Uterine torsion in cattle - frequency, clinical symptoms and theories about the pathogenesis

Aim of the present study was to summarize the available literature about the incidence, frequency, clinical symptoms and ideas as to the pathogenesis of uterine torsion in the cow. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Analysis of the literature using electronic libraries (Pub Med, Medline), German veterinary medicine journals and obstetrical textbooks. RESULTS: Uterine torsion is a very important maternal reason for dystocia as most cases occur during parturition. The post-cervical torsion (combined uterine and vaginal torsion, Torsio uteri and vaginae) is more commonly diagnosed than an intra-cervical or pre-cervical torsion. Torsions to the left occur more frequently than to the right. Clinical symptoms clearly vary depending on the degree of torsion. The frequency in relation to all parturitions is described as between 0.5 and 1%, whereas the percentage of uterine torsions presented to the veterinarian as a reason for dystocia varies between 2.7 and 65%. The pathogenesis of uterine torsion remains unclear; however, general agreement exists that the cow is predisposed to uterine torsion due to its anatomy. It appears that the Brown Swiss is more often affected than other cattle breeds.     

Wheat gluten used as a clarifying agent of red wines.

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy caused a situation of crisis leading the public and winemakers to lose their confidence in the use of gelatin as a fining agent and to reject animal proteins in general. Therefore, we started the search for a substitute for gelatin and egg protein by comparing gluten with these fining treatments currently used. This study concerned the fining of a Burgundy red wine (Rully, Controlled Appellation). For 6 g/hL, enzymatically hydrolyzed glutens (EHG) gave better efficiencies than deamidated glutens. The efficiency of the egg proteins treatment was situated between those of the hydrolyzed glutens and deamidated glutens. For 12 and 18 g/hL, turbidities of the wine treated by five glutens were 67 to 86% less than that of the control wine. Better results were obtained with egg proteins for short kinetics particularly. Wine fining with gluten was always better than gelatin treatments. The differences between the five glutens became very small when the dose incorporated in the wine increased. The volumes of lees generated by fining with gluten are situated between the values obtained with egg proteins and gelatin. After fining, immunodetection with gluten polyclonal antibodies failed to detect residual deamidated gluten.     

Top Dressing of Feed with Desiccated Chlamydospores of Duddingtonia flagrans for Biological Control of the Pre-Parasitic Stages of Ovine Haemonchus contortus

Feeding trials were conducted with stall-fed sheep parasitized with Haemonchus contortus. For 10 days they were offered 250 g of a concentrate feed that had been top-dressed with desiccated chlamydospores of Duddingtonia flagrans at 1×10⁵, 5×10⁵, 1×10⁶ or 2×10⁶ chlamydospores/kg body weight. Pooled faeces from each group on day 7 of spore feeding were spread on different pasture plots. On day 28 after the start of spore feeding, further pooled faeces from each group were spread on the same plots. The larval burdens on the plots were monitored for 2 months and the larval harvest from in vitro faecal cultures were monitored regularly. The application of 1×10⁶ or more spores/kg body weight virtually eliminated larvae from both the pasture and the faecal cultures. The application of as few as 1×10⁵ spores/kg body weight had a profound impact on larval recovery. The effect persisted while the spores were being fed but not for more than 4 days following discontinuation of spore feeding. Top dressing supplementary feed with dried chlamydospores offers a potential way of using D. flagrans for biological control of the pre-parasitic stages of H. contortus.     

Genetical relationships between reactions to bacterial leaf spot,yellow mosaic and Cercospora leaf spot diseases in mungbean (Vigna radiata)

Summary Studies on the inheritance pattern of bacterial leaf spot (BLS), yellow mosaic (YM) and Cercospora leaf spot (CLS) reactions in crosses of BLS and YM resistant/tolerant but CLS susceptible × CLS resistant but BLS and YM susceptible parents indicated that resistances to BLS and CLS were governed by single dominant genes, whereas YM tolerance was a monogenic recessive character. The studies also indicated that these three genes were inherited independently. The simple inheritance pattern and independent assortment of the genes governing resistance/tolerance to these diseases suggest that the usual breeding methods will be adequate to develop multi-disease resistant mungbean cultivars.Paper XII in the series Studies on resistance in crops to bacterial diseases in India.     

Phylogenetic studies in Citrus reticulata and related types

Summary Sixteen types of mandarins were screened for their leaf flavonoid patterns with the help of cellulose thin-layer chromatography. In general, Tanaka's classification of mandarins into 36 species is untenable, as was already concluded by Swingle (1948), Hodgson (1965) and Singh (1967). It is likely that a fine loose skinned mandarin was first evolved. Later, it hybridized with wild mandarin to give rise to numerous types and forms.Contribution No. 474 of Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore-6, India.     

