Subconjunctival cyst associated with Thelazia gulosa in a calf.

A large subconjunctival cyst of 4 weeks' duration was surgically excised from the left eye of a 7-month-old Simmental calf. Two white, partially mineralized, approximately 1-cm-long, fertile female nematodes subsequently identified as Thelazia gulosa were found embedded in the cyst wall. Thelazia spp are generally regarded as nonpathogenic or mildly pathogenic in cattle in North America, despite reported infection rates ranging from 12.2 to 34.2%. Additionally, parasitic subconjunctival nodules associated with Thelazia spp rarely have been reported in the past, and cyst formation has not been described. It was postulated that in this calf, immature or adult worms may have penetrated normal tissue barriers, or entered via an earlier conjunctival wound, and created an inflammatory response with subsequent cyst formation.     

Ovarian follicular characteristics, embryo recovery, and embryo viability in heifers fed high-fat diets and treated with follicle-stimulating hormone.

Postpubertal beef heifers (n = 55) were used to examine the effects of high-fat diets, independently of energy intake, on nonesterified fatty acid and lipoprotein metabolic patterns, ovarian follicular dynamics, and embryo recovery/viability after FSH superstimulation. High-lipid (HL) diets (5.4% added fat) increased (P < .01) serum concentrations of cholesterol, but not of nonesterified fatty acids, during the 35-d period before FSH treatment. Development of medium-sized (5 to 9.9 mm) follicles was enhanced (P < .05) during this period in heifers fed the HL diet. The HL diet increased total cholesterol (P < .05) and progesterone (P = .14) concentrations in follicular fluid obtained at ovariectomy (n = 10) 60 h after the onset of FSH treatment, but neither estradiol-17 beta nor androstenedione was affected. Granulosa cells recovered from FSH-induced, estrogen-active follicles in heifers fed the HL diet produced greater quantities of progesterone (P = .06) and less estradiol-17 beta (P < .05) in vitro than did granulosa cells from heifers fed the normal lipid diet. Dietary treatment did not influence FSH-stimulated recruitment of medium and large follicles, number of ovulations, embryo recovery, or embryo viability. Data suggest that increments in dietary fat intake can alter specific aspects of ovarian steroidogenic potential and can increase the population of medium-sized follicles theoretically available for maturation and harvest during the estrous cycle. However, conditions that limited the latter process in the current experiment are not understood and require further investigation.     

Increased litter size in Rambouillet sheep: I. Estimation of genetic parameters.

The variance and covariance components needed to estimate heritabilities of and genetic correlations among litter size, ovulation rate, scrotal circumference, and BW in a flock of Rambouillet sheep were estimated using REML via an expectation-maximization type algorithm. The heritability estimates from univariate analyses were .14, .21, .25, .36, and .15 for litter size, ovulation rate, scrotal circumference, 180-d BW of females, and 180-d BW of males, respectively, and average heritability estimates from bivariate analyses were .19, .20, .20, .34, and .10 for litter size, ovulation rate, scrotal circumference, 180-d BW of females, and 180-d BW of males, respectively. The genetic correlation between litter size and ovulation rate was near unity. Body weight in ewes had a moderate genetic correlation with both litter size (.22) and ovulation rate (.20) and a low residual correlation with both litter size (.03) and ovulation rate (.09). The genetic correlation between BW in rams and scrotal circumference was 0, whereas the residual correlation was .71. The genetic correlations of scrotal circumference with litter size and ovulation rate were -.25 and +.20, respectively.     

Kinetics of hydration and effect of liquid uptake on specific gravity of small hay and silage particles.

Kinetics of hydration of ground hay and silage particles (2-mm screen), determined by a pycnometric technique, was best described by a two- and one-pool exponential model, respectively. Fractional rates of hydration of the large pool, detected in hay particles only, and of the small pool present in both hay and silage particles averaged .135 and .021 min-1, respectively. When hydration was complete, liquid associated with particles averaged 1.16, 1.90, and .83 g/g of insoluble DM for bromegrass hay, alfalfa hay, and alfalfa silage, respectively. Functional specific gravity, which accounts for the effect of associated gas volume, averaged 1.54, 1.46, and 1.54, but unit specific gravity, calculated to include the effect of gases and liquid of hydration, averaged 1.22, 1.14, and 1.26 for bromegrass hay, alfalfa hay, and alfalfa silage, respectively. Preservation of forage as silage not only lowered gas volume, but also reduced water-holding capacity, both of which contribute to greater unit specific gravity and faster rate of escape from the rumen. In addition, estimates of unit specific gravity of approximately 1.2 indicate that even in the absence of associated gas, hydrated forage particles would tend to escape the rumen at a slower rate than that achieved by more dense particles.     

Function of neutrophils and chemoattractant properties of fetal placental tissue during the last month of pregnancy in cows.

