Common and stage-specific antigens of Theileria annulata.

Western blot analysis of Theileria annulata antigens was carried out using sera collected from cattle which had been immunised and challenged with either T. annulata sporozoites or schizont-infected cells. Three antigens between 71 and 73 kDa proved to be common to the three stages of parasite studied: sporozoites, schizonts and piroplasms. An antigen was found at 32 kDa which was specific to T. annulata piroplasms. Results were reproducible using sera from Morocco and the UK. At least one of the proteins at 71-73 kDa, but not that at 32 kDa were also recognised by sera from animals infected with Babesia species.     

Skating on thin ice: Identifying the need for species‐specific data and defined migration ecology of Rajidae spp.

Skates (class Chondrichthyes; subclass Elasmobranchii; order Rajiformes; family Rajidae) comprise one quarter of extant chondrichthyans, yet have received little attention in the scientific literature likely due to their relatively low economic value and difficulties in species identification. The absence of species‐specific information on catch, life history and migration of skates has often precluded the development of single‐species stock assessments and led to the use of cursory multispecies assessments, which lack the ability to track species‐specific catch and abundance trends. This has resulted in undetected local extirpations, as has been previously reported for common (Dipturus batis, Rajidae), white (Rostroraja alba, Rajidae) and long‐nose (Dipturus oxyrhinchus, Rajidae) skates in the Irish Sea. Here, we (a) use case studies to illustrate how the perception of skate population structure and stock status has historically been masked through multispecies assessment and management practices, (b) review current information on the movement of skates and identify gaps in knowledge, and (c) identify biases associated with the use of various tagging technologies, which have confounded our understanding of movement and migration ecology of skates. Considering that over 40% of extant Rajidae species are listed as “Data Deficient” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, we illustrate a critical need to broaden the current understanding of skate life history, movement and migration ecology by providing recommendations on the further application of electronic tags and biogeochemical natural tags in movement studies and highlight the benefits that studies using these approaches have for novel management frameworks.     

Effect of Fermentation and Oil Incorporation on the Retention of E Vitamers During Breadmaking

All forms of baking and processing cause a loss of nutrients, including vitamin E, but little is known about these occurrences or if they could be avoided. The objective of this research was to study the incorporation of palm oil and the stability of vitamin E in palm oil during breadmaking. Wheat meal and rye breads were baked with and without the addition of 0, 2, 5, or 8% palm oil. The eight E group vitamers (tocopherols and tocotrienols) were extracted by using accelerated solvent extraction, freeze dried, and then analyzed with normal‐phase HPLC. Compared with the controls, the inclusion of palm oil was found to increase the quantity of all forms of vitamin E in the final baked products. It is concluded that palm oil is effective in increasing the vitamin E content of whole grain bread.     

Turning back the tide of American mink invasion at an unprecedented scale through community participation and adaptive management

Successful eradications of harmful invasive species have been mostly confined to islands while control programs in mainland areas remain small, uncoordinated and vulnerable to recolonisation. To allow the recovery of threatened native species, innovative management strategies are required to remove invasives from large areas. We took an adaptive approach to achieve large scale eradication of invasive American mink in North East Scotland. The project was centred on the Cairngorms National Park (Scotland), with the primary aim of protecting endangered water vole populations. The project was initiated by scientists and supported and implemented through a partnership comprising a government agency, national park authority and local fisheries boards. Capitalising on the convergent interests of a diverse range of local stakeholders, we created a coordinated coalition of trained volunteers to detect and trap mink. Starting in montane headwaters, we systematically moved down river catchments, deploying mink rafts, an effective detection and trapping platform. Volunteers took increasing responsibility for raft monitoring and mink trapping as the project progressed. Within 3 years, the project removed 376 mink from 10570 km² with the involvement of 186 volunteers. Capture rate within sub-catchments increased with greater connectivity to mink in other sub-catchments and with proximity to the coast where there is more productive habitat. The main factor underpinning the success of this project was functional volunteer participation. The project is a reason for optimism that the tide of invasion can be rolled back on a large scale where the convergent interest of local communities can be harnessed.     

Digestibility, faeces recovery, and related carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus balances of five feed ingredients evaluated as fishmeal alternatives in Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus L.

