Transfer of Bovine Blastocysts Derived from Short-term In Vitro Culture of Low Quality Morulae Produced In Vivo

The aim of this study was to evaluate if blastocysts arising from in vitro culture of Grade 3 bovine morulae produced in vivo can promote acceptable pregnancy rates when transferred into recipients. Embryos of different stages and qualities were recovered from superovulated Bos taurus and B. indicus donors. Grade 3 morulae were cultured in either Holding Plus® or TCM‐199 (supplemented with 10% bovine fetal serum) media for 24 h at 38.5°C. After this culture period, the resulting blastocysts were morphologically classified (Grades 1, 2 and 3) and transferred into recipients previously synchronized with the donors. Non‐cultured Grades 1 and 3 morulae were used as control. Pregnancy diagnosis was carried out 60 days after embryo transfer and the data were analysed by logistic regression, considering variables, such as embryo quality (Grade), donor breed, culture medium, donor‐recipient synchrony and seasonality. Embryo quality was the only variable, showing significant effect on the pregnancy rate. Pregnancy rates for non‐cultured Grade 1 and 3 morulae, and blastocysts arising from cultured Grade 3 morulae were 58.1% (n = 31), 17.1% (n = 35) and 51.1% (n = 47), respectively (p < 0.05). There were no statistical differences between non‐cultured Grade 1 morulae and cultured blastocysts. Pregnancy rates for Grades 1 (65.0%) and 2 (60.0%) were higher than Grade 3 (29.4%) cultured blastocysts (p < 0.05). It was concluded that short‐term in vitro culture is a very convenient method of identifying morphologically low quality morulae with higher chances of continuing development after the transfer into recipients.     

Causes of death in sheep exported live by sea

Post-mortem examinations were conducted on 950 dead and terminally ill sheep during assembly for export and during transport by sea from Fremantle, Western Australia to various Middle East ports. Causes of death were grouped into 5 major categories; inanition (deaths associated with reduced feed intake, including hypocalcaemia and hypomagnesaemia), salmonellosis (enteric and septicaemic), trauma, diseases associated with excessive feed intake (lactic acidosis and enterotoxaemia) and miscellaneous diseases (mostly of farm origin). During assembly the causes of death were salmonellosis 53.4%, miscellaneous diseases 23.8%, trauma 12.6%, inanition 10.2%, acidosis 3.9%, enterotoxaemia 3.4% and no diagnosis was made in 3.4%. During shipping the causes of death in defined populations of sheep in 5 voyages were; inanition 43.4%, salmonellosis 20.2%, trauma 10.6%, miscellaneous diseases 5.9%, enterotoxaemia 1.0% and no diagnosis was made in 19.0%. The range of mortality rates per 10,000 sheep at risk for the first 11 days at sea in 5 voyages were inanition 52.6 to 76.7, salmonellosis 7.8 to 109.8, trauma 2.1 to 17.1, miscellaneous diseases 5.9 to 17.1 and enterotoxaemia nil to 10.3.     

A serological survey on the prevalence of infectious bovine rhinotracheitis in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire.

Of the 2368 cattle sera from herds in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire examined for infectious bovine rhinotracheitis antibody by an indirect haemagglutination test, 162 (6.8 per cent) proved positive. Positive titres were more prevalent in older cows and they tended to show higher titres. There was little evidence of infection in the bulls tested. The percentage of positive animals in Berkshire and Oxfordshire was 4.7 compared with 10.5 in Buckinghamshire. The infection was not known to be associated with any clinical disease.     

Growth response of chicks following addition to the diet of various sources of nitrogen

Two experiments involving a total of 320 day‐old Chunky P male chicks were conducted. In the first experiment chicks were divided into 6 groups and given one of the following diets ad libitum for 6 weeks: A, with determined essential amino acids at minimal required levels; B, with published values for essential amino acids at minimal required levels; C, conventional broiler diet; D, A+1.5 per cent diammonium phosphate (DAP); E, A+3.0 per cent DAP; and F, A+4/4 per cent DAP. Adding 1.5 per cent DAP gave a significant increase in live‐weight at 4 weeks, but adding 3.0 or 4.4 per cent DAP depressed weight significantly at 4 or 6 weeks. Weights of birds receiving diet B were significantly lower than those of birds receiving diets A or C.

