Use of 64Copper Measurements to Diagnose Canine Copper Toxicosis

Inherited canine copper toxicosis is a serious problem in Bedlington terriers and West Highland White terriers, and may also be a problem in other less-studied breeds. Affected dogs become ill at midlife with progressive and ultimately fatal liver disease. Treatments for removal of copper and prevention of copper accumulation are available, but are most effective if begun before the dog becomes ill. Until recently diagnosis has not been available until the dog is 1 year of age, and then only by an invasive liver biopsy with determination of liver copper concentration. The authors studied the use of 64copper for early diagnosis of canine copper toxicosis. Two procedures were evaluated. The first involved measuring the concentration of 64copper in blood 24 hours after oral administration of the radioisotope. At this time, 64copper was associated primarily with ceruloplasmin secreted into the blood by the liver. This procedure is useful in the diagnosis of the human counterpart, Wilson's disease. However, the authors found it to be nondiscriminatory between affected and unaffected dogs. In contrast, the second procedure, which involved measuring 64copper excreted in stool during 48 hours after an intravenous dose of radioisotope, yielded results that differentiated most affected and unaffected dogs.     

Cellular changes in the granulosa layer of the maturing ovarian follicle of the domestic fowl

1. The relationships between length, width and height of the maturing ovarian follicle of the domestic fowl (Gallus domesticus) are shown.

2. During the rapid‐growth phase (yolk deposition) of the oocyte, i.e. an increase in size from about 9 mm diameter to 35 mm diameter, there is about a 15‐fold increase in its surface area. During this time the number of granulosa cells adjacent to the oocyte increases by about 5‐fold.

3. The granulosa cells become flatter during the growth period of the follicle, consequently increasing their surface area adjacent to the oocyte by about 3‐fold.

4. Together the change in shape of the granulosa cells and the increase in their number account for the increase in area of the granulosa layer during follicular growth.

5. Measurement of the DNA content of the granulosa layer indicated a progressive decrease in the cellular content of DNA as the follicle matures.     

Variability in concentrations of zinc in serum and feed when using zinc oxide as a supplement for the prevention of facial eczema

AIMS: To determine the variability of concentrations of Zn in feed, when used as a supplement to prevent facial eczema, and to determine the variability in concentrations of Zn in serum between cows and herds that are being supplemented with ZnO in feed, using in-shed feeders or on a feed pad.

METHODS: Sixteen commercial dairy farms in the Waikato region of New Zealand were enrolled, that were supplementing cows with ZnO in the feed using either an automatic in-shed feeder (ASF) or a feed pad (FP) using a feed-out or mixer wagon. On each farm 10 cows were selected by the farmer, that were assumed to be representative of the age and liveweight of the herd. Four hours after supplement feeding, each cow was weighed and a blood sample collected for measurement of concentrations of Zn in serum. Three samples of feed were collected from each farm for Zn analysis, from the beginning, middle and end of the feed being distributed. Levene’s test for homoscedasticity was used to analyse whether there were differences in variation of individual concentrations of Zn in serum, and in the feed, between the two feeding systems. Multivariable linear regression was used to examine associations between age, feeding method or liveweight and concentrations of Zn in serum, after accounting for the variability between farms.

RESULTS: Of the 163 cows sampled, concentrations of Zn in serum were between 20–35?µmol/L in 75/163 (46 (95% CI=38–54)%) cows; were <20?µmol/L in 71/163 (44 (95% CI=36–52)%) cows, and >35?µmol/L in 17/163 (10 (95% CI=6–16)%) cows. The variation in concentrations of Zn in serum in individual cows differed between farms (p<0.001), and the variability was greater for cows fed using a FP than ASF (p<0.001). There was no difference in the variation of concentrations of Zn in feed between the two feeding methods (p=0.54), but concentrations of Zn in serum were associated with the amount of Zn offered in feed (p=0.008).

