Arthroscopic removal of axial osteochondral fragments of the proximoplantar aspect of the proximal phalanx using electrocautery probes in 23 standardbred racehorses

OBJECTIVES: To describe the outcome after arthroscopic electrosurgical excision of axial osteochondral (OC) fragments of the proximal plantar aspect of the 1st phalanx (P1) in horses. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. POPULATION: Twenty-three Standardbred racehorses. METHODS: Medical records of Standardbred racehorses that had arthroscopic dissection of axial OC fragments of the proximal plantar aspect of P1 with electrocautery probes were reviewed. Horses were positioned in dorsal recumbency; a 1.5% glycine solution was used to maintain joint distension. The arthroscope portal was in the proximal plantar joint pouch and OC fragments were approached using either an ipsilateral or a contralateral triangulation technique. Dissection of the fibrous attachments was performed using loop and hook electrocautery probes. Follow-up was obtained by telephone questionnaire of owners or trainers and examination of race summary records. RESULTS: Thirty-three axial OC fragments were removed from 28 metatarsophalangeal joints (left, 14; right, 14). No major operative or postoperative complications occurred. Seven of 8 (79%) of horses that raced before surgery raced after surgery. Thirty-six percent (n=4) of horses that had not raced before surgery raced after surgery. CONCLUSION: Intra-articular electrosurgery is a safe, easy alternative to conventional excision of axial OC fragments of the proximal plantar aspect of P1. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Arthroscopic excision using electrocautery probes is a valid alternate method for removal of axial OC fragments of the proximal plantar aspect of P1. In addition, the dorsal recumbency position facilitates removal of several fragments and multiple joint surgery.     

Ventral laparoscopic abomasopexy on adult cows

Displacement of the abomasum is frequently diagnosed by veterinarians in bovine practice and numerous surgical techniques have been developed to treat and prevent this condition. Complications secondary to those techniques are related to their degree of invasiveness and the development of postoperative wound infections. The objectives of this study were to describe a safe and reliable abomasopexy technique by laparoscopy and to assess postoperative adhesion formation. A ventral laparoscopic abomasopexy was performed on 10 adult dry cows. The abomasum was fixed with 4 simple interrupted sutures using USP 2 polydioxanone suture material. No major complications were encountered during the surgery. Abomasal adhesions were visually evaluated by laparoscopy 3 mo postoperatively. This technique proved to be simple and safe, and it provided adequate abomasum fixation in healthy dry cows. It could be used to surgically correct left displaced abomasum.     

Genetic variation in productivity, leaf traits and carbon isotope discrimination in hybrid poplars cultivated on contrasting sites

? We examined the relationships between productivity, leaf traits and carbon isotope discrimination in bulk leaf matter (Δ₁) and in phloem sap (Δ_s) from more than 5-year-old trees belonging to Populus deltoides × P. nigra and Populus trichocarpa × P. deltoides; trees were grown in alluvial and non alluvial sites in a commercial poplar plantation.

? On both sites, a large genetic variability was evidenced for all variables. The genotypic ranking remained stable between years for all variables, while it differed between sites. Δ₁ scaled positively with Δ_s and neither Δ₁ nor Δ_s were correlated with productivity. A significant genotype by site interaction was evident for all variables. The non alluvial site resulted in lower productivity, and in thicker/denser leaves with lower nitrogen and carbon contents. Noteworthy, the genotypic ranking for Δ₁ measured at the alluvial site was similar to that previously established in a glasshouse.

? As observed in previous studies from younger trees, there is a potential to select genotypes, combining high productivity and high water-use efficiency, for growth in moderately drought-prone areas.

     

Comparison of two methods of monitoring thrips populations in a greenhouse rose crop

The thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) is among the most important pests of greenhouse crops in Europe and causes considerable damage to commercial rose crops. The usage of pesticides is associated with major problems, and thus the interest of implementing integrated pest management (IPM) for rose crops is increasing. One essential component of IPM is field monitoring/scouting. Growers use information gathered from scouting to select and schedule appropriate control tactics. Thrips populations were surveyed in 2005 and 2006 in a greenhouse planted with roses, Rosa x Hybrida in Southern of France. From April to August, thrips were counted using yellow sticky traps (YST), knock-down techniques [i.e., tapping flower heads (FT)] and actual counts of entire plants. Thrips abundance recorded using YST correlated well with abundance levels determined through FT or actual counts (whole plant). Our results demonstrate that it is accurate to estimate thrips populations using YST in rose crops in greenhouse. Because YST takes at least twice less time than other monitoring methods, it could be used as a valid and easy monitoring technique in further development of IPM programs on roses. The possibility of setting a damage threshold using the data from the YST in the greenhouse is discussed.     

Effects of soil redox potential (Eh) and pH on growth of sunflower and wheat

ABSTRACT

Soil redox potential (Eh) and pH are fundamentals parameters for plants growth. Measuring soil Eh is essential but complex due to the lack of measurement reliability resulting from high temporal variability and metrological challenges. This paper proposes practical advancements for measuring Eh in aerobic soils using combined electrodes (improvements in methodology specific to cleaning electrodes, measurement time, cleaning the dataset). The study of soil Eh and pH on sunflower and wheat in pot experiments has highlighted the relationship between Eh_cumul (Eh associated with a dimension of time) and the portion of porosity that is accessible to air. For reduced soil conditions, sunflower positively reacts to better aeration. Strong correlations exist between the duration of each potential range and the growth of sunflower. The study of sunflower growth in soil reveals extremely harmful impact resulting from too high and/or too low Eh values.     