Neutrophils were isolated from the blood of pregnant cows on days 255, 265, and 275 of pregnancy, and on the day of parturition (n = 5/group), and in addition, simultaneously from 4 ovariectomized healthy cows (control animals). Neutrophils were subjected to neutrophil function assays (chemotaxis against zymosan-activated serum, random migration, ingestion of 125I-iododeoxyuridine [IdUR]-labeled Staphylococcus aureus, iodination of proteins, cytochrome C reduction, antibody-independent and antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity). Results were expressed as percentage of control animals. Fetal placental tissue (cotyledon), uterine wall tissue, and skeletal muscle were obtained from the principal animals on the aforementioned days via laparotomy, and tissue suspensions were prepared. Chemotaxis of neutrophils was tested against tissue supernatants. Compared with day 255, there was an increase in ingestion of 125I-IdUR-S aureus at parturition, whereas iodination of proteins and cytochrome C reduction were reduced on the day of calving. The other neutrophil functions tested did not change over time of gestation. Fetal placental and uterine wall tissue attracted neutrophils with uterine wall tissue having a tendency to be more potent than cotyledonary tissue. Skeletal muscle tissue did not attract neutrophils. There was no change in chemotaxis response of neutrophils evoked by intrauterine and uterine tissues over time of gestation. It was concluded that at parturition, neutrophil function is impaired with respect to their bactericidal effects, which may render the animal more susceptible to bacterial infections, and that the chemoattractant properties of fetal placental and uterine wall tissues are tissue-specific, at least when compared with skeletal muscle.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Large granular lymphoma in an FIV-positive and FeLV-negative cat

The clinical course of a feline leukaemia virus (FeLV)-negative and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV)-positive cat affected with a large granular lymphocyte lymphoma is presented. Cyto-logical examination showed neoplastic cells in the pleural effusion and in two abdominal masses. Bone marrow and peripheral blood were moderately involved and chemotherapy was used to control the tumour. Cytochemistry, immunohis-tochemistry and ultrastructural studies were applied to define the cellular lineage; cytochemistry suggested a T-cell lineage.     

Duck lymphocytes. VI. Requirement for phagocytic and adherent cells in lymphocyte transformation.

Preparations of duck (Anas platyrhynchos) spleen and blood lymphocytes depleted of cells capable of phagocytosing carbonyl iron gave lower transformation responses to the mitogens phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), concanavalin A (Con A), Bandeiraea simplicifolia seed lectin (BSS), wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), lentil lectin (LL) and phorbol ester (PMA) than intact cell preparations. When cell populations were fractionated on the basis of their adherence to plastic, it was found that the adherent cells were responsive to PHA, Con A, BSS, WGA and PMA, while the non-adherent cells responded to LL. These observations confirm the expected requirement for phagocytic accessory cells in the induction of in vitro mitogen-driven duck lymphocyte responses. The responses of plastic-adherent populations of cells to most mitogens are believed to reflect the generally close physical relationship between the adherent accessory cells and the lymphocytes, although it remains possible that duck monocytes respond to some of the mitogens employed. The data also suggest that LL stimulates a population of cells different to those responding to other mitogens.     

A comparison of the gland of Harder response and head-associated lymphoid tissue (HALT) morphology in chickens and turkeys.

The immunofunctional response of the gland of Harder (GH) was compared in chickens and turkeys using an in vivo assay previously developed for use in chickens. The GH were surgically removed (GHx) from leghorn chicks at 1 day of age and from poults at 2 days of age. Intact birds of each species served as controls. During the fourth week of age, both GH-intact and GHx chicks were exposed to killed Brucella abortus antigen by the ocular or intraperitoneal route. One week later, serum and tears were collected and assayed for antibodies to B. abortus. In addition, all birds were killed at the end of the trial period, and the heads were fixed and processed for histologic examination. Various components of the head-associated lymphoid tissue (HALT) including the GH, nasal glands, lacrimal glands, lacrimal ducts, eyelid conjunctiva, and nasal cavity mucosa/submucosa, were evaluated microscopically using a scoring system to estimate quantity and degree of development of immune tissue in those sites. Results of all analyses indicate that functional response and morphology of the HALT are comparable in turkeys and chickens.     

The effect of porcine somatotropin supplementation in pigs on the lipid profile of subcutaneous and intermuscular adipose tissue and longissimus muscle.

The effect of porcine somatotropin (pST) on the lipid profiles of adipose tissue and muscle was investigated. Sixteen crossbred barrows were injected daily with either 3 mg of pST or a placebo. After slaughter, total lipid and fatty acid composition of raw subcutaneous (SC) adipose and intermuscular (IM) adipose tissue and longissimus muscle were determined. The SC adipose tissue from pST-treated pigs had a 7.5% decrease in total lipid content; specific fatty acids 16:0, 18:0, and 18:1(n-9)c decreased most. The IM fat from pST-treated pigs had lower levels of 16:0 and 20:0. There was no effect of pST treatment on the lipid profile of the longissimus muscle. The data suggest that pST treatment produces small but significant changes in the saturated fatty acid content of adipose tissue in pigs.