Light and electron microscopy of keratinization in the laminar epidermis of the equine hoof with reference to laminitis

The laminar epidermis (epidermis parietis) of hooves from 14 clinically normal horses, 6 months to 15 years old, was examined by light and electron microscopy and immunofluorescence to measure the contributions of this region to the formation of the hoof wall. By their progressive keratinization to form primary epidermal laminae, the secondary epidermal laminae ultimately contributed about 20% of the thickness of the hoof wall (as revealed in the white line [zona alba]). The keratinized, primary epidermal laminae were developed to a height of 4 mm during their proximodistal-course, much of this obscured because of their basal portion being embedded in the cap horn epidermis. From evaluation of structural changes accompanying keratinogenesis in the cell and determination of the contribution of the laminar epidermis to the formation of laminar horn, cap horn, connecting horn, terminal horn, and the white line, we concluded that the sterile bed concept of a nongerminative role for the secondary epidermal laminae is no longer tenable.     

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of circulating antigens of Toxoplasma gondii in the serum of cats

An ELISA was developed to detect circulating antigens of Toxoplasma gondii in the serum of cats. For the experiment, toxoplasmosis was induced in a group of cats by oral administration of bradyzoites. An ELISA that detects anti-Toxoplasma IgG, an ELISA to detect circulating antigens, and fecal examinations were performed on samples from each cat for 1 year after inoculation. When coupled with IgG-class antibody measurement, antigen detection can aid in the diagnosis of some cases of subclinical feline toxoplasmosis.     

Effect of feeding clinoptilolite (zeolite) to three strains of laying hens

1. One hundred and twenty 16-week-old, single combed pullets of three strains were fed on a diet containing 160 g protein/kg with or without 50 g clinoptilolite/kg in a trial with 20 hens per treatment. Sterile river sand replaced clinoptilolite in the control diet in order to keep the diets isonergetic. 2. The hens were individually caged in a naturally-ventilated laying house and fed on one of the two diets for ten 28-d periods. 3. No significant dietary effects between treatments were observed with respect to body weight, age at first egg, egg weight, Haugh scores or food intake/hen. 4. Significant dietary effects in favour of clinoptilolite feeding were noticed with the number of eggs laid per hen, shell thickness, efficiency of food utilisation, droppings moisture content and mortality. 5. Significant differences between strains were observed with respect to all measurements taken except food intake/hen d.     

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.     

Chicken anemia agent in the United States: isolation of the virus and detection of antibody in broiler breeder flocks

Chicken anemia agent (CAA) was isolated from broiler chickens in Texas with a blue wing or anemia dermatitis-like syndrome. Specific-pathogen-free chicks inoculated with field material developed anemia, and CAA was isolated in MDCC-MSB1 cells from bone marrow and lymphoid tissue from inoculated chicks. One isolate, designated EF88/78/276, was further characterized. Infectivity of EF88/78/276 was resistant to treatment with chloroform and with heat at 70 C for 5 minutes. EF88/78/276 was indistinguishable from the Cux-1 and Gifu-1 isolates of CAA by cross-neutralization tests. Almost all 1-day-old susceptible chicks inoculated intramuscularly with EF88/78/276 developed anemia, but contact-infected chicks did not. Antibody to CAA was detected in broiler breeder flocks from Texas, the Delmarva peninsula, and Alabama.     

Rapid [14C]heptachlor clearance from body stores of ovines: ingested mineral oil and parenteral trans-stilbene oxide lack effects

