Urinary Incontinence after Prostatectomy in Dogs

Eleven dogs with prostatic disease were treated by total prostatectomy. Urinary incontinence persisted in three of nine dogs, two of which were also incontinent before surgery. The incidence of postoperative incontinence may be reduced by undermining the prostatic capsule to preserve as much prostatic urethra as possible. The risk of postoperative incontinence appeared greater if there was prostatic neoplasia or preoperative urinary incontinence.     

Sources of error with in vitro digestibility assay of pasture feeds

A series of experiments was undertaken to determine population statistics for in vitro organic matter digestibility ( in vitro OMD) data and to examine the effects of basal diet, donor animal and precollection fasting interval on the activity and specificity of rumen fluid inoculum. The experiments utilized wether sheep, a diverse set of pasture grass and legume feeds prominent in the Australian subtropics and the Tilley and Terry in vitro digestibility procedure running under the operating pressure of a practicing feeds evaluation laboratory.
The standard errors of in vitro OMD estimates for within and between batch runs were ±0·88 × 10⁻² and 0·62 × 10⁻², respectively. These error terms were used to develop protocols to accept, reject or scale raw in vitro OMD data. Differences between donor animals in the activity of rumen fluid were highly significant. Extending the precollection fasting interval beyond 16 h was associated with a substantial decline in inoculum activity.
An in vitro-in vivo calibration relationship based on fifteen test feeds and using lucerne ( Medicago sativa ) as basal diet was described by the linear model y = 1·3 x-0·195±4·9 × 10⁻² r = 0·79 (y = in vivo OMD, x = in vitro OMD). Despite large effects of basal diet on both the absolute values and relative ranking of test feeds, neither the RSD nor r values were improved using alternative diets to Lucerne chaff.
The results highlight the need to formally standardize the analytical and biological components of the in vitro digestibility procedure to safeguard the integrity of data.     

Detection, identification and significance of phytoplasmas in grasses in northern Australia

Sugarcane yields have been severely reduced by white leaf and grassy shoot phytoplasma diseases in many parts of Asia. Australian sugarcane crops are not known to be affected by these diseases, but plant pathogenic phytoplasmas found in other introduced and native grasses in northern Australia could pose a serious threat to the Australian sugarcane industry. To further evaluate this threat, leaves from plants of 20 grass species, with and without symptoms, were collected during field surveys in northern Australia and tested to determine whether phytoplasmas were present and whether symptoms were reliable indicators of phytoplasma presence. Molecular tools were used to detect and characterize phytoplasmas. Four different phytoplasmas were found in seven grass species known to grow near healthy sugarcane crops. All the phytoplasmas were closely related to sugarcane white leaf phytoplasma (SCWL), one of the phytoplasmas that causes disease in sugarcane in Asia. Four of the host plant species and two of the phytoplasmas were new records. The relationship between symptoms and phytoplasma presence was poor. Because some plants with symptoms tested negative for phytoplasmas, a series of surveys was carried out in which flowers, leaves, roots and stems of two known host plant species, Whiteochloa cymbiformis and Sorghum stipoideum, were tested separately on nine occasions during two wet seasons. This was done to investigate the distribution of phytoplasmas within plants over time. Results showed that spatial and temporal variation of phytoplasmas occurred in these two host plant species. Hence, evaluation of disease distribution within a region requires repeated testing of all plant parts from plants without symptoms, as well as those with symptoms. To date, there is no report of a vector capable of transmitting to Australian sugarcane the phytoplasmas found in grasses in this study. If one is present, or occurs in the future, then native and introduced grasses could constitute a large reservoir of phytoplasma for vectors to draw on. This work provides an early warning for the sugarcane industry that the potential for infection exists.     

Use of Echinococcus granulosus worm antigens for immunodiagnosis of E. granulosus infection in dogs.

