Laryngoplasty with ventriculectomy or ventriculocordectomy in 104 draft horses (1992-2000)

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate efficacy and safety of laryngoplasty with vetriculectomy (VE) or ventriculocordectomy (VCE) for treatment of laryngeal hemiplegia (LH) in draft horses. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. SAMPLE POPULATION: One hundred four draft horses used for competitive hitch competitions. METHODS: Medical records and postoperative endoscopy for competitive hitch draft horses diagnosed with left LH and treated with laryngoplasty and VE or VCE between January 1992 and December 2000 were reviewed. Follow-up information was obtained from telephone interviews with owners and trainers, and performance scores of 1 to 3 were assigned in which 1 was defined as a horse that was unable to perform (abnormal respiratory noise with or without exercise intolerance), 2 was able to perform but not for its intended use (exercise tolerant but abnormal respiratory noise), and 3 was performing as expected for its intended use (exercise tolerant, no abnormal respiratory noise). RESULTS: One hundred four horses that had 111 laryngoplasty procedures were included. All horses had preoperative performance scores of 1. Follow-up information was available for 79 horses. Improvement in postoperative performance (exercise tolerant, with or without abnormal respiratory noise) was reported in 92% of horses. Respiratory noise was eliminated in 72% (57 horses) of horses. Postoperative performance scores were the following: 3 in 57 (72%) horses, 2 in 16 (20%) horses, and 1 in 6 (8%) horses. There was no significant difference in postoperative performance based on preoperative grade of LH. There was a trend for horses with >/=70% of possible maximal abduction postoperatively to have a performance score of 3. Postanesthetic complications included prolonged recovery (4 horses, 4%) and myopathy or neuropathy (7 horses, 7%). One of these horses was killed because it did stand; triceps myopathy and encephalopathy were confirmed on necropsy. CONCLUSIONS: Laryngoplasty with VE or VCE is an effective and safe procedure for the treatment of LH in the draft horse. Repeat laryngoplasty can be performed successfully, with good performance outcome after laryngoplasty failure. Complications associated with general anesthesia and laryngoplasty in draft horses are higher than reported for light breed horses under similar conditions. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: For LH, laryngoplasty with VCE or VE under general anesthesia is recommended to eliminate abnormal respiratory noise and improve performance in most competitive hitch draft horses.     

Mechanical maceration of alfalfa

Maceration is an intensive forage-conditioning process that can increase field drying rates by as much as 300%. Because maceration shreds the forage and reduces its rigidity, improvements in bulk density, silage compaction, and ensiling characteristics have been observed. Macerating forage also increases the surface area available for microbial attachment in the rumen, thereby increasing forage digestibility and animal performance. Feeding trials with sheep have shown increases in DMI of 5 to 31% and increases in DM digestibility of from 14 to 16 percentage units. Lactation studies have demonstrated increases in milk production and BW gain for lactating Holstein cows; however, there is a consistent decrease in milk fat percentage when dairy cattle are fed macerated forage. In vitro studies have shown that maceration decreases lag time associated with NDF digestion and increases rate of NDF digestion. In situ digestibility studies have shown that maceration increases the size of the instantly soluble DM pool and decreases lag time associated with NDF digestion, but it may not consistently alter the rate or extent of DM and NDF digestion.     

Failure of spectro-temporal mapping to detect ventricular late potentials in dogs

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether ventricular late potentials (LP) identified by time-domain analysis (TDA) of the signal-averaged ECG could be identified by three-dimensional frequency-domain analysis (FDA). ANIMALS: 11 dogs (9 of which subsequently died suddenly) with ventricular tachyarrhythmias (10 with ventricular tachycardia) and abnormal TDA of the signal-averaged ECG. PROCEDURE: Signal-averaged ECG that were abnormal when analyzed in the time domain subsequently were processed further in the frequency domain. Correlation ratios were calculated, and spectro-temporal maps were plotted, which were then compared with control data. RESULTS: Three-dimensional FDA did not detect LP. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: LP may be detectable by TDA of the signal-averaged ECG and may be a specific marker for VT and sudden death in some dogs. However, FDA by use of the method applied in this study is invalid.     

