Symposium on limb fractures in the dog and cat. I. The mechanics of fracture repair; first aid

Abstract— A review is presented of the classification of fractures, radiography and the instrumentation necessary for fracture repair. The mechanics of fracture repair in small animals in comparison to man is discussed as are the principles of first aid in fracture cases. Résumé— Un compte-rendu est présenté sur la classification des fractures, la radiographic et l'instrumentation nécessaire pour la réparation des fractures. La mécanique des réparations des fractures chez les petite animaux, en comparaison avec celle de l'homme est discutée ainsie que les principes de secourisme dans les cas de fracture. Zusammenfassung— Es wird ein Überblick über die Klassifikation von Brüchen, Radiographic und die erforderlichen Instrumente zur Einrichtung von Brüchen gegeben. Die mechanische Behan-dlung bei Brucheinrichtungen wird für kleine Tiere im Vergleich zum Menschen besprochen und ebenso die Grundlagen der ersten Hilfe bei Bruchfällen.     

Problems and solutions with the design and execution of an epidemiological study of white spot disease in black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) in Vietnam

White spot disease (WSD) is caused by white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) and is an acutely fatal pandemic disease of crustaceans. It has resulted in massive losses to the shrimp-farming industry in Asia and has now spread to the Americas. This paper reports the problems and solutions associated with the design and execution of a longitudinal epidemiological study of shrimp (Penaeus monodon) health on farms practising a crop rotation of rice and shrimp in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The pre-sampling phase of the project involved selecting an appropriate site and sampling variables, obtaining permission and establishing the necessary laboratory and logistic facilities. At the start of the sampling phase, 40 farmers were selected and 32 of these were visited and interviewed. This resulted in the enrolment of only 17 farmers. A further seven had to be enrolled to obtain the maximum number of farmers that could be sampled by the study team. Compliance was enhanced through meetings, regular visits by senior members of the project team and ensuring that visits were punctual and that all information was treated confidentially. The production cycle began in January 1998 and lasted for approximately 5 months. An attempt was made to collect 500 post larvae (PL) before each pond was stocked to assess the health of the batch and to test for the presence of WSSV by one-step PCR. After stocking, the wild crustaceans also were sampled from the pond for PCR analyses. Information was collected on the management practices and samples of water, pond bottom, feed and shrimp collected throughout the production cycle. Water quality variables with predictable diurnal variation were sampled in the morning and afternoon, twice a week. Two months after stocking, the first outbreak of WSD occurred; subsequently, 18 farms conducted a complete emergency harvest due to the actual or perceived presence of a WSD outbreak. Detectable mortalities were reported from 19 farms, and moribund shrimps were collected from four of these for PCR and histological analyses.     

Adaptation to host (chickpea) genotype by isolates of Didymella rabiei following repeated cycles of infection

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - Ascochyta blight of chickpea (Cicer arietinum), caused by Didymella rabiei, is an important disease of chickpea world- wide. Under favourable conditions,...     

Changes in composition, structure and aboveground biomass over seventy-six years (1930-2006) in the Black Rock Forest, Hudson Highlands, southeastern New York State

We sought to quantify changes in tree species composition, forest structure and aboveground forest biomass (AGB) over 76 years (1930-2006) in the deciduous Black Rock Forest in southeastern New York, USA. We used data from periodic forest inventories, published floras and a set of eight long-term plots, along with species-specific allometric equations to estimate AGB and carbon content. Between the early 1930s and 2000, three species were extirpated from the forest (American elm (Ulmus americana L.), paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.) and black spruce (Picea mariana (nigra) (Mill.) BSP)) and seven species invaded the forest (non-natives tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle) and white poplar (Populus alba L.) and native, generally southerly distributed, southern catalpa (Catalpa bignonioides Walt.), cockspur hawthorn (Crataegus crus-galli L.), red mulberry (Morus rubra L.), eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides Bartr.) and slippery elm (Ulmus rubra Muhl.)). Forest canopy was dominated by red oak and chestnut oak, but the understory tree community changed substantially from mixed oak-maple to red maple-black birch. Density decreased from an average of 1500 to 735 trees ha(-1), whereas basal area doubled from less than 15 m(2) ha(-1) to almost 30 m(2) ha(-1) by 2000. Forest-wide mean AGB from inventory data increased from about 71 Mg ha(-1) in 1930 to about 145 Mg ha(-1) in 1985, and mean AGB on the long-term plots increased from 75 Mg ha(-1) in 1936 to 218 Mg ha(-1) in 1998. Over 76 years, red oak (Quercus rubra L.) canopy trees stored carbon at about twice the rate of similar-sized canopy trees of other species. However, there has been a significant loss of live tree biomass as a result of canopy tree mortality since 1999. Important constraints on long-term biomass increment have included insect outbreaks and droughts.     

A comparative molecular study of the presence of “Candidatus arthromitus” in the digestive system of rainbow trout,Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), healthy and affected with rainbow trout gastroenteritis

Observations were made using histopathological techniques in conjunction with a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocol for the specific detection of “Candidatus arthromitus” on DNA extracted from wax‐embedded tissues and fresh digestive contents of rainbow trout. Samples positive for “Candidatus arthromitus” DNA included fish with rainbow trout gastroenteritis (RTGE), clinically normal cohabiting fish, and apparently healthy controls from RTGE positive and RTGE negative sites. The results obtained from the PCR were confirmed by nucleotide sequencing. “Candidatus arthromitus” DNA was found in distal intestine as well as in sections of pyloric caeca, suggesting that both these locations are appropriate for molecular detection of “Candidatus arthromitus” DNA in trout. Furthermore, rainbow trout fry distal intestinal samples from two different hatcheries where RTGE had not been reported were also positive. Differences in “Candidatus arthromitus” DNA detection between paraffin wax‐embedded and fresh digestive content samples from the same fish suggested that it may be predominantly epithelium‐associated in healthy trout. Parallel histopathological observations indicated that pyloric caeca are the preferred site for visualizing segmented filamentous bacteria (SFB) in trout with RTGE. The results of this study showed that the presence of SFB was not invariably associated with clinical disease and that more information is required to understand the role of these organisms.     

