A dose-response investigation on the level of resistance to pyrantel citrate in nodular worms of pigs

This study was undertaken to determine the level of resistance against pyrantel citrate in strains of Oesophagostomum quadrispinulatum and Oesophagostomum dentatum which have previously been found resistant to this anthelmintic. Groups of pigs were artificially infected with batches of infective larvae which were previously found either susceptible or resistant to pyrantel citrate. After treatment with 1, 2 and 4 times the recommended dose (14 mg kg-1) of pyrantel citrate, the resistant O. quadrispinulatum population was reduced by 51.0, 76.2 and 86.1%, and O. dentatum by 41.2, 47.9 and 78.5%. The results indicated that O. dentatum was slightly more resistant (P less than 0.05) than O. quadrispinulatum to pyrantel citrate. Treatment of the susceptible worms with 1 and 2 times the recommended dose caused a reduction in worm numbers by 61.0 and 99.4%, respectively.     

An oxidative enzyme boosting the enzymatic conversion of recalcitrant polysaccharides

Efficient enzymatic conversion of crystalline polysaccharides is crucial for an economically and environmentally sustainable bioeconomy but remains unfavorably inefficient. We describe an enzyme that acts on the surface of crystalline chitin, where it introduces chain breaks and generates oxidized chain ends, thus promoting further degradation by chitinases. This enzymatic activity was discovered and further characterized by using mass spectrometry and chromatographic separation methods to detect oxidized products generated in the absence or presence of H(2)(18)O or (18)O(2). There are strong indications that similar enzymes exist that work on cellulose. Our findings not only demonstrate the existence of a hitherto unknown enzyme activity but also provide new avenues toward more efficient enzymatic conversion of biomass.     

A slowly progressive retinopathy in the Shetland Sheepdog

Objective To describe a slowly progressive retinopathy (SPR) in Shetland Sheepdogs. Animals Forty adult Shetlands Sheepdogs with ophthalmoscopic signs of SPR and six normal Shetland Sheepdogs were included in the study. Procedure Ophthalmic examination including slit‐lamp biomicroscopy and ophthalmoscopy was performed in all dogs. Electroretinograms and obstacle course‐test were performed in 13 affected and 6 normal dogs. The SPR dogs were subdivided into two groups according to their dark‐adapted b‐wave amplitudes. SPR1‐dogs had ophthalmoscopic signs of SPR, but normal dark‐adapted b‐wave amplitudes. Dogs with both ophthalmoscopic signs and subnormal, dark‐adapted b‐wave amplitudes were assigned to group SPR2. Eyes from two SPR2 dogs were obtained for microscopic examination. Results The ophthalmoscopic changes included bilateral, symmetrical, greyish discoloration in the peripheral tapetal fundus with normal or marginally attenuated vessels. Repeated examination showed that the ophthalmoscopic changes slowly spread across the central parts of the tapetal fundus, but did not progress to obvious neuroretinal thinning presenting as tapetal hyper‐reflectivity. The dogs did not appear seriously visually impaired. SPR2 showed significantly reduced b‐wave amplitudes throughout dark‐adaptation. Microscopy showed thinning of the outer nuclear layer and abnormal appearance of rod and cone outer segments. Testing for the progressive rod–cone degeneration ( prcd )‐mutation in three dogs with SPR was negative. Conclusion Slowly progressive retinopathy is a generalized rod–cone degeneration that on ophthalmoscopy looks similar to early stages of progressive retinal atrophy. The ophthalmoscopic findings are slowly progressive without tapetal hyper‐reflectivity. Visual impairment is not obvious and the electroretinogram is more subtly altered than in progressive retinal atrophy. The etiology remains unclear. SPR is not caused by the prcd‐mutation.     

