Unsuccessful treatment of a horse with mandibular granulomatous osteomyelitis due to Halicephalobus gingivalis

An 8-year-old horse was presented with a submandibular swelling. Biopsy of the lesion indicated granulomatous osteomyelitis due to Halicephalobus gingivalis. In the absence of evidence of involvement of the central nervous system at the time of diagnosis, the horse was treated with ivermectin. Unfortunately, the horse did not survive.     

Predation of lowbush blueberry insect pests by ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in the laboratory

Agriculture relies on ecosystem services, such as biological control of pests, for economic success and sustainability. Commercially managed lowbush blueberries are an important crop in eastern North America, but pest control by natural enemies has not been well studied. In this paper we address questions about consumption of two blueberry pests by ground beetles (Carabidae) that are common in blueberry fields. In the first experiment, a Poecilus l. lucublandus, Carabus nemoralis, or Pterostichus mutus beetle was placed with two blueberry spanworm larvae, Itame argillacearia, in a simple (cup only or cup + soil) or more complex (cup + soil + blueberry sprigs) treatment arena. In most cases, probability of spanworm consumption reached 100 % in simple arenas by the end of the experiment (48 h) but was 25–50 % lower in more complex arenas. In a second experiment, a male or female Pterostichus melanarius or Harpalus rufipes beetle was placed in a plastic container with saturated or dry soil into which mature blueberry maggots, Rhagoletis mendax, dropped from blueberries to pupate. Approximately 40–80 and 35 % fewer pupae were recovered when a P. melanarius and H. rufipes beetle was present, respectively, but soil moisture and beetle sex were not significant factors. Our results demonstrate that ground beetles can prey upon important blueberry pests, but suggest that consumption may be influenced by microhabitat structure.     

Efficacy of the pear ester as a monitoring tool for codling moth Cydia pomonella (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in New Zealand apple orchards

BACKGROUND: The behavioural response of both sexes of codling moth, Cydia pomonella to the pear-derived kairomone (ethyl (2E,4Z)-2,4-decadienoate), codling moth sex pheromone (E,E-8,10-dodecadien-1-ol), and sex pheromone combined with the pear derived kairomone loaded into red rubber septum were investigated in trapping experiments in New Zealand apple orchards. A range of 0.01-10.0 mg of pheromone loading in rubber septum dispensers was tested and the highest catch of males was in traps baited with 1.0 mg. No dose response in trap catch of males was seen in traps baited with different amounts of pear-derived kairomone (0.01-10.0 mg). RESULTS: The number of females caught was significantly affected by the amount of pear derived kairomone used to bait traps, with the highest catch obtained at 10 mg loading. The attractiveness of sex pheromone was not enhanced by the addition of the kairomone either when used in the same bait or in a separate bait. The mean number of males captured in traps was reduced by 44% when the pheromone and kairomone were combined at ratio of 1:1 (0.1 mg pheromone: 0.1 mg kairomone) in separate sources. CONCLUSION: Kairomone baited traps showed some potential for monitoring the flight activity of female C. pomonella in apple orchards in two locations (Canterbury and Hawke's Bay). However, the number of male moths caught was low as compared to the number of male moths caught in pheromone-baited traps, and therefore the sex pheromone should continue to be used for monitoring male activity.     

The effect of feeding diets containing deoxynivalenol contaminated corn on channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) challenged with Edwardsiella ictaluri

Channel catfish were fed practical corn‐soybean meal diets for 10 weeks that contained various weighed amounts of ground, dried field corn contaminated with 20 mg deoxynivalenol (DON) kg⁻¹. Weighed amounts of DON corn were blended with weighed amounts of ground, clean corn that contained no DON (0 mg kg⁻¹) to yield five diets that had 0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0 mg DON kg⁻¹ of diet. Results show that catfish fed diets that contained DON for 7 weeks did not experience lower weight gains or poorer feed conversion ratios that were significantly (P > 0.05) different from control‐fed fish. Mortality of catfish during the 21‐day post‐challenge period indicate that catfish fed diets containing DON‐contaminated corn that provided at least 5.0 mg DON kg⁻¹ of diet had significantly (P < 0.05) lower mortality than catfish fed the control diet or the diet that provided 2.5 mg DON kg⁻¹ of diet. The presence of DON‐contaminated corn in the experimental diets did not significantly (P > 0.05) alter fish body weight gains and appeared to provide a protective effect for channel catfish challenged with the pathogenic bacterium Edwardsiella ictaluri.     

