The Effect of Exogenous Hormone Treatment on Spermiation in Rhynchocypris oxycephalus (Sauvage and Dabry)

For the evaluation of hormonal control of spermiation in fish, a method to quanify the spermiation response of mature Rhynchocypris oxycephalus (Sauvage and Dabry) to hormonal therapy is described. Spermatocrit was determined after 7 min centrifugation at 18,000 ± g and sperm density was estimated by a standard hemocytomer method. Sperm density can be predicted from spermatocrit since their relationship is linear as described by the regression equation, Y = 3.68X - 27.18 ( R ² = 0.82, N = 50). where Y is spermatocrit and × is sperm density. Milt production by mature R. oxycephalus was highest at 24 h after injection of 1,000 IU human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and 50 μg luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analogue (LHRHa) per kg body weight. Increased milt production coincided with low spermatocrit and sperm density levels. These results demonstrate that spermiation in mature R. oxycephalus can be reliably evaluated by a spermatocrit method and that HCG and LHRHa are effective in stimulating of spermiation in this species.     

Radiographic interpretation of normal skeletal variations and pseudolesions in the equine foot.

Effective radiographic interpretation requires a veterinarian who is knowledgeable of equine limb anatomy and the various principles that affect the resulting image. The normal and its variations must be recognized and understood before the abnormal can be confidently identified as pathologic. Proper patient positioning and sound radiographic technique are mandatory if reliable diagnostic radiographs are to be produced. This review emphasizes equine foot radiographic variations of normal and pseudolesions that occur with commonly used radiographic views performed in equine practice.     

Radiographic examination of the equine foot

A complete radiographic examination of the equine foot consists of properly exposed, processed, and positioned radiographs. For radiographic interpretation, in addition to knowing radiographic signs of disease, a knowledge of normal radiographic anatomy and possible insignificant anatomic variations is necessary.     

Can treatment of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brachiaria decumbens</Emphasis> (signal grass) improve its utilisation in the diet in small ruminants?—a review

Brachiaria decumbens is an extremely productive tropical grass due to its aggressive growth habit and its adaptation to a varied range of soil types and environments. As a result of the vast availability, treated B. decumbens demonstrates as a promising local material that could be utilised as an improved diet for sheep and goats. Despite the fact that the grass significantly increases weight gains in grazing farm animals, there were many reports of general ill-thrift and sporadic outbreaks of photosensitivity in livestock due to the toxic compound of steroidal saponin found in B. decumbens. Ensiling and haymaking were found to be effective in removing toxin and undesirable compounds in the grass. Biological treatments using urea, activated charcoal, polyethylene glycol, and effective microorganisms were found to be useful in anti-nutritional factor deactivation and improving the nutritive values of feedstuffs. Besides, oral administration of phenobarbitone showed some degree of protection in sheep that fed on B. decumbens pasture. In this review, we aim to determine the effect of B. decumbens toxicity and possible treatment methods on the grass to be used as an improved diet for small ruminant.     

Genomic characterization of the first oral avian papillomavirus in a colony of breeding canaries (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Serinus canaria</Emphasis>)

Papillomaviruses are non-enveloped, DNA viruses that infect skin and mucosa of a wide variety of vertebrates, causing neoplasias or simply persisting asymptomatically. Avian papillomaviruses, with six fully sequenced genomes, are the second most studied group after mammalian papillomaviruses. In this study, we describe the first oral avian papillomavirus, detected in the tongue of a dead Yorkshire canary (Serinus canaria) and in oral swabs of the same bird and other two live canaries from an aviary in Madrid, Spain. Its genome is 8,071 bp and presents the canonical papillomavirus architecture with six early (E6, E7, E1, E9, E2, E4) and two late open reading frames (L1 and L2) and a long control region between L1 and E6. This new avian papillomavirus L1 gene shares a 64% pairwise identity with FcPV1 L1, so it has been classified as a new species (ScPV1) within the Ethapapillomavirus genus. Although the canary died after showing breathing problems, there is no evidence that the papillomavirus caused those symptoms so it could be part of the oral microbiota of the birds. Hence, future investigations are needed to evaluate the clinical relevance of the virus.     

