Immunoglobulin (Ig) function varies by isotype and antibody activity is best mediated by isotypes most able to control the inciting infection. In pigs, a high ratio of IgG1:IgG2 is associated with resistance to disease caused by the extra-cellular bacterium Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae. This ratio is controlled by type 1/type 2 cytokines in vitro, reflecting cell- (CMI) or antibody-mediated ...

Outbred Sprague-Dawley rats can be classified as high responders (HR) or low responders (LR) based on their levels of exploratory locomotion in a novel environment. While this novelty-seeking dimension was originally related to differential vulnerability to substance abuse, behavioral, neuroendocrine and gene expression studies suggest a fundamental difference in emotional reactivity between th...

In the Sverdlovsk region, holsteinized black-and-white cattle of Ural type are bred. All cows have high productivity indicators; best milk yields distinguished by animals Vis Back Ideal line, which surpass their peers 99 (Reflection Sovering line) and 1477 kg (Montwick Chieftain or 0.9 – 13.7%. second case, difference is significant at P?0.01. According to FMF in milk, higher values were observ...

We compared maximum aerobic capacity during forced exercise (VO2max) in hypoxia (PO2=14% O2), normoxia (21%) and hyperoxia (30%) of lines of house mice selectively bred for high voluntary wheel running (S lines) with their four unselected control (C) lines. We also tested for pleiotropic effects of the ;mighty mini-muscle' allele, a Mendelian recessive that causes a 50% reduction in hind limb m...

Recent evidence from our laboratory suggests that the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist MK-801 (dizocilpine) selectively antagonizes non-opioid (i.e. naloxone-insensitive) mechanisms of stress-induced analgesia in mice. For example, we have recently demonstrated that a low dose of MK-801 (0.075 mg/kg, i.p.) antagonizes the non-opioid component of a mixed opioid/non-opioid swim str...

It has been widely accepted that inbred strains of mice and other rodents should be used for experimental purposes because such strains are considered to show physiological uniformities with themselves. On the other hand, it has been questioned whether inbred strains of mice are indeed more suitable for experimental purposes. Emmens(1939)found an inbred strain of Strong's CBA mice to be more va...

The Hustain Nuru region of Mongolia’s Chentai Mountains is one of the country’s most pristine wild areas. Valleys and slopes harbour steppe vegetation such as fescue, brome grass and feathergrasses, while birch woods grow in the upper elevations of this relatively low lying mountainous region. A diverse range of wild fauna including marmots, lemmings, red deer, wild sheep, polecats, Pallas cat,...