Surgical management of atresia ani and perineal hypospadias in a miniature donkey foal

A 3‐week‐old miniature donkey was evaluated for tenesmus and constipation resulting from atresia ani. The foal was also diagnosed with hypospadias extending from its perineum to the glans penis and caudoventral penile deviation. A common opening on the perineum allowed faeces and urine to be excreted together, preventing complete intestinal obstruction. Surgical correction of the atresia ani was performed, along with resection of the incomplete urethra, nonfunctional penis and testes. The anal and perineal reconstruction procedures resolved the miniature donkey's difficulty in defaecation. The anourethral portion of the repair healed, but the anoperineal portion dehisced and healed by second intention. The client was satisfied with the outcome.     

Lethal temperature for pinewood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, in infested wood using radio frequency (RF) energy

We evaluated radio frequency (RF) dielectric heating for eradication of pinewood nematodes (PWN) in infested wood. Thirteen temperatures were tested (from ambient to 70 °C) on small wood samples (2.5 × 3.8 × 0.64 cm) to determine the minimum lethal temperature (100 % mortality), which was 56 °C [based on infra-red (IR) thermal images data 55.5–57.4 °C] with a 1 min hold time. We also used thermal probes inside the wood to confirm that temperatures were ≥56 °C. Thirty additional samples were tested bracketing the minimum lethal temperature using 54, 56 and 58 °C with additional replications to produce the minimum sample size equivalent of 100 % mortality of at least 93,616 nematodes to satisfy the Probit 9 efficacy requirement. This minimum lethal temperature was further verified by treating infested large wood blocks (10.2 × 10.2 × 25.4 cm). All samples that met or exceeded the 56 °C lethal temperature for the required 1 min hold time (as measured by probes inserted in the wood and on the wood surface by IR) produced 100 % mortality. The sample size required to show Probit 9 efficacy was also satisfied. This study supports the consideration of RF in addition to microwave (MW) dielectric heating as alternative treatments of wood packaging material for inclusion in ISPM No. 15, provided the treatment delivers the target lethal temperature throughout the profile of the material in industrial scale operations.     

Laparoscopic Application of PGE2 to the Uterine Tube Surface Enhances Fertility in Selected Subfertile Mares

Topical application of prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) gel to the surface of the uterine tubes via a laparoscopic procedure improved embryo recovery rates or pregnancy rates in 28 subfertile mares suspected of uterine tubal pathology. Gelatinous masses may occlude the lumen of the uterine tube and prevent sperm from reaching the site of fertilization or prevent embryos from reaching the uterus. PGE₂ is secreted by the early equine embryo, promoting passage of the embryo into the uterus; topical administration of PGE₂ onto the surface of the uterine tube has been shown to stimulate early transport of the embryo into the uterus. Embryos were produced or a pregnancy was obtained from 24 of the 28 barren mares treated with direct laparoscopic application of 0.2 mg of PGE₂ to their uterine tubes. Mares had been barren for an average duration of 1.9 ± 0.6 years and an average of 6.9 ± 3.8 estrous cycles prior to treatment, without donating an embryo or becoming pregnant. Seventeen of 20 mares bred as embryo donors produced one or more embryos with an average of 2.1 ± 1.9 embryos collected per mare (0.45 embryos per cycle) after PGE₂ treatment. Seven of 8 mares bred to carry their own pregnancy became pregnant within the first two cycles following PGE₂ treatment. These 8 mares were bred an average of 5.6 ± 1.8 cycles without a pregnancy prior to treatment. The laparoscopic PGE₂ procedure was performed during various stages of the estrous cycle; the stage varied among treated mares.     

The effect of grazing intensity on the performance of high‐yielding dairy cows

The study evaluated the impact of High, Moderate and Low grazing intensities throughout the grazing season, within a rotational stocking system, on the performance of high‐yielding dairy cows receiving a high level of concentrates. Sixty‐three Holstein‐Friesian dairy cows, 21 at each grazing intensity, were rotationally grazed. Average paddock size, post‐grazing sward heights and seasonal grazing stocking rates within the High, Moderate and Low grazing intensities were 0.143, 0.167 and 0.200 hectares, 5.2, 6.1 and 6.8 cm and 7.8, 6.7 and 5.6 cows ha^?1 respectively. Grazing intensity had no effect on milk fat and protein content, end‐of‐study body condition score or end‐of‐study live weight although the latter tended towards significance (p = .057). Average daily milk yield per cow was higher within the Low grazing intensity (33.2 kg day^?1) than High grazing intensity (30.5 kg day^?1), and average daily fat‐plus‐protein yield was higher for Low and Moderate than High. Milk output per hectare was higher for the High grazing intensity than Low grazing intensity (33,544 and 26,215 kg ha^?1 respectively). Grazing intensity had no effect on grazing bite number, blood metabolites or concentrations of milk fatty acids or on sward morphological components, although dead matter increased with time across all grazing intensities. Herbage utilization efficiency (above 1,600 kg DM ha^?1) was 52%, 74% and 87% for Low, Moderate and High respectively. It is concluded that high‐producing dairy cows can graze at high levels of utilization when they are receiving high rates of concentrates. Although cow performance will be reduced, milk yield per ha will increase.     

