Persistent Frenulum of the Epiglottis in Four Foals

OBJECTIVE: To report the clinical signs and management of 4 foals with persistent frenulum of the epiglottis. STUDY DESIGN: Case report. ANIMALS: Four newborn foals. METHODS: Foals were admitted with a complaint of oronasal reflux after nursing. Variable systemic signs of aspiration pneumonia were evident. Nasal endoscopy confirmed persistent dorsal displacement of the soft palate. Persistent frenulum of the epiglottis, confirmed by oral endoscopic examination, was transected. RESULTS: After surgery, all foals had the epiglottis positioned normally, dorsal to the soft palate. Clinical signs of oronasal reflux resolved by the second nursing attempt in 3 foals, whereas this was difficult to assess in one foal that was nursed intermittently because of the mares behavior. This foal died 2 days later. The other 3 foals have had normal epiglottic function for 2-4 years. CONCLUSIONS: Persistent frenulum of the epiglottis should be considered in foals with oronasal reflux from birth. With appropriate medical and surgical management the prognosis for resolution should be good.     

Vaginal Neurofibroma in a Hysterectomized Poodle Dog

A 15‐year‐old, spayed, female poodle dog was presented for evaluation of a mass of tissue prolapsed from the vulva. The dog had been hysterectomized when it was 5 years old. A vaginal mass had been removed approximately 10 months before presentation. Haematological and serum biochemistry analyses demonstrated mild leucocytosis and glycaemia. A vaginal smear was predominantly made up of parabasal cells and intermediate cells with no neoplastic cells. Thoracal and abdominal radiographic findings were unremarkable. The ovaries could not be identified using abdominal ultrasonography. A midline exploratory laparotomy identified both ovaries that were surgically excised. The vaginal mass was also removed following an episiotomy procedure. Histopathological examination of the mass demonstrated that it was a neurofibroma. Both ovaries had cystic changes. Four months after the surgery, the owner reported that the dog was clinically normal. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first reported case of a vaginal neurofibroma after an incomplete ovariohysterectomy in the dog.     

First experience on the effect of in-feed lincomycin for the control of proliferative enteropathy in growing pigs

This trial's aim was to evaluate the effect of in-feed lincomycin for the control of proliferative enteropathy (PE; also known as ileitis) in growing pigs, in which it is associated with significant morbidity levels. Investigation regarding the efficacy of this substance in growing pigs has never been carried out before in a field trial. The trial farm had a previous history of PE outbreaks. On day 1 of the trial (age of 62 +/- 1.5 days), 240 pigs were divided into two groups of 120 pigs/group which were allocated into five pens of 24 pigs each. Therefore, a randomized block design was used with two experimental groups (T1-T2) and five replicates (pens) per group. T1 group served as negative control (NC) animals which were receiving no medication and conversely T2 group received in-feed lincomycin at the dose of 110 mg/kg of feed. The treatment period lasted for 3 weeks, followed by an observation period of 4 weeks up to the age of 111 +/- 1.5 days which was the end of the grower stage. Administration of lincomycin at a dose of 110 mg/kg of feed had beneficial effects compared with the NC group. The pigs of T2 group showed significant improvement of their production parameters in terms of average daily body gain (ADG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) not only during the treatment period (ADG: 0.515 +/- 0.050 versus 0.481 +/- 0.071 and FCR: 2.38 +/- 0.05 versus 2.56 +/- 0.08, for T2 and T1 groups respectively), but also during the remaining period until the end of the grower stage (observation period: ADG: 0.687 +/- 0.019 versus 0.646 +/- 0.044 and FCR: 2.58 +/- 0.02 versus 2.74 +/- 0.02 respectively). Other effects in the T2 group refer to the reduction of diarrhoea prevalence (mean pen diarrhoea score during the whole grower stage: 0.200 +/- 0.060 versus 0.632 +/- 0.041 respectively), morbidity rates (morbidity rates during the whole grower stage: 15.83% versus 45.00% respectively) and the reduction of Lawsonia intracellularis prevalence as shown by polymerase chain reaction diagnostic method (at the end of the treatment period: 10.0% versus 60.0% respectively). In conclusion, treatment with 110 mg lincomycin/kg of feed for 21 consecutive days had a beneficial effect on the control of PE in growing pigs.     

