Modeling genetic differences of combined broiler chicken populations in single-step GBLUP

The introduction of animals from a different environment or population is a common practice in commercial livestock populations. In this study, we modeled the inclusion of a group of external birds into a local broiler chicken population for the purpose of genomic evaluations. The pedigree was composed of 242,413 birds and genotypes were available for 107,216 birds. A five-trait model that included one growth, two yield, and two efficiency traits was used for the analyses. The strategies to model the introduction of external birds were to include a fixed effect representing the origin of parents and to use unknown parent groups (UPG) or metafounders (MF). Genomic estimated breeding values (GEBV) were obtained with single-step GBLUP using the Algorithm for Proven and Young. Bias, dispersion, and accuracy of GEBV for the validation birds, that is, from the most recent generation, were computed. The bias and dispersion were estimated with the linear regression (LR) method,whereas accuracy was estimated by the LR method and predictive ability. When fixed UPG were fit without estimated inbreeding, the model did not converge. In contrast, models with fixed UPG and estimated inbreeding or random UPG converged and resulted in similar GEBV. The inclusion of an extra fixed effect in the model made the GEBV unbiased and reduced the inflation. Genomic predictions with MF were slightly biased and inflated due to the unbalanced number of observations assigned to each metafounder. When combining local and external populations, the greatest accuracy can be obtained by adding an extra fixed effect to account for the origin of parents plus UPG with estimated inbreeding or random UPG. To estimate the accuracy, the LR method is more consistent among scenarios, whereas the predictive ability greatly depends on the model specification.     

Bilateral sinus cysts in a filly treated by endoscopic sinus surgery

Bilateral cysts in the frontal and caudal maxillary sinuses in a filly treated by endoscopic sinus surgery (sinoscopy) and triangulation technique are described. Sinoscopy has the advantage of being a minimally invasive technique and permits a complete inspection of the frontal and maxillary sinuses, which is not possible through flap sinusotomy.     

Effect of paratuberculosis on the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis in a cattle herd with a mixed infection using interferon-gamma detection assay

Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) detection assay is being applied as an ancillary test to tuberculin tests in the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis to detect the maximum number of infected animals. Among possible factors influencing the performance of tuberculosis-diagnostic tests, paratuberculosis, a widespread disease in Spain and other European countries, has been pointed out as a cause of false positive reactions. Still, its effect on the sensitivity of these tests in cattle has yet to be fully characterized. The impact of paratuberculosis in the apparent sensitivity of IFN-gamma assay was studied in a bullfighting cattle herd with a mixed tuberculosis-paratuberculosis infection, using culture of Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis as the gold standard to determine the infection status of every animal. A total of 218 animals were slaughtered and sampled for bacteriology after blood sampling. IFN-gamma assay showed a lower apparent sensitivity in animals with a mixed infection (50%) compared to all animals suffering tuberculosis (78.3%). This finding indicates that the presence of paratuberculosis in tuberculosis-infected herds could imply a serious impairment in the sensitivity of IFN-gamma detection test.     

A recombinant-based ELISA evaluating the efficacy of netobimin and albendazole in ruminants with naturally acquired fascioliasis

The therapeutic efficacy of albendazole and netobimin in ruminants with naturally occurring fascioliasis was investigated using a recombinant-based ELISA. The variation in the IgG response against a 2.9-kDa recombinant protein (FhrAPS), termed efficacy index (EI) 1, and the egg-output changes, termed EI 2, were used to evaluate drug efficacy.The values of EI 1 ranged between 0% and 50% in sheep, and between 0% and 30% in cattle after treatment with albendazole and netobimin. Similar EI 2 values were observed in sheep receiving albendazole or netobimin, but the highest values were found in cattle treated with netobimin. The significant reduction in the IgG response to FhrAPS found in this study shows promise in terms of developing alternative methods for evaluating the efficacy of chemotherapy against Fasciola hepatica in grazing ruminants.     

An assessment of the clonality of the components of canine mixed mammary tumours by mitochondrial DNA analysis

The aim of this study was to investigate if mutations in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop fragment control region of canine mammary mixed tumours could be used as clonal markers that identified the cell population of origin. Ten benign mixed mammary tumours and nine carcinomas arising from benign mixed tumours were microdissected and DNA from epithelial and mesenchymal tumour cells and from normal mammary tissue was examined for sequence variations in a fragment of the hypervariable control region.Identical sequence variants in both the epithelial and mesenchymal components (as well as in the corresponding normal tissue) were found in 80% of the benign mixed tumours and in 89% of the carcinomas arising from benign mixed tumours suggesting a shared clonal origin. The distinctive sequence alterations identified in the epithelial and mesenchymal components of 15.8% of all 19 tumours examined, suggests the possibility that a minority of mammary tumours are polyclonal in origin or that early clonal divergence occurs. Increased mutation within the mtDNA D-loop fragment of mixed tumour components was not observed.     

