Duranta erecta poisoning in nine dogs and a cat

Four incidents of Duranta erecta (golden dewdrop, Sheena's Gold, Geisha Girl) poisoning affecting nine dogs and a cat produced drowsiness, hyperaesthesia and tetanic seizures in all affected animals with evidence of alimentary tract irritation (vomiting, gastric and intestinal haemorrhage, diarrhoea, melaena) in five dogs and the cat. Fruits and leaves were seen to be eaten by affected animals. Therapy was successful in three of the dogs. Repeated diazepam doses and, in some cases, additional pentobarbitone or propofol anaesthesia, were successful in controlling seizures.     

Sulfur-associated polioencephalomalacia in cattle grazing plants in the Family Brassicaceae

Polioencephalomalacia was diagnosed histologically in cattle from two herds on the Darling Downs, Queensland, during July–August 2007. In the first incident, 8 of 20 18-month-old Aberdeen Angus steers died while grazing pastures comprising 60% Sisymbrium irio (London rocket) and 40% Capsella bursapastoris (shepherd's purse). In the second incident, 2 of 150 mixed-breed adult cattle died, and another was successfully treated with thiamine, while grazing a pasture comprising almost 100% Raphanus raphanistrum (wild radish). Affected cattle were either found dead or comatose or were seen apparently blind and head-pressing in some cases. For both incidents, plant and water assays were used to calculate the total dietary sulfur content in dry matter as 0.62% and 1.01% respectively, both exceeding the recommended 0.5% for cattle eating more than 40% forage. Blood and tissue assays for lead were negative in both cases. No access to thiaminase, concentrated sodium ion or extrinsic hydrogen sulfide sources were identified in either incident. Below-median late summer and autumn rainfall followed by above-median unseasonal winter rainfall promoted weed growth at the expense of wholesome pasture species before these incidents.     

Radial pressures generated by the earthworm Aporrectodea rosea

Summary The radial pressures generated by the earthworm Aporrectodea rosea were measured in a study of the conditions under which the worms were able to crack soil discs into which they were encouraged to tunnel. The tensile strength of replicate discs was determined by indirect tension tests and by expansion of rubber membranes in soil discs. Simple engineering theory was used to relate the stress required to fracture a disc with the applied internal stress. Mean values for the radial stress applied by the earthworms in tunnelling through the discs was 230 kPa. With some assumptions about the distribution of muscles across the worm diameter, it was estimated that the mean maximum force generated by all the longitudinal muscles in any segment was 3.2 N.     

Amelioration of a hardsetting Alfisol through deep mouldboard ploughing, gypsum application and double cropping. II. Soil-water relations

Deep mouldboard ploughing to a depth of 0.45 m, gypsum (5 t ha⁻¹) and double cropping wheat (Triticum aestivum) with a summer forage crop were applied individually, and in combination, to modify a hardsetting red-brown earth (Alfisol) used for flood-irrigated wheat production. The effects of these treatments upon water infiltration, storage and intake during irrigations, application efficiency, and depletion between irrigations were measured. Gypsum markedly increased saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_s) immediately after being applied in June 1984 but not in 1985. Mouldboard ploughing and double cropping had little effect on K_s. All K_s values were less than 0.5 m day⁻¹. Plant available water content (PAWC) was increased by gypsum application and mouldboard ploughing after the initial irrigation in 1984, and by the three main treatments in 1985. The order in which the main treatments increased PAWC was: gypsum>mouldboard ploughing>double cropping. Water applied and water intake during irrigations were increased by mouldboard ploughing and gypsum during the first irrigation in 1984 by as much as 60 mm. Thereafter mouldboard ploughing, gypsum and double cropping had little effect on water intake, and only gypsum increased the amount of water applied in 1985. The ratio of water intake to water applied during irrigations (application efficiency) was increased by mouldboard ploughing to 59% in 1984; no treatment had values greater than 40% during 1985. Water depletion was significantly increased by mouldboard ploughing in 1984 and by gypsum and double cropping in 1985. Few significant interactions were found between the three main treatments, each of which would improve soil-water relations for crop growth, although the effect of mouldboard ploughing on soil-water relations declined after the first year. Despite substantial improvements after 2 years in some treatments, soil hydraulic properties were inadequate for optimal irrigated cropping.     

