Surgical management of an abdominal abscess in a Malayan tapir

A captive Malayan tapir was observed to have inappetence, weight loss, signs of depression, mild dehydration and diar rhoea. Haematological and serum biochemical tests showed anaemia, hypoproteinaemia, hyperfibrinogenaemia and neu-trophilia with a left shift. Ultrasonic examination of the abdomen under anaesthesia revealed a well-encapsulated abscess. The abscess was marsupialised to the ventral body wall. Culture of the pus produced a mixed bacterial growth. Antimicrobial therapy was based on bacterial sensitivity results. Follow-up ultrasonic examinations showed resolution of the abscess. Ninety-one days after surgery the tapir began regurgitating food and water. An abscess originating from the stomach and occluding the lumen of the duodenum was identified at surgery. The abscess ruptured during surgical manipulations and the tapir was euthanased.     

The reaction of grazing sheep and cattle to the presence of dung from the same or the other species

An experiment is described in which steers and wether sheep separately grazed perennial ryegrass swards, managed so that half of each sward had previously been grazed by sheep and half by cattle. The influence of the presence of dung from the same or the other species on grazing patterns and herbage utilization was examined.
Regression analysis of extended sward height along transects laid across dung pats after grazing revealed that the limits of the rejected herbage were more clearly defined around cattle dung than sheep dung when grazed by cattle, whereas there was less distinct avoidance of herbage around both cattle and sheep dung when grazed by sheep. As grazing proceeded there was a progressive movement of animals from the half of the plot previously grazed by the same species to the half previously grazed by the opposite species, and this movement was more marked in the cattle than in the sheep.
It was concluded that under mixed grazing a greater proportion of the herbage would be available to the sheep giving them an advantage over the cattle.     

The effect of three different doses of sodium pentosan polysulphate on haematological and haemostatic variables in adult horses

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of three different doses of sodium pentosan polysulphate (PPS) on haematological and haemostatic variables in adult horses. DESIGN: Eight adult standardbred horses were used. All horses received a single injection of 0, 3, 6, and 10 mg/kg of PPS at the beginning of each treatment week for 4 weeks so that by the end of the study all horses had received all four doses of PPS. Blood samples were collected at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24, 48, and 168 h after each weekly injection of PPS. Variables measured were packed cell volume, haemoglobin, red blood cell count, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, platelet count, white cell count, neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, eosinophil count, monocyte count, serum protein, fibrinogen, prothrombin time, and activated partial thromboplastin time (PTT). Data were analysed using an ANOVA. Significance was set at P < 0.05. RESULTS: There was a dose-dependent increase in PTT. A significant increase in PTT occurrred in all treatment groups when compared to horses receiving 0 mg/kg in which there was no change over time. The PTT values all returned to baseline by 48 h after treatment. The mean neutrophil count was higher 3 h after treatment when compared to time 0. Horses receiving 3 mg/kg of PPS had a higher lymphocyte count 4 h after injection, and those receiving 6 and 10 mg/kg had higher counts at 3,4,6 and 8 h after injection when compared to time 0. At 8 h after injection horses receiving 6 and 10 mg PPS had higher lymphocyte counts than horses not receiving PPS. CONCLUSIONS: PPS causes a dose-dependent prolongation of PTT in horses. At the dose rates currently recommended for treatment of joint problems in horses this increase was small and remained elevated from baseline for up to 24 h. Based on these findings doses of PPS up to 3 mg/kg should not be administered to horses within 24 h of high stress activities or where physical injury may occur.     

THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF CLAY-WITH-FLINTS AND ASSOCIATED SOIL HORIZONS ON THE SOUTH DOWNS

Clay-with-flints rests on remnants of the exhumed sub-Eocene surface, which is shown to be an important geomorphological feature of the West Sussex Downs. Mineralogical and other soil profile studies indicate that the deposit has developed by the action of cryoturbation and soil-forming processes on a thin cover of Reading Beds clay left on the sub-Eocene surface during the southward recession of a small Eocene escarpment. Two horizons corresponding to Clay-with-flints sensu stricto of Loveday (1962) are recognized. The basal horizon is composed partly of insoluble Chalk residue, but mainly of clay moved down from overlying horizons into the spaces left on dissolution of the Chalk at the junction of the Chalk with the base of the Clay-with-flints. The upper horizon is composed of material from weathered remnants of Reading Beds clay, thoroughly mixed by cryoturbation with flints, other insoluble Chalk residue and clay from former basal horizons. The surface horizons of the soils often include additions of loess.     

