Examination of the equine foot.

The examination of the foot must be based on observations of the hoof, followed by a careful determination of areas of pain. This must be followed by an assessment of the biomechanical forces on the hoof and limb. Finally, imaging gives insight into the nature of the injury and allows the examiner to prognosticate the outcome.     

A field study on reproductive efficiency of mares maintained predominately on native pasture

A field study utilizing 145 mares of various age and breeding status was conducted to determine reproductive performance under native range conditions with only limited supplemental feeding. All mares had an average initial body condition score of 4.5 and a final score of 5.1 by the time breeding was completed and mares returned to pasture. Average foaling rate was 80%, and mares that had not conceived during the previous breeding season had a foaling rate of 94%, which was higher (P<.05) than 74% for lactating mares. Mares 16 years and older had a significantly lower foaling rate (P<.05) than younger mares. Old mares that were lactating at time of breeding had only a 37% foaling rate, which was less (P<.05) than for young lactating mares. The 94 mares bred by natural cover or artificial insemination that actually foaled required 1.43 cycles per conception. Lactating mares in the oldest age group required more cycles per conception (P<.05) than open mares, and these older, lactating mares also required more cycles per conception than younger mares with foals at side. Those mares diagnosed as pregnant or open at 45 days post breeding had a pregnancy rate of 97%. Average pregnancy loss for all mares was 7.7%. These data indicate that lactating mares in moderate body condition tended to skip a breeding season and that a body condition score of 5 was only marginally acceptable, especially in the case of lactating mares. Authors' address: Equine Science Program, Department of Animal Science, Texas Agricultural Extension Service, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. Technical Article Number 30023, Texas Agr. Exp. Sta.     

Use of cyproterone acetate to lower circulating corticosterone and its effects on lymphocytes in domestic fowl

Chickens were given daily injections of cyproterone acetate (CA) and the effects on plasma corticosterone, bodyweight, weights of the adrenals and lymphoid organs, numbers of circulating peripheral blood lymphocytes and their proliferation in the presence of lectins, concanavalin A (Con A) and phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), were investigated. Five daily doses of 10 or 30 mg CA kg-1 bodyweight each week over a three-week period caused a decrease in weight gain and a reduction in the relative weights of the bursa and thymus but not the spleen. There was a small decrease in the adrenals after treatment with 10 mg CA kg-1. When daily injections of CA were given over a seven-day period doses of 6 and 10 mg CA kg-1 bodyweight caused a significant (P less than 0.05) decrease in plasma corticosterone concentration after four days. However, after eight daily injections of CA a single injection of corticotrophin (10 iu ACTH kg-1) increased circulating corticosterone indicating CA had not completely blocked adrenal synthesis. CA had no effect on numbers of circulating peripheral blood lymphocytes or their ability to proliferate in the presence of Con A or PHA. The results indicate that CA is effective in lowering circulating corticosterone in the fowl but this did not affect the numbers or responsiveness of peripheral blood lymphocytes.     

Mercapturic acid formation in the metabolism of propachlor,CDAA, and fluorodifen in the rat

When [¹⁴C]F₃-fluorodifen (2,4′-dinitro-4-trifluoromethyl diphenylether), carbonyl-[¹⁴C]CDAA (N,N-diallyl-2-chloroacetamide), and carbonyl-¹⁴C-propachlor (2-chloro-N-isopropylacetanilide) were fed to rats, 57 to 86% of the ¹⁴C was excreted via the urine within 48 hr. Although very little radioactivity was excreted in the feces of CDAA-treated rats, 15–22% of the ¹⁴C was excreted in the feces of propachlor- of fluorodifentreated rats and an average of 8% of the ¹⁴C remained in these rats 48 hr after treatment. Oxidation of the ¹⁴C label to [¹⁴C]O₂ was not a major process in the metabolism of these herbicides. The only major radioactive metabolite present in the 24-h urine of fluorodifen-treated rats, 2-nitro-4-trifluoromethylphenyl mercapturic acid, accounted for 41% of the administered dose of ¹⁴C. In the metabolism of CDAA, the corresponding mercapturic acid accounted for 76% of the dose; it was the only major metabolite present in the 24-h urine. In contrast, three major metabolites were detected in the 24-h urine of propachlortreated rats, and the mercapturic acid accounted for only 20% of the dose. The mercapturic acid of each herbicide was identified by mass spectrometry.     

