Calf mortality as a welfare indicator on British cattle farms

The objective of this study was to test calf mortality as an indicator of on-farm welfare and its use for welfare targeted surveillance. Calf mortality data were retrieved for three UK counties to estimate calf mortality rates at holding and county level. A selection criterion based on upper quartiles of calf mortality for the county of concern was defined. Its predictive ability was tested in a field study. The death risk of calves less than 6 months of age in 2002 was 1.76% in Inverness, 5.83% in Cheshire and 4.8% in Norfolk. Fifty-two welfare inspections matched by parish were conducted between October 2004 and January 2005. The positive predictive value was 26.92% and the negative predictive value was 65.38%. The addition of herd type, county and membership to an assurance scheme improved the predictive value. This study shows that calf mortality can be the starting point to design targeted welfare inspections in countries with centralized animal data recording systems.     

Hair analysis as an indicator of mineral status of livestock

Despite several inherent characteristics that would appear to make hair a useful biopsy tissue, many problems make interpretation of data derived from hair analysis difficult. Endogenous minerals are incorporated into hair by several routes. Most attention on hair mineral incorporation has focused on element uptake within the hair follicle. Minerals incorporated within the follicle are presumably chemically or physically associated with cortical cells of the hair shaft and reflect mineral status at the time that the hair filament was synthesized. Because hair follicles in most species regularly go through cycles of intense metabolic activity and quiescence, mineral incorporation through the follicle is not a continual process. Mineral deposition onto hair does not cease when the follicle is not producing a hair fiber. The hair shaft is continuously exposed to several elements through contact with secretions from sebaceous, apocrine and eccrine glands. Significant quantities of major and trace elements of endogenous origin are adsorbed onto the hair surface via these secretions, especially when hair growth is not occurring or is very slow. For several elements significant correlations exist between mineral concentrations in hair and mineral intake. These correlations, however, are usually quite low. Non-dietary factors such as sex, age, hair color, sire, body location and contamination affect mineral levels in hair. Dietary intake of calcium, phosphorus and iron are also known to affect uptake of other elements in hair. Because many factors cause variation in mineral content in hair, hair analyses are not precise indicators of mineral status. Hair mineral analyses may be useful, however, when combined with other indicators of mineral status to provide a more precise assessment of mineral status in livestock.     

Ceruloplasmin as an indicator of copper status in cattle and sheep.

The relationship between ceruloplasmin, a metalloenzyme with oxidase activity, and copper was investigated in cattle and sheep. The oxidase activity of ceruloplasmin correlated closely with the serum or plasma copper concentrations in cattle. The respective correlation coefficients were 0.83 and 0.60. In sheep serum, a correlation coefficient of 0.92 was obtained. In each instance, the relationship remained linear from the deficient to the high normal ranges of copper. Comparison of the linear regression relationships indicated the ceruloplasmin activity in bovine serum was statistically lower than the activity in bovine plasma (P less than 0.0001), through the intercepts from the regression lines of the two relationships were similar (P = 0.412). Comparisons of ovine and bovine serum-ceruloplasmin relationships indicated that a significant species difference was present. Ovine ceruloplasmin activity increased more rapidly as compared to the corresponding bovine activity over the range of copper concentrations investigated (P less than 0.0001). The intercept from the ovine regression relationship was also lower (P less than 0.0001). A correlation coefficient of 0.35 was observed between the serum ceruloplasmin activity and hepatic copper concentrations in cattle indicating that the mathematical relationship was not as well defined. Ceruloplasmin activity appears to correlate more closely with serum or plasma copper concentrations as compared to corresponding liver copper concentrations.     

