Hemolytic-uremic syndrome in a postpartum mare concurrent with encephalopathy in the neonatal foal.

A postpartum mare and foal were presented for evaluation of fever and lethargy in the mare. The mare was diagnosed with endometritis and initially responded well to treatment. On the second day of hospitalization, the mare developed renal insufficiency characterized by oliguria, azotemia, hemolysis, and thrombocytopenia. Concurrently, the foal developed rapidly progressive central nervous system signs culminating in refractory seizures. Both animals failed to respond to treatment and were euthanized. Thrombotic microangiopathy involving glomeruli was evident on microscopic examination of the mare's kidneys. Microscopic evidence of brain edema was the principal postmortem finding in the foal. No specific etiology was confirmed in either case. Notably, Escherichia coli 0103:H2 was isolated from the mare's uterus and the gastrointestinal tracts of both animals. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report in which an organism implicated as a cause of hemolytic-uremic syndrome was isolated from an animal with clinical signs and postmortem findings consistent with the disease.     

Influence of stocking density and type of feed on the rearing of crucian carp, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Carassius carassius</Emphasis> (L.), larvae under controlled conditions

Two experiments were conducted into the rearing of crucian carp larvae under controlled conditions in an experimental closed water system. In both cases, the rearing lasted 21 days. The first experiment concerned the initial stocking density (from 50 to 600 individuals per l), whilst the second one studied the first food offered (two types of Artemia nauplii, decapsulated Artemia cysts and three types of commercial feeds) which were applied at the moment of exogenous feeding commencement. The best results were obtained using 50 larvae per l, whilst there were no significant differences within the range 200–600 larvae per l. The application of dry feed had a negative influence on the survival and other parameters. The highest survival rate was found in the groups fed with freshly hatched Artemia naupli. The results obtained indicate that the rearing of crucian carp larvae may be successfully conducted in very high stocking densities. However, the very high sensitivity of crucian carp larvae to the type of food offered during the initial days of life should be taken into account. The data presented in this article could be very useful in crucian carp larviculture.     

Ingestive behavior of supplemented Nellore heifers grazing palisadegrass pastures managed with different sward heights

Three sward heights (15, 25 and 35 cm) and three supplement types (energy, energy‐protein, and a mineral mix supplement) were evaluated in a 3 × 3 factorial arrangement distributed in a completely randomized design to study changes in forage search patterns in Nellore heifers in a continuous grazing system. Pasture data were collected using two replicates (paddocks) per treatment over four periods during the rainy season. The behavior assessments were made in the first and fourth grazing seasons. It was hypothesized that supplements and pasture management would modify ingestive behavior, considering that animals would require less time grazing if they had energy requirements met through higher digestibility of better managed paddocks, or use of supplements high in energy. Total and green forage masses along with green : dead material ratio were greater in treatments managed with higher sward heights. Sward managed with 35 cm height resulted in lower leaf : stem ratio compared with 15 cm sward height treatments. The animals on the 15 cm pastures spent more time grazing overall and during each meal, but there were no differences observed in meal numbers in comparison to 35 cm treatments. Heifers fed protein and/or energy supplements spent less time grazing in the early afternoon, but overall grazing time was the same for all animals.     

Doxorubicin area under the curve is an important predictor of neutropenia in dogs with naturally occurring cancers

Doxorubicin (DOX) area‐under‐the‐curve (AUC) was calculated for 40 dogs with spontaneously occurring cancers using a previously validated limited‐sampling approach. All dogs were administered a dose of 30 mg/m² by intravenous infusion and serum samples were collected at 5, 45 and 60 minutes post‐infusion. DOX and its major metabolite, doxorubicinol (doxol), were quantified in serum samples using high‐performance liquid chromatography tandem‐mass spectrometry. Wide interpatient variability was observed in the predicted DOX AUC with a coefficient of variation of 34%. A significant relationship was found between DOX AUC and absolute white blood cell count (P = 0.003), absolute neutrophil count (ANC; P = 0.002) and surviving fraction of neutrophils (P = 0.03) approximately 1 week after dosing (nadir). No changes in other hematologic parameters (red blood cells, platelets, lymphocytes, haemoglobin) were found to correlate with DOX AUC. The absolute dose (mg) and the dose per unit body weight (mg/kg) were not significantly correlated with nadir ANC. No relationships were found between maximum serum doxol concentration and myelosuppression. Baseline ANC was also significantly correlated to nadir ANC and a model was constructed using baseline ANC and DOX AUC that significantly described the nadir ANC. These findings demonstrate the important relationship between systemic DOX exposure and degree of neutropenia in dogs, and suggest a potential for individualized, pharmacokinetically‐guided DOX dosing in dogs.     

