MONITORING THE TRAUMA PATIENT

Patient monitoring devices may be considered as extensions of the veterinary clinician's senses. Many of the parameters outlined above have been used for years, without the term “monitor” being used. In this report, several patient monitoring methods have been discussed, and their advantages weighed. It is hoped that judicious use of some of these monitoring methods may aid the veterinary clinician in diagnosis and treatment of his trauma patients.     

Ruminal in situ disappearance kinetics of dry matter and fiber in growing steers for common crabgrass forages sampled on seven dates in northern Arkansas

Southern crabgrass (Digitaria ciliaris [Retz.] Koel.) is often viewed as an undesirable weed, largely because it encroaches upon field and forage crops, gardens, and lawns. However, visual observations of livestock grazing mixed-species pastures suggest that cattle seem to prefer crabgrass to many other summer forages. The objectives of this study were to assess the nutritive value of crabgrass sampled weekly between July 11, and August 22, 2001, and then to determine ruminal in situ disappearance kinetics of DM and NDF for these crabgrass forages. A secondary objective was to compare these kinetic estimates with those of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon [L.] Pers.), and orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) control hays. All forages were evaluated in situ using five (383 +/- 22.7 kg) ruminally cannulated crossbred (Gelbvieh x Angus x Brangus) steers. Whole-plant crabgrass exhibited more rapid (P < or = 0.002) ruminal disappearance rates of DM (overall range = 0.069 to 0.084 h(-1)) than did bermudagrass (0.054 h(-1)) and orchardgrass (0.060 h(-1)) hays, but disappearance rates were slower (P < 0.001) for crabgrass than for alfalfa hay (0.143 h(-1)). Effective ruminal disappearance of DM was greater (P < 0.001) for crabgrass (overall range = 69.3 to 75.4%) than for all the control hays. Similarly, disappearance rates of NDF for crabgrass (overall range = 0.069 to 0.086 h(-1)) were more rapid (P < 0.001) than observed for bermudagrass and orchardgrass hays; however, NDF in alfalfa disappeared at a faster (P < 0.001) rate (0.107 h(-1)) than crabgrass. These results indicate that crabgrass offers greater effective ruminal degradability of DM and NDF than orchardgrass or alfalfa of moderate quality. More importantly, it potentially offers faster and more extensive ruminal disappearance than perennial warm-season grasses typically found throughout the southeastern United States, and it should likely support improved performance by ruminant livestock in this region.     

PREOPERATIVE CLINICAL EVALUATION OF THE SURGICAL PATIENT WITH POTENTIAL OR APPARENT INFECTION

Because of the type of patient treated, and the nature of the injury, the veterinarian is often called upon to treat surgical infections. These infections may be primary, or can be sequelae or trauma or elective surgery. Each clinician has his own protocol and priorities in evaluation of the patient with a surgical infection. A careful history and physical examination, together with clinical and microbiological laboratory testing procedures will help identify the pathogenic organism and indicate the severity of the infection in the animal patient. With this preliminary evaluation, the clinician and surgeon may attack the problem appropriately, and with a greater assurance of success.     

A model for the description and prediction of the response of laying hens to amino acid intake

A model which describes the response of groups of laying hens to different levels of amino acid intake is presented. The model is based on the assumption of simple linear relationships between amino acid intake and the output characteristics, egg production and maintenance, for individual birds. The response for a group of birds is then derived as the average of the individual responses. The shape of this flock—response curve depends on seven parameters, namely the mean maximum egg output (ē _max), variation in E _max, mean body weight (W), variation in W, the correlation between egg output and body weight, and two constants (a and b) representing respectively the quantities of amino acid required for unit egg output and for maintenance of unit body weight.

Three methods of manipulating the model are described. These use (i) a computer simulation procedure; (ii) the exact solution for the model and (iii) some reasonable approximations for practical application.

The use of the model for describing experimental data and for predicting amino acid requirements is discussed, and the main limiting assumptions and some possible extensions of the principles involved are pointed out.     

The effects of early and late maturity on the protein requirements of pullets

Growing pullets were exposed to two light patterns which caused a difference in sexual maturity of 5 weeks. From 28 to 38 weeks of age they were fed diets containing crude protein levels of 7.0, 8.5, 10.0, 11.5, 13.0 and 14.5 per cent. Yellow maize provided 45 per cent and soyabean meal 55 per cent of the protein in all six diets.

Rate of lay, egg weight and body weight were greater in the late maturing flock than in the early flock at the start of the assay and throughout the assay period. The late maturing pullets required more protein to reach and maintain their maximum potential than the early birds, presumably because their potential output was greater. The late birds showed a diminishing but continued response to protein up to the highest level fed (14.5 per cent corresponding to 23 g. protein per bird day). The early maturing pullets showed no response to dietary protein levels beyond 11.5 per cent and their estimated protein requirement was about 16 g. per bird day.

When limiting amounts of protein were fed (7.0–10.0 per cent of the diet) the two flocks achieved similar levels of egg output. In both flocks and throughout the assay, body weight and egg weight fell at the two lowest levels and increased at the three highest levels of protein.

It is concluded that the protein requirements of early maturing and late maturing flocks of pullets may differ, but only in a way which corresponds directly with their different potential outputs. In the late flock, which had the higher protein requirement, excellent production was obtained with a diet containing 14½ per cent crude protein all of which came from vegetable sources.     

Quantitative study of pulmonary endocrine cells in fetal, postnatal and adult sheep

Using light microscopic immunohistochemistry, neuron-specific enolase (NSE)-positive endocrine cells were quantitatively analyzed in the sheep lung during different stages of development from the canalicular stages to adulthood. In all stages, NSE-positive endocrine cells were usually located in the bronchi and bronchioles as solitary cells, although a few NSE-positive cell clusters, the so-called neuroepithelial bodies, were found in some places. The number of NSE-positive endocrine cells decreased with advanced stages of gestation. In the late alveolar stage, the number of NSE-positive endocrine cells reached its bottom during the fetal period. There was a gradual upturn after birth. The overall pattern of growth and differentiation of the endocrine cells is most likely species-related and depends on the state of airway development; the number of the endocrine cells of almost all animals, excluding the sheep, in relation to the size of the lung reaches a peak in the late fetal and early neonatal periods and decreases shortly thereafter. NSE-positive endocrine cells were also predominantly located in the large airways during the early stage of development (canalicular stage), and were found more frequently in the small peripheral airways towards the term. These results show the number of NSE-positive endocrine cells in the sheep to be different from that seen in other species.