Suppurative meningitis in a 7-day-old Formosan sambar deer (Cervus unicolor swinhoei) caused by Escherichia coli

This article describes the clinical and pathological features of an orphan 7-day-old, male Formosan sambar fawn that was hospitalized for treatment of weakness. The fawn had been deprived of colostrum and developed suppurative meningitis that was attributed to Escherichia coli.     

Dietary vitamin E requirement, fish performance and carcass composition of rohu (Labeo rohita) fry

A 90-day feeding experiment was conducted using flow through system to evaluate the requirement of vitamin E for rohu fry in relation to growth performance and to assess the relationship between the dietary vitamin E levels and carcass composition. Five semi-purified diets supplemented with 0, 50, 100, 150, 200 mg vitamin E/kg dry diet as --tocopheryl acetate were fed to rohu fry (av. wt.±S.E.=0.58±0.01 g) in triplicate groups. At the end of the experiment, growth and dietary performance were evaluated and vitamin E deposition in the tissue, erythrocyte fragility, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARs) were analyzed. The average net weight gains were 6.82±0.09, 7.38±0.03, 8.20±0.03, 8.07±0.09 and 8.12±0.08 (g/90 days), respectively, for fish fed diets 0, 50, 100, 150, 200 mg vitamin E/kg. The fish fed diets containing less than 100 mg supplemental vitamin E/kg had significantly (P<0.05) reduced weight gain, feed efficiency and other nutritional indices compared to those fed diets supplemented with vitamin E at 100–200 mg/kg. With the increasing level of vitamin E, both TBARs and erythrocyte fragility values were reduced. Regression analysis of weight gain data using broken-line model indicated a minimum vitamin E requirement of 131.91 mg/kg dry diet. The erythrocyte fragility and TBARs were maximum in fish fed the vitamin E-deficient diet. From the present experiment, it may be concluded that the vitamin E requirement of Labeo rohita fry for optimum growth and other dietary performances is 131.91 mg/kg of dry diet.     

Delayed-type hypersensitivity in sheep induced by synthetic peptides of bovine leukemia virus encapsulated in mannan-coated liposome

Four sheep were immunized with synthesized peptides, derived from bovine leukemia virus (BLV) envelope glycoprotein, encapsulated in mannan coated liposomes as adjuvant. On the seventh day after the immunization, the sheep were intradermally challenged with BLV antigen, or synthesized peptides. The areas challenged with antigen were increased skin thickness and biopsied sequentially for immunohistological examinations. Strong delayed-type hypersensitivity was induced in sheep immunized and challenged with peptides encapsulated in mannan-coated liposomes. The major phenotype of the infiltrating lymphocytes was CD5(+). The ratio of CD4(+) to CD8(+) cells was about 1:1.     

Jejunojejunal Intussusception and Colonic Impaction in a 12-Day-Old Orphan Foal

A 12-day-old, 14.4-kg, female foal of Australian Miniature Pony breed was presented at the National Chung Hsing University Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital, Taiwan, with a history of weakness of 2 days’ duration. The mare died of unknown cause on the previous day. Abnormal findings during physical examination included an estimated dehydration of 3 to 5%, dark red oral mucous membranes, elevated heart and respiratory rates, stiffened feces, and absence of intestinal motility on auscultation. Continual nursing care was followed by intravenous fluid therapy and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug and antibiotic treatment. The foal's condition deteriorated rapidly, and feeding was refused. Subsequently, she developed signs of pyrexia and panting. In spite of oxygen supplement, she died 18 hours after admission. Postmortem examination revealed the presence of a jejunojejunal intussusception, 20 cm in length; a torsion of jejunum proximal to the intussusception also was noted. An ulcerative lesion, 3 cm in diameter, was found on the mucosa of duodenum. Large amounts of sand, coat hair, and hay mantling in bloody discharge were observed in a colonic impaction. That it was an acute case was evident by the involvement of intussusception and ulceration, indicating desquamation of the necrotic epithelial cells with edema and distinct infiltration of neutrophils. These results suggested that a practical management strategy for nursing an orphan foal should be performed to avoid a similar case in the future.     

The expression of carbonic anhydrase in canine mammary gland and mammary gland tumor

Carbonic anhydrase (CA), a metallo-enzyme containing zinc, broadly distributes in mammalian tissues and participates in physiological regulation such as respiration, acid-base balance, ion transport, bone resorption, as well as the development of tumor by the reversible hydration of carbon dioxide. However the expression of CA in the tissue of mammary gland tumor was not documented. In this study we examine the histolocalization and gene expression of CA in both normal canine mammary gland tissue and mammary gland tumor by histochemical examination, and RT-PCR. Four mRNA expression of CA isoenzymes, such as CA II, IV, VI and IX were found under RT-PCR analysis and different band patterns were found between normal canine mammary tissue and canine mammary gland tumor tissue. CA II, IV, VI and IX gene mRNA expression were found in the normal mammary gland tissue, indicating CA II, IV, VI and IX are likely to be the essential enzymes to maintain the normal physiological condition of canine mammary gland tissue cells. However the expression of CA IV was not found in the tissue of malignant mammary gland tumor that may become the marker for the prognostic recognition of canine mammary gland tumor.