Surgical management of nasal adenocarcinoma in sheep

Nasal adenocarcinoma was diagnosed in 5 sheep from a flock over 6 years. Surgical treatment, using a nasal flap approach, was completed in 3 ewes, 2 of which survived a year or more. In these 2 ewes, the mass was present at necropsy, but was not confirmed as the cause of death. The surgical procedure and care after surgery are described. Surgical resection of the mass was considered to be an acceptable procedure for salvage of an additional breeding season and lamb crop in valuable ewes.     

Summer and Winter Defoliation Impacts on Mixed-Grass Rangeland

Combined growing- and dormant-season pasture use has potential to increase herbage harvest without causing the undesirable shift in species composition that occurs with excessive utilization. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of summer clipping on winter pastures and winter clipping on summer pastures regarding standing crop, plant community composition, and forage quality. The study was conducted from 2003–2006 at the Antelope and Cottonwood Research Stations located in the mixed-grass prairie of western South Dakota. At each location, the experimental design was a randomized complete block with three replications that included 18 clipping treatments arranged as a split-split plot. Whole plots consisted of four summer clipping dates (May–August). Subplot treatments were two clipping intensities (clipped to residual height to achieve 25% or 50% utilization). Sub-subplots consisted of two winter clipping intensities (unharvested or clipped to a residual height to achieve a total utilization of 65%). Two winter control treatments were arranged in the subplot and split into two clipping intensities of 50% and 65% utilization. Winter biomass for the May 25% clipping treatment was similar to winter biomass for winter-only clipping. No increase in forage quality resulted from summer clipping compared with winter clipping. Three consecutive yr of combined growing-season and dormant-season defoliation to 65% utilization resulted in no change in functional group composition compared with ≤ 50% utilization treatments. Clipping in June resulted in reduced midgrass biomass at both stations and increased shortgrass biomass at Cottonwood. Results suggest that producers could combine growing and dormant-season grazing to increase the harvest of herbage on mixed-grass prairie, but should change season of use periodically to avoid an undesirable shift in plant composition.     

The Effect of Hetastarch (670/0.75) on Urine Specific Gravity and Osmolality in the Dog

Background: Urine specific gravity (USG) is used clinically to estimate urine osmolality (UOsm). Although USG has been shown to have a linear correlation with UOsm in dogs, the relationship is altered when there are significant numbers of high molecular weight (MW) molecules in the urine.
Hypothesis: USG would no longer predict UOsm in dogs given intravenous hetastarch (670/0.75)(HES).
Animals: Eight healthy employee-owned adult dogs.
Methods: Prospective, controlled experimental study. USG and UOsm were measured every 30 minutes from t=0 minutes to t=360 minutes. Dogs were administered 20mL/kg of either NaCl 0.9% (control group, n=4) or HES (treatment group, n=8) IV over 1 hour starting at t=90 minutes.
Results: There was a decrease in UOsm in both groups starting at t=120 minutes and continuing for the study duration, and there was no significant difference in UOsm between treatment and control groups across all time points. There was an appropriate decrease in USG from t=120 minutes for the control group. In the treatment group, USG increased significantly at t=120 minutes ( P = .0006), t=150 minutes ( P = .0002), and t=180 minutes ( P = .0044). The largest increase in USG occurred at t=150 minutes with a mean USG of 1.070 ± 0.021 (range 1.038-1.104).
Conclusions and clinical importance: Urine specific gravity should not be used to estimate urine solute concentration in dogs following the administration of 20mL/kg of HES. In a clinical setting, the evaluation of USG following this dose of HES may lead to an overestimation of urine concentration.     

Sedative and antinociceptive effects of different combinations of detomidine and methadone in standing horses

Objective

To evaluate intravenous (IV) detomidine with methadone in horses to identify a combination which provides sedation and antinociception without adverse effects.

Resistance to moxidectin and abamectin in naturally acquired Ostertagia circumcincta infections in sheep

AIM: To investigate the occurrence of resistance to macrocylic lactone (ML) anthelmintics by Ostertagia circumcincta in lambs on a sheep and cattle property in the North Island of New Zea- land.

METHODS: Thirty lambs were randomly allocated to one of five equal-sized groups, consisting of an untreated control and four treatment groups. The treatments, which were administered at the manufacturer's recommended dose rates, included oral moxidectin, oral abamectin (both at 0.2 mg/kg), an albendazole-levamisole combination, and an albendazole-levamisole-ivermectin combination. Post mortem worm counts were undertaken 7 days after treatment to determine the efficacy of each anthelmintic.

RESULTS: The albendazole-levamisole and albendazole-levam-isole-ivermectin combinations both reduced O. circumcincta burdens to zero whereas for moxidectin and abamectin efficacies of only 72% and 29%, respectively, were recorded.

CONCLUSIONS: These results clearly demonstrated the occurrence of resistance to MLs by O. circumcincta. Although this is not the first occasion where resistance to this anthelmintic family has been detected in this parasite in sheep in New Zealand, it is the first instance that resistance to either moxidectin or abamectin has been reported.     

The effect of sampling time and sample handling on the detection of Staphylococcus aureus in milk from quarters with subclinical mastitis

Staphylococcus aureus mastitis is an important cause of economic loss for the dairy industry. Control programs rely on the timely and accurate identification of positive quarters. The effects of sampling time and sample handling were examined in an attempt to improve the accuracy of detection of S. aureus. Premilking and postmilking milk samples were collected from 55 lactating quarters with subclinical S. aureus infection. Each sample was divided into 2 aliquots; one of which was cultured fresh, the other was frozen at -20 degrees C for 14 days before being cultured. Analysis of variance was used to determine the effect of sampling time (premilking vs postmilking) and sample handling (fresh vs frozen) on the detection of S. aureus, as measured by the mean category for colony-forming units per millilitre (cfu/mL). A stratified analysis was required, due to interaction between sampling time and sample handling. Only a fresh postmilking sample was inferior, yielding a lower mean category for cfu/mL (P < 0.05). The ability to detect S. aureus in quarters with subclinical intramammary infection, as measured by the mean category of cfu/mL, was maximized in fresh or frozen premilking samples and in frozen postmilking samples.