Diaphragmatic Pericardial Hernia

Abstract— Diaphragmatic pericardial hernia is a rare condition in all mammals. In domestic species, it has most commonly been described in the dog, usually as an incidental necropsy finding. A clinical response to the condition is not common and has rarely been correctly diagnosed. Clinical necropsy and histopathological observations of a case are described, discussed and compared to previous cases in the literature.
Résume— La hernie diaphragmatique-péricardique est une affection rarement rencontrée chez tous les mammifères. Dam les espèces domestiques, elle a été plus fréquemment décrite chez le chien, en général, comme une découverte accidentelle d'autopsie. Cet état ne se traduit pas couram-ment de façon clinique et il a rarement été correctement diagnostiqué. Les observations cliniques, nécropsiques et histologiques concernant un cas sont décrites, discutées et comparées avec les cas antérieurement décrits dans la litttérature.
Zusammenfassung— Diaphragmatische pericardiale hernie ist ein seltener Zustand bein allen Säugetieren. Unter cen Haustieren wurde er am häufigsten beim Hund beschrieben, gewöhnlich als zufälliger Sektionsbefund. Eine klinische Reaktion auf den Zustand ist nicht häufig und wurde selten richtig diagnostiziert. Klinishce, Sektions- und histopathologische Beobrachtungen eines Falles werden beschrieben, besprochen und mit früheren Fällen in der Literatur verglichen.     

Influence of Diet on Experimental Swine Dysentery: 2. Effects of a Vitamin E and Selenium Deficient Diet Supplemented with 3 % Cod Liver Oil,Vitamin E or Selenium

Two experiments (Exps. II and III) were performed with colonic material from swine dysentery as inoculum. The results of Exp. II showed that the inoculation produced less pronounced clinical signs and patho-morphological lesions and also affected fewer pigs in the groups supplemented with vitamin E and selenium than in the group not given a corresponding supplementation. It is therefore concluded that the daily supply of these 2 nutritional factors significantly increased the resistance to swine dysentery. The cod liver oil incorporated in the diet of 2 groups in Exp. II had also a positive effect in this respect. In Exp. III the inoculation of the pigs fed only the basic ration (Group 1) produced relatively moderate clinical signs and patho-morphological lesions in half of the animals, the results in the rest of the group are, however, in accordance with the observations in the corresponding groups of the 2 preceding experiments. The other results of Exp. III indicate an increased resistance to swine dysentery in the group with selenium as the only supplement. However, no equivalent condition could be demonstrated when a similar supplement of vitamin E was used. The pigs in Exp. III given both nutritional factors showed perhaps the best resistance to swine dysentery, especially when the patho-morphological lesions are taken into consideration.     

Water table levels at different drainage intensities on deep peat in Northern Norway

This report comprises a 10-year study on the effects of ditching-systems on water table levels in deep peat. The following factors have been tested: ditch depth, ditch distance, vegetation type, surface fall, permeability of peat, air temperature, evaporation and rainfall.Correlation and multiple regression analyses showed that mean water table level midway between ditches for the growing season (June—September) could be predicted with good precision (R = 0.74 – 0.87) by: ditch depth, logarithm (e = 2.7183) of ditch distance, rainfall, permeability and initial water table level on 1 June (autocorrelation factor).Multiple regression tests on orthogonalized variables showed that ditch depth is very important. On unfurrowed peatland this factor reduced total variation in the annual mean water table levels from 1 June to 30 September by 26.2%. On furrowed peatland, logarithm of ditch distance, ditch depth and rainfall each accounted for between 15.1 and 17.2% of the variance.Proper drainage for afforestation in Northern Norway could be attained by an effective ditch depth of 0.8 m and ditch distances from 9 to 25 m. This rather broad range depends on regional variation in mire types, permeability of surface peat layers and rainfall.     

Buffalo (Bubalus bubali) Late Embryo and Foetus Development: A Morphological Analysis

Many researches describe the embryonic developmental features in domestic animals; however, in farm animals, they are scarce. Most farm animal studies are related to assisted reproduction and embryos transfer techniques. But, morphological features and size measure to estimate the age gestation are rarely reported in literature. Thus, in this study, we described the developmental changes in the bubaline (Bubalus bubali) concepts from 21 to 60 days of gestation. Our results revealed that buffalo embryos similar morphological characteristics similar to other mammalian species. Also, similarities between bovine and bubaline persist; except on foetal stages when buffalos have a faster development than bovine. Therefore, buffalo's gestation period exhibits some varieties and accurate embryo age is more difficult. Yet, when we use a combination of the crown–rump, macroscopic analysis and alizarin red, it is possible to describe better the whole embryogenesis stages of the buffalo and which can contribute for future reproduction researches and applications in veterinary practice.     

