Amoxycillin as an alternative to dihydrostreptomycin sulphate for treating cattle infected with Leptospira borgpetersenii serovar hardjo

Objective To assess the effect of amoxycillin treatment on urinary excretion of leptospires from cattle infected with Leptospira borgpetersenii serovar hardjo .
Design A chemotherapy trial with controls.
Procedure Fourteen heifers serologically negative to L hardjo were inoculated with L hardjo via the conjunctival route and assessed for evidence of infection by serological, fluorescent antibody and microbiological tests. Two injections (48 h apart) of amoxycillin at a dose of 15 mg/kg were administered intramuscularly to seven heifers 6.5 weeks after infection; the remaining heifers acted as untreated controls. Later, these seven control group heifers were treated with a single dose of amoxycillin (15 mg/kg). Samples of urine were collected before and after amoxycillin treatments; kidneys were collected at slaughter, and examined by fluorescent antibody test and microbiological culture.
Results Leptospires were isolated from the urine of 11 of 14 heifers inoculated with L hardjo . After treatment of six of these with two injections of amoxycillin, leptospires were not isolated. Of the controls, four of the five initially leptospiruric heifers continued to shed leptospires; after a single injection of amoxycillin, no leptospires were detected in the kidneys of these four.
Conclusion Amoxycillin may be an acceptable alternative to dihydrostreptomycin sulphate for the treatment of cattle infected with L hardjo .     

Improving the Reproductive Efficiency, Pregnancy Diagnosis and Monitoring the Resumption of Luteal Activity in Indigenous Damascus Goats

Seventy‐five female Damascus goats aged between 1.5 and 5.5 years were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intravaginal sponges and prostaglandin analogue on oestrous synchronization and fecundity; to diagnose pregnancy and to monitor the resumption of the luteal activity. Females were divided randomly, during the breeding season, into three equal groups, S, P and C. Females in group S were fitted with sponges containing 45 mg of flugestone acetate (FGA) for 14 days and injected with pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin (PMSG) at the sponge withdrawal. Females in group P were given two injections of prostaglandin F2α analogue at 11‐day intervals, whereas females in group C (control) received no treatment. The results showed that there was a significant difference (p < 0.001) in oestrous exhibition between females in group S as compared with those in groups P and C, with means being 30 ± 10, 172 ± 115 and 217 ± 75 h for groups S, P and C, respectively. Kidding rates resulting from the first and all matings were 80 and 88, 52 and 88, and 68 and 80% for groups S, P and C, respectively. Fecundity rates were 215, 175 and 180% for groups S, P and C, respectively, with a significant difference (p < 0.05) between the S and both P and C groups. Using an ultrasound pregnancy detector performed on days 57 ± 3 after mating, positive pregnancy diagnosis was 93.3% and 100% for non‐pregnancy. Females in the control group showed functional corpus luteum starting in September. It is concluded that FGA sponges plus PMSG treatment could be successfully used to synchronize oestrus and improve fecundity; whereas prostaglandin treatment was not effective to synchronize oestrus. It is also concluded that pregnancy can be diagnosed accurately and successfully using an ultrasound pregnancy detector. In addition, ovarian activity in the Damascus goat in Syria resumes in September.     

The immune responses to antigenic variants of Babesia bigemina in the bovine.

Four Babesia bigemina stabilates were used to determine the immune response of cattle to acute and chronic blood- and tick-borne infections. Thirty-two intact calves were divided into 16 groups of two and each calf was inoculated with infective B bigemina erythrocytic stabilates. Twenty-eight days later they were challanged with homologous and heterologous stabilates, and monitored for an additional 20 days. The hosts' apparently reduced response to homologous challenge but marked immune response to heterologous challenge indicated antigenic differences between the isolates and confirmed the conclusions reached by examination of the serological data.     

Strecker type degradation of phenylalanine by 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal in model systems

The reaction of 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal, an oxidative stress product, with phenylalanine in acetonitrile-water (2:1, 1:1, and 1:2) at 37, 60, and 80 degrees C was investigated to determine whether 4-hydroxy-2-alkenals degrade amino acids, analogously to 4,5-epoxy-2-alkenals, and to compare the reactivities of both hydroxyalkenals and epoxyalkenals for production of Strecker aldehydes. In addition to the formation of N-substituted 2-pentylpyrrole and 2-pentylfuran, the studied hydroxyalkenal also degraded phenylalanine to phenylacetaldehyde with a reaction yield of 17%. The reaction mechanism is suggested to be produced through the corresponding imine, which is then decarboxylated and hydrolyzed. This reaction also produced a conjugated amine, which both may be one of the origins of the produced 2-pentyl-1H-pyrrole and may contribute to the development of browning in these reactions. 4-Hydroxy-2-nonenal and 4,5-epoxy-2-decenal degraded phenylalanine in an analogous extent, which is likely a consequence of the similarity of the degradation mechanisms involved. These results suggest that different lipid oxidation products are able to degrade amino acids; therefore, the Strecker type degradation of amino acids produced by oxidized lipids may be quantitatively significant in foods.     

