Right Dorsal Colitis

Moderate to severe ulcerative colitis of the right dorsal colon was diagnosed by necropsy or by exploratory celiotomy and biopsy in 13 horses with a primary clinical complaint of either colic, diarrhea, or weight loss. Clinical signs varied from acute fulminating diarrhea (possibly with fever), colic, dehydration, endotoxic shock and death, to a chronic condition manifested by mild intermittent colic up to several months in duration, and weight loss with or without mild diarrhea. In a large percentage of the horses, those affected had been hypovolemic and received nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) or had received inappropriately high doses of phenylbutazone before the onset of illness. Experimental treatment of two horses with high doses of a phenylbutazone oral paste preparation (6 gm once daily for 5 days) and limitation of their water intake to approximately one half of maintenance requirement (for 5 days) resulted in reproduction of ulcerative colitis involving only the right dorsal colon, which was apparent at necropsy examination 11 and 15 days after initiation of drug use. It was concluded that localized ulcerative lesions in the right dorsal colon may be a previously unreported manifestation of toxicity due to the administration of NSAID.     

Promotion of pistillate flowering inCucurbita by 2-chloroethylphosphonic acid

Summary All accessions tested of four cultivated species ofCucurbita responded to seedling treatment with 250 ppm 2-chloroethylphosphonic acid by developing only pistillate flowers for an extended period. This growth regulator is a promising means of facilitating hybrid seed production of squash. A similar treatment did not induce flowering of wild species ofCucurbita that were vegetative under the environmental conditions of the experiment.Approved by the Director of the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station for publication as Journal Paper No. 1737.     

Distribution and depletion of [14C]resmethrin isomers administered orally to laying hens

The cis and trans isomers of the synthetic pyrethroid resmethrin, labelled with radiocarbon in either the alcohol or acid moiety, were individually administered orally to White Leghorn laying hens at a dosage of 10 mg kg^?1. With each isomer and label position, greater than 90% of the radiocarbon was eliminated in the excreta within 24 h after the treatment. Radiocarbon residues in the egg white and yolk fractions were low, with peak levels observed 1 and 4-5 days after treatment in white and yolk, respectively. In birds sacrificed 12 h after treatment, radiocarbon residues in tissues were low; the highest levels were found in the liver and kidney.     

Porcine group C rotavirus as a cause of neonatal diarrhea in a Quebec swine herd.

A porcine group C rotavirus was found to be the unique cause of a problem of enzootic neonatal diarrhea in a minimal disease herd composed of 190 sows on a continuous farrowing program. During the outbreaks of diarrhea, 10 to 80% of the litters were affected with a morbidity rate of 100% and case fatality rates of 5 to 10%. Clinical signs began 24 to 48 h after birth and were characterized by a profuse yellow diarrhea lasting a few days. Piglets from different outbreaks of diarrhea were necropsied. They had multifocal villous atrophy in the small intestine, especially in the ileum. Group C rotavirus was demonstrated by direct immunofluorescent staining of frozen intestinal sections and by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of viral RNA extracted from the intestinal contents of diarrheic piglets. The infection with clinical illness and lesions was reproduced experimentally in newborn piglets by oral inoculation of a suspension prepared from a pool of intestinal contents from diarrheic piglets.     

THE UTILIZATION OF GRASS FED INDOORS TO YOUNG BEEF CATTLE, WITH OR WITHOUT SUPPLEMENTARY BARLEY

An experiment was carried out in which grass was cut and fed indoors, with or without supplementary barley. Seven animals were allocated to each of the following treatments: (1) grass ad lib . without supplementary barley; (2) grass ad lib . with supplementary barley at the rate of 0.5 lb/100 lb bodyweight; (3) grass ad lib . with supplementary barley at the rate of 1 lb/100 lb bodyweight. Supplementary barley increased total dry-matter intake and improved daily liveweight gain and food conversion rate. The mean daily liveweight gains for the 17-week experimental period were 1.60, 1.91 and 2.20 lb and the corresponding feed dry-matter conversion ratios were 6.18, 5.67 and 5.55 for Treatments 1, 2 and 3, respectively.
The dry-matter digestibility of the diets was slightly higher when the grass was supplemented with barley than when grass alone was given. Although barley depressed the digestibility of protein, the absolute and the proportionate retention of nitrogen was increased. This was particularly marked on Treatment 3, presumably because of the higher net energy value of the diet containing the greater amount of barley. The N-retention data corresponded to the rates of liveweight gain obtained.     

