Biopsy of the bovine mammary gland.

A technique is described for biopsy of the bovine udder, employing sedation and local anaesthesia. Tissue samples of approximately 5 g were obtained by electrocautery from two quarters of the udder of a cow laterally recumbent. Care was taken to ensure complete haemostasis which was achieved by electrocoagulation and ligation. Postoperative recovery was rapid, and loss of yield was no greater in biopsied glands than in control glands of the same cow. Yield from all quarters returned to preoperative levels within 48 h.     

Homeopathy: an effective and risk-free alternative to conventional pharmacotherapy? Part 1: Hahnemann and his teaching]

The article considers the attractions and dangers of homeopathic therapy from the view of a pharmacologist. Homeopathic drugs may exert pharmacodynamic (but also toxic) effects at low dilutions (D0-D6), but there is no scientific proof for specific effects of higher dilutions except for substances with a high toxic potential. Most homeopathic drugs have no reasonable basis for clinical use but, in case of toxic compounds, especially those with carcinogenic or allergic potential, homeopathy may bear risks for the animal and, because of residues in food animals, also for humans. Thus, homeopathic treatment should not be used when effective conventional treatments are available, and the use of homeopathic drugs with toxic potential should be avoided.     

Effects of 'Agri-SC' soil conditioner on soil structure and erodibility: some further observations

Abstract. In field and laboratory experiments the conditioner‘Agri-SC’has shown improvements in the structure of loamy sand soils in east Shropshire, UK. It resulted in statistically significant decreases in soil bulk density values and increases in soil porosity and aggregate stability. Further experiments are in progress on both loamy sand and silt loam soils.     

The diagnosis of nephrogenic diabetes insipidus in the dog]

Nephrogenic diabetes insipidus is characterized by polyuria, hyposthenuria and compensatory polydipsia. With conventional clinical and laboratory examinations the diagnosis can be established and the differential diagnostic diseases excluded. In order to verify the diagnosis, differentiate the condition from central and nephrogenic diabetes insipidus and rule out psychogenic polydipsia, additional laboratory studies are required: of these, the concentration test, modified Carter-Robbins test and AVP stimulation test are described.     

On the genetic basis of equine allergic diseases: II. Insect bite dermal hypersensitivity.

The horses studied were of the Swiss Warmblood breed and most were ELA-typed to assess a possible association of dermal hypersensitivity to insect bites with the major histocompatibility complex. Firstly, the occurrence of the condition was examined in 304 half-siblings sired by six stallions (A to F). Fourteen cases of dermal hypersensitivity were recognized and all were in the 153 offspring of Stallions C, E and F. Most animals of this group were also investigated for chronic hypersensitivity bronchitis: none of the sires displayed clinical signs of dermal hypersensitivity, but Stallions D, E and F were affected by chronic bronchitis. Among the animals investigated for both conditions only one horse showed coincidence of the two diseases as can be expected when the diseases are not correlated. The frequency of manifest dermal hypersensitivity and/or chronic hypersensitivity bronchitis varied in the half-sibling groups of individual sires. These findings suggest that the allergic conditions are independent entities. Secondly, the occurrence of dermal hypersensitivity was studied in three generations of horses at a stud at which Stallion C had exerted a particularly strong influence. A total of 302 animals, all born and raised at this stud, were surveyed over a period of 12 years. The descendants of Stallion C showed a significantly higher incidence (P less than 0.01) of dermal hypersensitivity (two daughters out of 19; eight second generation offspring out of 103; one third generation offspring out of 85) than did the controls of the same age classes but unrelated to Stallion C at the same stud (0 out of 95).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Plasma triglyceride concentration during intravenous infusions of propofol and Intralipid in sheep

Plasma triglyceride concentrations were measured in sheep given Intralipid or propofol, which is carried in a vehicle very similar to 10% Intralipid. A bolus dose was administered followed immediately by an infusion of the same agent for 2 h. In the animals that received propofol, the measured concentration increased by a mean amount of 3.39 mmol/l when the infusion rate was l ml/min (Group Pl) and by 7.13 mmol/l when it was 2 ml/min (Group P2). When 10% Intralipid was administered and infused at 1 ml/min (Group I10), the measured concentration increased only by 0.95 mmol/l. One hour after stopping the infusion, the excess of measured concentration over baseline had decreased in the Pl and I 10 groups to 0.52 and 0.13, respectively, of the corresponding maximum excess. The method adopted for measuring plasma triglycerides is widely used in hospitals; however, an incidental observation revealed that it is inappropriate in the presence of injections of propofol or Intralipid. Despite this, evidence and argument are presented to support the conclusion that, with propofol, plasma triglyceride concentrations increased more rapidly during the infusions and returned to baseline more slowly than with a corresponding amount of Intralipid.     

