Determination of the urea content of milk in general practice

To determine the urea in milk and thus to get information on the feeding regimen, a method using colour stripes was developped for the extension service in Bavaria. The quantitative results are fairly exact and available within four minutes comparing the colour changes of the stripe with a four-colour-scale. The scale comprises a range from 15 to more than 40 mg urea nitrogen per 100 ml of milk. The resulting colour as a rule lies between two colour shadings. Udder diseases give uncorrect results. The pH values of the milk samples should be situated between 6.6 and 6.9. This test meets the requirements of the extension service in most cases. Thus disturbances of metabolism caused by feeding can be corrected without problems and immediately. The status of lactation seems to have no influence. Most important in this respect are a feed composition adapted to ruminants and a correct ratio between intake of energy and protein.     

Stickstoff-Eintrag und -Verbleib im Boden unter offenen und abgedeckten Mistmieten

Nitrogen penetration and persistence in soil under uncovered and covered farmyard manure heaps
After deposition of cattle manure for 308 days neither the total nitrogen nor the nitrate but onlv the ammonia content in the soil (0–70 cm) was significantly increased. During a 258 days period from autumn to spring the observed microbial oxidation of penetrated ammonia to nitrate was tardy and by no means quantitative. So leaching of nitrate was hardly to be detected during the whole period. In the soil layer 40–70 cm a maximum of 1.6 g NO₃⁻-N/m² was measured, which was in an equivalent range with the amounts detected by large scale investigations in agricultural soils at the same season. Therefore the manure heaps in question did not lead to an uncommon increase of nitrate in soil. The protection of the heaps against precipitation simply brought about small and only a few times significant reductions in soil N_min content.     

Longissimus muscle quality, palatability and connective tissue histological characteristics of bulls and steers fed different energy levels and slaughtered at four ages

One hundred forty-four Angus male calves were assigned to one of five slaughter-age groups: 9, 12, 15, 18 and 24 mo of age. After weaning, one-half of the calves within slaughter age were castrated. One-half of the 12-, 15-, 18- and 24-mo age groups of each sex were further randomly allotted to a high-energy (HE) or low-energy (LE) finishing diet. Eight bulls and eight steers assigned to the 9-mo slaughter group were fed the HE diet only. Samples from the longissimus muscle (LM) were taken at the 12th rib for histological evaluations of fat deposits. Thin sections from the LM at the 11th rib were stained for lipid, collagen and elastin. Steaks from the LM were cooked and evaluated by a sensory panel and sheared by a Warner-Bratzler shear (WBS) device. The 9-10-11th rib sections were separated into muscle, fat and bone. Collagen, elastin and collagen solubility were determined chemically. Bulls had heavier carcasses, less fat and lower sensory scores for tenderness and juiciness than steers. Steers fed the HE diet had lower WBS values than bulls on either diet. Cooking losses were higher for bulls at 12, 18 and 24 mo than for steers. Histological evaluation showed that collagen content was higher for bulls than for steers and higher for cattle fed the LE diet than those fed the HE diet. Among cattle on the HE diet, the 9-mo cattle had more collagen than all older groups. Neither sex nor diet had an effect on elastin content shown by histological evaluation, but 12-mo cattle had the most elastin and the 15- and 18-mo cattle had the least elastin. Collagen content determined by chemical analysis was not affected by sex, diet or slaughter age. Correlation coefficients among histologically and chemically evaluated collagen and elastin and meat traits were too low to be of practical importance. The time-intensive histological techniques used in our study provided little additional information over that obtained from visually evaluated or chemically measured meat traits.     

Yield grades and cutability of carcass beef with and without kidney and pelvic fat

Cut-out data from 2,550 steer carcasses representing British, Continental and Zebu breeding were analyzed to evaluate yield grade classes based on three equations: 1) Ya = 2.5 + .984 AFT + .0084 HCW - .05 REA + .2 KPF; 2) Yb = same as Ya with intercept changed to 3.2 and KPF deleted; 3) Yc = 3.0 + .984 AFT + .0041 HCW - .03 REA, as proposed by USDA in 1984; where AFT = adjusted fat thickness (cm), HCW = hot carcass weight (kg), REA = rib-eye area (cm2), and KPF = kidney and pelvic fat (%). Essentially boneless, closely trimmed (8 mm) roasts and steaks of the four major retail cuts (MRC) were made from one side of each carcass. Cutability was calculated as: Ca, % = 100 (MRC/side) and Cb,c % = 100 (MRC/side, KPF removed). Cutability increased (P less than .01) an average of two percentage points when KPF was removed. In general, removing KPF from the estimation of cutability and changing the coefficients for REA and HCW resulted in a decrease in the number of carcasses yield graded 1 or 4 and an increase in the number of carcasses in yield grade 2. Redistribution of carcasses was greater for Yc than for Yb. Carcasses classified with equation Yc tended (P greater than .05) to have greater cutability in yield grades 1 and 2, and lower (P less than .01) cutability in yield grades 3, 4 and 5.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The ligamentum olecrani of the Elbow Joint in Dogs and Cats

