Evaluation of an ovine testis cell line (OA3.Ts) for propagation of capripoxvirus isolates and development of an immunostaining technique for viral plaque visualization.

An ovine testis cell line (OA3.Ts) was evaluated and compared with primary lamb kidney (LK) cells for its utility in capripoxvirus propagation and titration. A comparison of OA3.Ts cell growth kinetics and morphology at low (<33) and high (34-36) passage levels indicated a difference in both characteristics. However, viral titers determined in low and high passage OA3.Ts cells were comparable with those obtained using LK cells. Capripoxvirus infection of OA3.Ts and LK cells resulted in a similar cytopathic effect, which allowed for the detection of discrete viral plaques following immunostaining with capripoxvirus-specific antiserum.     

Changing incidence of bovine babesiosis in Ireland

Background

In Ireland bovine babesiosis is caused by the tick-borne blood parasite, Babesia divergens. A survey of veterinary practitioners and farmers in the 1980’s revealed an annual incidence of 1.7% associated with considerable economic losses. However, two subsequent surveys in the 1990’s indicated a decline in clinical babesiosis. Recent evidence from continental Europe suggests that, probably due to climate change, the distribution of the tick vector of B. divergens, Ixodes ricinus is extending to more northerly regions and higher altitudes. In addition, milder winters are thought to widen the window of tick activity.In order to determine whether any such changes have affected the incidence of bovine babesiosis in Ireland, a questionnaire survey of farmers and veterinarians was carried out and compared with data from previous surveys.

Results

Our survey indicates that while the incidence of clinical disease has continued to decline, cases can occur at any time of year. In contrast to previous surveys, affected farms were the same size as unaffected ones. There was no correlation between disease risk and the presence of deer on the land. Disease severity and mortality rates were increased because many infections were advanced by the time they were detected and treated.

Conclusion

While the precise reasons for the decline in the incidence of redwater are unknown, changes in agricultural practice are likely to be of importance. A reversal of the trend could be devastating, as vigilance among farmers and veterinarians is flagging and the national herd is losing its protective immunity to disease.     

The effects of age and heart rate on tricuspid annular motion velocities in healthy nonsedated cats

BACKGROUND: Age and heart rate have effects on myocardial velocities as assessed by color tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) in people. A similar phenomenon has been identified when left ventricular velocities are assessed in cats. To date, the effects of age and heart rate on tricuspid annular velocities of cats have not been assessed. OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to determine the relationships between age and heart rate and tricuspid annular velocities in cats as assessed by 2-dimensional (2D) color TDI. ANIMALS: Fifty healthy nonsedated cats with age range from 3 months to 19 years old were studied. METHODS: Tricuspid annular velocities were obtained with 2D color TDI. Effects of age and heart rate on tricuspid annular velocities were evaluated by simple linear regression. The strength of the linear relationship was determined by using coefficient of determination (R2). RESULTS: A significant weak negative relationship was found between age and peak early diastolic annular velocity (E'; R2 = 0.135, P = .018). No significant relationships between age and right ventricular (RV) systolic TDI values were found. Diastolic and systolic TDI parameters were not affected by heart rate with the exception of deceleration rate of early diastolic motion (DR; R2 = 0.100, P = .025). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Age and heart rate have minimal effects on tricuspid annular velocities. The present study provides reference ranges for tricuspid annular velocities in healthy cats and information for assessing the clinical utility of color TDI for evaluation of RV function in cats.     

黄土坡面薄层流侵蚀过程试验研究

研究黄土坡面薄层流侵蚀过程对于深化黄土坡面土壤侵蚀过程有重要意义.采用人工模拟降雨试 验方法,对黄土坡面薄层流侵蚀过程进行了研究.(1)不同雨强条件下,薄层流侵蚀随降雨过程的变化相似,都随降雨历时的增长呈递增趋势,可用幂函数方程进行描述;(2)不同坡度条件下,薄层流侵蚀模数皆随雨强的增大而增大,可用线性相关方程进行描述;(3)不同雨强条件下,薄层流侵蚀模数随坡度的增加总体呈先增大后减小的趋势,侵蚀模数随坡度变化的关系可以用对数线性相关方程进行描述;(4)不同雨强条件下,薄层流侵蚀随坡长的增加可用对数线性方程进行描述;(5)不同雨强、坡度、坡长条件下,坡面薄层流侵蚀变化可用三元线性经验方程表述.其中降雨强度对侵蚀的影响最大,其次是坡度,坡长对其的影响最小.     

根外施用钙肥对苹果树生育期及产量的影响

作物产品中的钙含量是人类钙营养元素的重要来源,施钙能够提高植物性食品中的含钙量,从而有利于人类健康。若植物新根生长受阻或蒸腾作用减小,作物中钙的含量急剧降低,这样将影响作物的正常生长发育。通过对作物进行根外喷施钙肥,能够快速有效的补充植物对钙元素的需要。本试验通过在苹果的开花期、结果期以及膨大期连续三次叶面喷施不同含量的钙肥,测出喷施含钙量为160g/L钙肥的苹果树的每公顷产量较对照清水的增产5666.6kg,增产率达14.4%,并且方差分析达极显著水平;在喷施含钙量为120g/L的钙肥的苹果树的每公顷产量较对照清水的增产4888.8kg,增产率达12.4%,并且方差分析达显著水平。     

Salmonella in meats,water, fruit and vegetables as disclosed from testing undertaken by Food Business Operators in Ireland from 2005 to 2009

Abstract

Food Business Operators (FBO) are responsible for the safety of the food they produce and in Ireland those under the regulatory control of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine are required to provide summary data on microbiological tests undertaken as part of their food safety controls. These data are provided to the National Reference Laboratory through the 25 private laboratories undertaking the testing.

