A vitamin e response in a young dog

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This subject will be covered in three sections, first, a brief history of how the idea of using trained dogs to help the blind was conceived, then the present-day methods of training guide dogs, and, finally, how the blind person is trained with their guide dog to work together as a team.     

Porcine parvovirus infection in a commercial piggery

Abstract

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Madam:– We have recently been involved in a consultative role with a 60-sow commercial piggery. Over the year preceding the incident recorded here, this unit had approximately doubled in size by the purchase of improved large white gilts. An infertility problem involving irregular returns to service and small litter sizes was first noted around Christmas 1984. In early January 1985 all the adult stock were bled and serological tests undertaken. There was no evidence of infection with Aujeszky's disease virus or leptospires, but 42 sows had haemagglutination inhibition (HI) titres(2 Joo, H.O., Donaldson-Wood, C. and Johnson, R.H. 1976. A standardised haemagglutination inhibition test for porcine parvovirus antibody. Aust. vet. J., 52: 422–424.  [Google Scholar]) of >320 against porcine parvovirus (PP), and were considered to have been actively infected. (1 Johnston, R.H., Donaldson-Wood, C., Joo, H.O. and Allender, U. 1976. Observations on the epidemiology of porcine parvovirus. Aust. vet. J., 52: 80–84.  [Google Scholar]) Seventeen other gilts and sows in their second pregnancy had titres ?320 and were considered to be still susceptible to infection. These animals were bled again 75 days later and HI tests on the paired sera showed that 15 of the 17 had now scroconverted (minimum titre 1,280). Eleven of these animals were in early to mid-pregnancy during the period of seroconversion. Five of these animals subsequently failed to farrow, and the remaining six produced a mean of only 6.5 (S.D. 2.8) live piglets at birth. In contrast the two animals which did not seroconvert, and four other previously infected gilts with HI titre of >10,240 at the first bleeding, produced a mean of 9.8 (S.D. 1.7) live piglets. This was considered a satisfactory live birth rate for this age group, and was significantly higher (Student's t-test; P<0.05) than for the six sows which seroconverted and produced live pigs.     

An outbreak of polio-encephalomalacia in cobalt-deficient sheep

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A great deal of evidence has now accumulated that immunity to helminth infection is acquired following natural exposure. Although this immunity is not absolute, animals that have been exposed to infection and survived are able to tolerate a much heavier intake of infective larvae than animals that have never been exposed.     

Optimizing the Conditions for In Vitro Maturation and Artificial Activation of Sika Deer (Cervus nippon hortulorum) Oocytes

With the goal of establishing experimental protocols for cloning sika deer, various conditions for in vitro maturation (IVM) and artificial activation of sika deer oocytes were examined. In vitro maturation was evaluated in seven different culture media. The highest rate of oocyte maturation was 75.4% in 10 μg/ml follicle‐stimulating hormone (FSH), 1 μg/ml LH, 0.2 mm cysteamine and 50 ng/ml epidermal growth factor (EGF) after 24 h of IVM. The efficiency after 24 h of IVM did not differ significantly (p > 0.05) from that observed after 20 h. Cysteamine (0.2 mm ) significantly increased the maturation rates after 20 h (from 59.1% to 67.2%, p < 0.05) and after 24 h (from 63.2% to 71.6%, p < 0.05) of IVM. The IVM rates of oocytes collected during the oestrous season (75.4%) and the anoestrous season (23.3%) were significantly different at 24 h. The 20 μg/ml FSH, 2 μg/ml LH, 0.4 mm cysteamine and 100 ng/ml EGF significantly increased the maturation rates (from 23.3% to 54.2%, p < 0.01) at 24 h during the anoestrous season. For the activation experiments, the most effective method was chemical activation [ionomycin + 6‐dimethylaminopurine (6‐DMAP)], which promoted the development of sika deer oocytes to the blastocyst stage (32.4%). Our results indicate that in vitro matured sika deer oocytes are good candidates for parthenogenetic activation and that chemical treatment is needed for relatively efficient activation of the oocytes. These optimized conditions for IVM and parthenogenetic activation may be useful for efforts to restore populations of the endangered sika deer using the somatic cell nuclear transfer technique.     

Acid–Base Parameters and Steroid Concentrations in Pre‐Ovulatory Follicles and Plasma of Lactating Dairy Cows with Spontaneous and Synchronized Oestrus or Follicular Cyst

The study aimed to compare the acid–base balance and steroid concentrations between follicular fluids (FF) of pre‐ovulatory follicles derived from a spontaneous oestrus (SO), synchronized or induced oestrus (IO) and follicular cysts (CYS) and between FF and blood in dairy cows. Forty‐two dairy cows were included in this study. The animals were allocated to three groups: SO (n = 23); IO (n = 11) using GnRH at day 0 and day 9 and PGF₂α at day 7; and animals with CYS (n = 10). The follicular fluids (FF) were aspirated from the cyst/pre‐ovulatory follicles (? ≥ 15 mm) after SO and after second GnRH dose in IO by transvaginal ultrasound‐guided ovum pick‐up technique. Blood samples (BL) were collected in heparinized vacutainer tubes. The oxygen tension (pO2) in FF of IO was higher (p < 0.05) than in SO and CYS groups. There were negative correlations (p < 0.001, r = ?0.89) between FF and blood pO2. The carbon dioxide tension (pCO2) and lactate level in FF of CYS group were higher (p < 0.05) than in SO and IO groups. There were negative correlations (p < 0.01, r = ?0.73) between blood and FF pO2. Oestradiol‐17β concentration in pre‐ovulatory follicles and plasma of the SO group was higher (p < 0.001) than in IO and CYS groups. Progesterone concentration in pre‐ovulatory follicles and plasma of the SO and IO groups was lower (p < 0.01) than in CYS group. Plasma androstenedione concentration in SO and IO groups was higher (p < 0.05) than in CYS group. In conclusion, acid–base parameters, E2 and P4 levels in the follicular fluid of both IO and CYS groups were deviated greatly from the physiological level (disturbances of intrafollicular/intracystic environment), which may affect the quality of both the oocyte and the granulosa cells.     

