Pain-related cerebral potentials in response to acute painful electrical stimulation in sheep

Objective To examine associations between late event-related cerebral potential amplitudes and behavioural responses to noxious electrical stimulation as an indicator of acute pain in sheep.
Design Analysis of variance for the effects of stimulus intensity on the behaviour and event-related cerebral potential variables.
Procedure Ninety-six brief constant current electrical pulse trains were presented to the front left leg of eight sheep at four intensities (2.5 to 10 mA) in a randomised order. An event-related cerebral potential and a graded flinch response were recorded for each stimulus and the 24 event-related cerebral potentials at each intensity were averaged to produce a mean waveform. Various components of this waveform were analysed and changes in these measures and the sheep's flinch response, as stimulus intensity increased, were determined.
Results Both the flinch response and some event-related cerebral potential components, that is, peak amplitudes 114 {N1}, 187 {P1}, 318 {P2} and 230 {Pm} ms after stimulus onset, were significantly affected as stimulus intensity increased.
Conclusion These corresponding behavioural and event-related cerebral potential changes indicate the usefulness of using changes in the event-related cerebral potential to measure acute pain in sheep.     

Pyloric outflow obstruction secondary to sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis in a dog

A 6-year-old, male neutered mixed breed dog was presented emergently with a three-week history of hyporexia, vomiting, diarrhoea and weight loss. Upon examination, the patient was dull, had generalised muscle atrophy, moderate abdominal pain and a mild amount of peritoneal effusion. A fluid-filled, distended, corrugated small bowel with marked gastroparesis and moderate peritoneal effusion was noted on abdominal ultrasonography. Endoscopy revealed hyperaemic and friable mucosa and a subjectively narrowed pylorus. Emergency exploratory celiotomy was performed due to worsening patient condition and revealed thick, diffuse, fibrous adhesions of the abdominal cavity. Based on these findings, sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis (SEP) was suspected. A large mass of omentum adjacent to the greater curvature of the stomach had caused a pyloric outflow obstruction. Adhesiolysis was attempted but was unsuccessful due to the friability of the small intestines. The dog was humanely euthanased under anaesthesia. A diagnosis of SEP was confirmed via necropsy. No underlying cause was identified. This is the first known case of a pyloric outflow obstruction secondary to SEP in a dog. Although rare, this condition should be considered as a differential for dogs with signs of a pyloric outflow obstruction with concurrent ascites and abdominal pain, hyporexia, vomiting and diarrhoea.     

Acute febrile diarrhoea in horses: 86 cases (1986–1991)

SUMMARY: Eighty-six horses presented for examination at the Rural Veterinary Centre between January 1986 to December 1991 with acute diarrhoea. The average age of affected horses was 3.2 ± 0.2 years (mean ± SE), with 69% three years or younger. Sixty-one horses were male (36 stallions, 25 geldings) and 83 horses were Thoroughbreds (47) or Standardbreds (36). Sixty-six horses were undergoing routine training at the time of onset of diarrhoea. Eight horses were afflicted with a non-specific illness within one to five days before the onset of diarrhoea, whereas eight horses developed diarrhoea during or within 48 h of discontinuation of antimicrobial therapy. Three horses developed the diarrhoea within 24 h of road transportation. Clinically, the disorder was characterised by a fever, sudden onset of profuse diarrhoea, clinical evidence of dehydration (estimated to be 5 to 12% of body weight at the time of admission) and shock. Degenerative leucopaenia, hyponatraemia, hypochloraemia, hyperkalaemia, hyperglycaemia and azotaemia were characteristic laboratory findings. Laminitis was a sequel in about 30% of cases. The cause of diarrhoea remained undetermined in most cases. Salmonellas were isolated from faecal or tissue samples in only two cases. Similarly, there was no evidence of seroconversion to Erhlichia risticii in 17 cases. Sixty-two of the horses survived the acute phase of the disease in response to supportive care. In horses that did not survive, necropsies were performed and revealed sanguineous or turbid peritoneal fluid. The colonic and caecal walls were oedematous and thickened with serosal congestion and discolouration of these organs evident grossly. Histopathological examination of the caecum and colon revealed diffuse congestion, oedema, inflammatory reactions and submucosal vascular thrombosis with varying degrees of mucosal devitalisation. Most cases presented in this series represent a distinct syndrome of diarrhoea characterised by acute diarrhoea predominantly affecting young horses in training with concomitant signs of fever and toxaemia.     