This study shows that alternatives for fishmeal in a fish diet affect not only fish growth but also faeces stability and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) waste production. Wheat gluten diet (WGD), soybean meal extract diet (SBE), soybean meal diet (SBM), duckweed diet (DWD) and single‐cell protein diet (SCP) were evaluated as a fishmeal replacement on a 15% weight weight^?1 basis in tilapia diets. Fishmeal replacement affected dry matter (dm), protein, ash and P digestibility significantly. Faeces recovery (6.8–11.2%) was not significantly affected, although the amount of non‐recovered faeces and total faeces showed significant differences. Duckweed diet and SCP resulted in the largest amounts of non‐recovered and total faeces (199–210, 224–225 g dm kg^?1 feed dm). Compared with fishmeal diet (FMD), the WGD and SBE resulted in similar growth, but higher non‐faecal N losses (471–495 vs. 416 g N kg^?1 N). Soybean meal diet, DWD and SCP resulted in lower growth but less non‐faecal loss (409–450 g N kg^?1 N). The DWD and FMD had the highest N retention (480 g N kg^?1 N) compared with the other diets (431–451 g N kg^?1 N). Carbon retention, faecal and non‐faecal losses and P retention were similar for all diets (302–358, 142–176 and 489–523g C kg^?1 C, 606–704 g P kg^?1 P). Phosphorus faecal loss was lower for all diets (329–381 g P kg^?1 P) than for the FMD (401 g P kg^?1 P).     

Proliferative response of mammary gland mononuclear cells to recombinant bovine interleukin-2.

Methods of augmenting bovine mononuclear cell responsiveness during physiological transitions of the udder may enhance resistance of the mammary gland to intramammary infections. Interleukin-2 is required for proliferation of T-lymphocytes and may contribute to B-lymphocyte proliferation. Recombinant bovine interleukin-2 (rBoIL-2) was evaluated as a potential immunoenhancer of bovine mammary gland mononuclear cells. Bovine mononuclear cells were isolated from five primiparous Holstein cows at 14-18 and 28-32 days of involution and at 7-13 days prior to parturition. Bovine blood and mammary gland mononuclear cells were highly responsive to rBoIL-2. Response of mammary gland mononuclear cells to rBoIL-2 was comparable with response of blood mononuclear cells. These data suggest that rBoIL-2 may be an effective immunoenhancer of bovine mononuclear cells during the non-lactating and prepartum periods.     

Use of a self-expanding metallic stent for the treatment of a urethral stricture in a young cat

A 4-month-old intact male domestic shorthair cat was evaluated for urinary outflow obstruction after several weeks of medical management for traumatic urethral rupture. Positive-contrast retrograde urethrography and anterograde cystoscopy performed 4 weeks after the initial urethral injury confirmed a stricture approximately 1cm distal to the bladder trigone at the site of the initial urethral tear. A self-expanding metallic urethral stent (SEMS) was placed under fluoroscopic guidance to relieve the urethral stricture and re-establish luminal patency. After stent placement, the cat was able to void urine normally with minimal urinary incontinence noted. This resolved several months post-stent placement. No known clinical complications persisted other than mild intermittent hematuria.     

The in vitro reduction of sodium [36Cl]chlorate in bovine ruminal fluid

Sodium chlorate effectively reduces or eliminates gram-negative pathogenic bacteria in the gastrointestinal tracts of live cattle. Limitations to the in vivo efficacy of chlorate are its rapid absorption from the gastrointestinal tract and its presumed reduction to chloride within the gastrointestinal tract. We hypothesized that chlorate would be reduced via ruminal bacteria in a ruminal in vitro system and that the reduction of chlorate would be influenced by the dietary for-age:concentrate ratio; thus, 4 ruminally cannulated steers were fed 20 or 80% concentrate diets in a crossover design. Ruminal fluid was collected in 2 periods and dispensed into in vitro tubes containing sodium [36Cl]chlorate, which was sufficient for 100 or 300 mg/L final chlorate concentrations. The tubes were incubated for 0, 1, 4, 8, 16, or 24 h; autoclaved, control ruminal fluid, fortified with sodium [36Cl]chlorate, was incubated for 24 h. Chlorate remaining in each sample was measured by liquid scintillation counting after [36Cl]chloride was precipitated with silver nitrate. A preliminary study indicated that chlorite, a possible intermediate in the reduction of chlorate, had a half-life of approximately 4.5 min in freshly collected (live) ruminal fluid; chlorite was, therefore, not specifically measured in ruminal incubations. The chlorate dose did not affect in vitro DM digestion (P > or = 0.11), whereas in vitro DM digestibility was decreased (P < or = 0.05) by 80% forage content. By 24 h, 57.5 +/- 2.6% of the chlorate remained in 100-mg/L incubations, whereas 78.2 +/- 2.6% of the chlorate remained in the 300-mg/L incubations. When the data were expressed on a concentration basis (mg/L), diet had no effect (P > or = 0.18) on chlorate reduction; however, when chlorate reduction was expressed on a percentage basis, chlorate reduction tended to be greater (P > or = 0.09) at 8 and 16 h in the incubations containing the low-concentrate diet. Chlorate remaining in autoclaved controls at 24 h was intermediate (P < 0.01) between chlorate remaining in live ruminal fluid samples incubated for 0 or 24 h. Attempts to isolate chlorate-respiring bacteria from 2 sources of ruminal fluid were not successful. These data indicate that microbial-dependent or chemical-dependent, or both, reduction of chlorate occurs in bovine ruminal fluid and that dietary concentrate had a negligible effect on chlorate reduction.