Idiopathic granulomatous pneumonia in seven horses

The history, clinical signs and pathological findings in seven adult horses with histologically confirmed idiopathic granulomatous disease, primarily of the lungs, are reviewed. They ranged in age from eight to 21 years, five were geldings and two were females, they belonged to five breeds and there were no seasonal or geographical associations. The primary clinical signs were chronic weight loss, exercise intolerance and respiratory distress which did not respond to conventional treatment. The most consistent physical findings were depression, anorexia, tachycardia, tachypnoea and adventitious lung sounds. Thoracic radiographs revealed a diffuse, structured, nodular, interstitial pulmonary pattern in each horse. Haematological measurements suggested a chronic inflammatory process and the cytology of transtracheal washes was consistent with a mild suppurative inflammation. Idiopathic granulomatous pneumonia was confirmed histologically in each of the horses, either postmortem or by a lung biopsy. The horses responded poorly to medical treatment and only one of three treated horses is still alive.     

Role of dietary calcium and available phosphorus in the aetiology of tibial dyschondroplasia in growing turkeys

1. Large White male turkeys from a heavy commercial male-line were fed 16 diets containing 4 concentrations of calcium (6, 10, 14 and 18 g/kg) and available phosphorus (3, 5, 7 and 9 g/kg) in a 4 x 4 factorial experiment. There were three replicates (pens) of each treatment and the skeletal health, morphology and mineral status of 4 turkeys from each pen were assessed at 7, 10 and 13 weeks of age. 2. The prevalence of tibial dyschondroplasia increased after 7 weeks of age and was present in 50 and 71% of turkeys respectively at 10 and 13 weeks. The lesion was localised in the caudal aspect of the proximal tibiae. Dietary calcium and available phosphorus did not affect the prevalence of the lesion except in turkeys on the diet containing 6 g calcium/kg, where body weight and the incidence of tibial dyschondroplasia were low. 3. Histological investigation showed no evidence of rachitic changes. 4. Low dietary calcium was associated with lower tibial plateau angles at 10 and 13 weeks of age. Tibial torsion and the angle of rotation were not affected by dietary treatments or age. Tibial torsion and the angle of rotation were not affected by dietary treatments or age. 5. Increasing dietary calcium increased tibial radiodensity, cortical density and the widths of the cortex and proximal tibiotarsus. Radiodensities increased to 10 weeks and were significantly lower at 13 weeks of age. 6. Bone ash, calcium and phosphorus declined with age, particularly between 10 and 13 weeks, whereas bone calcium: phosphorus ratios were not affected by dietary treatment or age. 7. Dietary calcium was positively associated with blood calcium and calcium ion concentrations and was without effect on blood phosphorus. Available phosphorus was associated positively with increased blood phosphorus and lower calcium ion concentrations but had no effect on total calcium. Alkaline phosphatase activity was low at high concentrations of dietary calcium with low available phosphorus and there was higher activity on diets containing low calcium and high available phosphorus.     

Fertility and sperm quality of broiler breeder males infected with subgroup J avian leukosis virus

In order to assess the effects of subgroup J avian leukosis virus (ALV-J) on semen quality, broiler breeder males were separated by ALV-J status (ALV-J positive = POS, ALV-J negative = NEG) at 44 wk of age. Of the 249 males originally placed at 1 day of age, 101 (40.6%) died by 43 wk of age. Observations of tumor expression and high mortality suggest that many of the males that died prior to 44 wk of age were infected with ALV-J. From 47 to 56 wk of age, hens were inseminated every third week with 7.5 x 10(7) sperm. Fertility and hatch data were collected by incubating eggs laid during the 2 wk postinsemination (WPI). The number of sperm that penetrated the perivitelline membrane of the ovum was determined from eggs laid on the eighth day postinsemination. Sperm mobility index (SMI) was determined at 58 and 60 wk of age from all males producing semen. Whereas SMI and sperm hole penetration measurements indicated that the sperm quality from treatments POS and NEG were similar, fertility was significantly greater in the POS treatment during the first (89.0% vs. 79.0%) and second WPI (59.3% vs. 45.0%). However, because of numerically higher hatch of fertile from the NEG group, the percentage of hatch of eggs set was similar between groups. These data suggest that ALV-J status of caged males has no influence on sperm quality or hatchability of eggs.     