Detection of foot-and-mouth disease virus infected cattle using infrared thermography

In this study, infrared thermography (IRT) was assessed as a means of detecting foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV)-infected cattle before and after the development of clinical signs. Preliminary IRT imaging demonstrated that foot temperatures increased in FMDV-infected animals. The maximum foot temperatures of healthy (n = 53), directly inoculated (DI) (n = 12), contact (CT) (n = 6), and vaccine trial (VT) (n = 21) cattle were measured over the course of FMD infection. A cut-off value was established at 34.4 °C (sensitivity = 61.1%, specificity = 87.7%) with the aim of detecting FMDV-infected animals both before and after clinical signs were observed. Seven of 12 (58%) DI and 3/6 (50%) CT animals showed maximum foot temperatures exceeding the 34.4 °C cut-off before the development of foot vesicles. In contrast, only 5/21 (24%) VT animals displayed pre-clinical foot temperatures above this cut-off possibly indicating partial vaccine protection of this group. These results show IRT as a promising screening technology to quickly identify potentially infected animals for confirmatory diagnostic testing during FMD outbreaks. Further evaluation of this technology is needed to determine the value of IRT in detecting animals with mild clinical signs or sub-clinical infections.     

Net requirements of calcium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, and potassium for growth of Nellore × Red Angus bulls, steers, and heifers

A comparative slaughter trial was conducted to assess the net requirements for gain of Ca, P, Na, K and Mg of bulls, steers and heifers of Nellore and Red Angus crossbreds. Twenty seven F1 Nellore and Red Angus crossbred calves (9 steers, 9 bulls, and 9 heifers), averaging 274 kg BW, were used. At the beginning of the trial, three animals from each gender were slaughtered to determine the initial body composition. The remaining 18 animals (3 animals of each gender) were randomly assigned to two treatments: fed 0.75 or 1.5% of BW of concentrate. The diets were based on corn silage and were isonitrogenous (2% N, DM). After three growing periods of 28 d, all animals were slaughtered. The cleaned gastrointestinal tract, organs, carcass, head, hide, tail, feet, and tissues were weighed to determine the empty BW (EBW). These parts were ground separately and subsampled for chemical analyses. The log of the contents of each mineral in the empty body was regressed on the log of the EBW to estimate the net requirement for each mineral per kg of empty body gain (EBG). There were no differences (P > 0.05) in the net requirements for growth of all macrominerals among genders. The equations of the pooled data of the net requirements for growth (g/kg EBG) were: 332.6 × EBW ^− 0.6367 for Ca, 112.1 × EBW ^− 0.5615 for P, 10.85 × EBW ^− 0.3992 for Na, 4.01 × EBW ^− 0.153 for K, and 3.589 × EBW ^− 0.462 for Mg. Our findings indicated that retained Ca and retained P were poorly related to the retained protein.     

DPPH radical scavenging activity of two flavonol glycosides from Aconitum napellus sp. lusitanicum

The DPPH radical scavenging activity of two flavonol glycosides obtained from ethanolic extracts of Aconitum napellus sp. lusitanicum was studied. The results showed a high DPPH antiradical activity of compound 1 (quercetin 3-O-(6-trans-caffeoyl)-beta-glucopyranosyl-(1-->2)-beta-glucopyranosyl-7-O-alpha-rhamnopyranoside) when compared with compound 2 (quercetin-3-sophoroside-7-rhamnopyranoside), rutin and ascorbic acid. The relationship between the caffeoyl and rhamnopyranoside groups in the flavonol glycosides structures and the DPPH antiradical activity was also discussed.     

Intestinal antiinflammatory activity of a lyophilized infusion of Turnera ulmifolia in TNBS rat colitis

Turnera ulmifolia is a plant popularly known in Brazil and South America as chanana. Some species of Turnera are widely used in folk medicine for different types of inflammatory diseases. In this study, the preventive intestinal antiinflammatory activity of a lyophilized infusion obtained from the aerial parts of T. ulmifolia was tested in the trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid (TNBS) model of rat colitis. The results obtained revealed that pretreatment to colitic rats with the extract, at 250 and 500 mg/kg, significantly attenuated the colonic damage induced by TNBS. This beneficial effect was associated with an improvement in the colonic oxidative status, since the infusion prevented the glutathione depletion that occurred as a consequence of the colonic inflammation. On the other hand, this antioxidant activity was confirmed in in vitro studies. In conclusion, the preventive effect exerted by the lyophilized infusion of T. ulmifolia in the TNBS model of rat colitis is probably related to its antioxidant properties, due to its flavonoids content.     

Sorption and thermodynamic properties of buried juvenile <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus sylvestris</Emphasis> L. wood aged 1,170 ± 40 BP

The hygroscopicity and thermodynamic properties of buried juvenile Pinus sylvestris L. wood with an age of 1,170 ± 40 BP were compared with the corresponding values of juvenile wood of the same species from recently cut trees. The 35 and 50°C isotherms were plotted following the saturated salts method and subsequently fitted in accordance with the GAB model. The isotherms were then compared by means of the hysteresis coefficients. X-ray diffractograms were used to analyse the crystal structure of the cellulose. The effect of time on the buried wood caused hemicelluloses degradation and a decrease in the crystallinity index and the crystallite length, resulting in an increase in the proportion of amorphous zones. Because of this, the equilibrium moisture contents of the buried wood are higher than of the recent wood, both in adsorption and desorption. In terms of the thermodynamic properties, the heat involved is greater in the buried wood than in the recent wood.