Combinatorics and Soil Classification

Eurasian Soil Science - Experimental data on 1029 soil profiles examined in the area of the Chashnikovo Experimental and Training Soil-Ecological Center of Moscow State University in Moscow region...     

Erodibility of a Model Soil in a Wide Range of Water Flow Velocities

Eurasian Soil Science - It has been experimentally shown that there are two ranges of water flow velocities, at which the erodibility of a monofractional soil (of aggregates 1–2 mm) sharply...     

Compensatory feeding during early gestation for sows with a high weight loss after a summer lactation increased piglet birth weight but reduced litter size

Sows mated in summer produce a greater proportion of born-light piglets (<1.1 kg) which contributes to increased carcass fatness in the progeny population. The reasons for the low birth weight of these piglets remain unclear, and there have been few successful mitigation strategies identified. We hypothesized that: 1) the low birth weight of progeny born to sows mated in summer may be associated with weight loss during the previous summer lactation; and 2) increasing early gestation feed allowance for the sows with high lactational weight loss in summer can help weight recovery and improve progeny birth weight. Sows were classified as having either low (av. 1%) or high (av. 7%) lactational weight loss in their summer lactation. All the sows with low lactational weight loss (LLStd) and half of the sows with high lactational weight loss received a standard gestation feeding regime (HLStd) (2.6 kg/d; day 0–30 gestation), whereas the rest of the sows with high lactational weight loss received a compensatory feed allowance (HLComp) (3.5 kg/d; day 0–30 gestation). A comparison of LLStd (n = 75) versus HLStd sows (n = 78) showed that this magnitude of weight loss over summer lactation did not affect the average piglet or litter birth weight, but such results may be influenced by the higher litter size (P = 0.030) observed in LLStd sows. A comparison of HLStd versus HLComp (n = 81) sows showed that the compensatory feeding increased (P = 0.021) weight gain of gestating sows by 6 kg, increased (P = 0.009) average piglet birth weight by 0.12 kg, tended to reduce (P = 0.054) the percentage of born-light piglets from 23.5% to 17.1% but reduced the litter size by 1.4 (P = 0.014). A subgroup of progeny stratified as born-light (0.8–1.1 kg) or -normal (1.3–1.7 kg) from each sow treatment were monitored for growth performance from weaning until 100 kg weight. The growth performance and carcass backfat of progeny were not affected by sow treatments. Born-light progeny had lower feed intake, lower growth rate, higher G:F, and higher carcass backfat than born-normal progeny (all P < 0.05). In summary, compensatory feeding from day 0 to 30 gestation in the sows with high weight loss during summer lactation reduced the percentage of born-light progeny at the cost of a lower litter size, which should improve growth rate and carcass leanness in the progeny population born to sows with high lactational weight loss.     

果脯中SO2残留量与硫处理方法相关性的研究

果脯生产过程中进行硫处理,能改善成品的色泽,防止褐变。本试验结果表明:果脯经硫处理,成品和糖液中SO_2残留量受亚硫酸盐使用浓度、使用方法、处理时间、原料种类及制作工艺等诸因素的影响。采用0.2％亚酸酸氢钠溶液浸泡果坯8h,或1％亚硫酸氢钠溶液浸泡果坯2h的硫处理方法,可使果脯中SO_2残留量保持在国家标准规定的允许范围内,并对保持和改善果脯色泽,提高产品质量有较好的效果。     

Rare gases in lunar samples: study of distribution and variafions by a microprobe technique

The rare gas distribution in lunar soil, breccias, and rocks was studied with a micro-helium-probe. Gases are concentrated in grain surfaces and originate from solar wind. Helium-4 concentrations of different mineral components vary by more than a factor of 10 apart from individual fluctuations for each type. Also grains with no detectable helium-4 exist. Titanium-rich components have the highest, calcium-rich minerals the lowest concentrations. The solar wind was redistributed by diffusion. Mean gas layer thicknesses are 10, 6, and 5 microm for helium, neon, and argon respectively. Lithic fragments in breccias contain no solar gases. Glass pitted surfaces of crystalline rocks contain about 10(-2) cubic centimeter of helium-4 per square centimeter. Etched dust grains clearly show spallogenic and radiogenic components. The apparent mean exposure age of dust is approximately 500 x 10(6) years, its potassium-argon age is approximately 3.5 x 10(9) yerars. Cavities of crystalline rocks contain helium-4, radiogenic argon, H(2), and N(2).