Prevalence of the enteroaggregative Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin 1 gene and its relationship with fimbrial and enterotoxin genes in E. coli isolated from diarrheic piglets.

A total of 720 Escherichia coli strains isolated from diarrheic piglets on 756 swine farms were screened for the presence of the enteroaggregative E. coli heat-stable enterotoxin 1 (EAST1) gene by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Escherichia coli strains that carried EAST1 genes were also tested by PCR for the presence of 4 fimbriae (F4, F5, F6, F41), 2 heat-stable enterotoxins (STa and STb), and 1 heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) gene. One hundred sixty-four (22.7%) of the 720 E. coli isolates carried genes for EAST1. Of these 164 isolates, 62 (37.8%) carried EAST1 genes only, 11 (6.7%) carried genes for at least 1 of the fimbrial adhesins, 51 (31.1%) carried genes for at least 1 of the enterotoxins, and 40 (23.8%) carried genes for at least 1 of the fimbrial adhesins and enterotoxins. Forty-six percent of strains that carried EAST1 genes carried STa genes, and 16% of strains that carried EAST1 genes carried F4. The isolation rate of enterotoxigenic E. coli strains carrying genes for EAST1 gene was 63%. The 6 major genotypes observed in this study (in decreasing order) were EAST1+, EAST1+STa+, EAST1+STa+STb+, EAST1+STa+F5+, EAST1+STa+F4+, and EAST1+STb+F4+. EAST1 is widely prevalent among diarrheagenic strains of E. coli and may represent an important virulence determinant in the pathogenesis of enteric colibacillosis of preweaned pigs.     

Effects of Dietary Supplementation of Barodon on Growth Performance,Innate Immunity and Disease Resistance of Juvenile Olive Flounder,Paralichthys olivaceus,Against Streptococcus iniae

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of Barodon, an anionic alkali mineral complex, on growth, feed utilization, humoral innate immunity and disease resistance of olive flounder. A basal experimental diet was used as a control and supplemented with 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, or 0.5% Barodon. Triplicate groups of fish (26.4 ± 0.2 g) were fed one of the diets to apparent satiation twice daily for 10 wk. The growth performance was enhanced (P < 0.05) linearly and quadratically in fish fed diets containing Barodon compared with that in fish fed the control. Feed utilization was significantly improved by Barodon supplementation. Serum lysozyme and antiprotease activities were increased quadratically in Barodon fed groups. Also, significantly higher superoxide dismutase activity was found in Barodon‐fed fish. Dietary supplementation of 0.1–0.3% Barodon resulted in significant enhancement of fish disease resistance against Streptococcus iniae. The findings in this study indicate that dietary supplementation of Barodon can enhance growth, feed utilization, innate immunity, and disease resistance of olive flounder and that the optimum level seems to be 0.1% in diets.     

New technique of sex preselection for increasing female ratio in boar sperm model

In this study, we tried to optimize the porcine semen extender conditions to maximize the differences between live X chromosome-bearing (X) spermatozoa and to Y chromosome-bearing (Y) spermatozoa without a decline in the fertility rate at different pH conditions during storage. We observed the viability of X and Y boar spermatozoa in acidic (pH 6.2), original (pH 7.2), and alkaline condition (pH 8.2) for 5 days to investigate the effect of storage conditions on the X to Y spermatozoa ratio. The functional parameters of spermatozoa were also examined to evaluate sperm quality. Sperm motility was preserved at pH 7.2 and pH 6.2 for 3 days, while sperm motility at pH 8.2 decreased significantly after 2 days. Non-capacitated spermatozoa increased while capacitated spermatozoa decreased during storage. Sperm viability decreased significantly duration-dependent under all pH conditions, but there was no significant difference during storage at pH 6.2 and 7.2. The X: Y ratio of live spermatozoa in acidic condition was maximized (1.2:1) without affecting the sperm function and fertility-related protein expression after 2 days compared to original conditions. Moreover, insemination of sows using acidic extender increased the number of female pups on days 1 and 2 of preservation. These results indicate that the production of female offspring may increase when acidic BTS is used for 2 days without affecting the success rate of AI. Above all, this method is simple and economical compared to other methods.     

Effects of dietary supplementation of emulsifier and carbohydrase on the growth performance,serum cholesterol and breast meat fatty acids profile of broiler chickens

A total of 540 2‐day‐old male Ross 308 broilers were used in a 35‐day experiment and were randomly divided into five treatments: (i) NC (low energy); (ii) PC (high energy diet); (iii) P1 (NC + 0.1% carbohydrases); (iv) P2 (NC + 0.05% emulsifier); and (v) P3 (NC + 0.1% carbohydrases + 0.05% emulsifier). From days 0 to 21, body weight gain in PC and P3 treatments increased (P < 0.05) compared with NC treatment. The chicks fed PC, P1, P2 and P3 improved (P < 0.05) feed conversion ratio compared with the NC treatment throughout the whole experiment. Abdominal fat weight was heavier (P < 0.05) in PC, P2 and P3 treatments than in NC and P1 treatments. On day 35, serum total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration were higher (P < 0.05) and high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol was lower (P < 0.05) in NC and P2 treatments than in PC, P1 and P3 treatments. The concentration of oleic acid, linoleic acid and total unsaturated fatty acids were highest (P < 0.05) in PC than in the other treatments. In conclusion, the results indicate that low energy density diet had lower growth performance, while the inclusion of emulsifier and carbohydrases in low energy diets can partially improve growth performance.     

