Vitamin D doses for alpacas (Lama pacos)

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of cholecalciferol (D3) doses for maintaining adequate vitamin D status in crias and adult female alpacas at pasture. DESIGN: A field experiment during winter and early spring in a herd on a farm in South Australia. ANIMALS AND PROCEDURE: Crias, usually less than 6 months of age and female alpacas, aged 2 to 6 years, were given a single subcutaneous dose of 0, 1000 or 2000 IU D3/kg body weight. Plasma concentrations of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25-OH D3), phosphorus, calcium and vitamins A and E and alkaline phosphatase activity were measured at intervals over a period of 16 weeks after treatment. RESULTS: Crias not given a vitamin D supplement had reduced growth rate during winter and one animal showed clinical signs of rickets. Vitamin D treatment had no effect on the body weight of mature females. Vitamin D supplements increased the 25-OH D3 and phosphorus concentrations in plasma of both crias and adult females; alkaline phosphatase activity was not affected by treatment. CONCLUSION: It is suggested that for alpacas in southern Australia a subcutaneous dose of 1000 IU D3/kg body weight to crias in late autumn and again in mid winter and to adult females in mid winter should prevent vitamin D inadequacy.     

Associations between Neospora caninum specific antibodies in serum and milk in two dairy herds in Scotland

The study evaluated the use of the Mastazyme ELISA for quantification of Neospora caninum (N. caninum) specific IgG in bovine milk and examined the relationship between serum and milk antibodies in two dairy herds. The serum and milk antibodies both had bimodal distributions in each herd. This was mainly due to between cow variation: in both herds, approximately two thirds of cows were either clearly and consistently seropositive or seronegative for N. caninum with one third consistently near the threshold. Milk and serum N. caninum IgG were strongly related. This relationship was modelled using a linear mixed model including a polynomial term for serum, the effect of herd, and between and within cow variance components. The latter gave a significantly better fit to the data than a model that allowed for a different relationship for the positive and negative (according to the serum test) groups of observations. The sensitivity and specificity (based on serum percentage positivity (pp)) of the milk antibody was determined for different milk pp thresholds. In spite of the differences between the relationship of milk to serum seen for the two herds, for those estimates with sufficient precision, sensitivity and specificity greater than 0.73 for both herds were obtained using single thresholds of 14 and 15.5 for milk pp in both herds based on, as our gold standard, serum antibody pp thresholds of 22.5 and 25, respectively. If milk antibody is to be used for detecting persistently infected cows, the higher threshold of 15.5 may be suitable while for epidemiological screening 14 would be preferable. Further validation in a greater number of herds is required, but our results suggest that this test may prove to be a useful adjunct to serum N. caninum IgG assays in the monitoring of N. caninum infection as part of herd health programmes and epidemiological studies.     

Evidence for Widespread 26Al in the Solar Nebula and Constraints for Nebula Time Scales

A search was made for 26Mg (26Mg*) from the decay of 26Al (half-life = 0.73 million years) in Al-rich objects from unequilibrated ordinary chondrites. Two Ca-Al-rich inclusions (CAIs) and two Al-rich chondrules (not CAIs) were found that contained 26Al when they formed. Internal isochrons for the CAIs yielded an initial 26Al/27Al ratio [(26Al/27Al)0] of 5 x 10(-5), indistinguishable from most CAIs in carbonaceous chondrites. This result shows that CAIs with this level of 26Al are present throughout the classes of chondrites and strengthens the notion that 26Al was widespread in the early solar system. The two Al-rich chondrules have lower 26Mg*, corresponding to a (26Al/27Al)0 ratio of approximately 9 x 10(-6). Five other Al-rich chondrules contain no resolvable 26Mg*. If chondrules and CAIs formed from an isotopically homogeneous reservoir, then the chondrules with 26Al must have formed or been last altered approximately2 million years after CAIs formed; the 26Mg*-free chondrules formed >1 to 3 million years later still. Because 26Mg*-containing and 26Mg*-free chondrules are both found in Chainpur, which was not heated to more than approximately400°C, it follows that parent body metamorphism cannot explain the absence of 26Mg* in some of these chondrules. Rather, its absence indicates that the lifetime of the solar nebula over which CAIs and chondrules formed extended over approximately5 million years.     

