A Necropsy Survey of Neurologic Diseases in 4,319 Horses Examined in Normandy (France) from 1986 to 2006

The frequencies of neurologic diseases and various corresponding causes were analyzed in 4,319 Norman horses examined by autopsy between 1986 and 2006. Five hundred forty-three cases of nervous system disorders were detected, or a total prevalence of 12.6%. One hundred eighty-seven of the 543 horses (34.4%) exhibited lesions of a traumatic origin affecting the skull or the vertebral column at different levels. Their frequency was less in foals younger than 1 month of age and higher in horses aged 6 months to 2 years. Eighty-three cases of cervical vertebral compressive myelopathy (CVCM) (15.3%) were identified. Males and geldings were more often affected than females. CVCM was diagnosed mostly in animals aged 6 months to 2 years. Horses affected with lesions in the mid-cervical region (region C3–C5) were significantly younger than those exhibiting more caudal lesions (region C5–C7). Neonatal maladjustment syndrome was diagnosed in 62 foals younger than 3.5 days (4.8% of the causes of death between birth and 1 month) by using clinical or lesional criteria. The prevalence was higher in Thoroughbreds as well as in the miscellaneous breed category and less in French Standardbreds. Bacterial meningoencephalomyelitis and meningitis represented 9.6% of nervous system disorders (52 cases) and most often affected foals aged 1 to 6 months. The main bacteria identified were beta-hemolytic Streptococci , Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, and Actinobacillus sp. The other causes diagnosed were, in decreasing order of frequency: grass sickness or equine dysautonomia (6.3% of neurologic diseases), hepatic encephalopathy syndrome (5.2%), septic vertebral arthritis or osteitis mainly caused by Rhodococcus equi (2.6%), congenital defects of the nervous system (2.4%), equine herpesvirus 1 myeloencephalopathy (2.2%), botulism (2.2%), malformations of the vertebral column other than CVCM (2%), and neighboring polyneuritis associated with guttural pouch mycosis (1.5%).     

The Occurrence of dsRNA Species in Apparently Healthy and Virus-infected Ribes Cultivars, and Evidence That One Such Species Originates from a Member of the Virus Family Totiviridae

Analysis was made of dsRNA in 37 cultivars and species of Ribes, that were healthy, naturally affected with the virus-like diseases, blackcurrant yellows, blackcurrant infectious variegation, gooseberry veinbanding or blackcurrant reversion, or graft-inoculated with scions from such diseased plants. Various dsRNA species, differing in size (from ca. 2 to 11kbp), number and staining intensity in gels, were detected in some or all assays of all plants, including those held as virus-tested stock. In different plant tissues from individual plants, the dsRNA species were usually similar in size and number but, in some sources, the dsRNA profile from flowers and/or bark differed greatly from the profiles of dsRNA obtained from leaves. No dsRNA species were associated consistently with any of these diseases. A 499kbp cDNA probe was obtained that in Northern blot analysis was specific to a ca. 5kbp dsRNA species present in the blackcurrant cv. Baldwin. It also detected a similarly sized dsRNA species in plants of many other blackcurrant cultivars, but it did not react with a similarly sized dsRNA species in redcurrant and gooseberry tissues. The 156 amino acid sequence encoded by the cDNA was very similar to sequences in the RNA-directed RNA polymerases of virus species in the family Totiviridae, especially Saccharomyces cerevisiae viruses L-1 and L-A. The significance of these findings and the possible origin of these dsRNA species are discussed.     

云南林木真菌病害研究(Ⅰ)

报道了云南林木真菌病害２３种,其中：国内新记录４种,云南省内新记录１１种,云南省内已知种新分布８种．前者有描述,其余以名录列后,拟供植保和植检工作参考．     

转基因抗病毒病四倍体西瓜的培育

利用西瓜花叶病毒2号(WMV-2)外壳蛋白(CP)基因、小西葫芦黄花叶病毒(ZYMV)复制酶(NIb)基因和黄瓜花叶病毒(CMV)复制酶基因构建三价基因的植物表达载体,通过农杆菌介导转化四倍体西瓜植株,经分子检测证明目的基因成功地导入西瓜植株,并在后代中稳定遗传。经温室及大田接种鉴定,T3代转基因西瓜抗病毒性达中抗水平,为抗病毒无籽西瓜新品种的培育提供了可能性。     

Validation of a multiplex PCR assay to detect Babesia spp. and Anaplasma marginale in cattle in Uruguay in the absence of a gold standard test

Detection of bovine Babesia spp. and Anaplasma marginale is based on the reading of Giemsa-stained blood or organ smears, which can have low sensitivity. Our aim was to improve the detection of bovine Babesia spp. and A. marginale by validating a multiplex PCR (mPCR). We used 466 samples of blood and/or organs of animals with signs and presumptive autopsy findings of babesiosis or anaplasmosis. The primers in our mPCR amplified the rap-1a gene region of Babesia bovis and B. bigemina, and the msp-5 region of A. marginale. We used a Bayesian model with a non-informative priori distribution for the prevalence estimate and informative priori distribution for estimation of sensitivity and specificity. The sensitivity and specificity for smear detection of Babesia spp. were 68.6% and 99.1%, and for A. marginale 85.6% and 98.8%, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity for mPCR detection for Babesia spp. were 94.2% and 97.1%, and for A. marginale 95.2% and 92.7%, respectively. Our mPCR had good accuracy in detecting Babesia spp. and A. marginale, and would be a reliable test for veterinarians to choose the correct treatment for each agent.     

