KIT-positive gastrointestinal stromal tumours in two Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica hispanica)

Gastrointestinal mesenchymal tumours from two Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica hispanica) were examined grossly, histologically and immunohistochemically. One neoplasm was a 1.5 kg tan multinodular cavitated mass in the forestomach. The other tumour was a firm mural mass 1.2 cm in diameter in the colon. Microscopically, both tumours were formed mainly by spindle shaped cells arranged in closely packed interlacing fascicles. Neoplastic cells in both tumours labelled positively for KIT (CD117), vimentin and alpha-smooth muscle actin. These findings suggest that both neoplasms were gastrointestinal stromal tumours and most likely to be derived from the interstitial cells of Cajal or their progenitor cells.     

Effect of adding Lactobacillus plantarum or a formic acid containing-product to fermented liquid feed on gastrointestinal ecology and growth performance of piglets

A study was carried out to investigate whether adding a starter culture or a formic acid containing-product to fermented liquid feed of suboptimal microbial quality could improve the characteristics of the mixture and the gastrointestinal ecology and growth performance of piglets. Four experimental diets were prepared: Feed and water were mixed in the ratio 1:2.5 (w/w) in four closed tanks. Diet 1) Three times daily, 50% of the mixture stored in the tank was removed and then replaced with an equal amount of fresh feed and water, (FLF), positive control; Diet 2) Three times daily, 95% of the mixture stored in the tank was removed and then replaced with an equal amount of fresh feed and water. Escherichia coli K12 (1 × 10⁶/g) was added every morning (COLI); Diet 3) as the COLI treatment and added Lactobacillus plantarum VTT E-78076 (1 × 10⁶/g) every morning (+PLANTARUM); and Diet 4) as the COLI treatment and added 0.26 g AIV/KemiSile 2 plus/100 g mixture three times daily (+ACID). One hundred and sixty weaners were used. On day 14, one littermate from each pen was killed and the gastrointestinal tract removed. The remaining piglets were used to measure the effect of the experimental diets on growth performance during the first six weeks post-weaning. The +ACID diet had lower numbers of lactic acid bacteria and Enterobacteriaceae, higher numbers of yeasts, and lower concentration of lactic acid and acetic acid than the COLI and +PLANTARUM diets. Feeding the +PLANTARUM and the +ACID diets increased daily weight gain during the six weeks post-weaning (P ≤ 0.02) compared to feeding the COLI diet. The +ACID group showed the highest numerical daily feed intake in all periods. The gain/feed during the six weeks post-weaning tended to be lowest in the COLI group (P < 0.10). The counts of lactic acid bacteria able to grow at 20 °C were lowest in the stomach (P ≤ 0.003) and distal small intestine (P ≤ 0.06) of the +ACID group. The counts of yeasts able to grow at 37 °C in the stomach were highest in the +ACID (P ≤ 0.01) and FLF groups (P ≤ 0.09). The number of yeasts able to grow at 20 °C in the stomach and distal small intestine was highest in the FLF fed piglets, followed by the +ACID group. This study showed that addition of L. plantarum VTT E-78076 or AIV/KemiSile 2 plus to fermented liquid feed of suboptimal microbial quality improved growth performance without affecting the gastrointestinal ecology of piglets substantially.     

藏草乌水煎提取液体外杀灭羊虱蝇药效及皮肤毒性试验研究

试验旨在研究藏草乌的水煎提取液在体外杀灭羊虱蝇的药效作用及其皮肤毒性、刺激性、过敏性试验,为藏草乌的开发利用和临床应用提供理论依据。将1%、2%、4%、8%、10%藏草乌水煎提取液分别滴于衬有吸水纸和羊虱蝇的平皿中,在1、2、4、8 h时分别观察其对羊虱蝇的杀灭情况。取相同剂量1%、2%藏草乌水煎提取液均匀涂于大白兔的完整皮肤和破损皮肤,进行皮肤毒性、刺激性和过敏性试验。结果显示,给药1 h后各浓度的藏草乌水煎提取液及阳性对照组均出现了不同程度的羊虱蝇杀灭效果,4 h后阳性对照组杀灭率为100%,8 h时,1%、2%藏草乌水煎提取液杀灭率达到70%,而2%藏草乌水煎提取液较1%药物组杀灭羊虱蝇效果好;皮肤毒性试验显示,大白兔皮肤无红斑、水肿,体重变化正常;皮肤刺激性试验结果显示,藏草乌提取液对大白兔皮肤无刺激性;皮肤致敏反应结果表明,藏草乌提取液对大白兔不具有致敏性。综上所述,藏草乌水煎提取液具有良好的体外杀灭羊虱蝇作用,且皮肤用药安全。     

