The effect of approach direction and pace on flight distance of beef breeding cows

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of approach direction and pace on flight distance of beef breeding cows. Five Japanese Black breeding cows were used as experimental cattle. Three approach directions were tested; that were the approach toward the head of the test cow from the front direction (FRONT), the approach toward to the foreleg of the test cow from the right or left (SIDE) and the approach toward to hind‐leg of the test cow diagonally from the right or left rear (BACK). Three levels of approach pace were also tested; that were the approach at a pace of 7 km/h, the approach at a pace of 4 km/h, and the approach at a pace of 1 km/h. The shortest distance between observer and cow's at the moment of the cow's withdrawal was defined as the flight distance. The flight distance in FRONT was significantly shorter than that in SIDE. The effect of the approach pace was significant. The faster an observer approached to cow, the greater the flight distance shown by the cow. The manner of approach to cattle markedly affects the flight distance. Therefore, the manner of approach to cattle must be standardized to measure flight distance for sharing results obtained by several researchers under various conditions.     

Recent update on the prevalence of Vibrio species among cultured grouper in Peninsular Malaysia

Vibrio infections are common among marine fish and lead to serious problems in the aquaculture sector. This study reports a recent occurrence of Vibrio species (spp.) isolated from cultured groupers in Peninsular Malaysia using the gyrB and pyrH genes. A total of 147 Vibrio strains were successfully isolated from 77 (64%) groupers using culture method and subjected to gyrB and pyrH sequencing for species identification and confirmation. Results showed that 89% of Vibrio strains were identified and clustered to six groups of Vibrio spp., while 11% were not clustered to any Vibrio spp. using the gyrB sequences. Meanwhile, by analysis of the pyrH sequences all the 147 Vibrio strains (100%) were successfully identified and clustered into 11 groups of Vibrio spp., including the gyrB non‐identified strains. The pyrH gene provides a better resolution for identification of Vibrio spp. compared with the gyrB gene. Thus, the pyrH gene was more suitable for a rapid determination of Vibrio spp. distribution in Peninsular Malaysia. Using the pyrH gene, our study found higher prevalence of Vibrio vulnificus (33%), V. alginolyticus (24%) and V. parahaemolyticus (22%), followed by V. rotiferianus (5%), V. harveyi (3%), V. tubiashii (2%), V. campbellii (2%), V. ponticus (1%), V. diabolicus (1%), V. owensii (1%) and others Vibrio sp. (7%). Thus, the results of this study revealed that the occurrence of pathogenic vibrios among grouper fish is still high in Malaysian aquaculture. In addition, the pyrH gene was proved as a suitable marker for rapid identification of Vibrio species compared with the gyrB gene.     

Cytologic,histologic, and immunohistochemical features of maxillofacial alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma in a juvenile dog

Abstract: A 15‐month‐old castrated male dog with a history of intermittent epistaxis and sneezing was admitted for the examination of a maxillofacial mass. An impression smear of a biopsy sample from the cauliflower‐shaped gingival mass contained numerous round cells, 5–25 μm in diameter, which contained a moderate amount of clear to pale blue cytoplasm and resembled lymphoid cells. Mitotic figures were frequently observed. The mass was diagnosed as malignant round cell neoplasia. On histologic examination the tumor was composed of diffusely arranged, small, atypical round cells with a small amount of fibrovascular stroma. Immunohistochemically, the cells were negative for CD3, CD18, CD20, CD79α, cytokeratin, melan‐A, chromogranin A, α‐smooth muscle actin, and myoglobin but positive for vimentin and desmin. The cells also had strong positive nuclear staining for myogenin and MyoD1. A diagnosis of solid‐pattern alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma was made on the basis of morphologic and immunohistochemical results. Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of tumors in juvenile dogs, especially when cytologic findings reveal round, undifferentiated cells.     

Purulent Necrotic Dislocation of the Hip Joint Associated with Umbilical Infection in a Foal

A 42-day-old heavy draft horse fell into sudden astasia. Significant swelling and heat sensation of the left femoral region were observed. Because of a friction sound in the left hip, we supposed that the hip joint was dislocated or the hip bone was fractured. Computed Tomography (CT) examination showed that the left hip joint was dislocated and the left femoral head was disjunct. We carried out a pathological autopsy, and made a diagnosis of the foal as fracture of the hip bone and femoral head with suppurative umbilical arteritis. Pathologic changes in the umbilical artery and hind leg were completely unilateral, suggesting that left umbilical arteritis spread to the blood circulation, causing arthritis and dislocation of the hip bone.     

