Babesia vulpes in a dog from Prince Edward Island,Canada

A 12-year-old neutered male American Staffordshire terrier dog was referred to the Atlantic Veterinary College, Prince Edward Island, Canada, for suspected immune-mediated hemolytic anemia. Babesiosis (Babesia vulpes) was confirmed using polymerase chain reaction testing. The dog was successfully treated with a 10-day protocol of atovaquone/proguanil (TEVA Pharmaceutical Industries, Toronto, Ontario), 13.5 mg/kg BW, PO, q8h and azithromycin (Pharmascience, Montreal, Quebec), 10 mg/kg BW, PO, q24h. To the authors’ knowledge, this report is the first documented case of babesiosis caused by Babesia vulpes in a dog from Canada.     

Securing Garbage from Florida Black Bears: Why are the Appropriate Measures Not Implemented at the Municipal Level?

Anthropogenic food conditioning of bears has resulted in recent increases in human–bear conflicts (HBCs) in Florida. Garbage is the leading cause of food conditioning of bears. Despite increased HBCs and related human safety concerns, municipal governments in Florida have generally not taken independent steps to prevent HBCs through altered garbage management. Rather, governments have relied on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to manage garbage-related HBCs. We used semi-structured interviews to identify obstacles to securing garbage from bears at the municipal level. Respondents included local government administrations and waste service providers. Political and economic costs of implementing bear-resistant garbage management practices were the major obstacles to securing garbage. Respondents argued that households will not pay for, or support, the implementation of bear-resistant trash cans. Recent adoption by four counties of ordinances requiring residents to secure their garbage from bears suggests that objections to adopting bear-resistant garbage management were overstated.     

Extrapituitary and Pituitary Pathological Findings in Horses with Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction: A Retrospective Study

The objective of this study was to describe the histopathologic changes observed in extrapituitary organs as well as the pituitary glands of horses with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID). Adrenal gland, thyroid gland, liver, lung, kidney, heart, and pituitary gland from 32 horses with clinical and histologic evidence of PPID and 20 control horses were reviewed histologically. Ten of the control horses were aged animals (≥15 years), allowing those changes attributed to age to be identified. In addition to previously reported changes in adrenal gland and liver, an association was established between PPID and several extrapituitary histopathologic changes, namely bronchiolitis, proliferative glomerulopathy, and myocardial lipofuscinosis and fibrosis. The potential biologic significance of these changes is discussed and, although the retrospective design of the current study precludes establishment of causal relationships between the observed extrapituitary changes and PPID, these findings suggest that further investigations are warranted.     

The dissipation of tebuconazole and propiconazole in boronia (Boronia megastigma Nees)

The broad spectrum, systemic fungicides tebuconazole and propiconazole are used to control rust in boronia (Boronia megastigma Nees). Gas chromatography combined with either a benchtop quadrupole mass spectrometer or a high-resolution mass spectrometer allowed for the monitoring of both pesticides in boronia leaves, flowers, and concrete. Field trials were established at two sites to determine the rate of dissipation of tebuconazole and propiconazole in boronia. At site 1, two application rates of 125 and 250 g active ingredient/hectare (ai/ha) tebuconazole were employed. Treatments were repeated 17 days later. At harvest, 286 days after the final application, tebuconazole was detected at levels of 0.06 +/- 0.05 and 0.5 +/- 0.1 [mg/kg +/- standard error, on a dry matter basis (DMB)] in the leaves collected from plots treated with 125 and 250 g ai/ha of tebuconazole, respectively. The oil produced from the flowers collected at the final harvest had residues of tebuconazole at levels of 0.06 +/- 0.03 and 0.10 +/- 0.08 mg/kg for the 125 and 250 g ai/ha application rates, respectively. Two repeat applications of 125 g ai/ha propiconazole were also used at site 1. Residues of propiconazole were detected at 0.09 +/- 0.03 mg/kg (DMB) 286 days after the final application. At site 2, treatments of 125 g ai/ha of tebuconazole were applied twice. At harvest, 279 days after the final application of tebuconazole, residues were recorded at 0.30 +/- 0.09 mg/kg in the leaves (DMB) while the oil produced had 0.20 +/- 0.07 mg/kg.     