D-lactic acid interferes with the effects of platelet activating factor on bovine neutrophils

D-lactic acidosis occurs in ruminants, such as cattle, with acute ruminal acidosis caused by ingestion of excessive amounts of highly fermentable carbohydrates. Affected animals show clinical signs similar to those of septic shock, as well as acute laminitis and liver abscesses. It has been proposed that the inflammatory response and susceptibility to infection could both be caused by the inhibition of phagocytic mechanisms. To determine the effects of d-lactic acid on bovine neutrophil functions, we pretreated cells with different concentrations of D-lactic acid and measured intracellular pH using 2',7'-bis-(2-carboxyethyl)-5-(and-6)-carboxyfluorescein acetoxymethyl ester (BCECF-AM) and calcium flux using FLUO-3 AM-loaded neutrophils. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was measured using a luminol chemiluminescence assay, and MMP-9/gelatinase-B granule release was measured by zymography. CD11b and CD62L/l-selectin expression, changes in cell shape, superoxide anion production, phagocytosis of Escherichia coli-Texas red bioparticles, and apoptosis were all measured using flow cytometry. Our results demonstrated that D-lactic acid reduced ROS production, CD11b upregulation and MMP-9 release in bovine neutrophils treated with 100 nM platelet-activating factor (PAF). D-lactic acid induced MMP-9 release and, at higher concentrations, upregulated CD11b expression, decrease L-selectin expression, and induces late apoptosis. We concluded that D-lactic acid can interfere with neutrophil functions induced by PAF, leading to reduced innate immune responses during bacterial infections. Moreover, the increase of MMP-9 release and CD11b expression induced by 10mM D-lactic acid could promote an nonspecific neutrophil-dependent inflammatory reaction in cattle with acute ruminal acidosis.     

Antagonism of detomidine with tolazoline in isoflurane-anaesthetised ponies

The effects of tolazoline (4.0 mg/kg iv) antagonism of detomidine (0.02 mg/kg iv) were evaluated in isoflurane-anaesthetised, ventilated ponies. Each of 6 ponies received both tolazoline and saline treatment during separate anaesthetic episodes only (no surgery was performed). Detomidine administration produced an increase in blood pressure, decrease in heart rate and decrease in P_aO₂ Tolazoline treatment transiently increased heart rate while blood pressure returned to baseline after both treatments. Arterial oxygenation decreased further after tolazoline treatment while oxgenation recovered towards baseline with saline treatment. No other cardiopulmonary effects were detected. Recovery from anaesthesia tended to be more rapid when detomidine was antagonized. The potential benefit of antagonizing detomidine-induced bradycardia with tolazoline, during isoflurane anaesthesia should be weighed against the potential to produce a decrease in arterial oxygenation. The mechanism for this effect is not clear.     

Antral Follicle Populations and Embryo Production – In Vitro and In Vivo – of Bos indicus–taurus Donors from Weaning to Yearling Ages

Interest in indicus–taurus cattle has been increasing, as these animals are likely to present the best characteristics of Zebu and European bovine breeds. The aim of this study was to compare the embryo production of indicus–taurus donors with high vs low antral follicle counts obtained by ovum pickup/in vitro production (OPU/IVP) and superovulation (SOV)/embryo collection. Braford females at weaning age (3/8 Nelore × 5/8 Hereford, n = 137, 9 ± 1 month old) were subjected to six serial ovarian ultrasonographs and were assigned to two groups according to the number of antral follicles ≥3 mm as follows: G‐High antral follicular count (AFC, n = 20, mean ≥40 follicles) and G‐Low AFC (n = 20, mean ≤10 follicles). When the females (n = 40) reached 24 months of age, they were subjected to both OPU/IVP and SOV/embryo collection. The average number of follicles remained highly stable throughout all of the ultrasound evaluations (range 0.90–0.92). The mean number of COCs recovered (36.90 ± 13.68 vs 5.80 ± 3.40) was higher (p < 0.05) for females with high AFC, resulting in higher (p < 0.05) numbers of total embryos among females with high vs low AFC (6.10 ± 4.51 vs 0.55 ± 0.83). The mean number of embryos per collection was also higher (p < 0.05) for G‐High vs G‐Low (6.95 ± 5.34 vs 1.9 ± 2.13). We conclude that a single ultrasound performed at pre‐pubertal ages to count antral follicles can be used as a predictor of embryo production following IVP and SOV/embryo collection in indicus–taurus females.     

Fertility of sows mated on different days of the week

The farrowing rates resulting from matings on different days of the week were determined for a 2800-sow intensive piggery in both 1983 and 1984. The results showed that sows mated early in the week achieved a significantly higher farrowing rate than sows mated late in the week (P less than 0.0001). During the seasonal (summer to autumn) infertility period, Wednesday matings resulted in a poor farrowing rate whereas for the rest of the year farrowing rates following Wednesday matings were similar to those for Sunday Monday and Tuesday matings. Consistent results were obtained for data from both years. It is proposed that the stress of regrouping unmated sows on Wednesday to accommodate newly weaned sows is responsible for this decrease in fertility. This study illustrates how detailed analysis of farrowing rates on a day of mating basis can identify a problem which is otherwise masked by weekly data.