Isolation and characterization of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli from national horse racetracks and private horse-riding courses in Korea

Limited information is available regarding horse-associated antimicrobial resistant (AR) Escherichia (E.) coli. This study was designed to evaluate the frequency and characterize the pattern of AR E. coli from healthy horse-associated samples. A total of 143 E. coli (4.6%) were isolated from 3,078 samples collected from three national racetracks and 14 private horse-riding courses in Korea. Thirty of the E. coli isolates (21%) showed antimicrobial resistance to at least one antimicrobial agent, and four of the AR E. coli (13.3%) were defined as multi-drug resistance. Most of the AR E. coli harbored AR genes corresponding to their antimicrobial resistance phenotypes. Four of the AR E. coli carried class 1 integrase gene (intI1), a gene associated with multi-drug resistance. Pulsed-field gel electrophoretic analysis showed no genetic relatedness among AR E. coli isolated from different facilities; however, cross-transmissions between horses or horses and environments were detected in two facilities. Although cross-transmission of AR E. coli in horses and their environments was generally low, our study suggests a risk of transmission of AR bacteria between horses and humans. Further studies are needed to evaluate the risk of possible transmission of horse-associated AR bacteria to human communities through horse riders and horse-care workers.     

Apparent ileal digestibility of nutrients and amino acids in soybean meal,fish meal,spray‐dried plasma protein and fermented soybean meal to weaned pigs

This study sought to determine whether fermentation could increase apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of dry matter (DM), nitrogen (N), energy (E) and amino acids (AA) in fermented soybean meal (FSBM) greater than that of soybean meal (SBM) in weaned pigs. Four weaned pigs (10.00 ± 0.30 kg) were surgically equipped with T‐cannulas and randomly followed a 4 × 4 Latin square design of treatments (SBM, FSBM, fish meal and spray‐dried plasma protein). Overall, the fermentation process was able to reduce the amount of anti‐nutritional factors (ANF), including trypsin inhibitors, raffinose and stachyose, in the FSBM diet, which were significantly reduced by 39.4, 92.2, and 92.9%, respectively, as compared to the SBM diet. As a consequence of ANF reduction in FSBM, the AID of DM, N and E as well as AA was significantly greater with FSBM than SBM. Taken all together, the fermentation process improved the nutritional quality of SBM, due to ANF reduction, leading to improvement of digestibility of AA. As such, FSBM can be potentially used as a specialized feed ingredient, especially for young animal diets in an attempt to reduce diet costs.     

Hypertrophic osteopathy associated with disseminated metastases of renal cell carcinoma in the dog: a case report

A 6-year-old, mixed breed, intact male dog showed signs of left carpal joint swelling and weakness of the forelimbs one month before presentation. The symptoms gradually progressed to bilateral carpal and tarsal joint swelling and tetraparalysis. There were a number of radiographically identified lytic-proliferative bone lesions noted on the axial skeleton. Hypertrophic osteopathy of the metacarpi and all distal long bones was also evident. Because of the deteriorating quality of life and guarded prognosis, the patient was euthanized and a complete necropsy was performed. Renal cell carcinoma, with metastasis to the lung, thoracic vertebrae, ribs, and the right adrenal gland, was diagnosed. To our knowledge, renal cell carcinoma with bone metastases and hypertrophic osteopathy has not been reported in dogs.     

大型双向X型流道泵站机组减振技术研究

安徽省凤凰颈排灌站是一座大型双向X型流道泵站，文中简述了凤凰颈泵站机组运行中出现的故障，即机组振动问题；分析了故障产生的主要原因，是由出水流道水流脉动压强差引发了泵轴振摆，导致机组振动；本研究采用隔开振动源的措施消除了故障，通过运行实践证明，隔开振动源的方法简单、合理、可行，达到了使机组运行平稳的预期效果，并取得了显著的经济和社会效益。     

Movement of three stream‐resident balitoroid loaches and a goby in a Hong Kong hillstream

We undertook a mark–recapture study of three pool‐dwelling balitoroid loaches and a nonmigratory goby in a Hong Kong hillstream, which extended over a 35‐week period. The target species were Pseudogastromyzon myersi and Liniparhomaloptera disparis (Balitoridae), Schistura fasciolata (Nemacheilidae) and Rhinogobius duospilus (Gobiidae). Recapture rates of tagged individuals were high (58% overall), especially for the abundant R. duospilus (70% of 412 tagged) and P. myersi (57% of 762 tagged). At the end of the study, most recaptured individuals (78% of gobies, 62% of P. myersi, 42% of L. disparis and 67% of S. fasciolata) were within the pools where they had been released. Of those that had moved elsewhere, maximum displacements ranged from 46 m (R. duospilus) to 101 m (P. myersi), giving rise to a strongly leptokurtic distribution of movement distances. Mean displacements after 35 weeks ranged from only 2.9 m (R. duospilus) to 10.0 m (L. disparis). The sedentary behaviour of these species was more marked than most other small benthic fishes, although our study excluded the breeding period and wet season when high flows might have stimulated movement. Among the mobile P. myersi individuals, most travelled upstream, whereas mobile gobies tended to move downstream. Juveniles of P. myersi and R. duospilus, as well as large adult P. myersi, were especially sedentary, while mobile adult P. myersi that travelled further showed smaller growth increments. The highly sedentary habits of all four fishes suggest that they may exert persistent local top‐down control of benthic communities within pools in Hong Kong streams.