Observations on blood coagulation after snakebite in dogs and cats

Blood samples from 13 cases of snakebite, 6 in dogs and 7 in cats, were tested for activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), prothrombin time (PT) and fibrin/fibrinogen degradation products (FDP). Four cases were tested for fibrinogen concentration. Based on the results of a commercially available ELISA test, 9 cases were caused by tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus) and 1 case by a brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis). Three other cases had clinical signs and increased creatine phosphokinase values which suggested tiger snake envenomation. Although the period post-envenomation varied, results indicated a marked prolongation of the APTT and PT in 5 of 6 dogs. Three of these 5 dogs also had increased FDP values and 3 (of 3 examined) were hypofibrinogenaemic. Clinical manifestations of this coagulopathy were: haematoma formation after venepuncture (3 cases), gingival petechiae (1 case) and hyphaema (1 case). In contrast, there was minimal or no prolongation of the APTT and PT values, and no increase in FDP, in all 7 cats. Furthermore, no cat exhibited clinical signs of a coagulopathy.     

Owners' perceptions of the health and performance of Pony Club horses in Australia

Pony Club is one of the leading junior equestrian organisations in the world, and was established to teach young people the many aspects of horsemanship. The aim of this study was to gain an understanding of the health and performance of Pony Club horses from the perspective of their owners. In-depth interviews were conducted with Pony Club members at two sites in Australia, and topics relating to participants' background with horses, horse attributes valued by participants, horse health and performance, and Pony Club-related matters. The in-depth interviews were taped, transcribed and analysed, by describing the themes and issues recorded in the dialogue and conducting cross-case analysis (finding similarities and dissimilarities between participants with respect to each of the above-mentioned topics). A total of 32 interviews were conducted. The participants' background with horses varied greatly. The horse attributes valued by > or =59% of participants included temperament, size, ability and suitability for riders. A range of issues relating to health and performance were important to > or =53% of participants, including horse temperament, nutrition, internal parasites, lameness and foot-care, and colic. Soundness and preventive health measures were rarely mentioned (< or =16% of participants). Friends or knowledgeable horse people were identified as the first point of contact for horse-health matters, and veterinarians were only used as a last resort or for serious problems. Members of Pony Club learned about their horses by trial and error. Optimal performance was described as a horse that was willing to do as the rider asked. Poor performance was usually the result of the horse misbehaving, and could include a resistance to rider commands, pigrooting and bucking.     

舒泰对野生猕猴麻醉效果的观察

利用舒泰50(替来它明和唑拉西泮合剂)对36只野生猕猴按(5.79±1.28)mg/kg的剂量肌肉注射进行麻醉,麻醉期间对镇痛、镇静、肌松、呼吸、心率、血压、体温及血氧饱和度等指标进行监测.结果显示:舒泰对猕猴的诱导期为(2.72±1.72)min,平均诱导效果判定为"极好",麻醉期间体温为(38.74±0.46)℃,...     

The use of conditioned place preference to determine broiler preferences for quantitative or qualitative dietary restriction

1. Calcium propionate (CAP) may improve the welfare of feed restricted broiler breeders by improving their satiety when included within the feed ration. However, the evidence for this is mixed.

2. This study used a closed economy conditioned place preference (CPP) task and aimed to identify whether broilers (as a model for broiler breeders) preferred an environment associated with quantitative food restriction (QFR) or an environment associated with a diet quality-adjusted by the inclusion of CAP. Birds taught to associate different environments with QFR and ad libitum (AL) access to feed were used to validate the methodology.

3. The two treatment groups were (1) QFR/AL (n?=?12) in which birds alternated every 2?d between QFR and ad libitum access to food, and (2) QFR/CAP (n?=?12) in which birds alternated every 2?d between QFR and QFR?+?calcium propionate (increased from 3–9% over the study period). Birds were taught to associate one diet option with vertical stripes and the other with horizontal black and white stripes. Each bird was tested twice for a CPP (once per diet).

4. QFR/AL birds showed a significant preference for the pen associated with ad libitum access to feed, but only when tested hungry (i.e. fed QFR on day of testing). QFR/CAP birds did not show a preference under either hunger state.

5. Reasons for the failure of QFR/CAP birds to show a preference are unclear but could include a lack of preference or failure to learn the task.

6. The existence of state-dependent effects indicates that care is needed in the design of future CPP studies and that the effect of calcium propionate and level of hunger on ability to learn a CPP needs further investigation.     