The long-term effects of a range of pasture treatments applied to three semi-natural hill grassland communities.

Five pasture treatments were applied to three semi-natural hill grassland communities. The pasture treatments were: (1) controlled grazing, (2) controlled grazing + lime, (3) controlled grazing + lime + phosphate, (4) controlled grazing + lime + phosphate + oversown white clover and (5) controlled grazing + lime + phosphate + oversown white clover + oversown perennial ryegrass. The communities were dominated by Agrostis/Festuca (site 1), Molinia (site 2) and Nardus (site 3). The Nardus at site 3 was substantially reduced by herbicide before treatments were applied. All treatments were grazed simultaneously by mature wether sheep on three occasions each year to a residual herbage mass of 560 kg DM ha^?1. There were two grazing periods, each of 4 weeks duration, beginning in mid-May and mid-July respectively and a further grazing period of 3 weeks duration beginning in mid-October. The number of sheep grazing days and liveweight gain of sheep were recorded during each grazing period for 13 years at each site. Organic matter intake (OMI) and digestibility (OMD) of ingested herbage were measured in years 2, 5 and 13. Mean daily OMI per head ranged from 1290 g for treatment 1 to over 1400 g for treatments 4 and 5. OMI values were higher for the Agrostis/Festuca site (mean OMI 1450 g) than for the Molinia and Nardus sites (1310 g and 1370 g respectively) largely owing to differences in the values for treatments 1, 2 and 3. OMI values for each treatment decreased by around 300 g between May and October. Mean OMD values from treatments 1, 2 and 3 were higher for the Agrostis/Festuca site (0·66) than for the Molinia and Nardus sites (0·63 and 0·64 respectively). The OMD values for treatments 1, 2 and 3 at the Molinia and Nardus sites declined by between 0·05 and 0·02 between years 2 and 13 and also showed the greatest decrease between May and October (0·08). OMD values for treatments 4 and 5 (0·67 and 0·69 respectively) were higher than for treatments 1, 2 and 3 at all sites and levels were maintained over 13 years. Individual liveweight gains of sheep increased from treatment 1 (?18 g d^?1) to treatment 5 (82 g d^?1), but they decreased over time on all treatments. The Agrostis/Festuca site gave 17% more annual sheep grazing days than the Molinia site and 33% more than the Nardus site. The mean number of annual sheep grazing days for each treatment ranged from 2250 for treatment 1 to 3640 for treatment 5. Annual sheep grazing days increased over 13 years by between 35 and 45% for treatment 1 and 55 and 70% for treatment 5. The results are described in relation to the changes in pasture composition and herbage accumulation.     

Cardiovascular Effects of 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 Minimum Alveolar Concentrations of Isoflurane in Experimentally Induced Hypothyroidism in Dogs

This study was performed to determine the cardiovascular responses to isoflurane in euthyroid and hypothyroid dogs. Four healthy mixed-breed dogs were studied prior to thyroidectomy (PRE), 6 months after thyroidectomy (HYP), and after 2 months of oral supplementation with 1-thyroxine (SUP). Heart rate (HR), cardiac output (), stroke volume (SV), systolic, diastolic, mean arterial blood pressure (SAP, DAP, MAP), and total peripheral resistance (TPR) were determined in awake dogs and in the same dogs when end-tidal isoflurane concentrations were 1.28%, 1.92%, and 2.56%. Ventilation was controlled in anesthetized dogs and Paco₂ maintained between 38 to 42 mm Hg. Isoflurane caused significant ( P <.05) dose-dependent reduction in , SV, SAP, DAP, and MAP in the PRE, HYP, and SUP dogs. Cardiac output was lower in the HYP dogs than in the PRE or SUP dogs during awake measurement. TPR was increased in the awake HYP dogs compared with the PRE or SUP dogs. During anesthesia, HYP dogs tended to have lower , SV, SAP, and MAP than the PRE or SUP groups, but the only significant reduction was SAP during 1.5 MAC. The cardiovascular responses to isoflurane in hypothyroid dogs are similar to euthyroid animals with a dose-dependent depression in , SV, and arterial pressure.