Toxaphene toxicosis in a beef herd

Resveratrol, a natural phytoalexin found in grapes, is well known for its presumed role in the prevention of heart disease, associated with red wine consumption. We show here that it is a remarkable inhibitor of ribonucleotide reductase and DNA synthesis in mammalian cells, which might have further applications as an antiproliferative or a cancer chemopreventive agent in humans.     

A review of the feeding-health-production complex in a dairy herd

Diseases may be an important link in the relationship between feeding and production in a dairy herd. The low frequency of relevant disorders calls for studies on survey data on a large population. However, this approach suffers from lack of detailed herd feeding data and consequently only few have studied feeding as a risk factor for disease. Therefore, we reviewed information from various studies to integrate what is known of the feeding-health-production complex in a dairy herd. The need for putting together information from different sources, the herd effects, and the fact that the effect of one factor cannot be kept constant for investigation in a real-life dynamic herd call for a conceptual model as a framework for the review. The complexity is minimized to allow the representation of important elements. Within-cow relationships (such as feeding-disease relationships, disease interrelationships, and disease-production relationships) are reviewed specifically for: ketosis, milk fever, displaced abomasum, acidosis, sole ulcers and laminitis, and bloat. The major feeding management factors involved are concentrate feeding (level and how it is provided) and overconditioned cows. Disease interrelationships are important. Generalization of production loss from diseases is complicated due to the variety of estimates and measures used.     

Copper deficiency in a herd of captive muskoxen

At necropsy, a mature muskox cow was found to have exceedingly low serum and liver copper concentrations of 4.8 = mumol/L and 0.02 mmol/kg, respectively. Serum copper levels were also low in remaining members of the herd but returned to normal after parenteral treatment with calcium copper edetate.     

Nonstructural carbohydrate and protein effects on rumen fermentation, nutrient flow, and performance of dairy cows

Four multiparous Holstein cows fitted with rumen and duodenal cannulas were used in a 4 x 4 Latin square with 20-d periods. Four diets were formulated for high and low rumen availabilities of nonstructural carbohydrate and protein. Cows were milked and fed three times daily. Milk production averaged 39 kg/d and was unaffected by treatment. Dry matter intake and 4% FCM production were increased by 1 kg/d for cows fed the low rumen-available nonstructural carbohydrate diets. Milk protein percentage was elevated when either the high rumen-available nonstructural carbohydrate or high rumen-available protein diets were fed. Low rumen-available protein diets increased duodenal passage of total essential AA but did not increase passage of Arg, Ile, and Met. Passage of bacterial N was highest (262 g/d) when high rumen-available nonstructural carbohydrate was combined with high rumen-available protein and was lowest when high rumen-available nonstructural carbohydrate was combined with low rumen-available protein (214 g/d). Diets with low rumen availabilities of protein were not advantageous, possibly because duodenal passage of one or more of the limiting AA was not increased. Passage of bacterial N to the duodenum was highest when rumen availabilities of both nonstructural carbohydrate and protein were high.     

Effect of added dietary fat on performance, rumen characteristics, and plasma metabolites of midlactation dairy cows

Effects of supplemental Jet-Sploded canola seed in the diets of dairy cows on milk yield and composition and blood metabolite concentrations were investigated. Twenty multiparous and 5 primiparous midlactation Holstein cows were assigned to treatments following a 3-wk covariate period; cows were then on the treatments for 70 d. Ten of the cows had previously been fitted with rumen cannulas. Five concentrate mixtures containing 0, 7.5, 15, 22, or 29% Jet-Sploded canola seed (Simons Feed Co., Quimby, IA) (equivalent to 0, 2.66, 5.33, 7.81, and 10.30% added fat, respectively) were formulated by substituting Jet-Sploded canola seed for barley and canola meal. Diets consisted of 25% alfalfa silage, 25% whole-crop oat silage, and 50% of one of the concentrate mixtures (dry matter basis). An increase in the amount of dietary fat from Jet-Sploded canola seed did not influence feed intake, milk yield or composition, or milk component yields. The inclusion of Jet-Sploded canola seed in the diet increased long-chain fatty acids and inhibited de novo synthesis of medium-chain fatty acids in milk. Mean total volatile fatty acids in the rumen and propionate concentration were reduced in a linear fashion by treatment. The inclusion of Jet-Sploded canola seed in the diets of mid-lactation cows altered rumen and blood metabolite concentrations; however, these changes had minimal effects on yield responses with the exception of milk fatty acid composition and milk protein content.     