不同湿度和氨水平对肉仔鸡抗氧化性能及肉品质的影响

本研究旨在探讨鸡舍内不同湿度和氨浓度对肉仔鸡机体抗氧化性能和肉品质的影响.试验选用健康、体质量相近的21日龄AA雄性肉仔鸡192只,随机分为2组.一组为高氨组(暴露于70 mg·kg-1氨气,H),另一组是低氨组(暴露于30 mg·kg-1氨气,L).其中每一组的一半分别置于60％湿度(对照组,C),另一半置于35％湿度(处理组,T),这样组成4个试验组,对照1:60％湿度+30 mg·kg-1氨水平组(C+L)、对照2:60%湿度+70 mg·kg-1氨水平组(C+H)、处理1:35％湿度+30 mg·kg-1氨水平组(T+L),以及处理2:35％湿度+70 mg· kg-1氨水平组(T+H),试验期21 d.试验结束时测定肉仔鸡生产性能,血液及肌肉抗氧化性能和肉品质相关指标.试验结果表明,高氨(70 mg· kg-1)水平显著降低肉仔鸡结束体质量,平均日采食量,日增体质量,血液及肌肉中总抗氧化力及肉仔鸡宰后45 min时的胸肌a*值(P＜0.05);增加了胸肌存放5d时硫代巴比妥酸反应物水平(TBARS)含量,胸肌滴水损失率,宰后45 min时的胸肌b*值(P＜0.05)和L*值(P=0.054)及肌肉剪切力(P=0.075).低湿(35％相对湿度)处理降低了肉仔鸡试验结束体质量(P＜0.05),平均日采食量(P＜0.05)及平均日增体质量(P=0.072),胸肌中超氧化物歧化酶及谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶活性(P＜0.05)及宰后45 min时的胸肌L*值(P=0.053);增加了肌肉剪切力(P=0.057)和胸肌存放5及7d时的TBARS含量(P＜0.05).与低氨对照组(C+L)相比,高氨低湿组处理组(T+H)肉仔鸡的试验结束体质量、平均日采食量、平均日增体质量、血清总抗氧化力、胸肌中总超氧化物歧化酶及谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶活性,胸肌宰后45 min a*值均显著降低(P＜0.05),而宰后5及7d肌肉中TBARS含量、肌肉中滴水损失及肌肉剪切力均显著提高(P＜0.05).本研究结果揭示肉仔鸡舍内高氨(70 mg·kg-1)及低湿度均显著降低了肉仔鸡生产性能、机体抗氧化能力及肌肉品质,且低湿度环境加剧了高氨的不良影响.     

苜蓿抗寒性研究进展

在国内外大量研究成果的基础上,对苜蓿经过低温胁迫后的形态、生理生化方面的变化,苜蓿秋眠性与抗寒性的关系,现代生物技术以及辐射诱变和太空搭载在苜蓿抗寒育种中的应用进行了系统阐述,讨论了当前苜蓿抗寒性研究工作中存在的不足,并对未来的研究重点进行了展望。     

Cardiovascular effects of sevoflurane in Holstein calves

Objective The purpose of this study was to determine the cardiovascular effects of sevoflurane in calves. Study design Prospective experimental study. Animals Six, healthy, 8–12‐week‐old Holstein calves weighing 80 ± 4.5 (mean ± SEM) kg were studied. Methods Anesthesia was induced by face‐mask administration of 7% sevoflurane in O₂. Calves tracheae were intubated, placed in right lateral recumbency, and maintained with 3.7% end‐tidal concentration sevoflurane for 30 minutes to allow catheterization of the auricular artery and placement of a Swan‐Ganz thermodilution catheter into the pulmonary artery. After instrumentation, administration of sevoflurane was temporarily discontinued until mean arterial pressure was > 100 mm Hg. Baseline values were recorded and the vaporizer output increased to administer 3.7% end‐tidal sevoflurane concentration. Ventilation was controlled to maintain normocapnia. The following were recorded at 5, 10, 15, 30 and 45 minutes after collection of baseline data and expressed as the mean value (± SEM): direct systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressures; cardiac output; mean pulmonary arterial pressure; pulmonary arterial occlusion pressure, heart rate; and pulmonary arterial temperature. Cardiac index and systemic and pulmonary vascular resistance values were calculated using standard formulae. Arterial blood gases were analyzed at baseline, and at 15 and 45 minutes. Differences from baseline values were determined using one‐way analysis of variance for repeated measures with post‐hoc differences between mean values identified using Dunnet's test (p < 0.05). Results Mean time from beginning sevoflurane administration to intubation of the trachea was 224 ± 9 seconds. The mean end‐tidal sevoflurane concentration at baseline was 0.7 (± 0.11)%. Sevoflurane anesthesia was associated with decreased arterial blood pressure at all sampling times. Mean arterial blood pressure decreased from a baseline value of 112 ± 7 mm Hg to a minimum value of 88 ± 4 mm Hg at 5 minutes. Compared with baseline, arterial pH was decreased at 15 minutes. Pulmonary arterial blood temperature was decreased at 15, 30 and 45 minutes. Arterial CO₂ tension increased from a baseline value of 43 ± 3 to 54 ± 4 mm Hg (5.7 ± 0.4 to 7.2 ± 0.3 kPa) at 15 minutes. Mean pulmonary arterial pressure was increased at 30 and 45 minutes. Pulmonary arterial occlusion pressure increased from a baseline value of 18 ± 2 to 23 ± 2 mm Hg at 45 minutes. There were no significant changes in other measured variables. All calves recovered from anesthesia uneventfully. Conclusion We conclude that sevoflurane for induction and maintenance of anesthesia was effective and reliable in these calves and that neither hypotension nor decreased cardiac output was a clinical concern. Clinical relevance Use of sevoflurane for mask induction and maintenance of anesthesia in young calves is a suitable alternative to injectable and other inhalant anesthetics.     

