Beef feedlot industry.

The United States cattle feeding sector has changed dramatically over time. Movement from an industry largely populated by farmer feeders using livestock to market their grain production to an industry composed of large, specialized, commercial cattle feeding firms has occurred since the end of World War II. Moreover, the industry also shifted geographically, moving away from the Corn Belt to the Plains as farmer feeders exited the industry. Today, the 10 largest firms in the industry likely market 22% to as much as 29% of all fed cattle produced in the United States. The shift in industry structure was at least partially motivated by the advent of improved technology. Successful implementation of rapidly evolving technology often required more intense, specialized management (and in some cases, larger operations) than was available in many farmer feeder operations. The ongoing shift away from live-weight pricing of fed cattle toward grid-based pricing could increase the need for specialized management yet again, encouraging even more industry consolidation in the future.     

Artificial Spawning of Tilapia Eggs1

A stripspawning methodology was evaluated for tilapia (oreochromid) species. This technique achieved an average hatching success of 68.6 ± 3.6% (N= 31). Female fecundity and spawning frequency were dependant on both genetical and husbandry factors. Egg yields for Oreochromis niloticus, O. mossambicus, and O. niloticus±O. mossambicus hybrids averaged 4.54, 10.86 and 10.36 eggs/g female/spawn, respectively. Female broodstock that were adapted to an intensive spawning regime exhibited a significant increase in fecundity. Additionally, egg survival was not affected by hydration for up to 15 minutes prior to fertilization. Results suggest that the strip spawning of tilapia species may be an efficient method of providing viable gametes for hatchery purposes.     

Eosinophilic papulocrustous dermatitis (miliary dermatitis) and eosinophilic inflammatory bowel disease in two cats

Two cats with chronic eosinophilic skin disease were investigated. The clinical investigation of the skin disease in one cat was limited and inflammatory bowel disease was diagnosed post mortem. A history of weight loss and a palpably thickened bowel in the second cat suggested concurrent gastrointestinal disease. Diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease was confirmed on biopsy. Treatment with azathioprine and methylprednisolone acetate resolved the signs of gastrointestinal disease, the pruritus and 95% of the skin lesions. The concurrence of eosinophilic papulocrustous dermatitis and eosinophilic bowel disease raises the possibility of their being linked bv a common aetiology or pathophysiology.     

A study of liver function in rats with mirex-induced enlarged livers

The functional capacity of a mirex-induced, enlarged liver was studied in rats. The tests used were sulfobromophthalein clearance, hepatic cytochrome P-450 concentration, serum total protein concentration and electrophoretic pattern, serum total lipid concentration, serum glucose concentration, and the liver response to epinephrine. There was no indication of a loss of functional capacity in the enlarged liver. Sulfobromophthalein clearance and microsomal cytochrome P-450 concentration indicated an increase in total liver functional capacity. We conclude that mirex is not a direct hepatotoxin producing generalized parenchymal cell damage.     

Fetal and maternal lesions in pregnant ewes ingesting locoweed (Astragalus lentiginosus).

Locoweed (Astragalus lentiginosus) was fed to ewes from 70 to 100 days of pregnancy. Ewes were killed at 100, 115, 130, and 145 days, and selected tissues were collected from both the dam and the fetus for histologic examination. Neurovisceral cytoplasmic vacuolation and neuroaxonal dystrophy decreased in dam and fetus with time after the feeding of locoweed was discontinued.     

Characterization of acetylcholinesterases of acaricide-resistant and susceptible strains of the cattle tick Boophilus microplus (Can.): I. Extraction of the critical component and comparison with enzyme from other sources

The critical acetylcholinesterase component, that is responsible for the resistance mechanism of decreased sensitivity to the inhibitor in the cattle tick Boophilus microplus (Can.), has been isolated from the organophosphorus-susceptible Yeerongpilly and resistant Biarra and Ridgelands strains. With the substrate acetylthiocholine this enzyme component gave a pH activity profile similar for all strains. Optimal substrate concentration for Ridgelands was 1.73.10^?2M compared to 2.70.10^?4M for the other strains. Computed Km values were 1.98.10^?5M, 3.65.10^?5M, and 6.43.10^?6M for Yeerongpilly, Biarra, and Ridgelands strains, respectively, while the corresponding V_max figures were 336, 135, and 21 μmoles acetylthiocholine hydrolyzed per gram of larvae per hour. These results are discussed in relation to the resistance mechanism and compared with similar parameters derived for this enzyme from bovine erythrocytes, the sheep blowfly Lucilia cuprina, and the sheep nematode Trichostrongylus colubtiformis.     

Antifungal mode of action of triforine

Rapidly growing mycelia of Aspergillus fumigatus treated with 10 μg/ml triforine (N,N′-bis-(1-formamido-2,2,2-trichloroethyl)-piperazine) showed little or no inhibition in dry weight increase prior to 2 h. By 2.5–3 h, triforine inhibited dry weight increase by 85%. The effects of triforine on protein, DNA, and RNA syntheses corresponded to the effect on dry weight increase both in time of onset and magnitude. Neither glucose nor acetate oxidation were inhibited by triforine.Ergosterol synthesis was almost completely inhibited by triforine even in the first hour after treatment. Inhibition of ergosterol synthesis was accompanied by an accumulation of the ergosterol precursors 24-methylenedihydrolanosterol, obtusifoliol, and 14α-methyl-Δ^{8, 24 (28)}-ergostadienol. Mycelia treated with 5 μg/ml of triarimol (α-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-α-phenyl-5-pyrimidinemethanol) also accumulated the same sterols as well as a fourth sterol believed to be Δ^{5, 7}-ergostadienol.Identification of 4,4-dimethyl-Δ^{8, 24 (28)}-ergostadienol in untreated mycelia indicates that the C-14 methyl group is the first methyl group removed in the biosynthesis of ergosterol by A. fumigatus. The lack of detectable quantities of 4,4-dimethyl-Δ^{8, 24 (28)}-ergostadienol in triforine or triarimol-treated mycelia and the accumulation of C-14 methylated sterols in treated mycelia suggests that both fungicides inhibit sterol C-14 demethylation. The accumulation of Δ^{5, 7}-ergostadienol in triarimol-treated mycelia further implies that triarimol also inhibits the introduction of the sterol C-22(23) double bond.Two strains of Cladosporium cucumerinum tolerant to triforine and triarimol were also tolerant to the fungicide S-1358 (N-3-pyridyl-S-n-butyl-S′-p-t-butylbenzyl imidodithiocarbonate).