Spirometra erinacei / S. erinaceieuropaei in a feral cat in Manawatu with chronic intermittent diarrhoea

CASE HISTORY: A feral cat captured in the Manawatu region of New Zealand was treated for worms and fleas, and kept confined in a metabolic cage. It showed good appetite and weight gain but had intermittent watery, yellow diarrhoea.

CLINICAL FINDINGS: Clinical examination under sedation was unremarkable and routine blood tests showed no significant abnormalities. The cat was negative for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukaemia virus (FeLV). Different canned cat foods did not alter the course of the diarrhoea, and the cat was euthanised 6 months after capture. At necropsy, two sections of adult Spirometra tapeworms were found in the jejunum and typical Spirometra eggs were found in colonic contents. Molecular identification of the parasite was undertaken, using the cytochrome- c oxidase subunit-1 gene (cox1) sequence.

DIAGNOSIS: Chronic intermittent diarrhoea associated with Spirometra erinacei / S. erinaceieuropaei infection.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Spirometra has not been reported in New Zealand before but has been associated with gastrointestinal disease in cats in other parts of the world. It requires speciestargeted treatment to be eliminated effectively, and is zoonotic. Diagnosis could be diffi cult for clinicians who are not familiar with the parasite and its life cycle.     

Immunisation against ovine caseous lymphadenitis: comparison of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis vaccines with and without bacterial cells

Sheep were immunised with Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis vaccines prepared from cell-free toxoid or from toxoid with formalin-killed cells of C pseudotuberculosis added. Resistance of sheep to infection was tested 6 months after immunisation by inoculation with caseous lymphadenitis pus. The outcome was assessed 3 months later by slaughter and inspection of the sheep for lesions of caseous lymphadenitis. immunised sheep were adequately protected against infection as shown by a significant reduction in the number of sheep exhibiting lesions compared with control sheep, and by fewer abscesses in affected vaccinated sheep than in affected control sheep. The protective potency of the vaccines was not improved by the inclusion of cells of C pseudotuberculosis.     

Immunisation against ovine caseous lymphadenitis: efficacy of monocomponent Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis toxoid vaccine and combined clostridial-corynebacterial vaccines

Sheep were immunised with Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis toxoid formulated as a monocomponent vaccine with aluminium adjuvant or in combination with 5 clostridial antigens, and also in the combined form with sodium selenate. Immunised and control sheep were experimentally infected 16 days after vaccination and slaughtered and inspected after a further 3 months to determine their resistance to infection. All 3 vaccines afforded an equal and high level of protection; 91% of vaccinated sheep exhibiting no lesions of caseous lymphadenitis compared with 51.5% affected sheep in the control group. Average lesion counts were 1.2 per affected vaccinated sheep and 4.5 per affected control sheep. Antitoxin responses to the clostridial toxoids incorporated in the combined vaccines were not affected by inclusion of the C pseudotuberculosis toxoid or the sodium selenate.     

Progress towards more uniform assessment and reporting of soil disturbance for operations, research, and sustainability protocols

International protocols, such as those of the Montreal Process (MP), specify desired outcomes without specifying the process and components required to attain those outcomes. We suggest that the process and its components are critical to achieve desired outcomes. We discuss recent progress in northwestern North America, on three topics that will facilitate development of and reporting in sustainability protocols: (1) common terms and comparable guidelines for soil disturbance, (2) cost-effective techniques for monitoring and assessing soil disturbance, and (3) improved methods to rate soils for risk of detrimental soil disturbance. Uniform terms for soil disturbance will facilitate reporting and exchange of information. Reliable monitoring techniques and tracking the consequences of soil disturbance for forest growth and hydrology are paramount for improving understanding and predictions of the practical consequences of forest practices. To track consequences, we urge creation of regional research and operations databases that can be used to: (1) address MP values, (2) define detrimental soil disturbances, (3) develop risk rating systems for operational application, and (4) improve best management practices (BMPs) and ameliorative treatments that avoid or correct detrimental disturbances.     

Excitation spectra of circular, few-electron quantum dots

Studies of the ground and excited states in semiconductor quantum dots containing 1 to 12 electrons showed that the quantum numbers of the states in the excitation spectra can be identified and compared with exact calculations. A magnetic field induces transitions between the ground and excited states. These transitions were analyzed in terms of crossings between single-particle states, singlet-triplet transitions, spin polarization, and Hund's rule. These impurity-free quantum dots allow "atomic physics" experiments to be performed in magnetic field regimes not accessible for atoms.