Electromyography and spinal evoked potentials in cauda equina syndrome of dogs

In order to investigate usefulness of electrodiagnostic methods in Cauda Equina-Compression, 26 dogs with this disease were subjected to electromyography and spinal evoked potentials. 16 normal dogs served as controls. It was found that--after stimulation of the Nn.tibialis, peronaeus, pudendus and coccygeales and recording at the lumbosacral junction--latencies and nerve-conduction velocities were largely normal. However the amplitudes were decreased and--depending on the severity of the compression--the morphology of the potentials was altered although considerable standard deviations were obtained. Electromyographically, increased spontaneous activity with fibrillations and positive sharp waves were found in the myotomes of the lumbosacral nerves. Their number increased according to the severity of the cauda equina compression and they had a centrifugal distribution pattern. Based on these results it appears indicated to perform an electromyographic exam before applying myelography. The technique of spinal evoked potentials will need more refinement and standardisation before being useful in a clinical situation.     

Drivers,challenges and opportunities of forage technology adoption by smallholder cattle households in Cambodia

Forage technology has been successfully introduced into smallholder cattle systems in Cambodia as an alternative feed source to the traditional rice straw and native pastures, improving animal nutrition and reducing labour requirements of feeding cattle. Previous research has highlighted the positive impacts of forage technology including improved growth rates of cattle and household time savings. However, further research is required to understand the drivers, challenges and opportunities of forage technology for smallholder cattle households in Cambodia to facilitate widespread adoption and identify areas for further improvement. A survey of forage-growing households (n = 40) in July–September 2016 examined forage technology adoption experiences, including reasons for forage establishment, use of inputs and labour requirements of forage plot maintenance and use of forages (feeding, fattening, sale of grass or seedlings and silage). Time savings was reported as the main driver of forage adoption with household members spending approximately 1 h per day maintaining forages and feeding it to cattle. Water availability was reported as the main challenge to this activity. A small number of households also reported lack of labour, lack of fencing, competition from natural grasses, cost of irrigation and lack of experience as challenges to forage growing. Cattle fattening and sale of cut forage grass and seedlings was not found to be a widespread activity by interviewed households, with 25 and 10% of households reporting use of forages for these activities, respectively. Currently, opportunities exist for these households to better utilise forages through expansion of forage plots and cattle activities, although assistance is required to support these households in addressing current constraints, particularly availability of water, if the sustainability of this feed technology for smallholder cattle household is to be established in Cambodia.     

Effects of sodium nitroprusside after load reduction and/or atropine pre-treatment prior to dexmedetomidine administration on cardiovascular variables in dogs

The purpose of this study was to determine the cardiovascular effects of sodium nitroprusside (SNP)‐induced after load reduction in dogs administered dexmedetomidine (DEX). Using a randomized crossover design and allowing at least 2 weeks between treatments 12 adult hound dogs of either sex weighing 22 ± 1.7 SD kg were anesthetized by face mask administration of 2.9% ET sevoflurane to facilitate instrumentation prior to administration of treatment drugs. Dogs were intubated and instrumented to enable measurement of heart rate (HR), systolic (SAP), mean (MAP) and diastolic (DAP) arterial pressures, mean pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP), pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP), central venous pressure (CVP), pulmonary arterial temperature (TEMP), and cardiac output (CO). Systemic (SVR) and pulmonary vascular resistances were calculated. Following completion of instrumentation dogs were allowed to recover for 40 minutes. After collection of baseline data, dogs were administered one of four treatments at T–10 minutes prior to injection of DEX (500? g M^–2 IM): 1) saline (SAL); 2) atropine (ATR, 0.02 [n = 6] or 0.04 [n = 6] mg kg^–1 IM); 3) SAL + SNP (infused at 1–10 ?g kg^–1 minute^–1, IV as needed to maintain MAP between 90–110 mm Hg; or 4) ATR + SNP. Cardiovascular data were collected at T‐20 minutes prior to administration of DEX, T‐5 and at 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 60 minutes following DEX. Data were analyzed using anova for repeated measures with post hoc differences between means identified using Bonferroni's method (p < 0.05). Differences in ATR dose were not found to be significant and thus results for ATR dose groups were pooled. Administration of SAL (dexmedetomidine alone) was associated with decreases in HR and CO and increases in SAP, MAP, DAP, CVP, and SVR. Administration of ATR was associated with an increase in HR and CO compared with SAL. Administration of SNP was associated with an increase in HR and CO and a decrease in SVR, MAP and CVP compared with SAL. Administration of SNP + ATR was associated with effects similar to that of SNP or ATR alone and resulted in an additive increase in CO. We conclude that SNP‐induced afterload reduction with or without atropine is effective in mitigating DEX‐induced impairment of cardiovascular function.     