Effect of initial restraint, weaning, and transport stress on baseline and ACTH-stimulated cortisol responses in beef calves of different genotypes.

The productivity and well-being of animals can be substantially affected by stress. This is particularly true in the case of beef calves that are subjected to a multitude of stressors over a short period during the first year of life. Perhaps the most often studied stress-responsive variable has been blood corticosteroid concentrations. Factors such as age, gender, genetics, and degree of prior experience, can influence how an animal perceives and responds to a given stressor. Few studies have tried to control these variables, and accordingly, many conflicting results have been published regarding the impact of various stressors on cortisol response. We measured baseline plasma cortisol concentration over a 44-day study in Bos indicus and Bos taurus calves. Plasma cortisol values in Bos indicus calves were higher (32.60 +/- 0.66 ng/ml) than values in calves of Bos taurus (25.81 +/- 0.76) breeding. A precipitous decrease in cortisol concentration was observed 7 days after transport stress in all calves. Baseline cortisol concentration did not provide any indication of the intensity of the various stressors. However, significant differences were readily observed after ACTH administration. On the basis of cortisol secretion, stresses of transport and weaning were similar and were the most stressful to calves, regardless of genotype.     

Diagnosis of sarcocystosis in sheep using the indirect fluorescence test and ELISA]

The indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) was compared with the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of specific antibodies to Sarcocystis sp. A set of 275 ovine blood samples was examined by both reactions. Cystozoites of Sarcocystis gigantea were used as the corpuscular antigen for the IFAT. For the diagnostics of sarcocystosis by the ELISA technique used the sandwich test of the antibody titration with a soluble antigen which was also prepared from S. gigantea macrocysts. Our studies confirmed that this antigen did not cross-react with Toxoplasma gondii. Titre 40 was determined as the limit one for the IFAT and titre 80 for the ELISA; which was confirmed by the direct detection of cysts in the muscles (Svobodová, 1989). The results of both methods are shown in Table I. 76.7% of the blood samples reacted positively in the IFAT and 83.6% in the ELISA. These methods were found to be suitable and can be utilized for the intravital routine diagnostics.     

Efficacy of abamectin against natural infections of gastrointestinal nematodes and lungworm of cattle with special emphasis on inhibited, early fourth stage larvae of Ostertagia ostertagi.

The anthelmintic efficacy of abamectin (avermectin B1) was evaluated against gastrointestinal nematodes, including Ostertagia ostertagi inhibited larvae and lungworm, in yearling crossbred beef heifers during late spring. The calves were grazed on contaminated pasture for 10 weeks and then held under conditions free of nematode infection for 3 weeks prior to allotment and treatment on 5 June. Thirteen calves were randomly assigned to two groups of six by restricted randomization on body weights; the extra lightest calf was assigned to the non-treated control group. Group 1 calves were treated with abamectin at 200 micrograms kg-1 body weight by s.c. injection and Group 2 calves were not treated; all were killed at 14 days after treatment. Ostertagia ostertagi was present in all controls; arithmetic mean numbers of adults, developing fourth stage larvae (L4) and inhibited EL4 were 7683, 605 and 36,102, respectively. Other nematode genera present in controls in sufficient numbers for the experiment were Haemonchus placei adults, Trichostrongylus axei adults, Cooperia spp. adults, Oesophagostomum radiatum adults, Bunostomum phlebotomum adults, Dictyocaulus viviparus adults and E5 (immature adults). Abamectin was highly effective (consistently greater than 99% efficacy and P less than 0.05) in removing all nematodes present in treated calves as represented in non-treated controls, including the primary target of Ostertagia ostertagi inhibited EL4. The lowest efficacy was 93.8%, against D. viviparus E5.