Blood supply of the ovine adrenal gland and its relevance in adrenal autotransplantation

SUMMARY The arterial supply and venous drainage of 62 left and 5 right ovine adrenal glands is described, and the contribution of individual arteries to successful adrenal gland autotransplantation was evaluated. Arterial flow was measured by direct collection from the draining adrenal vein. Assessment of function of the transplanted adrenal gland was made from survival of the sheep and by the cortisol response to infusion of ACTH and the aldosterone secretory response to infusion of angiotensin II or potassium. For the left adrenal, the principal arterial supply was from the renal artery in 21 (34%), a lumbar artery in 32 (52%), and the anterior mesenteric artery in 3. The total blood flow was 5.0 ± SEM 0.4 mL/min, the flow from the renal branch 2.3 ± 0.3 mL/min, and the principal lumbar branch 2.6 ± 0.3 mL/min. Venous drainage from the left adrenal was via a major adrenal vein to the left renal vein, but additional tributaries to the renal vein were present in 26% . The arterial supply to the adrenal is regional and omission of a branch at transplantation could result in infarction of portion of the gland. By defining arterial supply and measuring blood flow, selection of the appropriate artery or multiple arteries can achieve an adrenal gland autotransplant survival of 90% .     

Myophosphorylase deficiency (glycogen storage disease Type V) in a herd of Charolais cattle in New Zealand: Confirmation by PCR-RFLP testing

AIM: To describe a disease of muscle in Charolais calves and confirm the putative diagnosis of inherited myophosphorylase deficiency.

METHODS: Variously stained paraffin sections of muscle prepared from affected calves were used to describe the lesions. A polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) test was developed and applied to affected calves, their sires, dams and other individuals.

RESULTS: The lesions were those of rhabdomyolysis of skeletal muscles and sub-sarcolemmal spaces in normal fibres. The PCR-RFLP test confirmed the expected mutation for phosphorylase deficiency of Charolais cattle in two affected calves. In addition, sires, dams and other closely-related individuals of four affected calves tested as heterozygous for the mutation. Other apparently unrelated animals also tested as heterozygous.

CONCLUSIONS: The diagnosis of myophosphorylase deficiency was confirmed. The PCR-RFLP test is suitable for use in controlling this recessively-inherited disorder as it can diagnose heterozygous individuals that are otherwise clinically normal.     

A Japanese powdery mildew isolate with exceptionally large infection efficiency on Mlo-resistant barley

A Japanese field isolate (Race I) of Erysiphe graminis f.sp, hordei was tested on 17 barley lines carrying the mlo powdery mildew resistance gene. Race I produced many successful infections with infection type larger than or equal to 2 on six lines (M66, MC20, SRI, SR7, A tem and Totem), On the remaining 11 lines it reacted with infection type 0. Colony numbers on the Mlo-lines were between 26% and 12 9% of the numbers on a susceptible cultivar Manchuria, These numbers were larger than, or similar to those produced by isolate HL3/5, which has the highest recorded infection efficiency on Mlo-resistant cultivars. The interaction between isolates and lines was highly significant. The isolate GE3, from which HL3/5 was derived by selection, gave rise to occasional colonies corresponding to less than 03° o of the number produced on cv. Manchuria.     

Rundschau

Ohne ZusammenfassungPflanzenschutzorganisation für Europa und die Mittelmeerländer     

Variances of tracheid lengths in tropical pines from central Africa

Summary Individual tracheid lengths were measured in macerated tissue samples of Pinus merkussii Jungh. and de Vries, P. kesiya Royle ex Gordon (syn. P. khasya Royle) and P. patula Schiede and Deppe. The sample trees were selected from stands of different ages, treatments and sites in central Africa.A sampling unit of 50 tracheids, measured for convenience on two microscope slides, was chosen on the basis of an earlier study. The variation in individual tracheid length and the variation of within-slide variance was studied by means of analysis of variance and variance components. This indicated the nunber of samples required in the different sampling categories to give maximum sampling efficiency. Sampling categories included both random factors (individual tracheids, number of slides, radii in discs) and fixed factors (annual rings, tree classes, thinning treatments, etc.).While large effects were attributable to fixed factors more than half the total variation was explained by random factors. The effect of the number of slides was rarely important and two slides need be used only to facilitate the location of the required number of tracheids and to provide a check on operator consistency. The sample unit of 50 tracheids can detect differences in tracheid length of 0.20 ... 0.34 mm thus confirming the routine used in this laboratory as a practical and meaningful procedure.Laboratory work was carried out in Kitwe, computing at Oxford. Paper published with permission of Professor of Forest Science, Oxford and Director, Agricultural Research Council of Zambia.     

