Comparison of common fecal flotation techniques for the recovery of parasite eggs and oocysts

A variety of procedures are available to detect parasite eggs or oocysts in feces. This study compared the efficacy of simple flotation, a commercial assay, and various centrifugation techniques and three common flotation solutions. Results indicate that centrifugation consistently recovered more eggs than other methods. Proper technique is critical, including ensuring that the specific gravity of the flotation solution is correct and allowing the sample to stand for a sufficient amount of time before examining the coverslip. Because of the zoonotic health risks of many companion animal parasites, veterinarian and their staff should better utilize fecal examinations in their routine diagnostic plan.     

The use of sarmazenil in the treatment of a moxidectin intoxication in a foal

A13-day-old Arabian Thoroughbred filly weighing 40 kg (88 1b) was presented to the University of Zurich Equine Clinic with a history of depression after deworming with moxidectin at a dose of 2 mg/kg (recommended dose 0.4 mg/kg body weight)^a the day before admission. The foal was found recumbent 12 hours after drug administration and was in an unconscious state 6 hours later     

Urinary tract infections-microbial virulence determinants and reactive oxygen species

The human urinary tract is able to combat with the microbial invasion under normal circumstances. To cause urinary tract infection the organism has to evade the host defense mechanisms by possessing distinct properties which contribute to the virulence of the organism hence called virulence determinants Ninety percent of uncomplicated urinary tract infections are caused by Escherichia coli, hence the knowledge of the virulence determinants of this organism can be extrapolated to other uropathogenic organism as well. Virulence determinants of uropathogenic E. coli include adhesins, siderophore production, polysaccharide coating, hemolysin production, outer membrane proteins etc. The intestinal E. coli, which are the reservoir of E. coli for causing UTI, lack these virulence determinants. On the other hand these virulence determinants enable the organism to colonize and invade the urinary tract. In addition these are important in acquiring the nutrients in other wise nutrient deficient environment. Further, they also help the organisms in triggering an inflammatory response and hence bringing about pathological changes which leads to symptomatic UTI. Severity of symptomatic infections and tissue damage during the infective process depends upon the magnitude of the inflammatory response triggered by the uropathogen which in turn is dependent upon the amount of extrcellular release of reactive oxygen species by the phagocytic cells; hence role of antioxidants as an adjunct to antibiotics in the treatment of infective process needs to be evaluated further.     

Interaction of an intranasal combined feline viral rhinotracheitis, feline calicivirus vaccine and the FVR carrier state

Eight cats were vaccinated intranasally with a combined feline calicivirus/feline viral rhinotracheitis (FVR) virus commercial vaccine. Following intranasal challenge with a field strain of FVR virus and subsequent treatment with corticosteroid, no virus was recovered from any of the eight cats, while FVR virus was recovered following corticosteroid treatment from two of four unvaccinated and challenged controls. No evidence was found for the development of an FVR virus carrier state with the intranasal vaccine virus.     

Comparison of the biopotencies of nicotinic acid and nicotinamide for broiler chicks

1. Two experiments were conducted with 1056 1-d-old Cobb x Cobb feather-sexed broiler chicks, to determine the relative nicotinic acid biopotencies of nicotinic acid (NA) and nicotinamide (NAm). 2. Two methods were used: the slope-ratio technique and the broken-line model. 3. In experiment 1, using the slope-ratio technique, NAm was 0.82 as active as NA in promoting growth to 21 d of age. In experiment 2 NAm was 0.96 as bipotent as NA. 4. Applying the broken-line model to the body weight data at 21 d of age for both NA and NAm in experiment 1, it was found that NAm had approximately 0.82 NA activity. The same analysis applied to the data of experiment 2 indicated that the biopotency of NAm was 1.09. 5. A t-test of the slope-ratio values obtained in both experiments indicated that the average (0.89) was not significantly different from 1.0. 6. It was concluded that the relative biopotencies of NA and NAm in broiler chicks fed a maize-soyabean meal diet were similar.     

