Seed Shattering of Cañahua (Chenopodium pallidicaule Aellen)

Cañahua (Chenopodium pallidicaule Aellen) is a semi‐domesticated relative of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) with high nutritious quality. It is tolerant to frost, drought, saline soils and pests. One seed yield limitation is seed loss during the maturity stages. Two greenhouse experiments in Denmark and field experiments in Bolivia were carried out to determine seed shattering in landraces and cultivars with different growth habits. 15–21 % of the seed shattering in the fields took place whilst the plants still were flowering and 25–35 % during physiological maturity. Seed shattering varied between locations on the Bolivian Altiplano. Cañahua types with the semi‐prostrate growth (‘lasta’) had the highest seed shattering rate in the greenhouse experiments. The Umacutama landrace had lower seed shattering (1 %) than the cultivar Kullaca (7.2 %) both of the ‘lasta’ type. Under field conditions, the cultivar Illimani with the erect growth (‘saihua’) had the highest seed shattering rate (6.4–33.7 %) at both locations and at four different sowing dates. The Umacutama had the lowest rate (0.5–1.5 %). There were no significant differences between plants of the ‘lasta’ and the ‘saihua’ types. The landrace had significantly less seed loss than the cultivars. However, in the greenhouse, the landrace yield was approximately 25 % lower than the yields of the cultivars. In general, cañahua cultivars had higher yield compared to landraces, but also a higher seed shattering rate. Landraces may be used in breeding programmes to develop high‐yielding cultivars with reduced seed shattering.     

Caudal epidural co-administration of methadone and morphine in horses: An evaluation of analgesic properties and effects on locomotor function,mentation and physical examination parameters

Caudal epidural analgesia is a well-established therapeutic modality for pain alleviation in horses. Additionally, epidural analgesia could potentially be a complementary diagnostic tool for confirmation of pain-related conditions in horses presenting with nonspecific signs of poor performance or rideability issues. To use the epidural as a diagnostic tool, the administered medications should provide efficient analgesia without accompanying adverse effects. Therefore, the objectives of the current study were to evaluate the analgesic properties and effects on locomotor function, mentation and physical examination parameters of caudal epidural co-administration of methadone and morphine in horses. Five mares received a caudal epidural injection of 0.1 mg/kg bwt methadone and 0.1 mg/kg bwt morphine diluted to a total volume of 4.4 mL/100 kg. Before and several times thereafter, horses were subjected to mechanical nociceptive threshold evaluation, physical examination, assessment of mentation and locomotor function examination. Horses were assigned ataxia scores (0–4) by a group of inexperienced raters (three senior-year veterinary students) and a group of experienced raters (two board-certified internal medicine specialists) that assessed the locomotor examinations either live or video-based. The epidural co-administration of methadone and morphine resulted in clinically relevant and statistically significant increases of horses’ tolerance to mechanical noxious stimuli at the coccygeal, perineal, sacral, lumbar and thoracic regions. Analgesia was evident after 4.4 h and lasted at least 5 h. Regional differences in the onset of analgesia reflected a cranial spread of the analgesic solution. No horses showed signs of gait disturbances; the overall median ataxia score was 0 at all times; and the average difference in scores between two randomly selected raters for a random horse at a random time point was 0.377 indicating high inter-rater agreement. There were no adverse changes of mentation and physical examination parameters. Observed side effects included signs of decreased frequency of defaecation, generalised sweating, and pruritus.     

Characterization of hemiacetal forms of anthocyanidin 3-O-beta-glycopyranosides

The 3-O-beta-glucopyranosides of delphinidin, petunidin, and malvidin (1-3) and cyanidin 3-O-beta-galactopyranoside (4) dissolved in deuterated methanolic solutions without and with acid (5%, CF3COOD) were identified by homo- and heteronuclear NMR techniques. The hemiacetal forms of all the four anthocyanins were characterized as two epimeric 2-hydroxy-hemiacetals on the basis of assignments of both proton and carbon NMR signals together with chemical shift considerations. This is the first report of 13C NMR assignments of two epimeric anthocyanin hemiacetal forms. No 4-hydroxy-hemiacetal form was detected for any of the pigments. For each anthocyanin dissolved in deuterated methanol, the equilibrium between each of the two epimeric hemiacetals and the corresponding flavylium cation was confirmed by the observed positive exchange cross-peaks in the 2D 1H NOESY spectra. The molar proportions of the flavylium cation and the two hemiacetals of 1-4 in deuterated methanol were very similar for all pigments, even during storage for weeks. The majority of the anthocyanins reported to occur in fruits have the same or similar structures as 1-4. These pigments have been proposed to exist predominantly as hemiacetals in slightly acidic to neutral solvents, which is a relevant pH range in plants and in the human gastrointestinal tract.     

Eradication of Salmonella Yoruba in an integrated pig herd

An integrated SPF herd with 320 sows was found infected with Salmonella Yoruba during an annual control among sows, aiming to verify freedom from Salmonella infections. It is believed that the infection was introduced to the herd by purchase of feed. The herd performed an age segregated rearing system. Sows and piglets were reared at a central farm, while growers (25-100 kg body weight) were reared at sub-estates. The growers were free from the infection, and as a consequence a specially designed eradication program was designed. Farrowing and weaning were defined as periods of risk for sows and piglets, respectively. Consequently sows were isolated and individually tested for presence of Salmonella one week before and one week after farrowing. The offspring were tested one week post weaning. To verify freedom from disease among piglets they were also tested another time before transfer to the uninfected sub-estates. Piglets with undefined status regarding Salmonella were denoted animals at risk and not transferred to the sub-estates. Instead they were transferred to a third estate, rented to house pigs at risk. The program was successful. It allowed full production during performance, and the herd was declared free from S. Yoruba seven and a half months after the initial diagnosis.     

