Prevalence of mycoplasmas in the respiratory tracts of pneumonic calves.

The prevalence of mycoplasmas in the respiratory tracts of 148 pneumonic calves originating from 25 herds in the Netherlands is reported. Four types of culture media were used to isolate mycoplasmas: solid modified Edward medium, 2 types of Friis media, and A7B differential agar medium. Mycoplasmas were isolated both from nasal swab specimens and lung lavage fluids collected from live calves and from nasal mucosa and lung tissue specimens collected post mortem. All of the mycoplasma strains isolated could be identified as either Ureaplasma diversum (isolated from 80% of 25 herds), Mycoplasma dispar (92%), M. bovirhinis (88%), M. bovis (20%), M. bovigenitalium (4%), M. arginini (16%), or M. canis (12%). Isolation rates of M. dispar and U. diversum were considerably higher from lung lavage fluids than from nasal swab specimens. M. bovis was detected only in fattening herds and not in dairy herds. The respiratory tracts of 75% of the calves examined contained at least 2 mycoplasma species. In total, 25 different combinations of mycoplasma species were detected in specimens collected from noses and lungs. The pathogenic species U. diversum and M. dispar had not been isolated before in the Netherlands.     

Dinoseb toxicosis in two dogs

Two male English Setters were noticed to be breathing rapidly, hyperexcitable, and atactic after roaming a rural area for 2 hours. Both dogs' cost were stained with yellow liquid. One dog died while en route to the veterinarian. Treatment was begun for the surviving dog for what was initially diagnosed to be organophosphorus or carbamate insecticide toxicosis. Before the diagnosis could be confirmed, the second dog died. The yellow liquid on the dogs' skin was identified as dinoseb in high concentrations. Dinoseb is an acutely toxic, substituted dinitrophenolic herbicide believed to act as an uncoupler of electron transport from oxidative phosphorylation.     

Infection of Cherax quadricarinatus (Decapoda: Parastacidae) by the microsporidium Thelohania sp. (Microsporida: Nosematidae)

Abstract The microsporidian parasite Thelohania sp. was present in a population of Cherax quadriearinatus in the Mitchell River, north Queensland. An infection rate of 7--8% was recorded for the population sampled. Cohabitation, passage of spores through fish, ingestion of spores and injection of blood from an infected individual failed to elicit infection in laboratory held animals. Injection of spores elicited a host responseconsisting of encapsulation and melanization of spores. Further studies are necessary to clarify the taxonomic position and mode of transmission of this parasite.     

Spring Barley Responses to Row Spacing and Fungicide Triadimefon in Regions with a Short Crop-growing Season

Aspects of intensive management practices such as high-yielding cultivars, narrow-row spacings and fungicide treatments could potentially increase cereal yields in regions with a short crop-growing season and occasionally dry and hot weather. A field experiment was carried out at McGill University, Canada for three years (1987 to 1989) to test the effects of triadimefon (1-[4-chlorophenoxy]-3,3-dimethyl-1-[1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl]-2-butanone, or Bayleton, a trade name) fungicide (0 vs. 140 g a.i. ha⁻¹) and row spacing (10 vs. 20 cm) on the yield components, yield and other agronomic traits (spike emergence, days to maturity, leaf disease and plant height) of spring barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.) cv. Cadette, Laurier and Leger. A cultivar by row spacing interaction resulted in a 11 to 13.5 % increase in grain yield due to narrow rows for Laurier in two out of the three years and up to 16 % for Leger in one year. Over the three years grain yields were on average increased 6 to 12 % due to use of the narrower row spacing. Fungicide application to barley at the early heading stage effectively controlled leaf diseases without influence on yield components or grain yield. Our results indicate that some components of intensive management such as narrow row spacing can be applicable in regions with a short crop-growing season.     

Detection of hemorrhagic septicemia virus of salmonid fishes by use of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay containing high sodium chloride concentration and two noncompetitive monoclonal antibodies against early viral nucleoproteins.

Inclusion of high-ionic strength buffers helped us to develop a sandwich ELISA to detect hemorrhagic septicemia virus (HSV) in cell culture and infected trout tissue extracts. For maximal sensitivity of 0.1 to 0.2 ng/well/100 microliters or about 10 to 50 TCID50/well/100 microliters, trout extracts were diluted 1:1 and assayed for the earliest synthesized nucleoprotein N. Simultaneous binding of the N protein from HSV in the sample to the wells coated with monoclonal antibody (2D5 against the N protein) and to the peroxidase-labeled monoclonal antibody (2C9 against the N protein) proceeded during a 2-hour incubation at 20 to 22 C (room temperature). The response was linear between 6 to 60 ng/well of purified virus. Monoclonal antibodies used were noncompetitive with each other and reacted with F1, F2, 23.75, and 5 Spanish isolates of HSV, but not with infectious hematopoietic necrosis or infectious pancreatic necrosis viruses. Tissue specimens with low content of HSV virus may now be assayed directly without use of cell culture, rapidly, and with high precision, during the acute phase of the disease in salmonid fishes.     