An evaluation of controlled traffic with reduced tillage for irrigated cotton on a Vertisol

Where Vertisols are used for the mechanised production of irrigated cotton, the main pre-planting tillage options are ‘direct listing’ (a ‘controlled traffic-reduced tillage’ treatment with retained ridges), deep ripping (0.45 m deep) and chisel ploughing (0.25 m deep). An experiment was established, on a commercial scale under furrow irrigation, to compare the effects of these treatments on the physical properties (aeration, strength and water content) of a frequently irrigated Vertisol over 3 years. The growth and profitability of three cotton crops and one wheat crop were monitored during this period. The soil was well structured when the experiment commenced. Soil measurements showed that whilst the deep ripped treatment had lower resistance to penetration than the direct listed treatment, it provided a less favourable environment for root growth than the direct listed soil due to prolonged waterlogging after irrigation. An excess of water entered the ripped profile under the prevailing irrigation regime. All treatments had a sodic subsoil that was poorly drained. The chisel ploughed treatment generally behaved in a fashion that was intermediate between the direct listed and deep ripped treatments. The direct listed treatment resulted in higher cotton lint yields and lower land preparation costs, in comparison with deep ripping. Profitability increases were of the order of 11% when the lint value was 1.78 Australian dollars kg⁻¹. The deep ripped soil had more stored water than the other treatments throughout each irrigation cycle, but this potential advantage could not be expressed in terms of better crop yield and improved water use efficiency. A supplementary experiment is needed to evaluate the three tillage options where irrigation water is applied less frequently.     

Soybean yield as affected by crop rotations, deep tillage and irrigation layout on a hardsetting Alfisol

The hardsetting surface of many Alfisols in Australia is a limiting factor in crop production. Better soil management systems are required to improve productivity. This study reports the effects of several untested management systems, involving the combined effects of tillage (deep ripping (Rp), deep mouldboard ploughing (Mb) and disc ploughing (Disc)), irrigation layout (permanent beds, border ditch) and crop rotation treatments (single cropping (SC), double cropping (DC) and pasture (P)) on soil structure and the production of irrigated soybeans (Glycine max, L.) on a hardsetting Alfisol. It was conducted under a system of controlled traffic near Trangie, New South Wales, Australia. The DC and P treatments increased total water entry and soil organic carbon. Soybean leaf water potential (LWP) improved, and soybean yield was increased by as much as 58%. The retention of cereal and P stubble apparently enhanced total water entry by slowing the rate of irrigation water advance and by reducing the potential for slaking. The increases in soil water were associated with a reduction in soil strength; a key limiting factor in crop growth on hardsetting Alfisols. Deep tillage or the use of permanent beds did not affect soybean yields under the conditions reported in this paper, although the combination of disc ploughing and furrow irrigation was successful.     

Rational use of diagnostic and screening tests

Veterinarians have a vast and ever-expanding array of diagnostic tests available to them. However, this abundance can be an embarrassment of riches that confounds diagnosis and undermines patient care if we do not make critical and informed decisions about the selection and interpretation of the tests we employ. Effective use of diagnostic tests requires a deliberate and informed approach. We must consider the strengths and weaknesses of the tests themselves and the clinical context, and we must be wary of the many biases that skew our use and interpretation of diagnostic tests. Understanding sensitivity and specificity, likelihood, prevalence and predictive value, the basic principles of Bayesian reasoning, and the cognitive biases that drive inappropriate testing are all critical to ensuring our use of imaging and laboratory testing improves patient outcomes.