Results

Over the five-year period Salmonella sp. was isolated from 0.7% of the 254,000 raw meat or raw meat products tested with the annual prevalence ranging from 0.5 to 1.1%. Poultry meats were consistently more contaminated than other meats with higher recovery rates in turkey (3.3%), duck (3.3%), and chicken (2.5%) compared with meats of porcine (1.6%), ovine (0.2%) and bovine origin (0.1%). Salmonella sp. was also isolated from 58 (0.06%) of the 96,115 cooked or partially cooked meat and meat products tested during the reporting period with the annual percentage positive samples ranging from 0.01 to 0.16%. A total of 50 different serotypes were recovered from raw meats over this period with the greatest diversity found in poultry samples (n = 36). Four serotypes, Kentucky, Typhimurium, Agona and Derby accounted for over 70% of all isolates detected on FBO testing over the period 2005 to 2009.

Conclusions

Capturing microbiological data generated by Food Business Operators allows the regulatory sector access to a substantial amount of valuable data with the minimum financial outlay.     

Evaluation of techniques and outcomes of mitral valve repair in dogs

OBJECTIVE: To describe surgical techniques for and assess outcome of treatment of mitral regurgitation in dogs. DESIGN: Uncontrolled prospective study. ANIMALS: 18 dogs with naturally occurring mitral regurgitation. PROCEDURE: All dogs weighed > 5 kg (11 lb) and had severe mitral regurgitation, congestive heart failure (CHF), and no serious noncardiac disease. Left ventricular volume indices, left atrial size, and degree of mitral regurgitation were determined echocardiographically before and after surgery. Repair techniques included circumferential annuloplasty, placement of artificial chordae, chordal fenestration and papillary muscle splitting, and edge-to-edge repair. Factors predictive for surgery survival and resolution of CHF were determined. RESULTS: 12 dogs survived surgery. Factors predictive for surgery survival included weight > 10 kg (22 lb) and CHF of less than 6 months' duration. In 9 dogs, CHF resolved for a median period of 1 year (range, 4 months to 3 years) after surgery. One dog had stable CHF at 12 months. One dog died as a result of progressive CHF; another was euthanatized for a noncardiac reason. Left ventricular diastolic volume index was 226.9 +/- 117.7 cm3/m2 before surgery and 134.9 +/- 70.4 cm3/m2 at 6 months after surgery (n = 10). Factors predictive for resolution of CHF included left ventricular diastolic volume index < 250 cm3/m2 and systolic volume index < 70 cm3/m2. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Mitral valve repair may resolve CHF in dogs with severe mitral regurgitation, particularly in dogs that weigh > 10 kg and are treated within 6 months of the onset of CHF.     

Technique and outcome of mitral valve replacement in dogs

Eight dogs with naturally occurring severe mitral regurgitation underwent mitral valve replacement with a mechanical valve prosthesis during cardiopulmonary bypass. Dogs received warfarin orally after surgery to maintain a prothrombin time-based international normalized ratio from 2.5 to 3.5. Seven dogs survived surgery. Left ventricular diastolic volume index decreased significantly from 206 +/- 91 mL/m2 before surgery to 121 +/- 47 mL/m2 after surgery. Left atrium-to-aorta ratio decreased significantly from 2.66 +/- 0.4 before surgery to 1.73 +/- 0.65 after surgery. Left ventricular systolic volume index was not significantly different after surgery (56 +/- 36 mL/m2), compared with before surgery (40 +/- 32 mL/m2). Median survival after surgery was 4.5 months (range, 0.75 months to 5.25 years). Six dogs died of confirmed or suspected thrombosis of the valve prosthesis. Dogs with severe mitral regurgitation tolerated mitral valve replacement well, but a high incidence of prosthetic valve thrombosis limited long-term outcome.     

Variation in photosynthetic light-use efficiency in a mountainous tropical rain forest in Indonesia

Photosynthetically active radiation (Q)-use efficiency (epsilon) is an important parameter for deriving carbon fluxes between forest canopies and the atmosphere from meteorological ground and remote sensing data. A common approach is to assume gross primary production (P(g)) and net primary production (P(n)) are proportional to Q absorbed by vegetation (Q(abs)) by defining the proportionality constants epsilon(Pg) and epsilon(Pn) (for P(g) and P(n), respectively). Although remote sensing and climate monitoring provide Q(abs) and other meteorological data at the global scale, information on epsilon is particularly scarce in remote tropical areas. We used a 16-month continuous CO(2) flux and meteorological dataset from a mountainous tropical rain forest in central Sulawesi, Indonesia to derive values of epsilon(Pg) and to investigate the relationship between P(g) and Q(abs). Absorption was estimated with a 1D SVAT model from measured canopy structure and short wave radiation. The half-hourly P(g) data showed a saturation response to Q(abs). The amount of Q(abs) required to saturate P(g) was reduced when water vapor saturation deficit (D) was high. Light saturation of P(g) was still evident when shifting from half-hourly to daily and monthly time scales. Thus, for a majority of observations, P(g) was insensitive to changes in Q(abs). A large proportion of the observed seasonal variability in P(g) could not be attributed to changes in Q(abs) or D. Values of epsilon(Pg) varied little around the long-term mean of 0.0179 mol CO(2) (mol photon)(-1) or 0.99 g C MJ(-1) (the standard deviations were +/- 0.006 and +/- 0.0018 mol CO(2) (mol photon)(-1) for daily and monthly means, respectively). In both cases, epsilon(Pg) values were more sensitive to Q(abs) than to daytime D. These findings show that the current epsilon-approaches fail to predict P(g) at our tropical rain forest site for two reasons: (1) they neglect saturation of P(g) when Q(abs) is high; and (2) they do not include factors, other than Q(abs) and D, that determine seasonality and annual sums of P(g).