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICIAL RELEVENCE: There was significant variability between farms in the concentrations of Zn in the serum of cows being supplemented with ZnO in feed. Only 46% of cows sampled had concentrations of Zn between 20–35?µmol/L. Effective management of facial eczema should include monitoring Zn in the feed and in serum to ensure cows are receiving the correct dose they require.     

牧草新品种黔草1号高羊茅的选育

黔草1号高羊茅是利用贵州地方野生资源作亲本,采用改良混合选择法,经10余年的选育研究育成的新品种。该品种抗逆性强、适应性广、坪用性好、耐践踏、持续性好、绿期长,返青期比引进品种凌志提前7 d,枯黄期晚3 d;种子成熟期集中,种子平均产量比对照品种高20%以上。适应我国长江中下游低山、丘陵等地区种植,是运动场草坪、环境绿化、生态治理的优良草种。     

Influence of partial substitution of dietary fish oil by vegetable oils on the metabolism of [1-14C] 18:3n-3 in isolated hepatocytes of European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.)

The static or declining supply of fish oil from industrial fisheries demands the search of alternatives, such as plant (vegetable) oils, for diets in expanding marine aquaculture. Vegetable oils are rich in C₁₈ polyunsaturated fatty acids but devoid of the n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids in fish oils. Previous studies, primarily with salmonids, have shown that including vegetable oils in their diets increased hepatocyte fatty acid desaturation. In the present study, we have investigated the effects of dietary partial substitution of fish oil (FO) with rapeseed oil (RO), linseed oil (LO) and olive oil (OO) on the desaturation /elongation and, -oxidation capacities of [1-¹⁴C]18:3n-3 in isolated hepatocytes from European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.), in a simultaneous combined assay. Fish were fed during 34 weeks with diets containing 100% FO, or RO, LO and OO, each included at 60% with the balance being met by FO, with no detrimental effect upon growth or survival. The highest total desaturation rates were found in hepatocytes of fish fed FO diet (0.52±0.08 pmol/h/mg protein) and OO diet (0.43±0.09 pmol/h/mg protein), which represented 3.2% and 2.7% of total [1-¹⁴C]18:3n-3 incorporated, respectively. In contrast, lowest desaturation rates were presented by hepatocytes of fish fed LO and RO diets (0.23±0.06 and 0.14±0.05 pmol/h/mg protein, respectively) represented 1.4% and 0.9% of total [1-¹⁴C]18:3n-3 incorporated, respectively. The rates of [1-¹⁴C]18:3n-3 β-oxidized were between 11-fold and 35-fold higher than desaturation. However, no significant differences were observed among β-oxidation activities in hepatocytes of fish fed any of the diets. The present study demonstrated that the European sea bass, as a carnivorous marine fish, presented a ‘marine’ fish pattern in the metabolism of 18:3n-3 to 20:5n-3 and 22:6n-3. This species appeared to have all the enzymic activities necessary to produce 22:6n-3 but presented only extremely low rates of fatty acid bioconversion. Furthermore, nutritional regulation of hepatocyte fatty acid desaturation was minimal, and dietary vegetable oils did not increase desaturase activities, and in RO and LO treatments the activity was significantly lower. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Effects of salinity on the growth and lipid composition of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) cells in culture

