Modelling of a recording scheme for market-oriented smallholder pig producers in Northwest Vietnam

Village breeding programmes are being developed by an integrated long-term project for smallholders in Northwest Vietnam to improve pig production in different production systems. In total, 120 smallholders with 169 sows in 5 of the 9 project villages were approached in single person interviews, using a structured questionnaire. Frequency analysis of data on breeding management and ranking of smallholders' trait preferences and selection criteria used for pigs were performed with SAS 9.1, using the FREQ procedure. Survey results indicate that both improved local breeds and exotic genotypes should be incorporated in future village breeding programmes for market-oriented smallholder pig production, improving the reproductive and growth performance as well as the carcass quality. In a next step, a model reflecting the status quo at farms with market-oriented pig production was developed integrating data from farmers' survey and information from the project's current recording scheme. A deterministic approach was used to assess the profitability and genetic merit of the current recording scheme. Modelling results show that the current recording scheme is unprofitable (− 33.90 € sow^− 1). As continued success of village breeding programmes depends on the profitability of breeding measures, the long-term sustainability of the current recording scheme seems unlikely. Genetic gains are achieved in production and carcass quality traits, while a small reduction in reproduction traits can be observed. In a last step, possible effects of increased pig performances on the profitability and genetic merit of the current recording scheme were evaluated. Effects of increased pig performances on the genetic and economic success of the recording scheme are generally limited. Further model calculations are necessary for finding possibilities to improve smallholder pig breeding in a profitable way.     

Automatic gravimetric calorimeter with simultaneous recording of physical activity for poultry

An automatic calorimeter, based on gravimetric principles, for studies on the energy metabolism of the fowl, with simultaneous recording of the physical activity, is described. In order to reduce errors in the determination of heat production to below 3% a three hour experimental period is necessary. The length of this period in comparison to that of the Pettenkofer system is discussed. The relation between heat production and physical activity shows a good fit in a linear regression equation, from which resting heat production is derived. Up to 25% of the total heat production is related to physical activity, mainly during the day-time.     

Oesophageal electrocardiography in healthy horses

Reasons for performing study: In human medicine, oesophageal electrocardiography (ECG) is a well‐established technique that magnifies P waves with respect to the QRS complex. Objectives: To investigate the feasibility of oesophageal ECG recording in horses and its ability to produce larger P waves compared with base‐apex and unipolar recordings. Methods: Bipolar and unipolar ECG were performed using oesophageal and surface electrodes. Oesophageal ECG was obtained from 6 different recording configurations at different oesophageal depths. Amplitudes of P, Q, R, S and T waves were measured from 3 different cardiac cycles for each recording configuration and depth. Results: Oesophageal ECG was feasible in all horses. For all oesophageal recording configurations, significantly larger P waves were recorded from a depth that equalled ‘height of the withers + 10 cm’ (HW₊₁₀) than from any other depth. P/QRS_magn, the ratio between the P wave and QRS complex magnitudes, was largest for intraoesophageal recordings with an interelectrode distance of 10 cm, at HW₊₁₀, where it was significantly larger than base‐apex and unipolar recordings. Base‐apex recording resulted in significantly smaller P waves than all other recording configurations and significantly smaller P/QRS_magn ratios than all other recording configurations except one combined oesophageal‐surface recording (E/S_low). Conclusions: Oesophageal ECG recording is feasible in horses and effective in magnifying P wave amplitude. Potential relevance: The procedure is promising for diagnosis of supraventricular tachydysrhythmias and might be used in electrophysiological studies and for cardiac pacing.     

A new method for recording and analysing evoked motor potentials from dogs

Normal values for motor conduction in the tibial, ulnar and fibular nerves of dogs have been determined using a new method for recording and analysing evoked motor potentials. The use of an alligator clip as a roving surface electrode for recording, and a personal computer to analyse the evoked potentials has facilitated faster and more reproducible motor conduction studies. Compound muscle action potential (CMAP) and motor nerve conduction velocity data are in good agreement with previous studies. Normal values for CMAP area, residual latency and proximal to distal ratios for CMAP area and amplitude are presented for the first time.     

A PHONOCARDIOGRAPHIC STUDY OF EQUINE HEART SOUNDS

SUMMARY The occurrence and timing of heart sounds were examined from phonocardiograms taken from the mitral, aortic and tricupsid recording areas in each of 18 horses. 10 sound events could be identified with each cardiac cycle. Atrial contraction produced up to 3 sound events. The first heart sound consisted of 4 components whereas the second sound was single. Two sound events were associated with the 3rd heart sound in early diastole. The occurrence of third and fourth heart sound components varied between horses and between recording areas. The mitral recording area was considered most satisfactory for routine phonocardiographic studies in horses.     

Protocols in Medicolegal Veterinary Medicine: I. Identification of Cases and Preparation for Court

Guidelines for the identification of potential legal cases and the correct procedures for recording and handling of information and exhibits are described. Preparation for court appearance as an expert witness is discussed.     

