Cruelty reviewed

Pain which may otherwise be considered as unnecessary and unreasonable may apparently be justified by the purpose for which the act causing the pain was carried out. When deciding whether or not cruelty has occurred, the court may consider, inter alia: the element of sport associated with the incident; measures taken to alleviate the pain and suffering; whether the infliction of the pain was justified and lawfully excused in that it was inflicted in the protection of personal property or of other animals or persons, who were actually being attacked or under real threat of imminent attack when the act causing the pain took place. In order to be lawfully excused on these grounds, the measures taken to protect personal safety and property must be reasonable having regard to all the circumstances of the actual or threatened attack; local custom and belief; the care, skill and competence with which the act was performed; an honest belief held by the doer of the act that the act would lead to benefits to the animal, to the owner of the animal or to society generally. These criteria indicate that cruelty occurs when pain has been caused by an omission to remedy or alleviate the effects of a positive act, by the doing of the act, where the act or omission has been done intentionally or as the result of negligence, or where the pain is unnecessary and unjustified and the doer of the act knows that the act is unnecessary and unjustifiable.     

Evaluation of an Autotutorial-Simulator Program for Instruction of Hollow Organ Closure

Forty students were randomly assigned into two study groups (traditional, T; and simulator, S) of 20 students each for a core operative practice laboratory. Students were randomly paired and their group assignment and identity remained anonymous to the evaluators throughout the study. Questionnaires were distributed to students to evaluate prior surgical experience and obtain learning resource use information. Before the evaluation sessions, both groups were given identical learning resource opportunities except students in Group S received hollow organ simulators and practice materials for gastrotomy closure. All students were forewarned that surgical instruction would not be available during the evaluation sessions. In the first live animal evaluation session, all student pairs were videotaped after which stomachs were harvested for gross evaluation of the surgical site. Group T performed an additional gastrotomy for video and gross evaluation 2 weeks later. Questionnaire, and gross and video evaluation results were compared statistically between groups and sessions. The hollow organ model did not suitably simulate live stomach tissue; the material was more fragile and stiff and suture cut-out was a problem even with appropriate suture tension and technique. The model was effective for teaching needle placement, instrument usage, creating proper tissue inversion, and methods to minimize instrument handling of tissue during gastrotomy closure. Prior practice with models did not boost student confidence during their live gastrotomy session. The autotutorials (ATs) were well received by students but did not sufficiently address how to manage mucosal eversion, suture tension, and bleeding encountered during live gastrotomy. AT viewing lime positively correlated with mean total video score for Group T during both sessions. None of the students had prior experience performing hollow organ closure and no significant difference in experience level was evident between groups. Mean closure time was not significantly different between groups for session one (Group T, mean, 31.5 minutes, range, 18.4 to 53.4; Group S, mean, 28.2 minutes, range, 16.8 to 36), but was significantly reduced for session two (Group T, mean, 21.3 minutes, range, 13.9 to 31). This AT/simulator program does not significantly influence students' overall gastrotomy closure technique; gross and video evaluation scores were not significantly different between groups. Without instructor supervision, an additional gastrotomy experience did not improve surgical technique appreciably for Group T; however, these students performed the second procedure with more confidence and speed. Instruction during simulator or live animal practice appears to be necessary to assure adequate skill mastery and to reduce perpetuation of mistakes.     

A Review of Systemic Antifungal Agents

Résumé— Cet article est une revue des antifongiques systémiques communément utilisés. Sont présentés les origines des diverses substances, leur pharmacocinétique, leur mode d'action, leurs effets secondaires et enfin, leurs indications en médecine vétérinaire. [Hill, P.B., Moriello, K.A., Shaw, S.E. A review of systemic antifungal agents (Antifongiques systémiques: une revue).
Abstract— This paper is a review of commonly used systemic antifungal antibiotics. Included is a review of the origins of the drugs, pharmacokinetics, modes of action, adverse effects and clinical uses in veterinary medicine.     

An assessment of the possible reasons for differential tolerance to fluroxypyr in selected populations of Galium aparine

In an investigation of the possible reasons for tolerance lo fluroxypyr by Galium aparine L. (cleavers), a wide range of variation in total herbicide retention was exhibited by nine diverse populations from throughout Europe. Although these differences in fluroxypyr relention became negligible when considered on a unit area basis, a two-fold difference was maintained per unit dry matter. There was no difference in fluroxypyr uptake between a fluroxypyr-tolerant and a fluroxypyr-susceptible population, and differences in translocation between the two populations did not seem to explain the differential tolerance. It is suggested that differential metabolic detoxification may be the main reason for the variation in response to fluroxypyr by populations of G. aparine.     

National and local spread of barley yellow mosaic virus in the United Kingdom1

Barley yellow mosaic virus was first reported in the United Kingdom in 1980. Since then cumulative records of reports of disease, confirmed at the laboratory of the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, show how infection has spread from the east of England where it first occurred in quantity, to the west. Areas of concentrated infection appear to relate to areas of intensive winter-barley cultivation. Records suggest that infection may have occurred as early as 1976. Patterns of local spread in fields as defined in aerial photographs reflect the means by which the viruliferous vector may be passively moved in the soil. Other patterns reflect previous cropping. The higher frequency of infection on the sites of long-removed hedgerows is not explained.     

Competition between white clover (Trifolium repens L.) and subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) in binary mixtures in the field

White clover, (cv. Haifa) and subterranean clover (cv. Seaton Park) were grown in binary replacement series mixtures in the field at proportions of 100:0, 90:10, 50:50. 10:90 and 0:100, and cut every four weeks over three growing seasons from 1985 to 1987 at Scone, New South Wales (NSW) (32°S).
Relatively low plant densities minimized competition in 1985, but in subsequent seasons Haifa and Seaton Park competed vigorously for the same resource;.; usually having relative crowding coefficients greater than 1.0, and relative yield totals greater than 1.0 in spring of 1986 and 1987, and autumn 1987. This over-yielding appeared to be due to some complementarity of leaf morphology and canopy architecture.
Haifa severely depressed seed production of Seaton Park in mixtures. Haifa regenerated as an annual in 1986, but as a perennial, from surviving stolons, in 1987 owing to lower maximum temperatures and better rainfall distribution in late summer and autumn of 1987.
It is concluded that white clover can survive severe competition from subterranean clover as a seedling, and if moisture allows, may severely depress seed production from subterranean clover, regardless of whether plants are annual or perennial in origin. Spatial separation may minimize competition in average years but competition effects may be severe in seasons with sufficient summer rainfall for perennation of white clover, and seasonal autumn rainfall for germination of subterranean clover.