Fluorouracil as a treatment for corneal papilloma in a Malayan tapir

A 26-year-old, wild caught, male Malayan tapir at the Miami Metrozoo with bilateral corneal papillomas was serially immobilized and given subconjunctival injections of fluorouracil. Over the course of 17 weeks five bilateral injections of 25 mg fluorouracil were given. This treatment caused regression of the corneal lesions as evidenced by decreased lesion diameter, decreased corneal vascularity, increased corneal clarity, and improved visual function. No adverse drug effects were observed.     

Detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts in goat kid faeces: comparison of a latex agglutination test with three other conventional techniques

Detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts from goat kid faeces: comparison of a latex agglutination test with three other conventional techniques. A quantitative latex agglutination test (QLAT) with monoclonal antibodies for the detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts in faeces was compared with 3 other conventional techniques: Heine staining on faecal smears (HS) giving semi-quantitative results (scores from 1 to 5), sucrose flotation on diluted faeces (SF) with results expressed in oocysts/g of faeces (opg), direct ELISA (DE) giving qualitative results. Goat kid unconcentrated faecal samples (234) from 8 farms were processed according to the 4 techniques. Data were analyzed with Win Episcope 1.0 and Testview 1.1 softwares. The oocyst outputs ranged from 100 000 (detection limit for SF) to 200 millions opg (mean: 15.2 millions opg). A very good agreement was recorded between QLAT and HS, SF, DE: Kappa values ranged between 0.82 and 0.90. When considering the samples exhibiting oocysts (or not) as positive (or negative) using both HS and SF (n = 219), the sensitivity and specificity of QLAT were respectively 95.1 and 96.0%. The lack of sensitivity was observed in faeces harboring a few oocysts (< or = 200 000 opg, scores < or = 2) whereas the lack of specificity was only observed in 3 samples originating from the same farm. A significant correlation was calculated between the percentage of agglutination in QLAT and the number of oocysts in SF or scores in HS (Spearman correlation ranging from 0.45 to 0.48, p < 0.001). QLAT is a rapid, simple and reliable tool for routine detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts in faeces.     

Serologic and genetic characterization of North American H3N2 swine influenza A viruses

The H3N2 subtype of influenza A viruses isolated from pigs in the United States and Canada has shown both genetic and antigenic diversity. The objective of this study was to determine the serologic and genetic characteristics of contemporary strains of these viruses. Genetic analysis of 18 reference strains and 8 selected strains demonstrated differences in 1% to 9% of the nucleotides of the hemagglutinin (HA) gene. Phylogenetic analysis of the HA gene revealed 3 genetic clusters, as well as divergence of cluster III viruses from a cluster III prototype virus (A/Swine/Illinois/21587/99). By means of 1-way cross-hemagglutination inhibition with antiserum against 5 field isolates and 3 vaccine viruses, most of 97 isolates tested could be placed in 1 of 3 serogroups. The several isolates that did not react with any antiserum were in genetic cluster III, which suggests that continuous antigenic drift in cluster III may have resulted in virus variants. The efficacy of commercial vaccines against these virus variants should be evaluated with vaccination and challenge studies.     

Mild to moderate overweight in dogs: is there an impact on routine hematological and biochemical profiles,echocardiographic parameters and cardiac autonomic modulation?

Veterinary Research Communications - Obesity is considered the most common nutritional disease of dogs. Even though overt obesity is more likely to impair health, even moderately overweight dogs...     

Allometric model of the Reineke equation for Japanese cypress (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Chamaecyparis obtusa</Emphasis>) and red pine (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus densiflora</Emphasis>) stands

An allometric model that explains the mechanism of the difference in the slope of the Reineke equation (A) among species was proposed based on the allometric relationships of mean tree height (H) to quadratic mean diameter D (H ∝ D ^θ ) and stand density N (H ∝ N ^δ ), i.e., A = θ/δ. The proposed model was fitted to Japanese cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa Endl.) and red pine (Pinus densiflora) stands. The allometric exponents θ and δ were, respectively, 0.8995 and −0.5000 for cypress and 0.8612 and −0.6619 for pine. The difference between cypress and pine was significant for δ but not for θ. Inserting the exponents into the model resulted in predicted slopes of −1.7991 for cypress and −1.3011 for pine. The difference in the slope of the Reineke equation between the two species was produced by characteristics related to the tree crown, rather than characteristics related to stem slenderness. The proposed model enables us to estimate the slope of the Reineke equation from commonly measured stand attributes, such as mean tree height and quadratic mean diameter. Therefore, the proposed model is expected to be practical and convenient for estimating the slope of the Reineke equation and for explaining the mechanism of its variation among species. The model should be also accepted as a generalized model of the stand density versus quadratic mean diameter relationship, whereas the original Reineke equation should be seen as a specific case of this model.     

