Longitudinal study of career plans and directions of veterinary students and recent graduates during the first five years after graduation

Objectives To determine the patterns of work undertaken by veterinarians during the first 5 years after graduation, and to study the background to career decisions. Design Longitudinal study. Population Veterinarians (119) who started the veterinary course at The University of Queensland in 1985 and 1986, and who responded to a mailed questionnaire 5 years after they graduated. Procedure Questionnaires were completed in the first and fifth year of the veterinary course, and in the second and after the fifth year after graduation. The data were coded numerically and analysed using the SAS System for Windows. Results Most respondents (61%) planned to work in mixed practice and 61% entered mixed practice initially, but only 39% of these (26% of the total) remained in mixed practice after 5 years. Those who had grown up on a farm which derived primary income from animals were more likely to enter mixed practice, but half of this group had left mixed practice after 5 years. Most decisions to change career direction involved a move away from negative factors including inadequate private time and/or rewards, issues involving other people including the practice principal and sometimes clients, or aspects of the work itself. However, some cited positive reasons, including opportunities to learn, to help others or to travel. There were no significant differences between males and females in the numbers entering mixed practice or leaving it, or entering small animal practice, or in attitudes to many issues involving veterinarians. However, more females than males found their remuneration too small, and females did receive significantly smaller incomes than males. Conclusions Most graduating veterinarians, especially those from farms with animals, seek to enter mixed practice initially. Negative experiences are mainly responsible for moves to small animal practice. Gender does not affect the distribution of young veterinarians between mixed and small animal practice.     

Biological characterisation of Australian isolates of chicken anaemia agent

Three Australian isolates of chicken anaemia agent (CAA) resisted treatment at 70 degrees C for 5 min and chloroform treatment. Although minor antigenic differences were detected using monoclonal antibodies to CAA, the Australian isolates were indistinguishable from the reference Cux-1 and Gifu-1 isolates in cross-immunofluorescence and cross-neutralisation tests employing polyclonal chicken antiserums. The Australian viruses were pathogenic for intramuscularly inoculated 1-day-old SPF chicks, but were less pathogenic for 7-day-old chicks. Thus the Australian isolates of CAA did not differ significantly in these properties from previously characterised CAA isolates from other continents.     

Denitrification, N2O and CO2 fluxes in rice-wheat cropping system as affected by crop residues, fertilizer N and legume green manure

Use of renewable N and C sources such as green manure (GM) and crop residues in rice-wheat cropping systems of South Asia may lead to higher crop productivity and C sequestration. However, information on measurements of gaseous N losses (N₂O+N₂) via denitrification and environmental problems such as N₂O and CO₂ production in rice-wheat cropping systems is not available. An acetylene inhibition-intact soil core technique was employed for direct measurement of denitrification losses, N₂O and CO₂ production, in an irrigated field planted to rice (Oryza sativa L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in an annual rotation. The soil was a coarse-textured Tolewal sandy loam soil (Typic Ustochrept) and the site a semi-arid subtropical Punjab region of India. Wheat residue (WR, C:N=94) was incorporated at 6 t ha^-1 and sesbania (Sesbania aculeata L.) was grown as GM crop for 60 days during the pre-rice fallow period. Fresh biomass of GM (C:N.=18) at 20 or 40 t ha^-1 was incorporated into the soil 2 days before transplanting rice. Results of this study reveal that (1) denitrification is a significant N loss process under wetland rice amounting to 33% of the prescribed dose of 120 kg N ha^-1 applied as fertilizer urea-N (FN); (2) integrated management of 6 t WR ha^-1 and 20 t GM ha^-1 supplying 88 kg N ha^-1 and 32 kg FN ha^-1 significantly reduced cumulative gaseous N losses to 51.6 kg N ha^-1 as compared with 58.2 kg N ha^-1 for 120 kg FN ha^-1 alone; (3) application of excessive N and C through applying 40 t GM ha^-1 (176 kg N ha^-1) resulted in the highest gaseous losses of 70 kg N ha^-1; (4) the gaseous N losses under wheat were 0.6% to 2% of the applied 120 kg FN ha^-1 and were eight- to tenfold lower (5-8 kg N ha^-1) than those preceding rice; (5) an interplay between the availability of NO₃^- and organic C largely controlled denitrification and N₂O flux during summer-grown flooded rice whereas temperature and soil aeration status were the primary regulators of the nitrification-denitrification processes and gaseous N losses during winter-grown upland wheat; (6) the irrigated rice-wheat system is a significant source of N₂O as it emits around 15 kg N₂O-N ha^-1 year^-1; (7) incorporation of WR in rice and rice residue (C:N=63) in wheat increased soil respiration, and increased CO₂ production in WR- and GM-amended soils under anaerobic wetland rice coincided with enhanced rates of denitrification; and (8) with adequate soil moisture, most of the decomposable C fraction of added residues was mineralized within one crop-growing season and application of FN and GM further accelerated this process.     