Effects of ration level in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), on sensory characteristics, lipid content and fatty acid composition

Effects of feed ration levels (RLs) and age on sensory characteristics, fillet lipid content (LC) and fatty acid composition (FA) of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), fillet were investigated in a longitudinal feeding experiment. Daily RLs were administered as a percentage of the ration size necessary for expected maximum growth (RL100). Fish on RL50, RL75, RL100 and RL200 were sampled at 1.4, 2.0 and 2.4 years of age. Analyses of LC and FA were carried out on a fillet cross-section. Sensory analyses were performed by an expert panel using ranking and conventional profiling. RL had no effect on the intensity of fresh smell or any sensory characteristic of taste or consistency of fish on RLs over 75%, irrespective of age; fish on RL50, however, scored significantly lower for fresh taste and firmness. Age had no effect on the intensity of total taste, whereas fresh taste increased and rancidity decreased with increasing age irrespective of RL. LC related strongly to RL and age, and increased up to 2.0 years of age. An increase in LC resulted in a higher level of monounsaturated FA and a lower level of polyunsaturated FA. A restriction to RL75 had no negative effects on sensory characteristics, LC or FA of the fillet.     

Recovery from neuromuscular block in dogs: restoration of spontaneous ventilation does not exclude residual blockade

ObjectiveTo evaluate if return of spontaneous ventilation to pre-relaxation values indicates complete recovery from neuromuscular blockade.Study designProspective, with each individual acting as its own control.AnimalsTen healthy adult female Beagle dogs weighing 6.2–9.4 kg.MethodsDogs were anesthetized with propofol, dexemedetomidine and isoflurane. Spontaneous ventilation was assessed by measuring end-tidal CO₂, expired tidal volume, peak inspiratory flow, respiratory rate and minute ventilation. Vecuronium 25 μg kg^?1 IV was administered and neuromuscular block was evaluated by measuring the train-of-four (TOF) ratio with acceleromyography in the hind limb. During spontaneous recovery from neuromuscular block, the TOF ratio when each ventilatory variable returned to baseline was recorded.ResultsThis dose of vecuronium produced moderate neuromuscular block in all dogs, with TOF ratio values of 0–18% at maximal block. Expired tidal volume, peak inspiratory flow and minute ventilation returned to pre-relaxation values when the median TOF ratio was ≤ 20%. The median TOF ratio was 42% when the end-tidal CO₂ returned to pre-relaxation values.Conclusions and clinical relevanceSignificant residual neuromuscular block could be measured at the hind limb with acceleromyography when ventilation had spontaneously returned to pre-vecuronium values. Monitoring spontaneous ventilation, including end-tidal CO₂, expired tidal volume, peak inspiratory flow or minute ventilation cannot be used as a surrogate for objective neuromuscular monitoring, and this practice may increase the risk of postoperative residual paralysis.     

Egtved virus: temperature-dependent immune response of trout to infection with low-virulence virus

Abstract. The present report deals with experiments concerning the theoretical basis for development of a live, attenuated vaccine against viral haemorrhagic septicaemia (VHS) of rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri Richardson, on the basis of a virus strain derived from the Egtved virus reference strain F, the pathogenicity of which has been strongly reduced by in vitro passage. It is shown that the low pathogenicity of the virus (designated the Reva strain) is a genetically stable feature and that the protection against VHS induced by infection with the virus is due to an immune response. Following immunological priming at 10°C partial protection developed at 5° 10° and 15° but not at 20°C, whereas neutralizing antibody was produced at all four temperatures by some of the fish. The duration of virus persistence in trout was found to be inversely proportional to the water temperature.