Assessment of genetic diversity in Egyptian barley (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Hordeum vulgare</Emphasis> L.) genotypes using SSR and SNP markers

A barley core collection can be studied extensively and the derived information can be used to identify loci/genes for the genetic improvement of quantitative and qualitative traits. To assess genetic diversity, allelic variation and population structure of Egyptian barley, 134 barley genotypes collected from a different region along with 19 cultivated genotypes obtained from of the Egyptian Agricultural Research Center. All genotypes were analyzed with 261 polymorphic SSR and SNP alleles. The mean number of alleles per locus was 4 and PIC was 0.49, while the level of genetic diversity was 0.55 ranging from 0.03 to 0.82. The genotypes were assigned to three subpopulations that were consistent with their origins. The genetic variation within population was higher (51%) than among population at the molecular levels (F_ST =?0.491 when P?<?0.10). The level of polymorphic variation was highest in subpopulations-II, due to collected from different regions with different ear-types thus, expected to contain more diversity than local genotypes in subpopulations-I and subpopulations-III. The structured study found that the 153 barley genotypes are in harmony with clustering approaches using the SSR and SNP genotypic data in a neighbor-joining tree and principal components analysis, which identified three subpopulations. These results demonstrated genetic diversity among the Egyptian barley genotypes can be applied to suggest approaches, such as association analysis, classical mapping population development, and parental line selection in breeding programs. Therefore, it is necessary to use the exotic genotypes as the genetic resources for developing new barley cultivars in Egypt.     

Environmental and stand conditions related to Fistulina hepatica heart rot attack on Castanea sativa

Castanea sativa forests in north‐eastern Spain have historically been healthy and have been good producers of timber and non‐wood forest products. In the last quarter of a century, Fistulina hepatica has gained relevance in this ecosystem and is believed to be responsible for Chestnut Red Stain (CRS), which inflicts heart rot in trees and causes severe economic losses. The fungus grows in the heartwood and produces no external symptoms that would enable early detection. With the objective of developing an inexpensive method to detect heart rot and to discover possible relationships between the severity of F. hepatica attack and the silvicultural management or site characteristics of chestnut stands, 38 pure C. sativa plots were selected, sampled and analysed for the presence of the fungus. DNA was extracted from the heartwood samples, and PCR was used to amplify target sequences with specific F. hepatica primers for non‐homologous ITS1 and ITS2 regions. Correlation analysis was used to inspect the multiple interactions among the environmental and management variables examined, and a predictive model was designed for forest managers to estimate the risk of infection. Both analyses revealed that stress variables were related to CRS severity. This result is especially relevant since temperatures are expected to rise in coming decades throughout the northern rim of the Mediterranean region, where chestnut is an important species. This study provides two tools for better managing chestnut forests in the coming years: an inexpensive and fast tool for diagnosis and a predictive model to estimate the risk of infection.     

Population variability in animal health: Influence on dose‐exposure‐response relationships: Part II: Modelling and simulation

During the 2017 Biennial meeting, the American Academy of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics hosted a 1‐day session on the influence of population variability on dose‐exposure‐response relationships. In Part I, we highlighted some of the sources of population variability. Part II provides a summary of discussions on modelling and simulation tools that utilize existing pharmacokinetic data, can integrate drug physicochemical characteristics with species physiological characteristics and dosing information or that combine observed with predicted and in vitro information to explore and describe sources of variability that may influence the safe and effective use of veterinary pharmaceuticals.     

Evaluation of laparoscopic adhesiolysis for the treatment of experimentally induced adhesions in pony foals

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of laparoscopic adhesiolysis in the treatment of experimentally induced adhesions in foals. ANIMALS: 8 healthy pony foals. PROCEDURE: Celiotomy was performed and adhesions created at the jejunoileal junction and at sites 0.5 and 1 m proximal to this junction, using a serosal abrasion method. Ten days after celiotomy, exploratory laparoscopy was performed. Laparoscopic adhesiolysis was performed in the treatment group only (4 foals, randomly selected). Thirty days after the exploratory laparoscopy, a final laparoscopic examination was performed, and the foals were euthanatized. The number and characteristics of abdominal adhesions were recorded during laparoscopy 10 and 30 days after celiotomy and during necropsy. RESULTS: At 30 days after celiotomy, the number of adhesions in the control group was significantly higher than the number in the treatment group. In the control group, all adhesions observed during the exploratory laparoscopy were still evident at the final laparoscopy and necropsy. In the treatment group, adhesions did not form again after separation. During final laparoscopy and necropsy, a focal adhesion between the omentum and site of the initial laparoscope portal was observed in 5 of 8 foals. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The serosal abrasion model is useful for studying abdominal adhesions in foals. Laparoscopic adhesiolysis was an effective technique to break down experimentally induced adhesions in the early maturation stage of formation in pony foals. Studies are required to investigate prevention of de novo adhesions at the laparoscope portal sites.