Suspected panosteitis in a camel

CASE DESCRIPTION: A 6-month-old male Bactrian camel was examined because of a 3-week history of lameness of the left hind limb. CLINICAL FINDINGS: Lameness was initially detected in the left hind limb but resolved and was detected in the right hind limb during treatment. Lameness increased during periods of rapid growth. Radiography revealed multiple small opacities of the medullary cavity of several long bones throughout treatment. Core bone biopsies of lesions in the tibiae revealed lamellar bone with areas of loose connective tissue, osteoblasts in the medullary cavity, and periosteal new bone formation, all which were consistent with panosteitis. TREATMENT AND OUTCOME: Palliative treatment was attempted with epidural and transdermal administration of analgesics. Flunixin meglumine was administered PO, which coincided with an abrupt increase in serum creatinine concentration. Performance of multiple diagnostic bone biopsies led to remission of clinical signs of pain. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Panosteitis should be a differential diagnosis for shifting limb lameness in young camels. Bone biopsies can be useful for diagnosis of panosteitis and possible relief of pain associated with the disease. Bactrian camels may be susceptible to the renal toxicity of flunixin meglumine, especially when dehydrated.     

Effect of processing conditions on trace elements in fish roe from six commercial new zealand fish species

The concentrations of trace elements in fish roes and the effect of processing conditions (karasumi-like or karashi mentaiko) were investigated in six commercial fish species from New Zealand. The studied elements were As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, and Zn, and the roes were from the following species: chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), hoki ( Macruronus novaezelandiae), southern blue whiting ( Micromesistius australis), hake ( Merluccius australis), blue warehou ( Seriolella brama), and barracouta ( Thyrsites atun). The concentrations of As, Cd, Cr, Hg, and Pb in the roes were lower than literature values for fish muscles. Only Zn in barracouta roe and Cu in salmon roe and their products were relatively higher than the generally accepted levels in fish muscles and could be of safety concern. Hence, the consumption of barracouta and salmon roes among certain parts of the population needs to be monitored and assessed. Dry salting (karasumi-like) processing increased ( P < 0.001) the concentrations of the studied trace elements while salting fermentation (karashi mentaiko) processing tended to decrease the levels of trace elements. Fermentation may be a useful process to decrease the level of toxic trace elements.     

Quantifying patch distribution at multiple spatial scales: Applications to wildlife-habitat models

Multiscale analyses are widely employed for wildlife-habitat studies. In most cases, however, each scale is considered discrete and little emphasis is placed on incorporating or measuring the responses of wildlife to resources across multiple scales. We modeled the responses of three Arctic wildlife species to vegetative resources distributed at two spatial scales: patches and collections of patches aggregated across a regional area. We defined a patch as a single or homogeneous collection of pixels representing 1 of 10 unique vegetation types. We employed a spatial pattern technique, three-term local quadrat variance, to quantify the distribution of patches at a larger regional scale. We used the distance at which the variance for each of 10 vegetation types peaked to define a moving window for calculating the density of patches. When measures of vegetation patch and density were applied to resource selection functions, the most parsimonious models for wolves and grizzly bears included covariates recorded at both scales. Seasonal resource selection by caribou was best described using a model consisting of only regional scale covariates. Our results suggest that for some species and environments simple patch-scale models may not capture the full range of spatial variation in resources to which wildlife may respond. For mobile animals that range across heterogeneous areas we recommend selection models that integrate resources occurring at a number of spatial scales. Patch density is a simple technique for representing such higher-order spatial patterns.     

Quantifying patch distribution at multiple spatial scales: Applications to wildlife-habitat models

Multiscale analyses are widely employed for wildlife-habitat studies. In most cases, however, each scale is considered discrete and little emphasis is placed on incorporating or measuring the responses of wildlife to resources across multiple scales. We modeled the responses of three Arctic wildlife species to vegetative resources distributed at two spatial scales: patches and collections of patches aggregated across a regional area. We defined a patch as a single or homogeneous collection of pixels representing 1 of 10 unique vegetation types. We employed a spatial pattern technique, three-term local quadrat variance, to quantify the distribution of patches at a larger regional scale. We used the distance at which the variance for each of 10 vegetation types peaked to define a moving window for calculating the density of patches. When measures of vegetation patch and density were applied to resource selection functions, the most parsimonious models for wolves and grizzly bears included covariates recorded at both scales. Seasonal resource selection by caribou was best described using a model consisting of only regional scale covariates. Our results suggest that for some species and environments simple patch-scale models may not capture the full range of spatial variation in resources to which wildlife may respond. For mobile animals that range across heterogeneous areas we recommend selection models that integrate resources occurring at a number of spatial scales. Patch density is a simple technique for representing such higher-order spatial patterns.     

