A Genetic Study of Piglet Growth and Survival

The study analysed 954 Yorkshire sows from a research station in Sweden. The heritability for mean piglet weight at 3 weeks was 0.30 and the heritability for number dead up to 3 weeks was 0.09. Correlations showed that when the number of piglets born into a litter increased, it followed that each piglet weighed less at 3 weeks of age (genetic correlation -0.1). The higher the litter size at birth, the more piglets died, and if many piglets died in a litter, growth was low in the surviving piglets. The genetic correlation between mean birth weight and mean weight at 3 weeks was estimated to be 0.6.     

Multicenter, randomized controlled trial of pain-related behaviors following routine neutering in dogs

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the degree of postoperative pain in dogs undergoing elective castration or ovariohysterectomy (OHE); determine whether an association exists between surgeon experience, incision length, or surgery duration and degree of postoperative pain; and determine whether analgesic treatment decreases expression of postoperative pain behaviors. DESIGN: Randomized controlled clinical trial. ANIMALS: 426 client-owned dogs undergoing OHE or castration. PROCEDURES: Dogs underwent OHE or castration performed by an experienced veterinarian or a fourth-year veterinary student. Dogs were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatment groups: no perioperative analgesic treatment (n = 44), preoperative administration of morphine (144), preoperative administration of nalbuphine (119), and postoperative administration of ketoprofen (119). Dogs were evaluated while in the hospital before anesthesia and for 4 hours after surgery and once a day at home for 3 days after surgery. RESULTS: Dogs in all 4 groups had significant increases in overall pain scores after surgery, compared with baseline scores. There were significant differences among groups, with control dogs having significantly higher increases in overall pain scores than dogs in the other groups. Factors that did not influence the frequency or severity of pain-related behaviors included breed, individual hospital, anesthetic induction protocol, surgeon experience, and duration of surgery. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggested that dogs expressed behaviors suggestive of pain following OHE and castration, that analgesic treatment mitigated the expression of pain-related behaviors, and that surgeon experience and surgery duration did not have any effect on expression of pain-related behaviors.     

Non-ideal Behavior During Complete Dissolution of Organic Immiscible Liquid: 2. Ideal Porous Media

Column experiments were conducted using ideal natural sands and stainless-steel beads to examine the complete dissolution behavior of an organic immiscible liquid. Trichloroethene was used as the representative organic liquid. The elution curves exhibited multi-step behavior, with multiple extended periods of relatively constant contaminant flux. These secondary steady-state stages occurred at concentrations several orders-of-magnitude below aqueous solubility for the well-sorted sands. In contrast, the secondary steady-state stages occurred within 1 log of aqueous solubility for the poorly sorted sand. The non-ideal behavior is hypothesized to result from constraints to hydraulic accessibility of the organic liquid to flowing water, which may be expected to be mediated by the pore-scale configuration of the flow field and the fluid phases.     

Use of low doses of ketamine administered by constant rate infusion as an adjunct for postoperative analgesia in dogs

OBJECTIVE: To compare indicators of postoperative pain and behavior in dogs with and without a low-dose ketamine infusion added to usual perioperative management. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, blinded clinical study. ANIMALS: 27 dogs undergoing forelimb amputation. PROCEDURE: Dogs were anesthetized with glycopyrrolate, morphine, propofol, and isoflurane. Thirteen dogs were treated with ketamine IV, as follows: 0.5 mg/kg (0.23 mg/lb) as a bolus before surgery, 10 microg/kg/min (4.5 microg/lb/min) during surgery, and 2 microg/kg/min (0.9 microg/lb/min) for 18 hours after surgery. Fourteen dogs received the same volume of saline (0.9% NaCl) solution. All dogs received an infusion of fentanyl (1 to 5 microg/kg/h [0.45 to 2.27 pg/lb/h]) for the first 18 hours after surgery. Dogs were evaluated for signs of pain before surgery, at the time of extubation, and 1, 2, 3, 4, 12, and 18 hours after extubation. Owners evaluated their dogs' appetite, activity, and wound soreness on postoperative days 2, 3, and 4. RESULTS: Dogs that received ketamine infusions had significantly lower pain scores 12 and 18 hours after surgery and were significantly more active on postoperative day 3 than dogs that received saline solution infusions. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggest that perioperative administration of low doses of ketamine to dogs may augment analgesia and comfort in the postoperative surgical period.     

