Acupuncture for general veterinary practice.

Since the International Society of Veterinary Acupuncture (IVAS) was founded in 1974, acupuncture (AP) has received greater acceptance by veterinary professionals throughout the world. This article introduces some important animal diseases that respond well to AP therapy. These include resuscitation of small animals, treatment of anoestrous gilts and sows, bovine reproductive disease, canine vertebral problems and equine backpain, etc. Conventional medicine considers these to be difficult cases to treat. Veterinarians have become more aware of the benefits of AP especially for those diseases, thanks to the efforts of experienced practitioners and scientists, and the many published reports on veterinary AP that have introduced some good indications for AP therapy in veterinary practice. Possible mechanisms behind the effectiveness of AP are discussed. This article aims to introduce veterinarians to good indications for AP to initiate their interest in the practice of AP. Although this is a rapidly expanding field, a long march must begin with one step. We wish this article to be the shoes for such a march. For more information on veterinary AP, contact IVAS , P.O. Box 1478, Longmont, CO.. 80502, USA (http://www.ivas.org), or your national veterinary acupuncture society (http://www.komvet.at/ ivadkom/vapsocs.htm).     

The effects of stubble burning and tillage on soil carbon sequestration and crop productivity in southeastern Australia

Abstract. In Australia, stubble burning and tillage are two of the major processes responsible for the decline of soil organic carbon concentration in cropped soils, and the resulting soil degradation. However, the relative importance of these two practices in influencing the soil organic carbon concentration and the long-term impact on soil quality and productivity are not clear. The effects of stubble burning as practised by farmers in southeastern Australia were evaluated in two field trials, one of 19 years duration, the other of 5 years. Conventional tillage (three tillage passes) led to greater loss of soil organic carbon than stubble burning. Loss of total soil organic carbon attributed to stubble burning in the 0–10 cm layer was estimated to be 1.75 t C ha⁻¹ over the period of the 19-year trial, equivalent to 29% of that lost due to tillage. In the 5-year trial, no change in soil organic carbon due to stubble burning was detectable. Changes in soil quality associated with stubble burning detected in the longer trial included a reduction in macro-aggregate stability, and increases in pH and exchangeable K⁺. Only the latter two were detected in the shorter trial. A higher mean wheat yield (average 0.15 t ha⁻¹) following stubble burning was observed in the 19-year trial but not in the 5-year trial. Research to monitor the longer term effects of stubble burning is needed, and to identify conditions where loss of soil organic carbon is minimized.     

Evaluation of a competitive ELISA for antibody detection against avian influenza virus

Active serologic surveillance is necessary to control the spread of the avian influenza virus (AIV). In this study, we evaluated a commercially-available cELISA in terms of its ability to detect AIV antibodies in the sera of 3,358 animals from twelve species. cELISA detected antibodies against reference H1- through H15-subtype AIV strains without cross reactivity. Furthermore, the cELISA was able to detect antibodies produced following a challenge of the AIV H9N2 subtype in chickens, or following vaccination of the AIV H9 or H5 subtypes in chickens, ducks and geese. Next, we tested the sensitivity and specificity of the cELISA with sera from twelve different animal species, and compared these results with those obtained by the hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) test, the "gold standard" in AIV sera surveillance, a second commercially-available cELISA (IZS ELISA), or the agar gel precipitation (AGP) test. Compared with the HI test, the sensitivities and specificities of cELISA were 95% and 96% in chicken, 86% and 88% in duck, 97% and 100% in turkey, 100% and 87% in goose, and 91% and 97% in swine, respectively. The sensitivities and specificities of the cELISA in this study were higher than those of IZS ELISA for the duck, turkey, goose, and grey partridge sera samples. The results of AGP test against duck and turkey sera also showed significant correlation with the results of cELISA (R-value >0.9). In terms of flock sensitivity, the cELISA correlated better with the HI test than with commercially-available indirect ELISAs, with 100% flock sensitivity.     

融合2D-3D卷积特征识别哺乳母猪姿态转换

母猪姿态转换影响仔猪存活率,且动作幅度与持续时间存在差异,准确识别难度大。该研究提出一种融合2D-3D卷积特征的卷积网络（2D+3D-CNet,2D+3D Convolutional Network）识别深度图像母猪姿态转换。以视频段为输入,引入注意力机制SE模块和3D空洞卷积,以提升3D卷积网络姿态转换的时空特征提取能力,用2D卷积提取母猪的空间特征;经特征融合后,动作识别分支输出母猪转换概率,姿态分类分支输出4类姿态概率,结合这两个输出结果识别8类姿态转换,减少了人工标注数据集的工作量;最后设计动作分数,优化母猪姿态转换的时间定位。在测试集上,2D+3D-CNet姿态转换识别精度为97.95%、召回率为91.67%、测试速度为14.39帧/s,精度、召回率和时间定位精度均高于YOWO、FRCNN-HMM和MOC-D方法。该研究结果实现了母猪姿态转换高精度识别。     

Optimization of Stachydrine Hydrochloride in Leonurus Extraction Method by HPLC-ELSD

