Evaluation of postoperative complications following elective surgeries of dogs and cats at private practices using computer records.

This study was designed to determine the frequency of postoperative complications following elective surgeries (castration, ovariohysterectomy, onychectomy) of dogs and cats from private practices and to evaluate the use of electronic medical records for this type of research. All elective surgeries performed during the study period at 5 private practices were included. The surgical techniques and materials used for each procedure were similar across practices, but the interpretation of "complication," the amount of detail recorded on the primary medical record, and the intensity of follow-up varied. The frequencies and types of complications varied by species and procedure. The postoperative complication frequencies ranged from 1% to 24% for all complications and 1% to 4% for severe complications. The results of this study describe populations of elective-surgery patients at private practices, provide data for educating clients about the risks associated with these procedures, and demonstrate how computerized records can be used to collect practice-specific medical information.     

Prevalence and duration of insensibility following electrical stunning in calves

Sixty-one calves were electrically stunned with 100-250 V currents (103-1806 mA) and the prevalence and duration of insensibility was assessed from their physical behaviour, the presence of epileptiform activity in their electrocorticograms, and the absence of visual evoked responses in their electrocorticograms. A current applied at 100 V across the head for 3 s failed to induce insensibility in all cases. Currents at 150-250 V induced insensibility in all calves and the shortest duration of insensibility was 44 s. It is recommended that a 150-200 V current would be appropriate for commercial use.     

Mortality in near‐term ostrich embryos during artificial incubation

1. The ostrich industry in South Africa (and elsewhere) experiences a high rate of embryo mortality during artificial incubation of eggs. Most of this mortality takes place in the last 10–14 d of incubation.

2. We carried out post‐mortem examinations on 111 embryos that died within this period to assess the causes of this mortality.

3. Malpositioning and severe oedema were the predominant symptoms of dead‐in‐shell embryos with 55% being malpositioned and 41% showing severe oedema. Of these, 22 embryos (24%) showed both symptoms. Malpositioning generally results from incorrect setting of the eggs or inadequate turning and oedema was significantly correlated with the amount of water lost from the eggs which in turn was correlated with egg size.

4. Myopathy, gross lesions of internal organs, haemorrhage, bacterial infections and congenital deformities were found in less than 10% of chicks examined for these symptoms.     

Relative efficacy of organophosphorus insecticides against susceptible and resistant strains of the strike blowfly Lucilia cuprina (Calliphoridae) in New Zealand sheep

Four groups of five Romney lambs were treated by plunge dipping with one of four registered organophosphorus flystrike preventatives. Untreated lambs acted as controls. The sheep were challenged at weekly intervals with larval implants of organophosphate-susceptible and -resistant strains of Lucilia cuprina. All four treatments provided 19-21 weeks protection against susceptible larvae but chlorfenvinphos provided the longest protection (16-17 weeks), followed by propetamphos (15-16 weeks), dichlofenthion (10-13 weeks) and diazinon (9-13 weeks), against the resistant strain.     

Serum glutathione peroxidase activity reflects short-term increases in selenium intake in goats

The objective of this study was to determine if serum glutathione peroxidase activity reflects short-term changes in the selenium status of goats. Angora goat kids (n=14) were fed pelleted luceme containing 20 microg/kg of selenium, and treated orally with either selenium (0.1 mg/kg of liveweight weekly, as sodium selenate) or de-ionised water. Serum activity of glutathione peroxidase was increased in response to supplementation and differed from that of controls within 24 hours of supplementation. The change in serum glutathione peroxidase activity during the 21 days after the start of weekly supplementation closely followed changes in serum selenium concentration. The results of this study suggest that serum glutathione peroxidase activity reflects the short-term improvement in the selenium status of Angora goat kids following oral supplementation with sodium selenate.     

Some coat protein constituents from strawberry latent ringspot virus expressed in transgenic tobacco protect plants against systematic invasion following root inoculation by nematode vectors

The coding sequences in RNA2 for the coat proteins (CP) of strawberry latent ringspot virus (SLRSV) were modified and amplified using polymerase chain amplification reactions (PCR) to facilitate their expression inAgrobacterium tumefaciens-transformedNicotiana tabacum Xanthi-nc. The coding sequences for the smaller capsid protein (S, 29kDa) and that for the theoretical precursor of L and S (P, 73kDa) had ATG initiation codon sequences added at the 5-proximal Ser/Gly (S/G) cleavage site in the unmodified sequence. The sequence coding for the larger of the two proteins of mature SLRSV capsids (L, 44kDa) had an ATG codon added at its 5 S/G site and a TAG stop codon sequence added at the 3-proximal S/G site. The P, L and S proteins were expressedin planta to a maximum concentration of 0.01 % of total extractable proteins but did not assemble into virus-like particles. When challenged by mechanical inoculation with virus particles or viral RNA, and compared with control plants, tobacco plants (primary transgenic clones or S1 and S2, kanamycin-resistant seedlings) expressing the virus capsid subunits separately, or their precursor, decreased the accumulation of SLRSV particles in inoculated leaves and fewer plants became invaded systemically. In experiments in which the roots of seedlings were exposed to SLRSV-carrying vector nematodes (Xiphinema diversicaudatum), SLRSV was detected in the roots of non-transformed control tobacco plants (6/20) and in transgenic tobacco expressing the L protein (7/40), but not in any of 25 tobacco plants expressing the S protein or in 35 expressing the P protein. This is the second example of CP-mediated resistance to virus inoculation by nematode vectors.     

