Flow cytometric analysis of T cell response in mice infected with Cowdria ruminantium.

A 3-fold increase in the numbers of Lyt-2+ T cells in the circulating blood of mice infected and re-infected with the Welgevonden stock of Cowdria ruminantium, as determined by flow cytometry, is supportive evidence that immunity in heartwater is cell-mediated. The rise in Lyt-2+ cells only after re-infection of the mice is further evidence that the development of immunity in heartwater is dependent on the unhindered and adequate replication of C. ruminantium.     

An improved ferritin assay for canine sera

An improved serum ferritin assay for canine serum has been developed. It uses two monoclonal antibodies in a sandwich arrangement. Serum ferritin can be determined on undiluted canine sera with this assay. The recovery of ferritin added to canine serum ranged from 98 to 106%, the within-assay coefficient of variability was 3.3 to 4.5%, and the assay-to-assay variability was 9.8 to 10.2%. Serum ferritin from 61 apparently healthy dogs had a geometric mean of 252 ng/ml, with a range of 80 ng/ml to 800 ng/ml.     

The relationship between the pharmacokinetics of intravenous cismethrin and bioresmethrin and their mammalian toxicity

The distribution and excretion of [¹⁴C]alcohol-labeled cismethrin and bioresmethrin was determined after intravenous administration to rats. Initially the label distribution of both isomers was similar, but differences occurred at later times mainly due to the retention of 5-benzyl-3-furylcarboxylic acid, a metabolite of bioresmethrin, in high concentration in the blood. Retention of this metabolite accounted for the slower excretion of bioresmethrin label compared to cismethrin. After administration of either isomer, parent pyrethroid was rapidly cleared from the blood and liver, and both isomers rapidly entered the central nervous system reaching peak concentrations within 2–5 min. Brain cismethrin concentrations exceeding 3.5 nmol/g were associated only with animals showing tremors. These levels of cismethrin are maintained for up to 30 min but bioresmethrin was depleted more rapidly possibly due to brain metabolism. It is concluded that the low toxicity of bioresmethrin is possibly due to the inability of this isomer to interact with the site of action in the central nervous system and not, as previously suggested, primarily because of more rapid metabolism in the liver.     

Evaluation of intravenous T-61 as a euthanasia method for birds

The use of T-61 as a sole euthanasia agent for birds was investigated. Nine broiler chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) were euthanized by intravenous T-61 and assessed for insensibility [brainstem reflexes: nictitating membrane reflex (NIC), palpebral blink reflex (PAL)], brain death [isoelectric electroencephalogram activity (EEG)], cessation of audible heartbeat, and abnormal electrocardiogram. Birds were considered dead when the heart rate was less than 180 beats/minute with an isoelectric EEG. No vocalization or wing flapping occurred. Both NIC and PAL were lost 10.5 s from start of injection and audible heartbeat ceased at 24.5 s. Latency to isoelectric activity was 16.6 s. All but 1 bird died within 60 s. Rapid induction of insensibility meant birds did not experience pain and distress within 10.5 s from start of injection and birds were not conscious during cardiac and circulatory arrest. Intravenous injection of T-61 is an effective and efficient euthanasia method for birds.     

Antimicrobial resistance and recovery of Salmonella,Campylobacter, and Escherichia coli from chicken egg layer flocks in Canadian sentinel surveillance sites using 2 types of sample matrices

Eggs are important to the diet of Canadians. This product is one of the supply-managed commodities in Canada, but unlike other commodities, where food safety risks are extensively explored and reported, information on the prevalence of enteric organisms (e.g., Salmonella, Campylobacter) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in layers in Canada are limited. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of select bacteria and the associated AMR patterns in layer flocks using 2 sample matrices. Farms were located within FoodNet Canada and the Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance sentinel sites (SS). Fecal samples (Ontario: ON_SS1a, ON_SS1b) and environmental sponge swabs (British Columbia: BC_SS2a) were collected. Salmonella prevalence was 29% and 8% in ON_SS1a and ON_SS1b, respectively, and 7% in BC_SS2a. S. Kentucky and S. Livingstone were the most frequently isolated serovars and no S. Enteritidis was detected. Campylobacter was not detected in the BC sponge swabs but was isolated from 89% and 53% of Ontario fecal samples (ON_SS1a and ON_SS1b, respectively). Seven C. jejuni from Ontario were ciprofloxacin-resistant. Escherichia coli prevalence was high in both sample types (98%). Overall, tetracycline resistance among E. coli ranged from 26% to 69%. Resistance to ceftiofur (n = 2 isolates) and gentamicin (n = 2) was relatively low. There were diverse resistance patterns (excludes susceptible isolates) observed among E. coli in Ontario (10 patterns) and British Columbia (14 patterns). This study revealed that fecal samples are more informative for farm-level monitoring of pathogen and AMR prevalence. Without further validation, sponge swabs are limited in their utility for Campylobacter detection and thus, for public health surveillance.     

