A Leopard Seal from Hout Bay,South Africa

The catch per unit effort of Oreochromis mossambicus, Clarias gariepinus and Cyprinus carpio at different localities at Hartbeespoort Dam was investigated. Catches of the three species were between three and ten times higher on the southern shore of the lake than on the northern shore. The gradient of each locality was found to be the most important variable determining catch. Gill-net catches of O. mossambicus from littoral and limnetic stations indicated equal abundance of the species in these two habitats. The implications of the results for improved predictions of fish yield from lakes, and for management are discussed.     

Stalked Barnacles Conchoderma Auritum on an Elephant Seal: Occurrence of Elephant Seals on South African Coast

For most of the year, Meyer’s parrots in the Okavango Delta do not form large feeding flocks, and groups larger than two or three are probably the result of opportunistic aggregation at favoured food items after dispersion from communal roosts. Communal roosting likely does not facilitate flocking unless the food resources are close to the roost site, but may function in anti-predator defence. Meyer’s parrots appear to be dependent on riverine forest, Acacia-Combretum marginal woodland and mopane woodland for roost sites in the Okavango Delta. They aggregated more during the breeding season due to their specialist nutritional requirements, and female dependence on food provisioning by the male parrots. Meyer’s parrots may be sedentary in the Okavango Delta, but the possibility of limited local movements in other areas (especially the Zimbabwean highlands) should be investigated.     

Analysis of a survey of metabolic disorders

Extract

This survey was instigated in an endeavour to determine the overall incidence of metabolic disorders in dairying herds in the area covered by the Huntly District Veterinary Club. Response to treatment and mortality figures are also included.     

Letters to the editor

Extract

In order to utilize spring growth efficiently under a system of grassland farming, a New Zealand dairy farmer endeavours to calve as many cows as possible within a four to six weeks' period. To maintain this calving pattern, herd members must conceive by 70 to 80 days after calving. Consequently normal postparturient uterine involution, together with a minimum of delay in the onset of ovarian activity and oestral cyclicity, is of vital importance. A study of these phenomena may be very rewarding in helping to achieve optimal reproductive efficiency.     

A study of the pattern of staphylococcal contamination of the udders of cows in a dairy herd

Abstract

Extract

The results of the 1965–6 New Zealand national mastitis survey (Anon., 1967 Anon Ann. Rep. Res. Div. N.Z. Dept. Agric. 1966–67 1967 77 78  [Google Scholar]) indicated that β-haemolytic staphylococci were the most common bacteria isolated from the milk of dairy cows. Effective control of β-haemolytic stapyhlococci on a national scaledepends ultimately upon an understanding of population changes of this organism within the cow and within the herd.     

Confirmation of vertical transmission of bovine immunodeficiency virus in naturally infected dairy cattle using the polymerase chain reaction.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether bovine immunodeficiency virus (BIV) is vertically transmitted in naturally infected dairy cattle. Twenty-two dam/calf pairs from a Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station dairy were the study group. Blood samples were collected following delivery of calves, the peripheral blood leukocytes were purified from these samples, and the leukocyte DNA was used in polymerase chain reactions targeting the pol gene region of the BIV provirus. Southern blotting and hybridization were used to confirm the BIV specificity of the amplified fragments. BIV provirus was detected in 14 of 22 calves (64%), demonstrating vertical transmission. Eight of the calves were disqualified from the final interpretation of transplacental transfer because they may have nursed their mothers prior to blood collection, allowing the possibility of lactogenic transfer of the virus. Transplacental transmission of BIV was identified in 6 of 22 calves (27%).     

Development of a rapid in vitro protein refolding assay which discriminates between peptide-bound and peptide-free forms of recombinant porcine major histocompatibility class I complex (SLA-I)

The extracellular domains of swine leukocyte antigen class I (SLA-I, major histocompatibility complex protein class I) were cloned and sequenced for two haplotypes (H4 and H7) which do not share any alleles based on serological typing, and which are the most important in Danish farmed pigs. The extracellular domain of SLA-I was connected to porcine beta2 microglobulin by glycine-rich linkers. The engineered single-chain proteins, consisting of fused SLA-I and beta2 microglobulin, were overexpressed as inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli. Also, variants were made of the single-chain proteins, by linking them through glycine-rich linkers to peptides representing T-cell epitopes from classical swine fever virus (CSFV) and foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). An in vitro refold assay was developed, using a monoclonal anti-SLA antibody (PT85A) to gauge refolding. The single best-defined, SLA-I restricted porcine CD8(+) T-cell epitope currently known is a 9-residue peptide from the polyprotein of CSFV (J. Gen. Virol. 76 (1995) 3039). Based on results with the CSFV epitope and two porcine haplotypes (H4 and H7), the in vitro refold assay appeared able to discriminate between peptide-free and peptide-occupied forms of SLA-I. It remains to be seen whether the rapid and technically very simple in vitro refold assay described here will prove generally applicable for the screening of virus-derived peptides for SLA-I binding.     

Creatine monohydrate supplementation and the quality of fresh pork in normal and halothane carrier pigs

The objective of this research was to examine the impact of supplementation with creatine monohydrate (CMH) on the quality of various muscles from normal and heterozygous halothane carrier pigs. Twenty-nine crossbred pigs, 16 normal (NN) and 13 halothane carrier (Nn) genotypes, were supplemented with 0 or 25 g x pig(-1) x d(-1) of CMH for 5 d before slaughter. Supplemented pigs gained 2.26 kg more weight (P < 0.05) during 5 d of supplementation. There were trends (P < 0.10) toward higher objective marbling scores and lower cooking loss for supplemented pigs. The 45-min pH was 0.27 units higher (P < 0.05) for supplemented pigs in the semimembranosus; CMH supplementation did not influence (P > 0.05) drip loss or muscle composition. Supplementation with CMH also resulted in lower L* values in two ham muscles, semitendinosus (5.15 units) (P < 0.05) and semimembranosus (1.95 units) (P < 0.10) for Nn carcasses. Genotype had significant effects on most quality indicators, with Nn carcasses producing lower-quality lean as evidenced by less desirable subjective and objective color and higher drip losses. Genotype also affected the composition of several muscles, with the NN carcasses having more fat and less moisture.