Femoral component failure in canine cemented total hip replacement: a report of two cases

Femoral stem fracture is reported as an uncommon late complication of cemented total hip replacement in two dogs. In each case surgical salvage was achieved by extirpation of the proximal unstable component of the femoral stem, resulting in acceptable limb function. To the authors' knowledge, intramedullary femoral stem failure has not been previously reported after cemented total hip replacement in the dog. Factors believed to have contributed to implant failure in these dogs are discussed and compared with the same complication in humans.     

Detection of Babesia and Theileria species infection in cattle from Portugal using a reverse line blotting method

Babesiosis and Theileriosis are tick-borne diseases widespread in tropical and sub-tropical regions with high economic impact worldwide. In Portugal there are at least 4 tick vectors known to be competent for the transmission of Babesia and Theileria sp. identified: Rhipicephalus bursa, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus, Ixodes ricinus and Haemaphysalis punctata. All these potential Babesia and Theileria tick vectors are widely distributed in Portugal, although they are predominant in the Southern region. In this study, 1104 cattle blood samples were randomly collected from Central and Southern regions of Portugal and analyzed by PCR-reverse line blotting (RLB) for the detection of Babesia and Theileria sp. Testing indicated that 74.7% of the bovines tested were positive for either Babesia and/or Theileria sp. In addition, five different apicomplexan species, namely, Theileria buffeli, Theileria annulata, Babesia divergens, Babesia bovis, and Babesia bigemina were detected by RLB among the bovines tested. T. buffeli was the most frequently found species, being present in 69.9% of the positive samples either as single infections (52.4%), or as mixed infections (17.5%). The Babesia specie most frequently found was B. divergens, detected in 4.2% of the infected bovines. Overall, infected bovines were found in all regions tested; however the highest number of infected bovines was observed in évora district (96.2%) and in cattle from Limousin breeds (81.7%). The results indicate widespread Babesia and Theileria infections in Portuguese bovines, suggesting the need for improved control of ticks and tick-borne diseases.     

Whole Blood Manganese Concentrations in Dogs with Congenital Portosystemic Shunts

Background: Manganese (Mn) is an essential mineral that is a cofactor for many enzymes required in the synthesis of proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids. Because hepatic clearance is essential in Mn homeostasis, conditions in humans resulting in hepatic insufficiency including cirrhosis and both acquired and congenital portosystemic shunting have been reported to result in increased blood Mn concentrations and increased Mn content in the central nervous system. Because Mn toxicity causes neurologic disturbances, increased Mn concentrations have been implicated in the pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy.
Hypotheses: Dogs with congenital portosystemic shunts (cPSS) have significantly higher whole blood Mn concentrations than do healthy dogs or those with nonhepatic illnesses.
Animals: Eighteen dogs with cPSS, 26 dogs with nonhepatic illnesses, and 14 healthy dogs.
Methods: Whole blood Mn was measured by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The diagnosis of cPSS was made by ultrasonography or during celiotomy either by visual inspection of a shunting vessel or portovenography.
Results: Dogs with a cPSS had significantly higher whole blood Mn concentrations than did healthy dogs and dogs with nonhepatic illnesses. Whole blood Mn concentrations were not significantly different between healthy dogs and dogs with nonhepatic illnesses.
Conclusion and Clinical Importance: Dogs with a cPSS have significantly increased whole blood Mn concentrations. Additional studies are warranted to investigate the role of Mn in cPSS-associated hepatic encephalopathy.     

Mycobiota and Ochratoxin A in laboratory mice feed: preliminary study

The occurrence of mycotoxin-producing moulds in animal feed is a hazard for animals. When these undesirable substances contaminate laboratory animal feed, convey an additional problem in experimental animal assays confidence levels. The aim of this study was to evaluate fungal contamination and to determine natural occurrence of Ochratoxin A (OTA) in 31 samples. OTA is a mycotoxin produced by fungi of two genera: Penicillium and Aspergillus. OTA has been shown to be nephrotoxic, hepatotoxic, teratogenic and immunotoxic to a number of animal species and to cause kidney and liver tumors in mice and rats. In this preliminary study, feed mould counts ranged from 3 to 4.2 log₁₀ cfu/g (colonies forming units per gram). When these species are present, there is a significant risk of contamination with mycotoxins resulting in both acute diseases called mycotoxicoses and chronic conditions, often recognized as situations involving mycotoxins. The most frequent genus isolated was Cladosporium sp. (84%), followed by Aspergillus niger and Penicillium (81%) and Mucor sp. (77%). All rat feed samples were examined for OTA, using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The detection limit was 2.0 μg OTA kg⁻¹ and all samples revealed to be negative for this mycotoxin. These mycotoxicological researches put in evidence the importance of the use contaminant-free experimental animal feed in order to prevent any interference on the health of experimental animals and emphasizes the need for systematic control of the feed as a key issue in animal experimentation.     

