Treatment of a strandling whale (Kogia breviceps)

A stranded young pygmy sperm whale was nursed for four days in a pool, fed an artificial diet via a stomach tube and injected intramuscularly with antibiotics and corticosteroids. Initially unable to maintain her balance or to swim, she showed progressive improvement and by the third day could swim and dive quite strongly. Early on the fifth day her condition rapidly worsened and she died. An autopsy revealed extensive deep bruising in the head and mid-abdominal regions consistent with injuries sustained during the stranding.     

Peripartal Endocrinology in the Mare and Foetus

The endocrine profiles in the periparturient mares are dominated by increasing concentrations of progestagens and decreasing oestrogens. These hormones are produced by precursors from the foetus, metabolized by the placenta and act primarily on the maternal uterus. The circulating concentrations of hormones in maternal plasma, generally, represent a small proportion of those metabolized by the foetus and utero-placental tissues. There is clear evidence that the foetal hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis initiates the process of foetal maturation and the hormonal cascade which culminates in parturition at term. The endocrine changes associated with abnormal pregnancy and abortion in late pregnancy are less well understood, as are the hormonal treatments needed to avert these problems. Further work is needed to establish the biological role of the various hormones present in pregnant mares and, in particular, those hormones which control myometrial quiescence.     

Detection of Ureaplasma diversum in the upper airways of Australian feedlot cattle

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) exerts a major impact on the beef cattle industry nationally and worldwide, with a range of aetiological factors impacting its pathogenesis. Previous research has focussed on an increasing number of bacteria and viruses that have been shown to play a role in eliciting disease. Recently, additional agents have been emerging as potential contributors to BRD, including the opportunistic pathogen Ureaplasma diversum. To determine if U. diversum was present in Australian feedlot cattle and if that presence was linked to BRD, nasal swabs were collected from a cohort of 34 hospital pen animals and compared to 216 apparently healthy animals sampled contemporaneously at feedlot induction and again after 14 days on feed at an Australian feedlot. All samples were subjected to a de novo polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay targeting U. diversum in combination with other BRD agents. U. diversum was detected at a low prevalence in cattle at induction (Day 0: 6.9%, Day 14: 9.7%), but in a significantly greater proportion of cattle sampled from the hospital pen (58.8%). When considering the presence of other BRD-associated agents, co-detection of U. diversum and Mycoplasma bovis was most common in hospital pen animals receiving treatment for BRD. These findings suggest that U. diversum may be an opportunistic pathogen involved in the aetiology of BRD in Australian feedlot cattle, in combination with other agents, with further studies are warranted to identify if a causal relationship exists.     

Profile of Steroid Receptors and Increased Aromatase Immunoexpression in Canine Inflammatory Mammary Cancer as a Potential Therapeutic Target

Canine inflammatory mammary cancer (IMC) has been proposed as a model for the study of human inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). The aims of this study were to compare the immunohistochemical expression of aromatase (Arom) and several hormone receptors [estrogen receptor α (ERα), estrogen receptor β (ERβ), progesterone receptor (PR) and androgen receptor (AR)], in 21 IMC cases vs 19 non‐IMC; and to study the possible effect of letrozole on canine IMC and human inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) in vitro using IPC‐366 and SUM‐149 cell lines. Significant elevations of the means of Arom Total Score (TS), ERβ TS and PR TS were found in the IMC group (p = 0.025, p = 0.038 and p = 0.037, respectively). Secondary IMC tumours expressed higher levels of Arom than primary IMC (p = 0.029). Non‐IMC PR‐ tumours contained higher levels of Arom than non‐IMC PR+ tumours (p = 0.007). After the addition of letrozole, the number of IMC and IBC cells dropped drastically. The overexpression of Arom found and the results obtained in vitro further support canine IMC as a model for the study of IBC and future approaches to the treatment of dogs with mammary cancer, and especially IMC, using Arom inhibitors.     

Soluble organic nitrogen in agricultural soils

 The existence of soluble organic forms of N in rain and drainage waters has been known for many years, but these have not been generally regarded as significant pools of N in agricultural soils. We review the size and function of both soluble organic N extracted from soils (SON) and dissolved organic N present in soil solution and drainage waters (DON) in arable agricultural soils. SON is of the same order of magnitude as mineral N and of equal size in many cases; 20–30 kg SON-N ha^–1 is present in a wide range of arable agricultural soils from England. Its dynamics are affected by mineralisation, immobilisation, leaching and plant uptake in the same way as those of mineral N, but its pool size is more constant than that of mineral N. DON can be sampled from soil solution using suction cups and collected in drainage waters. Significant amounts of DON are leached, but this comprises only about one-tenth of the SON extracted from the same soil. Leached DON may take with it nutrients, chelated or complexed metals and pesticides. SON/DON is clearly an important pool in N transformations and plant uptake, but there are still many gaps in our understanding. Received: 10 June 1999     

Cytochemical demonstration of catabolism in soil micro-organisms

Electron transport was demonstrated cytochemically in soil micro-organisms. After counterstaining, enzymically active and inactive cells were distinguishable. The number of active micro-organisms detected by this method ranged from ca. 11 — > 46% of the total microscopic count in several soils. The technique was also applied successfully to algae from soil crusts, micro-colonies of microorganisms removed intact from the surface of soil crumbs and to micro-organisms associated with plant roots.     

An outbreak of botulism in gulls on the Firth of Forth,Scotland

The first recorded outbreak of type C botulism in gulls (Larus spp.) in Britain is described. Between June and October 1975, at least 2080 gulls died around the Firth of Forth. The hot dry summer favoured the proliferation of the causative organism, Clostridium botulinum. A definite source of the botulism was not found but prompt removal of the carcases and covering the pools where Cl. botulinum was growing appeared to reduce the mortality. Immunity acquired during widespread exposure to the disease in 1975 may have prevented the reappearance of botulism during the similar climatic conditions in 1976.