Relationship of Progesterone,Bovine Pregnancy-Associated Glycoprotein-1 and Nitric Oxide with Late Embryonic and Early Fetal Mortalities in Dairy Cows

The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship of progesterone (P4), bovine pregnancy-associated glycoprotein-1 (bPAG-1) and nitric oxide (NO) levels with late embryonic (LEM; day 28 to day 42) and early fetal mortalities (EFM; > day 42 to day 56) in dairy cows. Transrectal ultrasonography (6–8 MHz) was performed in 100 Holstein-Friesian cows at days 28, 42 and 56 after artificial insemination (AI; day 0) to diagnose pregnancy and to monitor the fate of the embryo. After ultrasound scanning of each cow, a milk sample was collected for assessment of P4 by an ELISA test and a blood sample was collected for assessment of bPAG-1, by using a double-antibody radioimmunoassay, and serum NO metabolites (nitrate + nitrite). Based on ultrasonographic examinations and bPAG-1-RIA, 41 of 100 inseminated cows were confirmed pregnant at day 28 after AI. Nine cows suffered of LEM, and 6 cows suffered of EFM and the overall pregnancy loss rate was 36.6% (15/41) between days 28 and 56 of pregnancy. By logistic regression analysis, there were no significant relationships between the level of P4 and bPAG-1 at day 28 after AI and the occurrence of LEM and EFM. Also, there were no significant relationships between the levels of P4 and bPAG-1 at day 42 and the occurrence of EFM. On the other hand, a significant relationship (P<0.05) was found between NO level at day 28 and the occurrence of LEM. In conclusion, measurement of the serum NO concentration at day 28 of pregnancy might help to predict the outcome of pregnancy by day 42 in dairy cows but further studies are needed to confirm this.     

High level of treatment failure with commonly used anthelmintics on Irish sheep farms

Background

In 2013 a Technology Adoption Program for sheep farmers was established to encourage the implementation of best management practices on sheep farms in Ireland. There were 4,500 participants in this programme in 2013. As part of this programme, farmers had the option to carry out a drench test to establish the efficacy of their anthelmintic treatment.

Results

Flock faecal samples were collected before and after treatment administration and gastrointestinal nematode eggs enumerated. In total there were 1,893 participants in the task, however only 1,585 included both a pre- and post-treatment faecal sample. Of those, 1,308 provided information on the anthelmintic product that they used with 46%, 23% and 28% using a benzimidazole (BZ), levamisole (LEV) and macrocyclic lactone (ML) product respectively. The remaining farmers used a product inapplicable for inclusion in the task such as a flukicide or BZ/LEV combination product. Samples were included for analysis of drench efficacy if the pre-treatment flock egg count was ≥200 eggs per gram and the interval post-sampling was 10–14 days for BZ products, 4–7 days for LEV products and 14–18 days for ML products. These criteria reduced the number of valid tests to 369, 19.5% of all tests conducted. If the reduction post-treatment was ≥95% the treatment was considered effective. Only 51% of treatments were considered effective using this criterion. There was a significant difference in efficacy between the anthelmintic drug classes with BZ effective in only 30% of treatments, LEV effective in 52% of cases and ML effective in 76% of cases.

Conclusions

Gastrointestinal nematode anthelmintic treatments, as practiced on Irish farms, have a high failure rate. There was a significant difference between the efficacies of the anthelmintic classes with BZ the least effective and ML the most effective.     

Effect of different fat sources on in vitro degradation of nutrients and certain blood parameters in sheep

This study was designed to determine the effects of calcium salt of palm oil fatty acids (CS), hydroxyethylsoyamide (HESA), butylsoyamide (BSA) and soybean oil (SO) on degradation of crude protein and fibre in vitro, and on the blood plasma lipid parameters in vivo. Five mature wethers (body weight 75 kg) were fed five diets in a 5 x 5 Latin square experiment. The control diet consisted of 50% meadow hay and 50% concentrate with no added fat. The control diet was supplemented with CS, HESA, BSA, or SO. Fat was added at 3.5% of dietary dry matter (DM). The final ether extract content of the ration was near 6%. Each period lasted 20 days. Fat supplements, except HESA, consistently decreased the in vitro DM disappearance of soybean meal as compared to control. In contrast to the effect of other treatments, crude protein degradation was greatest in the test tubes with inocula obtained from sheep fed diet with HESA. Fat supplements equally inhibited the DM and fibre breakdown of alfalfa pellet. CS and HESA seemed to be less detrimental to in vitro fermentation of neutral detergent fibre (NDF) than BSA and SO. All fat supplements increased blood plasma triglyceride, cholesterol and total lipid content. Plasma concentration of cholesterol and total lipid was highest with SO. The inclusion of CS in the diet increased 16:0, while all fat supplements increased plasma 18:0 and decreased 16:1 and 18:1 fatty acid content. Plasma 18:2n-6 was not changed by feeding CS and SO. However, compared to the control diet, 18:2n-6 increased with 12 and 41% in plasma fatty acids when sheep were fed HESA and BSA, respectively. The results showed that plasma concentration of linoleic acid was enhanced more when the amide was synthesised from butylamine than when from ethanolamine.     

