Tail docking in dogs: A sample of attitudes of veterinarians and dog breeders in Queensland

One hundred veterinarians and 100 breeders of traditionally docked dogs from Queensland were surveyed by telephone to determine their attitudes towards tail docking. Eighty-four percent of the breeders surveyed were in favour of docking, whereas 83% of veterinarians were opposed to the practice. Most pups were docked between 1 and 3 days of age. All veterinarians surgically amputated the tail, whereas 16% of breeders applied rubber bands to the tail. Seventy-six percent of the veterinarians, but only 18% of the breeders believed that docking caused significant to severe pain. No veterinarians, but 25% of the dog breeders believed that docking was painless. Although recent changes to the Queensland Canine Control Council's rulings allow dogs with intact tails to be shown in traditionally docked classes, the requirement of breed standard was cited as the major reason for tail docking by both breeders and veterinarians.     

Efficacy and safety of ivermectin applied topically to cattle under field conditions in Australia

Fifteen controlled field trials were conducted to evaluate the efficacy against gastrointestinal nematodes and safety of ivermectin when applied topically to cattle in Australia. Three hundred and fifty-one cattle received ivermectin, and 88 were untreated controls. The trials were conducted in 3 States and included a variety of cattle breeds and environmental conditions. Faecal samples were collected before treatment and 11 to 14 days after treatment for nematode egg counts. Data from these trials show that under Australian conditions, ivermectin applied along the mid line of the back from the withers to the sacral region at a dose rate of 500 mcg/kg body weight, effectively controlled gastrointestinal nematode infections, and did not produce unacceptable adverse reactions in the animals.     

Ages of prehistoric earthquakes revealed by cosmogenic chlorine-36 in a bedrock fault scarp at hebgen lake

Cosmogenic chlorine-36 reveals dates of the multiple prehistoric earthquakes that have produced a scarp on the Hebgen Lake fault. Apparent chlorine-36 ages are stratigraphically correct, follow a predicted theoretical pattern, and produce geologically reasonable model ages of 24, 20, 7.0, 2.6, 1.7, and 0.4 thousand years ago. This result demonstrates the feasibility of using cosmogenic chlorine-36 to extract paleoearthquake records from bedrock fault scarps.     

Spina bifida with associated malformations of the central nervous system in Dorper-cross sheep

Abstract

CASE HISTORY: In 2008, six lambs within a flock of Dorpercross sheep were born with musculoskeletal and neurological disease. Clinical signs included hindlimb weakness, and urinary incontinence.

CLINICAL FINDINGS: All lambs had focal, inverted areas of alopecic skin over the caudal sacrum, and short, often kinked tails. Four affected lambs were subject to euthanasia, and necropsied. On gross examination, the arches of sacral vertebrae were absent, and spinal nerves and meninges were adherent to the overlying subcutis. Other gross lesions included narrow, elongated skulls, herniation of the occipital lobes into the caudal fossas, hydrocephalus, and syringomyelia. One lamb had coning of the cerebellar vermis, but cerebellar herniation through the foramen magnum was not identified.

DIAGNOSIS: Spina bifida, with associated malformations of the central nervous system.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Examination of breeding records suggested either an autosomal recessive or partially penetrant autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance. Because of the associated tail lesions it is proposed that the pathogenesis of this syndrome involves a defect in development of the tail bud (secondary neurulation), that tethering of the spinal cord resulted in the clinical signs, and abnormal pressure of the cerebral spinal fluid resulted in the defects in the skull and brain.     

A lymphoproliferative disease in Manx cats with similarities to autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS) in people

In 2009–2010, an unusual lymphoproliferative disease was identified in multiple siblings from successive litters of Manx cats, suggesting a genetic predisposition to development of this disease. Presentation of disease in the cats had multiple similarities with the human disease ALPS, a rare inherited disorder that causes persistent lymphoproliferation, together with variable manifestations of autoimmunity and increased susceptibility to neoplasia. The majority of human ALPS patients have inherited Fas gene mutations, causing defective apoptosis of lymphocytes, although for a proportion of ALPS patients the underlying genetic mutations remain unknown. In order to identify the likely mode of inheritance of the disease, further matings of potential carrier cats are in progress. Studies to investigate the potential role of abnormalities in the Fas gene in the development of the disease in cats are also proposed. Identifying and further characterising the nature and mechanism of the disease in cats may allow better understanding of the development, progression, and treatment of ALPS in humans.     

Further investigation of equine fescue oedema induced by Mediterranean tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum) infected with selected fungal endophytes (Epichloë coenophiala)

Abstract

AIMS

To determine if equine fescue oedema (EFO) induced by grazing Mediterranean-type tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum) infected with selected endophytes (Epichloë coenophiala) could be prevented by treatment with the corticosteroid, methylprednisolone, and anti-histamine, cetirizine, and to determine concentrations of lolines, specifically N-acetyl norloline (NANL), in grasses grazed by horses that did and did not develop EFO.     

Investigation of diabetes mellitus in Burmese cats as an inherited trait: a preliminary study

AIM: To investigate, in a pilot study, a possible genetic component to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) in Burmese cats in New Zealand by analysing pedigree data.

METHODS: Pedigrees were obtained for 305 Burmese cats living in New Zealand; diabetes was diagnosed in 19 of these due to presence of polyuria and polydipsia, persistent concentrations of glucose in plasma >16?mmol/L and glucosuria prior to insulin treatment. Pedigrees were also submitted for 16 cats with no clinical signs of T2D. The remaining 270 cats were unobserved relatives of these individuals. Inbreeding coefficients and heritability were calculated, and a single major locus model segregation analysis was conducted using pedigree analysis software.

RESULTS: Nineteen cats were diagnosed with T2D. Males (n = 14) and females (n = 5) were both affected, suggesting that the gene or genes causing diabetes are autosomal rather than sex-linked. Examination of the pedigree revealed few signs of fully penetrant dominant gene action: diabetes was ostensibly rarely seen in sequential generations and nearly always skipped at least one and often more generations; apparently unaffected offspring of apparently unaffected parents sometimes produced affected progeny. The mean relatedness of the affected animals within the core pedigree (16 diabetic cats) was 0.049, and mean inbreeding 0.033. Based on 100,000 permutations of the trait values, the expected relatedness of a random sample of 16 animals taken from the phenotyped animals would be 0.013 (SD 0.007) (permutation p = 0.0009). The observed inbreeding was also significant (permutation p= 0.02).

Heritability was estimated to be 9 (95% CI = 0–57)% assuming all animals with unknown status were unaffected. The best fitting genetic model was a major gene model with dominant expression with the risk allele frequency at 15% with 60% penetrance.

CONCLUSIONS: In this pilot study the increased inbreeding in the cases, lack of likely sampling bias, the increased frequency of T2D in Burmese, and small number of breed founders are consistent with the involvement of a major locus in diabetes in Burmese cats with a significant risk allele prevalence. However, low case numbers meant this could not be unambiguously confirmed. A genome-wide association study may be useful for investigating the genetic cause of T2D.