川黔等西南地区李子主要病虫害及防治技术

李适应性广,耐瘠薄干旱,是四川、重庆等西南山区的特色经济树种。李果实外观亮丽,脆甜爽口、营养丰富,是深受人们喜爱的特色水果之一。近年来四川、贵州、重庆地区青脆李、空心李、蜂糖李等地方品种有了迅速发展,促进了贫困山区脱贫致富和产业结构调整。但由于管理粗放和防治措施不当,致使李子生产区域病虫害发生严重,影响了果实的品质和经济效益。为了促进李子产业化发展,结合主要产区生产实际,总结出西南地区常见的病虫害及其防治措施,为李子生产提供技术参考。     

Research Progress Towards the Liquid Chip Technology in Detection of Animal Infectious Diseases

Liquid chip technology is a novel biomolecular detection technology which integrates laser technology,flow cytometry,digital signal processing and traditional chemical technology.It is widely used in various immunological analysis and nucleic acid detection.Single and mutiplex analysis are supported,with protein and nucleic acid targets detected in a variety of detection methods in high throughput manner.It has advantages of high throughput,easy operation,wide range of application,good repeatability,high specificity,less sample needed,high sensitivity and stablility,and low cost.Therefore,they are gradually replacing the traditional detection and quantitative pathogen methods,such as Real-time fluorescent quantitative nucleic acid amplification detection system (qPCR),enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and other detection methods.Animal infectious diseases seriously endanger the development of the breeding industry,futhermore,some zoonoses such as highly pathogenic avian influenza also pose a serious threat to human health.An efficient and sensitive diagnostic system will help to screen a large number of samples during the outbreak of infectious diseases and prevent the spread of infection.The development of liquid chip technology provides a new platform for high-throughput detection and disease prevention.In this review,the principle and advantages of liquid chip technology are briefly described.The research progress of liquid chip technology in the detection of animal infectious diseases,including pigs diseases,poultry diseases,rabbit diseases,dog diseases,rodent diseases and other animal infectious diseases are summarized.We believe that in the future,this technology will become an important analytical and testing tool in clinical diagnosis,basic research,new drug development,judicial identification,food health supervision,biological weapons prevention and other fields.The development of this technology will greatly promote the research and development of life science.     

Effects of Diseases on Reproductive Performance in Dairy Cattle Ⅰ: Current Situation and Its Mechanism

Over the past 20 years,with the continuous promotion of the genetic improvement plan of dairy cow population and the continuous improvement of feeding technology,the intensive level and milk yield of dairy cow population in China are continuously improving.However,the reproduction data over the years showed that the more milk yield,the more obviously decline in reproductive performance,and the more prominent of the reproductive problems.The decline of fertility caused by high yield has become the bottleneck of the development of dairy industry in China and even in the world.In dairy farming,there are many factors that cause the reduction of reproductive performance of high-yield dairy cows,including genetic factors,environmental factors and disease factors.Recently,the influence of disease factors on reproductive performance of dairy cows has become more and more prominent.According to the location of the disease,the diseases can be divided into genital diseases and non-genital diseases.This paper discussed the relevant research data on the effects of different diseases on the reproductive performance of dairy cows in recent years,and focusing on the analysis of the molecular mechanism of diseases affecting the reproductive performance of dairy cows through the nervous system,reproductive endocrine system and humoral immune system.The prospect and thinking for the future research of diseases and reproductive performance of high-yield dairy cows were put forward to provide reference and theoretical basis for improving the reproductive efficiency and economic benefits of high-yield dairy cows in China.     

Epidemiological studies of pig diseases: 1. Use of French protocols for risk factor assessment to predict the health status of Australian herds

Objective To determine in Australian pig herds the accuracy of French protocols for risk factor assessment.
Procedure Data on health indicators and risk factors were collected for three syndromes, 'pre-weaning diarrhoea', 'post-weaning diarrhoea' and 'respiratory problems', using the French protocols. The protocols were used on 118 occasions in 32 Western Australian pig herds during 3 years (1988 to 1991).
Results There was a wide variation in pre-weaning performance, for example growth rate was 107 to 273 g/day (< 200 g/day in 33% of herds). Respiratory lesions at weaning were associated with poor pre-weaning performance. Post-weaning (21 days after weaning) growth rate was 114 to 408 g/day (< 250 g/day in 54% of herds). In the grower herds, 91% of herds had pneumonia, and growth rate was 439 to 625 g/day (< 550 g/day in 54% of herds). Pleurisy as well as pneumonia was associated with reduced growth rate. The risk factor most closely associated with respiratory health status was air volume per pig.
Conclusion Risk factors were most accurate at predicting the health status in post-weaning problems. A weaning weight of at least 7.9 kg and weaning age of 30 days optimised weaner performance. Stocking densities and shed designs providing at least 3 m³ air volume and 0.6 m² floor space per pig throughout the growing phase should be considered for an improved respiratory health status. Australian pig sheds often do not provide a satisfactory environment for optimum health. The technique of risk factor assessment as an aid to the maintenance of health in pig herds is applicable in Australia, but further research is necessary to determine the most important Australian risk factors.