Effects of trailer design on animal welfare parameters and carcass and meat quality of three Pietrain crosses being transported over a short distance

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of trailer design on the stress responses and meat quality traits of 3 different pig crosses: 50% Pietrain breeding with HAL^Nn (50Nn), 50% Pietrain breeding with HAL^NN (50NN) and 25% Pietrain breeding with HAL^NN genotype (25NN). Market barrows (n=360), as a subset of 12 trailer loads of pigs, were transported from farm to slaughter on 6 dates in 2009 for 45 min in either a pot-belly (PB) or flat-deck (FD) trailer, with 120 pigs/genetic group being represented. Temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH) were recorded by data loggers mounted in both trailers. Behaviours and handler interventions were video-taped at loading, unloading and in lairage. At exsanguination, blood samples were collected for the assessment of lactate, cortisol, creatine kinase (CK), haptoglobin and Pig-MAP concentrations. Meat quality was measured in the longissimus dorsi (LD), semimembranosus (SM) and adductor (AD) muscles of all pigs. Temperatures were warmer in compartments 6 and 11 at loading (P<0.001), compartment 11 during travelling (P=0.05), and in compartment 5 at unloading (P=0.01) of the PB trailer. Pigs unloaded from the FD trailer overlapped more (P<0.001), whereas (P<0.001) the frequency of jamming was noted for pigs unloaded from the PB trailer. Pigs with 50% Pietrain genetics overlapped and jammed more (P<0.001) than pigs with 25% Pietrain genetics, regardless of HAL status. Greater (P=0.03) CK levels were found in 50Nn pigs transported in the PB trailer, while 50Nn and 50NN pigs had greater (P=0.028) lactate levels than 25NN pigs. Carcasses from 50Nn and 50NN pigs were leaner (P=0.04), and the skin damage score was lower (P=0.04) in 25NN carcasses. Overlap-type bruises were greater (P=0.02) in pigs transported in the FD trailer. Pigs transported in the PB trailer had greater (P=0.05) pHu in the SM and AD muscles (P=0.013). Except for pHu in the SM muscle, all meat quality parameters were affected by the Hal gene (P=0.04). The use of a PB trailer for short distance transportation of pigs to slaughter negatively affected stress responses and meat quality. The greater proportion of Pietrain genetics in the selection resulted in leaner carcasses, but also in pigs being more difficult to handle. Crossbreeding appeared to have a greater impact on animal welfare and meat quality than vehicle type, but trailer type may emphasize these negative genotype-related defects.     

Necrotising fasciitis in a bull due to infection with Arcanobacterium haemolyticum

Abstract

CASE HISTORY: A 2-year-old Hereford bull was lame for one week before becoming recumbent.

CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL FINDINGS: The scrotum and ventral perineal region were cold and blackened caudally. The semimembranosus and semitendinosus muscles were firm on palpation. The bull was subject to euthanasia, and necropsy revealed that the skin and S/C tissues of the caudal half of the scrotum were grey and necrotic. The caudal and distal aspects of the semimembranosus and semitendinosus muscles were grey and necrotic to a depth of approximately 15 cm, and these changes appeared to track along fascial planes. The tissue had an offensive smell, and large amounts of flocculent, watery, brown fluid and some gas were present. Histology of affected muscle and S/C tissues revealed coagulative necrosis, with oedema and large numbers of bacteria that were predominantly Gram-positive rods. Adjacent blood vessels contained thrombi while the epidermis overlying the affected areas appeared diffusely necrotic, suggesting infarction. Culture of the fluid yielded a pure growth of Arcanobacterium spp., which was identified as Arcanobacterium haemolyticum, using an API Coryne biochemical test strip.

DIAGNOSIS: Necrotising fasciitis and myositis due to Arcanobacterium haemolyticum.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Arcanobacterium haemolyticum has not previously been reported as a cause of necrotising fasciitis in any species. Necrotising fasciitis is probably an under-reported condition in cattle due to its clinical similarity to clostridial disease.     

