Dry Matter Partitioning in Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.)

A pot experiment was conducted at University of Wales Aberystwyth, UK, Frongach field station to evaluate the effects of sowing dates on the dry matter partitioning of linseed. Root, stem and capsule (boll) weight increased progressively as sowing was delayed up to third sowing (19 April) but showed a gradual decrease when sowing was further delayed. The contribution of each of the three parts to total weight did not respond to sowing date in any consistent manner. The total dry matter per plant followed a similar pattern to the dry matter of plant parts, which increased with sowing up to third sowing (19 April) and then decreased when sowing was further delayed. Dry matter accumulation per day degree > 4 °C also increased as sowing was delayed with a peak at third sowing (19 April). Dry matter accumulation per day degree is concluded to be directly related to the total day degrees received during the growth period.     

Analgesic management of an eight-year-old Springer Spaniel after amputation of a thoracic limb

Analgesic agents were administered perioperatively to an eight-year-old Springer Spaniel undergoing amputation of its right thoracic limb. The amputation was carried out due to a painful, infiltrative and poorly differentiated sarcoma involving the nerves of the brachial plexus. A combination of pre-emptive and multimodal perioperative analgesic strategies was used; including intravenous (IV) infusions of fentanyl, morphine, lidocaine and ketamine.     

Induction of infective stages of Theileria parva by exposure of host ticks to high temperature.

It was demonstrated that Theileria parva parasites infective to cattle could be induced by exposure of infected adult Rhipicephalus appendiculatus ticks to 37 degrees C. The production of the sporozoites of T parva was not as efficient as by feeding ticks on rabbits.     

Evaluation of infection and treatment methods in immunization of improved cattle against theileriosis in an endemic area of Kenya

Five experiments were carried out to determine the efficacy of immunization against theileriosis in an endemic area of Kenya using artificial infection with a mixture of stabilates of Theileria parva stock or natural infection and treatment with parvaquone or several formulations of oxytetracyclines. For the first four experiments, introduced, susceptible Sahiwal/Friesian crosses were used and in the fifth, calves of Boran/Maasai zebu crosses born on the site. Cattle were infected either artificially with sporozoite stabilates of local isolates of T. parva parva derived from cattle and T. parva lawrencei derived from African buffalo or exposed to natural tick challenge on the ranch mostly derived from buffalo. The cattle were then given various treatment regimens using either parvaquone or long- and short-acting formulations of oxytetracycline. Treatment of natural infections, although it can be effective, was not considered a practical method on a large scale because of the need for intensive monitoring in the case of parvaquone treatment and the possibility of cattle not becoming infected in the case of prolonged application of long-acting formulations of oxytetracycline. Both methods were relatively expensive. Artificial infection treatment proved more practical and methods were developed where the monitoring of cattle was not required during the immunization procedure. Out of a total of 16 drug regimens investigated, one (consisting of two treatments of a short-acting formulation of oxytetracycline at 10 mg kg-1 body weight on Days 0 and 3 or 4 after infection) was found to be the most efficacious and the cheapest, and has now been used on a routine basis. This method can be used successfully on calves greater than 1 month of age.     

Pleistocene extinction of genyornis newtoni: human impact on australian megafauna

More than 85 percent of Australian terrestrial genera with a body mass exceeding 44 kilograms became extinct in the Late Pleistocene. Although most were marsupials, the list includes the large, flightless mihirung Genyornis newtoni. More than 700 dates onGenyornis eggshells from three different climate regions document the continuous presence of Genyornis from more than 100,000 years ago until their sudden disappearance 50,000 years ago, about the same time that humans arrived in Australia. Simultaneous extinction of Genyornis at all sites during an interval of modest climate change implies that human impact, not climate, was responsible.     

Infection of African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) and cattle with Theileria parva lawrencei after serial passage in cattle

The infectivity of a Theileria parva lawrencei stabilate, from a stock derived from an African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, was investigated. In the first experiment a buffalo and three cattle were inoculated with a stabilate from a stock passaged three times in cattle. All cattle developed fatal theilerial infections. Isolations from the buffalo by tick feeding and cell culture isolation showed that it was infected with T p lawrencei at the time of inoculation, but the second isolation made 19 days after inoculation behaved like T p parva in cattle, developing a high parasitosis, while the third isolation made three months later behaved like T p lawrencei with low parasitosis. It was concluded that two biological types of T parva could exist in a buffalo at one time, but it was not shown that the buffalo had become a carrier of T p lawrencei adapted to cattle. In the second experiment two buffaloes and three cattle were inoculated with T p lawrencei (Serengeti) stabilate which had been passaged six times through cattle and ticks. The two buffaloes had mild theilerial infections and developed serological titres in the indirect fluorescent antibody test, but the cattle had fatal infections. Tick and cell culture isolations of T parva were possible during the clinical reactions of the buffaloes, but no carrier state was demonstrated. Theileria-infected cell lines were established from the buffaloes and the cattle and were examined using monoclonal antibodies against T parva schizonts.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Public health importance of Brachiola algerae (Microsporidia)--an emerging pathogen of humans

Brachiola algerae, a parasite of Anopheles mosquitoes, has also been isolated from a human cornea, a cutaneous nodule and deep muscle tissue. All three human isolates of B. algerae are morphologically, serologically, and genetically similar to the mosquito-derived isolates including the original isolate of Vavra and Undeen. All of these isolates grew well in mammalian cell cultures at 37 degrees C and produced spores. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that all developmental stages including meronts, sporoblasts and spores were diplokaryotic and developed in direct contact with the host cell cytoplasm, a feature characteristic of the genus Brachiola. Spores of all isolates reacted well, in the immunofluorescence assay, with the rabbit anti-B. algerae serum. In the immunoblot assay, although the overall banding patterns of the human and mosquito isolates were similar, minor differences could be discerned. Sequencing of the PCR products of the amplified SSU rRNA gene revealed the existence of two distinct genotypes; the original mosquito (Undeen) isolate belonged to genotype 1 and the isolate from cornea and that from the deep muscle biopsy to genotype 2, whereas the isolates from a mosquito and one of the other two human isolates (one from skin abscess) had both genotypes, 1 and 2. It is known that spores of mosquito-derived B. algerae can not only proliferate in mammalian cell cultures at 37 degrees C but also can infect mice when injected into footpads or deposited on the corneal surface. These observations indicate that the spores have potential to be a risk factor for humans, especially those with immunodeficiency.     

Dilated cardiomyopathy in an American Cocker Spaniel with taurine deficiency

An American Cocker Spaniel with low plasma taurine concentration (< 2 nmol/mL) was presented with dyspnoea associated with pulmonary oedema and a left ventricular shortening fraction of 9%. Emergency therapy with furosemide, dobutamine, nitroglycerine and oxygen supplementation led to a good response. Chronic therapy was started with enalapril, furosemide, digoxin and taurine. Improvement in all echocardiographic indices were noted over a 22 week follow-up, most notably an increase in left ventricular shorteningfraction to 20%, a decrease of E-point septal separation from 14 mm to 7 mm and marked left ventricular remodelling. This degree of improvement in myocardial function may represent a direct link between dilated cardiomyopathy in the American Cocker Spaniel andplasma taurine deficiency. Alternatively, this response may reflect a breed-related cardiomyopathy with a natural history and therapeutic response not commonly seen in the morecommon large breed cardiomyopathy presentations.