Plant-soil biodiversity relationships and nutrient retention in agricultural riparian zones of the Sacramento Valley,California

Forested riparian buffers in California historically supported high levels of biodiversity, but human activities have degraded these ecosystems over much of their former range. This study examined plant communities, belowground biodiversity and indicators of multiple ecosystem functions of riparian areas across an agricultural landscape in the Sacramento Valley of California, USA. Plant, nematode and soil microbial communities and soil physical and chemical properties were studied along 50-m transects at 20 sites that represented the different land use, soil and vegetation types in the landscape. Riparian zones supported greater plant diversity and nearly twice as much total carbon (C) per hectare compared to adjacent land managed for agricultural uses, but had generally lower soil microbial and nematode diversity and abundance. When woody plant communities were present in the riparian zone, plant diversity and species richness were higher, and soil nitrate and plant-available phosphorus levels were lower. Belowground diversity and community structure, however, appeared to depend more on plant productivity (as inferred by vegetation cover) than plant diversity or species richness. Greater plant species richness, nematode food web structure, total microbial biomass, woody C storage and lower soil nitrate and phosphorus loading were correlated with higher visual riparian health assessment scores, offering the possibility of managing these riparian habitats to provide multiple ecosystem functions.     

The effect of two contrasting concentrate allocation strategies on the performance of grazing dairy cows

The objective of this study was to examine the performance of grazing Holstein–Friesian dairy cows when equal quantities of concentrates were offered using either a flat‐rate or a feed‐to‐yield allocation strategy. The study involved fifty‐six cows (twenty primiparous and thirty‐six multiparous) and continued for 122 d, with concentrate feed levels adjusted on five occasions during the study (every four weeks approximately). Total concentrate intake over the duration of the study was 463 and 525 kg cow^?1 (3·8 and 4·3 kg cow^?1 d^?1) for multiparous and primiparous animals respectively. Concentrate allocation strategy had no effect on average daily milk yield, milk fat or protein content, milk‐fat‐plus‐protein yield or end‐of‐study live weight and body condition score (P > 0·05). In conclusion, concentrate allocation strategy had minimal impact on the overall performance of these mid/late lactation cows when concentrate feed levels were modest and grass availability was high.     

Effect of offering silage during housing at night on the performance of grazing dairy cows and on labour requirements

In the UK, dairy cows are increasingly housed at night throughout the grazing season. However, there is limited information on cow performance and the impact on labour requirements when a forage supplement is offered during housing at night throughout the entire grazing season. The effects of housing at night were studied in two experiments, in which two treatments were compared. On treatment part‐grazing (PG), dairy cows were given access to grazing by day and were offered grass silage while housed at night, and, on treatment continuous grazing (CG), dairy cows were given access to grazing both by day and by night. Experiments 1 (138‐d duration) and 2 (127‐d duration) involved sixty (primiparous) and seventy‐six (primiparous and multiparous) Holstein‐Friesian dairy cows respectively. Concentrates were offered during milking at 4·0 and 3·0 kg per cow per day in Experiments 1 and 2 respectively. In Experiment 1, total milk output was significantly higher with treatment PG than treatment CG (P < 0·01) while the reverse occurred in Experiment 2 (P < 0·001). Milk protein concentration was significantly higher with treatment CG in Experiments 1 and 2 (P < 0·001). Cows on treatment CG in Experiment 2 had significantly higher body condition scores and live weights at the end of experiment than those on treatment PG (P < 0·05). Weekly labour requirements were calculated to be proportionally 0·04 lower on treatment PG than on treatment CG. When offered silage during housing at night, the response of grazing dairy cows was largely determined by the grazing conditions encountered and the quality of the forage offered.     

A new method for the identification and enumeration of chicken heterophils and eosinophils

A method for the direct counting of chicken heterophils and eosinophils using Phloxine B stain and a hemacytometer is described. A solution of 0.1% Phloxine B in 50% propylene glycol stained heterophils and eosinophils obtained from peripheral blood. The cytoplasm of heterophils became completely stained, whereas that of the eosinophils stained incompletely, thereby enabling these cells to be distinguished easily from each other. Identification of cell type was confirmed by comparing cell counts prepared from blood smears stained with Wright's stain with wet mounts (hemacytometer preparations) stained with Phloxine B.