In the second experiment chicks were divided into 5 groups and given one of the following diets ad libitum for 4 weeks: GA (similar to A) or GA supplemented with the equivalent of 2 per cent crude protein in several forms. In HM the form was herring meal and in GG, DS and DP it was glycine+glutamic acid, diammonium sulphate and DAP, respectively. Body weights of birds receiving HM were greater (though not significantly) than those receiving GA but were significantly poorer than those fed GG, DS or DP.     

Does overshoot in leaf development of ponderosa pine in wet years leads to bark beetle outbreaks on fine-textured soils in drier years？

Background： Frequent outbreaks of insects and diseases have been recorded in the native forests of western North America during the last few decades, but the distribution of these outbreaks has been far from uniform. In some cases, recent climatic variations may explain some of this spatial variation along with the presence of expansive forests composed of dense, older trees. Forest managers and policy makers would benefit if areas especially prone to disturbance could be recognized so that mitigating actions could be taken. Methods： We use two ponderosa pine-dominated sites in western Montana, U.S.A. to apply a modeling approach that couples information acquired via remote sensing, soil surveys, and local weather stations to assess where bark beetle outbreaks might first occur and why. Although there was a general downward trend in precipitation for both sites over the period between 1998 and 2010 （slope =-1.3, R2 = 0.08）, interannual variability was high. Some years showed large increases followed by sharp decreases. Both sites had similar topography and fire histories, but bark beetle activity occurred earlier （circa 2000 to 2001） and more severely on one site than on the other. The initial canopy density of the two sites was also similar, with leaf area indices ranging between 1.7-2.0 m2. m-2. We wondered if the difference in bark beetle activity was related to soils that were higher in clay content at site I than at site II. To assess this possibility, we applied a process-based stand growth model （3-PG） to analyze the data and evaluate the hypotheses. Results： We found that when wet years were followed by drier years, the simulated annual wood production per unit of leaf area, a measure of tree vigor, dropped below a critical threshold on site I but not on site II. Conclusion： We concluded that the difference in vulnerability of the two stands to beetle outbreaks can be explained largely by differences in gross photosynthesis attributed to the fact that an equivalent amount of stored wat     

Within-herd Use of Boar Semen at 5°C, with a Note on Electronic Monitoring of Oestrus

A system was designed to allow a small swine farm in a northern latitude to use its own boars for artificial insemination (AI) conveniently. Semen was collected twice weekly for 3 day use (days 0, 1 and 2), extended in an egg yolk extender and stored at 5°C. Farm personnel were trained to manage the entire AI programme. For simplicity all semen collected was used for insemination. In the first test 47 gilts and 15 sows were inseminated with semen from four boars. One boar was subfertile with a farrowing rate of 36%. The averages for the other boars ranged from 71 to 100%. Then semen was collected from seven boars and all was used to inseminate 70 gilts and 55 sows with 3 × 10⁹ or more sperm. Overall 63% farrowed an average of 10.1 piglets per litter. Litter size for sows was 1.5 piglets larger than for gilts. There was no difference in farrowing rate when more than 3 × 10⁹ sperm were inseminated. The feasibility of initiating a complete AI programme within a small herd using herd boars was established. However, selection of the boars, use of only high quality semen, and experience with detecting oestrus was required to increase the farrowing rate. The use of various agents to protect sperm against cold shock below 15°C is worthy of further investigation. A new type of electronic probe, which measures the conductivity of cervical mucus, could be helpful if a boar is not available for conventional detection of oestrus.     

Crystalline corneal opacities in the Siberian Husky

Bilaterally symmetric opacities were detected in the corneal stroma of 78 (14%) of 560 Siberian Huskies, aged 7 months to 12 years, examined in ophthalmology screening clinics. The opacities were round or horizontally oval and consisted of a diffuse gray homogeneous haze in the anterior stroma or an array of fine polychromatic crystals in the posterior stroma, or both. The corneas were not inflamed. The frequency of occurrence and density of the opacities increased with age. Several affected dogs were closely related, but a specific inheritance pattern could not be established. Light and electron microscopy disclosed clusters of extracellular, thin, needle-shaped, crystalline clefts. Histochemical stains on frozen sections identified neutral fats, phospholipids, and cholesterol as components of the crystals.