A Case of Successful Pregnancy in a Ewe with Uterus Didelphys

Uterus didelphys is a rare congenital abnormality of the reproductive tract. Although it occurs in various species, there are no published reports describing pregnancy outcome in association with this abnormality. Herein we describe a case of successful unilateral singleton pregnancy in a ewe incidentally found to have uterus didelphys during the course of a biomedical research study. The pregnancy was established using assisted reproductive techniques and interrupted in late gestation, at which point the abnormality was identified. Serial ultrasound assessment of foetal biometry revealed a normal foetal growth trajectory. Despite a 45% reduction in placentome number, total placentome weight was near normal secondary to compensatory placentome growth and development. To our knowledge, this is the first detailed report of normal foetal growth in an animal with uterus didelphys and illustrates the ability of the ovine placenta to adapt to a reduced number of placentomes and maintain foetal nutrient supply.     

Using urea dilution to standardise components of pleural and bronchoalveolar lavage fluids in the dog

AIM: To develop a technique to estimate the volume of epithelial lining fluid (ELF) obtained during bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and pleural lavage (PL) in the dog, using the urea dilution method.

METHODS: BAL and PL fluids were obtained by saline lavage of pulmonary and pleural cavities of nine clinically healthy mixed-breed dogs immediately after euthanasia. Cell counts in the BAL and PL fluids were measured using standard techniques. The concentration of ELF in each lavage fluid was calculated from the relative concentration of urea in plasma and in each type of lavage fluid. Cell counts in ELF were then calculated.

RESULTS: There were substantially higher cell counts in ELF compared to BAL or PF fluid. However, nucleated cell counts in ELF could not be predicted from cell counts in BAL or PL fluid.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: These results suggest that accurate assessment of cellular or non-cellular components in lavage fluids should include a calculation of the proportion of ELF recovered, using a method such as urea dilution.     

Glyphosate injury on Cyperus esculent us leaves and basal bulbs: histological study

The effect of glyphosate on leaves and basal bulbs of yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus L.) plants was studied. Treatment with glyphosate did not affect leaf anatomy, although light necrotic spots were seen on the veins. In contrast, basal bulb organization was greatly affected with large necrotic zones and disorganization in the vascular cylinder due to herbicide accumulation. Depletion or disappearance of vacuolar phenols was observed in bulbs of plants treated with the highest doses of glyphosate. The most remarkable effect of glyphosate was the appearance of one layer of sclerenchymatic cells between root and rhizome primordia and the cortical tissues which could play an important role in the inhibition of rhizome and root emergence by the herbicide.     

Emergence and early evolution of fungicide resistance in North American populations of Zymoseptoria tritici

Although fungicide resistance in crop pathogens is a global threat to food production, surprisingly little is known about the evolutionary processes associated with the emergence and spread of fungicide resistance. Early stages in the evolution of fungicide resistance were evaluated using the wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici, taking advantage of an isolate collection spanning 20 years in Oregon, USA, and including two sites with differing intensity of fungicide use. Sequences of the mitochondrial cytb protein conferring single‐mutation resistance to QoI fungicides and the nuclear CYP51 gene implicated in multiple‐mutation resistance to azole fungicides were analysed. Mutations associated with resistance to both fungicides were absent in the 1992 isolates, but frequent in the 2012 collection, with higher frequencies of resistance alleles found at the field site with more intensive fungicide use. Results suggest that the QoI resistance evolved independently in several lineages, and resulted in significant mitochondrial genome bottlenecks. In contrast, the CYP51 gene showed signatures of diversifying selection and intragenic recombination among three phylogenetic clades. The findings support a recent emergence of resistance to the two fungicide classes in Oregon, facilitated by selection for mutations in the associated resistance genes.     

A long-snouted predatory dinosaur from africa and the evolution of spinosaurids

Fossils discovered in Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) rocks in the Tenere Desert of central Niger provide new information about spinosaurids, a peculiar group of piscivorous theropod dinosaurs. The remains, which represent a new genus and species, reveal the extreme elongation and transverse compression of the spinosaurid snout. The postcranial bones include blade-shaped vertebral spines that form a low sail over the hips. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that the enlarged thumb claw and robust forelimb evolved during the Jurassic, before the elongated snout and other fish-eating adaptations in the skull. The close phylogenetic relationship between the new African spinosaurid and Baryonyx from Europe provides evidence of dispersal across the Tethys seaway during the Early Cretaceous.     

Regional and circadian variations of sweating rate and body surface temperature in camels (Camelus dromedarius)

It was the aim of this study to investigate the regional variations in surface temperature and sweating rate and to visualize body thermal windows responsible for the dissipation of excess body heat in dromedary camels. This study was conducted on five dromedary camels with mean body weight of 450 ± 20.5 kg and 2 years of age. Sweating rate, skin and body surface temperature showed significant (P < 0.001) circadian variation together with the variation in ambient temperature. However, daily mean values of sweating rate, skin and body surface temperature measured on seven regions of the camel body did not significantly differ. The variation in body surface temperature compared to the variation in skin temperature was higher in the hump compared to the axillary and flank regions, indicating the significance of camel's fur in protecting the skin from daily variation in ambient temperature. Infrared thermography revealed that flank and axillary regions had lower thermal gradients at higher ambient temperature (T_a) and higher thermal gradients at lower T_a, which might indicate the working of flank and axillary regions as thermal windows dissipating heat during the night. Sweating rate showed moderate correlation to skin and body surface temperatures, which might indicate their working as potential thermal drivers of sweating in camels.     

Effect of Breeding Activity on the Microflora of the External Genitalia and in the Semen of Stallions,and the Relationship Between Micro‐organisms on the Skin and on the External Genitalia

A possible role of breeding activities in the composition of the microbial population in stallions' external genitalia (EG) and the relationship between micro‐organisms colonizing the skin of the abdomen and the ones colonizing the EG have not been studied. In experiment 1, EG microbiological samples were collected from 41 stallions used for both natural cover and semen collection (BST) and from 18 non‐breeding stallions (NBST). A higher (p < 0.05) frequency of isolation of potentially pathogenic species was found for BST. Age did not influence number of micro‐organism species isolated both in BST and NBST. In experiment 2, the microbial content of the EG and semen was compared in 23 BST. Most micro‐organisms isolated from the EG were present in semen, albeit with a numerically lower prevalence. In 7 stallions, six microbial species isolated from semen were absent from the EG cultures, suggesting contamination by the operator. In experiment 3, a numerically higher number of micro‐organism species was isolated from the EG of 31 stallions, than from their skin of the ventral abdomen in contact with the penis or from the skin of the thorax. With the sole exception of Escherichia coli, potentially pathogenic bacteria were only isolated from the EG but not from the skin. Results suggest that breeding activity increased the number of species colonizing the EG; most species isolated from the EG were also found in semen even if with a lower frequency, and additional semen contamination seemed to occur during its manipulation. Many micro‐organism species of the skin were also isolated from the penis, but independently of being or not in contact with the penis, skin did not seem to provide an adequate environment for the growth of potentially pathogenic bacteria that were isolated from EG, with the sole exception for E. coli.