Comparison and sensitivity of measurement techniques for spatial distribution of soil salinity

In Khorezm, a district of Uzbekistan situated in the Aral Sea Basin, soil salinization is an important driver of soil degradation in irrigated agriculture. The main objective of this study was to identify techniques that enable rapid estimation of soil salinity. Therefore, bulk electrical conductivity of the soil (EC_a-meas) was measured with three different devices (2P, 4P, and CM-138) and electrical conductivity of the soil paste (EC_p-meas) was measured with the so-called 2XP device. These measurements were compared with independent estimates of EC_a-calc and EC_p-calc based on laboratory measurements of the saturated extract, EC_e, of soil samples from the same sites. Soil salinity could be assessed satisfactorily with all four devices. EC_p-meas could be well reproduced by the 2XP device (R ² = 0.76), whereas EC_a-meas estimates using 2P, 4P, and CM-138 in the field were less accurate (R ² < 0.50). The sensitivity of all devices to the main ions Cl⁻ and Ca^{2 +} suggests that the measuring principles are similar for all instruments. The devices can therefore be used interchangeably. Field assessment of soil salinity was considerably enhanced by the use of CM-138, because large areas can be quickly assessed, which may be desirable in spite of the lower accuracy.     

A lysimeter study of the fate of fertilizer nitrogen in spring barley crops grown on a shallow soil overlying Chalk: denitrification losses and the nitrogen balance

Four successive spring barley crops were grown in monoliths of a shallow soil overlying Chalk, contained in lysimeters. After harvest of the fourth crop, 25% of the nitrogen-15 labelled fertilizer applied 4 years earlier was found remaining in the roots and soil. Of this, 73% was present in the upper 30cm of the profile. From the amounts of fertilizer derived nitrogen that remained at the beginning of each cropping season we estimate that 5–6% of the residual nitrogen-15 turned over each year, representing a net release of 20% of the labelled nitrogen contained in the microbial biomass. Mineralization of the total biomass at the same fractional rate would release 120 kg N ha^?1 a^?1. This estimate is supported by the difference between input and outputs of total nitrogen during the experiment of 76–94 kg N ha^?1 a^?1 in fertilized lysimeters and 129kg N ha^?1 a^?1 in unfertilized control lysimeters. The total recovery of the applied labelled nitrogen was 81–87%. The nitrogen not accounted for was taken to be lost by denitrification of nitrate to dinitrogen, as no nitrous oxide emissions were detected during the experiment. Laboratory studies in aerobic and anaerobic conditions in presence of acetylene confirmed that 10–20% of the applied nitrogen-15 could have been transformed to dinitrogen.     

Animal-derived feeds as possible vectors for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Germany. 1. Comparative risk assessment for a single animal food of animal origin

The occurrence of BSE cases in Germany after the ban of meat and bone meal for ruminant feed in 1994 requires a detailed investigation of animal derived feedstuffs regarding their specific risks as vectors for the disease. Accepting the theory that BSE is a prion transmitted disease, the theoretical infectious potential was calculated for animal derived feedstuffs. This calculation was based on the assumption, that risk material (brain, spinal cord) of one clinically diseased cattle was rendered in the process as established in Germany (133 degrees C, 3 bar, 20 min) or, alternatively, that one diseased animal was slaughtered resulting in normal processing of the by-products for human food production. From this risk assessment it became obvious that meat and bone meal was one, but probably not the most important source for the spreading of BSE. Taking into account the high sensitivity of calves it can be speculated that certain products, e.g. from bone processing (bone meal) and fat melting (mixed animal fats), commonly used for the formulation of milk replacers, might have been more important as pathways. As it can't be excluded retrospectively that infected meat and bone meal was imported from the UK, this non-calculable influence may have been related to the significance of the other products. The calculation model underlines that efficient removal of specified risk material (brain, spinal cord) and adequate processing (133 degrees C, 3 bar, 20 min) or alternatively other equivalent treatments of fats are prerequisites for minimising the risk of feed borne transmission of BSE by animal derived feedstuffs. The epidemiological consequences are part of a subsequent paper.