2015 ACVIM Small Animal Consensus Statement on Seizure Management in Dogs

This report represents a scientific and working clinical consensus statement on seizure management in dogs based on current literature and clinical expertise. The goal was to establish guidelines for a predetermined, concise, and logical sequential approach to chronic seizure management starting with seizure identification and diagnosis (not included in this report), reviewing decision‐making, treatment strategies, focusing on issues related to chronic antiepileptic drug treatment response and monitoring, and guidelines to enhance patient response and quality of life. Ultimately, we hope to provide a foundation for ongoing and future clinical epilepsy research in veterinary medicine.     

Canine bartonellosis: serological and molecular prevalence in Brazil and evidence of co-infection with Bartonella henselae and Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii

The purpose of this study was to determine the serological and molecular prevalence of Bartonella spp. infection in a sick dog population from Brazil. At the S?o Paulo State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Botucatu, 198 consecutive dogs with clinicopathological abnormalities consistent with tick-borne infections were sampled. Antibodies to Bartonella henselae and Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii were detected in 2.0% (4/197) and 1.5% (3/197) of the dogs, respectively. Using 16S-23S rRNA intergenic transcribed spacer (ITS) primers, Bartonella DNA was amplified from only 1/198 blood samples. Bartonella seroreactive and/or PCR positive blood samples (n=8) were inoculated into a liquid pre-enrichment growth medium (BAPGM) and subsequently sub-inoculated onto BAPGM/blood-agar plates. PCR targeting the ITS region, pap31 and rpoB genes amplified B. henselae from the blood and/or isolates of the PCR positive dog (ITS: DQ346666; pap31 gene: DQ351240; rpoB: EF196806). B. henselae and B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii (pap31: DQ906160; rpoB: EF196805) co-infection was found in one of the B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii seroreactive dogs. We conclude that dogs in this study population were infrequently exposed to or infected with a Bartonella species. The B. henselae and B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii strains identified in this study are genetically similar to strains isolated from septicemic cats, dogs, coyotes and human beings from other parts of the world. To our knowledge, these isolates provide the first Brazilian DNA sequences from these Bartonella species and the first evidence of Bartonella co-infection in dogs.     

Fertility of Holstein cows and heifers submitted to timed artificial insemination and receiving one or two doses (12 h apart) of semen

The objective of this retrospective study was to assess the effect of receiving a single (n = 50,285) or double (n = 4392) artificial insemination (AI), 12 h apart, within a timed artificial insemination protocol on pregnancy per AI (P/AI) in nulliparous heifers (inseminated with either sex-sorted or conventional semen) and pluriparous Holstein cows in a commercial dairy herd. Also, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between temperature-humidity index (THI) and time of the first AI and fertility. Fertility of cows receiving two AI with normothermia (THI <68) was higher (p < .05) than cows receiving a single AI (42.9% vs. 36.4%). P/AI of cows receiving two AI with severe heat stress (THI >85) was higher (p < .05) than cows receiving a single AI (21.0% vs. 12.6%). Regardless of heat stress conditions, applying the first AI in the morning increased (p < .05) P/AI in cows with double AI than in cows whose first AI occurred in the afternoon (38.4 vs. 33.3%). With moderate heat stress, and sexed-sorted semen, P/AI to timed AI was higher (65.0 vs. 51.9%; p < .05) in heifers receiving double AI than those serviced once. It was concluded that double AI, 12 h apart, enhanced fertility at timed AI than herd mates with a single AI, particularly with heat stress at breeding.     

A QTL controlling low temperature induced spikelet sterility at booting stage in rice

Low temperature is a major abiotic stress for rice cultivation, causing serious yield loss in many countries. To identify QTL controlling low temperature induced spikelet sterility in rice, the progeny of F2, BC1F1 and BC2F1 populations derived from a Reiziq × Lijiangheigu cross were exposed to 21/15°C for 15 days at the booting stage, and spikelet sterility was assessed. For genotyping, 92 polymorphic markers from 373 SSR and 325 STS primer pairs were used. A major QTL was initially indentified on the short arm of chromosome 10 by selective genotyping using highly tolerant and susceptible progeny from F2 and BC1F1 populations. The QTL (qLTSPKST10.1) was validated and mapped by genotyping the entire F2 (282 progeny) and BC1F1 (84 progeny) populations. The results from the F2 population showed that qLTSPKST10.1 could explain 20.5% of the variation in spikelet sterility caused by low temperature treatment with additive (a = 14.4) and dominant effect (d = −7.5). From the analysis of 98 selected BC2F1 progeny, the QTL located in the 3.5 cM interval between S10010.9 and S10014.4 was further confirmed. Based on the studies of 3 generations in 2 years, it was clear that the QTL on chromosome 10 is a major determinant of the control of low temperature induced spikelet sterility at booting stage.     

The impact of thematic resolution on the patch-mosaic model of natural landscapes

We argue that thematic resolution, i.e., the level of categorical detail of a thematic map expressed by the number of classes included in the map legend, is an inherent component of the scale at which a landscape is analyzed. Changing the number of classes can change the configuration of the patch mosaic as much as changing the grain does. We address recent calls in this and other journals to deepen research in this topic. In particular, we report how thematic resolution affects the patchiness of mosaics representing natural landscapes, which have seldom been studied in this respect. We selected seven 50 × 50 km landscapes within national parks, each representative of a world biome. We applied an object-based unsupervised classification to Landsat TM imagery of these landscapes using increasing numbers of classes, between 2 and 50, and derived curves of mean patch size and patch density for each site. Our results are consistent with previous findings in that the patchiness of output mosaics increases monotonically with increasing thematic resolution, with a higher rate of increase up to eight classes that declines until it becomes roughly constant for more than 16 classes. However, this constant rate of increase is still considerable, meaning that, at least for natural landscapes, there is no threshold beyond which the patch-mosaic model is independent of the conceptual filter applied. This dependence on human fiat calls for re-thinking the patch-mosaic paradigm.     