Extraction of urethral calculi by transabdominal cystoscopy and urethroscopy in nine dogs

Objectives : To describe a minimally invasive technique for treating urethral obstructions in male dogs and to review the postoperative results. Methods : All dogs (n=9) had urethral obstruction due to calculi. Obstructions were verified by radiographic and ultrasonographic examinations. Dogs with impaired kidney function were not included in the study. A 5‐mm diameter trocar and cannula were placed in the ventral midline, 2 cm cranial to the umbilicus, allowing placement of a 10‐mm diameter cannula under visual guidance, adjacent to the apex of the bladder. The bladder was then partially exteriorised and sutured to the skin. A 5‐mm diameter cystoscopy sheath was introduced into the bladder lumen and advanced into the urethra. Continuous retrograde flushing was used to dislodge the calculi from the site of obstruction and collect them upstream. Results : The nine dogs were followed up for a minimum of 6 months. No major postoperative complications were identified. One dog exhibited transient macroscopic haematuria (for 3 weeks postoperatively). All urethral calculi were removed in the nine dogs. No recurrence was found during the follow‐up period. Clinical Significance : A minimally invasive approach is used to treat urethral obstructions resulting from calculi in the male dogs.     

Genetic parameters and expected gains from selection for monoterpene yields in Petford Eucalyptus camaldulensis

Genetic parameters were estimated for yield of 1,8-cineole and total monoterpenes as a fraction of leaf weight in nineteen open-pollinated families of Petford origin at 3.75 years in two progeny/provenance trials of E. camaldulensis in Zimbabwe. Both traits appear to be highly heritable and, as expected, were strongly genetically correlated, with narrow-sense individual heritabilities near 0.50. Expected gain in the first generation following individual selection in the trials of one tree in 10 for either trait is about 25–32%.Genetic correlations between growth traits and 1,8-cineole yield were small. This indicates that both traits might be improved concurrently thus enhancing the economics of growing Petford E. camaldulensis for wood and medicinal oil. However, the presence of moderate and unfavourable genetic correlations between growth traits and total yield of monoterpenes warrants further study. It was not possible to gauge the significance of apparent family × site interaction for 1,8-cineole yield in this study. However, a test of rank correlation showed an association (Ip<0.01) between family rankings on each site and the highest-yielding trees on both sites came from the same families. This raises the possibility of being able to select individuals for cloning that yield well over a range of site conditions.     

Use of a bone plate for treatment of middle phalangeal fractures in horses: seven cases (1979-1984)

Four adult horses and 3 foals with middle phalangeal fractures were treated by arthrodesis of the proximal interphalangeal joint, using a bone plate. Six of the 7 horses survived greater than 2 years; 2 of the 6 horses had intermittent lameness after hard work, and 4 horses didn't have evidence of lameness. The use of a bone plate for arthrodesis of the proximal interphalangeal joint was a successful treatment alternative for middle phalangeal fractures in horses.     

Breed-associated variations in the sequence of the pig 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase gene

The entire sequence of the pig 3beta-hy-droxysteroid dehydrogenase (3beta-HSD) gene has recently become known. This gene is deemed to be important in androstenone metabolism in pig liver, and its defective expression has been shown to be related to androstenone accumulation in adipose tissue and the development of boar taint. The aim of the present work was to do the following: 1) define the structure of the pig 3beta-HSD gene and 2) compare 3beta-HSD DNA sequences from pigs of different breeds, which vary in adipose tissue androstenone levels, with the purpose of identifying a polymorphism that might be responsible for differential 3beta-HSD expression. The 5'flanking and the coding region of 3beta-HSD were cloned and sequenced by conventional techniques. The 3beta-HSD coding regions were identical in pigs of different breeds and in animals with high and low androstenone levels. Significant sequence variations were found in the 5'flanking region of the 3beta-HSD gene, where differences in the number of TTAT repeats and 3 SNP were observed. The SNP were associated with the number of the TTAT repeats. These variations in the DNA sequence of the 3beta-HSD gene were not associated with the androstenone level in s.c. adipose tissue but were breed-dependent. The results of this work might be used for detection of the presence of Meishan genes in Western pig breeds, especially if the phenotype is not clearly established.