The inheritance of protein content in the milk of dairy cows

Details are given of the protein and casein yields during the complete lactation of healthy cows maintained under conditions of reasonably uniform management at the experimental farms of the Institute of Animal Genetics.Methods of chemical analysis are stated in detail, with especial reference to the precipitation of the casein at its isoelectric point. The standard errors involved in the chemical work were determined experimentally and two methods for precipitating the casein were compared without finding a substantial difference.An examination is made of the effect of various 'environmental conditions on the secretion of protein. Age of the cow was found to have a definite effect on the amount of protein secreted; it was found to increase with age. Service period also affects the amount, the longer the S.P. the bigger the amount of protein. Cows calving in October and November give the highest yields and those calving in March and April give the lowest. A dry period preceding the lactation has no effect if it exceeds three weeks.Statistical methods used at present to investigate the problems of inheritance of the milk yield and its constituents are discussed in detail. The squared difference method is employed and certain difficulties in its application are noted, requiring an adjustment of one of the raw figures to compensate for the fact that one relationship group is unduly dominated by the progeny of a single bull.The results show that the amounts of protein and casein secreted during lactation are inherited. The effect of the sire was found to be equal to that of the dam in the transmission of the genes governing the inheritance of these two characters. The mean square difference between the yields of unrelated cows was greater than the mean square difference between the yields of any other relationship group. The mean square difference between the yields of dam and daughter was also found. Arising from this study certain correlations between the protein yield of related cows are included

General Overview of <i>Klebsiella pneumonia</i>: Epidemiology and the Role of Siderophores in Its Pathogenicity

The opportunistic pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) can colonize mucosal surfaces and spread from mucosae to other tissues, causing fatal infections. Medical equipment and the healthcare setting can become colonized by Klebsiella species, which are widely distributed in nature and can be found in water, soil, and animals. Moreover, a substantial number of community-acquired illnesses are also caused by this organism worldwide. These infections are characterized by a high rate of morbidity and mortality as well as the capacity to spread metastatically. Hypervirulent Klebsiella strains are thought to be connected to these infections. Four components are critical to this bacterium’s pathogenicity—the capsule, lipopolysaccharide, fimbriae, and siderophores. Siderophores are secondary metabolites that allow iron to sequester from the surrounding medium and transport it to the intracellular compartment of the bacteria. A number of variables may lead to K. pneumoniae colonization in a specific area. Risk factors for infection include local healthcare practices, antibiotic use and misuse, infection control procedures, nutrition, gender, and age

Historical overview of infantile visceral leishmaniasis in El Agamy, Alexandria, Egypt

View of El Agamy during the 1982 outbreak showing (A) Bedouin settlement with lime stone used as a construction material; (B) stray dog in the Bedouin settlement with new concrete constructions in the background; (C) two story building found next to a Bedouin settlement; (D) new constructions built within the rural environment. [Display omitted] •Infantile visceral leishmaniasis in the El Agamy was mainly dependent on the availability of Phlebotomus langeroni and dogs.•The 1982 IVL outbreak was due to the introduction of humans in the sylvatic cycle of the disease owing to initial stages of urbanization.•The completion of urbanization resulted in the disappearance of P. langeroni responsible for the transmission of the disease.•Health impact assessment is of utmost importance when construction activities start in rural Bedouin communities like those found in El Agamy during the 1982 outbreak.•Active surveillance programs for P. langeroni are important in identifying rural communities at risk of transmission of the disease. Infantile visceral leishmaniasis (IVL) is considered a rare and neglected disease in Egypt. An outbreak of the disease in El Agamy, Alexandria occurred in 1982 although the disease was previously reported 80 years before. Epidemiological and entomological studies were conducted ever since the 1982 outbreak to identify human cases, the parasite, reservoir host and the sand fly vector. Leishmania infantum MON-98, a new and unique zymodeme, was responsible of the disease. Stray dogs acted as the reservoir host and Phlebotomus langeroni was the proven vector. The parasite isolates from human cases were identical to the parasite isolates from the reservoir host and the sand fly vector. The El Agamy focus in 1982 was basically a rural Bedouin setting of recently built cement houses surrounded by lime stone fences. The numbers of human cases of IVL in this area have been declining, with the last reported case in 2005. This coincides with the completion of irregular urbanization of El Agamy which resulted in the disappearance of P. langeroni. In this review, we characterize the old focus of IVL in El Agamy based on published literature to identify factors underlying the appearance and disappearance of the disease