Comparing theoretical irrigation requirement and actual irrigation for citrus in Florida

Florida ranks first in citrus production, with nearly 68% of all U.S. citrus growing in the season 2005-2006. Most of the citrus groves are located from central to south Florida, and agricultural irrigation permitting is regulated by three of Florida's five water management districts. Most of the permitting for citrus production in Highlands, Polk and Hillsborough counties is conducted by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD), and quantities are based on the District's AGMOD computer program. In 2003, the SWFWMD implemented new permit criteria so that permitted amounts were more representative of actual water use. This paper compares grower reported citrus irrigation water use in Highlands, Polk and Hillsborough counties from 1994 through 2005 with permitted and theoretical irrigation requirements calculated by a daily water balance. Two different sets of crop coefficients (K_c's) developed for citrus in Florida were compared in the daily soil water balance calculation of theoretical irrigation requirements. The percentage of irrigated area considered in this study ranged from 40 to 60% to simulate a range of grower practices. Meteorological data from two weather stations and additional rainfall information from 50 locations within the three counties was used in the water balance. Missing and error values in the meteorological historical record data were filled with weather generators. The multiannual average water consumption (including cold protection water use) from growers ranged from 243 (Hillsborough) to 406 mm (Highlands) and the multiannual average permitted irrigation requirement (without cold protection) ranged from 295 to 557 mm. The simulated gross irrigation requirements under different scenarios of location-K_c-wetted area were variable but mostly lower than the limits established by the district, except for some scenarios in Polk County, whose maximum simulated irrigation value reached 578 mm year⁻¹. In general, permitted limits recommended by the SWFWMD seem to be reasonable for the actual water use by growers in these counties.     

Mutualism between euryhaline tilapia Sarotherodon melanotheron heudelotii and Chlorella sp.—Implications for nano-algal production in warmwater phytoplankton-based recirculating systems

The West-African euryhaline tilapia, Sarotherodon melanotheron heudelotii shift from visually feeding on zooplankton when juveniles to mostly filter feeding on phytoplankton when adults. When reared using an appropriate ration in intensive aquaculture systems, S. m. heudelotii also consume algal-based detritus, and contribute to sediment mineralization, clean up their environment, and ultimately stimulate and sustain algal growth. We analysed such practical advantages for phytoplankton-based recirculating systems, using S. m. heudelotii and Chlorella sp. as biological material originating from the prototype of such a system operated in Senegal. We performed a 24-h factorial design experiment in 36 tubs, cross-classifying three levels of S. m. heudelotii (fishless control, unfed fish, and fed fish) with four levels of Chlorella initial density.Chlorella overall mean density increased significantly from fishless, to unfed fish, and fed fish treatments, and with Chlorella initial density. S. m. heudelotii did not alter nitrogen nor phosphorus concentrations, only affected by algal initial densities. Most ammonia excreted by fish was probably uptaken by Chlorella. Bacteria-mediated diurnal nitrification was possibly an alternative ammonium loss mechanism at highest oxygen concentrations. Algae were not limited by nitrogen or phosphorus but most likely by low dissolved organic carbon availability. Chlorella differential responses with fed vs. unfed Sarotherodon suggest that CO₂ supplied by heterotrophic S. m. heudelotii respiration played a key role. Observed Chlorella growth rates were similar to the highest rates obtained in algal mass cultures, enriched with CO₂, nitrate and phosphate, under artificial lighting.Our results suggest the existence of a Sarotherodon-Chlorella mutualism in our systems, where S. m. heudelotii provide CO₂, the major limiting factor of Chlorella growth, whereas Chlorella oxygenate and detoxify the water media from ammonia, promoting S. m. heudelotii production. This mutualism could be used to optimize photosynthetic suspended-growth aquaculture systems, particularly in the Tropics where light is abundant and temperature is continuously high.     

Characterization of common bean wild populations for their in situ conservation in Northwestern Argentina

In situ conservation of wild species is a method of conservation that allows keeping populations in their natural environments, and set the strategies for maintaining the natural populations. The Active Bank of Northwestern Argentina (BANOA) is in charge of the in situ conservation of wild populations of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in Northwestern Argentina (NOA), and has an ex situ collection of 401 landraces and 221 wild accessions from the NOA. We evaluated the phenotypic diversity of 68 common bean wild populations from the NOA both in protected and unprotected areas, finding a moderate variation among them. Ten phenotypic reproductive characteristics related to pod and seed displayed significant differences in the analysis of variance; these traits together with the seed weight were the basis for the multivariate analysis. The cluster analysis ordered the populations in 12 groups but trends in geographical distribution or phenotypical variation were not recognized. For the conservation in situ of the wild bean populations, their diversity should be considered. Two types of populations can be highlighted: (i) candidates for in situ conservation in order to preserve the novel variation generated by convergence with cultivated sympatric germplasm (populations 433, 437, 471, 509, 513 and 517) and (ii) those whose phenotype represents clearly the wild status and should be preserved in situ as such in their current status (populations 480, 495, 496, 525 and 533).