Survey of internal parasites in Western Australian pig herds. 1. Prevalence

Between September 1982 and March 1984, 101 Western Australian piggeries with 15 or more sows were surveyed to determine the prevalence of internal parasites and examine the relationship between parasitism and management practices. Faecal samples were collected from 20 pigs in 4 age groups in randomly selected piggeries, and examined for the presence of eggs of helminth parasites and protozoan cysts. Evidence of nematode parasites was found in 79% of piggeries. Sows were more commonly affected than other classes of pigs with worm eggs being found in 68% of herds. Oesophagostomum spp was the most prevalent worm species, being found in pigs from 65% of piggeries and in sows in 60% of herds. Ascaris suum was the most common species of worm found in growing pigs. There was no evidence of infection with either Metastrongylus spp or Strongyloides spp in any of the herds sampled. Oocysts of coccidia were found in pigs from 56% of piggeries and Balantidium coli cysts were detected in pigs from 42% of piggeries sampled.     

西瓜蔓枯病研究 Ⅰ.症状及病原

本文详细报道了西瓜蔓枯病的症状和病原菌的形态特点,并鉴定其有性阶段为Mycosphaerellamelonis(Pass)Chiu et Walker,无性阶段为Ascochyta-cucumis Fautr et Roum.此外,还在其他瓜类作物上作了病原菌的致病性试验.     

Biomicroscopy of the tear film: the tear film of the pekingese dog

Polarised light biomicroscopy was used to examine the normal pre-corneal tear film in 21 eyes of 12 pekingese dogs. The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of excessive exophthalmos on the pre-corneal tear film in the dog. The majority of the animals were found to have high levels of ocular surface contamination by particulate material and plaques of viscous mucus. Other abnormalities included surface lipid with an abnormal granular (three dogs) or 'curdled' (two dogs) appearance; excessive thinning of the lipid layer of the tear film; and the presence of dark globular structures in two dogs, which were presumed to be abnormal meibomian lipid. Break up of the tear film was observed in one dog. Grossly, a thread of viscous mucus was frequently observed along the margin of the lower eyelid. It is postulated that this thread forms because of the excessively exophthalmic conformation of the breed, which prevents the normal access of effete mucus and entrapped debris to the lower conjunctival fornix. The combination of the above factors in the pekingese is suggested as the mechanism whereby the tear film has a reduced stability, thus enhancing the risk from factors more usually considered to initiate corneal ulceration in the breed. The possible adverse effects of lid splitting for the mass removal of distichiae in exophthalmic dogs is discussed.     

Cytological, Immunocytochemical and Ultrastructural Study of the Adenohypophyseal Pars Distalis of the Kid (Capra hircus): The TSH cell

The structure and ultrastructure of the adenohypophyseal pars distalis in kids of the Murciano-granadiana breed (18 males and 12 females), aged 2-3 months and with an average carcass weight of 8 kg has been studied. Techniques of staining (Tetrachrome Herlant's, and Cleveland-Wolfe) and histochemistry (PAS, PAS-OG and BA-PAS-OG) contrasted with immunolabelling (PAP) have been used. In addition an ultrastructural study has been made and nucleus and cytoplasm, secretory granules, mitochondria and lysosomes have been measured with a semiautomatic image analyzer (IBAS-1). TSH cells are found in sagittal section in the anterior area and in an antero-caudodorsal band, and transversally in the ventral and medial region; they are 6% and their average size is 14.15 microns. Ultrastructurally they are a single cellular type with spherical granules whose size is 195 nm in males and 149 in females; these granules are characterized by a clear halo and a variable electronic density. The rough endoplasmic reticulum is found as slightly enlarged vesicles with a homogeneous and moderately electro-dense content or in concentric stratifications.     

Evaluation of Three Feeds for Hatchery Rearing Channel Catfish Fry

Two 7 day feeding trials were conducted with channel catfish swim-up fry to evaluate growth, feed conversion ratio, and body composition of fish fed one of the following feeds: salmon starter, catfish starter, or trout starter. Fish fed the salmon or trout starter feeds gained 50–75% more weight, converted feed more efficiently, and had higher body fat stores than fish fed the catfish starter feed. This may be related to the higher protein and energy content of these two feeds. It may be advantageous to feed salmonid starter feeds to hatchery reared catfish fry; however, it is not known whether or not the improved performance observed in the hatchery continues once the fish are stocked into nursery and grow out ponds.     

Unilateral arytenoid lateralisation: An assessment of technique and long term results in 62 dogs with laryngeal paralysis

Sixty-two dogs with laryngeal paralysis were presented over a three year period. Presenting clinical signs included inspiratory stridor (100 per cent), exercise intolerance or syncopal episodes (81 per cent), loss or alteration in phonation (48 per cent) and coughing or gagging when eating (29 per cent). Causes of the paralysis were determined as traumatic (two dogs), neoplastic (two dogs), iatrogenic (two dogs), congenital (one dog) and idiopathic (55 dogs). Unilateral arytenoid lateralisation was performed in all dogs. The perioperative complication rate was approximately 10 per cent, while the success rate as judged by owners one year postoperatively was greater than 90 per cent. The technique avoided many of the recorded complications of intralaryngeal surgery. Operative times were short and the requirement for postoperative monitoring was minimal. Increasing familiarity with the technique favourably influenced the incidence of complications and the success rate.     

Evaluation of three strip tests for measuring electrolytes in mares' pre-partum mammary secretions and for predicting parturition

Three strip test kits which measure calcium and/or magnesium in mares' mammary secretions were compared and assessed for their accuracy in:- 1) measuring these electrolytes compared to standard laboratory measurements, and 2) predicting the time of parturition. Daily samples of mammary secretions were obtained pre-partum from 35 Thoroughbred mares and allocated a score. Measurement of mammary secretion calcium and/or magnesium by the strip tests and laboratory methods correlated significantly (P less than 0.001). The results obtained for prediction of parturition were analysed by two methods. Method i) indicated that the majority of mares had a maximum score on the day of birth. However, the second method of analysis included all prepartum scores and this demonstrated that maximum scores occurred on more occasions prior to the day of birth than on the day of birth itself. The number of nights spent attending mares, and the percentage of occasions when foaling was missed, were also calculated for given strip test scores. The results indicate that the test kits are not particularly accurate in predicting time of parturition although they are a reliable means of measuring mammary secretion calcium and/or magnesium. It is suggested that the test kits may be more helpful by indicating when it is not necessary to attend mares at night.     

Ultrastructure of sarcocysts from water buffalo in India

The ultrastructure of sarcocysts of macro- and microscopic species of Sarcocystis was compared from naturally infected water buffalo from India. Grossly visible sarcocysts had walls consisting of cauliflower-like villar protrusions, typical of S. fusiformis. The sarcocyst wall of the microscopic species of Sarcocystis was 6.4 microns thick and consisted of tightly packed conical villar protrusions that were 9.6 microns long and 3.7 microns wide at the base. At approximately 3 microns above the base, the distal two-thirds of the villar protrusion became conical shaped and was bent laterally at an angle of 45 degrees to the sarcocyst surface. The granular layer beneath the villar protrusions was 0.9 microns thick. In S. levinei the granular layer was 1.9 microns thick, the villar protrusions were narrow and it had a highly undulating primary cyst wall. Whether the microscopic S. levinei-like sarcocysts of Indian and Malaysian water buffalo are distinct species of Sarcocystis will require further investigation.