An epidemiological study of helminthiasis in cattle in subtropical Argentina

Summary Nine farms were each visited regularly for a year in 1979 and 1980 in Salta Province in the subtropics of Argentina. A necropsy was done at each visit and faecal and blood samples were taken from other animals mostly aged between 6 and 18 months. Ninety necropsies were done and nearly 1,500 faecal samples collected. Gastro-intestinal helminthiasis was most general and severe in autumn when calves were about 9 months old and this was followed by a dramatic fall in numbers of worms by the end of winter. Helminths were found in other organs but were not considered important. At peak periods 20% of the animals had worm egg counts of more than 750 epg and contained more than 1,000Haemonchus worms. This species was considered to be the most important but other frequently encountered species wereOesophagostomum, Cooperia andTrichostrongylus spp. A list is given of all species found. Tracer calves were used to determine the periods of infestation. No hypobiosis was encountered. It was concluded that the sharp fall in numbers of worms after the autumn peak was due to the development of immunity by the majority of the young animals.

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Estudios Epidemiologicos Sobre Helmintiasis Del Ganado En La Region Subtropical De Argentina

Resumen Se visitaron regularmente 9 haciendas ganaderas durante un año 1979–1980, en la Provincia de Salta, Argentina. Se hizo 1 necropsia durante cada visita, y se tomaron muestras de sangre y fecales de otros animales de edades comprendidas entre 6 y 18 meses. Se hicieron en total 90 necropsias y se colectaron aproximadamente 1.500 muestras fecales. La helmintiasis gastro-intestinal fue más severa en otoño cuando los terneros tenían 9 meses de edad. seguido de un descenso en el número de parásitos hacia el final del invierno. En períodos críticos el 20% de los animales tenían conteos de huevos de más de 750 hpg y más de 1.000Haemonchus. Esta especie se consideró la más importante, pero también se encontraronOesophagostomum, Cooperia yTrichostrongylus spp. El trabajo presenta una lista de todos los parásitos encontrados. Terneros centinelas se utilizaron para determinar los períodos de infestación. No se encontró hipobiosis. Se concluye, que el descenso marcado en el número de parásitos en los bovinos jóvenes después del otoño, se debe al desarrollo de inmunidad en la mayoría de los animales.

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Etude Épidémiologique Des Helminthes Du Bétail En Argentine Subtropicale

Résumé Neufs fermes ont été régulièrement visitées pendant un an, de 1979 à 1980, dans la province de Salta, en Argentine subtropicale. A chacune des visites effectuées, une nécropsie a été pratiquée et des échantillons de fèces et de sang ont été récoltés d'autres animaux principalement âgés de 6 à 18 mois—90 nécropsies ont été ainsi pratiquées et près de 1500 échantillons fécaux récoltés. L'helminthose gastro-intestinale était plus répandue et plus sévère en automne lorsque les veaux étaient âgés d'environ 9 mois, suivie par une chute drastique du nombre de vers à la fin de l'hiver. Des helminthes ont été trouvés dans d'autres organes, sans présenter d'importance. Aux périodes majeures, 20 p. 100 des animaux ont présenté un décompte d'oeufs supérieur à 750 et hébergeaient plus de 1000Haemonchus. Cette espèce a été considérée comme la plus importante mais les autres espèces les plus fréquemment rencontrées ont étéOesophagostomum Cooperia etTrichostrongylus spp. La liste de toutes les espèces rencontrées est donnée. Des veaux traceurs ont été utilisés pour déterminer les périodes d'infestation. Aucune hypobiose n'a été rencontrée. Il est conclu que la réduction marquée constatée dans le nombre d'oeufs après le pic automnal est due au développement de l'immunité chez la majorité des jeunes animaux.

     

Two-dimensional magnetic particles

Single two-dimensional (2D) atomically thick magnetic particles of cobalt and iron with variable size and shape were fabricated by combining a mask technique with standard molecular beam epitaxy. Reduction of the lateral size of in-plane magnetized 2D cobalt films down to about 100 nanometers did not essentially modify their magnetic properties; although the separation of boundaries decreased greatly, neither domain penetrated the particle, nor was any sizable shape anisotropy observed. The mutual interaction of 2D cobalt particles was negligible, and the magnetic state of a single particle could be switched without modifying the state of the neighbors. Perpendicularly magnetized iron particles did not exhibit such responses. These results suggest that only a few atoms forming a 2D in-plane magnetized dot may provide a stable elementary bit for nanorecording.     

Isotopic compositions of cometary matter returned by Stardust

Hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotopic compositions are heterogeneous among comet 81P/Wild 2 particle fragments; however, extreme isotopic anomalies are rare, indicating that the comet is not a pristine aggregate of presolar materials. Nonterrestrial nitrogen and neon isotope ratios suggest that indigenous organic matter and highly volatile materials were successfully collected. Except for a single (17)O-enriched circumstellar stardust grain, silicate and oxide minerals have oxygen isotopic compositions consistent with solar system origin. One refractory grain is (16)O-enriched, like refractory inclusions in meteorites, suggesting that Wild 2 contains material formed at high temperature in the inner solar system and transported to the Kuiper belt before comet accretion.     

Is UK biofuel supply from Miscanthus water‐limited?

