Haptoglobin and serum amyloid A in milk from dairy cows with chronic sub-clinical mastitis

New tools are needed to detect chronic sub-clinical mastitis, especially in automatic milking systems. Haptoglobin and serum amyloid A (SAA) are the two most sensitive bovine acute phase proteins, and their concentrations increase in milk from cows with clinical mastitis and in milk from cows with experimentally induced chronic sub-clinical Staphylococcus aureus mastitis. The aim of this study was to further evaluate the potential for haptoglobin and SAA in milk as indicators of chronic sub-clinical mastitis. Quarter milk samples were collected from 41 cows with a mean composite milk somatic cell count (CSCC) above 300,000 cells/mL during at least two months prior to sampling. Quarter milk samples were also taken from eleven cows with a mean CSCC below 80,000 cells/mL during at least two previous months. These samples were analysed for haptoglobin, SAA, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) activity and bacterial growth. The samples were grouped according to their ATP, haptoglobin and SAA status. ATP+ samples had ATP > 2 x 10(-10) mol/mL, Hp+ and SAA+ samples had detectable levels of haptoglobin (> or = 0.3 mg/L) and SAA (> or = 0.9 mg/L), respectively. In udder quarter samples from healthy cows, 42 out of 44 samples belonged to the ATP-Hp-SAA- group. Among cows with chronic sub-clinical mastitis, the ATP+Hp+SAA+ group contained 66 out of 164 samples while 44 samples belonged to the ATP+Hp-SAA- group. Detectable levels of haptoglobin and SAA were found in 92 and 80 samples, respectively. Growth of udder pathogens was detected in 28 samples and Staphylococcus aureus was the most common bacteria. In conclusion, haptoglobin and SAA concentrations below the detection limit were considered as good indicators of healthy udder quarters. A substantial variation in haptoglobin and SAA concentrations in milk was observed in udder quarters with chronic sub-clinical mastitis.     

TECHNIQUE,DIFFICULTY, AND ACCURACY OF COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY‐GUIDED TRANSLAMINAR AND TRANSFORAMINAL LUMBOSACRAL EPIDURAL AND INTRAARTICULAR LUMBAR FACET JOINT INJECTIONS IN DOGS

In human medicine, spinal pain and radiculopathy are commonly managed by computed tomography (CT)‐guided facet joint injections and by transforaminal or translaminar epidural injections. In dogs, CT‐guided lumbosacral epidural or lumbar facet joint injections have not been described. The aim of this experimental, ex vivo, feasibility study was to develop techniques and to assess their difficulty and accuracy. Two canine cadavers were used to establish the techniques and eight cadavers to assess difficulty and accuracy. Contrast medium was injected and a CT scan was performed after each injection. Accuracy was assessed according to epidural or joint space contrast opacification. Difficulty was classified as easy, moderately difficult, or difficult, based on the number of CT scans needed to guide insertion of the needle. A total of six translaminar and five transforaminal epidural and 53 joint injections were performed. Translaminar injections had a high success rate (100%), were highly accurate (75%), and easy to perform (100%). Transforaminal injections had an moderately high success rate (75%), were accurate (75%), and moderately difficult to perform (100%). Success rate of facet joint injections was 62% and was higher for larger facet joints, such as L7‐S1. Accuracy of facet joint injections ranged from accurate (37–62%) to highly accurate (25%) depending on the volume injected. In 77% of cases, injections were moderately difficult to perform. Possible complications of epidural and facet joint injections were subarachnoid and vertebral venous plexus puncture and periarticular spread, respectively. Further studies are suggested to evaluate in vivo feasibility and safety of these techniques.     

Management of human health risk in the context of kitchen gardens polluted by lead and cadmium near a lead recycling company

Purpose

At the global scale, gardening activities are often performed in urban areas with a historical background of pollution. In this study, a participatory program was developed with citizens concerned by gardening activities near a 50-year-old regulated lead recycling company, with the aim of co-constructing the tools for the assessment and management of potential sanitary risks induced by historic pollution with persistent (eco) toxic metals: lead and cadmium.

Materials and methods

Soils and vegetables (lettuce, leek, celery, carrot, chard, pumpkin, and celeriac) samples were collected from four kitchen gardens neighboring a 50-year-old secondary lead smelter. Both total and in vitro human bioaccessible metal concentrations in the cultivated plants were measured in relation to soil characteristics.