Species diversity and acquisition of gastrointestinal parasites in calves aged 0-13 months in periurban livestock production in Mali

Post-mortem inspections on 51 calves were conducted to investigate acquisition and spectrum of gastrointestinal parasites in young calves in periurban livestock production in Mali. Generalized linear models with herd as a repeated effect were used to test the influence of management, age and season of birth on parasite numbers and diversity. Parasite number and burden increased with age. In the age class 4-13 months animals carried already up to eight different gastrointestinal parasite species. Parasite spectrum found included 11 nematodes, 3 cestodes and 1 protozoan parasite. The most frequent parasite species found were Haemonchus placei (age class 0-1 month: 7%, 1-4 months: 38%, 4-13 months: 69%), Cooperia pectinata (0%, 33% and 44%) and C. punctata (0%, 33% and 38%). Calves born during the rainy season had higher parasite burden and species diversity than calves born during the dry season. Calves kept under modernised management excreted more Strongyloides papillosus eggs than calves kept under traditional management. Calves acquired most of the parasites occurring in adult bovines in West Africa within their first year of life.     

The relative resistance to gastrointestinal nematode infection of three British sheep breeds

The relative resistance of Manx Loaghtan, Shetland and Southdown sheep to naturally acquired gastrointestinal nematode infection was assessed over a ten week period. Thirty shearling ewes, ten from each of the three breeds, were co-grazed on an infective pasture. The animals were initially treated with an anthelmintic to minimise previous nematode infection, and faecal samples were collected from individual animals every two weeks. Southdown sheep had significantly higher faecal egg counts (FEC) than Shetland by week 6, and than Manx Loaghtan by week 10. After ten weeks there was an 86-fold difference in FEC between Shetland and Southdown sheep, and a 14-fold difference between Manx Loaghtan and Southdown sheep. These preliminary results suggest that primitive Shetland and Manx Loaghtan sheep may have greater resistance to gastrointestinal parasites, a trait that could be of value to the UK livestock industry.     

Effects of sheep and cattle alternate grazing on sheep parasitism and production

Production of sheep (nursing ewes) grazing alternately with cattle (growing weaned heifers) was compared to the production of sheep or cattle grazing alone (controls). Pasture production and sheep parasitism were also monitored. The herbage allowance was higher for the control heifers than for the alternate heifers, but the leaf to green material ratio (LGMR) was lower, and no difference on heifer growth was revealed (443 vs. 431g.d^-1, P = 0.54). The LGMR was higher for the alternate sheep (+3 points) than for the control sheep, except during the dry season, when the herbage density was lower. The effects of parasitism on the packed cell volume of alternate ewes and lambs were lower than those of control ewes and lambs. However, the infection of sheep by Cooperia sp. (better adapted to cattle) was significantly higher for the alternate sheep than for the controls, and some indication of cattle infection by Haemonchus contortus was suggested. The 70-day lamb weight was higher in the alternate grazing system than in the control (+0.76,+1.11 and+0.61kg for the dry, intermediate and rainy seasons, respectively), and the average 70-day lamb production per ewe exposed was 21.42kg in the alternate grazing system vs. 18.59kg in the control (P = 0.003).     