Sustainable Miscanthus plantings encouraged under publicly funded schemes should be based on sound economic and environmental assessments. We developed an empirical yield model for Miscanthus from harvestable dry matter yields at 14 field trials in the UK to estimate site-specific and regional yields derived from meteorological variables and soil available water. Harvestable yields of crops established for at least 3 years at 14 arable sites across the UK ranged from 5 to 18 t/ha, averaging at 12.8 (±2.9) t/ha. Variables considered to affect yield were number of years after planting, length of season ( T _air > 9 °C), temperature, global solar radiation, precipitation and potential evapotranspiration during the season, and soil available water capacity ( AWC ). At a single site (Rothamsted), AWC and the relative average potential soil moisture deficit during the main growing season explained 70% of annual yield variation (RMSE = 1.38 t/ha, P  < 0.001). For the complete UK data set ( n  = 67), yield variation was related to AWC , air temperature and precipitation (RMSE = 2.1 t/ha, P  < 0.01). Linking soil survey and spatially interpolated weather data we calculated an overall national average dry matter yield of 9.6 t/ha. As shown for two counties (Oxfordshire and North Yorkshire), estimated yield may decrease by 1 t/ha, and its uncertainty may rise from 15 to >20%, when soil survey instead of local soil data are used. Using data from a single weather station can introduce a bias (<1 t/ha) because of differences in elevation and local temperature and precipitation. Overall, it seems most important for bioenergy plantings to assure sufficient water supply from the soil ( AWC  > 150 mm) during the main growing season.     

Variations inEchinococcus granulosus of bovine origin identified by enzyme electrophoresis

Hydatid cysts of bovine, equine, porcine, ovine, caprine and human origin and also from gerbils used to passage cysts of human origin were obtained from various geographical locations. Extracts from these cysts were compared for the electrophoretic forms of glucose phosphate isomerase. Equine and porcine cyst extracts had identical zymogram patterns. These differed markedly from the zymogram patterns of cysts of ovine, caprine and human origin which appeared identical to the ovine strain. In contrast both types of zymogram patterns were found in extracts from cysts obtained from cattle. This variation seemed to be associated with both geographical location and the fertility of the cysts.     

Fixation de la ribonuclease A sur des elements du sol

The immobilization of ribonuclease A on soils constituents (montmorillonite, humic acid, montmorillonite-humic acid complex) is the same with or without sodium cyanoborohydride. The enzyme is not liberated by washing with dilute sodium chloride and this observation is in favor of a great adsorption energy. It is suggested that the different supports inhibited completely ribonuclease activity by combining with the enzyme.     

Evaluation of five diagnostic methods for the detection and quantification of Myxobolus cerebralis.

Diagnostic methods were used to identify and quantify Myxobolus cerebralis, a myxozoan parasite of salmonid fish. In this study, 7-week-old, pathogen-free rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were experimentally infected with M. cerebralis and at 7 months postinfection were evaluated with 5 diagnostic assays: 1) pepsin-trypsin digest (PTD) to detect and enumerate spores found in cranial cartilage, 2) 2 different histopathology grading scales that provide a numerical score for severity of microscopic lesions in the head, 3) a conventional single-round polymerase chain reaction (PCR), 4) a nested PCR assay, and 5) a newly developed quantitative real-time TaqMan PCR. There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) among the 5 diagnostic assays in distinguishing between experimentally infected and uninfected control fish. The 2 histopathology grading scales were highly correlated (P < 0.001) for assessment of microscopic lesion severity. Quantification of parasite levels in cranial tissues using PTD and real-time TaqMan PCR was significantly correlated r = 0.540 (P < 0.001). Lastly, 104 copies of the 18S rDNA gene are present in the M. cerebralis genome, a feature that makes this gene an excellent target for PCR-based diagnostic assays. Also, 2 copies of the insulin growth factor-I gene are found in the rainbow trout genome, whose detection can serve both as an internal quality control for amplifiable DNA and as a basis to quantify pathogen genome equivalents present in quantitative PCR assays.     

Piscine reovirus,but not Jaundice Syndrome,was transmissible to Chinook Salmon,Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum), Sockeye Salmon,Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum), and Atlantic Salmon,Salmo salar L.

A Jaundice Syndrome occurs sporadically among sea‐pen‐farmed Chinook Salmon in British Columbia, the westernmost province of Canada. Affected salmon are easily identified by a distinctive yellow discolouration of the abdominal and periorbital regions. Through traditional diagnostics, no bacterial or viral agents were cultured from tissues of jaundiced Chinook Salmon; however, piscine reovirus (PRV) was identified via RT‐rPCR in all 10 affected fish sampled. By histopathology, Jaundice Syndrome is an acute to peracute systemic disease, and the time from first clinical signs to death is likely <48 h; renal tubular epithelial cell necrosis is the most consistent lesion. In an infectivity trial, Chinook Salmon, Sockeye Salmon and Atlantic Salmon, intraperitoneally inoculated with a PRV‐positive organ homogenate from jaundiced Chinook Salmon, developed no gross or microscopic evidence of jaundice despite persistence of PRV for the 5‐month holding period. The results from this study demonstrate that the Jaundice Syndrome was not transmissible by injection of material from infected fish and that PRV was not the sole aetiological factor for the condition. Additionally, these findings showed the Pacific coast strain of PRV, while transmissible, was of low pathogenicity for Atlantic Salmon, Chinook Salmon and Sockeye Salmon.