Subjective and objective evaluation of veal lean color

Because veal lean color continues to be a primary factor that determines veal carcass value and is typically assessed by subjective means, it is important to explore objective methods for color assessment. Objective and subjective evaluations of veal flank and breast lean color were compared as predictors of longissimus lean color at 24 h postmortem. One hundred fifty special-fed Holstein veal calves were Kosher-slaughtered with blood samples collected upon exsanguination and analyzed for hematocrit and hemoglobin content. Lean color was evaluated in the flank and breast at 0, 6, 12, and 24 h postmortem. Color of the longissimus was evaluated at 6 h, when possible, and at 24 h. A panel of three trained individuals used a 5-point color standard developed in the Netherlands to visually evaluate lean color. A Minolta Chromameter CR-300 was used to obtain L*, a*, and b* values. A plant employee assigned packer grades at slaughter. Temperature and pH were also measured at each time period. Hemoglobin was more highly correlated than hematocrit with colorimeter values. Hemoglobin levels correlated well with a* values of the flank at 0 h postmortem (r = 0.52) although the correlation declined at 24 h (r = 0.30). The correlation between packer grades and 24-h visual loin color was r = 0.41. Visual loin color at 24 h postmortem was selected as the predicted variable for regression analysis. Temperature and pH did not contribute significantly to any prediction equations. The equation using breast L*, a*, and b* values at 24 h postmortem to predict 24-h loin color gave a higher prediction coefficient (R2 = 0.44) than the corresponding equation using 0-h breast values (R2 = 0.28). Objective measurement of lean color may be useful in veal carcass grading because it is more precise than subjective methods and would allow for uniformity among processing plants.     

Induced systemic protection against tomato late blight elicited by plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria

ABSTRACT Two strains of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), Bacillus pumilus SE34 and Pseudomonas fluorescens 89B61, elicited systemic protection against late blight on tomato and reduced disease severity by a level equivalent to systemic acquired resistance induced by Phytophthora infestans or induced local resistance by chemical inducer beta-amino butyric acid (BABA) in greenhouse assays. Germination of sporangia and zoospores of P. infestans on leaf surfaces of tomato plants treated with the two PGPR strains, pathogen, and chemical BABA was significantly reduced compared with the noninduced control. Induced protection elicited by PGPR, pathogen, and BABA were examined to determine the signal transduction pathways in three tomato lines: salicylic acid (SA)-hydroxylase transgenic tomato (nahG), ethylene insensitive mutants (Nr/Nr), and jasmonic acid insensitive mutants (def1). Results suggest that induced protection elicited by both bacilli and pseudomonad PGPR strains was SA-independent but ethylene- and jasmonic acid-dependent, whereas systemic acquired resistance elicited by the pathogen and induced local resistance by BABA were SA-dependent. The lack of colonization of tomato leaves by strain 89B61 suggests that the observed induced systemic resistance (ISR) was due to systemic protection by strain 89B61 and not attributable to a direct interaction between pathogen and biological control agent. Although strain SE34 was detected on tomato leaves, ISR mainly accounted for the systemic protection with this strain.     

Effect of ammonium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate on anthracnose of papaya

Colletotrichum gloeosporioides is the causal organism of anthracnose inCarica papaya L. (papaya, papaw). The effect of ammonium carbonate (3%) or sodium bicarbonate (2%) in aqueous solution or when incorporated into a wax formulation on anthracnose severity in inoculated or naturally infected fruits was examined. Both salts had significant effects, but that of ammonium carbonate was greater than that of sodium bicarbonate in controlling anthracnose. Ammonium carbonate (3%) incorporated into the wax formulation effectively reduced anthracnose incidence by 70% in naturally infected papaya and extended the storage life by maintaining the firmness, color and overall quality of the fruit in low temperature storage (13.5°C) and 95% r.h. for 21 days followed by 2 days under marketing conditions. The mode of action of ammonium carbonate on the control of anthroacnose appears to bevia complete inhibition of radial mycelial growth and conidia germination. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting Aug. 14, 2002.     