Pathogenesis of reproductive failure induced by Trypanosoma vivax in experimentally infected pregnant ewes

The present study was aimed at investigating the effect of experimental infection by Trypanosoma vivax in different stages of pregnancy, determining the pathogenesis of reproductive failure, and confirming transplacental transmission. We used 12 pregnant ewes distributed into four experimental groups: G1, was formed by three ewes infected with T. vivax in the first third of pregnancy (30 days); G2 comprised three infected ewes in the final third of pregnancy (100 days); G3 and G4 were composed of three non-infected ewes with the same gestational period, respectively. Each ewe of G1 and G2 was inoculated with 1.25 × 10⁵ tripomastigotes. Clinical examination, determination of parasitemia, serum biochemistry (albumin, total protein, glucose, cholesterol, and urea), packed cell volume (PCV), serum progesterone, and pathological examination were performed. Placenta, amniotic fluid, blood and tissues from the fetuses and stillbirths were submitted to PCR. Two ewes of G1 (Ewe 1 and 3) presented severe infection and died in the 34^th and 35^th days post-infection (dpi), respectively; but both fetuses were recovered during necropsy. In G2, Ewe 5 aborted two fetuses on the 130^th day (30 dpi) of pregnancy; and Ewe 6 aborted one fetus in the 140^th day (40 dpi) of gestation. Ewes 2 and 4 delivered two weak lambs that died five days after birth. Factors possibly involved with the reproductive failure included high parasitemia, fever, low PCV, body score, serum glucose, total protein, cholesterol, and progesterone. Hepatitis, pericarditis, and encephalitis were observed in the aborted fetuses. The presence of T. vivax DNA in the placenta, amniotic fluid, blood, and tissues from the fetuses confirms the transplacental transmission of the parasite. Histological lesion in the fetuses and placenta also suggest the involvement of the parasite in the etiopathogenesis of reproductive failure in ewes.     

A retrospective study of non-suppurative encephalitis in beef cattle from western Canada

Non-suppurative encephalitis occurs sporadically in beef cattle in western Canada, leading to loss of animals. This retrospective study investigated the presence of viral, bacterial, and protozoal antigens or DNA in 37 western Canadian feedlot cattle with non-suppurative encephalitis for which a cause had not been identified. Cases were selected based on the age of the animal (> 7 months), and clinical history of recumbency and depression. The identification of rabies in 1 case stresses the importance of including this viral disease in the list of differential diagnoses. Because there was variation in the severity, distribution, and type of lesions, it is possible that there may be more than 1 cause, but failure to identify an infectious agent might also suggest that non-infectious agents could play a role.     

Anthracnose of three-leaf akebia (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Akebia trifoliata</Emphasis> Koidzumi) caused by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Colletotrichum acutatum</Emphasis>

In October 2001, anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum acutatum Simmonds ex Simmonds was found on three-leaf akebia (Akebia trifoliata) in Saitama, Japan. This is the first report of anthracnose on three-leaf akebia caused by C. acutatum.     

Phytopathogenic fungi new for southern Anatolia,Turkey

Twenty-nine new records are reported from Turkey. The fungi species, including their macro-and microscopic features and distributions, are described. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting July 14, 2004.     

Conduciveness of different soilless growing media to <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pythium</Emphasis> root and crown rot of cucumber under near-commercial conditions

Substrates made from rockwool, coir dust, pumice and perlite were compared for conduciveness to Pythium root and crown rot in cucumber under near-commercial conditions. Rockwool slabs of 7 cm height were more conducive to the Pythium disease than coir dust slabs, pumice or perlite under these conditions. Temperature, oxygen concentration and water content were determined in the substrates to explain differences in conduciveness between the inorganic substrates rockwool, pumice and perlite by differences in the physical conditions. Temperature and oxygen concentration could not explain the differences but the higher disease level on rockwool was associated with a much higher water content of this substrate as compared to coir dust, pumice and perlite. Increasing the height of the substrate from 7 to 14 cm greatly decreased the percentage of diseased plants due to the Pythium disease on rockwool but had no effect on the level of disease on perlite when the substrate had been infested 4 cm below the planting hole. This difference in response in substrate height between rockwool and perlite could be explained by a much larger decrease in water content with substrate height in the rockwool than in the perlite substrate. Temperature in the substrates were above 30 °C for more than 6 h on sunny days in June and reached maximum values of 35 °C or more. These temperatures are highly favourable for the pathogen P. aphanidermatum but will have adverse effects on most biocontrol strains.     

Fusarium oxysporum- und F. proliferatum-Isolate aus Spargel und deren Pathogenit?ts��berpr��fung in einer modifizierten in vitro-Schnelltestmethode

Fusarium oxysporum and Fusarium proliferatum are important causal agents of crown and root rot of asparagus. In order to detect differences in pathogenicity and aggressiveness, two F. proliferatum and five F. oxysporum single spore isolates from asparagus spears from plantings in Austria and Germany, 55 pure cultures of F. oxysporum from asparagus roots from a planting in Hesse, Germany, and a single F. oxysporum isolate from an asparagus shoot collected in Austria were evaluated in a 28-day quick test on Hoagland??s agar in glass culture tubes. Plantlets were inoculated with spore suspensions from each respective isolate after 14 days of growth under sterile, controlled conditions in a growth chamber. A severity scale was used to assess symptoms on roots two weeks after inoculation. The effects of the single-spore isolates on root and shoot fresh weights of the plantlets were also determined. The pathogenicity of the majority of the F. proliferatum and F. oxysporum isolates included in this study was confirmed. Inoculation with pure and single-spore cultures resulted in elevated disease severity in comparison to non-inoculated controls. In particular, the two F. proliferatum isolates were found to be more aggressive than the F. oxysporum isolates. Moreover, all single spore isolates caused a reduction in fresh weight of roots and shoots in comparison to the controls. With respect to differences among asparagus cultivars, ??Ramos??, was found to be more susceptible than ??Ravel??. Overall, the quick test method was found to be capable of evaluating the pathogenicity and aggressiveness of the tested F. oxysporum and F. proliferatum isolates towards asparagus within 28 days.