Prognostic value of surgical and postoperative findings in cattle with abomasal volvulus.

A prospective study evaluating the prognostic value of surgical and postoperative findings in 80 cattle with abomasal volvulus was performed. Surgical correction of abomasal volvulus was performed in all animals. After surgery, cattle were categorized into 3 groups: productive (acceptable milk production or appetite, n = 59), salvaged (poor milk production or appetite, n = 10), and nonsurvivors (n = 11). Cattle with omasal-abomasal volvulus had a significantly (P less than 0.005) worse prognosis than cattle without omasal involvement. Large abomasal fluid volume, venous thrombosis, and blue or black abomasal color before decompression were all indicative of a poor prognosis. Most cattle had poor or fair appetites the first day after surgery; productive animals had marked improvement in appetite over the next 3 days. All cattle observed to have a good appetite within 3 days after surgery were later determined to be productive animals. The heart rate decreased in all groups after surgery; however, tachycardia (heart rate greater than 80 beats/min) was sustained in cattle that were later salvaged for slaughter. Diarrhea was observed after surgery in 54% of cattle. The duration of diarrhea was significantly shorter (P = 0.009) in productive cattle than in salvaged and nonsurviving cattle. The presence or absence of diarrhea was only of predictive value when considered in conjunction with the estimated abomasal fluid volume.     

Use of a human enteral feeding preparation for treatment of hyperlipemia and nutritional support during healing of an esophageal laceration in a miniature horse.

Nasogastric infusion of a human enteral feeding preparation was effective in reversing hyperlipemia in an anorectic miniature horse with an esophageal laceration. The nutrient preparation was delivered every 4 hours by gravity flow through a 12 F enteral feeding tube. Within 48 hours of initiating enteral nutrition, the hyperlipemia had resolved. Signs of intolerance to the preparation were not observed, and further weight loss was prevented. The use of a human enteral formula was a convenient and successful alternative for the treatment of hyperlipemia in the horse.     

Cage Culture of Hybrid Striped Bass in Indiana and Evaluation of Diets Containing Three Levels of Dietary Protein1

Culture of hybrid striped bass Morone saxatilis × M. chrysops has been increasing in selected regions of the United States. Because of their thermal tolerance, hybrids may have potential as a new commercial aquaculture species in the Midwest. In these studies, hybrid striped bass were reared in cages located in southern, central and northern Indiana and offered one of three practical diets. Diets contained either 32, 36 or 40% crude protein. Additionally, a preliminary 8 wk laboratory experiment was conducted in which fish were offered the same diets. All diets were formulated to meet the established dietary lysine requirement; optimal levels of other essential amino acids in the diet were predicted by the whole-body essential amino acid profile of hybrid striped bass. In the laboratory experiment, weight gain of fish fed 36% crude protein was significantly higher than those fed either other level of dietary protein. After 205 days, final average weight gains of fish in the field experiment were not significantly different and ranged from 233 to 426 g with an overall average daily gain of 1.6 g/fish/d. Overall survival was 89.1%. Dress-out percentages were 81.2, 69.8, and 34.9% for eviscerated, eviscerated and headed, and fillets, respectively. Those values were not significantly different among dietary treatments or sites. Lipid content of fillets from fish fed 32% dietary crude protein was significantly higher than in fish fed 36 or 40% crude protein.     

Fungal diseases of amphibians: an overview.

Clinicians should be familiar with the most common fungal diseases of amphibians. Because lesions in mycotic diseases are nonspecific, a diagnosis cannot be established solely on the basis of clinical presentation. Bacterial, mycobacterial, chlamydial, and parasitic infections, and toxic or environmental conditions may mimic mycotic disease to various extents. Furthermore, mycoses may be masked by overwhelming secondary bacterial infection and therefore remain undiagnosed. Skin scrapings, impression smears, biopsies, and fungal culture are all useful tools in confirming or dismissing a diagnosis of mycosis. Whenever possible, an effort should be made to forward samples and biopsies for culture to appropriate laboratories. Providing the laboratory with a tentative etiologic diagnosis may allow for specific selection of more specific agars and culture conditions and maximize the chances of recovering the fungus from lesions. Identification to species level should also be encouraged, if progress is to be made in the understanding of mycoses in amphibians. The morphology of an isolate should be consistent with the microscopic features of the fungus in histological sections of affected tissues, if it is to be firmly incriminated as the cause of disease. A complete necropsy should be conducted on animals that die or are found dead, and, ideally, isolates from confirmed cases of fungal infection should be deposited in scientific collections, so that they are available for later studies. In addendum, readers should be aware that there is recent evidence to suggest that at least some published cases of amphibian basidiobolomycosis were in fact cases of chytridiomycosis [38], and therefore the validity of basidiobolomycosis as a disease entity in amphibians may be revisited in the years to come.     

