Blood chemistry as an aid to diagnosis of combined copper and magnesium deficiency in single-suckler calves

Calcium, magnesium, copper, inorganic phosphorus, sodium, potassium, total protein, albumin, globulin, urea, glucose, packed cell volume and haemoglobin in the bloods of apparently health single-suckler calves were frequently measured. Values were within normal ranges except magnesium and copper which became subnormal as lactation advanced and closely approached values of single-suckler calves clinically affected with combined hypomagnesaemic tetany and hypocuprosis which responded to magnesium and copper therapy.

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Kurzfassung Die Autoren bestimmten häufig den Gehalt von Kalzium, Magnesium, Kupfer, anorganischem Phosphor, Natrium, Kalium, gesamtem Protein, Eiweiss, Globulin, Harnstoff, Glukose, Hämatokrit und Hämoglobin im Blut anscheinend gesunder Saugkälbern. Die bestimmten Werte lagen im je mehr die Laktation weiterschritt, und näherten sich den Werten von Saugkälbern, die von dem gleichzeitig auftretenden Magnesium und Kupfermangel im Blut verursachtem Starrkrampf befallen waren, und die auf eine Magnesium und Kupfer-Thermapie reagieriten.

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Resume Le calcium, le magnésium, le cuivre, le phosphore inorganique, le sodium, le potassium, les proteines totales, les albumines, les globulines, l'urée, le glucose, le hématocrite et l'hémoglobine dans le sang de veaux allaités et apparemment en bonne santé ont été mesurés. Les valeurs no dépassaient pas les limites normales sauf dans le cas du magnésium et du cuivre, qui devenaient subnormales au fur et à mesure que la période de lactation avancait, pour se rapprocher aux valeurs des veaux allaités atteints cliniquement d'une combination de la tétanie hypomagnésémique et al l'hypocuperose que réagissent à une thérapie de magnésium et de cuivre.

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Riassunto Gli autori hanno spesso definito il contenuto in calcio, magnesio, rame, fosforo inorganico, sodio potassio, proteina totale albumina, globulina, urea, glucosio, ematocrita, ed ematoglobulina del sangue di vitelli poppanti apparentemente sani. I valori erano normali eccetto quelli del magnesio e del rame che diventarono subnormali man mano che progrediva la lattaxione ed avvicinarono i valori dei vitelli lattanti clinicamente affetti dalla tetania ipomagnesemica combinata alla ipocuperosi e che rispondevano ad una terapia con magnesio e rame.

     

New data on the transmission of pigeon circovirus

Nineteen racing pigeons aged from one to five years were examined postmortem. pcr tests showed that the spleens of 16 of them were positive for pigeon circovirus, the livers of six were positive, and blood from one of them was positive for the virus. Five of 44 embryos in embryonated eggs collected from three lofts were positive by pcr, but swabs taken from the crops of 64 adult birds which were feeding one- to 10-day-old squabs in these three lofts were negative for the viral dna.     

Detection of pigeon circovirus in cloacal swabs: implications for diagnosis, epidemiology and control

Pigeon circovirus (picv) was detected in cloacal swab samples by means of a newly-developed, sensitive pcr. An initial investigation of 17 Belgian racing pigeons aged up to eight months showed that rates of detection of 88 per cent and above were achieved using samples of cloacal swab, blood and bursa of Fabricius. The sampling of 15 caged pigeons six times when they were from three to 31 weeks of age indicated that picv infections were more readily detected in cloacal swabs than in blood, and that the virus could be detected in cloacal swabs for longer periods after infection than in blood. picv infections were detected in cloacal swabs from 38 of 47 young pigeons aged from two to 31 weeks, from 12 racing lofts, which had clinical signs including diarrhoea and weight loss, regurgitation and respiratory signs. Samples from birds from two infected lofts indicated that picv could be detected in some birds for at least 27 weeks. Although nine of 14 pigeons aged from 32 to 45 weeks were virus-positive, picv was detected in only one of 18 adult pigeons that originated from four infected lofts.     

Genotyping of Toll-like receptor 4, myeloid differentiation factor 2 and CD-14 in the horse: an investigation into the influence of genetic polymorphisms on the LPS induced TNF-alpha response in equine whole blood

The inter- and intra-species differences in the response to lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are well recognised in mammalian species. It has been hypothesized that these differences can be attributed to genetic polymorphisms in the components involved in LPS signal transduction. These components include the cluster of differentiation factor 14 (CD-14), a membrane bound protein on the surface of mononuclear cells that recognises LPS and a receptor complex consisting of Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4) and myeloid differentiation factor-2 (MD-2). Sequencing of these three proteins in humans and mice revealed that all three are susceptible to polymorphic alterations, influencing the response to LPS. Previous experiments in the horse showed large inter-individual variations in the response to LPS. With the aim to assess this inter-individual variation, we performed a whole blood assay in 10 healthy horses as a functional assay to study the responsiveness to LPS. In 3 out of the 10 horses, LPS-induced TNF-alpha production was significantly lower compared to the overall mean. Subsequently the entire cDNA sequence encoding for the TLR-4, MD-2 and CD-14 protein was documented for each horse. Although mutations were observed in the sequence of TLR-4, these could not be related to an altered response to LPS in the concentration used in this study, as determined in the whole blood assay. Despite the various mutations found in the TLR-4 receptor protein, no alterations could be found in either the MD-2 or CD-14 gene, which are obviously more conserved structures.     