A Japanese powdery mildew isolate with exceptionally large infection efficiency on Mlo-resistant barley

A Japanese field isolate (Race I) of Erysiphe graminis f.sp, hordei was tested on 17 barley lines carrying the mlo powdery mildew resistance gene. Race I produced many successful infections with infection type larger than or equal to 2 on six lines (M66, MC20, SRI, SR7, A tem and Totem), On the remaining 11 lines it reacted with infection type 0. Colony numbers on the Mlo-lines were between 26% and 12 9% of the numbers on a susceptible cultivar Manchuria, These numbers were larger than, or similar to those produced by isolate HL3/5, which has the highest recorded infection efficiency on Mlo-resistant cultivars. The interaction between isolates and lines was highly significant. The isolate GE3, from which HL3/5 was derived by selection, gave rise to occasional colonies corresponding to less than 03° o of the number produced on cv. Manchuria.     

Comparison of mobile and stationary spore-sampling techniques for estimating virulence frequencies in aerial barley powdery mildew populations

Gene frequencies in samples of aerial populations of barley powdery mildew ( Erysiphe graminis f.sp. hordei ), which were collected in adjacent barley areas and in successive periods of time, were compared using mobile and stationary sampling techniques. Stationary samples were collected from trap plants in three periods within 1 week at a distance of more than 1000 m from the nearest barley field. At four dates within the same 8-day period, other samples were collected by a mobile spore trap along four sampling routes of a total distance of 130 km around the stationary stand of exposure. The samples were characterized by virulence genotypes defined according to infection types on 12 near-isogenic barley lines, and frequencies of single virulence genes were subsequently calculated. The three samples collected at the stationary site differed significantly with respect to allele frequencies at three loci. The main wind direction was different in the three sampling periods, implying different powdery mildew sources. For the mobile exposure, the differences between routes were not significant for any locus. However, the routes differed most for the loci under direct selection by host resistances genes, indicating a different distribution of source varieties along routes. There was no difference between allele frequencies at different dates, indicating that the proportions of spores from different source varieties were similar at these dates. In conclusion, samples collected by the stationary technique will mainly reflect the source varieties present in the local area, whereas samples collected by the mobile spore trap will mainly reflect sources close to the sampling route. Therefore, sampling sites as well as sampling routes should be defined such that source varieties are representative for the overall varietal distribution in the survey region considered.     

Further contributions to the genetic aspect of congenital sensorineural deafness in Dalmatians

Sensorineural deafness is a common congenital disorder in Dalmatians and is genetically transmitted. Different modes of inheritance have been proposed and the objective of this study was to study these by segregation analyses using maximum likelihood procedures. Data from 33 complete Dalmatian families were collected and data from 56 single Dalmatians added. This resulted in a total of 575 dogs with 357 known phenotypes. All dogs were clinically evaluated and electrophysiologically tested with brainstem auditory evoked responses.The prevalence of deafness was 16.5% (9.4% unilaterally deaf, 7.1% bilaterally deaf). Females were 4.4% more affected than males but this difference was not significant. Within the same litter, different phenotypic expressions of deafness occurred, which suggested different expressions of the disease. In addition, two data sets were analysed: the first included normal, uni- and bilaterally deaf dogs, the second had normal and deaf Dalmatians. We found that a recessive allele at a single biallelic major locus fitted our data best, although an incomplete penetrance of the recessive homozygotes was observed.     

Embryonic Loss in Sows with Repeated Propensity for Small Litter Size

Information is lacking as to the timing and cause of sows that repeatedly have low litter size over several parities. Sows evaluated for the present study had at least two parities either small or=12 (NL) litter size. Following breeding of sows with contemporary boars, reproductive tracts were obtained on day 30 of gestation. There was no difference (p > 0.10) between SL and NL sows in the number of CL, embryo weight or placental length. The total number of embryos and embryonic survival tended to be lower (p < 0.10) in SL sows compared with NL sows, but there were 5.1 less viable embryos (p < 0.03) in SL. Results indicate that time of conceptus loss in SL sows was variable throughout gestation.     

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