Prognostic factors in cats with chronic kidney disease

BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in cats. HYPOTHESIS: Some baseline variables are associated with shorter survival times in cats with CKD. ANIMALS: Client-owned cats. METHODS: Cats with CKD with initial plasma creatinine concentration > or =2.0 mg/dL and urine specific gravity (USG) < or = 1.025 were recruited into a prospective clinical trial that compared benazepril with a placebo. We describe baseline variables in 190 cats and their influence on renal survival time in the placebo group (95 cats), which was followed for up to 1,097 days. Renal survival time was defined as the time from initiation of therapy to the need for parenteral fluid therapy, euthanasia, or death related to renal failure. RESULTS: Of the 95 cats treated with a placebo, 58 were censored and 37 reached the renal survival end point (died, n = 0; euthanized, n = 17; parenteral fluids, n = 12; parenteral fluids followed by euthanasia, n = 8). Increased plasma creatinine concentration, increased urine protein-to-creatinine ratio (UPC), and increased blood leukocyte count were significantly (P < .01) associated with a shorter renal survival time and were independent risk factors. Increased concentrations of plasma phosphate or urea, and lower blood hemoglobin concentration or hematocrit were significantly (P < .01) associated with a shorter renal survival time and were dependent risk factors, because they also were significantly (P < .01) correlated with plasma creatinine concentration at baseline. CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Several variables were significantly associated with a shorter renal survival time in cats with CKD.     

Predicting the age of fish using general and generalized linear models of biometric data: A case study of two estuarine finfish from New South Wales, Australia

Direct ageing of fish can be a laborious and expensive task when age estimates from a large population are required, and often involves a degree of subjectivity. This study examined the application of general and generalized linear models that predict the age of fish from a range of efficiently and objectively measured covariates. The data sampled were from yellowfin bream (Acanthopagrus australis (Sparidae) (Owen, 1853)) and sand whiting (Sillago ciliata (Sillaginidae) Cuvier, 1829) populations from New South Wales, Australia. The covariates evaluated in the models were fish length, otolith weight, sex and location (the estuary from which the fish were sampled). Akaike Information Criteria were used for model selection and residual plots of the final models revealed a satisfactory fit to the observations. The best fitting model for each species included all covariates. An additional investigation considered whether general and generalized linear models that predict age from two different categories of biometric information outperform age-length keys with respect to subsequent estimates of total mortality from catch-curve analysis. The two categories of biometric information differed in the ease and cost with which the information could be collected. The first category only included fish length and location as covariates, whilst the second category also included otolith weight and sex. It was found that traditional age-length keys outperformed the predictive models that estimated age from only fish length and location, because the results from the models were prone to significant bias. However, when otolith weight and sex were added as covariates to the predictive models, some of them, including a generalized linear model with a Poisson-distributed response variable, performed similarly to the age-length key. Given that otolith weight and the sex of fish are cheaper to quantify than age from a sectioned otolith in many situations, general or generalized linear models may represent a cheaper and faster method of estimating mortality compared to age-length keys. Such models can also easily incorporate the influence of spatial, temporal and demographic variation.     

Resource patch array use by two squirrel species in an agricultural landscape

Eastern grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) and North American red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) were studied among wooded patches within an agricultural mosaic. Fifteen sites south of Ottawa, Canada, with differing landscape and local features were censused using tracking boards placed in a woods or wooded fencerow. Regression analyses of landscape compositional and physiognomic variables within a 1-km radius isolated the best predictors of grey and red squirrel abundance and activity. Grey squirrels were found in both small woods and fencerows in farm landscapes but were not found in large woods. A polynomial regression of wooded patch size explained 79% of the variance in grey squirrel abundance. Grey squirrel activity was correlated with the percent cover of soybeans in the landscape. Red squirrels were found in fencerows, small and large woods; activity was correlated with the percent cover of both woods and corn crop in the surrounding landscape. These results indicate that distributions of both species are influenced by multiple landscape elements, but that grey squirrels may rely on fragmented agricultural landscapes whereas red squirrels make more use of both native woodland and altered landscapes.