Prokinetic effects of erythromycin on the ileum, cecum, and pelvic flexure of horses during the postoperative period

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of erythromycin on motility of the ileum, cecum, and pelvic flexure of horses during the postoperative and post-recovery periods. ANIMALS: 8 healthy adult horses. PROCEDURE: Horses were anesthetized and bipolar electrodes were implanted in smooth muscle of the ileum, cecum, and pelvic flexure. Approximately 4, 16, and 24 hours (postoperative recording sessions) and at least 8 days (post-recovery recording session) after surgery, myoelectric activity was recorded before and after administration of erythromycin (0.5 mg/kg). RESULTS: Following erythromycin administration, myoelectric activity was increased in the ileum during all postoperative recording sessions but not during the post-recovery recording session. Myoelectric activity was increased in the cecum following erythromycin administration only during the post-recovery recording session. Myoelectric activity was increased in the pelvic flexure following erythromycin administration during all recording sessions. During several recording sessions, there were short periods during which myoelectric activity was significantly decreased following erythromycin administration. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggest that erythromycin has an effect on myoelectric activity of the ileum, cecum, and pelvic flexure in horses; however, prokinetic effects of erythromycin administered during the postoperative period were not always the same as effects obtained when the drug was administered after horses had recovered from the effects of surgical implantation of recording devices. Therefore, caution must be exercised when extrapolating results of prokinetic studies in healthy animals to animals with abnormal gastrointestinal tract motility.     

Selection strategies for dairy buffaloes: economic and genetic consequences

Buffaloes are generally raised in Brazil without milk‐recording programs, and thus without genetic evaluations of any of their traits. This study evaluated the economic impacts of three different selection strategies on buffalo populations and the evolution of genetic trends, genetic variances and inbreeding coefficients resulting from each of them. The selection strategies used were as follows: (i) random selection; (ii) phenotypic selection; and (iii) progeny testing (PT). As the numbers of herds enrolled in milk‐recording programs increased, phenotypic selection and PT strategies increased both monetary benefits and genetic trends. The extra costs of implementing milk recording (MR) and PT procedures were exceeded by the income resulting from better buffalo performance. Progeny testing is known to result in beneficial genetic trends and the use of artificial insemination promoted better distributions of genetic material into herds that were not enrolled in milk‐recording programs. Phenotypic selection and PT increased mean milk production ‐ a key factor in profitability. Inbreeding levels remained stable with phenotypic selection, even as the numbers of MR herds increased. Increases in the numbers of sires that were evaluated reduced the mean inbreeding coefficient in PT. Increasing the number of herds enrolled in milk‐recording programs resulted in increased numbers of sires needed for PT, but this did not increase the inbreeding coefficient. In summary, phenotypic selection and PT strategies appear to be economically viable for buffalo husbandry in south‐eastern Brazil under current (2007–2008) economic conditions and should be encouraged.     

A new tool to monitor training and performance of sport horses using global positioning system (GPS) with integrated GSM capabilities

Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are considered suitable to monitor the position and velocity of horses during cross-country competition or in training. Furthermore, simultaneous recording of life data such as heart rate could be useful to assess the horse's condition during exercise. To test the suitability and reliability of a commercially available GPS system with integrated heart rate recording system and with built in GSM for data transmission, the Fidelak Equipilot Type EP-2003-15/G-2.11 (EP-15/G) was evaluated first for reliability of pulse recording from a pulse generator within the physiological range of horses; furthermore distance, velocity and heart rate recordings were carried out on a standard 1000 m field track with five repetitions. Agreement (% deviation from actually measured distance and from stopwatch-distance based velocity calculations) and variability (Coefficient of Variation for distance, velocity, heart rate) were calculated. From the results it was safe to assume that the heart rate sensor recorded horse heart rates at a high degree of accuracy. Overall distances and velocities are in high agreement with actually measured values. However, overall variability expressed in terms of relative variability (C.V.) is smaller for distance recording (C.V. 0.68%) when compared to velocity (C.V. 1.01%). The system tested is suitable and reliable for simultaneously recording of distance, velocity and heart rates for horses during cross country exercise. GPS-based monitoring of movement along with simultaneous recording of physiological data and the possibility to call upon data will not only be of benefit for training horses or for surveillance during competition, it may also be suitable for distant patient monitoring and in behavioural studies as well as in veterinary medicine in general.     

Drugs that alter the hemostatic mechanism

This article offers a brief review of antiplatelet drugs, anticoagulants, fibrinolysins, and antifibrinolysins. Aspirin and heparin are discussed in detail. Warfarin, streptokinase, urokinase, and tissue-type plasminogen activator are also considered. Indications for use, mechanism of action, monitoring therapy, and current investigational studies are discussed.     

