Use of oxibendazole for control of cambendazole-resistant small strongyles in a band of ponies: a six-year study

Oxibendazole (OBZ; 10 mg/kg of body weight) was administered to ponies at 8-week intervals to control strongylosis in a breeding band of Shetland-type ponies (n = 29 to 50) from October 1978 through September 1984. A similar use of cambendazole (CBZ; 20 mg/kg of body weight) in this band of ponies during the preceding 4-year period resulted in the survival of a CBZ-resistant population (S) of small strongyles. Effectiveness of OBZ treatments was monitored by pre- and posttreatment counts of the number of strongyle eggs per gram of feces (epg) and of the number of strongyle larvae per gram of feces (lpg). For the first 4 years of the 6-year period, epg and lpg counts were determined for 3 to 5 of the OBZ treatments; during the last 2 years, counts were determined for each treatment. For the 1st year, the mean reduction in epg was 96%. During the 2nd and 3rd years, mean reductions in epg were 80% and 81%, respectively. For the 4th and 5th years, mean reductions in epg were 69% and 43%, respectively. For the 6th year, the mean reduction in epg was 37%. Statistical analyses of the epg data, using the linear plateau method, indicated a significant increase in residual (surviving) strongyle infections after the periodic OBZ treatments, with a mean annual increase in survival of 10.3% for the 6 years. Changes in lpg were variable, but an overall loss of effectiveness of the OBZ treatments was evident. Only infective larvae of small strongyles were observed in the cultures; larvae of 2 species of large strongyles, Strongylus vulgaris and Strongylus edentatus, were conspicuously absent.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Epidemiological studies of pig diseases: 1. Use of French protocols for risk factor assessment to predict the health status of Australian herds

Objective To determine in Australian pig herds the accuracy of French protocols for risk factor assessment.
Procedure Data on health indicators and risk factors were collected for three syndromes, 'pre-weaning diarrhoea', 'post-weaning diarrhoea' and 'respiratory problems', using the French protocols. The protocols were used on 118 occasions in 32 Western Australian pig herds during 3 years (1988 to 1991).
Results There was a wide variation in pre-weaning performance, for example growth rate was 107 to 273 g/day (< 200 g/day in 33% of herds). Respiratory lesions at weaning were associated with poor pre-weaning performance. Post-weaning (21 days after weaning) growth rate was 114 to 408 g/day (< 250 g/day in 54% of herds). In the grower herds, 91% of herds had pneumonia, and growth rate was 439 to 625 g/day (< 550 g/day in 54% of herds). Pleurisy as well as pneumonia was associated with reduced growth rate. The risk factor most closely associated with respiratory health status was air volume per pig.
Conclusion Risk factors were most accurate at predicting the health status in post-weaning problems. A weaning weight of at least 7.9 kg and weaning age of 30 days optimised weaner performance. Stocking densities and shed designs providing at least 3 m³ air volume and 0.6 m² floor space per pig throughout the growing phase should be considered for an improved respiratory health status. Australian pig sheds often do not provide a satisfactory environment for optimum health. The technique of risk factor assessment as an aid to the maintenance of health in pig herds is applicable in Australia, but further research is necessary to determine the most important Australian risk factors.     

评估调质时间和温度对猪颗粒饲料淀粉糊化度和维生素沉积的影响

本论文研究了饲料加工的两个关键参数(调质温度和时间)对育肥猪颗粒饲料淀粉糊化度和维生素沉积的影响。日粮配方为含30%干酒糟及其可溶物的玉米-豆粕型基础日粮。整个试验中配方保持不变。本试验采用2×3双因子设计,调质温度分别为77℃和88℃,调质时间分别15秒、30秒和60秒。此外,本试验还设置一个对照组,对照组饲料不采用调质制粒工艺,而是采用粉料饲喂。因此,本试验共有7个处理组。采集调质后制粒前(热干粉)、制粒后冷却前(热制粒)、以及制粒冷却后(冷制粒)的样品,并分析这三种样品的总淀粉率、淀粉糊化     

