Analysis of a site x year experiment with timothy polycross progeny

Summary Results from a cooperative breeding programme with timothy for the northern areas of Scandinavia are presented. The main aim of the programme was to identify genotypes for synthetic populations that are high yielding, adapted over the whole area and stable over years. A polycross comprising 12 genotypes from each of five sites within the region was formed. The subsequent 60 half-sib families and four reference varieties were then compared under sward conditions at the same sites. The trials lasted for three years and results for total dry matter yields are presented.Significant differences in yield between lines were found. There were also significant two and three factor interactions between lines, sites and years. A new two-step procedure is presented to select the genotypes to make up a synthetic variety. Firstly, a superiority measure (Q-value) is used to select a group of genotypes that are high yielding and stable over sites and years. Secondly, the GxE part of the Q-value is split into two terms. One measures adaptation to predictable environmental conditions. The other one measures stability to unpredictable changes in the environment. A plot of these two measures provides a tool for discarding unstable or poorly adapted genotypes. The statistical properties of the selection parameters are discussed.     

Genetic basis of penicillin resistance of S. aureus isolated in bovine mastitis

Background

The blaZ gene encoding penicillin resistance can be located either chromosomally or on plasmids. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic relationships and to determine the location of the blaZ gene in S. aureus isolated in bovine mastitis in Finland and Sweden.

Methods

Seventy-eight β-lactamase positive S. aureus isolates from bovine mastitis (34 from Finland and 44 from Sweden) were included in the study. The localization of blaZ gene was determined by Southern blotting. The blaZ genes of the isolates were sequenced and the sequences were translated to beta-lactamase proteins and further grouped as different protein signatures. The isolates and, as control, 33 Swedish and 36 Finnish beta-lactamase negative isolates were typed with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE).

Results

In 26 out of 34 Finnish isolates (76.5%) and in 25 out of 44 Swedish isolates (56.8%) the blaZ gene was localized on a plasmid. Six different protein signatures were found. One signature was found only in four Swedish isolates, but all other signatures were found both in Finnish and Swedish isolates. The PFGE results revealed a diversity of S. aureus clones. The protein signatures were not clearly associated with certain pulsotypes.

Conclusions

The plasmid location of the blaZ gene was not statistically significantly more common in Finland than in Sweden, and hence does not explain the higher proportion of penicillin-resistant isolates of S. aureus causing bovine mastitis in Finland compared to Sweden.     

Thin-slice three-dimensional gradient-echo magnetic resonance imaging of the pituitary gland in healthy dogs

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate thin-slice 3-dimensional gradient-echo (GE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the pituitary gland in healthy dogs. ANIMALS: 11 healthy dogs. PROCEDURES: By use of a 0.2-Tesla open magnet, MRI of the skull was performed with T1-weighted GE sequences and various protocols with variations in imaging plane, slice thickness, and flip angle before and after administration of contrast medium; multiplanar reconstructions were made. The pituitary region was subjectively assessed, and its dimensions were measured. Image quality was determined by calculation of contrast-to-noise and signal-to-noise ratios. RESULTS: Best-detailed images were obtained with a T1-weighted GE sequence with 1-mm slice thickness and 30 degrees flip angle before and after administration of contrast medium. Images with flip angles > 50 degrees were of poor quality. Quality of multiplanar reconstruction images with 1-mm slices was better than with 2-mm slices. The bright signal was best seen without contrast medium. With contrast medium, the dorsal border of the pituitary gland was clearly delineated, but lateral borders were more difficult to discern. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: MRI of the canine pituitary gland with a 0.2-Tesla open magnet should include a T1-weighted GE sequence with 1-mm slice thickness and flip angle of 30 degrees before and after administration of contrast medium. The neurohypophysis was best visualized without contrast medium. The MRI examination permitted differentiation between the pituitary gland and surrounding structures.     

Voles and weasels in the boreal Fennoscandian small mammal community: what happens if the least weasel disappears due to climate change?

Climate change, habitat loss and fragmentation are major threats for populations and a challenge for individual behavior, interactions and survival. Predator–prey interactions are modified by climate processes. In the northern latitudes, strong seasonality is changing and the main predicted feature is shortening and instability of winter. Vole populations in the boreal Fennoscandia exhibit multiannual cycles. High amplitude peak numbers of voles and dramatic population lows alternate in 3–5‐year cycles shortening from North to South. One key factor, or driver, promoting the population crash and causing extreme extended lows, is suggested to be predation by the least weasel. We review the arms race between prey voles and weasels through the multiannual density fluctuation, affected by climate change, and especially the changes in the duration and stability of snow cover. For ground‐dwelling small mammals, snow provides thermoregulation and shelter for nest sites, and helps them hide from predators. Predicted increases in the instability of winter forms a major challenge for species with coat color change between brown summer camouflage and white winter coat. One of these is the least weasel, Mustela nivalis nivalis. Increased vulnerability of wrong‐colored weasels to predation affects vole populations and may have dramatic effects on vole dynamics. It may have cascading effects on other small rodent–predator interactions and even on plant–animal interactions and forest dynamics.     

Meat inspection education in Finnish veterinary curriculum

This article describes the Finnish meat-inspection curriculum and presents an expert-panel evaluation of meat-inspection education. The work tasks of the meat-inspection veterinarian are challenging and include classical meat inspection, meat hygiene, hygiene control, and animal disease and welfare. The meat-inspection veterinarian is not only an inspector, which by itself is very demanding, but also an expert or "consultant" on food safety. The significant role of the meat-inspection veterinarian in society puts high demands on meat-inspection education, which should provide veterinary students with sufficient tools to perform meat inspection and hygiene control in slaughterhouses, cutting premises, and further processing plants. To be of high quality, such education must be evaluated from time to time. An expert panel evaluated Finnish undergraduate meat-inspection education and found that it provides veterinary students with good knowledge of meat inspection. The structure of the curriculum, with theoretical studies followed by four weeks of practice in a slaughterhouse, was considered vital for learning and for creating interest in meat inspection. The evaluation also revealed that certain subjects should receive greater emphasis and some new subjects should be introduced. Hygiene-control tasks, in particular, have increased and should receive more emphasis in education. Personnel management and interaction skills should be introduced into the curriculum as these skills influence all the duties of the meat-inspection veterinarian. This article outlines the subjects to be included in the modern, high-quality meat-inspection curriculum recommended by the expert panel.     

An abattoir survey of pneumonia and pleuritis in slaughter weight swine from 9 selected herds. I. Prevalence and morphological description of gross lung lesions

The prevalence and pathomorphology of gross lung lesions were studied in 855 slaughter weight pigs from 9 selected herds in south-eastern Norway. Pneumonic or pleuritic lesions were found in 84% of the lungs, ranging from 37% in the least affected herd to 97% in the one most affected. Bronchopneumonia indicative of a primary Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae infection was found in 70% of the lungs, ranging from 9% to 82% in the individual herds. The amount of bronchopneumonic lesions in individual lungs ranged from 0 to 69%, with an average of 7.8%. Pleuropneumonia indicative of Actinobacillus (Haemophilus) pleuropneumoniae infection was found in 29% of the lungs ranging from 0 in the least affected herd to 58% in the most affected. Diffuse pleuritis was found in 41% of the lungs and the prevalence ranged from 4% to 63%.