Impact of harvest residues,fertilisers and N-fixing plants on growth and nutritional status of young <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eucalyptus globulus</Emphasis> plantations,under Mediterranean conditions

Growth and nutritional status of young plants of Eucalyptus were assessed in a field trial, under different scenarios of harvest residue management and nutrient availability. Treatments were as follows: incorporation of harvest residues into the soil by harrowing (I); I with N fertiliser application (IF); I with leguminous, Lupinus luteus L., seeding (IL); removal of harvest residues (R); R with N fertiliser application (RF); R with leguminous seeding (RL); distribution of harvest residues on the soil surface (S); S with N fertiliser application (SF). Treatments were replicated four times in four blocks with a fully randomised design. Tree growth (height and diameter at breast height) was measured and understory biomass destructively recorded. Tree nutritional status was assessed by foliar analysis (N, Ca, Mg, P, K and leaf area). Significant differences in growth between I, R and S treatments were only detected at early stage. Intercropping with Lupinus decreased tree growth during the early phase, but after 5 years growth was similar to that measured in the I and R treatments. Application of fertiliser enhanced tree growth especially when harvest residues were retained on the soil surface. Combining incorporation of harvest residues with fertiliser application (IF) was the best option to increase tree growth, which was significantly greater than in the R and S. Initially, leaf N was positively affected by the leguminous (RL and IL), but, after the first fertiliser application (1 year after planting), greater N was observed in the IF, RF and SF, the difference decreasing gradually over the following years.     

Mapping soil and pasture variability with an electromagnetic induction sensor

The general objective of this study was to test a non-contact electromagnetic induction probe to evaluate the soil and pasture variability in a precision agriculture project. Assessment of the variability of soil and vegetation in a permanent pasture is the basis for management of variable rate fertilization, which is the main instrument used by farmers for improvements in permanent pasture in Alentejo, Portugal. The traditional process of sampling and evaluation of the soil is very demanding in terms of time, labour and reagents, and can derail a project of precision agriculture. This paper describes the major steps followed by the authors to simplify the methodology of soil evaluation in a permanent pasture based on measuring the apparent soil electrical conductivity. Tests were carried out in a parcel of approximately 6 ha, which was subdivided into 28 m × 28 m squares. The soil samples and the evaluation of apparent electrical conductivity were geo-referenced with a global positioning system. The geospatial data were processed by ArcGIS software and the statistical analysis resulted in significant correlation coefficient values between apparent electrical conductivity and altitude, soil pH and pasture dry matter yield.     

Sorghum silage quality as determined by chemical–nutritional factors

Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is an ensilable tropical plant known as a good alternative to maize crops in regions with scarce rainfall. The objective of this trial was to obtain prediction models based on nutritional contents and end products of sorghum silage fermentation as related to the dry-matter composition of fresh plants before ensiling. Eleven different sorghum cultivars (including silage, graniferous and sweet types) were used. Twenty-five sorghum plots were harvested between 80 and 120 days of growth. Fifty plastic buckets were used as experimental microsilos and opened between 60 and 90 days of storage. Statistical modelling was used to create a prediction equation that could explain the impact of fresh sorghum composition on the chemical and nutritional composition of its silage. A complex model was detected by stepwise multiple regression to predict the difference of in vitro dry-matter digestibility (IVDMD) before and after ensiling, but a simpler model, which involved only the sum of water-soluble carbohydrate (fWSC) and hemicellulose (fHemi) concentrations in the dry matter of fresh forage, was considered to more usable. It had an acceptable coefficient of determination (0.51). The higher amount of WSC and Hemi in fresh sorghum linearly decreased the difference between IVDMD before and after the ensiling process. A WSC concentration of 125.4 g/kg DM in fresh sorghum is recommended for an ideal silage fermentation when considering pH and lactic acid levels, although ethanol levels continued to increase.     