Congenital hypoplasia of the dorsal colon in a Quarter Horse filly with chronic,intermittent colic

Congenital colonic anomalies are rare in the horse and, to the authors' knowledge, no cases have been reported that include measurements of each segment of the large colon to confirm which section is abnormal. This case report describes chronic, intermittent colic in a Quarter Horse filly that had been attributed to chronic idiopathic hepatitis prior to an exploratory laparotomy. A colonic anomaly discovered at surgery became the primary differential for aetiology of the intermittent colic. Euthanasia of the filly and necropsy allowed further examination of the anomaly, where it was determined that the dorsal colon was short compared to the ventral large colon. In addition, the diagnosis of chronic idiopathic hepatitis was confirmed.     

The structure of the upper atmosphere of mars: In situ accelerometer measurements from mars global surveyor

The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) z-axis accelerometer has obtained over 200 vertical structures of thermospheric density, temperature, and pressure, ranging from 110 to 170 kilometers, compared to only three previous such vertical structures. In November 1997, a regional dust storm in the Southern Hemisphere triggered an unexpectedly large thermospheric response at mid-northern latitudes, increasing the altitude of thermospheric pressure surfaces there by as much as 8 kilometers and indicating a strong global thermospheric response to a regional dust storm. Throughout the MGS mission, thermospheric density bulges have been detected on opposite sides of the planet near 90 degreesE and 90 degreesW, in the vicinity of maximum terrain heights. This wave 2 pattern may be caused by topographically-forced planetary waves propagating up from the lower atmosphere.     

Involvement of protein in scrapie agent infectivity

The nature of the causative agent of scrapie is not known. Previous work has demonstrated that nuclease digestion does not inactivate scrapie infectivity, but there are conflicting reports about the effects of proteases. It is shown here that the broad range protease, proteinase K, reduces scrapie infectivity under all conditions tested. Control experiments demonstrated that the loss of infectivity is not artefactual and results from protein breakdown. Proteolytic digestion in the presence of detergent greatly increases proteolysis, but does not lead to a further loss of infectivity. This suggests that the protein involved may be a surface component, but whether the component is an integral or secondary part of the agent is not known.     

Effects of direct immersion in antigen on immunological memory in young carp, Cyprinus carpio

The study asks whether, in fish, antigens encountered early in life can prime the immune system to yield memory responses on subsequent challenge with the same antigen and, if so, whether positive immunity or immunological tolerance is induced. The direct immersion method of vaccination was used to prime 4 week old carp, Cyprinus carpio, and was compared with priming by injection. Three different forms of antigen were used: the thymus dependent antigen, human gamma globulin (HGG) in soluble and in particulate (latex bound) form; also the putative thymus independent bacterin, formalin-killed Aeromonas salmonicida. The thymus dependent antigens were also used on 9 month old animals. In 4 week old carp, A. salmonicida vaccine delivered either by direct immersion or intraperitoneally (i.p.) yielded enhanced serum antibody levels and heightened proliferative responses in the lymphoid tissue of the spleen and kidney. Latex-bound HGG applied by direct immersion was found to partially suppress secondary antibody production while still eliciting enhanced proliferation. The decrease in antibody production following direct immersion priming of young fish with latex-bound HGG was not nearly as marked as the tolerance induced following priming with latex-bound HGG by the i.p. route and, unlike the tolerance induced by the injection route, may possibly still occur in older fish. When HGG was applied to young carp in soluble form by direct immersion it was ineffective and failed to influence memory induction. This is in contrast to the antibody tolerance, accompanied by an enhanced proliferative response following challenge, which resulted from administration of the soluble antigen by injection in the young fish. The status of the immune system in these antibody-tolerant fish is still far from clear. This highlights the need for further investigation of the role of cell-mediated reactions and local immunity in the immune responses of fish.     

Thyroid hormone periodicity in healthy adult geldings

Serum samples were collected from 10 healthy geldings every 4 h for three consecutive days and the triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) concentrations determined by radioimmunoassay. There were significant differences in the hormone concentrations related to time. The mean (+/- sd) T3 concentration peaked around 08.00 h at a level (54.06 +/- 14.02 ng/dl) significantly (P less than .001) higher than the lowest concentration (38.71 +/- 10.81 ng/dl) around midnight. Although the highest mean T3 level was 08.00 h, this value was not significantly different from the noon and 16.00 h levels. Likewise, the mean T3 level at midnight was not significantly different from the 20.00 h and 04.00 h levels, resulting in a plateau from 08.00 h to 16.00 h and a trough from 20.00 h to 04.00 h. The mean (+/- sd) T4 concentration peaked around 16.00 h at a level (2.43 +/- .81 micrograms/dl) significantly (P less than .01) higher than the lowest concentration (1.79 +/- .63 micrograms/dl) around 04.00 h.