Polyarthritis in wild mice (Mus musculus) caused by Streptobacillus moniliformis

SUMMARY Mice trapped on farms in south-eastern Queensland had chronic abscessating osteoarthritides mainly involving the carpi and tarsi. Pleomorphic bacteria were shown by silver staining to be plentiful within lesions. Streptobacillus moniliformis was isolated from the joints, and streptobacillary polyarthritis was diagnosed. Other lesions observed included subcutaneous and hepatic abscesses.     

Wounds of the pastern and foot region managed with phalangeal casts: 50 cases in 49 horses (1995–2006)

Objective   Describe the use of a phalangeal cast as treatment for wounds in the pastern and foot region of horses. Secondly, to evaluate the healing and soundness of horses treated with phalangeal casts.
Design   Retrospective study of 49 horses.
Procedures   Medical records of 49 horses that were treated with a phalangeal cast for 50 cases of wounds in the pastern and foot region at equine referral hospitals from 1995 to 2006 were reviewed and follow-up information was obtained.
Results   Treatment consisted of wound debridement, lavage, wound closure (28 wounds), cast application and antibiotics (84%). At follow-up, the majority of horses were sound (42 of 47 wounds, 89.4%), three horses were still lame and one horse was euthanased because of persistent lameness. Three horses were lost to follow-up. There was no statistical difference between the outcomes of horses treated acutely (<24 h) or after a 24-h delay. Similarly, the involvement of synovial structures in the wound did not significantly influence outcome.
Conclusions   In this study, wounds involving the pastern and foot that were treated with a phalangeal cast carried a good prognosis for soundness (89.4%) and cosmetic healing (89.5%). The phalangeal casts were well-tolerated and effective.     

Long‐Term‐Release GnRH Agonists Postpone Puberty in Domestic Cats

The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of deslorelin acetate implants on domestic queen puberty postponement. Thirty, 114.4 ± 12.7 days old, 1.5 ± 0.1 kg prepubertal crossbred female cats were included in this study. The animals were kept under a positive photoperiod and randomly assigned to deslorelin acetate 4.7 mg SC implants (n = 15) or to a non‐treated control group (n = 15). The queens were followed up daily and weighed weekly until puberty. Vaginal cytology was also carried out three times a week. Puberty was diagnosed by the presence of the typical oestrous behaviour and vaginal cytology findings. At puberty, ovariectomy was performed and the gonads grossly described. Age (281.2 ± 21.6 vs 177.8 ± 10.8; p < 0.01) but not weight (2.6 ± 0.1 vs 2.5 ± 0.1; p > 0.1) at puberty differed between the deslorelin and control groups, respectively. One deslorelin‐treated female showed an oestrous response and another showed clinical signs of pyometra after the implants. Deslorelin‐treated ovaries appeared small, while control gonads were normal. It was concluded that long‐term‐release deslorelin, administered at approximately 50% adult body weight, postponed feline puberty without altering growing rate.     

The importation of the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) from Zimbabwe into Australia

SUMMARY The paper describes a program to import and breed black rhinoceros ex situ at Western Plains Zoo in Australia. Nine rhinoceros (7 females and 2 males) captured in 1992 in Chete National Park, Zimbabwe, were transported to Australia via Cocos Island. The veterinary treatment of the animals before and during quarantine in Zimbabwe and on Cocos (Keeling) Islands is described. Three animals died; an adult male on Cocos Islands and a juvenile male and an adult female at Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo, New South Wales. The juvenile male died as a result of trauma sustained shortly after arrival and the two adults after developing a severe hepatopathy. The group of 6 females and an additional 4 males imported from the USA in 1994 have adapted well to captivity and to the climate and environment of central west New South Wales.     

The detection of a population of submillimeter-bright, strongly lensed galaxies

Gravitational lensing is a powerful astrophysical and cosmological probe and is particularly valuable at submillimeter wavelengths for the study of the statistical and individual properties of dusty star-forming galaxies. However, the identification of gravitational lenses is often time-intensive, involving the sifting of large volumes of imaging or spectroscopic data to find few candidates. We used early data from the Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey to demonstrate that wide-area submillimeter surveys can simply and easily detect strong gravitational lensing events, with close to 100% efficiency.     

The intra- and inter-assessor reliability of measurement of functional outcome by lameness scoring in horses

The objective of this study was to assess the reliability of lameness scoring in horses. One veterinary surgeon examined nineteen lame horses on four occasions. Gait was recorded by camcorder, and scored from 0 to 10 ranging from sound to non-weight bearing lameness. A global score of overall change in lameness during the study was also determined for each horse. To measure intra-assessor reliability of the scoring systems, one veterinary surgeon scored videotapes of the horses' gaits on two occasions. To measure inter-assessor reliability, three veterinary surgeons viewed the videotapes, assigning individual lameness scores plus global scores to each horse. Reliability of individual lameness scoring was good intra-assessor, but only just within our acceptable limit inter-assessor. However, global scoring of change in lameness throughout the study was found to be reliable overall. Since clinician scoring is commonly used to assess lameness in horses, this is an important finding, fundamental to future clinical studies.     

Reproductive Parameters of Mangalarga Marchador Mares in a Commercial Embryo Transfer Programme

The objective of this study is to evaluate the reproductive efficiency in donors and recipient Mangalarga Marchador mares in commercial programmes of embryo transfer (ET) and the effects of some reproductive characteristics and ET methodology on conception rates in the recipient mares. A total of 1140 flushing procedures were performed and 830 embryos (72.8%) were recovered. There were no differences between the rates of embryonic recovery in the different breeding seasons (p > 0.05) and 92.8% of the recovered embryos were 8–9 days old. There was no difference in the embryonic recovery regarding the collection order from the first to the ninth embryo collection along the breeding season, as well as among mares inseminated during the foal heat or subsequent cycles (p > 0.05). Pregnancy rates observed in the total period of all reproductive seasons at 15, 30, 45 and 60 days of pregnancy were 73.4, 69.9, 66.7 and 64.5%, respectively. Differences in pregnancy rate and early embryonic loss rates were not observed between embryos transferred immediately after collection (66.8% and 13.5%) and embryos transported at room temperature for periods of <1 h (62.9% and 14.4%; p > 0.05). Pregnancy rates were higher when the interval between ovulations of donor and recipient mares remained between ?3 and ?2 days (p < 0.05), and the lowest rates were observed for intervals of ?6 days (p < 0.05) with intermediary values for intervals of ?1, 0 and +1 (p > 0.05). Embryonic loss rates, however, did not differ between intervals of ovulation’s synchronism between donor and recipient mares (p > 0.05). This flexibilization in the ovulatory synchronism between donor and recipient mares optimizes the use of recipient mares, thus reducing costs and facilitating management of horse breeding farms.