Climate Change During the Last Deglaciation in Antarctica

Greenland ice core records provide clear evidence of rapid changes in climate in a variety of climate indicators. In this work, rapid climate change events in the Northern and Southern hemispheres are compared on the basis of an examination of changes in atmospheric circulation developed from two ice cores. High-resolution glaciochemical series, covering the period 10,000 to 16,000 years ago, from a central Greenland ice core and a new site in east Antarctica display similar variability. These findings suggest that rapid climate change events occur more frequently in Antarctica than previously demonstrated.     

Reconstruction of Current Flow and Imaging of Current-Limiting Defects in Polycrystalline Superconducting Films

Magneto-optical imaging was used to visualize the inhomogeneous penetration of magnetic flux into polycrystalline TlBa2Ca2Cu3Ox films with high critical current densities, to reconstruct the local two-dimensional supercurrent flow patterns and to correlate inhomogeneities in this flow with the local crystallographic misorientation. The films have almost perfect c-axis alignment and considerable local a- and b-axis texture because the grains tend to form colonies with only slightly misaligned a and b axes. Current flows freely over these low-angle grain boundaries but is strongly reduced at intermittent colony boundaries of high misorientation. The local (<10-micrometer scale) critical current density Jc varies widely, being up to 10 times as great as the transport Jc (scale of approximately 1 millimeter), which itself varies by a factor of about 5 in different sections of the film. The combined experiments show that the magnitude of the transport Jc is largely determined by a few high-angle boundaries.     

Effect of benzoic acid and combination of benzoic acid with a probiotic containing Bacillus cereus var. Toyoi in weaned pig nutrition

The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of a probiotic containing Bacillus cereus var. Toyoi spores (Toyocerin) and benzoic acid (VevoVitall) on growth performance and diarrhoea in weaning pigs, against negative controls. The trial groups were as follows: (a) NC group (Negative Controls): No treatment (b) TOYO group: Same feed as in the controls plus Toyocerin at a dose of 1 x 10(9) Bacillus cereus var. Toyoi spores/kg feed, (c) BA group: Same feed as in the controls plus VevoVitall at a dose of 5 g/kg feed (5000 ppm benzoic acid) and (d) TOYO+BA group: Same feed as in the controls plus Toyocerin at a dose of 1 x 10(9) Bacillus cereus var. Toyoi spores and VevoVitall at a dose of 5 g/kg feed. In conclusion, the results of this study indicated that administration of Bacillus cereus var. Toyoi spores at 1 x 10(9)/kg feed or benzoic acid at a dose of 5000 ppm or the combination of 1 x 10(9) Bacillus cereus var. Toyoi spores and 5000 ppm of benzoic acid/kg feed, improved the growth performance parameters and reduced the severity of diarrhoea in weaning pigs.     

The Self-Assembly Mechanism of Alkanethiols on Au(111)

The self-assembly mechanism of alkanethiol monolayers on the (111) surface of gold was discovered with the use of an ultrahigh-vacuum scanning tunneling microscope. Monolayer formation follows a two-step process that begins with condensation of low-density crystalline islands, characterized by surface-aligned molecular axes, from a lower density lattice-gas phase. At saturation coverage of this phase, the monolayer undergoes a phase transition to a denser phase by realignment of the molecular axes with the surface normal. These studies reveal the important role of molecule-substrate and molecule-molecule interactions in the self-assembly of these technologically important material systems.     

Performance of fattening pigs in a farm infected with both porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus and porcine circovirus type 2 following sow and piglet vaccination with an attenuated PRRS vaccine

The purpose of the study was to investigate whether, on farms with both post-weaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), the PRRS vaccination of sows and their fattening pigs protects against these syndromes. In a farrow-to-finish pig farm with a history of PRRS and PMWS, 200 gilts and sows were allocated to one of two groups of equal size. The first group (C-sow group) was used as untreated controls, while the animals of the second group (V-sow group) were vaccinated with live Porcilis PRRS vaccine. At the next weaning, all piglets of half the sows of the C sow group were vaccinated once at 35 days of age with the vaccine (CV group), while the offspring of the other half of the unvaccinated sows were left unvaccinated (CC group). Similarly, the offspring of half the sows of the V sow group were vaccinated (VV group), while those of the other half of the vaccinated sows were left unvaccinated (VC group). No significant differences in morbidity were observed between the groups during the nursery and finishing phases, while morbidity in the growers was significantly reduced in the CV- and VV-groups (P < 0.05). Growers' mortality was significantly reduced after piglet vaccination when compared with unvaccinated pigs of unvaccinated dams (P < 0.05). Average daily gain and feed conversion ratio were significantly improved in vaccinated piglets compared with those in the unvaccinated groups (P < 0.05).