The effect of short-term socio-economic and demographic change on landuse dynamics and its corresponding geomorphic response with relation to water erosion in a tropical mountainous catchment,Ecuador

The analysis of aerial photographs over a 33-year period (1962–1995) shows that land use in the study catchment is highly dynamic as a response to the land reform programs of the 1960s and 1970s and a strong population increase. The secondary forest is increasingly replaced by grassland while old grasslands are now used as cultivated land. Despite the increased pressure on the land, the upward movement of agricultural activity and the concurrent deforestation, the overall forest cover did not decline. The deforestation in the uplands is compensated for by a regeneration of secondary forest on abandoned rangelands and afforestation with Eucalyptus trees in the low-lying areas. The land use changes resulted in a strong decrease of the areas subject to intense soil degradation: afforestation with Eucalyptus trees on degraded lands was successful in controlling soil erosion in the lower parts of the catchment. The relationship between land use and sediment load in the river system is not straightforward. Statistical analysis of a time series of suspended sediment concentrations, which were measured at the outlet of three distinctive sub-catchments for a six-year period (1994 – 2000), revealed that the geomorphic response of the river system is not only dependent on the land use and the area affected by water erosion, but also on the spatial connectivity between sediment producing areas and the river network.This revised version was published online in May 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Synthesis of a new class of pyridine herbicide

A new class of fluoroalkylated pyridine herbicides has been discovered. The 3,5-pyridinedicarboxylates are prepared either from ethyl 4,4,4-trifluoroacetoacetate via Hantzsch dihydropyridine synthesis or from trifluoroacetonitrile via cyclocondensation and carboxylation. Hydrolysis of the ester groups, followed by derivatization of the resulting acids yields a variety of herbicidally active analogs including ester, thioester, amide, halogen, amino, alkoxy and alkylthio derivatives.     

Degradation of carbetamide and its chief metabolites in alkaline soil

The degradation kinetics of carbetamide D-(?)-N-ethyl-2(phenylcarbamoyloxy) propionamide and its potential metabolites have been measured at different temperatures in both unsterilized and sterilized alkaline soil. A very large difference in both rates and processes of degradation between compounds was found. The kinetic studies were conducted by quantitative and qualitative analysis of the transformed product using [¹⁴C]-labelled compounds. Good radioactivity recovery was obtained and the existence of an important non-extractable fraction was detected in all cases. This soil-bound fraction is attributed to either conjugation of aniline with soil organic matter or aromatic ring cleavage to give amino acid precursors.     

Characterization of the structure-activity relationship of kdr and two variants of super-kdr to pyrethroids in the housefly (Musca domestica L.)

Structure-activity relationships (SARs) for 10 pyrethroids against susceptible, kdr and super-kdr strains of houseflies (Musca domestica L.) were investigated by Principal Components Analysis. In the three strains with kdr_Latina' all only slightly to moderately (2.6 to 26-fold) resistant to pyrethroids, no correlation between the structure and Levels of resistance could be discerned. In flies with super-kdr, SARs were influenced by the nature of the alcoholic portion of the ester. Resistance was strongest to esters of a-cyano-3-phenoxybenzyl alcohol (74 to 430-fold) and to permethrin (48 to 55-fold). It was weak (6.2 to 11-fold) to cyclopentenone derivatives, being barely stronger than for flies with kdr (2-6 to 6.3-fold). Two variants of super-kdr (3D and A2) were distinguished on the basis of their differential response to esters of 5-benzyl-3-furylmethanol. It is presumed that kdr_Latina, super-kdr_A2 and super-kdr_3D form an allelic series in which kdr_Latina represents ground level insensitivity, and the two super-kdrs the progressive extension of strong resistance to more types of ester. The strong differences in resistance to different pyrethroid esters by super-kdr flies provides scope for improving management of resistance to pyrethroid insecticides and for modifying the SAR of pyrethroids to favour weak resistance.     

Age‐related morphometric changes of the tidemark in the ovine stifle

Though the ovine stifle is commonly used to study osteoarthritis, there is limited information about the age‐related morphometric changes of the tidemark. The objective of this study was to document the number of tidemarks in the stifle of research sheep without clinical signs of osteoarthritis and of various ages (n = 80). Articular cartilage of the medial and lateral tibial condyles and of the medial and lateral femoral condyles was assessed by histology: (a) to count the number of tidemark; and (b) to assess the OARSI (Osteoarthritis Research Society International) score for structural changes of cartilage. The number of tidemarks varied between anatomical regions, respectively, from 4.2 in the medial femoral condyle to 5.0 in the lateral tibial condyle. The axial part showed a significant higher number of tidemarks than the abaxial part, for all regions except the medial tibial condyle. Whilst the tidemark count strongly correlated with age (Spearman's correlation coefficient = 0.70; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.67–0.73; p < 0.0001), the OARSI score was weakly correlated with age in our cohort of sheep (Spearman's correlation coefficient = 0.25; 95% CI: 0.19–0.30; p < 0.0001). Interestingly, no tidemark was seen in the three animals aged 6 months. Our data indicate that the number of tidemarks increases with age and vary with anatomical region. The regional variation also revealed a higher number of tidemarks in the tibia than in the femur. This could be attributed to the local variation in cartilage response to strain and to the difference in chondrocyte biology and density.