Infertility in goats related to testicular atrophy

Summary Testicular atrophy in the goat is described as a principal factor in goat infertility. The clinical features of the condition are apparent in reduced testicular size and altered testicular shape. The semen picture is markedly affected: there are reduced numbers of sperms and an associated high incidence of abnormal sperm forms.

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Sumario Se describe a la atrofia testicular en cabras como un factor principal en la infertilidad de los caprinos. Las características clínicas de la condición son aparentes por el tama?o testicular reducido y por la alteración de la forma testicular. El cuadro del semen esta marcadamente afectado, habiendo un número reducido de espermatozoides, con una alta incidencia de formas de espermatozoides anormales.

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Résumé L'atrophie testiculaire est, chez le bouc, la cause majeure de son infertilité. Cliniquement elle se traduit par la diminution sensible du volume des testicules et l'altération de leur forme. L'image du sperme est caractérisée par la pauvreté en spermatozoides avec un nombre élevé de formes anormales.

     

The basophil response in blood and bone marrow of tick-infested guinea pigs.

The concentrations of basophils in blood and bone marrow were monitored in guinea pigs subjected to primary and secondary infestations with larvae of Dermacentor andersoni. In these guinea pigs a significant increase of basophils was evident in peripheral blood. The response following the secondary infestation was more rapid and more intense than that following the primary infestation. Similar changes were also shown to occur in bone marrow. The possible significance of these responses in relation to acquired tick resistance in guinea pigs is discussed.     

Microbial cross-contamination by airborne dispersion and contagion during defeathering of poultry

1. A readily identifiable strain of Escherichia coli K12 was used as a 'marker' organism to determine the sources, routes and patterns of microbial cross-contamination during mechanical defeathering of broiler chicken carcases. 2. Inoculation of scald water with the marker organism led to a relatively even pattern of carcase contamination during subsequent defeathering. Microbial cross-contamination was greater by this route of inoculation than by either surface inoculation of a 'seeder' carcase or oral inoculation of a live bird one day before slaughter. 3. Dispersal of the marker organism was strongly influenced by the mechanical action of the defeathering machines. Forward transmission of the marker occurred by aerosol or large airborne droplets and particulates such as feathers. Moving carcases through the defeathering machines when these were non-operational clearly reduced backward transmission of the marker. 4. Although microbial dispersal was unaffected by increasing the spacing between individual carcases or installing a water curtain at the entry and exit of the defeathering machines, shielding of carcases with aluminium baffles reduced counts of the marker organism from contaminated carcases by > 90%. 5. The results imply that microbial cross-contamination of broiler chicken carcases during defeathering occurs mainly via the airborne route, which could be contained by physical means.     

A case of cephalothoracopagus in sheep in Trinidad and Tobago

A case of cephalothoracopagus in sheep complicated with several defects of skeletal, cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and urogenital systems is reported.     

Evaluation of various compounds to inhibit activity of matrix metalloproteinases in the tear film of horses with ulcerative keratitis

OBJECTIVE: To examine in vitro effects of various antiproteolytic compounds on activity of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and -9 in the tear film of horses with active corneal ulcers. SAMPLE POPULATION: Samples of tear film obtained from the eyes of 34 horses with active ulcerative keratitis. PROCEDURE: Horses were sedated, and tear samples were collected from the lower fornix of 34 ulcerated eyes by use of capillary tubes. The protease inhibitors 0.2% EDTA, 0.1% doxycycline, 10% N-acetylcysteine (NAC), 0.1% solution of a modified dipeptide that contains hydroxamic acid (ie, ilomostat), 0.1% alpha1-proteinase inhibitor (PI), 0.5% alpha1-PI, and 100% fresh equine serum (ES) were used to treat pooled samples. Amount of latent and active MMP-2 and -9 was measured by optical density scanning of gelatin zymograms of treated and untreated tear samples. RESULTS: Pooled tear samples obtained from ulcerated eyes contained the latent and active forms of MMP-2 and -9. Compared with MMP activity in untreated samples, total MMP activity (sum of all bands detected) observed on the gelatin zymogram gels was reduced by 99.4% by EDTA, 96.3% by doxycycline, 98.8% by NAC, 98.9% by ilomostat, 52.4% by 0.1% alpha1-PI, 93.6% by 0.5% alpha1-PI, and 90.0% by ES. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: We documented that EDTA, doxycycline, NAC, ilomostat, alpha1PI, and ES inhibited MMP activity in vitro. Because these compounds use different mechanisms to inhibit various families of proteases in the tear film of horses, a combination of these protease inhibitors may be beneficial for treatment of corneal ulcers in horses.