Destruction of Trichinella spiralis spiralis during the preparation of the "dry cured" pork products proscuitto, proscuittini and Genoa salami

Genoa salami, proscuittini and proscuitto were prepared from pork carcasses that were heavily infected experimentally with Trichinella spiralis spiralis. Genoa salami was prepared with salt concentrations of 2.0%, 2.75% and 3.3%. Proscuitto was prepared by two procedures approved by Agriculture Canada. At various times postpreparation, samples of the various cured products were taken and examined by pepsin digestion and rat bioassay for the presence of viable trichinae. Water activity and pH of the cured meat were also determined. Curing of the various products was shown to destroy the Trichinella larvae. Pepsin digestion revealed that larvae progressively became loosely coiled, uncoiled and more subject to digestion (ghost larvae) during the curing process. Rat bioassay revealed the presence of viable trichinae in the proscuitto prepared using a sodium chloride salt mixture at day 34 but not at day 48 postpreparation. All other bioassays carried out on Genoa salami between 13 and 42 days postpreparation, on proscuittini between days 27 and 69 and on proscuitto between days 34 and 69 were negative for viable trichinae. Under the conditions of this study, preparing Genoa salami with salt concentrations as low as 2% did not appear to affect the destruction of Trichinella larvae.     

Antagonism of medetomidine sedation by atipamezole in pigs.

The efficacy of atipamezole as a medetomidine antagonist was evaluated in pigs. The atipamezole doses (intramuscularly) were 80, 160, 320 and 480 micrograms/kg of body weight, which were one, two, four and six times higher than the preceding medetomidine dose (80 micrograms/kg, intramuscularly). Atipamezole effectively reversed medetomidine-induced sedation, and the optimal action was seen at doses of 160 and 320 micrograms/kg. Recovery from sedation was quick and smooth, and adverse effects such as hyperactivity or tachycardia were minimal with either dose.     

Surgery of hepatic cysts in a cat.

A 2-year-old female Japanese domestic cat weighing 3.6 kg was presented due to marked abdominal distention and was diagnosed as hepatic cyst. The bile acid concentration of the hepatic cyst was as low as the serum bile acid concentration. The membrane of the cysts was excised from the edge of the compressed hepatic tissue and no other surgical manipulation was performed. This surgical procedure is simple and quick compared to hepatic lobectomy, however, it is necessary to evaluate the fluid of the cyst before performing this procedure.     

The appearance of ovarian cysts in young sows after treatment with gonadotropin preparations for estrus induction

In 72 (46%) of 155 gilts discarded for genetic reasons after performance testing and housed under fattening conditions no heat could have been detected during the first 30 days. The gilts were assigned alternatingly to a control group and four different treatments of delayed puberty. The induction of puberty was carried out by injections of 1000 iu PMSG, 400 iu HCG and 2 mg oestradiol benzoate, 400 iu PMSG and 200 iu HCG and 800 iu PMSG and 400 iu HCG. If there was no estrus gilts were slaughtered 12 days later for examination of the ovaries. Those coming into estrus were slaughtered 8 days after disappearance of estrus. Estrus could be induced in 69 to 94% of the gilts, whereas 40% of the untreated showed estrus signs. After treatment with PMSG and HCG in 40 and 87% of the gilts cysts were found whereas none of the untreated and 26 and 29% of those treated with PMSG und HCG + oestradiol benzoate revealed ovarian cysts. In addition, those gilts that had come into estrus during the first 30 days were given injections of either 1000 iu PMSG or 800 iu PMSG and 400 iu HCG. The injections were made either on the 5th, 10th or 15th day of cycle. In both latter groups significantly more gilts showed standing heat than after treatment at cycle day 5. The results of inspection of the ovaries at slaughter and steroid hormones could not be assigned to a defined stage of the physiological ovarian cycle.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Detection of early pregnancy factor in superovulated mice

Rosette inhibition tests for the detection of early pregnancy factor (EPF) were performed on naturally ovulated and superovulated mice from day 2 of pregnancy up to 4 days after parturition. In both groups of mice, the rosette inhibition titre (RIT) increased on day 2 of pregnancy, and persisted at high levels until day 15. Thereafter, the RITs of both groups of mice decreased to the non-pregnancy range. No significant differences of the mean RITs between these two groups were observed during the high RIT period. These results showed that the superovulatory treatment did not cause any changes or interference in the detection of EPF. In order to investigate the initial time of appearance of EPF in the maternal circulation in relation to the stage of fertilization, measurement of RIT and examination of the fertilization stage were carried out on superovulated mice 1 day after mating. The mean RIT of mice with pronucleus stage ova was significantly (p less than 0.01) higher than that of mice with sperm-penetrated ova. EPF was considered to appear in the maternal peripheral blood at the pronucleus stage.     