Effect of Diets Formulated with Native Peruvian Plants on Growth and Feeding Efficiency of Red Pacu (Piaractus brachypomus) Juveniles

We evaluated the effects of casein‐based semipurified diets, alone or supplemented with native Peruvian plants, on growth, feed efficiency, and histology of the digestive tract of red pacu, Piaractus brachypomus, juveniles over an 8‐wk feeding trial. Three tanks were randomly assigned to one of four casein–gelatin (40:8) diets containing a supplement of 15% wheat meal (control) or an identical level of substitution of three South American native plant as follows: camu‐camu fruit (Myrciaria dubia), aguaje fruit (Mauritia flexuosa), or maca tuber meal (Lepidium meyenii). The fish (initial weight, 2.04 ± 0.06 g) were fed experimental diets at decreasing feeding rates from 4 to 2.6% of body weight. After 8 weeks of feeding, fish fed a diet supplemented with maca meal showed significantly higher (P < 0.05) weight gain, specific growth rate, protein efficiency ratio (PER), apparent net protein utilization (NPU), and instantaneous feed intake than fish fed other diets. Feed conversion ratio (FCR), PER, and NPU in fish fed the casein–gelatin diet supplemented with maca meal were among the best ever reported in the scientific literature, 0.64 ± 0.03, 3.13 ± 0.15 and 23.8 ± 2.0, respectively. The camu‐camu meal had a negative impact on diet palatability and utilization, which resulted in slower growth. The stomach, intestine, pancreas, and pyloric caeca at the start and end of the experiment showed normal differentiation and appearance of cells and tissues. The liver parenchyma showed lipid infiltration and pigment accumulation in all samples at the initiation of the experiment and may be attributed to the period of decreased feed intake prior to the study. At the end of the study, similar histopathologies were recorded in all samples from the control and camu‐camu groups. Normal liver histology (polyhedral hepatocytes with centrally located nuclei) was observed in two of three samples from the maca group and all the samples from the group that was fed the aguaje‐supplemented diet.     

Surveys on Coxiella burnetii infections in Swedish cattle,sheep, goats and moose

Background

Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by the bacterium Coxiella burnetii. Prevalence data in ruminant species are important to support risk assessments regarding public and animal health. The aim was to investigate the presence of or exposure to C. burnetii in cattle, sheep, goats and moose, and to compare two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). National surveys of antibodies against C. burnetii were performed for dairy cattle (n=1537), dairy goats (n=58) and sheep (n=518). Bovine samples consisted of bulk milk, caprine of pooled milk, and ovine of pooled serum. Antibodies were investigated in moose samples (n=99) from three regions. A one-year regional cattle bulk milk survey was performed on the Isle of Gotland (n=119, four occasions). Cattle, sheep and goat samples were analysed with indirect ELISA and moose samples with complement fixation test. For the sheep, goat, and parts of the cattle survey, samples were run in parallel by ELISAs based on antigens from infected ruminants and ticks. Bulk milk samples from the regional cattle survey and vaginal swabs from a subset of the sheep herds (n=80) were analysed for the agent by polymerase chain reaction. Spatial clustering was investigated in the national cattle survey.

Results

The prevalence of antibodies in dairy herds was 8.2% with large regional differences. High risk clusters were identified in the southern regions. The prevalence among dairy herds on the Isle of Gotland varied from 55.9% to 64.6% and 46.4% to 58.9.0% for antibodies and agent, respectively, overall agreement between agent and antibodies was 85.2%. The prevalence of antibodies in sheep was 0.6%, the agent was not detected the vaginal swabs. Antibodies were not detected in goats or moose, although parts of the moose samples were collected in an area with high prevalence in cattle. The overall agreement between the two ELISAs was 90.4%.

Conclusions

The prevalence of antibodies against C. burnetii in dairy cattle in Sweden shows large regional differences. The results suggest that C. burnetii is a rare pathogen among Swedish moose, dairy goat and sheep. ELISAs based on ruminant and tick antigen performed in a similar manner under Swedish conditions.     

Prevalence of thermophilic Campylobacter species in Swedish dogs and characterization of C. jejuni isolates

Background

The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of Campylobacter species in Swedish dogs, to identify the species of the Campylobacter isolates and to genotype the C. jejuni isolates. Young and healthy dogs were targeted and the sampling was performed at 11 veterinary clinics throughout Sweden from October 2011 to October 2012. Faecal swab samples were collected and sent to the laboratory at the National Veterinary Institute (SVA) for isolation of Campylobacter, speciation and genotyping.

Results

Campylobacter spp. were isolated from 67 of the 180 sampled dogs which yields an overall prevalence of 37%. The most prevalent species of Campylobacter among the participating dogs was C. upsaliensis with 52 of the 67 identified isolates. A lower prevalence was observed for C. jejuni with seven identified isolates and one isolate was identified as C. helveticus. Multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) was carried out on the seven C. jejuni isolates and all sequence types that were found are also commonly found in humans. The dogs were divided into three age groups; 1) under 12 months, 2) 12 to 23 months and 3) 24 months and older. The highest prevalence was found in the two younger age groups. Dogs shedding C. jejuni were between 3–12 months of age while dogs shedding C. upsaliensis were found in all ages.

Conclusions

The present investigation finds that Campylobacter spp. known to cause campylobacteriosis in humans are present in Swedish dogs. The results suggest an age predisposition where dogs under 2 years of age are more likely to shed Campylobacter spp. than older dogs. The most commonly isolated species was C. upsaliensis followed by C. jejuni, which was only detected in dogs up to 12 months of age. All C. jejuni isolates identified in the present study were of the same MLST types that have previously been described both in humans and in animals. The awareness of the Campylobacter risk of healthy young dogs may be an important way to reduce the transmission from dogs to infants, young children and immunocompromised adults.