Results and discussion

The results showed that the soils of these gardens were slightly contaminated by metals (Pb, 77 to 236 mg kg^?1; and Cd, 0.5 to 1 mg kg^?1) in comparison with the natural geologic background. However, significant pollution of vegetables can occur especially with lead (Pb up to 9.8 mg kg^?1 in lettuce) and certainly as a result of direct foliar transfer. The washing of plants before consumption is therefore recommended in the context of atmospheric fallout of ultrafine particles enriched with metals.

Conclusions

Metal bioaccessibility measure integrates the influence of metal type, plant type, and soil physico-chemical properties. Based on the results, it is proposed that human bioaccessible fraction of metals may also be currently taken into account as well as total metal quantities and bioaccumulation factors in risk assessment studies performed in gardens. Overall, this study has led to reflections and functional recommendations aimed at reducing human exposure and to finally developing sustainable gardening practices.

     

Lipids and Composition of Fatty Acids of Saccharina latissima Cultivated Year-Round in Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture

This study is evaluating the seasonal lipid and fatty acid composition of the brown seaweed Saccharina latissima. Biomass was sampled throughout the year (bi-monthly) at the commercial cultivation site near a fish farm in an integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) and at a reference site in Denmark (2013–2014). Generally, there was no difference in the biomass composition between sites; however, significant seasonal changes were found. The lipid concentration varied from 0.62%–0.88% dry weight (DW) in July to 3.33%–3.35% DW in November (p < 0.05) in both sites. The fatty acid composition in January was significantly different from all the other sampling months. The dissimilarities were mainly explained by changes in the relative abundance of 20:5n-3 (13.12%–33.35%), 14:0 (11.07%–29.37%) and 18:1n-9 (10.15%–16.94%). Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA’s) made up more than half of the fatty acids with a maximum in July (52.3%–54.0% fatty acid methyl esters; FAME). This including the most appreciated health beneficial PUFA’s, eicosapentaenoic (EPA; 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3), but also arachidonic (ARA) and stearidonic acid (SDA), which are not found in land vegetables such as cabbage and lettuce. Compared to fat (salmon) and lean fish (cod) this seaweed species contains higher proportions of ARA and SDA, but lower EPA (only cod) and DHA. Conclusively, the season of harvest is important for the choice of lipid quantity and quality, but the marine vegetables provide better sources of EPA, DHA and long-chain (LC)-PUFA’s in general compared to traditional vegetables.     

Sciatic nerve block in dogs: description and evaluation of a modified ultrasound-guided parasacral approach

Objective

To develop a modified ultrasound-guided parasacral approach to the sciatic nerve and compare the effects of a volume of 0.2 mL kg^–1 of 0.5% levobupivacaine with an equivalent volume of 0.9% saline injected near the sciatic nerve.

Cardiac Power Output during Dobutamine Stress Test in Horses

Although echocardiography has greatly improved the diagnostic possibilities in equine medicine, determining the prognosis remains a difficult task. In humans, maximal cardiac power output (CPO) has been described as a powerful indicator of exercise capability and outcome in heart disease. The aim of the study is to describe the measurement of CPO by echocardiography and by thermodilution in healthy horses. Six healthy horses were studied. Cardiac output (CO) was measured by thermodilution and Doppler echocardiography at rest and during a pharmacologic stress test consisting of 35 μg/kg atropine followed by incremental steps 2, 4, 6, and 8 μg/kg/min of dobutamine infusion. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) was measured invasively by a catheter introduced into the transverse facial artery. CPO was calculated as the product of CO and MAP. Baseline CPO measured by thermodilution and by Doppler echocardiography was 10.7 ± 3.3 and 13.7 ± 4.5 watts, respectively. CPO increased significantly with pharmacologic stimulation and reached maximal CPO of 66.4 ± 3.6 and 60.4 ± 5.1 watts when measured by thermodilution and Doppler echocardiography, respectively. This study describes an estimation of CPO in horses. Further studies should demonstrate the usefulness of CPO as a predictive indicator in horses suffering from cardiac disease.     

Time lag between peak concentrations of plasma and salivary cortisol following a stressful procedure in dairy cattle

Background

Measurement of salivary cortisol has been used extensively as a non-invasive alternative to blood sampling to assess adrenal activity in ruminants. However, there is evidence suggesting a considerable delay in the transfer of cortisol from plasma into saliva. Previous studies in cattle have used long sampling intervals making it difficult to characterise the relationship between plasma and salivary cortisol (PLCort and SACort, respectively) concentrations at different time points and determine whether or not such a time lag exist in large ruminants. Therefore, the objective of this study was to characterise the relationship between plasma and salivary cortisol and determine if there is a significant time lag between reaching peak cortisol concentrations in plasma and saliva across a 4.25 h time-period, using short sampling intervals of 10–15 min, following social separation in dairy cattle.Five cows were separated from their calves at 4 days after calving, and six calves were separated from a group of four peers at 8 weeks of age. Following separation, the animals were moved to an unfamiliar surrounding where they could not see their calves or pen mates. The animals were catheterised with indwelling jugular catheters 1 day before sampling. Blood and saliva samples were obtained simultaneously before and after separation.