Switch hair as an indicator of magnesium and copper status of beef cows

Samples of switch hair, blood, and urine were obtained periodically over 5.5 months from 11 Angus and 13 Angus-Charolais cows grazing either all-grass or grass-legume swards. Liver samples were obtained at the end of the study. Hair growth rate and mineral concentrations in switch hair (magnesium [Mg], copper [Cu]), blood serum (Mg, Cu), urine (Mg), and liver (Cu) were determined. Significant (P less than 0.05) hair-growth rate differences were observed among sampling periods (daily mean = 0.58 +/- 0.01 mm). Angus black-pigmented switch hair contained more (P less than 0.001) Mg than did the light-pigmented Angus-Charolais hair. The effect of season was observed on hair Mg and Cu and on serum Mg (P less than 0.01). Serum and hair Mg concentration correlated in both breed groups after removal of individual cow treatment effects (Angus: r = 0.58, P less than 0.001, n = 64; Angus-Charolais: r = 0.46, P less than 0.001, n = 76). Likewise, urine Mg and hair Mg concentrations correlated (Angus: r = 0.35, P less than 0.05, n = 53; Angus-Charolais: r = 0.26, P less than 0.05, n = 63). Sward type had a pronounced effect on serum and urine Mg concentrations and a slight effect on hair Mg concentrations (P less than 0.10) only during midsummer. Cattle with switch hair Mg values less than 25 to 30 mg (light pigmentation) and 100 to 125 mg (black pigmentation)/kg of dry matter (DM) may be hypomagnesemic.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

肉仔鸡饮水量——鸡的一个福利指标

本研究目的是分析商业化生产条件下的肉仔鸡饮水量数据以调查:①所获得的结果与其他研究结果之间的相互关系;②饮水量是否可以被客观地用作肉鸡健康和福利的量度标准;③总饮水量与淘汰水平和接触性皮炎的发病率之间是否存在相互关系?饮水量按"L/羽/c"即每羽肉鸡每个饲养周期(cycle)的平均饮水量)和"L/羽/d"即每羽肉鸡每天的平均饮水量)((的方式表示。为了确定饮水量对垫料湿度的影响,用水量也以"L/m2/c"即每个饲养周期每平方米鸡舍地面的平均用(水量(升))和"L/m2/d"即每天每平方米鸡舍地面所消耗的用水量(升)的方式表示,这两个指标考虑了肉鸡的饲养密度。(结果表明,以"L/m2/c"表示的饮水量可能是一个有益的滞后指标(LagIndicator),而以"L/羽/d"或"L/m2/d"表示的饮水量可能是一种先行指标(LeadIndicator),与肉鸡的健康状况以及饮水量对垫料质量的影响有关;同时表明还应进行更多的研究以确定肉鸡实测的每日饮水量与预期的每日饮水量之间的差异是否与其健康状况(如肠炎、接触性皮炎等)有直接的关系。本试验应该规定以"L/m2/d"方式表示的用水量的阈值,即饮水量达到此水平时会对垫料质量产生一个综合影响。该阈值可能受饲养密度、通风条件和垫料原料吸湿程度的影响,但是该值将向管理员提供一个"触发点"当处于该点时他们需采取行动以便将对空气质量(以氨气浓度的方式表示)的综合影响以及接触性皮炎发病的可,能性降至最低程度。     

On the reliability of the magnesium serum value as an indicator of body magnesium status

The interrelationships between serum Mg and HCR, and between serum Mg and K were investigated in pigs fed on a low Mg diet. A positive dependence was found between serum Mg and HCR, and between serum Mg and K. It was concluded, that in Mg-deficient pigs, Mg ions originating from soft tissues or erythrocytes can cause an increase of serum Mg level. The serum Mg value, consequently, can not be considered as a reliable parameter indicating the body Mg status. Some difficulties in diagnosing the body Mg status and the effects of the spontaneous increase of serum Mg level on Mg deficiency symptoms were discussed.     

