阿拉善荒漠草地8种牧草营养物质季节动态及营养均衡价评价

探讨了阿拉善荒漠草地珍珠柴(Salsola passerina)、霸王(Zygophyllum xanthoxylon)、红砂(Reaumuria soon-gorica)、绵刺(Potaninia mongolica)、梭梭(Haloxylon ammodendron)、盐爪爪(Kalidium foliatum)、沙鞭(Psammochloavillosa)和牛心朴子(Cynanchum komarovii)8种牧草营养物质含量的季节动态,并以粗蛋白质对其营养均衡价进行了比较。结果表明:8种牧草的粗蛋白质、粗脂肪、无氮浸出物、钙含量和钙磷比随着牧草的生长期呈先增加后降低的趋势,粗蛋白质含量6月最高,为7.86%~19.18%,1月最低,为5.25%~9.24%;粗脂肪、无氮浸出物、钙含量及钙磷比分别为0.81%~9.63%,26.19%~52.58%,0.12%~1.93%和0.86%~16.00%。粗纤维含量随植物生长呈降低趋势,且8种牧草的含量差异性较大,范围为9.56%~43.01%;粗灰分含量随生长期没有明显的季节动态规律;磷含量随牧草的生长而降低,范围0.04%~0.20%。牧草营养均衡价的评价表明:8种牧草营养均衡价(NB)依次为:梭梭绵刺珍珠柴霸王红砂盐爪爪牛心朴子沙鞭。     

基于改进生态足迹模型的西北地区生态可持续性评价

西北地区的生态可持续状况对于稳定生态环境,改善人地关系具有重要的现实意义。传统生态足迹模型(EFM)中存在诸多不足和缺陷,文中对原有模型进行了改进并对西北地区2012年生态可持续性进行了计算和评价。结果表明:1)西北地区人均生态足迹为2.90hm2/人,人均生态承载力为2.18hm2/人,人均生态赤字为0.72hm2/人,整体的生态结构不合理,处于不可持续状态;2)西北地区各省区的生态足迹差异明显,除青海和新疆为生态盈余外,其它省区均为生态赤字,其中陕西最大,甘肃最小;3)西北地区生态适度人口为0.74×108人,实际人口与生态适度人口的比例是1:0.75,人口数量整体处于超载状态;生态利用效率为0.65万元/hm2。改进生态足迹模型能够较好地评价生态可持续现状,研究方法和结果对于区域生态可持续发展研究具有一定的参考价值。     

Comparison of owner-reported health problems with veterinary assessment of geriatric horses in the United Kingdom

Reasons for performing study: Previous studies suggest that owners underestimate or incorrectly recognise or report health problems in geriatric horses. However, few studies have directly compared owner‐reported and veterinary assessed disease. Objectives: To compare the findings of veterinary clinical examination of geriatric horses with owner‐reported clinical signs and disease. Methods: A total of 200 horses aged ≥15 years were randomly selected to receive a veterinary examination, from responses to a cross‐sectional postal questionnaire survey. Veterinary examinations were performed within 2 months of questionnaire return, and agreement between owner‐reported data and veterinary clinical findings was assessed. Results: Owners under‐reported many clinical signs and disease conditions detected on veterinary clinical examination. For example, dental abnormalities (detected in 95.4% of horses, reported by 24.5% of owners); cardiac murmurs (detected in 20% of horses, reported by 0.5% of owners); lameness (present in 50% of horses, reported by 23% of owners) and hoof abnormalities (detected in 80% of horses, reported by 27% of owners). Agreement between owner‐reported and veterinary assessed respiratory disease (Kappa 0.02–0.2), body condition score (Kappa 0.24) and coat abnormalities (Kappa 0.42) was poor, fair and moderate, respectively. Range of motion (ROM) of the tarsal and metacarpophalangeal joints was lower in horses with owner‐reported osteoarthritis (P = 0.005 and <0.001, respectively). Conclusions and potential relevance: The low prevalence and relatively poor agreement of owner‐reported disease compared to that detected on veterinary examination suggests inaccurate or under‐recognition, or inaccurate reporting of health problems by owners of geriatric horses, which could lead to a delay in presentation for veterinary treatment. Increased veterinary involvement and improved owner education in the care of geriatric horses should facilitate earlier identification of disease, particularly that which is not readily detectable by owners, and aid management of health and welfare problems.     

Musculoskeletal disease and injury, now and in the future. Part 2: Tendon and ligament injuries

Tendon and ligament injuries continue to be one of the most frequent causes of orthopaedic injury and early retirement in the Thoroughbred racehorse. In the UK, the Horserace Betting Levy Board has invested considerable research funding in the last decade in order to investigate aspects of tendon epidemiology, biology and therapy, in order to decrease both the welfare and economic consequence of such injuries. This review summarises key aspects of this research effort and identifies specific research directions for the future.     

Is evidence-based medicine so evident in veterinary research and practice? History,obstacles and perspectives

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) refers to the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence from research for the care of an individual patient. The concept of EBM was first described in human medicine in the early 1990s and was introduced to veterinary medicine 10 years later. However, it is not clear that the EBM approach promulgated in human medicine can be applied to the same extent to veterinary medicine. EBM has the potential to help veterinarians to make more informed decisions, but obstacles to the implementation of EBM include a lack of high quality patient-centred research, the need for basic understanding of clinical epidemiology by veterinarians, the absence of adequate searching techniques and accessibility to scientific data bases and the inadequacy of EBM tools that can be applied to the busy daily practise of veterinarians. This review describes the development of EBM in the veterinary profession, identifies its advantages and disadvantages and discusses whether and how veterinary surgeons should further adopt the EBM approach of human medicine.     

Exploring genetic variation,oil and α-tocopherol content in avocado (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Persea americana</Emphasis>) from northwestern Mexico

The Hass cultivar of avocado is the most widely grown commercial cultivar in Mexico. Unfortunately, this cultivar is poorly adapted to the Mexican low-lands with hot dry climates characteristic of northwestern Mexico. Other well-adapted avocado accessions are available for these regions, but their nutritional traits and genetic diversity have yet to be explored. In this study, we analyze oil content, (α-tocopherol) and genetic variation among five local varieties from northwest Mexico that grow in high temperatures regimes in unfertilized soils and without any agronomic management. We report significant phenotypic variability in oil and α-tocopherol components in different accessions of avocado as determined by HPLC. Interestingly, we find higher α-tocopherol content (45.02–50.66 μg/g of fresh pulp) in some local avocados compared to Hass (32.28 μg/g of fresh pulp). The analyzed accessions represent a moderately polymorphic set of genotypes as measured by microsatellite (10 alleles by locus) and SNP (1 SNP every 164.4 bp) analysis of the VTE3 and VTE4 genes, implied in the biosynthesis of tocopherols. SNP data allowed also identifying differences between the local varieties and controls (Hass and the Mexican race accession). The variation observed at the genetic, morphologic and nutritional levels provide significant new information that may be valuable in selecting and developing avocado genotypes adapted to high-temperature environments.