Methionine requirement of pigs between 5 and 20 kilograms body weight.

Four nursery experiments were conducted using a methionine (Met)-deficient feather meal-corn-soybean meal-dried whey basal diet (20% CP; 3,250 kcal of ME/kg, .11% choline, .19% Met, 1.00% cystine) supplemented with lysine, tryptophan, and histidine to determine the Met requirement of 5- to 10- and 10- to 20-kg pigs. Based on a true Met digestibility value of 81.6% estimated by a pig ileal digestibility assay, the Met-deficient basal diet contained .155% of digestible Met. A preliminary experiment (Exp. 1) indicated that pigs fed the Met-deficient basal diet when fortified adequately with Met could produce weight gains similar to those of pigs fed a 20% CP practical corn-soybean meal-dried whey diet. In Exp. 2 and 3, crossbred pigs weighing 5.8 kg initially were fed diets containing graded levels of digestible Met between .195 and .355%. Average daily gain increased quadratically (P less than .05) as the level of Met increased. When the data of Exp. 2 and 3 were examined together, the digestible Met requirement of 5- to 10-kg pigs was estimated to be .255% of the diet. In Exp. 4 and 5, crossbred pigs averaging 10 kg were fed digestible Met concentrations ranging from .155 to .315%. Average daily gain increased quadratically (P less than .05). The digestible Met requirement of 10- to 20-kg pigs was estimated at .255% for maximal weight gain, which was similar to that of 5- to 10-kg pigs. Assuming an 89% digestibility of Met in practical corn-soybean meal diets, the total Met level needed in practice would be .29%.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Alterations in selected serum biochemical constituents in equids after induced hepatic disease

Effects of induced cholestasis and hepatocellular necrosis and of fasting on serum biochemical constituents including bile acids, IgA, bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), arginase, and the clearance of sodium sulfobromophthalein were studied in 4 groups of equids. The reference value for serum bile acids, as determined by an enzymatic colorimetric procedure for horses and ponies was 5.94 +/- 2.72 mumol/L, there being no statistical difference for horses and ponies. Sample collection at time of feeding had no effect on serum bile acid concentration. Seemingly, serum bile acids, arginase, and GGT were the most sensitive indicators of cholestasis and/or hepatocellular necrosis and would form an essential minimum effective battery of tests to diagnose and prognose hepatic disease in equids. These tests provided a measure of hepatobiliary transport function (bile acids), cell necrosis (arginase), and cholestasis (GGT and bile acids).     

The use of frequency diagrams in the survey of resistance to pesticides in ticks in Southern Africa

A method whereby resistance data can be analysed by means of frequency distributions is described. This method established that Rhipicephalus appendiculatus and R. evertsi evertsi show either little or only developing resistance to the pesticides chlorfenvinphos and dioxathion. Boophilus spp., however, show more instances and higher levels of resistance to these 2 pesticides.     

Intradermal tests as an aid to the diagnosis of skin disease in dogs

The diagnosis and treatment of skin disease form a major part of the small animal practitioner's work. A significant number of cases will be allergic in nature and may present difficulties in diagnosis. In man, skin testing for allergy is an established aid to diagnosis, but has been little used by the small animal veterinarian; published results are few. This paper is a preliminary report of the results of skin tests using allergens on normal and allergic dogs. It is considered that the method is of value as an aid to the diagnosis of flea hypersensitivity, but that the preliminary results using other allergens are inconclusive. Résumé. Le diagnostic et le traitement de dermatoses constituent une partie importante du travail du vétérinaire spécialisé dans le traitement d'animaux domestiques. De par la nature allergique d'un nombre considérable de cas, leur diagnostic peut poser des problèmes. Chez l'homme, les essais dermiques pour déterminer l'allergie sont reconnus comme facilitant le diagnostic; les vétérinaires, toutefois, n'y ont pas souvent recours et rares sont les résultats publiés dans ce domaine. Cette communication est un rapport préliminaire des résultats qu'ont fournis les essais dermiques en usant des allergènes chez des chiens normaux et ailergiques. On estime que la méthode a de la valeur en ce sens qu'elle aide à établir le diagnostic de l'hypersensibilité aux puce, mais que les résultats préliminaires avec d'autres allergènes sont peu concluants. Zusammenfassung. Die Diagnose und die Behandlung von Hautkrankheiten stellen einen grossen Teil der Arbeit des praktkchen Tierarztes dar. Eine nicht unbedeutende Zahl von Fällen wird allergischer Natur sein und kann diagnostische Schwierigkeiten bieten. Beim Menschen ist die Prüfung der allergischen Reaktion der Haut ein anerkanntes Mittel der Diagnose, das jedoch in der tierärztlichen Praxis wenig angewendet wurde, und auch Veröffentlichungen über die Ergebnisse sind selten. Die vorliegende Arbeit ist ein vorläufiger Bericht über die Ergebnisse von Hauttests unter Verwendung von Allergenen an normalen und allergischen Hunden. Man darf annehmen, dass die Methode einen Wert als diagnostisches Hilfsmittel im Falle der Überempfindlichkeit gegen Flöhe besitzt, dass die vorläufigen Ergebnisse der Verwendung anderer Allergene aber nicht eindeutig sind.     

Effects of dietary cadmium chloride throughout gestation on blood and tissue metabolites of primigravid and neonatal dairy cattle.

Thirty-six postpubertal Holstein heifers were allocated to three groups and fed the same diet, which differed only in the concentration of Cd: control group (.25 ppm of Cd), low-Cd group (1 ppm of Cd), and high-Cd group (5 ppm of Cd). Cadmium was supplemented to the low-Cd and high-Cd groups using CdCl2. Liver, kidney cortex, and abdominal muscle were biopsied for mineral analysis from one-half of the heifers of each group before Cd supplementation and again from the same animals within 5 d after parturition, 394 d later. Blood, liver, and muscle were collected from each calf within 5 h after birth. In the dam, 5 ppm of dietary Cd caused a 62-, 27-, and 4-fold increase in Cd of the kidney, liver, and muscle, respectively; kidney Zn and Fe increased (76%) and decreased (33%), respectively, whereas the serum Cu was reduced (31%). Liver Cu was reduced to 40 and 17% by dietary Cd of 1 and 5 ppm, respectively, in the dams. Calves from dams consuming 5 ppm of Cd had a 29 and 43% reduction in liver Cu and Zn, respectively. In these same calves, packed cell volume, hemoglobin concentration, and serum Cu were decreased by 17, 18, and 25%, respectively, whereas serum Zn was increased (55%). Serum sodium and potassium were reduced by 4 and 13%, respectively, and blood urea nitrogen was increased by 63% in calves from dams consuming 5 ppm of Cd. Feeding primigravid dairy cattle up to 5 ppm of Cd as CdCl2 throughout gestation did not influence the concentration of Cd in the neonate but caused reductions in liver Cu and Zn; teratogenesis was not apparent.