Effectiveness of strategic anthelmintic treatments in the control of gastrointestinal nematodes and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fasciola gigantica</Emphasis> in cattle in Iringa region,Tanzania

A longitudinal field trial was conducted to determine the effectiveness of strategic anthelmintic treatments in the control of gastrointestinal (GI) nematodes and Fasciola gigantica in cattle. A total of 167 cattle (6–18 months) from three large-scale dairy farms, four traditional farms and nine small-scale dairy farms were randomly selected. The selected animals on each farm were ear tagged and allocated into three groups based on live weight and treated as follows: Group T4 was treated with albendazole 10% drench at 10 mg/kg four times a year (mid rainy, end of the rain, mid dry and late dry/early rainy season). Group T2 was treated with albendazole 10% drench at 10 mg/kg two times a year (mid rainy and late dry/early rainy season). Group UT remained as untreated control. Faecal, blood and pasture samples were taken every month for 13 months. In addition, individual body weight (BWT) was measured on every sampling date. Results showed that two and four strategic treatments significantly reduced faecal egg counts (FEC) by 49.5% and 62.3% respectively compared to untreated control animals (P < 0.001). Two and four strategic treatments per year significantly reduced the proportion of animals passing Fasciola eggs in faeces by 30.6% and 51.7% (P < 0.001), respectively. Animals treated two and four times a year significantly outgained untreated animals by 14.8 kg and 17.7 kg respectively at the end of the trial (P < 0.05). The management system had a significant effect on packed cell volume and the proportion of animals passing Fasciola eggs in faeces (P < 0.05). The programme of two strategic treatments per year was only effective in controlling GI nematodes. It is concluded that a programme of four strategic treatments per year was effective in controlling GI nematodes and F. gigantica and improved weight gain.     

不同水平膨化血粉对雏鹅消化道微环境的影响

为研究不同水平的膨化血粉对雏鹅消化道微环境的影响,选取300只1 日龄雏鹅,随机分为3组,在日粮中分别添加1.5%、3.0%、4.5%的膨化血粉,组成3个日粮处理.分别对其胃内容物蛋白酶活性、胰腺消化酶活性、十二指肠内容物消化酶活性、盲肠微生物茵群数量进行了测定.结果表明,3种不同水平膨化血粉处理的消化酶活性依次为3....     

Association of admission plasma D-dimer concentration with diagnosis and outcome in horses with colic

Background: Coagulopathies detected in horses with gastrointestinal problems seem to be associated with poor outcome. Plasma D‐Dimer concentration is a sensitive test for assessing coagulopathies. Hypothesis: Plasma D‐Dimer concentration tested on admission is related to diagnosis and outcome in horses with colic. Animals: Four hundred and ninety three horses referred for evaluation of abdominal pain. Methods: Prospective observational clinical study. Horses were grouped according to diagnosis (medical and surgical intestinal obstructions, ischemic disorders with and without intestinal resection, enteritis, peritonitis), outcome (survivors, nonsurvivors), and number of coagulopathies (normal profile, 1 or 2 coagulopathies, subclinical disseminated intravascular coagulation [DIC]). Blood samples were collected on admission and plasma D‐Dimer concentration, clotting times (PT and aPTT), and antithrombin activity were determined. Positive likelihood ratios (LR+) were calculated for evaluation of D‐Dimer cut‐off values, which were later tested in a logistic regression model. Results: Horses with enteritis or peritonitis had significantly (P < .001) higher plasma D‐Dimer concentrations and more severe coagulopathies on admission than horses with other diagnoses. Nonsurvivors also had significantly (P < .001) higher plasma D‐Dimer concentrations at presentation than did survivors, and those horses with subclinical DIC on presentation had an odds ratio (OR) 8.6 (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.3–22.5, P < .001) for nonsurvival. Finally, D‐Dimer concentrations >4,000 ng/mL had a LR+ of 5.9 and an OR 8.8 (95% CI, 4.5–17.1, P < .001) for nonsurvival. Conclusion and Clinical Importance: Plasma D‐Dimer concentration measured on admission can be used to facilitate diagnosis and outcome prediction in horses with colic. A potential cut‐off value for nonsurvival was found at approximately 4,000 ng/mL.