Riding arenas and different riding track surfaces in relation to the airway contamination in horses. Laboratory studies on riding surfaces]

29 samples of commonly used surfaces were tested for their water characteristics (litre weight, water capacity, water binding, water evaporation) and their contribution to airborne fungal spores (dust formation, dust setting). The results are discussed in comparison to the literature with regard to the environment. The results are: 1. Any surface--no matter of what material--eventually causes air pollution with fungal spores and dust. 2. Correct watering prevents air pollution by any surface. 3. Artificial products have no advantage over natural materials in the parameters tested. 4. The question of proper disposal of old surface material has to be clarified before purchase. The results show that a mixture of sand and wood shavings should be recommended as a surface for indoor arenas, especially in regard to environmental protection and proper disposal.     

USE OF COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY AND RADIOLABELED LEUKOCYTES IN A CAT WITH PANCREATITIS

The normal feline pancreas has been evaluated using radiolabeled leukocytes (99mTc-HMPAO) and computed tomography. The purpose of this report is to describe a clinical case where both modalities were utilized to assess the inflamed feline pancreas. A nine year old female cat presented with anorexia, depression and some vomiting. Blood values were unremarkable. Radiographs and ultrasound were suggestive of pancreatitis. The cat's leukocytes were separated and labeled according to an established protocol. Whole body images were acquired immediately, at 5 and 30 min, and at 1, 2, 4, and 17 hours post injection. Approximately 48 h later, the animal was anesthetized and computed tomography of the abdomen was preformed both pre and post contrast. Surgical biopsies were taken. The distribution of the WBCs was similar to that documented in normal animals, however, at 2 h there was faint uptake seen in the region of the pancreas. This uptake became more intense at 4 h and persisted at 17 h. Computed tomography showed irregular margination of the pancreas, it was larger than normal and inhomogeneous. Contrast enhancement was inhomogeneous and its peak enhancement was not reached until 10 min post injection; normal feline pancreas enhances homogeneously and peaks immediately. Histopathology confirmed pancreatitis with lymphocytic, plasmacytic, neutrophilic and eosinophilic inflammation and fibrosis. Radiolabeled leukocytes can be used to document pancreatic inflammation and this is best seen 4 h after injection. Computed tomography allows superior visualization of the pancreas. Both the appearance and contrast enhancement pattern of the inflamed pancreas differ from normal.     

Comparison of the molecular effects of the mycotoxins beta-zearalenol and deoxynivalenol in porcine endometrial cells--a review

The mycotoxins beta-zearalenol (beta-ZOL) and deoxynivalenol (DON) produce toxic effects that result in diseases in humans and animals. The molecular mechanisms that control the mycotoxin-mediated effects are far from being completely understood. Various results show that these mycotoxins could inhibit cell proliferation. In the present short communication, the influence of beta-ZOL and DON on the abundance and phosphorylation state of kinases that are included in regulation of the initiation of mRNA translation (which is correlated with cell proliferation) was compared in porcine endometrial cells (PEC). Our results indicate that these mycotoxins modulate the expression and phosphorylation of these factors in a different manner. Whereas beta-ZOL mainly had an impact on the biological activity of the extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2), protein kinase B (Akt), eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) and its repressor 4E binding protein 1 (4E-BP1), DON reduced the abundance of p38 MAPk, Akt and specific 4E-BP1 bands. In summary, these results indicate that beta-ZOL influences molecular events that are included in the initiation of mRNA translation in the porcine endometrium but DON does not alter such processes clearly.     

Effects of cowpea (Vigna Unguiculata) feeding on the pancreatic exocrine secretion of pigs

Introduction   Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) is a valuable protein source that can contribute towards overcoming a predicted protein deficit equivalent to more than 1 000 000 t oilcake in Southern Africa by the year 2000 (N ell et al. 1992). However, like most other legumes, cowpeas contain antinutritional factors (ANFs) (M akinde et al. 1996). It has also been shown that feeding raw cowpea causes reduced growth and histomorphometric changes in the various segments of the intestine (M akinde et al. 1997) attributable to ANFs. The major ANFs in the cowpea are trypsin inhibitors, tannins and phytates (A letor and A ladetimi 1989). Although the protease inhibitors are found in most legumes, only soybean inhibitors have been thoroughly investigated (L iener and K akade 1980), and trypsin inhibitors in other legumes have received little attention.