Impact of foot-and-mouth disease on mastitis and culling on a large-scale dairy farm in Kenya

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a highly transmissible viral infection of cloven hooved animals associated with severe economic losses when introduced into FMD-free countries. Information on the impact of the disease in FMDV-endemic countries is poorly characterised yet essential for the prioritisation of scarce resources for disease control programmes. A FMD (virus serotype SAT2) outbreak on a large-scale dairy farm in Nakuru County, Kenya provided an opportunity to evaluate the impact of FMD on clinical mastitis and culling rate. A cohort approach followed animals over a 12-month period after the commencement of the outbreak. For culling, all animals were included; for mastitis, those over 18 months of age. FMD was recorded in 400/644 cattle over a 29-day period. During the follow-up period 76 animals were culled or died whilst in the over 18 month old cohort 63 developed clinical mastitis. Hazard ratios (HR) were generated using Cox regression accounting for non-proportional hazards by inclusion of time-varying effects. Univariable analysis showed FMD cases were culled sooner but there was no effect on clinical mastitis. After adjusting for possible confounders and inclusion of time-varying effects there was weak evidence to support an effect of FMD on culling (HR = 1.7, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.88-3.1, P = 0.12). For mastitis, there was stronger evidence of an increased rate in the first month after the onset of the outbreak (HR = 2.9, 95%CI 0.97-8.9, P = 0.057).

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13567-015-0173-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Assessment of cable tensile forces in active winch-assist harvesting using an anchor machine configuration

European Journal of Forest Research - The growing interest in accessing steep terrain is pushing the expansion of the operating range of ground-based machines through winch-assist technology....     

Adherence, haemagglutination and cell surface characteristics of motile aeromonads virulent for fish

Abstract. Motile Aeromonas spp. virulent for fish were studied with regard to their adhesion profile. Electron microscopy demonstrated the presence of fimbriae (pili) on Aeromonas cells regardless of virulence potential. The results show no significant correlations between ability to haemagglutinate, yeast cell co-agglutination and virulence. All strains expressed mannose-sensitive haemagglutinin activity against guinea pig erythrocytes. Using four types of red blood cells no characteristic haemagglutinin pattern related to virulence could be discerned. Expression of surface haemagglutin(s) on Aeromonas hydrophila appears to be medium dependent; strains grown in liquid media demonstrated enhanced haemagglutination activity. Both virulent and avirulent strains had in vitro epithelial cell adhesive capabilities. Cell surface characteristics measured by agglutination in acriflavine and stability after boiling indicated that most virulent strains agglutinated in the presence of acriflavine, but not all sedimented after boiling. The ability of 10 selected strains of A hydrophila to grow in normal pooled catfish serum was determined. Only 17% of the virulence variations can be explained by their sensitivity to serum.     

Computer simulations of homeward-migrating Fraser River sockeye salmon: is compass orientation a sufficient direction-finding mechanism in the north-east Pacific Ocean?

Computer simulations were used to investigate whether compass orientation is a sufficient guidance mechanism for sockeye salmon migrating to the Fraser River from their ocean foraging grounds in the north-east Pacific Ocean. Daily surface ocean currents, simulated by the ocean surface current simulations (OSCURS) model, were used to test the influence of currents on the return oceanic migration of Fraser River sockeye salmon. High seas tagging and coastal recover data of Fraser River sockeye salmon were used for the migration simulations. Surface currents were shown to increase the speed of the homeward-migrating sockeye salmon, as well as to deflect the fish in a north-eastward direction. In spite of ocean currents, all Fraser River sockeye salmon were able to reach their destination with a fixed direction and bioenergetically efficient swimming speed when migration was delayed until the last month at sea. Compass orientation alone was shown to be a sufficient direction-finding mechanism for Fraser River sockeye salmon.