The direct effects of osmotic pressure (salinity) on growth performance and lipid composition were investigated in fish cells in culture. Cell lines from a relatively stenohaline marine species, turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) (TF) and an anadromous species, Atlantic salmon (AS) were cultured in media supplemented with NaCl to produce osmotic pressures varying from 300 to 500 mOsm kg⁻¹. The growth rates of the two cell lines were affected in a similar manner by the salinity of the media with the rank order for both peak cell numbers and growth rates up to the day of peak cell number being 300 > 350 > 400 > 450 > 500 mOsm kg⁻¹. Cell death occurred in both cell lines in older cultures at all salinities with the greatest loss of viable cells in media of 300 and 350 kg⁻¹. However, there were quantitative and qualitative differences between the cell lines in their lipid metabolism in response to the salinity of the media. The lipid content expressed per cell showed a positive correlation between lipid per cell and salinity in TF cells, but this was less apparent in AS cells. The percentage of total polar lipid classes increased with increasing salinity in TF cells due mainly to graded increases in the percentages of choline phospholipids. In contrast, there were no significant differences in the proportions of polar and neutral lipid classes with salinity in AS cells. The only significant effect of salinity in AS cells was a decreased proportion of dimethylacetals in total lipid at the highest salinity. The same significant effect of salinity on dimethylacetal content of total lipid was observed in TF cells. However, in addition there was a graded decrease in the percentage of 18:2n-9 in TF cell total lipid with increasing salinity. This was accompanied by increased percentages of total n-3 and n-6 PUFA with higher proportions of both groups of PUFA at 450 and 500 compared with 300 mOsm kg⁻¹. The results show that environmental salinity, in the absence of hormonal or other physiological stimuli, has direct effects on the growth and lipid metabolism of fish cells and that these effects differ in cells from different fish species.     

Soil moisture pre-treatment effects on enzyme activities as indicators of heavy metal-contaminated and reclaimed soils

Heavy metal contamination can inhibit soil functions but it is often difficult to determine the degree of pollution or when soil reclamation is complete. Enzyme assays offer potential as indicators of biological functioning of soils. However, antecedent water content of soil samples may affect the outcome of biological measurements. In Mediterranean regions, for much of the year ‘field moist’ surface soil can have water content similar to that of air-dry samples. The objectives of this study were to: (1) determine the sensitivity of a range of enzyme assays to detect the degree of pollution from a heavy metal mine spill; (2) evaluate rewetting field-dry soil as a pre-treatment for enzyme assays; and (3) test multivariate analysis for improving discrimination between polluted, reclaimed and non-polluted soils. The Aznalcóllar mining effluent spill provided a unique opportunity to address these objectives. This accident released toxic, heavy metal-contaminated (As, Bi, Cd, Cu, Pb, Tl, Zn…) and acid tailings into the Guadiamar watershed (SW Spain) in 1998, severely affecting the riparian zone along more than 4000 ha. Contaminated soils were collected from the highly polluted upper watershed and less polluted lower watershed along with reclaimed soil at both sites. Enzyme activities (phosphatases, arylsulfatase, β-glucosidase, urease and dehydrogenase) were assessed on both field-moist samples and soils rewetted to 80% of water-holding capacity and then incubated at 21 °C for 7 d prior to the assay. The reclaimed soils had higher activities than polluted soils but, typically, 1.5-3 times lower levels of activity than the non-polluted soil. Regardless of the moisture pre-treatment, all enzymes showed significant effects due to pollution, with urease and β-glucosidase showing the greatest discrimination between degrees of contamination. In general, rewetting field-dried soils increased activities on non-polluted and reclaimed soils which improved discrimination with polluted soils. Another method to increase the potential of soil enzyme activities to detect soil contamination could be to combine them in multivariate analysis, which provides a more holistic representation of the biochemical and microbial functionality of a soil.     

The response of broiler breeder chickens to parenteral administration of avirulent Pasteurella multocida

Broiler breeder chickens were exposed to avirulent Pasteurella multocida at 14, 22, and 34 weeks of age either by stick wing 1 to 3 times or subcutaneously 3 times. Fowl pox vaccine was mixed with the first P. multocida exposure in some groups. Exposure did not impair egg production or hatch of fertile eggs. Challenge with pathogenic P. multocida serotype 1 at 68 weeks indicated that exposure to avirulent P. multocida 2 or 3 times provided better protection than 1 exposure. Mixing fowl pox vaccine with the avirulent P. multocida did not reduce immunity to fowl cholera or fowl pox.