Rhodococcus equi in the soil environment of horses in Inner Mongolia, China

Little is known about the distribution of Rhodococcus equi in the soil environment of native horses in China. One hundred and eight soil samples were collected from native-horse farms in the Hulun Beier grasslands of eastern Mongolia, the Xilin Goler grasslands of southern Mongolia, and Tongliao City in Inner Mongolia, China. The isolation rates of R. equi from soil samples from the Hulun Beier and Xilin Goler grasslands ranged from 25.9% to 30.0%. In contrast, isolation rates from soil samples from Tongliao City were as high as 82.3% and the mean number of R. equi in soil samples from Tongliao City was 10 times more than those of samples from the grasslands. The 488 isolates were examined using PCR for the presence of genes that encode virulence-associated 15-17 kDa antigen protein (VapA) and the 20 kDa antigen protein (VapB). All isolates were negative for virulence-associated proteins. Plasmid profiles of these avirulent isolates showed that cryptic plasmids of various sizes were present with an incidence of 13.3% to 21.5%. The results of the present study contrast with those of our recent study (J. Vet. Med. Sci. 67:611-613, 2005), in which we reported that R. equi was absent from Mongolian horses in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. It is suggested that the difference between the results of these two studies is due to the mobile pasturing system in Mongolia and nonmobile pasturing system in Inner Mongolia.     

Inhibition of growth hormone secretagogue receptor antagonist, [D-Lys-3]-GHRP-6, in adipogenesis of ovine and rat adipocytes

Ghrelin and growth hormone secretagogues receptor (GHS‐R or ghrelin receptor) have been reported as being one of the factors of adipogenesis in adipocytes. To investigate the involvement of ghrelin and GHS‐R in adipocytes, the effect of the GHS‐R antagonist, [D‐Lys‐3]‐GHRP‐6 (His‐D‐Trp‐D‐Lys‐Trp‐D‐Phe‐Lys‐NH₂), on the process of adipogenesis in ovine and rat adipocytes was evaluated. [D‐Lys‐3]‐GHRP‐6 (10^?7 mol/L) significantly inhibited adipogenic differentiation of ovine and rat preadipocytes prepared from adipose tissues. The level of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR)‐γ2 mRNA, an adipogenic marker, was decreased during the differentiation of adipocytes treated with [D‐Lys‐3]‐GHRP‐6 for 10 days. Ghrelin stimulated adipogenesis, also causing an increment of glycerol‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase and upregulation of PPAR‐γ2. Furthermore, the antilipolytic effect of ghrelin was attenuated by treatment with [D‐Lys‐3]‐GHRP‐6 in both types of isolated adipocytes. Overall, the results of the present study highlight that GHS‐R in adipogenesis can be blocked by treatment with [D‐Lys‐3]‐GHRP‐6.     

Zoogeographical barriers causing discontinuous osteometrical variations in the northern treeshrew skulls

Morphological variation of the skull was examined in the northern treeshrew (Tupaia belangeri) from various localities across Southeast Asia. Through a multivariate analysis, the treeshrews from South Vietnam exhibited distinct morphological characteristics compared to other populations from Thailand and Laos, and Malaysia. The plots of the specimens of North Vietnam are not randomly mixed with Thailand plots segregation in the scatteregrams of canonical discriminant analysis. Since the skulls of the population from North Vietnam were morphologically similar to those form central Laos and northern and northeastern Thailand, the zoogeographical barrier effect of Mekong River was not clearly confirmed. The population of the Kanchanaburi in western Thailand is clearly smaller in size compared to the other populations. The southern border of the distribution of this species is determined by the Isthmus of Kra or Kangar-Pattani Line. In the northern treeshrew, which is distributed from southern China to Bangladesh and southern Thailand, we have detected osteometrical geographical variation driven by geography. These results indicate that the skull morphology in the Tupaia glis-belangeri complex distinctively differs in South Vietnam, western Thailand, and southern Thailand. The zoogeographical barrier and factor separating these districts are expected to clarify in the future.     

Retrospective study on the outcomes and risk factors of right paramedian abomasopexy for right abomasal disorders in 47 dairy cows

Very few epidemiologic studies have verified the utility of the right paramedian abomasopexy (RPA) technique in cows with right abomasal disorders. This study aimed to investigate the outcomes and risk factors for non-survival in the herd within 30 days of surgery in cows with right abomasal disorders who underwent the RPA technique. Forty-seven Holstein cows with right abomasal disorders (25 with right abomasal displacement [RDA] and 22 with right abomasal volvulus [RAV]) were included. Twenty-two cows with RDA (22/25, 88.0%) and 10 cows with RAV (10/22, 45.5%) survived at 30 days post-surgery. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that hyponatremia, hypokalemia, and the presence of abomasal volvulus were the major risk factors associated with non-survival.     