Serum C-reactive protein concentration as an indicator of remission status in dogs with multicentric lymphoma

BACKGROUND: The acute-phase protein C-reactive protein (CRP) is used as a diagnostic and prognostic marker in humans with various neoplasias, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate if CRP could be used to detect different remission states in dogs with lymphoma. ANIMALS: Twenty-two dogs with untreated multicentric lymphoma. METHODS: Prospective observational study. Blood samples were collected at the time of diagnosis, before each chemotherapy session, and at follow-up visits, resulting in 287 serum samples. RESULTS: Before therapy, a statistically significant majority of the dogs (P = .0019) had CRP concentrations above the reference range (68%, 15/22). After achieving complete remission 90% (18/20) of the dogs had CRP concentrations within the reference range, and the difference in values before and after treatment was statistically significant (P < .001). CRP concentrations of dogs in complete remission (median, 1.91; range, 0.2-103) were significantly different (P = .031) from those of dogs with partial remission (median, 2.48; range, 0-89), stable disease (median, 1.77; range, 1.03-42.65), or progressive disease (median, 8.7; range, 0-82.5). There was profound variation of CRP measurements within each dog. CONCLUSIONS: CRP is useful in determining complete remission status after treatment with cytotoxic drugs. However, the individual variation between dogs means CRP concentration is not sufficiently different in other remission states to permit its use in monitoring progression of the disease. Greater reliability in determining remission status might be achieved by combining CRP concentration with other serum markers.     

Sperm penetration assay as an indicator of bull fertility

To predict the fertility of frozen-thawed bull spermatozoa, a sperm penetration assay (SPA) using zona-free hamster oocytes was optimized, and the assay results were compared with data from field fertility expressed as the non-return rate (NRR). To increase sperm penetration, the spermatozoa were pre-incubated and coincubated with oocytes in media containing various concentrations of heparin (0 to 50 μg/ml). Coincubation with 10 μg/ml heparin showed the highest sperm penetration (P<0.05); it is considered to be the optimized SPA method. Sperm fertility index values obtained from WSPA were significantly correlated with the historic average NRR of 46 bulls (P<0.01). To determine the normal range for SPA, we established the lower limits of the sperm fertility index and set the cut-off value at 2.55, at which point the NRR was more than 70%, using the receiver operating characteristic curve. The overall accuracy for the 46 bulls was 95.7% (44/46) for both the low and high NRR, with a sensitivity of 95.5% (21/22) and a specificity of 95.8%. This protocol would make it easier to discriminate bulls according to their sperm fertilizing ability.     

Escherichia coli endotoxin as a stressor in the domestic fowl.

During 24 h after the injection of fowls (aged eight to 11 weeks) with Escherichia coli endotoxin (1 to 3 mg/kg) isolated from a pathogenic strain (O78) there were changes in the ascorbate content of the adrenal gland and increases in the plasma free fatty acid levels, indicating that the toxin behaves as a mild stressor.     

Response to lysine in a wheat gluten diet in adult minipigs after short-and long-term dietary adaptation as assessed with an indicator amino acid oxidation and balance technique

An experiment was conducted to examine the response to wheat gluten (WG)-based diets at two lysine levels in adult minipigs (23 kg BW) using the indicator AA oxidation (IAAO) approach and N balance. Twenty minipigs (n = five per group), fitted with reentrant ileoileal cannulas allowing collection of ileal effluents, were fed restrictively two WG-based diets (WG and WG + Lys; 2.7 and 6.6 g of lysine/kg, respectively) for adaptation periods of 10 and 100 d. On d 7 and 9, for pigs fed the diets for 10 d, and on d 97 and 99, for pigs fed the diets for 100 d, primed i.v. fasted/fed tracer protocols with [(13)C]bicarbonate, and [(13)C]leucine were performed. With the WG diet, [(13)C]bicarbonate recoveries (%) were lower irrespective of the adaptation period, and higher during the fed period (fasted: WG + Lys = 82.5, and WG = 69.1; fed: WG + Lys = 90.6, and WG = 85.9; P < 0.05). Leucine oxidation rate was higher with the lower lysine intake (WG = 194.6 vs. 109.5 mg/[kg BW x d]; P < 0.05). Wheat gluten feeding resulted in a negative leucine balance independent of the adaptation period (WG = -29.1, and WG + Lys = 48.2 mg/[kg BW x d]; P < 0.05). In contrast with the IAAO method, N balance did not differ between the two lysine intakes, possibly because of an underestimation of N losses. The finding of a lower (13)C bicarbonate recovery with the lower dietary lysine intake suggests that caution should be taken in using a single recovery factor for all AA oxidation studies.     

