Antioxidative Effects of Astaxanthin against Nitric Oxide‐Induced Oxidative Stress on Cell Viability and Gene Expression in Bovine Oviduct Epithelial Cell and the Developmental Competence of Bovine IVM/IVF Embryos

The aim of the present study was to elucidate the fundamental mechanism of bovine oviduct epithelial cell (BOEC) co‐culture on developmental capacity of bovine in vitro oocyte maturation/in vitro fertilization (IVM/IVF) embryos. We examined the effects of astaxanthin against nitric oxide‐induced oxidative stress on cell viability by MTT assay, lipid peroxidation (LPO) by using thiobarbituric acid (TBA) reaction for malondialdehyde (MDA) and the expression of antioxidant genes (CuZnSOD, MnSOD and Catalase) or apoptosis genes (Bcl‐2, Caspase‐3 and Bax) by RT‐PCR in BOEC. We also evaluated the developmental rates of bovine IVM/IVF embryos co‐cultured with BOEC pre‐treated with astaxanthin (500 μm ) in the presence or absence of sodium nitroprusside (SNP, 1000 μm ) for 24 h. Cell viability in BOEC treated with SNP (50–2000 μm ) lowered, while astaxanthin addition (50–500 μm ) increased it in a dose‐dependent manner. Cell viability in astaxanthin plus SNP (1000 μm ) gradually recovered according to the increase in astaxanthin additions (100–500 mm ). The LPO in astaxanthin group (50–500 μM) gradually decreased in a dose dependent manner and among SNP or astaxanthin plus SNP group, SNP alone and astaxanthin (50 μM) plus SNP shown a significant increase than other groups (p < 0.05). Expression of apoptosis or antioxidant genes was detected by RT‐PCR. Bcl‐2 and antioxidant genes were detected in astaxanthin or astaxanthin plus SNP group, and Caspase‐3 and Bax genes were only found in SNP group. When bovine IVM/IVF embryos were cultured for 6–7 days under co‐culture system such as BOEC treated with astaxanthin in the presence or absence of SNP, the developmental ability to blastocysts in 500 μm astaxanthin group was the highest of all groups. These results suggest that astaxanthin has a antioxidative effect on cell viability and LPO of BOEC, and development of bovine IVM/IVF embryos due to the induction of antioxidant genes and suppression of apoptosis genes.     

Persistent Mullerian Duct Syndrome in a Miniature Schnauzer Dog with Signs of Feminization and a Sertoli Cell Tumour

A 5‐year‐old male Miniature Schnauzer was presented with unilateral cryptorchidism and signs of feminization. Abdominal ultrasonography revealed an enlarged right testis and a large, fluid‐filled cavity that appeared to arise from the prostate. Computed tomography revealed the cavity to be consistent with an enlarged uterine body, arising from the prostate, and showed two structures resembling uterine horns that terminated close to the adjacent testes. The dog had a normal male karyotype, 78 XY. Gonadohysterectomy was performed and both the surgical and the histological findings confirmed the presence of a uterus in this male animal, resulting in a diagnosis of persistent Mullerian duct syndrome (PMDS). The enlarged intra‐abdominal testis contained a Sertoli cell tumour. Computed tomography proved to be an excellent diagnostic tool for PMDS.     

RESEARCH PAPER: Segmental dorsolumbar epidural analgesia via the caudal approach using multiple port catheters with ketamine or lidocaine or in combination in cattle

ObjectiveTo determine the analgesic and systemic effects of epidural administration of ketamine, lidocaine or a combination of ketamine/lidocaine in standing cattle.Study designProspective, randomized, experimental trial.AnimalsSix healthy male cattle weighing between 335 and 373 kg.MethodsThe animals received 0.5 mg kg^?1 of ketamine (K), 0.2 mg kg^?1 of 2% lidocaine (L) or 0.25 mg kg^?1 ketamine plus 0.1 mg kg^?1 lidocaine (KL). All the drugs were injected into the dorsolumbar epidural space via a caudal approach through a non‐styletted multiple‐port catheter. Each animal received each treatment at random. Evaluations of analgesia, sedation, ataxia, heart rate, arterial pressure, respiratory rate, skin temperature and rectal temperature were obtained at 0 (basal), 5, 10, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90 minutes after epidural injection, and then at 30‐minute intervals until loss of analgesia occurred. Skin temperature was taken at these intervals up to 60 minutes. All the animals received a standard noxious stimulus; a 4‐point scale was used to score the response. A second scale was used to score ataxia and a third for sedation.ResultsThe duration of analgesia in the upper and lower flanks in cattle was 140 ± 15, 50 ± 14 and 80 ± 22 minutes (mean ± SD) after dorsolumbar epidural KL, K or L, respectively. The cardiovascular changes were within acceptable limits in these clinically healthy cattle.ConclusionsDorsolumbar epidural administration of KL to cattle resulted in longer duration of analgesia of the upper and lower flanks in standing conscious cattle, than the administration of K or L alone.Clinical relevanceFurther research is necessary to determine whether this combination using this technique provides sufficient analgesia for flank surgery in standing cattle.     