Effects of anthropogenic silt on aquatic macroinvertebrates and abiotic variables in streams in the Brazilian Amazon

Purpose  

While environmental risks associated with petroleum extraction such as oil spills or leaks are relatively well known, little attention has been given to the impacts of silt. The increase in petroleum exploitation in Amazonia has resulted in sediment input to aquatic systems, with impacts on their biodiversity. Here we use a combination of field measurements and statistical analyses to evaluate the impacts of anthropogenic silt derived from the construction of roads, borrow pits, and wells during the terrestrial development of gas and oil, on macroinvertebrate communities in streams of the Urucu Petroleum Province in the Central Brazilian Amazon.     

Assessment of the plant growth promotion abilities of six bacterial isolates using Zea mays as indicator plant

Zea mays, one of the most important cereals worldwide, is a plant not only with food and energy value, but also with phytoremediation potential. The use of plant growth promoting (PGP) rhizobacteria may constitute a biological alternative to increase crop yield and plant resistance to degraded environments. In search for PGP rhizobacteria strains, 6 bacterial isolates were isolated from a metal contaminated site, screened in vitro for their PGP characteristics and their effects on the growth of Z. mays were assessed. Isolates were identified as 3A10^T, ECP37^T, corresponding to Chryseobacterium palustre and Chryseobacterium humi, and 1ZP4, EC15, EC30 and 1C2, corresponding to strains within the genera Sphingobacterium, Bacillus, Achromobacter, and Ralstonia, respectively. All the bacterial isolates were shown to produce indole acetic acid, hydrogen cyanide and ammonia when tested in vitro for their plant growth promoting abilities, but only isolates 1C2, 1ZP4 and ECP37^T have shown siderophore production. Their further application in a greenhouse experiment using Z. mays indicated that plant traits such as root and shoot elongation and biomass production, and nutrient status, namely N and P levels, were influenced by the inoculation, with plants inoculated with 1C2 generally outperforming the other treatments. Two other bacterial isolates, 1ZP4 and ECP37^T also led to increased plant growth in the greenhouse. These 3 species, corresponding to strains within the genera Ralstonia (1C2), Sphingobacterium (1ZP4), and to a strain identified as C. humi (ECP37^T) can thus be potential agents to increase crop yield in maize plants.     

Soils in the semi-arid area of the El Melah Lagoon (NE Tunisia) — Variability associated with a closing evolution

Soils of the semi-arid area of the El Melah coastal lagoon (NE Tunisia), with a closing evolution dynamic, were studied aiming: (1) the chemical and mineralogical characterization of surface and subsurface layers of soil profiles from locations previously submerged and of soils developed on dunes; (2) to evaluate the dependence on the environment conditions of the geochemical patterns of the soils; and (3) to determine chemical and mineralogical variations with the emersion of the sediments resulting from the decrease in the extent of the area permanently covered by water in the lagoon. The compositional results obtained showed significant differences depending on the environment (littoral plain, old dunes and sandy spit), but soils of the different environmental zones studied do not appear to be significantly polluted as far as trace elements are concerned. Among the elements studied, high element/Sc ratios and variations were found for As, Sb and Zn. Antimony is more concentrated in coarser samples suggesting its adsorption in Fe or Mn oxides coating quartz grain surfaces. Arsenic and zinc may be incorporated into the carbonates structure, as well as adsorbed on, or coprecipitated with, iron oxides. Zinc may also be significantly incorporated in clay minerals. Iron was found to be more oxidized in the cultivated soil from the old dune strand; and more reduced in the sandy spit where ankerite occurs suggesting the reduction of Fe³⁺ in oxide/hydroxides by microorganisms and incorporation of Fe²⁺ in carbonates. REE patterns, particularly the HREE/LREE are correlated with carbonates, indicating preferential incorporation of the HREE in carbonates, and of the LREE in clay minerals/iron oxides. High Ga contents were found in soils and sediments rich in clay minerals/Al, suggesting its incorporation in clay minerals structure. Therefore, Ga may be used as an indicator of the clay minerals proportion in sediments and soils. Carbonates, sulphates, besides Fe and/or Mn oxides and clay minerals, appear to play an important role on the trace elements distribution.