The Occurrence of Metals in Composted Municipal Wastes and Their Removal

The organic fraction of municipal wastes has been composted on the laboratory scale. In the obtained compost the content of cadmium, cobalt, copper, manganese, nickel, lead and zinc were determined, as well as the speciation i.e, the form of their occurrence, making use of Rudd's method of sequential extraction. The investigations also concerned the way of removing these metals from the compost by means of leaching with solutions of sulphuric and nitric acid, as well as by electrochemically separating the metals from the solution after the compost had been leached with sulphuric acid. It has been found that the application of the electrochemical method with varying pH values of the leaching solution within the range of 6.8–2.8 allows for the separation of 83.5% Cd, 55.0% Co, 65.4% Cu, 59.4% Mn, 70.3% Ni, 90.5% Pb and 56.2% Zn.     

Book reviews

Proceedings of the Fourth European Symposium on Poultry Welfare, Edited by C. J. Savory and B. O. hughes, 1993. 318 pp. illustrated. Potters Bar, London, Universities Federation for Animal Welfare. £ 10.00 ISBN 0 900767 83 9.

Microbiology of the Avian Egg. Edited by R. G. Board AND R. Fuller, 1994. 181 pp., illustrated. London, Chapman and Hall. £45.00 ISBN 0–412–47570–7.

Handbook of Avian Anatomy: Nomina Anatomic Avium. Second edition, Edited by J. J. Baumel, 1993. XXIV + 229 pp illustrated. Nutall Ornithological Club, c/o Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. $65.00     

Vaccine use and disease prevalence in dogs and cats

A yearly revaccination of adult pets against distemper, the adenoviral and parvoviral diseases is scientifically unwarranted, professionally obsolete and ethically questionable; other vaccinal antigens, however, may need yearly or even more frequent injections. Base immunisation is redefined: it is complete only after the multivalent booster in the second year of life. A yearly revaccination interview, not necessarily an injection, should become the new standard. This interview is a professional service that must be taught, expertly performed and invoiced. Adult animals should be "vaccinated to measure", taking age, breed, lifestyle, the epidemiologic situation, etc. into account. Post-vaccination serology should become a guide in revaccination decisions. For a solid herd immunity, more animals of the population must be vaccinated. The profession should issue regular updates of the 'code of vaccination practice'. To counteract vaccination antagonism, a concerted action of academia, the veterinary profession and industry is required.     

Comparison of arterial blood pressure measurements obtained invasively or oscillometrically using a Datex S/5 Compact monitor in anaesthetised adult horses

Objective

To assess agreement between noninvasive blood pressure (NIBP) oscillometrically-derived values from a multiparameter monitor (Datex Ohmeda S/5 Compact) with those obtained by invasive blood pressure (IBP) measurement in anaesthetised horses undergoing elective surgery.

First documented Capnocytophaga canimorsus infection in a species other than humans

Capnocytophaga canimorsus was cultured from an infected, dog-inflicted bite wound in a pet rabbit. The wound was treated successfully and the rabbit recovered. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a C. canimorsus infection in a species other than humans.     

QUANTITATIVE ULTRASONIC ASSESSMENT OF LIVER SIZE IN THE DOG

Static and real-time B-mode hepatic ultrasound imaging was performed on 16 anesthetized dogs (7.7–29 kg). Sagittal static B-mode scans were acquired at 1–cm intervals, and transverse scans were made with both static and real-time units. Measurements were made from the surface of the liver to the diaphragm and were tested individually and when added or multiplied together for significant correlation with liver and body weight. Only one of the static B-mode measurements had a significant correlation ( p >0.05), and none of the real-time measurements was dependent on liver weight. Ultrasonographic assessment of canine liver size using these methods was of little value in predicting actual liver weight.