Results

In response to the stressors, PLCort and SACort increased reaching peak concentrations 10 and 20 min after separation, respectively. This suggested a 10 min time lag between peak cortisol concentrations in plasma and saliva, which was further confirmed with a time-series analysis. Considering the 10 min time lag, SACort was strongly correlated with PLCort (P < 0.0001).

Conclusions

Salivary cortisol correlates well with plasma cortisol and is a good indicator of the time-dependent variations in cortisol concentrations in plasma following acute stress. However, there is a time lag to reach peak cortisol concentrations in saliva compared to those in plasma, which should be considered when saliva samples are used as the only measure of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis response to stress in cattle.     

Evaluation of repetitive nerve stimulation in young dogs

Evaluation of neuromuscular transmission requires a complete electrodiagnostic evaluation including repetitive nerve stimulation. Supra-maximal stimulation of the peroneal nerve and recording of the compound muscle action potentials from the cranial tibial muscle were under-taken in 25 young dogs of two to 18 months of age. Proximal stimulation in the trochanteric fossa and distal stimulation in the popliteal fossa were chosen for small and large breeds, respectively. Highly consistent results were obtained when the examined muscle was kept at a constant temperature and the limb was firmly fixed. Neither sex- (14 females, 11 males) nor age- related (mean = 4·4 months] differences in neuromuscular transmission were found, but frequency-dependent phenomena were observed. These became more distinct with high frequency stimulation. Pseudofacilitation (n = 16/15 Hz; n = 7/50 Hz), was found to range within certain limits (6 to 26 per cent/15 Hz; 13 to 31 per cent/50 Hz). Its mean values at 50 Hz stimulation were apparently higher (26·88 per cent) than those at 15 Hz stimulation (11·3 per cent). Decremental responses occurred mainly with application of tetanic stimulation frequency (n = 1/15 Hz; n = 12/50 Hz) and may represent blocking of neuromuscular transmission. Each of these reaction patterns usually started to occur at the fourth potential of a series (81 per cent/15 Hz; 94 per cent/50 Hz) and remained constant during the second half of the stimulation train in most cases. The occurrence of post-tetanic phenomena in healthy dogs is poorly understood. Post-tetanic potentiation observed in the present material (24 per cent) may represent pseudofacilitation following high stimulation frequency (50 Hz/100 pulses).     

Evaluation of the temporal distribution of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium graminearum</Emphasis> airborne inoculum above the wheat canopy and its relationship with Fusarium head blight and DON concentration

With the aim of unravelling the role of airborne Fusarium graminearum inoculum in the epidemic of Fusarium head blight (FHB) caused by this species in wheat spikes, a network of Burkard air samplers was set up in five wheat fields distributed in Belgium from 2011 to 2013. Each year from April to July, the daily amounts of F. graminearum inoculum above the wheat canopy were quantified using a newly developed TaqMan qPCR assay. The pattern of spore trapping observed was drastically different per year and per location with a frequency of detection between 9 and 66% and a mean daily concentration between 0.8 and 10.2 conidia-equivalent/m³. In one location, air was sampled for a whole year. Inoculum was frequently detected from the wheat stem elongation stage until the end of the harvesting period, but high inoculum levels were also observed during the fall. Using a window-pane analysis, different periods of time around wheat flowering (varying in length and starting date) were investigated for their importance in the relation between airborne inoculum and FHB parameters (FHB severity, frequency of F. graminearum infection and DON). For almost all the combinations of variables, strong and significant correlations were found for multiple window lengths and starting times. Inoculum quantities trapped around flowering were highly correlated with F. graminearum infection (up to R?=?0.84) and DON (up to R?=?0.9). Frequencies of detection were also well correlated with both of these parameters. DON concentrations at harvest could even be significantly associated with the F. graminearum inoculum trapped during periods finishing before the beginning of the anthesis (R?=?0.77). Overall, these results highlight the key role of the airborne inoculum in F. graminearum epidemics and underline the importance of monitoring it for the development of disease forecasting tools.