Do coarse resolution U.S. presettlement land survey records adequately represent the spatial pattern of individual tree species?

Presettlement land survey records (PLSRs) are a valuable and unique source of information for the reconstruction of presettlement forest patterns. The purpose of this study was to determine whether coarsely resolved PLSRs are adequate to characterize the spatial patterns of individual tree species over large areas. The General Land Office Survey records of the PLSRs of Minnesota were used and species selected in the analysis were based on their abundances and degrees of clustering. A geostatistical procedure was developed to analyze observations of bearing-tree point-locations, at progressively coarser resolutions from 1×1 mile to 24×24 miles, to create spatially continuous probability surfaces of species occurrences across the landscape. Statistical and visual analyses of the geostatistical predictions indicated that coarsely resolved PLSRs, as coarse as 24×24 miles, can adequately represent the spatial pattern of individual species over large areas. Mean errors in predictions increased as more coarsely resolved data were used, primarily in response to the decreased abundance of a species and minorly in response to the degree of spatial clustering of a species. The results indicate that coarsely resolved township-level data of 6×6 miles can be used for presettlement vegetation reconstruction of large areas of several counties.     

The impact of Theileria parva infections and other factors on calf mean daily weight gains in smallholder dairy farms in Murang’a District, Kenya

The association between mean daily weight gain, Theileria parva infections, clinical East Coast fever and other possible determinants of weight gain were examined in a longitudinal observational study that was conducted in cohorts of female calves from five agro-ecological zone (AEZ)-grazing strata. The strata were upper-midlands (UM) 1 zero-grazing, UM 1 open-grazing, UM 2 zero-grazing, UM 4 zero-grazing and UM 4 open-grazing. In total, 225 calves on 188 smallholder dairy farms were visited within the first 2 weeks of life and thereafter at biweekly intervals up to the age of 6 months between March 1995 and August 1996. During each visit, the calves were weighed and other calf-management practices in the farm during the visit such as housing, feeding and tick control also were recorded. Other events such as morbidity and mortality between or during the visits were also recorded.The overall mean daily weight gains were 0.24–0.29 kg (S.D.=0.17–0.22 kg) and were lower than the recommended targets for smallholder farms of 0.40–0.50 kg. The major tendency in variability of daily weight gains was due to visit-to-visit variation (especially in calves >3 months old).Differences in mean daily gains were associated with AEZ-grazing strata and calf-level factors that included breed of calf, calf sickness, incidence of ECF, feeding of milk, concentrate feeds and minerals and interaction between calf age and AEZ-grazing strata (P<0.05). ECF and other calf sicknesses exerted a temporal effect on calf-growth at the height of illness and immediately after; calves later recovered the lost growth except where other factors such as poor calf nutrition prevailed. Improvement in calf-growth in Murang’a District is achievable and extension services should continue to target individual-calf-level management practices.     

Disorders of the avian integument.

The avian integument consists of highly specialized structures that show extreme variations between species. Feathers are the most obvious part of the integument, and their color and beauty forms an important basis for the attraction of birds to humans. Any disorder in the feathers can be distressing for a client and frustrating for the avian practitioner. The cause of some disorders may be apparent, but others have a complex pathogenesis involving management, human-bird interaction, malnutrition, psychologic factors, disease, or hormone imbalances.     

Comparison of steaks from Holstein and Simmental x Angus steers.

Boneless rib eye steaks from 32 Holstein and 32 Simmental x Angus steers were evaluated by 55 supermarket meat managers. Within breed, steers were divided into light or heavy initial weights. Within initial weight groups, steers were either implanted with Revalor or not implanted. Steers were slaughtered commercially when they reached a small degree of marbling, and rib eye steaks were cut from the carcass and stored at -20 degrees C until the day before evaluation. After thawing overnight in a 0 to 4 degrees C cooler, uncooked steaks were randomly assigned to positions on paper plates. Each of the 55 evaluators was then told to record whether each steak was from a Holstein or a traditional beef breed. The percentage identified correctly was 50.9 +/- .96, which was not different from being random. Steaks were later assigned to blocks of eight treatments and cooked to an internal temperature of 68 degrees C before six or seven participants evaluated steaks from each block. Sensory attributes were acceptable for all steaks. Steaks from Holstein steers generally were superior to those from Simmental x Angus steers. Steaks from steers with heavy initial weights generally were superior to steaks from steers with light initial weights. Steaks from steers implanted with Revalor were slightly less acceptable than steaks from unimplanted steers for several sensory attributes, but the difference in overall acceptability was minor and nonsignificant. All the differences were small, and may have limited commercial relevance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)