The olecranon ligament ( ligamentum olecrani ) is described as an elastic ligament of the elbow joint in carnivores that tenses the caudomedial part of the joint capsule. The aim of the study was to compare the course and the microscopic structure of the ligament in dogs and cats. The elbow regions of 25 dogs and 15 cats were dissected to examine the topography of the ligament in extension and flexion. Furthermore, the olecranon ligaments of five dogs and five cats were studied using routine histological methods. Additional sections were stained with Resorcin–Fuchsin and Orcein to detect elastic fibres. In both species the olecranon ligament originates at the lateral surface of the epicondylus medialis humeri and inserts at the cranial crest of the olecranon extending distally to the roof of the processus anconeus . Tension of the ligament only occurs when the elbow joint is flexed maximally. This tension is increased by a slight supination of the forearm, which takes place automatically in this joint position. In dogs the ligament is long (30–40 mm in medium sized breeds) and relatively slim (approx. 2–4 mm). In cats the ligament is short (10–12 mm) and relatively strong (5–8 mm). The histological examination of the olecranon ligament shows all signs of a tight collagenous ligament with a negligible amount of elastic fibres. The olecranon ligament helps to limit the maximal flexion of the elbow joint. In addition, it controls a slight lateral movement of the processus anconeus during the automatic supination of the antebrachial bones in extreme flexion of the elbow joint.     

Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of carfentanil and naltrexone in female common eland (Taurotragus oryx).

The pharmacokinetic parameters of carfentanil and naltrexone were determined in the common eland (Taurotragus oryx). Six adult females were immobilized with xylazine (0.23 +/- 0.03 mg/kg i.m.) and carfentanil (0.0169 +/- 0.0005 mg/kg i.m.) for a 45-min period, during which time routine health care procedures were performed. Heart and respiration rates and body temperatures were monitored throughout the immobilization period. A single intramuscular injection of naltrexone (1.66 +/- 0.08 mg/kg i.m.) was sufficient for reversal. The eland were intermittently restrained in a hydraulic squeeze chute for serial blood sample collection via jugular venipuncture during immobilization and up to 48 hr post-immobilization. The quantification of carfentanil and naltrexone in the plasma was performed by liquid chromatography and mass spectroscopy methods. Carfentanil was rapidly absorbed following administration, with the peak plasma concentration (C(max)) at 13.8 min. Naltrexone was readily absorbed and reached C(max) at 23.4 +/- 16.8 min after administration. All animals stood 2.7 +/- 2.2 min after naltrexone administration. Carfentanil has a half-life of 7.7 hr, whereas naltrexone has a much shorter half-life of 3.7 hr. Although respiratory rates appeared to fluctuate widely among animals, heart rates and body temperature remained stable throughout the immobilization. Renarcotization was not noted as a major complication.     

Genotypic Diversity of the Wheat Leaf Blotch Pathogen Mycosphaerella Graminicola (anamorph) Septoria Tritici in Germany

The population structure and genotypic diversity of Mycosphaerella graminicola from six natural field populations in Germany were studied with molecular markers. To reveal the potential effects of plant host resistance on the pathogen population, hierarchical samples were taken from susceptible and resistant cultivars. A total of 203 single spore isolates was subjected to molecular marker analysis using the amplified fragment length polymorphism technique (AFLP). Among the 203 isolates analyzed, 142 different multilocus haplotypes (MLH) were identified revealing a high degree of genotypic diversity of the M. graminicola population. On average, a F _ST value of 0.04 was found, indicating a low genetic differentiation with only 4% of the genetic variation between the local populations but leaving 96% of the genetic variation within the populations. According to the low F _ST value, a high migration rate of Nm 12 was found. The observed high within-population diversity, and the significant migration between populations, prevented genetic isolation and differentiation of putative geographically separated populations. Furthermore, plant host resistance had no obvious effect on the population structure and diversity of M. graminicola. Genotypic variability can be attributed to sexual recombination which appears to have a considerably larger influence on the population structure. Gene flow on this scale could have significant implications for plant breeding and fungicide spraying programmes.     

The humoral immune response to recombinant nucleocapsid antigen of canine distemper virus in dogs vaccinated with attenuated distemper virus or DNA encoding the nucleocapsid of wild-type virus

This study compared the humoral immune response against the nucleocapsid-(N) protein of canine distemper virus (CDV) of dogs vaccinated with a multivalent vaccine against parvo-, adeno-, and parainfluenza virus and leptospira combined with either the attenuated CDV Onderstepoort strain (n = 15) or an expression plasmid containing the N-gene of CDV (n = 30). The vaccinations were applied intramuscularly three times at 2-week intervals beginning at the age of 6 weeks. None of the pre-immune sera recognized the recombinant N-protein, confirming the lack of maternal antibodies at this age. Immunization with DNA vaccine for CDV resulted in positive serum N-specific IgG response. However, their IgG (and IgA) titres were lower than those of CDV-vaccinated dogs. Likewise, DNA-vaccinated dogs did not show an IgM peak. There was no increase in N-specific serum IgE titres in either group. Serum titres to the other multivalent vaccine components were similar in both groups.