Semitic-language records of snake melons (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cucumis melo</Emphasis>, Cucurbitaceae) in the medieval period and the “piqqus” of the “faqqous”

The snake melon, Cucumis melo subsp. melo Flexuosus Group, is a cucurbit crop that was grown and esteemed in Mediterranean lands in antiquity and classical times. Images of snake melons appear in ancient Egyptian wall paintings and sculptures and in mosaics from the Roman Empire. The sikyos of Greek, the cucumis of Latin, and the qishu’im of Hebrew, thought by many to be cucumbers, Cucumis sativus, have now been identified as snake melons. Less iconographic and written evidence exists concerning the appreciation of snake melons during the medieval period. The present work focuses on some philologically based evidence of the importance of snake melons leading into and including the medieval period, with two specific objectives. One was to trace the records of the Hebrew epithet piqqus, which applied to removal of the hairs of young cucurbit fruits, and the Arabic epithet faqqous, used historically and to the present day to designate snake melons. Another objective was to re-affirm how piqqus was actually conducted, as mandated in the second-century code of Jewish Oral Law known as the Mishna. Various conjugational forms of the Hebrew word piqqus were found in writings dating from 200 CE to approximately 600 CE. Evidence is presented that further establishes the exact meaning of piqqus as the rubbing off of the hairs of young cucurbit fruits. The Arabic word faqqous was found in writings dating from the beginning of the tenth century and through to the end of the medieval period in the fifteenth century, the writers hailing from Andalusia in the west to Iraq in the east. These writings suggest that the snake melon was a familiar vegetable across a wide geographic belt throughout the medieval period.     

Morphophysiology of forage peanut submitted to different intensities of defoliation on grazing with sheep

Tropical Animal Health and Production - The aim was to monitor the growth, the dry mass accumulation curve, and the structural photosynthetic components of forage peanut pasture, in different...     

Gene for broad, contiguous dark stripes in cocozelle squash (Cucurbita pepo)

Alternating intense (dark) and light stripes on the fruits are a fairly common feature of Cucurbita pepo, a highly variable species encompassing various kinds of pumpkins, squash, and gourds. The intense stripes can be narrow and broken or broad and contiguous. Narrow, broken intense striping is conferred by allele l-1 ^St, which is dominant to allele l-1 for non-striped, lightly colored fruits and recessive to allele L-1 for non-striped, intensely colored fruits. Cocozelle-type squash often exhibit broad, contiguous intense stripes. The inheritance of this characteristic was studied by transferring it from cocozelle squash and preparing nearly isogenic lines having broad-striped, narrow-striped, and non-striped light-colored fruits. In the broad-striped near-isogenic line, the intense stripes averaged 37% wider than in its narrow-striped counterpart. The broad-striped line was crossed with the narrow-striped line, the non-striped light-colored line, and the non-striped intense-colored `Fordhook Zucchini'. Broad striping was dominant to narrow striping and to non-striped light and conferred by a single gene; it was recessive to non-striped intense. The gene for broad striping was found to be allelic to that for narrow striping and to that for non-stripe dintense and is herein assigned the symbol l-1 ^BSt. Dominance relationships at the l-1 locus were observed to be L-1>l-1 ^BSt >l-1 ^St >l-1. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Isolation and Culture of Ovine and Bubaline Small and Large Pre-antral Follicles: Effect of Cyclicity and Presence of a Dominant Follicle

