Comparison of outcomes following treatment of septic calcaneal bursitis by needle or bursoscopic lavage: A retrospective study of 29 horses

Sepsis of the calcaneal bursae (CB) presents significant treatment challenges with limited clinical data available in the literature. The objective of this retrospective cohort study was to assess the clinical outcomes associated with CB lavage using either a through-and-through needle or bursoscopic technique. Clinical records of 29 horses treated for septic calcaneal bursitis using either technique between 2005 and 2019 were reviewed. Fisher’s exact test was used to assess statistical significance between first surgical technique and success at first surgery (i.e. not requiring >1 lavage), survival to discharge and return to work (RTW). Bursoscopy was performed in 13/29 (44.8%) cases, and needle lavage in 16/29 (55.2%). In the needle group, 12 (75%) horses were discharged following the first surgery. Four had repeat interventions; two (12.5%) had needle lavage and two (12.5%) had bursoscopy. Of the two horses to have repeat needle lavage, one was subjected to euthanasia and one discharged, and of the two that underwent bursoscopy, one was discharged and one received a third bursoscopy prior to discharge. In the bursoscopy group, seven (53.8%) were discharged and three (23.1%) were subjected to euthanasia following the first surgery. Three (23.1%) received a second bursoscopic lavage with one discharged, one subjected to euthanasia and one having a third bursoscopic lavage prior to discharge. Overall, 18/24 (75%) followed up cases RTW, 10 (55.5%) from the needle group, eight (44.4%) the bursoscopy group. No statistically significant differences between first surgical technique used and success at first surgery (no subsequent lavage(s) required), survival to discharge or return to work were detected. The main limitations of this study are that it is a retrospective study, has a small population with limited statistical power and potential selection bias. No statistically significant differences existed between the outcomes of the two techniques, contrary to the belief that bursoscopic lavage is superior. Larger, multicentred studies, with greater statistical power are required to further assess this relationship.     

Dietary Lipid Levels Affect the Growth Performance,Lipid Deposition,and Antioxidative Capacity of Juvenile Scaleless Carp,Gymnocypris przewalskii,on the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau

A 56‐d growth trial was conducted to evaluate the growth performance, lipid deposition, and antioxidative capacity of juvenile scaleless carp, Gymnocypris przewalskii, on Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau. One‐year‐old juveniles (initial weight: 15.99 ± 0.02 g) were fed practical diets with different lipid levels of 4, 5.5, 7, 8.5, and 10%, respectively. Results showed that the best specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion rate, and total antioxidative capacity (T‐AOC) in hepatopancreas were observed in fish fed the diet with 7% lipid level. Fish fed with high lipid diets (8.5 and 10%) had significantly higher condition factor and viscerosomatic index as well as lipid in muscle, intestine, mesenteric fat tissue, and whole body. Highest level of hepatopancreas lipase and lipoprotein lipases activities as well as malondialdehyde content and the lowest level of feed intake and T‐AOC content in hepatopancreas and intestine were also observed in fish fed with high lipid diets (8.5 and 10%) (P < 0.05). In conclusion, based on SGR and hepatopancreas T‐AOC content, dietary lipid requirement of juvenile G. przewalskii was estimated to be 7.35 and 7.39%, respectively.     

Impact of soil water content on maize responses to the plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium Azospirillum lipoferum CRT1

Members of the bacterial genus Azospirillum are root-associated bacteria that increase yield in cereals by promoting growth and alleviating drought stress. How plants integrate the many bacterium-derived growth-promoting stimuli with other environmental factors to generate a coordinated response remains unresolved. Using a commercial Azospirillum strain, A. lipoferum CRT1 and two host maize cultivars, it was observed that bacterization reduced the drought-induced increase in lateral root growth and enhanced the flood-induced increase in lateral root growth in the more drought- and flood-sensitive cultivar. In the other one, A. lipoferum CRT1 only elicited a moderate root growth response under low soil water potential. The photosynthetic potential and activity were increased in the earlier cultivar and decreased in the later one, irrespective of the soil water content. No impact of the bacterium was seen on the growth of the leaves of both cultivars under both stresses until the third leaf stage, therefore suggesting that it is a consequence of multiple primary adaptations to biotic and abiotic stresses. It is suggested that host–bacteria recognition leads to a stress-specific modulation of the root response and a differential stress-independent effect on photosynthesis. This is the first report of the impact of Azospirillum under flood conditions.     

宁夏地区荷斯坦牛乳房性状的遗传参数估计和主成分分析

旨在评估宁夏地区荷斯坦牛乳房性状的遗传水平。本研究使用DMU（v6.0）软件的AI-REML模块结合EM算法并配合多性状动物模型对宁夏地区12 415头荷斯坦牛，包括111 735个观察值的9个乳房性状进行遗传参数估计，运用主成分分析法（PCA）探讨构象性状之间的关系。结果表明，宁夏地区荷斯坦牛乳房性状遗传力处于中等偏低水平，乳房深度遗传力值为0.242，乳房质地为0.080，悬韧带为0.183，前乳房附着为0.230，前乳头位置为0.231，前乳头长度为0.173，后乳房高为0.272，后乳房宽为0.378，后乳头位置为0.169。各性状遗传相关范围为-0.277~0.706，表型相关范围为-0.084~0.316。研究共筛选出特征值≥1的4个主成分，占总方差的64.19%，且9个乳房性状在前3个主成分中已全部体现，荷载系数均在0.4以上。本研究通过对宁夏地区奶牛DHI数据的深入挖掘和遗传参数估计，准确地把握了宁夏奶牛群体的结构特征，对于奶牛的选种选配和育种规划具有重要意义。     