A simulation-optimization model for selecting the location of fuel-breaks to minimize expected losses from forest fires

Fuel-breaks function to restrict the spread of wildfire through a forest and thereby reduce the damage to values lost when fires escape. The challenge of selecting optimal locations of fuel-breaks arises from the uncertainty over how future fires might originate and spread spatially in the future. In this research, we evaluate a new approach to addressing this uncertainty through the formulation and application of a decision support model using simulation-optimization. The problem is formulated as a combinatorial simulation-optimization problem with the objective of minimizing fire-risk subject to a limit on the total area to be used as fuel-breaks. A stochastic simulation model of fire-spread was designed to estimate the fire-risk of each candidate solution produced by a metaheuristic search algorithm. The model was tested on a forest of 220,000 ha in north-western Ontario. The objective function (total fire-risk) of the solution found using the simulation-optimization model was significantly lower than the objective function of a solution found using a greedy heuristic—a spatially blind approach, by which the highest risk stands were iteratively removed until the allowable limit on fuel-breaks was reached. This significant difference indicates that the spatial relationships between selected fuel-breaks is an important factor in reducing a forest's total fire-risk. Hence, the spatial layouts of the best solutions were visually analyzed using GIS-software to illustrate patterns that result in reduced fire-risk at the landscape-scale. We conclude that this modeling approach, while computationally intensive, can be used to support improved spatial decisions on the location of fuel-breaks.     

Immotile Short‐Tail Sperm Defect in Nelore (Bos taurus indicus) Breed Bulls

This case study reported the presence of short tail sperm defect in the semen of three Nelore breed bulls. The sperm presented 0% of motility in the three animals evaluated and a total of 70%, 61% and 34% of pathologies of the intermediate piece of the tail respectively for animals 1, 2 and 3. It was identified that animals 2 and 3 had high degree of inbreeding, although no relationship was found with animal 1. Animal 2 was the only one that presented inbreeding coefficient (6.25%). His half‐sib (animal 3) and animal 1, from the same herd, had shown no inbreeding, showing that inheritance is not the only determinant factor for its incidence on Nelore males.     

Comparative Development of Embryonic Age by Organogenesis in Domestic Dogs and Cats

The precise determination of the embryonic chronology is very important in reproductive biotechnologies, especially in estimating embryonic age. Thus, there is a need for greater knowledge and standardization for determining the chronology of embryonic development and functional morphology. We describe aspects of embryonic development in two domestic carnivores to add knowledge about organ peculiarities and for application in veterinary practice, in prenatal development and in the biotechnology fields. We found that the development of differential characteristics of embryonic organs occurs in the first trimester of pregnancy for both species. Thus, using the combination of the crown‐rump length, macroscopic analysis and optical microscopy, it is possible to predict gestational age more precisely in animals that lack a defined breed and establish an embryonic pattern.     

Reduced endotoxin-induced production of tumor necrosis factor activity by equine peritoneal macrophages exposed to the dual inhibitor of arachidonic acid metabolism, SK & F 86002.

The purpose of this study was to determine if a structurally novel dual inhibitor of arachidonic acid metabolism, SK & F 86002, would inhibit the endotoxin-induced production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) activity by equine peritoneal macrophages. Equine peritoneal macrophages were variously pretreated for 0, 0.5 and 2 h with SK & F 86002 at 10(-9) to 10(-4) molar final concentrations or were left untreated. Then, the macrophages were cultured in vitro in the presence of endotoxin (5 ng/mL). Supernatant media were collected after 4 h and stored at -70 degrees C until assayed for TNF activity and immunoreactive thromboxane B2 (iTxB2). Macrophage supernatant TNF activities were estimated by an in vitro cytotoxicity bioassay using the murine fibrosarcoma cell line, WEHI 164 clone 13. Concentrations of iTxB2 were quantitated by radioimmunoassay. Coincubation of macrophages with SK & F 86002 significantly decreased the subsequent supernatant TNF activity. Concentrations of SK & F 86002 from 10(-7) to 10(-4) molar effectively reduced TNF production when added to macrophages 0 and 0.5 h prior to endotoxin. After 2 h of preincubation, SK & F 86002 significantly reduced supernatant TNF activity at 10(-5) and 10(-4) M concentrations. Supernatant concentrations of iTxB2 were reduced when SK & F 86002 was added at 10(-6) to 10(-4) M concentrations, 0 and 0.5 h prior to endotoxin, and at all concentrations (10(-9) to 10(-4)) when preincubated with macrophages for 2 h.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)