Density estimates of rural dog populations and an assessment of marking methods during a rabies vaccination campaign in the Philippines

We estimated the population density of dogs by distance sampling and assessed the potential utility of two marking methods for capture-mark-recapture applications following a mass canine rabies-vaccination campaign in Sorsogon Province, the Republic of the Philippines. Thirty villages selected to assess vaccine coverage and for dog surveys were visited 1 to 11 days after the vaccinating team. Measurements of the distance of dogs or groups of dogs from transect lines were obtained in 1088 instances (N = 1278 dogs; mean group SIZE = 1.2). Various functions modelling the probability of detection were fitted to a truncated distribution of distances of dogs from transect lines. A hazard rate model provided the best fit and an overall estimate of dog-population density of 468/km² (95% confidence interval, 359 to 611). At vaccination, most dogs were marked with either a paint stick or a black plastic collar. Overall, 34.8% of 2167 and 28.5% of 2115 dogs could be accurately identified as wearing a collar or showing a paint mark; 49.1% of the dogs had either mark. Increasing time interval between vaccination-team visit and dog survey and increasing distance from transect line were inversely associated with the probability of observing a paint mark. Probability of observing a collar was positively associated with increasing estimated density of the dog population in a given village and with animals not associated with a house. The data indicate that distance sampling is a relatively simple and adaptable method for estimating dog-population density and is not prone to problems associated with meeting some model assumptions inherent to mark-recapture estimators.     

Resistance to septoria nodorum blotch in the Aegilops tauschii accession RL5271 is controlled by a single gene

Septoria nodorum blotch is the most important leaf disease of wheat in Western Australia. A potentially useful source of resistance has been identified in an accession of Aegilops tauschii. To study the genetics of resistance of this source a cross was made between the resistant Ae. tauschii accession, RL5271, and a susceptible accession, CPI110889. The resistant parent took significantly longer to develop symptoms, developed significantly fewer lesions and expressed significantly lower levels of disease than the susceptible parent. The F1 mean response for disease severity indicated there was no complete dominance. The F3 families were classified using three approaches. In the first approach the individual F3 plant response was used to classify the F3 families. In the second approach the F3 family means and standard errors were used to classify the F3 families. In the final approach Best Linear Unbiased Predictors of disease score and standard error for each F3 family derived from a REML analysis were used to classify the F3 families. The genotypic ratios generated by each of the approaches suggested that resistance is controlled by a single gene. The effectiveness of the resistance and its simple genetic control in the Ae. tauschii, accession RL5271 may be a useful resistance source for use in a bread wheat breeding program. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Water sensitivity, antimicrobial, and physicochemical analyses of edible films based on HPMC and/or chitosan

Several properties of chitosan films associated or not with hydroxypropylmethylcellulose polymer (HPMC) and HPMC films incorporating or not nisin and/or milk fat were studied. Nisin addition at a level of 250 microg mL-1 and likewise chitosan at 1% (w/v) concentration were efficient for total inhibiting Aspergillus niger and Kocuria rhizophila food deterioration microorganisms. HPMC and chitosan films were transparent, whereas nisin and/or fat incorporation induced a 2-fold lightness parameter increase and, consequently, involved more white films. Measurements of tensile strength, as well as ultimate elongation, showed that chitosan and HPMC initial films were elastic and flexible. High thermal treatments and additive incorporation induced less elastic and more plastic films. Water vapor transmission as far as total water desorption rates suggested that chitosan films were slightly sensitive to water. Water transfer was decreased by <60% as compared with other biopolymer films. Regarding its hydrophobic property, the capacity of fat to improve film water barrier was very limited.     

Hybridization in Australian Freshwater Crayfish—Production of All-Male Progeny

Abstract.— In freshwater crayfish aquaculture high densities can result from uncontrolled reproduction. Hence some farmers manually sex yabbies Cherax albidus and stock only mate crayfish in farm dams or ponds. Although male-only yabby populations produce an estimated 70% increase in gross income, hand sexing is time consuming and prone to error. A hybridization experiment using freshwater crayfish from the yabby species complex, collected from geographically isolated regions throughout Australia, revealed a hybrid between Cherax rotundus females and C. albidus males which consistently produces only male progeny. This has been confirmed in nine crosses of the same two species. The reciprocal cross of C. albidus females × C. rotundus males produces both male and female progeny. The consistent production of only male progeny by hybridization has not been recorded previously for a crustacean.