Hysterectomy during the luteal period in dogs chronically treated with bromocriptine

To determine whether prolactin has luteolytic properties during the first part of the luteal period, hysterectomy was performed in four dogs, in which prolactin had been chronically suppressed by bromocriptine administration. The concentration of progesterone in the peripheral blood decreased upon hysterectomy during the first part of the luteal phase and regained normal values after about seven days. The progesterone patterns during the perisurgical period in these dogs were similar to those patterns observed in dogs hysterectomised without bromocriptine treatment. It is concluded therefore that, in the dog, luteolytic properties can not be attributed to prolactin.     

D-Dimer Improves the Prognostic Value of Combined Clinical and Laboratory Data in Equine Gastrointestinal Colic

The discriminating ability of 15 parameters alone or in combinations, including results from analysis of plasma endotoxin, the Nycomed plasma D-Dimer test and phospholipase A₂, were analyzed to predict morbidity and mortality in equine gastrointestinal colic. Endotoxaemia was a characteristic feature of the colic horses. The problem of adequately predicting non-survivors among colic horses required several parameters to be included in the logistic model: if the “classical parameters”, (heart rate, respiratory rate, PCV, anion gap) were included in the model, addition of plasma D-dimer, phospholipase A₂, and Cl^- significantly improved the predictive value of the logistic model. Increasing heart rate and D-dimer together with decreasing chloride was a risk factor for nonsurvival. The sensitivity of this three-parameter logistic model to predict nonsurvival was 78% and specificity 77%. The Nycomed D-Dimer test is recommended as a horse-site test to predict disseminated intravascular coagulation and nonsurvival in equine colic.     

Fluid distribution in pork, measured by x-ray diffraction, interference microscopy and centrifugation compared to paleness measured by fiber optics

Moderately PSE (pale, soft, exudative) and moderately DFD (dark, firm, dry) pork was examined by x-ray diffraction for interfilament separation, by differential interference contrast microscopy for interfiber area, and was centrifuged to measure water holding capacity (WHC). Internal reflectance spectra were measured by fiber optics. For PSE to DFD pork, filament separation ranged from 39 to 48 nm, interfiber area from 42 to 3%, and WHC from 49 to 64%, respectively. The correlation of reflectance with interfilament separation varied considerably with wavelength (reaching r = -.83 at 680 nm, P less than .005). The correlation of reflectance with interfiber area was more uniform across the spectrum (reaching r = .90 at 450 nm, P less than .005), as was the correlation of reflectance with WHC (reaching r = -.80 at 400 nm, P less than .005). At 24 h postmortem, fiber-optic spectrophotometry may be used as a rapid, nondestructive method to predict WHC and potential fluid losses from commercial pork with a moderate range from PSE to DFD. Interfiber area was correlated negatively with filament lattice area and WHC, but no significant correlation was found between filament lattice area and WHC. Filament separation was decreased only slightly by centrifugation. These results indicate that at 24 h postmortem the extra fluid released from PSE pork already has been lost from the myofilament lattice and is awaiting release from compartments downstream such as interfiber and interfascicular spaces.     

ras p21 expression in ovine pulmonary carcinoma

We have adapted an enzyme-linked immunoblot assay (ELIBA) for the detection of a c-ras proto-oncogene and oncogene protein products in human cell lines and tumors of 21,000 daltons molecular weight (p21ras) to studies of tissues derived from sheep. In the ELIBA, a double antibody system is used in which p21ras proteins are initially immunoprecipitated from protein extracts with monoclonal antibodies, and subsequently identified using additional anti-ras antibodies. Binding is identified with a non-radioactive enzyme-linked colorimetric detection system. In the present study, the ELIBA system was used to study twenty-seven ovine lung specimens, representing normal lung, inflammatory, and neoplastic lesions. We detected p21ras protein expression in every tissue examined, but the nature and amount of the protein product varied significantly among the tissues examined. Some tissues expressed multiple ras species. Broncho-alveolar carcinoma specimens were most likely to express c-Ki-ras proteins. Mutant proteins of c-N-ras and c-Ki-ras were detected in several bronchoalveolar carcinoma specimens, based on migrational differences between mutant and normal proteins in 15% polyacrylamide gels. The results of this study demonstrate the utility of the ELIBA system for detection of c-ras expression in ovine lung tissues, and demonstrate the ability of the system to discriminate specific ras protein species. The prognostic significance of ras expression in sheep pulmonary carcinoma has yet to be determined.     

Seroepidemiological survey of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis infection in sheep in Japan using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunodiffusion

Sera from 1186 apparently healthy sheep in Hokkaido were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunodiffusion (ID) for the presence of antibodies against Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis. ELISA-positives were 466 (39.3%) while ID-positives were 330 (27.8%). Spread of caseous lymphadenitis in sheep in Hokkaido was thus clarified. Although ID was less sensitive than ELISA in detecting the antibodies against C. pseudotuberculosis it did not give any non-specific reaction. From the results and in view of the simplicity of the test procedure, ID was found to be of practical diagnostic value. Distribution by age group of anti-C. pseudotuberculosis antibodies in 758 sheep in a herd detected by both tests showed that the ratio of positives was low in sheep aged less than 1 year, and the ratio increased significantly in those aged 1 year and continued to increase with age until it reached a plateau at the age of 4-5 years.