Epidemiological survey,general blood biochemistry,and histological examination of slaughtered heavy horse breeds with hemorrhage in the adipose tissue in the crest of the neck

Fifty-four slaughtered horses were classified into groups having adipose tissue in the crest of the neck with or without hemorrhage (AH and NH groups, respectively). Blood biochemical tests (Alb, TP, T-bil, GOT, GPT, LDH, T-cho, and BUN) and an epidemiological survey (age, gender, weight, origin, breed, BCS, CNS, and hoof disease) were performed. T-bil tended to be high, while the other parameters were normal. Weight, BCS, and CNS were higher in the AH group (P<0.05). GOT was lower in the AH group (P<0.05). It was suspected that the horses in the AH group had lipomatosis. It was assumed that the adipose tissue of the horses in the AH group contained damaged capillaries, and inflammation was confirmed based on evidence of macrophages and lymphocytes.     

Effect of a commercial microbiological additive on beef manure compost in the composting process

We observed the effects of a commercial microbiological additive (MA) on the beef manure composting process and investigated the changes in its physical and chemical components and microbial populations in the composting process. When beef manure compost was inoculated with the MA, its temperature rapidly increased at the beginning of the process, and after the first turning, the ammonia emission from the compost pile and nitrate production decreased quicker than that in the composting process without the MA. During the composting process, the manure inoculated with MA showed a larger numbers of mesophilic and thermophilic aerobes, and a smaller number of thermophilic anaerobes than in the process without the MA. These results suggested that mesophilic aerobes increased in number and metabolized ammonia by assimilation rather than nitrification to accelerate the temperature elevation in the composting process with the MA.     

DYNAMIC COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY OF THE PANCREAS IN NORMAL DOGS AND IN A DOG WITH PANCREATIC INSULINOMA

To establish optimal imaging conditions for enhanced computed tomography (CT) for canine pancreatic tumors, 10 healthy beagles were subjected to dynamic CT. This technique was then applied to a dog with suspected insulinoma. The changes in mean peak enhancement and the delay time of the aorta and pancreas were determined. In normal beagles, maximal arterial and pancreatic CT enhancement was observed at 15 +/- 2 s (795 +/- 52 Housfield unit [HU]) and 28 +/- 9 s (118 +/- 16HU) after contrast medium injection, respectively. Multiphase enhanced CT was performed in a pug with suspected insulinoma using the CT protocol defined for the normal beagles with some parameters modified; the images were acquired at the arterial (14 s after contrast medium injection), pancreatic (after 28 s), and equilibrium (after 90 s) phases; scanning was followed by exploratory laparotomy. CT images were characterized by an enhanced mass in the left pancreatic lobe at the arterial phase, during which the difference between the CT values of the mass and normal pancreas was the highest. Histopathologic diagnosis of the pancreatic mass was insulinoma. Thus, it appears that enhanced CT imaging can be used to delineate the pancreas from a pancreatic mass, and it may be helpful in deciding the need for surgery.     

Isolation and characterization of sulfur oxidizing bacteria from cattle manure compost

Hydrogen sulfide causes offensive odors. We attempted to isolate sulfur oxidizing bacteria (SOB) from cattle manure compost. A most probable number assay could not detect SOB by using a Cha medium which had been applied in order to isolate the SOB from active sewage. Cultivation using a Cha plate medium revealed 5.75 × 10⁷ colony forming unit/g of bacteria. A single strain of SOB was isolated from a colony formed on the plates and identified as Halothiobacillus neapolitanus. This is the first report that H. neapolitanus has been found in cattle manure compost.     

Predator–prey size relationship in siphon cropping between the juvenile stone flounder Platichthys bicoloratus and the bivalve Nuttallia olivacea

ABSTRACT:   The purpose of the present paper was to examine the size relationship between the juvenile stone flounder Platichthys bicoloratus and the bivalve Nuttallia olivacea , the siphon of which is important prey for the juvenile flounder. Juvenile stone flounder feed mainly on tips of the inhalant siphon of the bivalve. The maximum width of siphon tips in the stomach contents of age-0 fish could not reach that of age-1 fish, although the siphons in age-0 fish became larger as they grew. This size discrepancy indicated a limitation in the size of bivalves available to juveniles. The proportion of total cropping frequency for the siphon of the bivalve by juveniles was estimated according to the bivalve size class. Most bivalves that had cropped siphon tips ranged from 5 to 30 mm in shell length. The total cropping frequency per bivalve was particularly intense on bivalves of 10–25 mm shell length in spite of their small proportion of 24.9% of the total. This frequency intensity indicated that the size of bivalves with cropped siphons by juvenile stone flounder might depend on the ability of juveniles rather than the size composition of the bivalves.