Pharmacokinetics of erythromycin estolate and erythromycin phosphate after intragastric administration to healthy foals

OBJECTIVE: To determine pharmacokinetics and plasma concentrations of erythromycin and related compounds after intragastric administration of erythromycin phosphate and erythromycin estolate to healthy foals. ANIMALS: 11 healthy 2- to 6-month-old foals. PROCEDURE: Food was withheld from foals overnight before intragastric administration of erythromycin estolate (25 mg/kg of body weight; n = 8) and erythromycin phosphate (25 mg/kg; 7). Four foals received both drugs with 2 weeks between treatments. Plasma erythromycin concentrations were determined at various times after drug administration by use of high-performance liquid chromatography. Maximum plasma peak concentrations, time to maximum concentrations, area under plasma concentration versus time curves, half-life of elimination, and mean residence times were determined from concentration versus time curves. RESULTS: Maximum peak concentration of erythromycin A after administration of erythromycin phosphate was significantly greater than after administration of erythromycin estolate (2.9 +/- 1.1 microg/ml vs 1.0 +/- 0.82 microg/ml). Time to maximum concentration was shorter after administration of erythromycin phosphate than after erythromycin estolate (0.71 +/- 0.29 hours vs 1.7 +/- 1.2 hours). Concentrations of anhydroerythromycin A were significantly less 1 and 3 hours after administration of erythromycin estolate than after administration of erythromycin phosphate. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Plasma concentrations of erythromycin A remained > 0.25 microg/ml (reported minimum inhibitory concentration for Rhodococcus equi) for at least 4 hours after intragastric administration of erythromycin phosphate or erythromycin estolate, suggesting that the recommended dosage for either formulation (25 mg/kg, q 6 h) should be adequate for treatment of R equi infections in foals.     

The effect of long-acting injectable selenium formulations on blood and liver selenium concentrations and liveweights of red deer (Cervus elaphus)

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of a new long acting injectable selenium ( Se ) formulation to increase the Se status and prevent Se deficiency in red deer. METHODS: Groups of weaned red deer (four stags and six hinds/group) grazing pastures containing <30 mg Se/kg DM were injected subcutaneously with either 0.5, 1.0 or 2.0 mg Se/kg as a new formulation of BaSeO4 (Deposel Multidose), 1.0mgSe/kg of a current formulation (Deposel), or not treated. Blood Se concentrations and liveweight were measured nine times at intervals over 377 and 270 days, respectively. RESULTS: Both formulations of Se elevated blood Se concentrations from 105 nmol/l pre-injection for at least 377 days with peak levels of 1894, 1395 and 818 nmol/l for high, medium and low doses of Deposel Multidose, respectively, at 73141 days, and 1508 nmol/l at 73-141 days for the medium dose of Deposel, which persisted at similar levels for the duration of the study. Deposel Multidose produced fewer and less severe subcutaneous tissue reactions than Deposel. Pastures contained 10 to 30 mg Se/kg DM. There was no significant difference in growth rate between treated and control deer. There was a significant (p<0. 01) linear relationship (y = 1.25x + 71.6, R2=0.86) between blood (x) and liver (y) Se concentrations in the range of 120 - 2100 nmol/l for blood concentrations, and 200 - 3000 nmol/kg for liver concentrations. CONCLUSION: Injections of BaSeO4 in both formulations studied were effective in increasing the Se status of deer but the new formulation produced fewer and less-severe tissue reactions. Young growing red deer appear less sensitive to Se deficiency as measured by weight gain, than sheep and cattle, suggesting that reference ranges for those species are not appropriate for deer. There was a linear correlation between blood and liver selenium concentrations.