A herd level analysis of a Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis outbreak in a dairy cattle herd

Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis infection in an Israeli dairy cattle herd is described. The disease was characterized by ulcerative granulomatous lesions, which occurred in an epidemic form. Thirty-two cows and two heifers were affected, the ratio of the number affected to number at risk being 17.5 : 1 and 9.5 : 1, respectively. The culling rate was 50% of the affected animals. Most of the affected animals were cows (91.2%), with one first-calving cow (2.9%) and two heifers (5.9%) also affected. The infection occurred during the summer to autumn months (August-December), and lasted 118 days. The incubation period is about 2 months. The disease appeared in two clinical forms - cutaneous and mastitic - or as a mixed form. C. pseudotuberculosis organisms that were isolated from the ulcerative granulomatous lesions and from milk samples failed to reduce nitrate. A decrease in milk production (4%) and an increase in the bulk-milk somatic cell count from a herd mean of 240 x 10(3) mL(-1) to 460 x 10(3) mL(-1) were noted during the morbidity period. The organism was isolated from milk samples of eight animals (25%). Clinical, epizootiological and microbiological aspects of the infection are described.     

Lipophilic extractives in different tree fractions and forestry assortments of Pinus sylvestris due for thinning or final cutting

The objectives were to determine the content and composition of lipophilic extractives, particularly fatty and resin acids, in three Scots pine trees from each of two stands in northern Sweden, one that was due for thinning and one due for final cutting. Extractives content of branches, needles, barks, stem discs from branch whorls, and sapwood and heartwood samples from various heights was measured. Fractions had very different concentrations and distributions of extractives due to differences in the composition of tissues. The needles had the highest total extractive concentration (around 150?kg/ton d.w.), followed by the branches, bark, timber from the final cut stand, and then the pulpwood and timber from the thinning stand. The final cut stand generally provided higher yields of extractives in assortments per hectare than the thinning stand; the difference was five-fold for timber, three-fold for whole trees, two-fold for branches, needles and bark and similar for pulpwood. This information on the content and composition of extractives in different tissues, and the dependence of these quantities on tree age could be used together with information on conventional stand data such as tree numbers and dimensions to guide the selection and management of feedstocks for biorefineries.     

Critical limits of the degree of compactness and soil penetration resistance for the soybean crop in N Brazil

In agricultural fields soil compaction is a major cause of physical degradation. Degree of compactness (DC) is a useful parameter for characterizing compaction and the response of crops for different soils. The objectives of this study were: (1) to identify the critical DC and PR values for soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] using plant growth variables and (2) to verify the relationship between DC and PR, and assess which parameter is recommended for the evaluation of soil compaction. The study was conducted in a greenhouse in a completely randomized factorial design of 4 textures × 5 compaction levels for sandy loam and sandy clay loam soils, and 3 compaction levels for the clayey and very clayey soils. Soil samples were collected from the surface of a Xantic Kandiudox from the NE region of the State of Pará, Brazil. The DC was calculated from the maximum bulk density obtained by the Proctor test, and the PR curve was determined in undisturbed samples equilibrated in different matric potentials. The growth and development of the soybean was favored in the DC range of 80 to 85%, regardless of soil texture. The critical degree of compactness for the growth of soybean was around 98% regardless of soil texture, while the critical values for penetration resistance at field capacity varied according to soil texture and bulk density and were 28.2, 5.6, 3.5, and 5.2 MPa for the sandy loam, sand clay loam, clayey and very clayey soils, respectively. The root length was the plant growth variable most susceptible to soil compaction. Change in soil penetration resistance was poorly related with change in degree of compactness showing that one parameter cannot be replaced by the other. Because PR is quickly determined in field and have a direct relationship with plant growth, for the soils evaluated in this study we recommend the use of soil PR to assess the state of soil compaction.     

Profiling microRNA expression in bovine alveolar macrophages using RNA-seq

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of gene expression and are known to play a key role in regulating both adaptive and innate immunity. Bovine alveolar macrophages (BAMs) help maintain lung homeostasis and constitute the front line of host defense against several infectious respiratory diseases, such as bovine tuberculosis. Little is known, however, about the role miRNAs play in these cells. In this study, we used a high-throughput sequencing approach, RNA-seq, to determine the expression levels of known and novel miRNAs in unchallenged BAMs isolated from lung lavages of eight different healthy Holstein–Friesian male calves. Approximately 80 million sequence reads were generated from eight BAM miRNA Illumina sequencing libraries, and 80 miRNAs were identified as being expressed in BAMs at a threshold of at least 100 reads per million (RPM). The expression levels of miRNAs varied over a large dynamic range, with a few miRNAs expressed at very high levels (up to 800,000 RPM), and the majority lowly expressed. Notably, many of the most highly expressed miRNAs in BAMs have known roles in regulating immunity in other species (e.g. bta-let-7i, bta-miR-21, bta-miR-27, bta-miR-99b, bta-miR-146, bta-miR-147, bta-miR-155 and bta-miR-223). The most highly expressed miRNA in BAMs was miR-21, which has been shown to regulate the expression of antimicrobial peptides in Mycobacterium leprae-infected human monocytes. Furthermore, the predicted target genes of BAM-expressed miRNAs were found to be statistically enriched for roles in innate immunity. In addition to profiling the expression of known miRNAs, the RNA-seq data was also analysed to identify potentially novel bovine miRNAs. One putatively novel bovine miRNA was identified. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first RNA-seq study to profile miRNA expression in BAMs and provides an important reference dataset for investigating the regulatory roles miRNAs play in this important immune cell type.