The diagnosis and treatment of a thoracic abscess in an alpaca

A 6-month-old alpaca presented for lethargy, failure to thrive and leucocytosis. Diagnostic procedures, including thoracic ultrasound, radiographs and a computed tomography scan, were used to document a thoracic mass. Based on appearance and ultrasound-guided aspiration of purulent material, the mass was determined to be a large abscess. The abscess was treated with surgical drainage and long-term antibiotic therapy. The origin of this thoracic abscess was felt to be the caudal mediastinum, secondary to bacterial seeding of the caudal mediastinal lymph nodes. Although an aetiological agent was not definitively determined, the most likely was Actinomyces spp or Arcanobacterium pyogenes. The alpaca made a complete recovery following treatment.     

Stratospheric Mean Ages and Transport Rates from Observations of Carbon Dioxide and Nitrous Oxide

Measurements of stratospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations were analyzed to investigate stratospheric transport rates. Temporal variations in tropospheric CO2 were observed to propagate into the stratosphere, showing that tropospheric air enters the lower tropical stratosphere continuously, ascends, and is transported rapidly (in less than 1 month) to both hemispheres. The mean age A of stratospheric air determined from CO2 data is approximately 5 years in the mid-stratosphere. The mean age is mathematically equivalent to a conserved tracer analogous to exhaust from stratospheric aircraft. Comparison of values for A from models and observations indicates that current model simulations likely underestimate pollutant concentrations from proposed stratospheric aircraft by 25 to 100 percent.     

Melting of (Mg,Fe)2SiO4 at the Core-Mantle Boundary of the Earth

The lower mantle of the Earth is believed to be largely composed of (Mg,Fe)O (magnesiowustite) and (Mg,Fe)SiO3 (perovskite). Radiative temperatures of single-crystal olivine [(Mg0.9,Fe0.1)2SiO4] decreased abruptly from 7040 +/- 315 to 4300 +/- 270 kelvin upon shock compression above 80 gigapascals. The data indicate that an upper bound to the solidus of the magnesiowustite and perovskite assemblage at 4300 +/- 270 kelvin is 130 +/- 3 gigapascals. These conditions correspond to those for partial melting at the base of the mantle, as has been suggested occurs within the ultralow-velocity zone beneath the central Pacific.     

Optimum dietary crude protein level for growth in South African abalone (Haliotis midae L.)

A 95‐day feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary crude protein level on total body weight gain and protein gain of juvenile (4.89 ± 0.57 g) South African abalone (Haliotis midae). Six semi‐purified diets containing casein, fish meal and cottonseed meal as protein sources, and with crude protein levels ranging from 54.8 to 479.2 g kg^?1 dry matter (DM), were fed to four tanks containing 30 abalone each in a continuous flow system. No differences (P > 0.05) were found in moisture, ash or lipid content of soft‐body tissue as dietary crude protein level increased, indicating that differences (P < 0.05) in soft‐body protein content were solely due to dietary crude protein level. The relationships between dietary crude protein level and total body weight gain and protein gain were analysed by broken‐line and second‐order polynomial regression models. Based on total body weight gain, 358.7 g kg^?1 DM dietary protein from good quality sources is recommended for maximum growth of juvenile H. midae, while, if dietary protein is reduced to 280.7 g kg^?1 DM, growth will be depressed with 5 g kg^?1.     

Influence of Varying Dietary Protein Content at Three Lipid Concentrations on Growth Characteristics of Juvenile Swordtails (Xiphophorus helleri Heckel 1848)

Three protein levels (30%, 38% and 45%) at three different dietary lipid concentrations (6%, 8% and 12%) were used to formulate nine different diets that were fed for 60 days to 6–8 weeks old juvenile swordtails (Xiphophorus helleri). It would appear that a diet of at least 45% protein at a 6% lipid concentration is needed for the best specific growth rate (1.27% per day) and feed conversion ratio (2.50) at this specific growth phase in X. helleri. No ‘protein sparing effect’ was found when lipid concentration was increased at lower protein levels. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.