磺胺嘧啶原料药生产设备的清洁验证

为验证磺胺嘧啶原料药生产设备清洁方法的有效性，从验证合格标准、取样回收率、检测方法、设备清洁后的贮存期限等方面对清洁方法进行了研究。试验证明，磺胺嘧啶原料药生产设备的清洁方法是有效的，按此方法清洁的设备其贮存期限为14天。     

Diseases of captive yellow seahorse Hippocampus kuda Bleeker,pot‐bellied seahorse Hippocampus abdominalis Lesson and weedy seadragon Phyllopteryx taeniolatus (Lacépède)

Seahorses, pipefish and seadragons are fish of the Family Syngnathidae. From 1998 to 2010, 172 syngnathid cases from the Toronto Zoo were submitted for post‐mortem diagnostics and retrospectively examined. Among the submitted species were yellow seahorses Hippocampus kuda Bleeker (n = 133), pot‐bellied seahorses Hippocampus abdominalis Lesson (n = 35) and weedy seadragons Phyllopteryx taeniolatus (Lacépède; n = 4). The three most common causes of morbidity and mortality in this population were bacterial dermatitis, bilaterally symmetrical myopathy and mycobacteriosis, accounting for 24%, 17% and 15% of cases, respectively. Inflammatory processes were the most common diagnoses, present in 117 cases. Seven neoplasms were diagnosed, environmental aetiologies were identified in 46 cases, and two congenital defects were identified.     

Tail docking in dogs: A sample of attitudes of veterinarians and dog breeders in Queensland

One hundred veterinarians and 100 breeders of traditionally docked dogs from Queensland were surveyed by telephone to determine their attitudes towards tail docking. Eighty-four percent of the breeders surveyed were in favour of docking, whereas 83% of veterinarians were opposed to the practice. Most pups were docked between 1 and 3 days of age. All veterinarians surgically amputated the tail, whereas 16% of breeders applied rubber bands to the tail. Seventy-six percent of the veterinarians, but only 18% of the breeders believed that docking caused significant to severe pain. No veterinarians, but 25% of the dog breeders believed that docking was painless. Although recent changes to the Queensland Canine Control Council's rulings allow dogs with intact tails to be shown in traditionally docked classes, the requirement of breed standard was cited as the major reason for tail docking by both breeders and veterinarians.     

Mycobacterial disease in cats in Great Britain: I. Culture results, geographical distribution and clinical presentation of 339 cases

This study investigated 339 cases of feline mycobacterial disease from cats with cutaneous lesions or masses found at exploratory laparotomy. Tissue samples were submitted to the Veterinary Laboratories Agency for mycobacterial culture over a 4-year period to December 2008. The study assessed which species of culturable mycobacteria were involved, where the cats lived, and their clinical presentation (physical findings, serum biochemistry, radiography, feline leukaemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus status). Mycobacterium microti was cultured from 19%, Mycobacterium bovis 15%, Mycobacterium avium 7%, non-M avium non-tuberculous mycobacteria 6%, with no growth in 53% of samples. M microti, M bovis and M avium were found in almost mutually exclusive clusters within Great Britain (GB) (ie, M bovis in South-West England/Wales/Welsh Border, M avium in eastern England and M microti south of London and in South-West Scotland). While differences were seen in the clinical presentation and distribution of lesions caused by the different infections, these were not sufficiently different to be diagnostic. Cats commonly presented with single or multiple cutaneous lesions (74%), which were sometimes ulcerated or discharging, located most frequently on the head (54%). Lymph nodes were usually involved (47%); typically the submandibular nodes. Systemic or pulmonary signs were rarely seen (10-16%). When a cat is suspected of having mycobacteriosis, accurate identification of the species involved helps to determine appropriate action. Our findings show that knowing the cat's geographic location can be helpful, while the nature of the clinical presentation is less useful. Most cases of feline mycobacterial disease in GB are cutaneous.