Studies were conducted to examine the effects of the cyclicity and the presence of a dominant follicle (DF) in ovary on the recovery and in vitro growth of pre-antral follicles (PFs) in sheep and buffalo. Small pre-antral follicles (SPFs, 100–250 μm) and large pre-antral follicles (LPFs, 250–450 μm) were isolated from slaughterhouse ovaries in the breeding seasons by a mechanical and enzymatic method. The sheep and buffalo PFs were cultured in vitro for 6 and 15 days, respectively, and examined for their growth, survival and antrum formation rates and growth rates of oocytes in cultured pre-antral follicles. The follicles of the sheep and buffalo were recovered and cultured simultaneously within replicates. The recovery rates (number per ovary) of both SPFs and LPFs were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in cyclic ewes (SPFs: 22.0 ± 3.3 vs 12.1 ± 2.6 and LPFs: 16.0 ± 3.6 vs 9.2 ± 1.8) and buffaloes (SPFs: 9.2 ± 1.3 vs 4.1 ± 1.0 and LPFs: 10.3 ± 2.7 vs 5.4 ± 0.7) compared with those recovered from acyclic ones. Presence of a DF in ovary significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the recovery rates of LPFs in ewes (9.06 ± 2.7 vs 16.4 ± 3.8) but had no effect in buffalo. Cyclicity of animals or follicular dominance had no effects on in vitro growth, survival and antrum formation rates and growth rates of oocytes in cultured PFs of SPFs and LPFs in both sheep and buffalo. The in vitro growth, survival and antrum formation rates of LPFs and growth rates of oocytes in cultured LPFs were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than those observed in SPFs in both sheep and buffalo. The overall recovery and growth rates of the PFs were lower in buffaloes compared with ewes.     

Maintenance of a Herd of Breeding Cattle in an Area of High Trypanosome Challenge

Tropical Animal Health and Production - The performance of a herd of pure zebu and zebu-crossbred cattle maintained with periodic diminazene aceturate (Berenil, Farbwerke Hoechst AG) treatment in...     

Plantar fasciitis in 19 endurance horses: Diagnosis,treatment and follow-up

Lesions of the peritendinous–periligamentous soft tissues of the tarsus (plantar fasciitis) commonly result in a curb-like appearance and are considered overrepresented in Standardbred racehorses; however, plantar fasciitis is also quite common in endurance horses. Nineteen endurance horses of different ages (median: 7 years; range: 3–13) and athletic activity level comprising a total number of 25 plantar fasciitis cases were described in this study. In nine cases, injury developed during a training session, and in 16 cases, it developed during competition. In 18 cases, there was swelling, heat and pain on palpation, and in six cases, only swelling was detected. Eight cases were not lame at the time of examination, while in 17 cases, lameness ranged from grades 1–3 on the American Association of Equine Practitioners modified grading scale. The degree of swelling was significantly related to the lameness grade. Ultrasonography revealed differing amounts of thickening of the plantar fascia plantar to the superficial digital flexor tendon and peritendinous–periligamentous oedema of heterogeneous appearance. Horses were treated conservatively with several combinations of rest, controlled exercise, ice-therapy, corticosteroids, local application of working counterirritants and therapeutic shoeing. Seventeen of 25 cases (68%) did not develop re-injury after treatment and rehabilitation, whilst eight of 25 (32%) developed one or more re-injury/injuries. Overall, 21 of 25 cases (84%) returned to the previous or a higher level of competition; in one case (4%), the injury was the cause of retirement from athletic activity. Plantar fasciitis can be considered a sport-related injury in endurance horses of all ages and athletic activity level. Re-injury rate is low; however, adequate rest and rehabilitation protocols are important. Plantar fasciitis rarely leads to retirement from athletic activity, but it can result in 2–5 months out of training and competition.     

Alley coppice—a new system with ancient roots

Context

Current production from natural forests will not satisfy future world demand for timber and fuel wood, and new land management options are required.

Aims

We explore an innovative production system that combines the production of short rotation coppice in wide alleys with the production of high-value trees on narrow strips of land; it is an alternative form of alley cropping which we propose to call ‘alley coppice’. The aim is to describe this alley coppice system and to illustrate its potential for producing two diverse products, namely high-value timber and energy wood on the same land unit.

Methods

Based on a comprehensive literature review, we compare the advantages and disadvantages of the alley coppice system and contrast the features with well-known existing or past systems of biomass and wood production.

Results

We describe and discuss the basic aspects of alley coppice, its design and dynamics, the processes of competition and facilitation, issues of ecology, and areas that are open for future research.

Conclusion

Based on existing knowledge, a solid foundation for the implementation of alley coppice on suitable land is presented, and the high potential of this system could be shown.