Volvulus of the colon in a horse associated with a mesocolic-umbilical band

A 7-years-old Clydesdale mare was presented with severe abdominal distension and acute colic. Dilated large intestine was palpated per rectum and a ventral midline exploratory laparotomy was performed. A 180 degrees volvulus of the pelvic flexure was present, associated with an inelastic band of tissue connecting the mesocolon to the umbilicus. The band was ligated and transected, and the volvulus reduced. Postoperative complications included hyponatraemia, metabolic acidosis and laminitis. The possible aetiology of the mesocolic-umbilical band is discussed.     

The effect of some cryoprotectants on dromedary camel frozen‐thawed semen

The cryopreserved camel semen is often associated with poor quality and fertility. This study aimed to improve the dromedary frozen semen quality by comparing the efficiency of four cryoprotectant agents (CPAs) on sperm freezability. Semen samples were collected from seven male Maghrabi camels, diluted with Shotor diluent supplemented with glycerol (Sh‐G), dimethyl formamide (DMF, Sh‐DF), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO, Sh‐DS) or ethylene glycol (EG, Sh‐EG), all at 6% final concentration, and the samples were subjected to cryopreservation. The results revealed the superiority of Sh‐DF over Sh‐G and Sh‐DS in terms of post‐thaw motility (55.83 ± 2.20 vs. 47.50 ± 4.33 and 45.00 ± 2.89%, respectively), sperm membrane (49.00 ± 0.58, 39.33 ± 3.33 and 42.67 ± 1.45%, respectively) and acrosomal integrities (53.00 ± 0.58, 57.33 ± 0.88 and 52.33 ± 1.45%, respectively). Sh‐EG group showed the lowest post‐thaw motility, plasma membrane and acrosome integrities (12.50 ± 1.44, 22.67 ± 1.45 and 30.67 ± 1.45, respectively). In conclusion, the protocols of dromedary camel semen cryopreservation could be enhanced using 6% DMF as a cryoprotectant agent.     

Carbon structures with three-dimensional periodicity at optical wavelengths

Porous carbons that are three-dimensionally periodic on the scale of optical wavelengths were made by a synthesis route resembling the geological formation of natural opal. Porous silica opal crystals were sintered to form an intersphere interface through which the silica was removed after infiltration with carbon or a carbon precursor. The resulting porous carbons had different structures depending on synthesis conditions. Both diamond and glassy carbon inverse opals resulted from volume filling. Graphite inverse opals, comprising 40-angstrom-thick layers of graphite sheets tiled on spherical surfaces, were produced by surface templating. The carbon inverse opals provide examples of both dielectric and metallic optical photonic crystals. They strongly diffract light and may provide a route toward photonic band-gap materials.     

Integrated optoelectronic devices based on conjugated polymers

An all-polymer semiconductor integrated device is demonstrated with a high-mobility conjugated polymer field-effect transistor (FET) driving a polymer light-emitting diode (LED) of similar size. The FET uses regioregular poly(hexylthiophene). Its performance approaches that of inorganic amorphous silicon FETs, with field-effect mobilities of 0.05 to 0.1 square centimeters per volt second and ON-OFF current ratios of >10(6). The high mobility is attributed to the formation of extended polaron states as a result of local self-organization, in contrast to the variable-range hopping of self-localized polarons found in more disordered polymers. The FET-LED device represents a step toward all-polymer optoelectronic integrated circuits such as active-matrix polymer LED displays.     

An epidemiological study of sheep deaths before and during export by sea from Western Australia

A study was conducted to record the deaths that occurred during export, and to examine the temporal pattern of pellet feeding in the feedlot and ascertain the variation in mortality between groups of sheep from different farms. Between November 1985 and April 1987, 5 cohorts of sheep were selected on arrival at a feedlot before live export by sea from Western Australia to the Middle East. Each cohort consisted of 4,118 to 9,612 Merino wethers from 15 to 35 farms (lines). There were few deaths during trucking to the feedlot (rate 0.9, range 0.0 to 3.0 per 10,000 sheep) and during lot-feeding (rate 6.2, range 1.2 to 12.2 per 10,000 sheep). Most of the deaths occurred aboard ship (rate 210.7, range 152.7 to 271.5 per 10,000 sheep). The proportion of sheep that ate pelleted feed increased with increasing length of time in the feedlot. By the end of lot-feeding the percentage of sheep that had not eaten pellets was 23.3, 4.4, 1.2, 2.1 and 0.2 in a representative sample of each of the 5 cohorts. It was considered that offering hay throughout lot-feeding was undesirable for the purpose of maximising the number of sheep that ate pellets before loading on the ship. Half of the deaths aboard ship occurred in 25% of 133 lines of sheep in the 5 cohorts. In each cohort the median per cent death rate (and range) per line was 1.3 (0.3 to 11.9), 1.1 (0.0 to 5.7), 1.8 (0.0 to 6.8), 2.3 (0.0 to 14.3) and 0.9 (0.1 to 5.4).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Comparison of isoenzyme and DNA markers for differentiating W-, R- and C-pathotypes of Pseudocercosporella herpotrichoides

Biochemical differences between the wheat, rye and couch-grass pathotypes of the eyespot pathogen, Pseudocercosporella herpotrichoides, have been identified by comparing isoenzyme profiles and DNA markers from several isolates. The wheat (W) and rye (R) pathotypes were clearly differentiated by both techniques, with isoenzyme profiling also separating the couch-grass isolates from the W- and R-type isolates. The isoenzyme profiles separated the P. herpotrichoides pathotypes from the two related species, P. anguioides and P. aestiva. The isoenzyme profiles of P. anguioides were closer to those of the R-type isolates of P. herpotrichoides than the W-type isolates, whereas the banding pattern of P. aestiva was very different. The isoenzyme profiles of the two German isolates, originally obtained from Nirenberg's laboratory, P. herpotrichoides var. herpotrichoides and var. acuformis, were similar to those of the wheat and rye pathotypes, respectively, isolated from UK-infected material.     

Bacteria as Mediators of Copper Sulfide Enrichment During Weathering

Supergene chalcocite enrichment during weathering is an economically vital natural process that may lead to severalfold increases in the copper content of sulfide deposits. A scanning electron microscope study of chalcocite (Cu2S) from major enriched copper deposits in northern Chile revealed myriad bacterioform bodies in original growth positions near replacement interfaces with remnant hypogene sulfide grains. These minute (0.03 to 0.2 micrometers) chalcocite bodies are interpreted as fossilized and metallized nannobacteria that promoted the fixation of mobilized copper ions. Bacterial activity may thus be a fundamental factor in supergene enrichment of copper deposits.