Selenium, vitamin E and polyunsaturated fatty acid concentrations in goat kids with and without nutritional myodegeneration

Mean selenium and vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) concentrations in the liver, myocardium and skeletal muscle of nine goat kids with nutritional myodegeneration (NMD) were significantly lower than those in a group of nine kids dying from other causes. Each of the 18 kids was from a different property in the southern half of the North Island. The polyunsaturated fatty acid composition of the liver, myocardium and skeletal muscle was not significantly different between the two groups, but the overall level of peroxidisable polyunsaturated fatty acids appeared high in both groups. A further 21 kids with confirmed NMD and live 'controls', submitted as routine cases to Palmerston North Animal Health Laboratory, were included with the above 18 kids in a comparison of liver selenium and alpha-tocopherol concentrations. Kids with NMD had liver selenium concentrations ranging from 170-1100 (mean = 380) nmol/kg and alpha-tocopherol from 0.7-11.0 (mean =2.2) micromol/kg. In control kids, the liver selenium concentration ranged from 530-4300 (mean = 1220) nmol/kg and a-tocopherol from 1.7-14.0 (mean = 5.6) pmollkg. Although these ranges overlapped, the results suggest that liver selenium concentrations <500 nmol/kg and alpha-tocopherol concentrations <2.5 micromol/kg should be regarded as deficient. Liver selenium concentrations from 500-1100 nmol/kg and alpha-tocopherol concentrations from 2.5-10 micromol/kg should be considered marginal. Goat kids appear to require more selenium than lambs or calves which may explain the higher prevalence of NMD in kids. In some cases, however, the disease is associated with low alpha-tocopherol suggesting that supplementation with selenium alone may not always be sufficient.     

Limited effects of land use on soil dissolved organic matter chemistry as assessed by excitation–emission fluorescence spectroscopy and molecular weight fractionation

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) in soil solution represents a complex mixture of organic molecules and plays a central role in carbon and nitrogen cycling in plant–microbial–soil systems. We tested whether excitation–emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy can be used to characterize DOM and support previous findings that the majority of DOM is of high molecular weight (MW). EEM fluorescence spectroscopy was used in conjunction with MW fractionation to characterize DOM in soil solution from a grassland soil land management gradient in North Wales, UK. Data analysis suggested that three distinct fluorescence components could be separated and identified from the EEM data. These components were identified as being of humic‐like or fulvic‐like origin. Contrary to expectations, the majority of the fluorescence signal occurred in the small MW (<1 kDa) fraction, although differences between soils from the differently managed grasslands were more apparent in larger MW fractions. We conclude that following further characterization of the chemical composition of the fluorophores, EEM has potential as a sensitive technique for characterizing the small MW phenolic fraction of DOM in soils.     

Pharmacokinetics of single‐dose oral ponazuril in weanling goats

Ponazuril (toltrazuril sulfone) is a triazine antiprotozoal agent that targets apicomplexan organisms. Ponazuril may have clinical application in the treatment of clinical coccidiosis due to Eimeria species in goats, along with other protozoal infections. To evaluate the absorption, distribution and elimination characteristics of ponazuril in goats, a sensitive, validated high‐pressure liquid chromatography and mass spectroscopy method for ponazuril in caprine plasma was developed. After a single oral dose of ponazuril at 10 mg/kg, plasma samples from seven weanling goats were collected and assayed. Plasma concentrations of ponazuril in the goats peaked at 36 ± 13 h post drug administration at a concentration of 9 ± 2 μg/mL. Concentrations declined to an average of 4.2 ± 0.8 μg/mL after 168 h with an average elimination half‐life of 129 ± 72 h post drug administration. This study shows that ponazuril is relatively well absorbed after a single oral dose in goats. Efficacy trials are underway to determine clinical efficacy of ponazuril in the treatment of clinical coccidiosis in goats at 10 mg/kg dosage.     

Clinical application of a polymerase chain reaction assay in the diagnosis of pneumonia caused by Rhodococcus equi in a horse

Diagnosis of pneumonia caused by Rhodococcus equi can be made more rapidly by use of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay than by use of conventional bacteriologic culture techniques. Use of a PCR assay aids in the differentiation between virulent and avirulent strains of R equi, and the assay may be used to identify R equi in feces and soil of breeding farms.     

含莫纳可林K红曲降低鸡蛋胆固醇效果的研究

48只68周龄的海兰褐蛋鸡分成三组，按0.5％和10％比例分别添加含0．4％莫纳可林K红曲于各组日粮内，饲喂22d，观测其对鸡蛋胆固醇变化的影响。结果表明，投药后5—6d，10％添加组和5％添加组蛋黄胆固醇开始下降；15—22d的胆固醇含量与1～5d相比，10％添加组和5％添加组分别下降了9．02％和5．10％，而对照组升高了5．22％。     

氧氟沙星药物的研究进展

通过对氧氟沙星药物近十年来的检测方法、药代动力学、药效学、耐药性及抗菌后效应、联合应用及毒理学、残留及残留的检测方法等六个方面的大量研究资料进行综述,详细介绍并论述了氧氟沙星药物在这些方面的最新研究成果,对氧氟沙星药物及其他喹诺酮类药物的进一步研究、开发和应用具有指导意义。     

Lymphoid neoplasia in the koala

Objective Correlation of immunophenotype with history, anatomical and morphological features of lymphoid neoplasia in the koala.
Methods Routine necropsies were performed on 51 koalas with suspected lymphoid neoplasia between 1986 and 1997 in New South Wales and Queensland. Immuno-phenotyping was by an immunoperoxidase method utilising species cross-reactive antibodies raised against human lymphocytes and an antibody raised against koala IgG. Cases were classified according to organs and tissues affected and the morphological features of neoplastic cells.
Results Twenty-six (51%) of the cases were of the T cell immunophenotype, 12 (24%) were of B cell immunopheno-type and 13 (25%) did not stain. The age and sex of koalas did not correlate with immunophenotype (P = 0.686 and P = 1.000, respectively). Thirty-two cases were leukaemic and 36 had multiple organ involvement, probably reflecting presenta tion of koalas at advanced stages of disease. Abdominal tissue involvement was most common (44 cases), followed by nodal (32), atypical (21) and cervicomediastinal (14). The T cell immunophenotype was over-represented among the leukaemic cases (P = 0.013). Generally, the T cell immunophenotype predominated except for many affected atypical tissues. Neoplastic cells were mostly of medium nuclear size with round to oval nuclei. No correlations were found for cell morphology, mitotic index and immunopheno-type.
Conclusion The prognostic value of an immunopheno-typic, anatomical and morphological basis for the classifica tion of lymphoid neoplasia in the koala currently is limited by the need to detect these neoplasms at an early age, the requirement for freshly fixed tissues and the restricted range of available cross-reacting antibodies.