Recently we reported elimination of radioactivity from [14C]heptachlor from body stores of lactating ovines, mainly into excreta rather than milk, contrasting sharply with bovines. To further assess heptachlor metabolism and clearance by ovines, 12 fine-wool wether lambs (41 +/- 3 kg) housed in metabolism stalls were fed pelleted alfalfa hay (96%) plus molasses (3%) ad libitum and were dosed i.p. once with [14C]heptachlor (1.643 mg/kg body wt; sp. act. = .89 microCi/mg). Feces and urine were collected separately and quantitatively. Light mineral oil was mixed with feed (5 g/100 g) of six lambs and trans-stilbene oxide, an inducer of biotransformational enzymes, was administered i.p. (4 g/hd initially; 2 g/hd daily thereafter) through 20 d to three lambs given each mineral oil treatment, in 2 x 2 factorial arrangement. Feces, urine, blood, bile and body tissues were assayed for total 14C activity. Radioactivity (heptachlor and [or] metabolites) eliminated into excreta during 21 d amounted to 34 to 36% of dose administered, of which 67% appeared in urine and 33% in feces. Biological half-time for elimination into excreta was 11.3 d [Kel = -.061/d], similar to 11.7 d we reported for lactating ewes. Clearance from blood had T1/2 = 14 d. Neither mineral oil nor trans-stilbene oxide altered rate or route of 14C activity excreted or concentrations of 14C activity in blood. Results confirmed that ovines eliminate heptachlor much more rapidly than bovines.     

Ionophores alter hepatic concentrations of intermediary carbohydrate metabolites in steers

The effects of ionophores on liver weight and function were determined in finishing steers (n = 24; avg weight 440 kg). Steers were group-fed one of three treatments (control, lasalocid or monensin at 33 mg/kg feed) for 46 d prior to slaughter. Three days prior to slaughter, blood was collected for the determination of serum Ca and Mg. At slaughter, the liver was removed, weighed, sampled, frozen in liquid nitrogen and subsequently analyzed for concentrations of carbohydrate metabolites and minerals. Liver weight (5.9 kg) was unaffected by treatment. Serum and hepatic Ca and Mg were not affected by ionophore treatment. Hepatic glycogen levels in steers fed ionophores were unaffected by treatment. Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate was 21% lower (P less than .10) in hepatic tissue of steers fed ionophores, whereas dihydroxyacetone phosphate was 15 to 37% greater in hepatic tissue of steers fed monensin (P less than .20) or lasalocid (P less than .10). Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate was elevated more extensively by lasalocid than by monensin with increases of 72 (P less than .05) and 132% (P less than .001), respectively, over controls. Glycerol 3-phosphate levels were 37% (P less than .05) and 12% (NS) greater with these ionophores. Hepatic levels of pyruvate were elevated 12 (NS) to 36% (P less than .17) for monensin and lasalocid. Fructose 2,6-bisphosphate levels were 25% lower (P less than .25) in hepatic tissue of steers fed ionophores than in hepatic tissue from control steers. Other metabolites of carbohydrate metabolism in hepatic tissue were not altered appreciably. Changes in levels of intermediary metabolites of carbohydrate metabolism suggest alterations in hepatic carbohydrate metabolism favoring gluconeogenesis in steers fed ionophores.     

Age at death from natural scrapie in a flock of Suffolk sheep

This study deals with natural scrapie in a flock of Suffolk sheep being bred to maximise the incidence of the disease and shows that with succeeding generations the incubation period of the disease became progressively shorter until the flock died out. The most likely explanation for this phenomenon is considered to be an increase in the load of infection.     

Food aversion learning: ability of lambs to distinguish safe from harmful foods

We studied the ability of lambs to select safe foods in the presence of harmful foods. In a series of feeding experiments, 3- to 6-mo-old lambs were offered a choice between 1) a familiar, safe and a novel, harmful food, 2) a novel, safe and a novel, harmful food and 3) a familiar, harmful and a novel, safe food. All harmful foods were palatable feeds that had been treated with lithium chloride (LiCl), a non-lethal gastrointestinal poison. When lambs ingested a meal composed of a novel food containing LiCl and a familiar, safe food, lambs subsequently avoided the novel food. Lambs avoided the novel food even when the familiar food contained LiCl. The response of lambs varied when lambs were given a choice between a novel, safe food and a novel food containing LiCl. Lambs either avoided the novel food containing LiCl and ingested the safe food or they limited their intake of both novel foods. Their response was dependent on the novelty of the food containing LiCl. When a novel, palatable food contained 2% LiCl, lambs always ate some of the food, even after experiencing illness from ingesting it. Lambs experienced with foods containing LiCl displayed greater food neophobia than lambs naive to LiCl-treated foods. Thus, novelty was the major criterion that lambs used to associate foods with gastrointestinal illness.