The study was aimed to extract stachydrine hydrochloride in leonurus by HPLC-ELSD,and establish hydrochloride stachydrine determination methods for providing theoretical basis of leonurus extraction process optimization.The chromatographic conditions:venusil HILIC hydrophilic column;Mobile phase was acetonitrile -0.2% acetic acid solution (volume ratio 80:20);The flow rate was 1.0 mL/min;And the column temperature was 30 ℃;The detector was ELSD and drift tube temperature was 80 ℃ with the atomization chamber temperature 50 ℃ and carrier gas volume flow 1.0000 mL/min.The results showed that there was a good linear relationship when the stachydrine hydrochloride content was 0.49 to 4.91 μg (R²=0.9993);There was the highest rate of active ingredients extraction of when the extraction time was 1 h,material to water ratio was 20:1 and extracted for 2 times.Combined with production practice,the final optimization scheme was that the extraction time was 1.5 h,material to water ratio was 20:1 and extracted for 2 times.In summary,the determination of stachydrine hydrochloride in leonurus should use HPLC-ELSD method which had high specificity,good stability,response and reproducibility and easy to handle.This method could provide the theoretical basis for optimizing the leonurus extraction process.     

Biofilm production by pathogens associated with canine otitis externa,and the antibiofilm activity of ionophores and antimicrobial adjuvants

Otitis externa (OE) is a frequently reported disorder in dogs associated with secondary infections by Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas and yeast pathogens. The presence of biofilms may play an important role in the resistance of otic pathogens to antimicrobial agents. Biofilm production of twenty Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and twenty Pseudomonas aeruginosa canine otic isolates was determined quantitatively using a microtiter plate assay, and each isolate was classified as a strong, moderate, weak or nonbiofilm producer. Minimum biofilm eradication concentration (MBEC) of two ionophores (narasin and monensin) and three adjuvants (N‐acetylcysteine (NAC), Tris‐EDTA and disodium EDTA) were investigated spectrophotometrically (OD_570nm) and quantitatively (CFU/ml) against selected Staphylococcus and Pseudomonas biofilm cultures. Concurrently, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of planktonic cultures were assessed. 16/20 of the S. pseudintermedius clinical isolates were weak biofilm producers. 19/20 P. aeruginosa clinical isolates produced biofilms and were distributed almost equally as weak, moderate and strong biofilm producers. While significant antibiofilm activity was observed, no MBEC was achieved with narasin or monensin. The MBEC for NAC ranged from 5,000–10,000 µg/ml and from 20,000–80,000 µg/ml against S. pseudintermedius and P. aeruginosa, respectively. Tris‐EDTA eradicated P. aeruginosa biofilms at concentrations ranging from 6,000/1,900 to 12,000/3,800 µg/ml. The MBEC was up to 16‐fold and eightfold higher than the MIC/MBC of NAC and Tris‐EDTA, respectively. Disodium EDTA reduced biofilm growth of both strains at concentrations of 470 µg/ml and higher. It can be concluded that biofilm production is common in pathogens associated with canine OE. NAC and Tris‐EDTA are effective antibiofilm agents in vitro that could be considered for the treatment of biofilm‐associated OE in dogs.     

应用PAPD方法对鸡败血霉形体DNA多态性的研究

用随机扩增多态性ＤＮＡ（ＲＡＰＤ）方法,通过筛选的５个随机引物（ＯＰＨ－０２,ＯＰＨ－０５,ＯＰＨ－０７,ＯＰＨ－１３,ＯＰＧ－１６）,对１４株鸡败血霉形体（ＭＧ）国际标准株和国内分离株进行了ＤＮＡ多态性研究。结果表明,５个引物共产生２１种条带,其中有３个条带分别为２个菌株所特有,扩增产物片段的长度在１５０～４５００ｂｐ之间,所有菌株均有１条共同条带,以ＯＰＨ－０５扩增产物的多态性最丰富。根据样品ＤＮＡ所获得的菌株间相似性指数表明,Ｄ９６０３与Ｄ９６０７相似指数最高,Ｓ６,Ｋ３９１３和Ｄ９６０４三者相互间相似性指数最低。提示ＲＡＰＤ方法可用于霉形体遗传标记的分析。     

Equine bullous pemphigoid IgG autoantibodies target linear epitopes in the NC16A ectodomain of collagen XVII (BP180, BPAG2)

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is an autoimmune subepithelial blistering dermatosis of humans, dogs, cats and pigs. It is characterized by skin-fixed and circulating IgG autoantibodies that target one or both BP antigens. An immunological homologue of BP in humans was diagnosed in two horses with cutaneous and mucosal ulcerations as well as microscopic subepithelial vesiculation. Immunological investigations revealed similar findings for both the horses. Direct immunofluorescence demonstrated the presence of IgG deposited linearly at the dermoepidermal junction in mucosal and skin biopsy specimens. Indirect immunofluorescence testing confirmed the existence of circulating basement membrane-specific IgG autoantibodies. Using intact and salt-split epithelial substrates, serum IgG were shown to target antigens situated not only at the basal, but also at the lateral and apical aspects of stratum basale keratinocytes. Immunoblotting and ELISA corroborated that the IgG from affected horses, but not those from normal controls, exhibited high immunoreactivity against the NC16A extracellular domain of type XVII collagen (BPAG2, BP180). Equine BP could be proposed, therefore, as another spontaneous model of this most common basement membrane autoimmune dermatosis of humans.