Evaluation of Methods to Determine Sperm Density for the European eel,Anguilla anguilla

European eel, Anguilla anguilla, is a target species for future captive breeding, yet best methodology to estimate sperm density for application in in vitro fertilization is not established. Thus, our objectives were to evaluate methods to estimate European eel sperm density including spermatocrit, computer‐assisted sperm analysis (CASA) and flow cytometry (FCM), using Neubauer Improved haemocytometer as benchmark. Initially, relationships between spermatocrit, haemocytometer counts and sperm motility were analysed, as well as the effect of sperm dilution on haemocytometer counts. Furthermore, accuracy and precision of spermatocrit, applying a range of G‐forces, were tested and the best G‐force used in method comparisons. We found no effect of dilution on haemocytometer sperm density estimates, whereas motility associated positively with haemocytometer counts, but not with spermatocrit. Results from all techniques, spermatocrit, CASA and FCM, showed significant positive correlations with haemocytometer counts. The best correlation between spermatocrit and haemocytometer counts was obtained at 6000 ×  g (r = 0.68). Of two CASA variants, one or three photographic fields (CASA‐1 and CASA‐2), CASA‐2 showed a very high accuracy to haemocytometer counts (r  =  0.93), but low precision (CV: CASA‐2 = 28.4%). FCM was tested with and without microfluorospheres (FCM‐1 and FCM‐2), and relationships to haemocytometer counts were highly accurate (FCM‐1: r  =  0.94; FCM‐2: r  =  0.88) and precise (CV: FCM‐1 = 2.5; FCM‐2 = 2.7%). Overall, CASA‐2 and FCM‐1 feature reliable methods for quantification of European eel sperm, but FCM‐1 has a clear advantage featuring highest precision and accuracy. Together, these results provide a useful basis for gamete management in fertilization protocols.     

Fatal necrotising fasciitis and myositis in a cat associated with Streptococcus canis

Necrotising fasciitis and necrotising myositis are rare but serious life threatening conditions reported mainly in human beings and dogs. Most cases to date have been caused by beta-haemolytic streptococci of Lancefield groups A, B, C or G. Necrotising fasciitis has been reported only twice in cats and necrotising myositis has never been described. This paper describes a fatal case of necrotising fasciitis and myositis with pneumonia and septicaemia in a nine-year-old cat. The cat had been undergoing treatment for a suspected tear of the cranial cruciate ligament, but on the seventh day of treatment it suddenly deteriorated and died. On postmortem examination, there was an area of hair loss from its left hindlimb and discoloration of the underlying fascia and biceps femoris muscle. Severe necrotising fasciitis and myositis, with numerous intralesional Gram-positive coccoid bacteria, was diagnosed histologically. Other findings included necrotising pneumonia, pleuritis, focal encephalitis, myocarditis and nephritis. Culture of the affected tissues yielded a pure, heavy growth of Streptococcus canis.     

Exogenous paraoxonase‐1 during oocyte maturation improves bovine embryo development in vitro

Paraoxonase‐1 (PON1) is an enzyme found in serum and follicular fluid that protects cell membrane and circulating lipids against oxidative damage. The aims of this study were to measure the direct effects of recombinant PON1 (rPON1) on bovine oocyte maturation at the molecular level (gene expression) and to measure the carry‐over effects of PON1 on pre‐implantation embryo development in vitro. COCs were submitted to IVM with the addition of 0.0, 0.02, 0.04 and 0.08 mg ml^?1 of rPON1, corresponding to an average PON1 arylesterase enzyme activity of 2.2 ± 0.4, 15.5 ± 1.5, 30.2 ± 3.0 and 57.9 ± 5.0 U ml^?1, respectively. The results indicated that addition of rPON1 during IVM improved embryo development in a dose‐dependent manner as D7 embryo development was 22.2%, 29.4%, 32.2% and 37.0% for the treatment groups, respectively (p = 0.02). In conclusion, addition of PON1 enzyme during IVM exerted dose‐related positive effects on embryo development rates to blastocysts.     

Indigenous protected areas in Sea Country: Indigenous‐driven collaborative marine protected areas in Australia

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