Meat inspection education in Finnish veterinary curriculum

This article describes the Finnish meat-inspection curriculum and presents an expert-panel evaluation of meat-inspection education. The work tasks of the meat-inspection veterinarian are challenging and include classical meat inspection, meat hygiene, hygiene control, and animal disease and welfare. The meat-inspection veterinarian is not only an inspector, which by itself is very demanding, but also an expert or "consultant" on food safety. The significant role of the meat-inspection veterinarian in society puts high demands on meat-inspection education, which should provide veterinary students with sufficient tools to perform meat inspection and hygiene control in slaughterhouses, cutting premises, and further processing plants. To be of high quality, such education must be evaluated from time to time. An expert panel evaluated Finnish undergraduate meat-inspection education and found that it provides veterinary students with good knowledge of meat inspection. The structure of the curriculum, with theoretical studies followed by four weeks of practice in a slaughterhouse, was considered vital for learning and for creating interest in meat inspection. The evaluation also revealed that certain subjects should receive greater emphasis and some new subjects should be introduced. Hygiene-control tasks, in particular, have increased and should receive more emphasis in education. Personnel management and interaction skills should be introduced into the curriculum as these skills influence all the duties of the meat-inspection veterinarian. This article outlines the subjects to be included in the modern, high-quality meat-inspection curriculum recommended by the expert panel.     

Changes in arterial PO₂, physiological blood parameters and intracellular antioxidants in free-swimming Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) exposed to varying levels of hyperoxia

Free-swimming Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) were exposed to water oxygen pressures (P _wO₂) ranging from 18.1 to 41.5 kPa and sampled for blood using an indwelling caudal artery cannula. Arterial blood oxygen pressure (P _aO₂) increased with increasing P _wO₂, from 12.0 kPa in normoxia (18.1 kPa) to 34.2 kPa in the highest hyperoxic level tested (41.5 kPa). Blood CO₂ pressure and plasma bicarbonate concentration increased with P _wO₂, indicating reduced ventilation with increased P _wO₂. Plasma glucose, sodium and potassium were not affected by water oxygen level. Blood oxidative stress biomarkers, reduced glutathione, oxidized glutathione and the oxidative stress index (ratio between oxidized and total glutathione) differed intermittently between normoxia and hyperoxia. The oxidative stress index was higher in the blood of exposed compared to unexposed control cod. Together with elevated P _aO₂, these findings suggest increased production of reactive oxygen species and increased oxidative stress in Atlantic cod exposed to hyperoxia.     

Genetic diversity in farmer grown spring barley material from Kyrgyzstan

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the economically important cereal crops grown in the highlands of the Kyrgyz Republic. In marginal agricultural areas of the country barley is considered as irreplaceable and very suitable fodder crop for livestock. In this study the genetic diversity of currently grown farmers’ spring barley material from Naryn and Issik-Kul provinces is described. In order to capture maximum diversity present in farmer field’s different morphological types were collected. The 22 spring barley accessions collected in 2008 were described morphologically and analysed using fourteen simple sequences repeat (SSR) markers. Most material was two-rowed barley, 78 %, whereas six-rowed barley was only 22 %. The spike colours present were light yellow, dark yellow, brown and violet. The material varied also for such characters as length of spike and number of kernels per spike. For the SSR loci 129 alleles were detected with an average of 9.3 alleles per locus and a genetic diversity with an average of h = 0.721 per locus. Based on analysis of molecular variance the 71.3 % of genetic diversity accounted for within accession variation, whereas 27.4 % for among accession variation. The variation between provinces was not significantly different. A group of two-rowed barley was identified that was more closely related to six-rowed barley than to the rest of the two-rowed barley material. Two-rowed material currently grown in Kyrgyzstan is more diverse than six-rowed barley (h = 0.65, A = 8.8 vs. h = 0.59, A = 3.1). From this study we could conclude that the materials nowadays grown by farmers are mixtures. Since there are no geographic differentiation between these mixtures suggests that materials is frequently inter-exchanged between farmers and are most probably not landrace material. The question concerning the origin of these mixtures remains unsolved and further investigation will be carried out to identify sources of variation in farmers’ field.     