Visual outcome in a group of dogs with ocular blastomycosis treated with systemic antifungals and systemic corticosteroids

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the success of the use of systemic corticosteroids and antifungal medications in the treatment of dogs with ocular lesions associated with systemic blastomycosis. DESIGN: Retrospective study. ANIMALS STUDIED: Medical records of 25 dogs diagnosed with blastomycosis, via either cytology or histopathology, at the Purdue University Veterinary Teaching Hospital between 1 January 2000 and 1 January 2005, were reviewed. PROCEDURE: Data collected from the medical records included signalment, presence and progression of ocular lesions, antifungal drugs administered, oral and topical corticosteroid administration, length of follow-up, response to treatment, and visual outcome. RESULTS: Of the 25 cases reviewed, 12 dogs (19 eyes) with follow-up information were found to have lesions consistent with ocular blastomycosis. Length of follow-up in the 12 cases ranged from 1 month to 31 months with a mean of 9 months. Antifungal therapy for all cases consisted of oral itraconazole (5 mg/kg every 24 h) initially. In seven cases, the antifungal drug administered was changed from itraconazole to oral fluconazole. Two of these also received intravenous amphotericin B, and two received additional treatment with itraconazole. All 12 dogs also received oral prednisone. The dose of oral prednisone utilized ranged from 0.2 mg/kg/day to 1.4 mg/kg/day with a mean of 0.7 mg/kg/day; the duration of oral prednisone administration ranged from 2 weeks to 8.5 months with a mean of 3 months. Topical prednisolone was a component of the treatment of 16 of the 19 eyes. Duration of topical prednisolone treatment ranged from 1 month to 30 months with a mean of 5 months. Lesions not located in the eyes exhibited a positive response to treatment in 11 (92%) of the 12 dogs. Overall, 14/19 (74%) affected eyes were visual at the time of their final recheck. All eyes with mild or moderate lesions and 5/10 (50%) severely affected eyes were visual at their last recorded recheck examination. CONCLUSIONS: The administration of systemic corticosteroids did not appear to adversely affect the survival rate and might have played a role in preservation of vision in a majority of dogs in this group with ocular blastomycosis.     

Modelling near-natural silvicultural regimes for beech – an economic sensitivity analysis

Near-natural silvicultural regimes for beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), in the form of uneven-aged selective felling, receive increasing interest in Denmark. This is partly due to the ability of this system to preserve the forest climate and maintain important ecological functions such as bio-geochemical cycling and biodiversity conservation. The optimal age to convert from even-aged management to uneven-aged selective felling seems to be as early as possible, about 55 years, when sufficient natural seeding can be expected. A fixed conversion period of 100 years is assumed. This regime, here analysed by the use of a so-called chessboard model, appears to be economically superior to clear felling if the regime is initiated in medium-aged stands down to the age of 55 years, assuming a high site quality and a real discount rate of 3% per annum. Uneven-aged selective felling seems to be economically superior to even-aged natural regeneration, assuming that: (i) the stumpage prices of regeneration harvests are increased by 10%, or (ii) the diameters of regeneration harvests exceed those of even-aged management by about 17% simultaneous with an identical increase of the maximum stumpage price. Clear felling seems to be the more profitable regime only if: (i) the stand is close to the economic optimal rotation age for clear felling, and (ii) when the stumpage prices of regeneration harvests achieved by use of the uneven-aged selective management regime are reduced by 10% or more due to quality defects caused by prolonged rotation ages. The above results are sensitive to variation of stumpage prices, but less so to variation of regeneration costs associated with near-natural management systems. However, the near-natural silvicultural regimes may be unable to fulfill the liquidity objectives following from the application of traditional management systems.     

Using a linkage mapping approach to identify QTL for day-neutrality in the octoploid strawberry

A linkage mapping approach was used to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with day-neutrality in the commercial strawberry, Fragaria  ×  ananassa (Duch ex Rozier). Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) markers were used to build a genetic map with a population of 127 lines developed by crossing the day-neutral (DN) 'Tribute' with the short-day (SD) 'Honeoye'. The population was genotyped with AFLP markers and 429 single dose restriction fragments (SDRF) were placed on a consensus map of 1541 cM with 43 linkage groups. Individuals from the mapping population were observed for their flowering habit throughout the growing season in Michigan (MI), Minnesota (MN), Maryland (MD), Oregon (OR) and California (CA). Eight QTL were found that were either location specific or shared among locations. None of these QTL explained >36% of the phenotypic variation, indicating that the inheritance of day-neutrality is likely a polygenic trait.     

The efficacy of Aqui‐S vet. (iso‐eugenol) and metomidate as anaesthetics in European eel (Anguilla anguilla L.), and their effects on animal welfare and primary and secondary stress responses

The effects of 40 mg/L metomidate and 300 mg/L iso‐eugenol (i.e. 600 mg/L Aqui‐S vet.) anaesthesia on the stress response in European silver eel during a process of complete anaesthesia, recovery and long‐term survival were studied. Metomidate is a hypnotic agent with no analgesia, whereas Aqui‐S vet. is a true anaesthetic. There was no difference between fish exposed to Aqui‐S vet. and metomidate, with respect to time to anaesthesia (mean 3.8 and 2.6 min respectively) and recovery (mean 7.6 and 6.5 min respectively). For the metomidate group, the plasma cortisol concentration increased to a peak during the recovery phase, and was significantly higher than for the Aqui‐S vet. group, which showed no such increase. Fish were kept in tanks with seawater for monitoring of long‐term survival (4 months) after anaesthesia treatment, and no mortality was observed in either group. The results indicate that metomidate is a potential stressor to European eels during exposure, and we do not recommend using metomidate in this species. Aqui‐S vet., however, seems promising as a stress‐reducing anaesthetic for European eel, and if used properly could improve animal welfare and survivability during and after common ecology‐related procedures, as capture, tagging and size measuring.