Guidelines for euthanasia of domestic animals by firearms

All animals that are to be killed, whether for food, for humane reasons, or because they are homeless, must receive a quick and painless death. In some smaller communities, veterinary or humane society expertise may not be readily available to humanely kill stray and unwanted animals. An alternative that provides for a humane death for the animal is by shooting. The following guidelines are intended to assist persons who must perform this usually distasteful task; they contain recommended techniques that will help to ensure that any animals killed by shooting will die in a humane way.     

Insular pest control within a metapopulation context

Introduced pests threaten many species and their control is generally beneficial for conservation, particularly on islands where complete eradication is possible. Unfortunately on ‘nearshore’ islands neighbouring source populations exist and unaided reinvasion is likely. Pest control programmes at these sites thus require a metapopulation context to adequately manage movements between source and sink populations. We investigated the ecology of introduced ship rats (Rattus rattus) on a nearshore island, and gene flow with adjacent mainland populations, in order to understand the metapopulation dynamics and relative levels of pest control required within the landscape. We sampled the entire population by trapping (n = 30), achieving eradication, and found a low rat density (3.2 ha⁻¹) indicative of a sink population. Seed and other plant material constituted the major dietary component of rats. Despite its proximity to mainland source populations, the island population was genetically distinct with reduced allelic diversity caused by a recent reinvasion founder effect. Genetic analyses also detected recent migrants between the populations. In contrast, two mainland populations separated by a similar distance displayed complete genetic mixing. The small water gap therefore provides a sufficient barrier to lower the migration rate to the island and delay reinvasion, which nonetheless eventually happens. In order to maintain nearshore islands pest-free, conservation management will require a metapopulation approach simultaneously focusing on both island and source population pest control.     

Development and evaluation of an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of foot-and-mouth disease virus nonstructural protein antibody using a chemically synthesized 2B peptide as antigen.

Forty peptides were synthesized corresponding to hydrophilic clusters of amino acids within the sequences of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) nonstructural proteins (NSP). Six peptides were studied in more detail and the most promising, a 2B peptide, was evaluated in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using sera from naive, vaccinated, and vaccinated-and-challenged cattle as well as bovine sera from field outbreaks. The performance of the new NSP peptide ELISA was compared to that of 4 commercial NSP ELISA kits. Antibody to 2B was detectable from the end of the first week to the second week after infection in most of the nonvaccinated animals and by the second to third week in vaccinated-and-challenged animals. The sensitivity of the 2B peptide ELISA was comparable to the 3ABC Ceditest (Ceditest FMDV-NS, Cedi Diagnostics B.V.; Chung et al., 2002). With some modification and further validation, this 2B test could be useful as a screening or conformational NSP test in postvaccination surveillance for FMD.     

牦牛大肠埃希氏菌病灭活疫苗的制备

用本实验室分离鉴定的致病性牦牛大肠埃希氏菌，按常规方法制备了4批氢氧化铝胶灭活疫苗。对牦牛大肠埃希氏菌的菌液培养、纯粹检验、活菌计数、灭活等进行了探索，并对用该菌研制成的疫苗进行了常规检验。结果4批灭活疫苗经无菌检验为阴性；经物理性状检验为：静置后上层是淡黄色的澄明液体，下层为灰白色沉淀，振荡后呈均匀混浊液；经牦牛安全检验结果为安全；经牦牛效力试验有效。牦牛大肠埃希氏菌病灭活疫苗为免疫预防该病打下了良好的基础。     

Tree water use and rainfall partitioning in a mature poplar-pasture system

Traditionally, poplars (Populus) have been planted to control erosion on New Zealand's hill-slopes, because of their capacity to dry out and bind together the soil, by reducing effective rainfall and increasing evapotranspiration and soil strength. However, the effect of widely spaced poplars on the partitioning of soil water and rainfall has not been reported. This study determined rainfall partitioning for 18 mid-spring days in a mature P. deltoides (Bart. ex Marsh, Clone I78)-pasture association (37 stems per hectare, unevenly spaced at 16.4 +/- 0.4 m) and compared it with a traditional open pasture system in grazed areas of a hill environment. Tree transpiration was measured by the heat pulse technique. A time-driven mathematical model was used to set a zero offset, adjust anomalous values and describe simultaneous sap velocity time courses of trees. The model showed that daylight sap flow velocities can be represented with a nonlinear Beta function (R(2) > 0.98), and differences in the parameters representing the initiation, duration and conformation of the sap velocity can be tested statistically to discern tree transpiration differences during the day. Evapotranspiration was greater for the poplar-pasture association than for the open pasture (2.7-3.0 versus 2.2 mm day(-1)). The tree canopy alone contributed 0.92 mm day(-1) as transpiration and 1.37 mm day(-1) as interception, whereas evapotranspiration of the pasture understory was only 0.4-0.6 mm day(-1). Despite the higher water use of the poplar-pasture association, soil water in the 0-300 mm soil stratum was higher than, or similar to, that of the open pasture. Tree shading decreased evapotranspiration and pasture accumulation under the trees.     

评估调质时间和温度对猪颗粒饲料淀粉糊化度和维生素沉积的影响

本论文研究了饲料加工的两个关键参数(调质温度和时间)对育肥猪颗粒饲料淀粉糊化度和维生素沉积的影响。日粮配方为含30%干酒糟及其可溶物的玉米-豆粕型基础日粮。整个试验中配方保持不变。本试验采用2×3双因子设计,调质温度分别为77℃和88℃,调质时间分别15秒、30秒和60秒。此外,本试验还设置一个对照组,对照组饲料不采用调质制粒工艺,而是采用粉料饲喂。因此,本试验共有7个处理组。采集调质后制粒前(热干粉)、制粒后冷却前(热制粒)、以及制粒冷却后(冷制粒)的样品,并分析这三种样品的总淀粉率、淀粉糊化     

MALDI‐MS Lipid Profiles of Oocytes Recovered by Ovum Pickup from Bos indicus and 1/2 indicus × taurus with High vs Low Oocyte Yields

The aim of the present study was to compare the lipid profile in oocytes of indicus and 1/2 indicus × taurus cows with high and low antral follicle count (AFC)/oocyte yields. After an OPU procedure (D0), antral follicles ≥3 mm were counted by ultrasonography (D4, 19, 34, 49, 64), and cows were assigned to groups with either high AFC (≥30 follicles; indicus, NH group; 1/2 indicus × taurus, AH group) or low AFC (≤15 antral follicles; indicus, NL group; 1/2 indicus × taurus, AL group). The lipid profiles of the oocytes were determined by MALDI‐MS. For GI, GII and GIII oocytes, the indicus samples tend to cluster separately from the 1/2 indicus × taurus samples. The lipid species [PC (P‐38:5) + H]⁺ and/or [PC (P‐36:2) + Na]⁺, [PC (38:2) + H]⁺, [PC (38:5) + Na]⁺ and [TAG (60:8) + NH⁴]⁺ were more abundant in indicus (NH and NL groups) than 1/2 indicus × taurus. The higher lipid content in the indicus oocytes likely reflects differences in the rate of lipid metabolism and may contribute to oocyte competence and embryo development.