Adaptation of thermal threshold analgesiometry for NSAIDs in cats: effects of ketoprofen

Nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used to provide analgesia in clinical veterinary medicine, but there are few objective data evaluating this effect under controlled conditions in cats. Analgesia is more difficult to detect with acute analgesiometry after NSAIDs than after opioids. This investigation aimed to adapt the feline thermal analgesiometry method previously employed with opioids ( Dixon et al. 2002 ) for use with NSAIDs. Ketoprofen, a COX1 inhibitor licensed for cats was chosen. Six cats (2 neutered, four entire females, weighing 2.2–5.4 kg) were studied in two blinded randomized crossover trials each at least 2 weeks apart. Thermal thresholds (TT) were measured using the thermal threshold‐testing device previously developed for cats. A heater element and temperature sensor in a small probe were held at constant pressure against the cats' shaved thorax with an elasticized band. Skin temperature was recorded before each test, then the heater activated. When the cat responded by flinching, turning or jumping the heater was turned off and the temperature recorded. In the first study TT were measured following subcutaneous (SC) injection of ketoprofen (2 mg kg^?1) or a similar volume of saline. In the second study, prior to TT, and under isoflurane restraint, a mild inflammatory focus was produced at the probe site by five SC injections of 5 mg kaolin in 0.1 mL saline at each corner and in the center of a 1.5‐cm square. Saline or ketoprofen as in the first study were injected at the same time. Three baseline temperatures were recorded before any injections were given. Thermal thresholds were measured at 1 and 2 hours and then two‐hourly for 24 hours. Data were analysed using anova . Baseline skin temperature increased (37.3 ± 0.5–38.1 ± 0.8 °C) 24 hours after saline injection in study 2 (p < 0.05) but did not change after any other treatment. Thermal thresholds decreased (40.0 ± 1.3 to 39.1 ± 0.4 °C) 16 hours after ketoprofen in study 1 (p < 0.05) and increased (41.6 ± 1.5–44.8 ± 6.1 °C) 16–24 hours after ketoprofen in study 2 (p < 0.05), with no significant changes after saline. No obvious increase in sensitivity to thermal stimulation after kaolin injection was detected although obvious inflammation was present for up to 36 hours and the cats responded to digital pressure at the treated site. The method detected some effects of a COX1 selective NSAID and may be suitable for future NSAID studies in cats. However, a pressure stimulus ( Dixon et al. 2000) may prove better than thermal, and it requires investigation.     

Reactive histiocytosis of the orbit and posterior segment in a dog

We present a case of reactive histiocytic disease involving the orbit, optic nerve, retina, and choroid in a Border Collie dog initially presenting for vision loss. Long-term partial return of vision has been achieved with systemic immunosuppression. Anterior segment and ocular surface manifestations of reactive histiocytic disease in dogs are relatively common. Posterior segment and orbital involvement, however, are minimally documented in the existing literature. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of disease confined to the orbit and posterior segment as well as the first report of vision loss as a presenting complaint for reactive histiocytic disease. Clinical, magnetic resonance imaging, cytologic, and histopathologic findings are reviewed.