Serum antibody response to Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay after experimental and natural infection of pigs

Studies were conducted under experimental and field conditions to determine the effect of infection with M. hyopneumoniae on the immune response in serum as measured by ELISA. Following intratracheal challenge or contact exposure, serologically negative pigs derived from mycoplasma-free piggeries developed an immune response within 10 days. This response continued to rise for a further 50 days. In a field study in a commercial piggery, no animals (0/44) were observed to have M. hyopneumoniae antibodies at day 86 of life. However between day 86 and day 144, 97.7% (42/43) animals sero-converted. These results are discussed in terms of infection spread, particularly in the grower/finisher shed.     

Seasonal Variation of Plasminogen Activator Activity in Spermatozoa and Seminal Plasma of Boar,Buck, Bull and Stallion

Plasminogen activators (PA) are proteolytic enzymes present in the spermatozoa and seminal plasma of various species. They play a role in the binding of the spermatozoon and its penetration through the layers surrounding the oocyte. Plasminogen activator activity (PAA) is modulated by hormones that have a seasonal variation, such as testosterone and melatonin. The present study investigates the seasonal variation of PA activity in sperm extracts and seminal plasma of four farm animal species: boar, buck, bull and stallion. Semen samples were collected every second week during a 12‐month period and PAA was determined. With respect to sperm enzyme activity, the boar showed a peak from late January until the beginning of April, whereas the activity in the bull was at the highest levels from April until October and gradually declined during autumn and winter period. Plasminogen activator activity of stallion spermatozoa peaked during March and April, and remained low throughout the rest of the year, whereas in the buck sperm, PAA increased from late October until the end of January. No biologically significant variation was detected regarding the seminal PAA activity in any of the species studied. While seasonality of reproduction is typically studied from the female perspective, the present data provide compelling information about a factor that may affect the reproductive ability of the male.     

Analgesic management of an eight-year-old Springer Spaniel after amputation of a thoracic limb

Analgesic agents were administered perioperatively to an eight-year-old Springer Spaniel undergoing amputation of its right thoracic limb. The amputation was carried out due to a painful, infiltrative and poorly differentiated sarcoma involving the nerves of the brachial plexus. A combination of pre-emptive and multimodal perioperative analgesic strategies was used; including intravenous (IV) infusions of fentanyl, morphine, lidocaine and ketamine.