Knowledge,attitudes and practices towards <Emphasis Type="Italic">cystic echinococcosis</Emphasis> in livestock among selected pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in Uganda

A cross-sectional study was done from March 2013 to May 2014 to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards cystic echinococcosis (CE) or hydatidosis among selected pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in Uganda. A structured questionnaire was administered to 381 respondents. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was done to find the relationship between knowledge about CE and factors such as age, sex, and level of education across all regions. The odds ratio and confidence interval were used to determine the difference in responses across regions. It was shown that age above 36 years was significantly (p < 0.001) associated with awareness about CE in livestock. Likewise, uneducated (p < 0.0001) and agro-pastoralists (p = 0.01) were significantly less knowledgeable than the educated and pastoralists across all regions. The overall knowledge towards CE in livestock was low 17.8% (95% CI = 14.0–21.6). Dog ownership was high and they never dewormed their freely roaming dogs. Dogs shared water with livestock. In conclusion, knowledge about CE in livestock was low across all regions. Therefore, public health education and formulation of policies towards its control by the relevant stakeholders should be done. Also, the true prevalence of CE in livestock needs to be done so that the magnitude and its public health significance are elucidated.     

Evaluation of host and bacterial gene modulation during Lawsonia intracellularis infection in immunocompetent C57BL/6 mouse model

BackgroundProliferative enteritis caused by Lawsonia intracellularis undermines the economic stability of the swine industry worldwide. The development of cost-effective animal models to study the pathophysiology of the disease will help develop strategies to counter this bacterium.ObjectivesThis study focused on establishing a model of gastrointestinal (GI) infection of L. intracellularis in C57BL/6 mice to evaluate the disease progression and lesions of proliferative enteropathy (PE) in murine GI tissue.MethodsWe assessed the murine mucosal and cell-mediated immune responses generated in response to inoculation with L. intracellularis.ResultsThe mice developed characteristic lesions of the disease and shed L. intracellularis in the feces following oral inoculation with 5 × l0⁷ bacteria. An increase in L. intracellularis 16s rRNA and groEL copies in the intestine of infected mice indicated intestinal dissemination of the bacteria. The C57BL/6 mice appeared capable of modulating humoral and cell-mediated immune responses to L. intracellularis infection. Notably, the expression of genes for the vitamin B12 receptor and for secreted and membrane-bound mucins were downregulated in L. intracellularis -infected mice. Furthermore, L. intracellularis colonization of the mouse intestine was confirmed by the immunohistochemistry and western blot analyses.ConclusionsThis is the first study demonstrating the contributions of bacterial chaperonin and host nutrient genes to PE using an immunocompetent mouse model. This mouse infection model may serve as a platform from which to study L. intracellularis infection and develop potential vaccination and therapeutic strategies to treat PE.     

Concentration variations of several ions in stream after a wildfire

In May 2006, a high intensity wildfire occurred in Songling forest region in Daxing＇an Mountains, China. The concentration changes of eight ions （K^＋, Na^＋, Ca^2＋, Mg^2＋, Cl^-, Br^-, NO3^- and SO4^2-） were measured in burned and tmbumed streams after fire from May to Oct., 2006. Results show that the most ions flux were higher in burned stream than that in unburned stream during the sampling period, and the greatest concentrations of most ions transported from burned stream occurred in July. After fire, the most amplitude chemical ion was Ca^2＋, whose average concentration was 5.50 mg·L^-1 higher than that in unburned stream, and the total concentration of every chemical ion presents a trend Ca^2＋〉SO4^2- 〉Na^＋〉Mg^2＋〉NO3^- . The average concentrations of Ca^2＋, SO4^2- , Na^＋＇Mg^2＋,NO3^- showed an increase trend, but those of K^＋, Cl^- , Br had a decreased trend. SO4^2- had the largest loss among these anions, followed by NO3^-. Overall, the increase degree of cation was greater than that of anion after burning.