Antimicrobial flavonoids from the stem bark of Erythrina burttii

The chloroform extract of the stem bark of Erythrina burttii showed antifungal and antibacterial activities using the disk diffusion method. Flavonoids were identified as the active principles. Activities were observed against fungi and Gram(+) bacteria, but the Gram(-) bacteria Escherichia coli was resistant.     

Examination of the consistency of plant traits driving oil yield and quality in short-rotation coppice cultivation of Eucalyptus polybractea

The value of eucalyptus oil for medicinal purposes is based largely on its cineole content. The prime commercial species for cineole production in Australia is Eucalyptus polybractea (blue mallee). Despite the long history of blue mallee harvesting in Australia, there has been little research on the establishment of plantations of the species or on the efficacy of short-rotation coppice cultivation with respect to the consistency of oil yield and quality from rotation to rotation. This study aims to assess if subsequent coppice oil traits reflect sapling traits and if the coppice oil traits under short-rotation cultivation are consistent from one rotation to the next. A trial plantation was established in a key eucalyptus oil harvesting district in Victoria. Firstly, the oil-related traits of 20 saplings harvested 3.5 years after planting were compared with those of their subsequent coppice harvested after 12 months regrowth. Despite the expected differences in total biomass, the oil-related traits of blue mallee saplings were mostly well reflected in their subsequent coppice. Total above ground biomass and foliar oil concentration were significantly related between saplings and coppice, and cineole proportion showed a Pearson's correlation of 0.93 between harvests. Nevertheless, the mean foliar oil concentration in the coppice was 148 mg g⁻¹ dw compared with 107 in the saplings, and the coppice foliage, on average, showed significantly reduced cineole with a mean of 87% in the saplings (maximum of 95.6%) compared to a mean of only 80% in the coppice (maximum of 87.0%). Secondly, the oil traits of 20 coppice plants from one 12-month harvest rotation to the next were compared. Again, total above ground biomass, foliar oil concentration and cineole proportion were significantly related between the harvests, with cineole proportion having a Pearson's correlation of 0.90 between rotations. The coppice between rotations were remarkably consistent in terms of biomass and oil traits and indeed mean coppice cineole yields were 28.6 and 29.7 g in rotations 1 and 2, respectively. The results support the screening of key oil-related traits in saplings for the selection of elite genotypes for plantations, and the use of short-rotation cultivation of the plantations for continued oil harvesting. Furthermore, no relationship was observed between biomass and oil concentration in the blue mallee saplings or coppice, suggesting selection gains in a given key oil trait will not result in losses in another.     

Changes in water status and proline and abscisic acid concentrations in developing somatic embryos of pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) during maturation and germination

Somatic embryos of oak (Quercus robur L.) were matured on P24 media differing in gel strength (0.8, 0.9 and 1.0% (w/v) agar). Viscosity and osmotic potential (Psipi,medium) of the media were determined. Developing cotyledonary embryos were analyzed at maturity Stages I-III for water content, osmotic potential (Psipi,embryo) and concentrations of abscisic acid (ABA) and proline. Proliferation of embryogenic tissue, germination rates and the number of embryos formed were also determined in order to relate embryo quality to physiological parameters. Viscosity increased with agar concentration, a phenomenon apparently related to water availability. Many Stage III embryos with high germination potentials were obtained on P24 medium containing 1.0% agar. Embryo water content decreased progressively from 94 to 80% during embryo maturation. Stage I and II embryos that matured on media containing 0.8 or 0.9% agar had similar values of Psipi,embryo, whereas Psipi,embryo of Stage III embryos that matured on medium containing 1.0% agar was significantly lower, although Psipi,medium was unaffected by gel strength. Stage III embryos showed a nearly 16-fold increase in proline concentration and a 50% decrease in ABA concentration compared with Stage I embryos. We conclude that tissue water status and a complex relationship between ABA and proline concentrations, modulated by medium gel strength, are important factors in the maturation process and the quality of oak somatic embryos.