Neospora caninum and bovine virus diarrhoea virus infections in Swedish dairy cows in relation to abortion

The protozoan parasite Neospora caninum and bovine virus diarrhoea virus (BVDV) are recognized as important causes of bovine abortion and congenital disease worldwide. In this study, serological investigations were performed to estimate the prevalence of N. caninum infection in Swedish dairy cattle, to assess to what extent it may affect abortion rates, and to determine possible effects of coinfection with BVDV. The overall N. caninum seroprevalence in Swedish dairy cows was estimated at 2% (16/780), and the BVDV seroprevalence was 32% (249/780). Among aborting cows from herds with abortion problems, 7% (26/378) had antibodies to N. caninum and 42% (153/378) to BVDV. Seventeen of the N. caninum positive animals also had antibodies to BVDV. There was a statistically significant (P = 0.013) association between presence of antibodies to N. caninum and BVDV. In a case-control study comprising sera from cows in herds without recognized abortion problems, 6% (5/89) and 1% (1/89) of sera from aborting and non-aborting cows, respectively, had antibodies to N. caninum. Two of the N. caninum seropositive aborting cows also had antibodies to BVDV. These results confirm that N. caninum infection is associated with bovine abortion in Sweden and also indicate that there might be concurrent effects of N. caninum and BVDV. It is concluded that Swedish dairy cows have a low prevalence of N. caninum infection which is favourable in relation to possible future control programmes.     

Resource-use,body condition and parasite load metrics indicate contrasting health of stocked and native game fishes in Canadian prairie lakes

This study evaluated the status of native and stocked fish species in 13 prairie lakes in central Canada over eight years (2007–14) using three metrics: resource-use (benthic versus pelagic carbon via stable isotopes); body condition (relative weight index W_r); and parasite load (cestode gut enumerations). Analyses included game and non-game fishes, like naturally occurring northern pike, Esox lucius L., and yellow perch, Perca flavescens Mitchill, but focused on stocked walleye, Sander vitreus (Mitchill) because it supports a robust recreational fishery. Walleye and northern pike were significantly more reliant on benthic carbon than yellow perch or forage fishes (p < 0.05), but this reliance was not associated with any measured environmental variables for any species. In lakes with game fishes, forage fishes exhibited higher reliance on benthic energy, possibly due to predator avoidance strategy, particularly yellow perch. Walleye body condition index was consistently lower (<95–105) than values exhibited by the other two game fishes (81–139), and parasites were only common in walleye and associated with lake-water salinity (r² = 0.93, p < 0.05) and sex (p < 0.05). Based on the results, the most desirable game fish, walleye, appears less resilient to environmental variability than northern pike and yellow perch, making this species more susceptible to impacts of future climate change.     

Phenotypic and genotypic variation in flowering time in Ethiopian barleys

A set of 192 barley genotypes of wide eco-geographic origin were evaluated for flowering time (FT), the major adaptive trait in Ethiopian barleys. Morphological, functional and DArT markers were used to explore trait-marker associations, population structure, genetic diversity and extent of pair-wise linkage disequilibrium (LD). A wide magnitude of variation in FT was detected within and across environments and spanned at least 50–60?days with clear G?×?E interactions (GEI). The average DArT polymorphism estimated by gene diversity and polymorphic information content (PIC) was 0.33 and 0.27 respectively. Four distinct subpopulations, with one outlying group were identified which indicated that the populations were structured. The genome-wide LD extended up to 25?cM, with extensive variation at chromosome level. Markers associated with FT were found close to known QTLs for FT such as VRN-H1, VRN-H3, Ppd-H1, Ppd-H2 and earliness per se (Eps-2S), but also in regions known for FT-like and CO-like genes working under short days. In some QTLs the magnitudes and directions of the effects varied with environments. It is proposed that genes conditioning tolerance to drought and/or waterlogging interact with FT genes and modify the phenotype. A non-random association of alleles on different chromosomes—vrs1 (2H), BYDV resistance (3H) and srh (5H) associated with altitude and FT indicated a co-adapted gene complex. A set of 95 genotypes were selected to represent the Ethiopian section of the Barley Core Collection.