The relationship between feeding and fertility in dairy cattle]

The possible relationship between nutrition and fertility in dairy cows are reviewed. Study of the literature shows that opinions on the effect of the various nutrients differ markedly. The conclusion which can be made is that in countries where standards of dairy farming are high, nutrition only plays a minor role in the problem of herd subfertility. In the course of time deficiencies in a large number of minerals, trace elements and vitamins have been stressed as a cause of inadequate fertility. However cows are at present generally fed with a lot of well balanced concentrates and therefore deficiencies are very unlikely to occur. During early lactation every high producing dairy cow has a negative energy balance. In a number of cows this results in anoestrus and in a long interval from parturition to first insemination. Overfeeding during late lactation and the dry period does not adversely affect subsequent reproduction but may cause puerperal disorders. The relation between protein nutrition and fertility is complex. Protein effects on fertility are minor. Problems can arise if there is a combination of a high percentage of crude protein (greater than 18%), a high rumen degradability of the protein and a low energy content of the diet. The value of metabolic profile tests is minimal because they do not differentiate between normal herds and herds with fertility problems.     

Evaluation of an electronic device used as a quick screening method to detect changes in the red cell content of the blood in horses participating in endurance trail rides

Dehydration, to varying degrees, will inevitably occur in horses participating in endurance trail rides. This water loss is directly related to the amount of body water lost through evaporative cooling, that in turn being related to the amount and rate of work performed, and to the environmental temperature and humidity.An electronic apparatus that can substitute for the conventional and time-consuming venous haematocrit was developed to measure the animals' hydration status. The mechanism of this electrometer is based upon the relationship between the red cell content and the electrical conductivity of the blood. The electrometer reading gave a significant correlation (p<0.001) with the venous haematocrit, thus indicating that the electrometer is a reliable apparatus for determining the animals' hydration status within seconds of venepuncture.     

Incidence of Salmonellae in Captive and Wild Free‐Living Raptorial Birds in Central Spain

A total of 595 faecal samples from raptorial birds, either captive or free‐living, residing in GREFA Wildlife Hospital were bacteriologically examined using various selective media and an Automated Diagnostic Assay System for Salmonella detection. Serotype and phage type of the strains identified as Salmonella was determined. In the captive group, of the 285 samples examined, 21 (7.36%) were positive for Salmonella. Serotyping revealed that most of the individuals were infected by Salmonella serotype Havana. This result suggested that there could be a source of contamination in the Hospital although it could not be established. In the wild free‐living group, over 310 samples examined (4.19%) were positive for Salmonella. The Salmonella isolates showed a major variety of serotypes: Enteritidis, Adelaide, Brandenburg, Newport, Typhimurium, Hadar, Saintpaul and Virchow. Most of them are similar to those commonly described in isolates from human and domestic animals. These results indicate that wild birds could be involved in the dissemination of Salmonella in humans or domestic animals or vice versa.     

Laboratory diagnosis and disease occurrence in the current African swine fever eradication program in Spain, 1989–1991

The purpose of this study was to determine the rate of decline and geographical distribution by municipality of clinical and subclinical African swine fever (ASF) in the affected areas of Spain. A second aim was to evaluate the performance of diagnostic tests in the Spanish ASF eradication program. Clinical outbreaks were confirmed using both the direct and indirect immunofluorescence test (and if both were negative, by the hemabsorption test). The serological status of swine was determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and suspect serum samples were confirmed by the immunoblot assay.

The number of clinical outbreaks (herds) of ASF for 1989, 1990 and 1991 was 170, 347 and 207, respectively. The numbers of municipalities within each affected province experiencing acute outbreaks for the same time periods were 49, 69 and 48, respectively. Serologically diagnosed animals positive for ASF were 1.1% of animals tested in 1989, 0.5% in 1990 and 0.8% in 1991. The corresponding positive predictive values of the standard ELISA test used were 99.0, 97.9 and 98.8, respectively. Similarly, the number of municipalities within each affected province experiencing serologically positive subclinically infected animals was 269, 178 and 147 for each of the years 1989, 1990 and 1991, respectively.     

关中驴对6株动物病毒抗原的免疫应答试验

以关中驴为试验动物 ,用猪瘟病毒(HCV )、犬细小病毒 (CPV )、兔瘟病毒(RHDV)、鸡新城疫病毒 (NDV)、伪狂犬病毒(PRV)等病毒进行免疫 ,检测所产生的抗体效价 ,并与猪、鸡、兔、犬、及猫等动物进行比较。试验结果表明 ,关中驴与对照动物产生的抗体效价一致 ,证明了关中驴可替代其它动物用于生物制品研究     

三峡库区农村沼气综合利用途径与思考

三峡库区资源丰富,但库区农村存在资源利用不合理、能源紧缺的情况.库区的气候及资源是发展沼气的有利条件.沼气是一项投资少,见效快,一次投资长期受益的好项目;是能够解决库区农村燃料短缺,提高用能品质,促进农民增收节支的有效途径,并且是保护生态改善农村生活环境,促进库区农村生态经济可持续发展的有效举措.     

Determination of sulfamethazine and trimethoprim in liquid feed premixes by HPLC and diode array detection, with an analysis of the uncertainty of the analytical results.

Sulfamethazine (SMZ) and trimethoprim (TMP) are antibacterials used in veterinary practice. This paper describes a method for their determination in veterinary liquid feed premixes that is based on liquid chromatography with diode array detection. Gradient elution with methanol and ammonium acetate achieved excellent separation of the two analytes within 15 min without any interference from the matrix. Absorbance of the column effluent was monitored at 264 nm for SMZ and at 230 nm for TMP. Detailed analyses of the uncertainties of determinations afford estimated expanded uncertainties of, respectively, 0.2 and 0.1 w/v % for typical SMZ and TMP concentrations of 10.7 and 2.1 w/v %, respectively. At the lower end of the calibrated range of the method, the dominant source of uncertainty is the preparation of standards and the construction of the calibration line.     

Association between Chlamydia psittaci seropositivity and abortion in Italian dairy cows.

Although the seroprevalence of Chlamydia psittaci is widespread in Italian dairy herds, its role in inducing genital disorders has not been elucidated. We therefore set up a case-control study to compare seroprevalence to C. psittaci in an aborted-cow population and in a randomly selected control group in the province of Parma (the Po Valley of northern Italy). The true seroprevalence (45%) in aborted cows was significantly higher than that in the control group (24%) (adjusted odds ratio=2.53).