Influence of the Expert Effect on Cultural Models

We examined hunters’ perceptions of fauna to see if expert hunters and other hunters perceive wildlife abundance similarly. We used cultural consensus analysis (CCA) to assess the knowledge of 25 hunters in the Bolivian Amazon about the abundance of 38 animals. CCA indicated highly shared beliefs among hunters concerning wildlife abundance (average agreement = .62). However, expert hunters (as judged by their reported successful hunts of rare species, having hunted recently, and consuming more game in their diet) perceived more animals as abundant than did non-experts, although they all shared the same model. Since the expert hunters did not always agree on which species was more abundant, they had low cultural knowledge scores in CCA results. These experts may be unwilling to curtail hunting efforts on key species that they perceive to be abundant.     

Informing Community Engagement in Sea Turtle Conservation by Examining Non-Conservation-Related Participation in Northeast Brazil

Participation in conservation programs is often viewed as a necessity, but understanding of this participation is limited. This research takes a different approach by also examining participation in non-conservation-related activities. Questionnaires (N = 339) were administered in four Brazilian coastal communities where the national sea turtle conservation project conducts monitoring and outreach. Employing social capital as a conceptual framework, measurements included participation in civic, community, and social activities along with group participation and collective action. Confirmatory factor analysis was used for validating measures of social capital and conservation perceptions. Structural equation modeling indicated that social capital has a positive relationship with participation in sea turtle conservation, suggesting that general levels of participation and community norms of participation could be just as influential as conservation perceptions to engage communities in conservation. Information gained by deconstructing participation may be used to design and target conservation programs, improving overall participation.     

Use of the IDEIA ELISA to detect Chlamydia psittaci (ovis) in material from aborted fetal membranes and milk from ewes affected by ovine enzootic abortion

The IDEIA ELISA was used to detect Chlamydia psittaci (ovis) antigen in ewes' milk to which were added serial dilutions of chlamydiae titrated as inclusion forming units (ifus) in McCoy cell tissue culture. The test was able to detect as few as 35 ifus/ml of the organism. The ELISA was then used to detect chlamydial antigen in fetal membranes and milk from ewes clinically affected with ovine enzootic abortion (OEA). The results were compared with results of isolation of chlamydiae in McCoy cell tissue culture from the same material. The fetal membranes of 17 of 19 ewes were positive for chlamydia when tested with the ELISA but chlamydia could be cultured from only 15 of them. Milk samples from 26 ewes which had aborted between 1 and 34 days previously were tested: chlamydiae could not be cultured from any of them and only one was positive when tested by the ELISA. The results show that the IDEIA ELISA is a sensitive test for the detection of C. psittaci (ovis) antigens. The positive results to this test for the three samples from which chlamydiae could not be cultured suggest that the test is not as specific as culture or that it detected dead organisms. Chlamydiae do not appear to be excreted in the milk of ewes affected with OEA.     

Overestimation of canine albumin concentration with the bromcresol green method in heparinized plasma samples

Albumin concentrations are routinely measured in dogs with bromcresol green (BCG)-binding assays on automated chemistry analyzers. Several variables affect this assay, including the length of reaction time, sample type, and lack of specificity of BCG for albumin. We observed that albumin concentrations measured with BCG appeared higher in heparinized plasma samples in sick dogs. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of anticoagulant and assay procedure on BCG albumin concentrations in clinically ill dogs. We hypothesized that albumin concentrations would be overestimated in heparinized plasma compared with serum because of the combination of heparin and fibrinogen. Furthermore, we hypothesized that the overestimation would be influenced by assay parameters. Blood was collected from 32 clinically ill dogs into tubes containing heparin, citrate, or no anticoagulant. Citrate was chosen to assess the effect of fibrinogen in the absence of heparin. Albumin concentration was measured in all 3 sample types from each dog using 2 different BCG procedures on an automated chemistry analyzer. The BCG procedures (standard and modified) differed in the wavelengths used for absorbance readings (standard, 600/700; modified, 570/505) and the time point at which absorbance was measured (standard, 100 seconds; modified, 40 seconds). In addition, the modified method incorporated a sample blank. Globulin fractions, fibrinogen concentration, and indices of lipemia, hemolysis, and icterus were evaluated for their contribution to the overestimation of albumin concentration in heparinized plasma compared with serum samples. Albumin concentrations were significantly higher (P 相似文献