Respiratory disease in neonatal cloned calves

Background: Numerous clinical abnormalities occur in cloned calves during the neonatal period. Objectives: Describe respiratory diseases affecting cloned calves. Animals: Twenty‐five cloned Holstein calves. Methods: Retrospective clinical study of the cloned calves born at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Saint‐Hyacinthe, QC. Results: Records of 31 cloned calves were reviewed. Twenty‐five records were included. Four stillborn calves and 2 calves euthanized at birth were excluded. Twenty‐two calves suffered from respiratory diseases. Nineteen calves received intranasal oxygen treatment (INO). They were tachypneic (78 breaths per minute) and 5 of them were hypoxemic (PaO₂ < 55 mmHg). Two of 19 calves remained hypoxemic despite INO. Thirteen calves were weaned from INO after a median of 70 hours and were discharged at a median of 5 days of age. Nine calves required ventilatory support: 3 from birth and 6 after INO. Five were successfully weaned from the ventilator after a median of 32 hours and were discharged at a median of 8 days of age. Three calves died and 1 was euthanized because of respiratory disease. Necropsy revealed atelectasis, pulmonary congestion, and alveolar damages. Conclusion and Clinical Importance: Respiratory disease occurs frequently in cloned calves. The most frequent abnormality is hypoxemia because of V/Q mismatch. It is possible to successfully support these calves by INO and mechanical ventilation.     

Evaluation of CYP1A Protein Induction, Biotransformation Capacity and DNA Adduct Formation in a Rat Hepatoma Cell Line (Fao), as Biomarkers of Organic Contamination in Environmental Soil Samples

Induction of cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) immunopositive protein was evaluated in the rat hepatoma cell line Fao, as a biomarker of organic pollution in extract of environmental soil samples, exposed to different sources and degrees of chemical contamination. Soil samples were collected in one area in Russia (Monchegorsk) and two areas in Southern Norway (Fiskaa and Birkenes). In addition, one reference soil sample was collected in Central Norway (Høoylandet). Contents of selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the samples were also evaluated. To further evaluate the inducibility of the most potent soil extract (Fiskaa), S9 fraction of Fao cells, pretreated with this extract, was used as an activation system in the Ames Salmonella assay. The DNA adduct forming capacity of the soil extracts, analyzed by the ³²P-postlabeling technique, was also investigated in Fao cells. The Fao cell line has previously been found to be a very sensitive biomonitoring system, that responds to environmentally relevant concentrations of planar model contaminants with increased level of CYP1A immunopositive protein and DNA adducts. In the present study the Fao cell line also showed its potential for use in evaluating the CYP1A inducing potency of environmental samples. All soil extracts induced CYP1A protein in the Fao cells, although the level of induction varied between the soil samples. The Fiskaa soil extract was the most potent CYP1A inducer and this extract also contained the highest level of PAHs. No significant correlation was observed between the level of the total of 16 PAHs and CYP1A protein level. However, a significant correlation was observed between CYP1A protein level and the level of Benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), which is a very potent CYP1A inducer. The S9 fraction of pretreated Fao cells activated B[a]P to mutagens in a concentration-dependent relationship, although the response was weak. No DNA adducts were detected in cells exposed to the soil extracts. This demonstrates the necessity of determining several biomarker parameters simultaneously as one single biomarker may fail to respond to potentially harmful compounds.     

Evaluation of coagulation via thromboelastography in healthy horses administered dexamethasone

Dexamethasone was administered to healthy horses daily for 7 days. Blood samples were collected at 3 time points from both treatment and non-treatment groups, and analyzed via thromboelastography (TEG). There were no significant differences in TEG parameters between treated and untreated horses, or within treatment groups over time.     

Wound care antiseptics - performance differences against Staphylococcus aureus in biofilm

Background

Staphylococcus aureus is commonly isolated from infected wounds both in animals and humans. It is known to be an excellent biofilm former and biofilms are present in as many as 60% of chronic wounds. Despite that the presence of biofilms in infections are common, antiseptics are usually qualified for in vivo testing according to their effect on planktonic cells. As it is well known that bacteria in biofilms are more tolerant to antiseptics than planktonic bacteria, biofilm infections can be difficult to treat. The aim of the study was to compare three different categories of antiseptics, biguanide (chlorhexidine), quaternary ammonium compound (QAC; Pyrisept) and iodine/iodophores (2% iodine liniment), with regards to efficacy in killing S. aureus in biofilm. If there was observed a difference in efficacy between these antiseptics, a second aim was to find the most effective of the three antiseptics.

Results

Large differences in the bactericidal effect of the different antiseptics against S. aureus in biofilm were observed in the present study. Iodine treatment was found to be the most effective followed by Pyrisept and chlorhexidine.

Conclusions

The bactericidal effect of the different antiseptics used in the present study was found to vary significantly against S. aureus in biofilm. The present study gives valuable knowledge with regards to selecting the antiseptics that are most likely to be successful in treating biofilm infected wounds. This study also contributes to focus attention on the importance of qualifying antiseptics based on results using biofilm bacteria rather than planktonic bacteria.     

Validation of a pre-coded food diary used among 13-year-olds: comparison of energy intake with energy expenditure

OBJECTIVE: To validate energy intake (EI) estimated from pre-coded food diaries against energy expenditure (EE) measured with a validated position-and-movement monitor (ActiReg) in groups of 13-year-old Norwegian schoolchildren. DESIGN: Two studies were conducted. In study 1 the monitoring period was 4 days; participants recorded their food intake for four consecutive weekdays using food diaries and wore the ActiReg during the same period. In study 2 the monitoring period was 7 days; participants recorded their food intake for four consecutive days but wore the ActiReg for a whole week.Settings: Participants were recruited from grade 8 in a school in and one outside Oslo (Norway).Subjects: Forty-one and 31 participants from study 1 and 2, respectively, completed the study. RESULTS: The group average EI was 34% lower than the measured EE in study 1 and 24% lower in study 2. The width of the 95% confidence limits of agreement in a Bland-Altman plot for EI and EE varied from -0.2 MJ to 8.2 MJ in study 1 and from -2.3 MJ to 6.9 MJ in study 2. The Pearson correlation coefficients between reported energy intake and expenditure were 0.47 (P=0.002) in study 1 and 0.74 (P<0.001) in study 2. CONCLUSION: The data showed that there was substantial variability in the accuracy of the food diary at the individual level. Furthermore, the diary underestimated the average energy intake. The ability of the food diary to rank individuals according to energy intake was found to be good in one of the studies and moderate in the other.     

Aggregation of peptides during hydrolysis as a cause of reduced enzymatic extractability of soybean meal proteins

With the purpose of analyzing the size and composition of enzyme-unextractable proteins in differently heat-treated soybean meals, a selection of extractants was screened for their ability to extract these proteins from enzyme-unextractable residues. The largest effects were obtained with urea, urea plus beta-mercaptoethanol, and dilute alkali; the latter extracted up to 87% of the enzyme-unextractable protein. Gel permeation chromatography indicated that a large proportion of the extracted material was of high molecular weight. However, the combined results from gel electrophoresis, LC-MS, and MALDI-ToF MS showed that the extracted protein material was composed of aggregated peptides. The largest aggregates were observed in the enzymatic residues originating from meals heat-treated at high humidity. Extracted aggregates were fully degraded upon subsequent proteolytic treatment.