Practitioner Use and Graphical Display of Dairy Cow Fertility Records to Give the Farmer/Herdsman Incentives to Improve Efficiency and Output

Recording of fertility and health data on dairy farms is an important function involving the farmer, stockman and veterinarian. The farmer and stockman must be given simple incentives to maximise farm output. The role of the DAISY computer recording system as used in the United Kingdom is discussed and the graphical display of data retrieved from both DAISY and Excel spreadsheets is demonstrated in relation to herd fertility, health and body condition score, and evaluated.     

Intracellular recording of rat neuron activity at the medial preoptic area of the hypothalamus using triangular wave microelectrode oscillation

A triangular wave microelectrode oscillating apparatus was constructed to evaluate an intracellular recording of rat neuron activity in the medial preoptic area (POA) of the hypothalamus. In this apparatus, electrodes passed a current with a frequency of 1.0 to 1.8 kHz and a voltage of 2.2 to 3.2 V and produced micro-oscillation of the electrode tip. The electrode was inserted into a neuron of the rat POA in vivo. In vivo recording of the activity of the rat POA neuron was possible. By means of electrical stimulation of the median eminence arcuate of the hypothalamus, an intracellular recording of antidromic, orthodromic or non-responding neuron was also possible. As a result, various components of the action potential such as the resting, threshold and spike potentials, and depolarization and repolarization such as after-hyperpolarization and after-depolarization were observed. The resting potentials ranged from 45 to 90 mV, and POA neurons possessed action potentials of almost the same magnitude. Several problems, however, remain to be solved. In general, the time available for the intracellular recordings is too short. The cells survive only for 15 minutes at the longest and may die in only a few minutes. An improvement of the apparatus was mandatory.     

A simple method for the quantitative determination of sperm aggregation

Described in this paper are 2 methodological variants for photometric recording of sperm aggregation. Heparin was used to induce aggregation. One of the working principles was related to aggregation-associated alteration of turbidity in an agitated cell suspension, measured by the KZM-1 coagulation-time meter, in analogy to measurement of thrombocyte aggregation. The 2nd variant was based on variation of cloudiness due to sedimentation of aggregates in a non-agitated suspension. Both methods provided equally valid information. They characterised both intensity of aggregation as a combined effect of the number and size of aggregates as well as the rate of aggregation. Photometric recording has proved to be an objectivated method for quantitative assessment of aggregation. Its use is proposed for studies into capacitation or immunological response of spermatozoa.     

The state of veterinary epidemiology and economics

Recent developments in the fields of veterinary epidemiology and economics are critically reviewed and assessed. The impacts of recent technological developments in diagnosis, genetic characterisation, data processing and statistical analysis are evaluated. It is concluded that the acquisition and availability of data remains the principal constraint to the application of available techniques in veterinary epidemiology and economics, especially at population level. As more commercial producers use computerised management systems, the availability of data for analysis within herds is improving. However, consistency of recording and diagnosis remains problematic. Recent trends to the development of national livestock databases intended to provide reassurance to consumers of the safety and traceability of livestock products are potentially valuable sources of data that could lead to much more effective application of veterinary epidemiology and economics. These opportunities will be greatly enhanced if data from different sources, such as movement recording, official animal health programmes, quality assurance schemes, production recording and breed societies can be integrated. However, in order to realise such integrated databases, it will be necessary to provide absolute control of user access to guarantee data security and confidentiality. The potential applications of integrated livestock databases in analysis, modelling, decision-support, and providing management information for veterinary services and livestock producers are discussed.     

我国毛皮动物主要传染病防控现状及防控建议

文中对我国毛皮动物主要传染病流行特点和防控现状进行了概述,总结了毛皮动物传染病防控制剂研究现状,并提出了毛皮动物传染病防控建议。     

History and philosophy of the medical examination of horses for purchase.

This article reviews the history of the medical evaluation of the horse for purchase and the gradual development of definitions and guidelines for performing such an examination. The philosophy of pre-purchase examinations, including potential conflicts of interest, recording methods, and procedures, is discussed. The AAEP guidelines for reporting purchase evaluations are also included.     

乳酸菌合成乳酸的研究现状

乳酸作为一种重要的生物基平台化合物,是众多手性物质的合成前体,广泛应用于农业、食品、医药、化工等领域.本文从乳酸合成的种属分布、代谢途径及代谢调控等方面,综述乳酸菌合成L-乳酸和/或D-乳酸的研究现状,并展望其发展前景.     

牛乳中嗜冷假单胞菌胞外蛋白酶的研究进展

假单胞菌通常被认为是危害原料乳及其制品的主要嗜冷菌,其分泌的胞外蛋白酶具有耐热性,甚至能在超高温灭菌处理后仍有活性残留,并减短超高温灭菌乳的货架期.本文对来自牛乳中的嗜冷假单胞菌蛋白酶的研究进展做了总结,重点假单胞菌蛋白酶的催化机制研究进展,相关基因包括蛋白酶基因apr X在假单胞菌鉴别中的应用研究进展.最后讨论了嗜冷假单胞菌蛋白酶需要深入研究的方向.