Toxic peripheral neuropathy with demyelination in Sprague-Dawley rats given CGS 21595--a 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor.

Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were given CGS 21595, a pro-drug that is almost immediately metabolized to CGS 19213, a naphthoquinone that acts as a 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor. The compound was administered by gavage to five groups of Sprague-Dawley rats (group Nos. 1, 5, n = 30; group Nos. 2-4, n = 20) at daily doses of 0, 50, 150, 500, or 1,000 mg/kg for 13 weeks. Rats in the higher dose groups had a reduced weight gain, but significant neurologic signs were not observed. A peripheral neuropathy consisting predominantly of myelin destruction in the spinal nerve roots and sciatic nerves in male rats treated with greater than or equal to 150 mg/kg CGS 21595 and in female rats treated with greater than or equal to 50 mg/kg CGS 21595 for 13 weeks. This lesion was not fully reversible after a recovery period of 4 weeks. Lesions consisted of ballooning of myelin sheaths, infiltration by macrophages, demyelination, and occasional areas of remyelination. Axons were generally preserved, and the brain and spinal cord were not affected. Male and female rats in all treatment groups had cytoplasmic hyaline droplets in the proximal renal tubules. This change was reversible after 4 weeks and was not associated with any other adverse effects on the kidney.     

Cytology of the cerebrospinal fluid in dogs with brain tumors and spinal cord compression. Part 4]

The results of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytology of 9 dogs with brain tumors and 50 dogs with spinal cord compression are discussed. Of the 50 dogs with spinal cord compression, disc protrusion was diagnosed in 31, myelomalacia in 7, discospondylitis in 3 and spinal cord tumors in 9 dogs. In 4 of 9 dogs with brain tumors, tumor cells could be found by the sedimentation apparatus of K?lmel. Pleocytosis existed in 6 patients. In about 70% (29 of 41) of cases with disc protrusion, more than 200 cells could be evaluated in the CSF sediment, consisting mostly of transformed lymphocytes and activated monocytes. As the neurologic deficits increased, the amount of cells and especially cell complexes increased. This was especially evident in cases with myelomalacia of the spinal cord. Only in cases with discospondylitis or spinal cord neoplasia was the CSF cytology unchanged.     

The effect of pregnancy and lactation on digestive processes in sheep

The average passage time, the rumen fluid volume and the digestibility of the organic matter were determined in addition to 3 individual feeding experiments with fertility oriented crossbreed ewes, which received pelleted straw-concentrate mixtures. The average passage time of the feed particles through the digestive tract is shorter in pregnant animals than in lactating ones. It is longest in non-pregnant sheep. High quotas of straw and coarse particles prolong the passage time, increasing feed intake and supplements of long straw shorten it. The volume of rumen fluid is lower in ewes fed ad libitum in the stage of late pregnancy and after lactation than during lactation. The rumen fluid volume is also lower in restrictively fed animals during the stage of late pregnancy than during lactation. In animals in the stage of late pregnancy it correlates negatively with the weight of the litter. On an average of all experiments at maintenance level the digestibility of the organic matter in ewes in the 4th month of pregnancy gravidity amounted to 56.6%, in the 2nd month of lactation to 59.8% and in wethers to 59.5% Due to an increase of energy intake from maintenance to 2. maintenance digestibility of the straw-concentrate mixture with 40% straw decreased by 5.5 units and of that with 60% straw by 17.8 units in the period before delivery. Pregnancy in the 4th month resulted in a digestion depression of between 3.0 and 5.8 units.     

Effects of predator-induced visual and olfactory cues on 0+ perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) foraging behaviour

Abstract –  Foraging juvenile fish with relatively high food demands are usually vulnerable to various aquatic and avian predators. To compromise between foraging and antipredator activity, they need exact and reliable information about current predation risk. Among direct predator-induced cues, visual and olfactory signals are considered to be most important. Food intake rates and prey-size selectivity of laboratory-reared, naive young-of-the-year (YOY) perch, Perca fluviatilis , were studied in experiments with Daphnia magna of two size classes: 2.8 and 1.3 mm as prey and northern pike, Esox lucius , as predator. Neither total intake rate nor prey-size selectivity was modified by predator kairomones alone (water from an aquarium with a pike was pumped into the test aquaria) under daylight conditions. Visual presentation of pike reduced total food intake by perch. This effect was significantly more pronounced (synergistic) when visual and olfactory cues were presented simultaneously to foraging perch. Moreover, the combination of cues caused a significant shift in prey-size selection, expressed as a reduced proportion of large prey in the diet. Our observations demonstrate that predator-induced olfactory cues alone are less important modifiers of the feeding behaviour of naive YOY perch than visual cues under daylight conditions. However, pike odour acts as a modulatory stimulus enhancing the effects of visual cues, which trigger an innate response in perch.