Taste of water in the cat: effects on sucrose preference

Electrophysiological recordings show that water is not tasteless to cats. Also, unlike most mammals, cats appear indifferent to sucrose, but this may be because the taste of the sucrose is masked by the taste of the water in which it is dissolved. When the water taste is suppressed by the addition of small amounts of sodium chloride, cats take sucrose avidly.     

Use of nonergot alkaloid-producing endophytes for alleviating tall fescue toxicosis in stocker cattle

Grazing studies were conducted to determine cattle growth performance, evaluate toxicosis, and compare grazing behavior in stocker cattle grazing nonergot alkaloid-producing endophyte-infected (AR542 or AR502), endophyte-free (E-), or wild-type toxic endophyte-infected (E+) Jesup, Georgia-5, and Kentucky-31 tall fescue. Replicated 0.81-ha tall fescue paddocks were established at the Central Georgia Branch Station at Eatonton and the Northwest Georgia Branch Station at Calhoun during October 1998 and were stocked with beef cattle for autumn and spring periods from fall 1999 through spring 2002. Mean ergot alkaloid concentrations were higher (P < 0.01) on E+ pastures than the other treatments at both locations. At Calhoun and Eatonton, post-treatment serum prolactin concentrations were decreased (P < 0.01) on E+ compared with AR542, AR502, and E- tall fescue. Cattle on AR542, AR502, and E- pastures had lower (P < 0.05) post-treatment rectal temperatures than cattle grazing E+ tall fescue during spring at Eatonton and Calhoun. Calf ADG was higher (P < 0.05) on AR542, AR502, and E- as compared with E+ tall fescue during autumn and spring grazing at Eatonton, and at Calhoun, cattle on E+ pastures had lower (P < 0.05) ADG in both autumn and spring. Gain/hectare was higher (P < 0.05) on AR542, AR502, and E- than on E+ during autumn at Eatonton and during spring at both locations. In autumn at Calhoun, gain/hectare was greater (P < 0.05) on AR502 and E- compared with E+ tall fescue. During April, May, and June, cattle grazing E+ pastures at Eatonton spent more (P < 0.01) time idling, more (P < 0.01) time standing, and used more (P < 0.01) water than cattle on AR542 and E- tall fescue. Daily prehensions and biting rate were each higher (P < 0.01) on AR542 and E- tall fescue than E+ tall fescue in both grazing seasons. There were no differences among pasture treatments for bite size in either spring (P = 0.50) or autumn (P = 0.34). Steers grazing E+ pastures had lower DMI than steers grazing AR542 and E- pastures during spring (P < 0.10) and lower DMI than steers grazing E- pastures during autumn (P < 0.05). Daily steer water usage was decreased (P < 0.10) in E+ pastures compared with AR542 and E- pastures during late fall. These results indicate that nonergot alkaloid-producing endophyte technology is a promising option for alleviating tall fescue toxicosis in stocker cattle.     

Epidemiological studies of pig diseases: 2. Post-weaning diarrhoea and performance in Western Australian pigs

Objective To determine in Australian pig herds the accuracy of French protocols for risk factor assessment of post-weaning diarrhoea and illthrift.
Procedure French protocols for the collection of data on health indicators and risk factors for post-weaning diarrhoea were conducted on 54 batches of weaner pigs from 28 Western Australian pig herds during three years.
Results Large variations in post-weaning performance were found. About one-third of the batches were growing at <200 g/day during the 3 weeks after weaning, and 54% had growth rates of <250 g/day. Weaning age and weight of at least 30 days and 7.9 kg, respectively, optimised weaner performance. Other risk factors associated with little post-weaning diarrhoea and good weaner performance were high creep feed intakes, relatively little diarrhoea as suckers, and, contrary to expectations, large temperature fluctuations.
Conclusion Overall, the 'predictability' of post-weaning problems as assessed by measurement of risk status, was good. However, the model was less accurate at predicting the performance of a single batch of pigs.     

Spraying will control potato flea-beetles

American Journal of Potato Research -     

Congenital polycystic kidney disease in lambs

AIM: To describe the pathology and inheritance of a congenital polycystic kidney disease (PKD) of sheep.

METHODS: Mode of inheritance of PKD was investigated by evaluation of results of the disorder from planned matings in two consecutive years within subsets of a flock that had a high prevalence of PKD in lambs. Gross pathological and histopath- ological studies were based on tissues derived from this study. Haematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained paraffin sections of kidney, liver, extrahepatic biliary and pancreatic ducts, pancreas and epididymis were used to describe the lesions.

RESULTS: Twenty-five lambs affected by PKD, of both sexes, were born, numbers in accord with those expected for an autosomal recessive disorder in the population studied. In all cases for which tissues were available, the renal, bile ductal (intrahepatic and extrahepatic), pancreatic and epididymal tissues had widespread dysplastic changes and associated cyst formation.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings of renal cysts in conjunction with cysts in other organs are unifying features in many of the human and animal forms of PKD and suggest a related pathogenic and genetic base consistent with an autosomal recessive disorder.     

Gut reactions of radioactive nitrite after intratracheal administration in mice

Intratracheal administration to mice of radioactive nitrite labeled with nitrogen-13 (13NO2-) (half-life, 9.96 minutes) in dosages that do not cause pharmacological perturbation reveals that oxidative and reductive reactions occur in different organs. Oxidation of 13NO2- to radioactive nitrate (13NO3-) predominates in the blood and liver. Reduction of 13NO2- occurs in those mice that harbor intestinal microflora; this reduction does not occur in germ-free mice. The intestinal reduction products include ammonium, glutamate, glutamine, and urea. With a detection limit of about 0.01 percent of the instilled nitrogen-13, no labeled nitrosamines were detected within 30 minutes. Reduced nitrogen-13 is transported out of the intensive into the circulatory system and appears in the urine along with 13NO3-. The biological half-period for 13NO2- destruction is about 7 minutes, and both oxidation and reduction products are formed.