Desulfovibrio of the sheep rumen

A sulfate-reducing bacterium has been isolated in pure culture from sheep rumen contents. Its properties agree in all respects tested with those ascribed to Desulfovibrio desulfuricans. The populations observed (about 10(8)/ml) are sufficient to account for published rates of ruminal sulfide production.     

The effect of Leptospira hardjo vaccine in a northern Queensland beef herd

In a northern Queensland beef herd where there was serological evidence of L. hardjo infection, lactation failure or wastage between pregnancy diagnosis and branding was 11.9% in animals vaccinated with a single dose of a L. hardjo vaccine and 19.4% in unvaccinated controls. This difference was statistically significant (P less than 0.05). Vaccination caused a significant (P less than 0.05) reduction in rate of lactation failure in heifers but not in other classes of cows.     

Hoary alyssum (Berteroa incana) toxicity in a herd of broodmare horses

We report the case of a 71-year old male patient with a chronic lymphoid leukaemia of 10 years' duration who abruptly suffered deterioration of this general condition and haematological disturbances suggesting worsening of this blood disease (Richter's syndrome). Blood cultures demonstrated a Campylobacter coli septicaemia. Treatment with antibiotics resulted in a return to the previous clinical and biological situation. The various visceral manifestation of the infection are discussed.     

Neospora caninum causes abortions in a cattle herd in North Rhine Westphalia]

In a cattle herd in North Rhine-Westphalia a series of eight abortions occurred between 15th August and 14th October, 1996. Four of the aborted fetuses were histopathologically, virologically, bacteriologically and parasitologically examined. A multifocal necrotising encephalitis was observed in two fetuses. In addition, the liver of two fetuses and the placenta of one fetus contained infected foci. In three fetuses protozoan stages were detected which were identified as N. caninum by immunohistochemistry. A polymerase chain reaction conducted with histological material revealed N. caninum-DNA in the placenta of an aborted fetus. When seven cows that had aborted were tested for antibodies directed against N. caninum, six animals were positive by immunofluorescence and all seven by immunoblotting. The serological examination of the entire herd revealed a high herd seroprevalence of antibodies directed against N. caninum. Potential modes of infection with N. caninum in the herd are discussed, in particular the possibility of exposure to a point source (definitive host).     

Ultrasonography of the reticulum in cows

The reticulum and adjacent organs were examined ultrasonographically in 51 cows by use of a 3.5-MHz linear transducer applied to the ventral aspect of the thorax over the sixth and seventh intercostal spaces. Examination included assessment of the contour of the reticulum, of reticular contractions, and of the organs adjacent to the reticulum. The normal reticulum appeared as a half-moon-shaped structure with a smooth contour; it contracted at regular intervals and was situated immediately adjacent to the diaphragm and ventral portion of the abdominal wall when relaxed. Contents of the reticulum could not normally be imaged because of its partly gaseous composition. The ruminoreticular groove, craniodorsal blind sac of the rumen, and the ventral sac of the rumen were observed caudally. The distal aspect of the spleen and parts of the omasum, abomasum, and liver could be imaged. Reticular motility was characterized by a biphasic contraction pattern. Four biphasic reticular contractions usually were observed during a 4-minute period. During the first (incomplete) contraction, the reticulum contracted by a mean of 7.2 +/- 2.30 cm. There was then low-grade, incomplete relaxation of the reticulum, followed immediately by the second reticular contraction, during which the reticulum usually disappeared from the 17.5-cm-deep screen. The reticulum then reappeared in its normal position. The first reticular contraction lasted a mean of 2.6 +/- 0.33 seconds and the second contraction lasted 3.9 +/- 0.55 seconds. The mean interval between 2 biphasic contractions was 44.9 +/- 10.53 seconds. The speed of the first reticular contraction was 5.4 +/- 1.32 cm/s.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Subclavian arterio-esophageal fistula secondary to fish bone impaction: report of a case

A 48-year-old Indian man swallowed a fish bone and presented 1 week later with dysphagia, following a single episode of fresh hematemesis. A barium swallow demonstrated a horizontal mucosal tear at the level of the aortic arch, and computed tomography (CT) showed mediastinal emphysema and a bleeding point medial to the left subclavian artery which appeared to be contained by a surrounding hematoma. Subsequently, he developed sudden massive hematemesis and collapsed. Despite emergency surgery, the patient died. At the postmortem examination, a 1.2-cm fistula tract was found connecting the esophagus to the left subclavian artery. This case report emphasizes that a diagnosis of arterio-esophageal fistula should be considered if a patient presents with fresh hematemesis and a recent history of foreign body ingestion.