C-reactive protein as an indicator of inflammatory responses to experimentally induced cystitis in dogs

The aim of this study was to demonstrate and assess C-reactive protein (CRP) changes in dogs with induced bacterial cystitis with or without antibiotics. We also evaluated availability of CRP levels to serve as an indicator for monitoring or diagnosing bacterial cystitis. Serial CRP concentrations in dogs with induced bacterial cystitis were higher than those of controls (p < 0.001). CRP concentrations peaked on day 7 and gradually decreased thereafter. In the treatment group, CRP concentrations decreased after medication compared to the untreated group (p = 0.032). CRP levels had a linear correlation with urine white blood cell counts among all groups (r = 0.837, p < 0.001, n = 140). Compared to the negative urine culture group, dogs with positive urine culture results had higher CRP concentrations (median 43.8 mg/L vs. 5.9 mg/L; p < 0.001). Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.955; when cut-off value was 12.2 mg/L, CRP measurements were found to have a sensitivity of 92.3% and specificity of 86.4%. This result indicates that rapid increases of CRP occurred after inducing bacterial cystitis and CRP may be a useful indicator for monitoring or diagnosing canine bacterial cystitis together with sediment urinalysis and urine bacterial culture.     

Methoxydextran as an indicator of gastrointestinal transit in Japanese quail

The recovery of polyethylene glycol, a substance frequently used as an indicator of the dynamics in the liquid phase of intestinal chyme, is considerably influenced by the presence of trichloroacetic acid in certain applications. The suitability of (methoxy-14C)methoxydextrane as an intestinal indicator in the Japanese quail was tested in the study. After the administration of this indicator, the bird expires less than 1% of the substance in form of 14CO2. The recovery of labelled methoxydextrane is 98 +/- 7%. The distribution of the indicator within the segments of the gastrointestinal tract does not differ significantly from the distribution of (14C)polyethylene glycol 4000, measured in the absence of trichloroacetic acid. The transit of the labelled methoxydextrane into the jejunum did not reduce the radio-chemical purity of the isotope, as compared with its original purity before administration. A slight decrease was only recorded during the measurement of the cumulative excretion of the indicator for 72 hours, but this decrease has no influence upon the suitability of methoxydextrane as an intestinal indicator. (Methoxy-14C)methoxydextrane does not interact with trichloroacetic acid, whereas when polyethylene glycol is used as an indicator, the substance precipitates from the liquid phase just at the concentration commonly used for the removal of protein from biological samples.     

Pilot evaluation of a novel test strip for the assessment of dissolved thiol levels,as an indicator of canine gingival health and periodontal status

This study evaluated a novel test strip designed to assess thiol levels as they relate to gingival/periodontal health in dogs. The simple to use strip (similar in form to a pH test strip) provides a colorimetric signal which estimates the level of thiols dissolved in oral fluid. Among several oral sites tested (left and right lingual vestibules, lower buccal vestibule, and upper buccal gingival margin), fluid from the maxillary gingival margin gave results with the best dynamic range, and its thiol levels correlated well with several oral health parameters (Pearson coefficients between 0.55 and 0.84; P < 0.001), especially those relating directly to the gingiva. The strip, which can be used on animals which are awake, may be useful as a quick, objective assessment of periodontal health, potentially enhancing compliance for thorough examinations, and promoting earlier and better-sustained treatment programs.