Breed and site predispositions of dogs with atopic dermatitis: a comparison of five locations in three continents

The objectives of this multicentre study were to analyse and compare breed predispositions and lesion distributions of 552 dogs diagnosed with atopic dermatitis from five different dermatologic referral centres located in Australia, Germany (2) and the United States (2). Breeds were compared with the canine population in the respective locations. Breed predispositions varied from geographical site, although golden retrievers and German shepherd dogs were predisposed in three of five practices. Lesions were present most commonly on the paws (62%), ventrum (51%), ears (48%) and face (39%). Various breeds had specific site predilections. Based on this study, breed predispositions can vary greatly both between continents and also between different locations on the same continent. In addition, some breeds showed predispositions for certain body sites which also varied in some instances with the geographical location.     

模拟技术在水库防洪预案中的应用(英文)

[目的]探讨模拟技术在水库防洪预案中的应用。[方法]在研究河流系统模拟相关理论的基础上,采用InfoWorks RS系统建立了河流系统洪水演进模拟数字化模型,并对校核标准洪水下泄进行了仿真模拟分析。[结果]利用基于InfoWorks RS软件的洪灾信息系统对校核标准下洪水下泄对下游的淹没情况进行模拟,得出了各断面最大流量时的各水力参数、各控制断面流量与流速度随时间的变化图、各断面水力要素随时间的变化图以及下游水库控制流域最大淹没面积风险分析图。[结论]为减少洪涝灾害造成的严重损失、制定防洪预案提供了参考。     

Nitrification in paleocene shale

Exchangeable ammonium nitrogen is present in Paleocene (Fort Union) shale below a depth of 10 meters in North Dakota and eastern Montana. Above 10 meters, exchangeable ammonium nitrogen is nitrified in situ. The lack of viable nitrifying organisms and the probable lack of oxygen prevent in situ nitrification below 10 meters. Shale samples incubated at 27 degrees C under nonsterile conditions or shales exposed to atmospheric contamination exhibited active nitrification without additional treatment.     

Investigation of the association between the interval from internal teat sealant administration to calving and early lactation clinical mastitis in New Zealand dairy heifers

AIMS: To examine the association between the interval from internal teat sealant (ITS) administration to calving and the incidence of farmer-recorded clinical mastitis in the first 30 days of lactation in pasture-based dairy heifers.

METHODS: Heifers that were administered an ITS by a single veterinary business in the South Island of New Zealand over the winter of 2014 were enrolled in a cross-sectional observational study. ITS was administered to all heifers on each participating farm on a single calendar day. The dates of calving and farmer-diagnosed clinical mastitis were recorded by farm staff. The interval from ITS administration to calving was categorised into four approximately evenly sized groups: <35, 35–48, 49–69 and >69 days. The quartile of the farm’s calving period in which each heifer calved was also investigated as a potential confounding variable. A hierarchical logistic regression model was constructed to determine the association between the interval from ITS administration to calving with the odds of clinical mastitis in the first 30 days of lactation.

RESULTS: Analysis was performed on 7,126 eligible heifers from 31 farms, with ITS administered between 9 May and 11 July 2014. The mean interval from ITS administration to calving was 52.9 (SD 24.4, min 1, max 137) days. Clinical mastitis was diagnosed in 420/7,126 (5.9 (95% CI=5.4–6.5)%) heifers between calving and day 30 of lactation. In the final multivariable model, which included calving period quartile, interval from ITS administration to calving was not associated with the odds of clinical mastitis (p=0.516). Compared to an interval from ITS administration to calving of <35 days, the adjusted OR of clinical mastitis for intervals of 35–48, 49–69 and >69 days were 0.83 (95% CI=0.59–1.17), 0.71 (95% CI=0.45–1.11) and 0.68 (95% CI=0.36–1.29), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Within the range of intervals from ITS administration to calving observed in this study, there was no association with the odds of clinical mastitis in the first 30 days of lactation in dairy heifers. This study suggests that veterinary clinics may be able to extend their ITS administration service and treat dairy heifers earlier than the current recommendation of approximately 4 weeks before the planned start of calving.     

Suspected inherited rickets in Corriedale sheep

A suspected inherited form of rickets was diagnosed in Corriedale sheep on a commercial sheep farm in Marlborough. Affected lambs were normal at birth but showed a reduced growth rate and a range of skeletal abnormalities, including both varus and valgus deformities and a characteristic dip in the shoulder region. Up to 20 affected lambs had been born on the property over the last two seasons. Skeletal lesions in affected lambs included swollen costochondral junctions, moderate to marked thickening of physes in long bones, and collapse of weakened subchondral bone, particularly in the proximal humerus. These lesions, together with the microscopic changes, strongly suggested a diagnosis of rickets. Affected lambs were hypocalcaemic and hypophosphataemic, consistent with a deficiency of vitamin D.