Sensitivity of populations ofBotrytis cinerea to triazoles,benomyl and vinclozolin

Sensitivity of field isolates (121) ofBotrytis cinerea from France (1992), Germany (1979–1992), Israel (1990) and the Netherlands (1970–1989) to the triazoles tebuconazole and triadimenol, the benzimidazole benomyl and the dicarboximide vinclozolin were tested in radial growth experiments. Resistance to benomyl (in 21 to 100% of isolates tested) and vinclozolin (in 25 to 71% of isolates tested) was common in most countries. EC₅₀s (concentrations of fungicides inhibiting radial mycelial growth ofB. cinerea on B5-agar by 50%) for tebuconazole and triadimenol ranged between 0.01–1.64 and 0.4–32.6g ml^–1, respectively, and were log-normally distributed. The variation factor (ratio between EC₅₀s of the least and most sensitive isolate tested) amounts 164 and 82 for tebuconazole and triadimenol, respectively. These values are comparable to those for azole fungicides applied in control of other pathogens. Hence, variation in sensitivity to triazoles can probably not explain limited field performance of triazoles towardsB. cinerea. Isolates from south west Germany (1992) were significantly less sensitive to tebuconazole than isolates collected earlier in Germany, Israel and the Netherlands. Such less sensitive populations may contribute to the limited field performance of DMI fungicides towardsB. cinerea. The sensitivity of isolates from south west Germany to tebuconazole was similar to that of DMI-resistant mutants generated in the laboratory. These mutants displayed stable resistance with Q-values (ratio between EC₅₀ of resistant mutant and wild type isolate) between 5 and 20. Sensitivity of field isolates and laboratory mutants to tebuconazole and triadimenol was correlated.     

The antimicrobial susceptibility of Staphylococcus species isolated from canine dermatitis

In a retrospective study, 1538 strains of -haemolysin-producing Staphylococcus species isolated from dermatitis in dogs at three veterinary clinical microbiology laboratories in Norway during 1986–87 and 1993–94 were investigated for their antimicrobial susceptibility. None of the strains was resistant to cloxacillin, cephalexin or the quinolones enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin. More than 96% of the strains were susceptible to trimethoprim-sulphonamide, bacitracin and fucidic acid. Between 67% and 89% of the strains were susceptible to erythromycin, lincosamides, tetracycline, neomycin and chloramphenicol. Only 37.9% of the strains were susceptible to penicillin. The frequency of penicillin resistance increased significantly between the first and second periods, from 46.0% to 58.6%. The frequency of resistance to lincomycin, clindamycin and erythromycin also increased significantly between the first and second periods, from 3.0%, 2.1% and 3.3% to 25.5%, 19.5% and 24.8%, respectively. A moderate increase in resistance to tetracycline was also noted, from 20.4% in the first to 27.6% in the second period. On the other hand, the frequency of resistance to trimethoprim-sulphonamide decreased significantly from 4.1% in the first to 0.9% in the second period. Many different resistance patterns were observed in each period. However, the proportion of multiresistant strains increased from 2.1% in the first to 10.2% in the second period. There was a decrease in resistance to the combination of trimethoprim-sulphonamide and penicillin from the first to the second period. Resistance to the combination of lincosamides and pencillin increased. For the combinations penicillin-tetracycline-lincosamides, pencillin-lincosamides-erythromycin, and pencillin-tetracycline-lincosamides-erythromycin, there was a striking increase in resistance between the first and the second periods.Abbreviations CVL Central Veterinary Laboratory - NCVM Norwegian College of Veterinary Medicine - NVL Norwegian Veterinary Laboratory     

Relationship of plasma lactate production to cortisol release following completion of different types of sporting events in horses

Fifty-eight healthy horses were studied during five sporting events of various intensities and durations, namely show-jumping (n=6), cross-country in a three-day event (n=30), trotting races (n=7), galloping reces (n=7) and endurance rides (n=8). Venous blood samples were collected at rest and immediately after exercise and analysed for plasma cortisol (CORT) and lactate (LA) levels. The experimental procedure was the same throughout the investigation so as to permit a reliable comparison between the five types of exercise. The type of event significantly affected both the resting (p0.05) and the postexercise (p0.01) plasma CORT. The degree of exercise-induced hypercortisolaemia was related to both the intensity and the duration of exercise for all five sporting events, but the endurance ride induced the most and show-jumping the least serious post-exercise CORT changes. LA production was much more closely related to the intensity of the exercise than was CORT. It is concluded that simultaneous measurements of plasma CORT and LA levels may be useful to discriminate between different types of exercise, adjust training programmes, and improve our comprehension of the physiology of sport horses at exercise.Abbreviations CORT cortisol - E/R exercise to rest ratio - EDTA ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid - HR heart rate - LA lactate