Use of the ARC/INFO GIS to study the distribution of Lyme disease ticks in an Illinois county

Lyme disease is a bacterial disease of humans and domestic animals transmitted primarily through the bite of the deer tick, Ixodes dammini. Using the ARC/INFO geographic information system (GIS), the distribution of tick vectors can be associated simultaneously with a large number of environmental, biological and demographic factors. The Illinois GIS was used to study the associations of soil type, potential vegetation cover and distance from waterways with tick distributions, and to compare the dispersion patterns of tick-infested and uninfested deer in one northwestern Illinois county. Tick presence was associated with sandy soils, wooded vegetation, and proximity to rivers. Infested deer were clustered around an endemic focus I. dammini, while uninfested deer showed no such clustering. Changes in the spatial distribution of ticks over two years and likely sites for further establishment of ticks were also studied.     

Activin A: from sometime reproductive factor to genuine cytokine

The growth factor, activin A, was initially characterized as a putative reproductive hormone but is now known to have many other divergent roles. One of these is during inflammation. Following intravenous injection of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) into sheep, activin A is released extremely rapidly into the circulation. The release of activin A appears to be independent of fever, prostaglandins or other key proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF-alpha or IL-1beta. While the precise roles and function of this factor in inflammation are yet to be elucidated, the activin response occurs in other mammalian species besides the sheep and elevated activin has been documented for a number of clinical inflammatory conditions. Activin A therefore seems to be part of the regulatory component of the innate immune response.     

Isoflurane to prolong medetomidine/ ketamine anaesthesia in six adult female chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Six adult female chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) were anaesthetised for the placement of intrauterine contraceptive devices, microchips for identification, routine blood sampling, and physical measurements. Anaesthesia was induced with medetomidine in combination with ketamine administered by intramuscular injection with a projectile syringe. Induction was smooth and rapid, but five of the animals were insufficiently relaxed for orotracheal intubation. The plane of anaesthesia was deepened by administering isoflurane delivered in oxygen and nitrous oxide, and general anaesthesia was maintained for up to 74 minutes. The action of medetomidine was reversed at the end of each procedure with atipamezole, and the animals recovered smoothly and uneventfully.     

Canine cyclic hematopoiesis: blood gas and 2,3-diphosphoglyceric acid studies

Cyclic hematopoiesis in gray Collies was first described in 1967. These dogs are anemic in comparison with the healthy littermates, and their erythropoiesis is abnormal. Although the basic disorder appears to be an as yet unidentified abnormality of hematopoietic progenitor cells, an inherent difference in responses to blood gas control mechanisms remains as a possible cause. In a study of these mechanisms in dogs with cyclic hematopoiesis, the P50 and 2,3-diphosphoglyceric acid concentrations were increased. Differences in pH, PCO2, PO2, and oxygen saturation were not observed.     

A study of the pattern of staphylococcal contamination of the udders of cows in a dairy herd

Abstract

Extract

The results of the 1965–6 New Zealand national mastitis survey (Anon., 1967 Anon Ann. Rep. Res. Div. N.Z. Dept. Agric. 1966–67 1967 77 78  [Google Scholar]) indicated that β-haemolytic staphylococci were the most common bacteria isolated from the milk of dairy cows. Effective control of β-haemolytic stapyhlococci on a national scaledepends ultimately upon an understanding of population changes of this organism within the cow and within the herd.     

Control of heifer mastitis by nutrition

Nutritional factors that are linked to mastitis in the mature dairy cow can be associated with mastitis in the first lactation cow as well. However, there may also be risk factors unique to the heifer due to differences in feeding management during rearing or pre-calving. Literature was reviewed to summarize current knowledge regarding links between heifer nutrition and mastitis with the potential to identify areas for future research. The preponderance of data relating nutrition and bovine mastitis involves selected micronutrients. Selenium and vitamin E enhance phagocytic activity and have been associated with decreased clinical mastitis risk. Copper has antioxidant functions and can reduce clinical mastitis in heifers. Zinc is implicated in maintaining the epithelial barriers to infection, but reports vary as to its role in udder health. Vitamin A and beta-carotene aid in maintaining the health of mucosal surfaces, and beta-carotene may also have antioxidant properties. Supplementation with vitamin A and beta-carotene has produced inconsistent results. Vitamin and mineral requirements of dairy heifers are generally influenced by growth rate and body weight relative to mature size, though little specific data is available. From a management standpoint, heifer rations should be supplemented where necessary, and a pre-fresh heifer diet is critical to assure that first lactation animals have adequate stores of minerals and vitamins. Adequate stores are necessary for transfer into colostrum by calving. Additional studies using field data and controlled studies are needed to further define the role of nutrition in animal health and in affecting specific mastitis-causing organisms.     

The effects of physostigmine on the electroretinogram in the beagle dog

The purpose of the study was to correlate electroretinogram (ERG) parameters with increasing levels of plasma, erythrocyte and ocular tissue cholinesterase inhibition using the beagle dog as a model for human neurovisual toxicity. The anticholinesterase compound physostigmine was administered at various steady-state intravenous infusion rates based on pharmacokinetic estimates of plasma and red blood cell cholinesterase inhibition. The most sensitive parameter was the b-wave amplitude of the rod response, which was significantly depressed compared to pretreatment at all levels of acute cholinesterase depression. The overall maximal ERG response demonstrated a trend of declining a-and b-wave amplitudes, which corresponded with the increased levels of cholinesterase depression, but these differences were not significant. The depression of the electroretinogram rod and cone amplitudes appeared to parallel plasma cholinesterase inhibition more closely than erythrocyte cholinesterase activity. Ocular tissue cholinesterase activity was significantly depressed in the retina (70%), cornea (60%) and dorsal rectus extraocular muscle (46%). Electroretinography may be a useful physiological tool for evaluating the ocular toxicity of certain chemicals or pharmaceuticals associated with cholinesterase biomarker activity.Abbreviations AChE acetylcholinesterase - Amp amplitude - BuChE butyrylcholinesterase - C _p plasma level - C _ss steady-state plasma concentration - D _L loading dose - e ^–kt the rate of elimination over time (t) - ERG electroretinogram - k elimination rate constant - Lat latency - MBW metabolic body weight - O₁–O₅ consecutive oscillatory potential wavelets - PreTx pretreatment - R rate of infusion - R _Inf rate of infusion - V _d volume of distribution