Feline immunodeficiency. ABCD guidelines on prevention and management

OverviewFeline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is a retrovirus closely related to human immunodeficiency virus. Most felids are susceptible to FIV, but humans are not. Feline immunodeficiency virus is endemic in domestic cat populations worldwide. The virus loses infectivity quickly outside the host and is susceptible to all disinfectants.InfectionFeline immunodeficiency virus is transmitted via bites. The risk of transmission is low in households with socially well-adapted cats. Transmission from mother to kittens may occur, especially if the queen is undergoing an acute infection. Cats with FIV are persistently infected in spite of their ability to mount antibody and cell-mediated immune responses.Disease signsInfected cats generally remain free of clinical signs for several years, and some cats never develop disease, depending on the infecting isolate. Most clinical signs are the consequence of immunodeficiency and secondary infection. Typical manifestations are chronic gingivostomatitis, chronic rhinitis, lymphadenopathy, weight loss and immune-mediated glomerulonephritis.DiagnosisPositive in-practice ELISA results obtained in a low-prevalence or low-risk population should always be confirmed by a laboratory. Western blot is the ‘gold standard’ laboratory test for FIV serology. PCR-based assays vary in performance.Disease managementCats should never be euthanased solely on the basis of an FIV-positive test result. Cats infected with FIV may live as long as uninfected cats, with appropriate management. Asymptomatic FIV-infected cats should be neutered to avoid fighting and virus transmission. Infected cats should receive regular veterinary health checks. They can be housed in the same ward as other patients, but should be kept in individual cages.Vaccination recommendationsAt present, there is no FIV vaccine commercially available in Europe. Potential benefits and risks of vaccinating FIV-infected cats should be assessed on an individual cat basis. Needles and surgical instruments used on FIV-positive cats may transmit the virus to other cats, so strict hygiene is essential.     

Conditioning of sediment polluted with heavy metals using plants as a preliminary stage of the bioremediation process: a large-scale study

Purpose

A bioremediation process for sediments contaminated with heavy metals has been developed based on two core stages: (1) conditioning of dredged sludge using plants; and (2) solid-bed bioleaching of heavy metals from the resulting soil-like material using microbially produced sulfuric acid. In laboratory and pilot-scale tests, reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea) was found to be best suited for the conditioning process. To demonstrate the feasibility of conditioning in practice, a study on a larger scale was performed.

Materials and methods

The sediment originated from a detritus basin of the Weisse Elster River in Leipzig (Saxony, Germany) and was polluted with heavy metals, especially with zinc and cadmium. The dredged sludge was a muddy-pasty, anoxic, and had a high organic matter content. The experimental basin (base area of 50?×?23 m) was filled with 1,400 m³ of sludge to a height of 1.2 m. Conditioning was carried out in five segments that were planted with pre-cultivated Phalaris plants at two plant densities, sowed with Phalaris seeds using two different seeding devices, and grown over by vegetation. Plant development and changing sediment characteristics were analyzed during two vegetation periods by harvesting plant biomass every 4 weeks and sampling sediment material at two different depths every 2 weeks over a total duration of 475 days.

Results and discussion

At the end of the second vegetation period, the pre-cultivated Phalaris plants had reached a height of 2 m, compared to 1.8 m for the sowed Phalaris seeds. Regarding root penetration and the degree of sediment conditioning, the less expensive sowing techniques yielded similar results to planting pre-cultivated plants. The content of heavy metals in the Phalaris plants was below the permissible limits for Germany. The vegetation evapotranspirated large amounts of water from the sediment and transported oxygen into the anoxic sludge. The water content was reduced from 68 to 37 %. The muddy-pasty sludge turned into a soil-like oxic material with a high permeability to water. The oxidation of sediment-borne compounds lowered the pH from 7.3 to 6.0. Due to the high total precipitation in Saxony in the summer of 2010, a maximum of 65 % of the sediment was conditioned.