Estimating genetic differences in natural resistance in Rhön and Merinoland sheep following experimental Haemonchus contortus infection

Genetic parameters of natural resistance were estimated in Rh?n and Merinoland (German Merino) sheep following experimental infection with Haemonchus contortus. A total of 133 Rh?n and 244 Merinoland lambs descending from 5 and 6 rams, respectively, were evaluated. Each helminth-naive lamb was orally infected with 5000 infective third-stage larvae (L(3)) of the nematode H. contortus at 12 weeks of age. Faecal egg counts (FEC) and haematocrit values were measured in all lambs at 16 and 20 weeks of age. Seventy-nine Merinoland and 29 Rh?n male lambs were slaughtered immediately after the second sampling and worms were collected. Mean worm burden was calculated and the length of adults worms from an aliquot was measured.FEC of Rh?n sheep was higher compared with Merinoland sheep (P<0.01). H. contortus L(3)-larvae specific antibody (IgL) level was higher in Rh?n sheep (P<0.05). However, no differences in haematocrit, worm burden and IgG antibody values could be found between the breeds. Heritabilities for log FEC (+/-S.E.) were 0.0 and 0.07 (+/-0.07) for the first sample in Rh?n and Merinoland sheep, respectively. Values for the second sample were higher in both breeds (Rh?n 0.35+/-0.14, P<0.05; Merinoland 0.17+/-0.07, P<0.05). Corresponding heritabilities for haematocrit were higher in Merinoland (0.56+/-0.20 and 0.51+/-0.27) compared with Rh?n (0.29+/-0.12 and 0.08+/-0.13). Heritabilities for worm burden were high in Rh?n (0.54+/-0.2) and low in Merinoland (0.06+/-0.14 and 0.11+/-0.15). Estimated values for IgL were between 0.13 (+/-0.11) for the first sample in both breeds and 0.30 (+/-0.18) for the second sample in Rh?n sheep. Corresponding heritabilities for IgG were not different from 0.0 in both breeds (P>0.05). Positive phenotypic correlations were estimated for IgG and IgL values in both breeds (P<0.01). IgG was significantly (P<0.05) and positively correlated with worm burden in male Merinoland and IgL with worm burden in male Rh?n sheep.     

Community Forestry Enterprises in Mexico: Sustainability and Competitiveness

Community-based forest management, such as Community Forest Enterprises (CFEs), has the potential to generate positive socioenvironmental and economic outcomes. We performed a detailed survey of financial and production parameters for 30 of the approximately 992 CFEs in Mexico in order to estimate costs, income, profits, and sustainability of harvest levels for forest management, harvest, and sawmilling. Fourteen of the 30 CFEs harvested more timber than they grew in 2011, suggesting issues with sustainability, but only two of these had harvest far above annual growth, and five of those were only a fraction more than annual growth. All of the 30 CFEs except one made profits in forest management and timber growing. For timber harvesting, 22 of 30 CFEs made profits, but the losses were small for the other CFEs. For the 23 CFEs with sawmills, 18 made profits and five had losses; the greatest returns for the CFEs accrued to those with sawmills for lumber production. On average, the CFEs surveyed had high costs of production relative to other countries, but the CFEs were still profitable in national lumber markets. If Mexico were to begin importing large amounts of lumber from lower cost countries, this could pose a threat to CFE profitability.     

A novel furostanol saponin from Tribulus terrestris of Bulgarian origin

The phytochemical investigation of the aerial parts of Tribulus terrestris of Bulgarian origin has resulted in the isolation of the novel furostanol saponin 1, named tribol, together with the known spirostanol saponins 2 and 3 and sitosterol glucoside. The structure of tribol was determined as (25R)-furost-5(6)-ene-3beta,16,26-triol-3-O-alpha-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)-[alpha-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->4)]-beta-glucopyranoside (1) by spectral analysis, including extensive 1D and 2D-NMR experiments.     

The antiplasmodial activity of spermine alkaloids isolated from Albizia gummifera

In the present study the methanolic extract of Albizia gummifera was fractionated into various fractions. These fractions were tested against choroquine sensitive (NF54) and resistant (ENT30) strains of Plasmodium falciparum. All other fractions apart from the alkaloidal fraction showed low activity with IC 50 above 3 microg/ml. The alkaloidal fraction exhibited strong activity against NF54 and ENT30 with IC 50 of 0.16+/-0.05 and 0.99+/-0.06 microg/ml, respectively. Five known spermine alkaloids were isolated from the alkaloidal fraction. These alkaloids exhibited activities against NF54 and ENT30 with IC 50 ranging from 0.09+/-0.02 to 0.91+/-0.10 microg/ml. Four of the alkaloids were further evaluated for in vivo activity against rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei. The alkaloids showed percentage chemosuppression of parasitaemia in mice ranging from 43 to 72%. The use of the extracts A. gummifera for treatment of malaria in traditional medicine seems to have a scientific basis.     

Experience versus expectation: farmers’ perceptions of smart farming technologies for cropping systems across Europe

Precision Agriculture - Technological innovations are changing mechanisation in agriculture. The most recent wave of innovations referred to as smart farming technologies (SFT), promise to improve...