Cerebral infarction and meningoencephalitis following hot-iron disbudding of goat kids

CASE HISTORY: Twelve of 150 goat kids, 4–10 days old, died 3 days after disbudding with a hot iron. Another 18 kids had been ill the previous day but survived following antibiotic therapy. Five of the dead kids were necropsied.

PATHOLOGICAL FINDINGS: There was necrosis and haemorrhage of the skin, subcutaneous tissues and frontal bone at disbudding sites in all five kids examined post mortem. Beneath disbudding sites in 4/5 kids there were bilateral, dark red, often cavitated areas of necrosis extending deep into the frontal cortex of the brain. Histologically, these areas consisted of coagulation necrosis, haemorrhage, vascular thrombosis and suppurative inflammation. Numerous bacteria, predominantly large Grampositive rods, were present in the necrotic brain tissue. In the remaining kid, bilateral areas of yellow discolouration and flattening of gyri in frontal lobes corresponded histologically to extensive polioencephalomalacia. A mixed growth of aerobes and anaerobes was cultured from the brain of one kid with suppurative lesions.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Thermal disbudding of neonatal kids is widely practised in dairy goat herds and is considered the method of choice for disbudding in New Zealand. However, the skull of goat kids is much thinner than that of calves and the safety margin for thermal injury to the brain is markedly reduced. This report highlights the risks associated with the technique and its potential as a welfare issue.     

The Solar Acoustic Spectrum and Eigenmode Parameters

The Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) project estimates the frequencies, amplitudes, and linewidths of more than 250,000 acoustic resonances of the sun from data sets lasting 36 days. The frequency resolution of a single data set is 0.321 microhertz. For frequencies averaged over the azimuthal order m, the median formal error is 0.044 microhertz, and the associated median fractional error is 1.6 x 10(-5). For a 3-year data set, the fractional error is expected to be 3 x 10(-6). The GONG m-averaged frequency measurements differ from other helioseismic data sets by 0.03 to 0.08 microhertz. The differences arise from a combination of systematic errors, random errors, and possible changes in solar structure.     

Effects of residues of deltamethrin in cattle faeces on the development and survival of three species of dungbreeding insect

Objective To assess the toxicity to insects of drug residues excreted in cattle faeces following treatment with deltamethrin.
Design Bioassays were performed on one species of dung-breeding fly ( Musca vetustissima ) and two species of dung beetle ( Onthophagus binodis and Euoniticellus fulvus ).
Animals Cattle on properties near Kangaroo Valley, Canberra and Gundagai were treated with pour-on formulations of deltamethrin. Untreated animals acted as controls.
Procedures Faeces from treated and untreated cattle were inoculated with newly emerged fly larvae or fed to adults of two species of dung beetle. Percentage survival and duration of development provided measures of the toxicity of deltamethrin residues in faeces.
Results Residues of deltamethrin were excreted in concentrations sufficient to inhibit survival of larvae of M vetustissima for 1 to 2 weeks after treatment. Peak concentrations of 0.4mg deltamethrin/kg dry weight of faeces occurred 3 days after treatment and were sufficient to kill adult beetles for at least twice this period. With one of two formulations tested, there was evidence of a reduction in dung beetle fecundity and an increase in the duration of juvenile development. A model of the effect of deltamethrin on the breeding success of dung beetles in the field suggests that a single treatment, applied when most of the population is in a non-parous condition, may cause up to 75% reduction in beetle acitivity by the end of the season. Multiple treatments at 10 or 21 day intervals may drive local populations towards extinction.
Conclusion Depending on the time and frequency of treatment, the effect of deltamethrin on insects in cattle faeces may range from negligible to catastrophic.     

Inhibition of alpha-glucosidase in cattle by Castanospermum australe: an attempted phenocopy of Pompe''s disease

Pompe's disease is characterised by an absence of lysosomal alpha-glucosidase, but this enzyme is also inhibited by Castanospermum australe seeds. Four calves were fed C. australe seeds at the rate of 0.15 g/kg body weight for periods from 1 to 4 days. Lymphocyte alpha-glucosidase activity was reduced by at least 90%, with the majority of inhibition occurring within 8 h of dosing. Several weeks elapsed before activity returned to normal. Significant inhibition of muscle alpha-glucosidase occurred and the ratio of plasma alpha-glucosidase activity measured at pH 5.6 relative to that at pH 3.7 was depressed. In an attempt to induce Pompe's disease, 2 calves were dosed with 1.2 g C. australe seed/kg body weight/day for 13 months. Lymphocyte and muscle alpha-glucosidase activities were markedly reduced over the entire period of feeding, but the animals showed no clinical signs of disease. Tissue cells were not vacuolated nor did they show any apparent accumulation of glycogen. Despite significant inhibition of alpha-glucosidase in skeletal and cardiac muscle, liver, kidney and brain, it is suggested that there was sufficient residual enzyme to prevent induction of a phenocopy of Pompe's disease.     

Veterinary education in the era of information technology

SUMMARY A major innovation in the delivery of the veterinary curriculum is being implemented at The University of Melbourne using the subject of systematic bacteriology and mycology as a pilot project. Students receive course information as interactive, multimedia databases. These consist of text and an associated library of catalogued digital images, movies and sounds. The databases employ a hypermedia information system to achieve efficient integration within and between subjects. The new delivery method encourages greater autonomy and more active learning roles for students than occurs in traditionally taught courses. Students will use their databases as the principal resource of information for undergraduate studies. A unique feature of this system for delivering the curriculum is that students will modify and expand their databases during the course. The ultimate aim is for students at graduation to receive, on disc, a copy of their own databases, adapted by themselves to their particular future professional needs. As graduate veterinarians they will continue to use their databases as a major resource for information and learning, thus providing continuity from undergraduate to continuing postgraduate education.