Conclusions

The feasibility of the first core stage of the bioremediation process for sediments was demonstrated in practice by conditioning 1,400 m³ of dredged sludge using reed canary grass. To establish the proposed sediment treatment in practice, the applicability of the central core stage–solid-bed bioleaching of conditioned soil-like sediment–will also be tested at a larger scale.     

Feldskalige variabilität von frühjahrsfeuchte und mineralischem stickstoff in der ungesättigten zone sandiger standorte Nordostdeutschlands

Auf sandigen Standorten des Jungpleistozäns wurden die Variabilität der Frühjahrsfeuchte und des mineralischen Stickstoffgehaltes im Porenwasser unter verschiedenen Landnutzungsbedingungen bis 4,2 m Tiefe analysiert. Das Mittel der Frühjahrsfeuchte lag bei etwa 10 cm³/100 cm³. Die hohe standörtliche Variabilität der Frühjahrsfeuchte (Variationskoeffizienten von 26-63%) beruhte weitgehend auf Substratheterogenitäten der Geogenese. Endmoränen hatten die höchste Gesamtvarianz, Flugsanddecken zeigten die höchste Strukturvarianz. Die untersuchte Sanderfläche wies eine geringere Feuchteheterogenität auf als die Grundmoränenflächen. Bei Beprobungsabständen von 10 m wurden Reichweiten der Autokorrelation im Dekameterbereich gefunden. Die Standorte mit Flugsanden und die Sanderfläche wiesen relativ große Reichweiten der Autokorrelation auf (Reichweite 140 m), die Endmoränenstandorte und die endmoränennahe Grundmoräne waren besonders kleinflächig strukturiert (Reichweite 20-40 m). Die Gehalte an mineralischem Stickstoff in der ungesättigten Zone widerspiegelten die Landnutzung und wiesen noch höhere Variabilität auf als die Frühjahrsfeuchte. Unter ehemaliger Güllebewirtschaftung wurden sehr hohe Mengen mineralischen Stickstoffs ermittelt. Hohe N-min -Konzentrationen wurden auch unter einem Kiefernforst gemessen. Extensiv genutztes Grasland wies die geringsten Mengen und Konzentrationen an mineralischem Stickstoff auf. On sandy Pleistocene sites the variability of springtime soil moisture content (field capacity) and mineral nitrogen in pore water were analysed down to 4.2 m depth under different land use systems. The average of the field capacity was about 10 cm³/100 cm³. Their large site-specific variability (variation coefficients of 26-63%) is mainly due to the substrate heterogeneity of the pedogenesis. End moraines had the highest total variability, aeolic sand layers were strongly spatially dependent. The sandy outwash area had the lowest variability of field capacity, lower than the glacial tills. Considering sampling distances of 10 m, the autocorrelation length was also in the range of decametres. Areas of aeolic sands and outwash sands showed relatively large ranges of autocorrelation (140 m), end morains and glacial tills neighboured to end moraines are structured into smaller areas (range of autocorrelation 20-40 m). The amounts of mineral nitrogen in the vadose zone reflect the land use and show larger variability than the field capacities. Highest amounts were found in arable land of former intensive slurry application. High nitrogen concentration were also measured under a pine forest. Not fertilized grassland had the lowest amounts and concentrations of mineral nitrogen.     

Natural durability of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii [Mirb.] Franco) heartwood grown in southern Germany

Abstract

The natural durability of timber is an important property in order to assess its performance in service. For numerous species grown in primary forests, this property has already been determined. As plantation-grown timber becomes more and more important, detailed information on its properties is needed, because increasing amounts of this material are coming to the market. The majority of planted Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii [Mirb.] Franco) in Germany is around 40 years old. In the present study, representative material of totally ten trees from two different sites in the south of Germany was investigated with regard to natural durability. In laboratory tests based on European standard DIN EN 350-1, inner and outer heartwood zones were exposed to basidiomycetes. Density measurements were additionally used for further characterisation of this material. Results showed a lower durability of the plantation-grown Douglas fir wood as compared with wood from natural sites. Significant differences for both durability and density were found between inner and outer heartwood, even though no correlation between the parameters was recognised. Data illustrate that for a better understanding of durability variations, chemical, topochemical and electron microscopic studies are needed.     

