Artificial Insemination of Gilts with 1.5 Billion Sperms Stored in Different Periods Associated with Different Pre-ovulatory Intervals

This study evaluated the reproductive performance of gilts inseminated at three intervals before ovulation (0-12, 13-23, 24-30 h) with sperm doses (SD) stored for 0-48 and 96-120 h. A total of 218 PIC Camborough 22 gilts were inseminated once with SD of 1.5 x 10(9) sperms. Pregnant gilts (n = 166) were slaughtered 30.8 +/- 3.7 days after artificial insemination. The number of corpora lutea (CL) and total embryos (TE) was counted. Pregnancy rates (PR) were analysed by chi-square test. TE and embryonic survival (ES), obtained as the ratio between viable embryos and CL, were analysed by GLM procedure (SAS) and mean values were compared by Tukey's test. Pregnancy rate was similar among artificial insemination-ovulation (AIOV) intervals when semen was stored for 0-48 h. However, the lowest PR was observed in the 24-30 h AIOV interval with storage time (ST) of 96-120 h (p < 0.05). There was a significant effect of the interaction between ST and AIOV (p < 0.05) on TE and ES variables. Total embryos and ES did not differ (p > 0.05) among AIOV intervals in ST of 0-48 h. However, gilts inseminated at 24-30 h AIOV interval with ST of 96-120 h showed a reduction of 6.7 embryos (p < 0.05) compared with gilts in the same interval inseminated with semen stored for 0-48 h. ES for the 24-30 h AIOV interval and ST of 96-120 h was lower than that observed in the other groups (p < 0.05).     

A Fluted Point from the Uptar Site, Northeastern Siberia

Lanceolate bifacial points, including one fluted specimen, have been collected from beneath an early Holocene tephra at the Uptar site, northeastern Siberia. Thus, the technology associated with the well-known Paleoindian tradition was not confined to the Americas. The Uptar collection does not compare readily with other Beringian complexes and demonstrates that there is greater diversity in the archaeological record of northeastern Siberia than traditional colonization models imply.     

Amoebic meningoencephalitis caused by Balamuthia mandrillaris in an orang utan

Objective
To describe a case of meningoencephalitis caused by Balamuthia mandrillaris in an orang utan.
Design
A pathological case report.
Animal
A 20 years old male orang utan (Pongo pygmaeus).
Procedure
The disease process was investigated by clinical pathology, necropsy, histopathology and immunofluorescence labelling.
Results
The orang utan developed sudden onset of depression, lethargy, inappetence and apparent head pain. The condition was considered to be related to a 2 year history of upper and lower respiratory disease, and the animal was placed on antibiotics after extensive testing. By the seventh day the animal had become ataxic and disoriented and a brain abscess was suspected. He died on the ninth day of illness. At necropsy, and subsequent sectioning, the brain showed multiple circular, soft, white to grey brown areas of varying size, the largest being in the left temporal (3.5 cm diameter) and right occipital (2.5 cm diameter) regions of the cerebrum. Histological examination of these regions revealed many amoebic trophozoites and occasional cysts associated with areas of haemorrhage and inflammatory necrosis. The trophozoites were packed in perivascular spaces and their nuclei often contained two or more prominent nucleoli. Immunofluorescent labelling of histological sections suggested that the agent was B mandrillaris.
Clinical implications
This report provides further evidence that B mandrillaris , a free living amoeba, can act as a pathogen in animals as well as people, and cause fatal meningoencephalitis. Along with Naegleria and Acanthamoeba spp, B mandrillaris should be considered amongst the causes of acute onset meningoencephalitis in animals.     

Field trial of a staphylococcal mastitis vaccine in dairy herds: clinical, subclinical and microbiological assessments

Objective To assess the efficacy of a new staphylococcal mastitis vaccine under commercial dairying conditions.
Design A field trial involving 1819 cows and heifers conducted on seven dairy herds in Victoria. The trial was done 'blind'; approximately half the animals were vaccinated and the remainder were untreated controls.
Procedure The vaccine was given twice during the last 10 weeks of pregnancy. Effects of vaccination were assessed, during the ensuing lactation, on the basis of clinical and sub-clinical mastitis and microbiological investigations of the milk.
Results A total of 273 cases of clinical mastitis were recorded. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from 112 of these, 45 cases in vaccinates and 67 cases in controls; the difference was not statistically significant. One herd was notable in having a high incidence of clinical staphylococcal mastitis. This herd accounted for 15.8% of the animals in the field trial but 54.5% of cases of clinical staphylococcal mastitis. For this herd, vaccinated animals had significantly lower incidence of clinical staphylococcal mastitis and prevalence of subclinical mastitis, relative to controls. An unexpected feature of the trial as a whole was the low incidence of clinical mastitis from which S aureus was isolated in pure culture (26.3% of cases) and the high incidence of clinical Streptococcus uberis mastitis (22.7% of cases).
Conclusions The trial showed that the vaccine was efficacious in reducing the incidence of clinical mastitis and prevalence of subclinical mastitis in a herd that had a serious staphylococcal mastitis problem.     

A Dwarf Mutant of Arabidopsis Generated by T-DNA Insertion Mutagenesis

Most plant genes that control complex traits of tissues, organs, and whole plants are uncharacterized. Plant height, structure of reproductive organs, seed development and germination, for example, are traits of great agronomic importance. However, in the absence of knowledge of the gene products, current molecular approaches to isolate these important genes are limited. Infection of germinatng seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana with Agrobacterium results in transformed lines in which the integrated T-DNA from Agrobacterium and its associated kanamycin-resistance trait cosegregate with stable, phenotypic alterations. A survey of 136 transformed lines produced plants segregating in a manner consistent with Mendelian predictions for phenotypes altered in height, flower structure, trichomes, gametogenesis, embryogenesis, and seedling development. This report is the characterization of a dwarf mutant in which the phenotype is inherited as a single recessive nuclear mutation that cosegregates with both the kanamycin-resistance trait and the T-DNA insert.     

Optimized denitrification bioreactor treatment through simulated drainage containment

In the design of wood-based, enhanced-denitrification bioreactors to treat nitrate in agricultural drainage, the consideration of the highly variable flow rates and nitrate concentrations inherent to many drainage systems is important. For optimized mitigation of these nitrate loads, it may be best to contain drainage water prior to treatment in order to facilitate longer, more constant retention times rather than to allow cycles of flushing and dry periods in the denitrification bioreactor. Simulated containment prior to bioreactor treatment compared to passing drainage directly through a bioreactor was investigated with the use of six pilot-scale denitrification bioreactors constructed with plywood and filled with Pinus radiata woodchips at Massey University No. 4 Dairy Farm (Palmerston North, New Zealand). Initial bromide tracer tests were followed with a series of five simulated drainage events each at successively declining inflow nitrate concentrations. During each drainage event, three pilot bioreactors received a simulated hydrograph lasting 1.5 days (Non-Containment treatment) and three pilot bioreactors received the same total drainage volume treated over 4 days at a constant flow rate (i.e. constant retention time; Containment treatment). Results showed significantly different total mass removal efficiencies of 14.0% vs. 36.9% and significantly different removal rates of 2.1 g N m⁻³ day⁻¹ vs. 6.7 g N m⁻³ day⁻¹ for the Non-Containment and Containment treatments, respectively, which indicated that treating drainage at constant retention times provided more optimized nitrate removal. While this work was done to evaluate treatment under New Zealand drainage conditions, it also provides valuable information for optimizing agricultural drainage denitrification bioreactor performance in general.