Glomerular lipidosis accompanied by renal tubular oxalosis in wild and laboratory-reared Japanese rock ptarmigans (Lagopus mutus japonicus)

Glomerular lipidosis is a disease characterized by lipid accumulation in mesangial cells but that has not been fully investigated in avian species. We examined four wild and two laboratory-reared Japanese rock ptarmigans (Lagopus mutus japonicus)--an endangered avian species--presenting vacuolar deposits in the glomeruli. All cases had vacuolar deposits in the glomeruli. In the wild cases, fewer than 30% of all glomeruli were affected, compared with more than 90% in the laboratory-reared cases. In the wild cases, most deposits were mild and restricted to the mesangial areas of glomeruli. In the laboratory-reared cases, nearly all of the deposits covered entire glomeruli. Electron microscopy of mild deposits revealed vacuoles in the cytoplasm of mesangial cells. These vacuoles were positive for Sudan III, Sudan black B, oil red O, Nile blue, periodic acid-Schiff, Schultz test, and digitonin stain and were negative for performaric acid-Schiff stains. Based on these results, we diagnosed the glomerular lesion as glomerular lipidosis caused by uptake of low-density lipoprotein in mesangial cells. Except for one wild case, all cases exhibited renal tubular oxalosis. The severity of tubular oxalosis tended to be related to the severity of glomerular lipidosis: In cases of mild glomerular lipidosis, tubular oxalosis was also mild or absent. We therefore diagnosed the primary lesion as glomerular lipidosis accompanied by tubular oxalosis. The four wild cases came from different zones and therefore had no opportunities to interbreed and no common relatives. We believe these data support the hypothesis that glomerular lipidosis is a disease of the general population ofJapanese rock ptarmigans. This is the first report of glomerular lipidosis accompanied by renal tubular oxalosis in an avian species.     

Effects of glutathione treatments during sperm washing and in vitro fertilization on the in vitro early development of embryos of Japanese Black cattle

This study was conducted to examine the effects of adding glutathione (1 mM) to media used for sperm washing and in vitro fertilization (IVF) on the improvement of early development of embryos produced using cryopreserved spermatozoa of the less IVF-competent bull (the one considered unqualified as spermatozoa supplier for the production of bovine blastocysts using IVF). The cryopreserved spermatozoa of this bull were characterized by normal motility and lower ATP content and blastocyst productivity than those of IVF-competent bulls. The addition of glutathione to the sperm washing medium was more effective in improving the productivity of blastocysts and ATP content than the addition of glutathione to the IVF medium or no glutathione addition at all (control). These results suggest that this simple method may be used to improve the potential of cryopreserved spermatozoa of less IVF-competent bulls to fertilize oocytes in vitro and to induce normal embryonic development after fertilization.     

Complete Nucleotide Sequence of Ryegrass Mottle Virus : A New Species of the Genus Sobemovirus

The genome of Ryegrass mottle virus (RGMoV) comprises 4210 nucleotides. The genomic RNA contains four open reading frames (ORFs). The largest ORF 2 encodes a polyprotein of 947 amino acids (103.6 kDa), which codes for a serine protease and an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. The viral coat protein is encoded on ORF 4 present at the 3′-proximal region. Other ORFs 1 and 3 encode the predicted 14.6 kDa and 19.8 kDa proteins of unknown function. The consensus signal for frameshifting, heptanucleotide UUUAAAC and a stem-loop structure just downstream is in front of the AUG codon of ORF 3. Analysis of the in vitro translation products of RGMoV RNA suggests that the 68 kDa protein may represent a fusion protein of ORF 2-ORF 3 produced by frameshifting. The protease region of the polyprotein and coat protein have a low similarity with that of the sobemoviruses (approximately 25% amino acid identity), while the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase region has particularly strong similarity (54 to 60% of more than 350 amino acid residues). The sequence similarities of RGMoV to the sobemoviruses, together with the characteristic genome organization indicate that RGMoV is a new species of the genus Sobemovirus. Received 28 June 2000/ Accepted in revised form 14 November 2000     

Growth of Glucose-uptake-deficient Mutant of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae in Rice Leaves

We isolated Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae mutants deficient in the phosphoenolpyruvate : carbohydrate phos-photransferase system, a major glucose transport system in bacteria, using the glucose analogue 3-deoxy-3-fluoro-d-glucose (3FG). Glucose uptake by the mutants was decreased to 15–35% of the parental strain, and growth greatly decreased in synthetic media containing glucose as a sole sugar source. Growth of the mutants in rice leaves was, however, similar to the wild type. These findings suggest that glucose is not necessarily a major carbohydrate source for X. o. pv. oryzae in rice leaves. Received 11 August 2000/ Accepted in revised form 15 December 2000