Characterization of Ascochyta isolates and susceptibility of pea cultivars to the ascochyta disease complex in Alberta

The relative virulence of 109 Ascochyta isolates collected from pea fields in Alberta from 1996 to 1998 were evaluated on 10-day-old seedlings by the excised leaf-assay technique. Twenty-eight isolates were avirulent, while the others produced lesions of various sizes on pea leaves. DNA samples from 86 isolates were amplified by the RAPD technique using PCR with single primers. One dominant genotype of Ascochyta pisi was identified throughout Alberta, but variations in virulence were not clearly differentiated by the RAPD technique. Five Ascochyta isolates, four virulent and one avirulent, were used to assess the susceptibility of 20 field pea cultivars available in Alberta, including 13 yellow types and seven green types. Based on symptom development, the yellow-type cultivars Swing, Eiffel and Delta, and the green-type cultivar Orb, were the most susceptible. Of yellow-type cultivars, Voyageur, Carneval and Montana were most resistant to A scochyta infection.     

Efficacy of Vapam fumigant against clubroot (Plasmodiophora brassicae) of canola

Clubroot, caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae, has become a serious threat to canola (Brassica napus) production in western Canada. Experiments were conducted under greenhouse and field conditions to assess the effect of Vapam fumigant (dithiocarbamate; sodium N‐methyldithiocarbamate) on primary and secondary infection by P. brassicae, clubroot severity, and growth parameters in canola. Preliminary trials showed a 12–16‐fold reduction in primary and secondary infection and clubroot severity at all of the Vapam application rates (0·4–1·6 mL L^?1 soil) assessed. Vapam was also found to be effective in reducing clubroot severity and improving seed yield of canola under field conditions. Application of Vapam at soil moisture levels in the range of 10–30% (v:v) had a large effect on both disease severity and infection rates and plant growth parameters. The results suggest that Vapam can effectively reduce clubroot severity and may be useful for the treatment of transplant propagation beds in brassica vegetable production, and for the containment of small, localized clubroot infestations in commercial canola crops.     

Tolerance of lumpfish,Cyclopterus lumpus,to freshwater bath treatment for amoebic gill disease,Neoparamoeba perurans,infection and efficacy of different treatment regimens

The tolerance of lumpfish to freshwater treatment and efficacy over a range of salinities and treatment durations is examined. No structural and cellular changes were noted in organs, including gills and gut, sampled 48 hr posttreatment because of freshwater baths for periods of up to 5 hr exposure at 0 ppt or continuous treatment in 15 ppt water for 10 days. Behavioral indicators such as activity and ventilation frequency were also not significantly different between treatments, with the exception of the first trial where lumpfish were inactive during treatment in 0 ppt water compared with active fish in 32 ppt seawater. Amoeba numbers declined from an initial 21.5/gill arch to 0.33 after 3 hr in freshwater and to zero after 5 hr, and to five amoebas/gill arch after 3 hr in brackish water treatment (15 ppt). When fish were treated continuously for 15 days in 15 ppt water, amoeba numbers declined from 231 to 3.7/gill arch after 3 days and a mean of 1.75 amoebae after 10 days. In the last trial, no amoebas were present per gill arch after 3 hr treatment in 0 and 3 ppt bath.     

Urea hydrolysis and lateral and vertical movement in the soil: effects of urease inhibitor and irrigation

A glasshouse-based study was conducted to investigate the effect of urease inhibitor N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (‘Agrotain’) and irrigation on urea hydrolysis and its movement in a Typic Haplustept silt loam soil (in 72 repacked soil cores). Half (36) of these cores were adjusted to soil moisture contents of 80% field capacity (FC) and the remaining 36 cores to 50% FC. Granular urea with or without Agrotain was applied at a rate equivalent to 100 kg N ha⁻¹. There were three replicates to these two sets of soil cores. After 1 day of treatment application, soil cores of the 50% FC were adjusted to 80% FC by applying surface irrigation. Twelve pots were destructively sampled at each day after 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 10 days of treatment application to determine urea hydrolysis and its lateral and vertical movement in different soil layers. Agrotain-treated urea delayed urea hydrolysis during the first 7 days after its application. This delay in urea hydrolysis caused by Agrotain enabled added urea, which is uncharged, to move away from the surface soil layer to the sub-surface soil layer both vertically and laterally. In contrast, most urea hydrolysed to soil NH₄⁺ within 2 days of its application. Irrigation after 1 day resulted in further urea movement both laterally and vertically from the surface soil layer (0–10 mm) to the sub-soil layer (30–50 mm) in Agrotain-treated urea. These results suggest that Agrotain delayed urea hydrolysis and allowed more time for rainfall or irrigation to move added urea from the surface layer to sub-soil layers where it is likely to make good contact with plant roots. This distribution of urea in the rooting zone has the potential to enhance N use efficiency and minimize N losses associated with ammonia volatilization from surface-applied urea.