Transmission of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae in pigs under field-like conditions: emphasis on tonsillar colonisation and passively acquired colostral antibodies

The objectives of this study were to elucidate at which age tonsillar colonisation by Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae occurs in pigs and relate this occurrence to the presence of colostral antibodies to A. pleuropneumoniae. The infection patterns were studied in an isolated cohort of pigs, which consisted of the offspring from five sows originating from a conventional pig herd. The sows were transferred to isolated research facilities before farrowing. A. pleuropneumoniae was detected on the tonsils of all sows. After a nursing period of 3 weeks, the pigs were weaned and reared isolated from other pigs until slaughter. The pigs were examined repeatedly for the presence of A. pleuropneumoniae on the tonsils and for antibodies to A. pleuropneumoniae using bacteriological and serological techniques, respectively.A. pleuropneumoniae was detected in the tonsils of one pig as early as 11 days after birth, showing that A. pleuropneumoniae can be transmitted from sow to offspring during a 3-week nursing period. The cumulative proportion of pigs carrying A. pleuropneumoniae in their tonsils increased significantly between the age of 4-12 weeks. This age period corresponded to the age at which the proportion of pigs with detectable levels of colostral antibodies to the different serotypes of A. pleuropneumoniae was declining. Since these two events take place in the same age period, we expect a possible biological association between the level of the passive immunity and the degree of tonsillar colonisation. The median duration of tonsillar colonisation was estimated to approximately 7-8 weeks.     

Using LC-MSMS to assess glutathione levels in South African white grape juices and wines made with different levels of oxygen

The effect of oxygen on the levels of glutathione, an important antioxidant, in must and wine was studied using a novel LC-MSMS method for the analysis of reduced and oxidized glutathione. This study found that the storage of grape juice at high SO2 and ascorbic acid levels at -20 degrees C did not lead to a decrease in reduced glutathione levels. The effect of varying the oxygen levels in South African white grape juices, which included a reductive treatment (less than 0.3 mg/L dissolved O2 added), a control treatment (between 1.0 and 1.5 mg/L dissolved O2 added), and an oxidative treatment (3.5-4 mg/ L dissolved O2 added, without SO2) on reduced glutathione levels in the juice and resulting wine was also investigated. A custom build press was used to press whole bunches of two different Sauvignon Blanc and Colombard grapes. Alcoholic fermentation and oxygen additions to the must led to lower reduced glutathione levels in the wine. Reduced glutathione levels were only significantly higher in the wine made from reductive juice that had the highest initial reduced glutathione levels in the grapes.     

Herd diagnosis of low pathogen diarrhoea in growing pigs – a pilot study

Background

The major indication for antibiotic use in Danish pigs is treatment of intestinal diseases post weaning. Clinical decisions on antibiotic batch medication are often based on inspection of diarrhoeic pools on the pen floor. In some of these treated diarrhoea outbreaks, intestinal pathogens can only be demonstrated in a small number of pigs within the treated group (low pathogen diarrhoea). Termination of antibiotic batch medication in herds suffering from such diarrhoea could potentially reduce the consumption of antibiotics in the pig industry. The objective of the present pilot study was to suggest criteria for herd diagnosis of low pathogen diarrhoea in growing pigs.Data previously collected from 20 Danish herds were used to create a case series of clinical diarrhoea outbreaks normally subjected to antibiotic treatment. In the present study, these diarrhoea outbreaks were classified as low pathogen (<15% of the pigs having bacterial intestinal disease) (n =5 outbreaks) or high pathogen (≥15% of the pigs having bacterial intestinal disease) (n =15 outbreaks). Based on the case series, different diagnostic procedures were explored, and criteria for herd diagnosis of low pathogen diarrhoea were suggested. The effect of sampling variation was explored by simulation.

Results

The diagnostic procedure with the highest combined herd-level sensitivity and specificity was qPCR testing of a pooled sample containing 20 randomly selected faecal samples. The criteria for a positive test result (high pathogen diarrhoea outbreak) were an average of 1.5 diarrhoeic faecal pools on the floor of each pen in the room under investigation and a pathogenic bacterial load ≥35,000 per gram in the faecal pool tested by qPCR. The bacterial load was the sum of Lawsonia intracellularis, Brachyspira pilosicoli and Escherichia coli F4 and F18 bacteria per gram faeces. The herd-diagnostic performance was (herd-level) diagnostic sensitivity =0.99, diagnostic specificity =0.80, positive predictive value =0.94 and negative predictive value =0.96.

Conclusions

The pilot study suggests criteria for herd diagnosis of low pathogen diarrhoea in growing pigs. The suggested criteria should now be evaluated, and the effect of terminating antibiotic batch medication in herds identified as suffering from low pathogen diarrhoea should be explored.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2046-0481-67-24) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.