis, formation of numerous multinucleated syncytial cells in bronchiolar and alveolar lumens, and diffuse alveolar wall thickening were observed in lungs. Eosinophilic intracytoplasmic inclusions were observed in bronchiolar epithelial cells and syncytial cells. According to reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) was detected in the lung of calf. Based on the histopathologic findings and RT-PCR, this calf was diagnosed as BRSV infection. In our best knowledge, this is the first case of BRSV infection in Jeju native black calf.

This study was carried out to find whether phenidone (1-phenyl-3-pyrazolidinone), a cyclooxygenase as well as a lipoxygenase inhibitor, exhibits the preventive effect on carbon tetrachloride $(CCl_{4})-induced$ acute liver injury in rats. Rats were pretreated with phenidone at a dose of 50 or 200 mg/kg (p.o.) once daily for 3 consecutive days before $CCl_{4}$ administration. Serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were measured. Malondialdehyde (MDA) production was determined as an index of lipid peroxidation in the liver and serum. The histopathological changes in the liver were also examined in each group. The reduction in body weights was significantly inhibited in the phenidone-treated group than in the $CCl_{4}$ control group. Significant increase in the relative liver weights of the phenidone-treated groups was observed compared with either the vehicle or $CCl_{4}$ groups. Elevation of serum AST and ALT activities occurred after $CCl_{4}$ treatment was significantly attenuated by the pretreatment with phenidone. The elevation of MDA levels in liver and serum were completely inhibited in phenidone-treated groups. The protective effects on phenidone-treated groups were confirmed histopathologically. These results suggest that phenidone may be a useful protector through modulation of hepatic inflammation in $(CCl_{4})-induced$ acute liver injury.

A thirty-five week old elk was referred for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) confirmation from Chungnam province in Korea. Necropsy revealed much bloody contents in the lumen of small and large intestines, and reddening of its mucosa. Microscopically, few coccidia showing various developmental stages were infiltrated in lamina propria of small intestine with granulomatous inflammation and congestion. They were identified as Eimeria spp. according to their location and morphological characteristics. Because fecal examination and oocyst culture were not available, the species of the Eimeria could not be confirmed. There were no detection of pathogenic bacteria such as clostridia and virus in intestinal contents. CWD was shown to be negative in immunohistochemistry test. In conclusion, it was the first Eimeria case detected in small intestine of Korean domestic elk as far as we know although Eimeria spp. were not the main cause of death.

The objective of this study was to compare wound healing in stomach with $CO_{2}$ laser and scalpel incision by measuring the extent of bleeding, the ease of gastric incision, incision time, degree of adhesion and wound healing degree in dogs. Sixteen healthy dogs were used. Two symmetrical incisions were made in ventral aspect of the stomach between the greater and lesser curvatures were made with scalpel and 0.2 mm spot diameter $CO_{2}$ laser (8W, continuous wave) in sixteen dogs. And then each wound was closed with absorbable suture in a two-layer inverting seromuscular pattern. At 3, 7, 14 and 21 days after initial wounding, each wound was taken for histological observation. On surgery, the extent of bleeding, the ease of incision and incision time showed significant differences between the groups. The $CO_{2}$ laser provided better hemostasis (p < 0.05) and smaller postoperative adhesion compared with the scalpel. However, the scalpel produced faster speed of incision and was easier to handle than the $CO_{2}$ laser (p < 0.05). Although there was no considerable difference between the two groups in histological observation, necrosis and calcium deposit tended to be larger in the $CO_{2}$ laser than in the scalpel.