THE MEASUREMENT AND MECHANISM OF ION DIFFUSION IN SOILS

Integral diffusion coefficients for K in two contrasting soils, containing different levels of exchangeable K, are calculated from measurements of diffusive flux to a hydrogen resin paper. The diffusion coefficients are larger, the higher the exchangeable K level or moisture content. Diffusive flux of K in these soils can be accounted for entirely by diffusion through the soil solution in the pores. Impedance factors calculated compare satisfactorily with values for similar soils reported by other workers. The concentration dependence of the diffusion coefficient is shown to be causally related to the nature of the sorption isotherm. A method for estimating the differential diffusion coefficient at any concentration is described. It can also be calculated from the slope of the sorption isotherm at the chosen concentration, if the value of the impedance factor at the relevant moisture content is known and if diffusion other than through solution only is negligible.     

Genetic analysis and molecular mapping of quantitative trait loci in common bean against Pythium ultimum

Pythium ultimum is a soil pathogen that can cause seed decay and damage to roots in common bean. In this study, the response of a set of 40 common bean genotypes to P. ultimum and inheritance of the resistance in the 92 F? recombinant inbred lines (RIL) developed from a cross between Xana and Cornell 49242 was investigated by using emergence rate and seedling vigor. Emergence of the 40 genotypes showed a significant association between white seed coat and response to this pathogen. Among these, 11 common bean genotypes, all with colored seeds, exhibited a high percentage of emergence and seedling vigor not significantly different (P > 0.05) to noninoculated plants. Response of the RIL population revealed both qualitative and quantitative modes of inheritance. A major gene (Py-1) controlling the emergence rate was mapped in the region of the gene P, a basic color gene involved in control of seed coat color, located on LG 7. Using the RIL subpopulation with colored seeds, a significant quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with the emergence rate (ER3(XC)) and another with seedling vigor (SV6(XC)) were identified on the LG 3 and 6, respectively. QTL SV6(XC) was mapped in the region of the gene V, another gene involved the genetic control of color. QTLs associated with seed traits were mapped in the same relative position as regions involved in responses to P. ultimum suggesting the possible implication of avoidance mechanisms in the response to this pathogen.     

Root zone temperature alters storage root formation and growth of sweetpotato

Large mounds amended with plant residues are a common cultivation method for sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) in the western parts of the Papua New Guinea highlands, with a suggested benefit of elevated root zone temperature (RZT) from decomposition. This study aimed to evaluate whether RZT affects the formation and growth of sweetpotato storage roots. Experiments evaluated the effects of a constant elevated RZT on the Beauregard cultivar and of a short‐term increase in RZT on the Beauregard and Northern Star cultivars. Plants were grown in 18‐L pots divided into a control compartment (constant RZT at 20°C) and a treated compartment (RZT at 30, 40 or 50°C). Constant elevated RZT was maintained until harvest, while short‐term increase in RZT occurred in weeks 2 and 3 only. Constant elevated RZT did not affect the total number of storage roots, but RZT of 30°C and above reduced the dry‐biomass of storage roots. The short‐term increase in RZT did not alter the total number or dry‐biomass of storage roots in Beauregard, while both of these attributes were reduced at RZT of 40°C or above in Northern Star. Elevated RZT inhibited dry‐biomass accumulation of storage root, with a more pronounced impact at constant elevated RZT. These results demonstrate that any benefits of the mound culture on sweetpotato yield production do not arise through the influence of temperature elevation.     

Reduction of brown trout, Salmo trutta L., salmon, S. salar L., and rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), smolt bycatches in eel pound nets

Two types of bycatch reduction devices (BRDs) were tested in the Randers Fjord, Denmark, aimed at deflecting the surface-oriented smolts of brown trout, Salmo trutta L., salmon, Salmo salar L., and rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), before they became trapped, while retaining the catches of eel, Anguilla anguilla (L.). The methods tested were: a) placing a floating guard net between the wings; and b) submerging the pot net (i.e. last enclosure before fyke net) 55–100 cm below mean sea level. After each haul the pound net-setups were changed from the control to one of the types of BRD, and vice versa. Both methods significantly reduced the bycatch of brown trout smolts, while catches of legal-sized eels were not affected. Submerging the pot net reduced smolt catches of all species; mean reductions were 91.1% for brown trout, 74.5% for rainbow trout, and 86.1% for salmon.