Experimental model of hypochloremic metabolic alkalosis caused by diversion of abomasal outflow in sheep

Hypochloremic metabolic alkalosis accompanied by hypokalemia and hyponatremia was induced experimentally in 7 adult sheep by diversion (loss) of gastric contents through an Ivan and Johnston cannula placed in the cranial part of the duodenum just distal to the pylorus. Cannula placement was easily accomplished, and cannulae were tolerated well by the sheep. Volume of effluent produced during the 60- to 120-hour period of diversion ranged from 7.7 to 14.9 L and tended to be greatest during the first 24 hours. All sheep became dehydrated, with mean PCV and plasma total protein concentration increases of 94.2 and 61.7%, respectively. Plasma chloride concentration decreased in linear fashion from a prediversion mean of 113 mEq/L (range, 111 to 117 mEq/L) to an end-point mean of 54 mEq/L (range, 45 to 65 mEq/L). Plasma sodium and potassium concentrations also decreased, though potassium concentration increased terminally. There were rapid increases in arterial blood pH and bicarbonate and base excess concentrations during the first 48 hours after diversion. However, during the final stages of diversion, sheep developed superimposed metabolic acidosis with increased plasma lactate concentration and high anion gap.     

Decomposition and phosphorus release from organic residues as affected by residue quality and added inorganic phosphorus

The combined use of organic residue and inorganic fertiliser-phosphorus (P) is appropriate in meeting both the short and long-term P requirement of crops. To assess the influence of added inorganic fertiliser-P on the processes of decomposition and P release from the residue and the relationships with quality, prunings of Gliricidia sepium, Leucaena leucocephela, Senna siamea, Acacia mangium and Paraserienthus falcataria were incubated without and with added inorganic fertiliser-P for 56 days. Soil was added only as inoculum. Decomposition rate and amounts of acid extractable-P (P release) were in the same order: G. sepium >S. siamea > L. leucocephela >P. falcataria > A. mangium. Unlike the other residues, A. mangium released no P despite the loss of half its mass during the 8 weeks of incubation. The residue P content correlated with P release. However, decomposition rate did not correlate with residue P content but with the lignin, polyphenol and cellulose content, and ratios to P. These ratios were negatively correlated with P release suggesting that lignin and polyphenol contents influence P release more when the residue-P content is low. Results suggest that rate of decomposition influences the release of P. The critical residue P content for P release was estimated to be 0.12% < P < 0.19%. Added P had no effect on decomposition and P release from the residues.     

Necrophylactic periderm formation in the roots of western larch and Douglas‐fir trees infected with Armillaria ostoyae. II. The response to the pathogen

Periderm formation was studied in bark samples collected from the roots of western larch (Larix occidentalis) and Douglas‐fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) trees infected with Armillaria ostoyae. Necrophylactic periderms were formed in advance of infection and successfully restricted continued fungal spread in 68 and 45% of the samples collected from 10‐ and 27‐year‐old western larch, respectively. However, all periderms formed in 11‐ and 25‐year‐old Douglas‐fir had been breached by the advancing fungus. In both species, necrophylactic periderms were commonly breached at the junction of the periderm with the vascular cambium. In western larch, stone phellem often comprised the external phellem layer of necrophylactic periderms with multiple bands of phellem. In 27‐year‐old western larch, infection was often confined to discrete lesions bounded by multiple periderms with multiple bands of phellem. In both tree species, phellem production was greater in response to infection than in response to abiotic wounding.     

Detection of a chitinase-like protein in the roots of Douglas-fir trees infected with Armillaria ostoyae and Phellinus weirii

Protein was extracted from root bark of 11- and 25-year-old interior Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) trees that were naturally infected with Armillaria ostoyae (Romagnesi) Herink. The proteins were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Root bark tissue adjacent to infected areas had a significantly higher protein concentration than healthy tissue (P < 0.05), whereas the protein concentration of infected tissue was consistently lower (P < 0.05) than that of healthy tissue. The SDS-PAGE profiles of healthy, infected, and adjacent-to-infected root bark tissues revealed significant differences in concentrations of a 29.3-kDa protein. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the 29.3-kDa protein displayed significant homology (P = 0.013) to a basic endochitinase. Use of a polyclonal antibody raised against the 29.3-kDa putative endochitinase-like protein (ECP) indicated differences in the quantities of ECP in healthy roots compared with roots infected with A. ostoyae in 11- and 25-year-old interior Douglas-fir trees. The antibody was also used to screen for the presence of the 29.3-kDa protein in roots of 24-year-old coastal Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii) trees that were artificially inoculated with and colonized by Phellinus weirii (Murr.) Gilbn. The amount of ECP was elevated in root bark of coastal Douglas-fir in response to P. weirii infection, although in lower quantities relative to those found in the A. ostoyae-interior Douglas-fir pathosystem. The sequence homology of the ECP with a basic chitinase, together with its increased synthesis in response to two fungal pathogens, indicate a possible role for this protein in the defense of Douglas-fir against fungal pathogens.