Acute cortisol responses of calves to scoop dehorning using local anaesthesia and/or cautery of the wound

Objective To measure plasma cortisol responses in calves dehorned using a scoop after administration of local anaesthesia and/or cautery of the wounds.
Design A physiological study with controls.
Procedure There were six treatments: control handling with and without local anaesthesia, dehorning, dehorning after local anaesthesia, dehorning followed by wound cautery, and dehorning after local anaesthesia followed by wound cautery. Blood samples were taken before and after dehorning.
Results Dehorning caused an increase in plasma cortisol concentrations, which decreased a little to plateau values and then declined to pretreatment values 3 to 4 h after dehorning. The peak was smaller after local anaesthesia was administered but when its effects wore off, cortisol concentrations increased and thereafter were similar to those in the dehorned animals. The combination of local anaesthesia and cautery resulted in a plasma cortisol response similar to those in control calves with or without local anaesthesia.
Conclusions If plasma cortisol concentrations reflect the distress being experienced by the calves, then local anaesthesia reduces the acute distress for about 3 h after dehorning but not during the subsequent 3 to 4 h. Combining local anaesthetic and cautery prevented the significant increase in plasma cortisol following dehorning and may eliminate the acute distress caused by scoop dehorning.     

Management of inappetant sheep during export by sea

In the first of 2 experiments, a simulated voyage was conducted to examine the effects of various treatments on bodyweight change and feeding frequency of inappetant sheep at the end of lot-feeding (non-feeders). The treatments, applied during simulated shipping, were: normal quantities of feed and length of troughs; extra trough length; extra feed. Adult Merino wethers (n = 108) were used in each treatment. A voyage to the Middle East was then conducted to establish whether shipboard mortality could be reduced by separating non-feeders (n = 305) from feeders (n = 5,620) late in the feedlot hase and housing the groups separately aboard ship. A control group of non-feeders (n = 215) mixed with feeders (n = 5,732) was used for comparison. Bars (marker bars), containing a coloured dye, were attached to feed troughs to mark sheep that fed. Most non-feeders (82%) began eating when placed in shipping pens in both studies. However, there was no significant difference in percentage of sheep that fed between non-feeders given extra trough length or extra feed compared with non-feeders given standard management at any stage of simulated shipping. There was no significant difference in mean bodyweights between treatment groups on days 1, 8 and 15 of simulated shipping. Differences in bodyweight on d 22 were probably associated with different levels of gut fill. Death rates were not significantly different in separated and control groups (1.1%, 0.9%, P = 0.6) in the voyage of 14 d to the Middle East.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Carbohydrate metabolism and hepatic zonation in the Atlantic hagfish,Myxine glutinosa liver: effects of hormones

Viable Atlantic hagfish (Myxine glutinosa) hepatocytes were isolated from combined or separated large and small lobes and carbohydrate metabolism was studied. Cells had low levels of glycogen (16–30 μmol·g⁻¹), and low rates of total glucose production (TGP; 0–480 nmol·h⁻¹·g⁻¹ cells). Lactate flux to glucose (5.5 nmol·h⁻¹·g⁻¹) and CO₂ (76 nmol·h⁻¹·g⁻¹) was lower than reported values for teleosts, with a low percentage (30%) of the lactate carbon reaching glucose. Insulin significantly increased total glucose production and gluconeogenesis and decreased 6-phosphofructo 1-kinase (PFK-1) activities and glucose oxidation, while glucagon was without effect on any parameter studied. Forskolin significantly increased TGP. Epinephrine (Epi), norepinephrine (NEpi), isoproterenol (Iso), and phenylephrine (Phe) all decreased CO₂ production from lactate; propanolol blocked the effects of Epi, NEpi, and Iso. The large lobe, accounting for 65% of total liver mass, had a higher glycogen content and higher CO₂ production from lactate compared to the small lobe. Furthermore, enzyme activities in the large lobe were greater than in the small lobe, with the exception of glycogen phosphorylase (GPase) which exhibited smaller %a values in the large lobe. These data indicate the presence of a hormonally-responsive carbohydrate metabolism in hagfish hepatocytes, which is qualitatively and quantitatively different between the two liver lobes.     

Identification of Arcanobacterium pluranimalium by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry and,as novel target,by sequencing pluranimaliumlysin encoding gene pla

In the present study 13 Arcanobacterium pluranimalium strains isolated from various animal origin could successfully be identified phenotypically by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and genotypically by sequencing 16S rDNA and the pluranimaliumlysin encoding gene pla. The detection of mass spectra by MALDI-TOF MS and the novel genotypic approach using gene pla might help to identify A. pluranimalium in future and might elucidate the role this species plays in infections of animals.     

Serum Biomarkers of Clinical and Cytologic Response in Dogs with Idiopathic Immune‐Mediated Polyarthropathy

Background

Immune‐mediated polyarthopathy (IMPA) is common in dogs, and is monitored by serial arthrocenteses.

Hypothesis/Objectives

Plasma C‐reactive protein (CRP), interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), and CXCL8 (interleukin‐8) would serve as noninvasive markers of joint inflammation in IMPA.

Animals

Nine client‐owned dogs with idiopathic IMPA; 6 healthy controls.

Methods

Prospective study. Plasma CRP, IL‐6, and CXCL8 were measured by ELISA at baseline, 2, and 4 weeks during treatment with prednisone at 50 mg/m²/day. Arthrocenteses, the canine brief pain inventory (CBPI), and accelerometry collars were used to assess joint inflammation, lameness, and mobility at all 3 time points.

Results

C‐reactive protein concentrations were higher in IMPA dogs (median 91.1 μg/mL, range 76.7–195.0) compared with controls (median <6.3 μg/mL, <6.3–13.7; P = .0035), and were significantly lower at week 2 (10.6 μg/mL, <6.3–48.8) and week 4 (<6.3 μg/mL, <6.3–24.4; P < .001).C‐reactive protein was correlated with median CBPI scores (r = 0.68; P = .0004), joint cellularity (r = 0.49, P = .011), and mobility by accelerometry (r = −0.42, P = .048). Plasma IL‐6 concentrations were also higher in IMPA dogs (median 45.9 pg/mL), compared with controls (median <15.7 pg/mL; P = .0008). IL‐6 was lower in IMPA dogs by week 4 (<15.7 pg/mL; P = .0099), and was modestly correlated with CBPI scores (r = 0.47, P = .023). CXCL8 did not differ significantly between IMPA and healthy dogs.

Conclusions

Plasma CRP and IL‐6 might be useful surrogate markers of synovial inflammation and disease activity in dogs with IMPA.