The comparative pathogenicity of four serovars of Actinobacillus (Haemophilus) pleuropneumoniae

The pathogenicity of 2 isolates of each of serovars 7, 3, 1 and 2 of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae was tested by intranasal inoculation into 60, 6-week-old large white pigs. Four dose rates varying from 0.27 to 560 x 10(6) organisms per pig with 10-fold serial dilutions were used. Surviving pigs were necropsied 7 days after inoculation. The proportion of pigs dying and developing gross lesions following infection was significantly greater for pigs given serotype 1 than for each of the other 3 serotypes, which did not differ significantly from each other. Twelve of 16 pigs given either of the 2 isolates of serovar 1 died after acute illness and 1 of 44 pigs given either of the 2 isolates each of serovars 7, 3 and 2 died. Pigs given serovar 1 showed high temperatures, severe respiratory distress, frothy haemorrhagic nasal discharge and weight loss. Lung lesions were produced in all 16 pigs given serovar 1, in 7 of 14 pigs given serovar 7, 7 of 14 pigs receiving serovar 3 and in 5 of 16 pigs given serovar 2. The lethal infections were characterised by a severe acute fibrinohaemorrhagic necrotising pleuropneumonia, whereas non-lethal cases had lung lesions ranging from necrotising purulent pleuropneumonia to abscessation. Significant differences between isolates in proportions of tissues culture positive for A. pleuropneumoniae for serovars 7 and 2, but not for serovars 3 and 1 suggested that isolates may vary in virulence within serovars, but more detailed studies are needed to clarify this point.     

Desflurane vapor pressure depression

Due to its high vapor pressure and low boiling point, desflurane requires a specially designed, electronically controlled, temperature and pressure compensated vaporizer to regulate agent delivery to the anesthetic circuit. However, if the vapor pressure and boiling point were decreased, desflurane could be used in any conventional variable bypass vaporizer. Raoult's Law states that the vapor pressure of a liquid is proportional to its molar fraction in a solution. Accordingly, propylene glycol was used as a solvent for desflurane, and the physical characteristics of this mixture were evaluated at various molar concentrations and temperatures. Desflurane boiling point increased and vapor pressure decreased as a nonlinear function of dilution, but these changes were less than predicted by Raoult's Law. Using a circle system with a breathing bag attached at the patient end and a mechanical ventilator to simulate respiration, an in‐circuit, nonprecision vaporizer containing 40% desflurane and 60% propylene glycol achieved a 11.5 ± 1.0% (mean ± SD) circuit desflurane concentration with a 5.2 ± 0.4 (0 = off, 10 = maximum) vaporizer setting. This experiment was repeated with a dog attached to the breathing circuit under spontaneous ventilation with a fresh gas flow of 0.5 L min^–1. Anesthesia was maintained for over two hours at a mean vaporizer setting of 6.2 ± 0.4, yielding mean inspired and end‐tidal desflurane concentrations of 8.7 ± 0.5% and 7.9 ± 0.7%, respectively. Within 5 minutes after cessation of anesthesia, the dog was awake, extubated and standing. In clinical practice, propylene glycol may not prove an ideal solvent for desflurane due to its instability in solution and substantial positive deviation from Raoult's Law. However, rather than alter the vaporizer to suit physical properties of anesthetic agents, this study demonstrates that it may also be possible to alter anesthetic agents to suit physical properties of the vaporizer.     

Fertility of sows mated on different days of the week

The farrowing rates resulting from matings on different days of the week were determined for a 2800-sow intensive piggery in both 1983 and 1984. The results showed that sows mated early in the week achieved a significantly higher farrowing rate than sows mated late in the week (P less than 0.0001). During the seasonal (summer to autumn) infertility period, Wednesday matings resulted in a poor farrowing rate whereas for the rest of the year farrowing rates following Wednesday matings were similar to those for Sunday Monday and Tuesday matings. Consistent results were obtained for data from both years. It is proposed that the stress of regrouping unmated sows on Wednesday to accommodate newly weaned sows is responsible for this decrease in fertility. This study illustrates how detailed analysis of farrowing rates on a day of mating basis can identify a problem which is otherwise masked by weekly data.     