Embodied Resources in Fish and Shrimp Feeds

Global averages were obtained for amounts of energy, land, water, wildfish, nitrogen, and phosphorus embodied in aquaculture feed ingredients. These data allowed amounts of these embodied resources to be calculated for typical feed formulations for channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus; hybrid catfish, I. punctatus♀ × I. furcatus♂; Vietnamese catfish, Pangasius spp.; Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar; rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss; tilapia, Oreochromis spp.; whiteleg shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei; and black tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon. Embodied resource use per m.t. of feed varied among species: energy, 4.90–12.48 GJ/m.t.; land, 0.082–0.312 ha/m.t.; water, 502–1227 m³/m.t.; wildfish, 0–2880 kg/m.t.; nitrogen, 3.08–8.63 kg/m.t.; phosphorus, 1.16–5.62 kg/m.t. These calculations did not account for variations in site‐specific factors related to embodied resources and feed composition and use. But they suggest that reducing feed conversion ratio (FCR) by 0.1 unit for the seven species (species groups) could potentially reduce feed use by around 1.1 million tonne (Mt) while conserving 9.8 million GJ of energy, 270,000 ha of agricultural land, 1.4 billion m³ of freshwater, and 1.24 Mt of wildfish. Reduction of the FCR is a powerful means of lessening farm‐level production costs and negative impacts of feed production and use.     

Effects of Feeding Frequency on Apparent Energy and Nutrient Digestibility/Availability of Channel Catfish,Ictalurus punctatus,Reared at Optimal and Suboptimal Temperatures

This study examined the effects of feeding frequency (daily versus every other day [EOD]) on nutrient digestibility/availability of channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, reared at optimal (30 C) and suboptimal (24 C) temperatures. A 28% protein practical diet was used as the test diet, and chromic oxide was used at 0.75% of the diet as a maker. Twenty channel catfish of a mean weight of 141 g/fish were stocked into 12 flow‐through aquaria (110 L). Fish were fed daily or EOD to apparent satiation for 7 d before fecal samples were collected by the dissection method. Fish fed EOD to apparent satiation consumed more diet on days fed than those fed daily, and fish reared at 30 C consumed more diet than those reared at 24 C. Neither feeding frequency nor water temperature significantly affected apparent digestibility coefficients for energy and protein and apparent availability coefficients for total amino acids. Results show no advantage by feeding EOD over feeding daily on nutrient digestibility and diet utilization efficiency.     

Spatio-temporal pattern evolution and spatial spillover effect of green development efficiency: Evidence from Shandong Province,China

Improving green development efficiency is urgently required, yet challenging, since it comprehensively reflects the bidirectional evolutionary relationship between regional development and resource and environmental consumption. The issue of regional green development efficiency has become a key topic; however, where the increase in efficiency originates and its spatial spillover effect remains unclear to date. Therefore, the spatial spillover effect of the green development efficiency of Shandong Province was quantified through the slack variable (SBM)-Undesirable and Spatial Durbin model. The green development efficiency showed clear spatial differentiation in Shandong Province. This was more obvious than the polarized development trend of the provincial capital circle that has Jinan at its core and the eastern coastal region with Qingdao at its core. Green development efficiency has a significant spatial spillover effect. The regression coefficient of the direct effect of the economic development level is positive. The regression coefficient of the indirect effect of the marketization level and government financial support level is negative. Science and technology played a positive role in the promotion of the green development efficiency of local and neighboring cities. This study contributes empirical evidence to the green development efficiency associated with regional development and resource and environment consumption of Shandong Province.     

Evaluating the Effects of Dietary Prebiotic Mixture of Mannan Oligosaccharide and Poly‐β‐Hydroxybutyrate on the Growth Performance,Immunity, and Survival of Rainbow Trout,Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum 1792), Fingerlings

This study investigated the effects of dietary poly‐β‐hydroxybutyrate (PHB) and mannan oligosaccharide (MOS) on the growth performance, digestive enzyme activities, and disease resistance of rainbow trout fingerlings. A total of 420 fingerlings, distributed equally into four different groups, each with three replicates, were fed a basal diet (control), 2% PHB (PHB), 0.2% MOS (MOS), or a diet supplemented with a mixture of 2% PHB and 0.2% MOS (PHB+MOS) for 60 d. Results showed that dietary PHB and/or MOS did not cause significant improvement in the growth performance of the fingerlings. The gut pH was markedly reduced; however, the activities of the digestive enzymes (except for pepsin and amylase by dietary PHB) were not significantly improved by the dietary supplements. Results also showed that dietary PHB and/or MOS markedly increased the resistance of the fingerlings toward Yersinia ruckeri infection, while the lowest total antibody was observed in fish fed control and MOS, indicating that MOS exerts its protective effects by modulating other mechanisms. Overall, this study provided a first screening effort to determine the effects of PHB and/or MOS as dietary supplements in rainbow trout fingerlings to develop an optimal prebiotic mix for improving the growth and health status of rainbow trout.