Echinococcus granulosus worm excretory/secretory antigens (WES) were used in ELISA for diagnosis of E. granulosus infection in dogs and compared with protoscolex somatic antigens (PSM). Sera from 224 dogs were tested. There was no correlation between ELISA absorbance values and E. granulosus worm burdens using either antigen. There was a significant linear relationship between absorbance values of sera tested in the ELISA using WES (W-ELISA) and the ELISA using PSM (P-ELISA). However, there was a small but significant difference between the absorbance values of the sera tested against the two antigens. Western blot analysis of WES using sera from E. granulosus-infected and uninfected dogs revealed antigenic components of relative molecular mass (Mr) larger than 94,000, Mr 94,000-68,000 and Mr 43,000-39,000 in worms, and these were specific for E. granulosus and not identified in PSM; these antigenic differences may be responsible for differences in reactivity in ELISA. The sensitivities of W-ELISA and P-ELISA were 80.8% and 75.6%, respectively. The specificities of W-ELISA and P-ELISA were 93.7% and 97.9%, respectively. The reduced specificity in W-ELISA was mainly attributable to increased background reactivity of sera from Taenia hydatigena-infected dogs. Despite the reduction in specificity, both ELISAs are valuable epidemiological tools to determine the prevalence of antibody to E. granulosus in dog populations and to monitor the success of hydatid control campaigns.     

A bioassay method for formulation testing and residue studies of sulfonylurea and sulfonanylide herbicides

A bioassay method using the radicles of pea (Pisum sativum L.) and lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.) was developed for the assessment of trials on herbicides of common use in the sulfonylurea class (chlorsulfuron, triasulfuron and metsulfuron-methyl) and in the sulfonanylide class (flumetsulam and metosulam). Soils within a range of pH 5.8–8.4 with textures from sand to clay were used in these experiments. The sensitivities of the species were similar in chlorsulfuron and flumetsulam trials and their response range varied with soil type and herbicide, e.g. between 0.75 and 6.0 ng triasulfuron g^?1 in the Wimmera grey clay and between 0.125 and 8.0 ng chlorsulfuron g^?1 soil in the Mallee sand. The method was demonstrated in a wide range of uses, encompassing tests of the initial bioactivity of formulations of chlorsulfuron and flumetsulam, monitoring the field leaching and persistence of triasulfuron and measuring relative potencies between the classes, using metsulfuron-methyl and metosulam. The bioassay response provided a high level of reproducibility and precision, which was measurable by the logistic curve-fitting procedure. In each case, R² values were >0.90 and lack-of-fit tests were clearly non-significant at the 0.05 level. Chi-square tests were used to measure differences between ED₅₀'s. The method does not require the pre-germination and selection of seedlings, daily watering or root-washing and results are obtained 7 days from sowing, providing favourable use for routine analyses and large-scale trials.     

The effects of stubble burning and tillage on soil carbon sequestration and crop productivity in southeastern Australia

Abstract. In Australia, stubble burning and tillage are two of the major processes responsible for the decline of soil organic carbon concentration in cropped soils, and the resulting soil degradation. However, the relative importance of these two practices in influencing the soil organic carbon concentration and the long-term impact on soil quality and productivity are not clear. The effects of stubble burning as practised by farmers in southeastern Australia were evaluated in two field trials, one of 19 years duration, the other of 5 years. Conventional tillage (three tillage passes) led to greater loss of soil organic carbon than stubble burning. Loss of total soil organic carbon attributed to stubble burning in the 0–10 cm layer was estimated to be 1.75 t C ha⁻¹ over the period of the 19-year trial, equivalent to 29% of that lost due to tillage. In the 5-year trial, no change in soil organic carbon due to stubble burning was detectable. Changes in soil quality associated with stubble burning detected in the longer trial included a reduction in macro-aggregate stability, and increases in pH and exchangeable K⁺. Only the latter two were detected in the shorter trial. A higher mean wheat yield (average 0.15 t ha⁻¹) following stubble burning was observed in the 19-year trial but not in the 5-year trial. Research to monitor the longer term effects of stubble burning is needed, and to identify conditions where loss of soil organic carbon is minimized.