Comparison of the TBARS Assay and BODIPY C11 Probes for Assessing Lipid Peroxidation in Red Deer Spermatozoa

Several methods are used to measure lipid peroxidation (LPO) in spermatozoa. The objective of this study was comparing the thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) method and the BODIPY 581/591 C₁₁ (B581) and BODIPY 665/676 C₁₁ (B665) fluorescent probes to measure induced peroxidative damage in thawed epididymal spermatozoa from Iberian red deer. Samples from three males were thawed, pooled, diluted in PBS, incubated at room temperature and assessed at 0, 3, 6 and 24 h under different experimental conditions: Control, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) 0.1 mm or 1 mm , or tert‐butyl hydroperoxide (TBH) 0.1 mm or 1 mm . LPO was assessed by the TBARS assay [malondialdehyde (MDA) detection] and by the fluorescence probes B581 and B665 (microplate fluorimeter and flow cytometry). Increasing MDA levels were only detectable at 1 mm of TBH or H₂O₂. Both fluorescence probes, measured with fluorometer, detected significant increases of LPO with time in all treatments, except Control. Flow cytometry allowed for higher sensitivity, with both probes showing a significant linear relationship of increasing LPO with time for all oxidizing treatments (p < 0.001). All methods showed a good agreement, except TBARS, and flow cytometry showed the highest repeatability. Our results show that both B581 and B665 might be used for LPO analysis in Iberian red deer epididymal spermatozoa, together with fluorometry or flow cytometry. Yet, the TBARS method offered comparatively limited sensitivity, and further research must determine the source of that limitation.     

Three minimum tile paths from bacterial artificial chromosome libraries of the soybean (Glycine max cv. 'Forrest'): tools for structural and functional genomics

Background  

The creation of minimally redundant tile paths (hereafter MTP) from contiguous sets of overlapping clones (hereafter contigs) in physical maps is a critical step for structural and functional genomics. Build 4 of the physical map of soybean (Glycine max L. Merr. cv. 'Forrest') showed the 1 Gbp haploid genome was composed of 0.7 Gbp diploid, 0.1 Gbp tetraploid and 0.2 Gbp octoploid regions. Therefore, the size of the unique genome was about 0.8 Gbp. The aim here was to create MTP sub-libraries from the soybean cv. Forrest physical map builds 2 to 4.     

Influence of the FecXR Allele in Heterozygous Ewes on Follicular Population and Outcomes of IVP and ET using LOPU‐Derived Oocytes

Ewes heterozygous for the FecX^R allele (R+) in the bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15) gene display increased ovulation rate and prolificacy. Besides this phenotypic advantage, the influence of the FecX^R allele on follicle number and size, oocyte competence and in vitro production (IVP) remains undefined. With these aims, 8 R+ and 8 wild‐type (++) ewes were subjected to 2 laparoscopic ovum pick‐up (LOPU) trials (four sessions per trial; two with and two without FSH) and subsequent IVP and fresh embryo transfer. All follicles >3 mm were punctured (n = 1673). Genotype did not significantly affect the number of punctured follicles per ewe and session (10.4 and 10.2 in R+ and ++ untreated ewes, 17.4 and 14.3 in R+ and ++ FSH‐treated ewes, respectively), but follicular diameter of R+ ewes was significantly reduced compared with ++ ewes (?0.2 mm in untreated and ?0.8 mm in FSH‐treated ewes; p < 0.01). R+ ewes showed higher recovery rate and increased numbers of total and suitable cumulus–oocyte complexes for in vitro maturation (IVM). Similar rates of day 8 blastocysts were observed in R+ (36.1%, 147/407) and ++ (32.6%, 100/307) ewes, but the final output of day 8 blastocysts per ewe and session was higher in R+ ewes (+0.75; p < 0.005), without differences in survival rate at birth of the transferred embryos (40.4%, 21/52 vs 36.4%, 16/44, respectively). In conclusion, a higher number of oocytes proven to be competent for in vitro development and embryo survival after transfer are recovered from R+ ewes, despite the lower mean size of their follicles at puncture.