Fibronectin concentration in plasma of mares and neonatal foals

Plasma fibronectin concentrations were measured in clinically healthy mares and their neonatal foals, using a modified human fibronectin competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Ranges of plasma fibronectin were established in clinically healthy horses, and the assay was reliable and reproducible. Plasma fibronectin concentrations were similar in mares and foals, both before and after colostrum ingestion.     

Where nothing stands still: quantifying nomadism in Australian arid-zone birds

Landscape Ecology - Nomadism is a movement strategy in response to non-seasonal environmental variability. Knowledge of nomadic species movements is poor but is necessary to understand life...     

Effects of oral administration of sodium citrate or acetate to pigs on blood parameters, postmortem glycolysis, muscle pH decline, and quality attributes of pork

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of oral administration of sodium citrate (CIT) or acetate (ACE) to pigs on blood parameters, postmortem glycolysis, pH decline, and quality attributes of pork. Previous studies have shown that CIT has the potential to inhibit phosphofructokinase (PFK), a key enzyme in postmortem muscle glycolysis. In Exp. 1, CIT, ACE, or water was orally administered (0.75 g/kg of BW) to 24 pigs. After a 30-min rest, pigs were exercised, and blood samples were taken at 45 and 75 min after oral treatment. Citrate and ACE tended (P = 0.08) to increase blood pH and increased (P = 0.02) bicarbonate levels immediately after exercise. After a 30-min rest, blood pH of pigs administered ACE tended (P = 0.09) to remain higher, whereas blood pH of CIT-treated pigs was similar to that of control pigs. Bicarbonate levels in ACE- and CIT-treated pigs were still greater (P < 0.05) than those of control pigs at 75 min after oral treatment. In Exp. 2, 30 pigs were administered CIT, ACE, or water 45 min before stunning (electric plus captive bolt). Antemortem treatments had no effect (P > 0.10) on muscle pH or postmortem concentrations of the glycolytic metabolites of glucose-6 phosphate, fructose-6 phosphate, fructose-1,6 bisphosphate, glyceraldehyde-3 phosphate, dihydroxyacetone phosphate, or lactate. Minor, but inconsistent, differences in quality attributes were found in LM chops, and no differences in quality attributes were found between control and CIT- or ACE-treated pigs for inside and outside semimembranosus muscles (P > 0.10). There was no significant inhibition of the PFK enzyme by orally administered CIT or ACE; however, the PFK glycolytic metabolite data analysis indicated that PFK was a main regulatory enzyme in postmortem muscle.     

A serological survey to determine the prevalence of infection with Treponema hyodysenteriae in Western Australia

A serological survey to detect antibody titres against Treponema hyodysenteriae was conducted on pigs from 106 herds in Western Australia. Titres indicating a positive result in the tests were determined by examining 400 sera from 4 herds known to be free of swine dysentery, and sera from immunised or experimentally infected pigs. Samples of serum from 40 bacon-weight pigs from each of the 106 herds were then collected at 2 abattoirs. Each serum was tested in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) against the lipopolysaccharide of T hyodysenteriae of serogroups A, B and E, respectively. To assist in evaluating the test, 19 herds were resampled and retested, and faecal samples from 17 herds were cultured for T hyodysenteriae. Thirty-five of the 106 herds (33%) had serological evidence of infection when only one batch of sera from each herd was tested. The ELISA to detect T hyodysenteriae infection in herds using 40 sera was estimated as having a sensitivity of 77.3% and a specificity of 81.8% based on the owners' opinion of their herds disease status. Prevalence of infection within herds ranged from 2.5% to 47.5%, with a mean of 18%.     

Haemoglobin and oxygen transport of the West Australian dhufish, Glaucosoma hebraicum Richardson, and other species

To better understand the possible role of deoxygenation of haemoglobin in the pathogenesis of exophthalmos in the West Australian dhufish, Glaucosoma hebraicum Richardson, some oxygen transport properties of haemoglobin from this species were determined and compared with haemoglobin from black bream, Acanthopagrus butcheri (Munro), snapper, Pagrus auratus (Bloch & Schneider) and King George whiting, Sillaginodes punctata (Cuvier). Dhufish had a single haemoglobin with a pronounced Root effect. Snapper and black bream blood had six and five types of haemoglobin, respectively. The magnitude of the Root effect of haemoglobins in the haemolysate was demonstrated by comparing oxygenation and total deoxygenation at pH 8 with relative deoxygenation at pH 6.9. Dhufish haemoglobin demonstrated a large Root effect, with the Root effect of King George whiting, snapper and black bream being of lesser magnitude. Deoxygenation of all haemolysates was more pronounced in the presence of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Seasonal changes in haematological parameters and ATP content of dhufish blood were not evident. The Root effect is discussed in the context of its possible role in oxygen supply to the retina and adaptation to the fish's habitat and the environment.