The Garlic and Shallot Core Collection image database of IPK presenting two vegetatively maintained crops in the Federal ex situ genebank for agricultural and horticultural crops at Gatersleben, Germany

Garlic and shallot are important vegetable and spice plants, garlic is also a medicinal crop widely used throughout the world. Both belong to the genus Allium, which has been a main target of the taxonomical research at the IPK for many years. Therefore, the IPK’s living collection of Allium is one of the world’s largest special collections of this genus with garlic and shallot being essential parts of this collection. Furthermore, they are subject to special activities to preserve the material in vitro and in cryopreservation. Both methods help protecting valuable germplasm from abiotic and biotic threats and reduce the maintenance costs in the long term. At present, the garlic collection maintained at the IPK incorporates germplasm of 509 accessions in total including all safety duplicates not offered for exchange. Of shallot, 114 accessions are present as well. Passport data as well as phenotypic data of 159 accessions of garlic, one of great headed garlic and 16 of shallot are included in the Garlic and Shallot Core Collection Database (GSCC). An additional part of the database is a comprehensive collection of images illustrating morphological characteristics of the accessions. Exploration of the information is supported by a web-based application. The GSCC is available at http://www.ipk-gatersleben.de/databases/gscc.     

Offspring from non-stimulated calves at an age younger than two months: a preliminary report

This study investigated the viability of embryos from non-stimulated 2-3-month-old calves generated in vitro using oocytes from follicles of defined size in terms of their ability to produce full-term pregnancies. Ablation of follicles>or=4 mm was used to induce the emergence of a new follicular wave, and calves (n=3) were laparoscopically punctured three times at 7-day-intervals to recover cumulus-oocyte-complexes (COCs) from follicles>8 (group A) and between 4-8 mm (group B). Calves were aged 49, 56, and 80 days, respectively, at first recovery. Morphologically intact COCs were subjected to in vitro maturation, fertilization, and embryo culture, and compact morulae/blastocysts were transferred on day 7 post-insemination to synchronized virgin heifers. Blood typing was used for maternity analysis. A total of 29 COCs were recovered, 21 cultured, yielding 11 cleaved embryos (52.4%) and 6 compact morulae/blastocysts (28.6%). No differences were observed between groups. Transfer of the 6 embryos to 5 recipients resulted in three pregnancies (one from group A and two from group B). Two normal male offspring (both from group B), with birth weights of 44 and 51 kg, were born, and two donor calves, aged 56 and 59 days, were identified as the dams. In conclusion, the results demonstrate that embryos generated in vitro from oocytes from non-stimulated calves at an age younger than two months are viable in terms of their ability to produce full-term pregnancies, and suggest that the viability of calf embryos is not related to follicle size.     

对母猪饲喂肉碱

欧洲的研究结果表明，利用可影响能量代谢的物质可促进母猪的采食量。     

The prevalence of Yersinia-specific antibodies in cattle in Bavaria

Yersiniosis is considered to be an emerging infection in humans. It is believed that contaminated pork is the main source of infection for man but also beef and cow milk might cause infection in the consumer. Therefore, a survey was carried out to obtain actual data on the prevalence of anti-Yersinia antibodies within cattle. 600 serum samples were taken form 120 farms located in 43 districts of Bavaria, Germany. Antibodies were detected in 396 animals (65.7%) revealing a distribution of 52.3% of anti-YopD, 40.3% of anti-YopM, 24.0% of anti-YopH, 21.2% of anti-YopE and 3.0% of anti-V-antigen antibodies. 21 reactionpatterns out of 32 possible patterns were identified. Anti-YopD and YopM antibodies were sufficient to detect all Yersinia antibody positive sera. No regional differences in the distribution of antibodies were noted.