Equine laryngoplasty sutures undergo increased loading during coughing and swallowing

Objectives: To report (1) the force required on a single laryngoplasty suture to achieve optimal abduction of the left arytenoid cartilage, (2) peak forces experienced by the suture during induced swallowing and coughing, and during 24‐hour resting activity in a stall, and (3) peak forces during induced swallowing and coughing after left recurrent laryngeal nerve blockade. Study Design: Experimental study. Animals: Horses (n=8). Methods: Each laryngoplasty suture was instrumented with an E‐type buckle force transducer to measure the force required for optimal intraoperative left arytenoid cartilage abduction. This was correlated with abduction observed postoperatively. Change in suture force from baseline was measured during induced coughing and swallowing, and during normal stall activity. Results: Optimal intraoperative arytenoid abduction was achieved with a mean (±SD) force of 27.6±7.5 N. During saline‐induced swallowing and coughing mean force on the suture increased by 19.0±5.6 N (n=233 measurements; 7 horses) and 12.1±3.6 N (n=31; 4 horses), respectively. Sutures underwent increased loading a mean of 1152 times in 24 hours. No change in suture force was observed with respiratory rhythm. Conclusion: Swallowing increases laryngoplasty suture force to a greater extent than coughing.     

Cool-season annual pastures with clovers to supplement wintering beef cows nursing calves

In December of 3 years, 87 beef cows with nursing calves (594 ± 9.8 kg; calving season, September to November) at side were stratified by body condition score, body weight, cow age, and calf gender and divided randomly into 6 groups assigned to 1 of 6 cool-season annual pastures (0.45 ha/cow) that had been interseeded into a dormant common bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon [L.] Pers.)/bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flugge) sod. Pastures contained 1 of the following 3 seeding mixtures (2 pastures/mixture): 1) wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam., WRG), 2) wheat and ryegrass plus red clover (Trifolium pretense L., WRR), or 3) wheat and ryegrass plus white (Trifolium repens L.) and crimson clovers (Trifolium incarnatum L., WRW). All groups had ad libitum access to grass hay (12% crude protein; 58% total digestible nutrients). The second week in December, cow estrous cycles were synchronized and artificially inseminated. In late December, a bull was placed with each group for 60-d. Data were analyzed with an analysis of variance using a mixed model containing treatment as the fixed effect and year as the random effect. Body weight and condition scores did not differ (P≥0.27) among cows between February and June. Calf birth weights or average daily gain did not differ (P≥0.17) among treatments; however, calves grazing pastures with clovers did tend (P=0.06) to weigh more than calves grazing grass only. Weaning weight per cow exposed to a bull was greater (P=0.02) for WRR and WRW than WRG. Cows grazing winter-annual pastures containing clovers tended to wean more calf body weight per cow exposed to a bull than cows grazing the grass only pastures.     

Hormonal and pheromonal control of spawning behavior in the goldfish

Species that employ sexual reproduction must synchronize gamete maturity with behavior within and between genders. Teleost fishes solve this challenge by using reproductive hormones both as endogenous signals to synchronize sexual behavior with gamete maturation, and as exogenous signals (pheromones) to synchronize spawning interactions between fish. This dual role of hormonal products is best understood in the goldfish, an external fertilizer with a promiscuous mating system. Female gonadal growth and vitellogenesis is stimulated by 17β-estradiol (E2) which also evokes release of a recrudescent pheromone. At the completion of vitellogenesis, ovarian E2 production drops and plasma testosterone increases, sensitizing the female gonadotropin II (luteinizing hormone; LH) system to environmental cues (temperature, spawning substrate, pheromones). These cues eventually trigger a LH surge that alters steroidogenesic pathways to favor the production of progestins including 17,20β-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (17,20β-P). Plasma 17,20β-P stimulates oocyte maturation but is also released to the water along with sulfated 17,20β-P and androstenedione to serve as a preovulatory pheromone. This pheromone stimulates male behavior, LH release, and sperm production. At the time of ovulation, females become sexually active in response to prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α) synthesized in the oviduct. PGF2α and its metabolites are released as a postovulatory pheromone that induces male spawning behavior which further increases male LH and sperm production. Androgenic hormones are required for male behavior and LH release. Although goldfish are gonochorists, hormone treatments can induce heterotypical functions in adults. Similar findings in other fish demonstrate that a sexually bipotential brain is not restricted to hermaphroditic fishes. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

An approach to forecast grain crop yield using multi-layered,multi-farm data sets and machine learning

Precision Agriculture - Many broadacre farmers have a time series of crop yield monitor data for their fields which are often augmented with additional data, such as soil apparent electrical...     

Craniomandibular osteopathy in a bullmastiff

A 6-month-old bullmastiff was presented with bilateral painful swellings of the mandible. Craniomandibular osteopathy was diagnosed based on skull radiographs and histological findings from bone biopsies. Treatment consisted of meloxicam to alleviate the pain. Three months later, the dog was pain free without medication or palpable change in the mandible.     

免疫凝聚试纸条和TaqMan探针实时荧光PCR检测西瓜细菌性果斑病菌比较研究

 以西瓜细菌性果斑病菌(Acidovorax avenae subsp.citrulli)菌悬液和田间采集的病组织为试材,研究了免疫凝聚试纸条和实时荧光PCR技术检测的灵敏度和适应性。结果表明,免疫凝聚试纸条检测灵敏度为10⁶ cfu/mL,具有简便、快速、易操作特点,适用于田间快速检测和病害诊断;TaqMan探针实时荧光PCR检测灵敏度达10^3~4 cfu/mL,比传统PCR检测灵敏度(10⁵ cfu/mL)提高了10~100倍,且不需要琼脂糖凝胶电泳、溴化乙锭染色和Southern杂交。但需要昂贵的仪器和试剂,适用于室内检测及相关研究。     

Feeding value for finishing beef steers of wheat grain conserved by different techniques

The objective was to determine the feeding value of high moisture grain as an alternative to dry grain for finishing beef cattle. Winter wheat grain was harvested sequentially for rolling, acid treatment and ensilage (ER; 705 g dry matter (DM)/kg), urea whole grain treatment and anaerobic storage (UN; 746 g DM/kg) and whole grain propionic acid treatment and aerobic storage (rolled before feeding; PR; 849 g DM/kg). Friesian steers (n = 120; mean starting live-weight 518 kg) were allocated on a live-weight basis to 12 replicate blocks and then randomly assigned from within blocks to ten treatments. Treatments were grass silage offered ad libitum together with (i) no wheat, (ii–iv) PR at 3 or 6 kg/head daily, or ad libitum, (v–vii) UN at equivalent DM allowances to (ii) and (iii) above, or ad libitum, (viii–x) ER at equivalent DM allowances to (ii) and (iii) above, or ad libitum. Mean daily live-weight gains were 852 (ER), 726 (UN) and 855 g (PR) (s.e. = 65.5; P < 0.05) with corresponding values for carcass gain of 522, 425 and 528 g (s.e. = 35.6; P < 0.001) and daily silage DM intakes of 3.5, 4.0 and 3.6 kg (s.e. = 0.15; P < 0.001). Wheat DM intake when offered ad libitum was 7.8, 8.3 and 8.2 kg (s.e. = 0.10; P < 0.05) for ER, UN and PR, respectively. The content of apparently undigested whole grains and starch in faeces was higher (P < 0.001) for UN than for ER and PR, particularly at higher rates of wheat ingestion. It is concluded that ER treatment of wheat grain can be an acceptable alternative to the more traditional PR and superior to the UN treatment in the diets of finishing beef cattle.