Vitamin D assays revealed significantly higher 1,25(OH) vitamin D concentrations in affected lambs than in controls, suggesting a defect in the vitamin D receptor as the likely mechanism. DNA testing revealed that 4/10 Corriedale rams used during the previous season had sired affected lambs. Studies aimed at confirming the genetic nature of the disease and the mechanism are continuing at Massey University.     

Effects of fish in river food webs

Experimental manipulations of fish in a Northern California river during summer base flow reveal that they have large effects on predators, herbivores, and plants in river food webs. California roach and juvenile steelhead consume predatory insects and fish fry, which feed on algivorous chironomid larvae. In the presence of fish, filamentous green algae are reduced to low, prostrate webs, infested with chironomids. When the absence of large fish releases smaller predators that suppress chironomids, algal biomass is higher, and tall upright algal turfs become covered with diatoms and cyanobacteria. These manipulations provide evidence that the Hairston, Smith, Slobodkin-Fretwell theory of trophic control, which predicts that plants will be alternately limited by resources or herbivores in food webs with odd and even numbers of trophic levels, has application to river communitics.     

Optical diffraction analysis of petrographic thin sections

Diffraction patterns that are highly reproducible, of useful quality, and consistent with the input generating them can be easily obtained with a microscope system. The input can be either a reduced photograph or a thin section. With two exceptions, the relationships between a thin section and its diffraction pattern produced by a petrographic microscope are the same as the relationships between a photographic input and its diffraction pattern produced by a conventional ODA system. The exceptions are that the diffraction patterns generated directly by the thin sections may be asymmetrical or, if the thin section is sufficiently heterogeneous, may be smeared. The microscope system is generally more useful than a conventional ODA system for the analysis of microfabric in thin sections. One can readily use the microscope system to analyze elements of widely varying spatial frequency simply by changing the objectives. The diffraction patterns can be magnified by changing to a higherpower ocular. In most cases the microscope-generated diffraction pattern transmits the useful spatial information in the thin section more completely than the conventionally produced diffraction pattern; the photographic inputs for the conventionally produced diffraction pattern emphasize lower-frequency spatial information. This property, combined with the microscope system's better response to twinning, makes the microscope more sensitive to commonly used microfabric elements. For the analysis of thin sections, a conventional ODA system is superior to the microscope system in only three cases. First, if one wants to analyze the entire thin section at one time, a conventional system must be used with a photographic input of the thin section. Second, if the thin section is extremely heterogeneous (crystallographically or mineralogically), the microscope-generated diffraction pattern may exhibit gross smearing even with the highestpower objectives available. Finally, the thin section may contain only elements of low spatial frequency that will not generate diffraction dots far enough radially from the central spot to be resolvable. More study will be needed to establish the precision of spatial frequency measurements from diffraction patterns generated directly by thin sections with the microscope system. Experiments with a variety of film types and sources of illumination will, in all likelihood, lead to a reduction in the exposure times used to record diffraction patterns with the microscope (9). A complete ODA system must have directional and frequency-filtering capabilities. In order to establish these capabilities for the microscope system, components will need to be designed and fabricated and the microscope body may have to be modified. The possibility of applying the microscope technique in reflected light on a real-time basis should be investigated. This would be a valuable tool in the quantitative analysis of microfracture initiation and propagation and the analysis of overall fabric changes during experimental deformation of rock both in situ and in the laboratory. The technique presented here can be used with a less expensive microscope, if it has a focusable Bertrand lens. Our experiments with relatively inexpensive microscopes indicated that the only major problem is alignment of the illuminating system (light-filter-condenser).     

Embryo rescue,for the production of F1 hybrids,in English rose

Summary The ability to recover embryos from achenes resulting from two sexual crosses of English rose varieties was investigated. Functional germination of recovered (rescued) embryos was considerably higher than for seed material when germinated conventionally. This technique also enabled the germination process to be fully controlled, and the aseptic techniques employed, avoided death of the germinating embryo due to fungal or bacterial infection. Seedlings, produced from recovered embryos, were successfully transferred to glasshouse conditions and matured to flowering plants. Many such plants exhibited combined floral characteristics of the two parent lines. The effects of media type, carbohydrate source and specifically the growth regulator BAP on the germination of recovered embryos was also assessed. The low percentage germination observed for achenes as used in this study, was due to both physical and chemical restrictions on the embryo. It is now therefore possible, to use embryo rescue techniques on English roses to recover flowering plants, of potential commercial value, that would normally be lost after sexual crossing.Abbreviations BAP 6-benzylaminopurine