Fertilisation and weed control effects on yield and weeds in durum wheat grown under rain-fed conditions in a Mediterranean climate

Summary A field study was undertaken to examine the effect of fertiliser type and weed control system on grain yield, yield components and weed population in durum wheat ( Triticum turgidum. var. durum) grown in a 4-year rotation [bare fallow–barley ( Hordeum vulgare )–vetch ( Vicia sativa )–wheat]. Fertilisation treatments were: no fertilisation, organic fertilisation with 2500 kg ha⁻¹ of compost (sheep manure and cereal straw) and chemical fertilisation with 100–60–60 kg ha⁻¹ of NPK. Weed-control treatments were: no control, herbicide, harrowing with long-flex spring tines and strip sowing with inter-row hoeing. Chemical fertilisation increased grain yield with respect to the other treatments, amongst which no significant differences were noted. Weed-control systems afforded no improvement in yield compared with controls; indeed, yields obtained using inter-row hoeing were lower. The weed population consisted of a large variety of species, of which the most important were Convolvulus arvensis and Polygonum aviculare . Application of weed-control systems reduced weed density. Herbicide was the most effective, reducing weed biomass by 80%, whilst harrowing and hoeing reduced weed biomass by 40% and 52% respectively. Inter-row hoeing does not appear to be a viable alternative to herbicides, when used as the sole weed control method in a non-diverse cropping system in Mediterranean climates. The lack of response to compost suggests a need for further long-term research.     

Severity and persistence of footrot in Merino sheep experimentally infected with a protease thermostable strain of Dichelobacter nodosus at five sites

Objective To test the hypothesis that ovine footrot associated with a thermostable protease strain of Dichelobacter nodosus undergoes self cure or is sustained as an annually recurring disease, depending on the environment.
Design and procedure Forty Merino sheep from a single blood line were infected with a protease thermostable strain of D nodosus a t each of five sites in Western Australia. Footrot lesions and microscopic evidence of D nodosus were recorded every fortnight for 2.5 years, supplemented by laboratory culture. Rainfall, soil and air temperature, pasture quantity and composition and soil types were also recorded. Flocks that apparently self cured were relocated to a more favourable site for footrot in the final spring season.
Results The maximum prevalence of feet with clinical footrot lesions was 80.6, 1.3, 14.4, 3.8 and 88.1% at the five sites. Severe footrot occurred for three consecutive spring seasons at one site that had clay loam soil and at least 3500 kg/ha total pasture dry matter annually. However, the infection was asymptomatic for up to 10 weeks between outbreaks. D nodosus was isolated from flocks for 2.5 years at only two sites, although there was microscopic evidence of the organism at other sites in the final year. A thermolabile variant (strain U6) of D nodosus was isolated from the two sites where footrot persisted.
Conclusion Depending on time and location, ovine footrot induced by a protease thermostable strain of D nodosus either self cured or persisted as annual outbreaks interspersed with periods of asymptomatic infection.     

Restriction-endonuclease analysis of Australian isolates of Leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo from cattle with agalactia and abortion

SUMMARY Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and agarose gel electrophoresis were used to resolve restriction endonuclease digests of 20 Australian isolates of Leptospira interrogans cultured from urine samples of cattle with agalactia and abortion. The restriction endonuclease profiles of 19 isolates closely matched the profiles of L interrogans serovar hardjo subtype hardjobovis reference strains. The remaining isolate had a different restriction profile from subtype hardjobovis and subtype hardjoprajitno reference strains and was serologically identified as serovar pomona. Silver staining of polyacrylamide gels gave enhanced resolution of restriction fragments compared with the traditional method of ethidium bromide staining of agarose gels.