Aerobic bacterial flora of the nasal cavity in Gulf of California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) pups     

Hernández-Castro R  Martínez-Chavarría L  Díaz-Avelar A  Romero-Osorio A  Godínez-Reyes C  Zavala-González A  Verdugo-Rodríguez A 《Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)》2005,170(3):359-363

Nasal swab samples from clinically healthy California sea lions pups (Zalophus californianus) from six different reproductive rookeries in the Gulf of California were collected to determine the type and frequency of the representative aerobic bacterial microflora of their nasal mucosa. A total of 114 samples were examined and 100 bacterial isolates were identified and typified by microbiological and biochemical standard tests. Fifty four isolates corresponded to Gram positive bacteria (54%) and 46 isolates to Gram negative bacteria (46%). Fifteen bacterial genera were identified, including Micrococcus, Arcanobacterium, Corynebacterium, Moraxella, Neisseria, Escherichia, Kurthia, Acinetobacter, Staphylococcus, Brevibacillus, Bacillus, Klebsiella, Stenotrophomonas, Pseudomonas and Aeromonas. The most frequently isolated genera were Moraxella (24%), Micrococcus (18%), and Corynebacterium (15%). These results show the presence in the nasal cavity of sea lions of several microorganisms. Although considered part of the normal microflora, they may also be opportunistic pathogens for their hosts and may act as a potential natural sentinel of environmental changes.  相似文献   

Effect of dexamethasone treatment on the immune response of Gulf Coast Native lambs to Haemonchus contortus infection     

Peña MT  Miller JE  Horohov DW 《Veterinary parasitology》2004,119(2-3):223-235

Neonatal and weaner Gulf Coast Native (Native) lambs were studied to determine whether an immunological basis underlies their natural resistance to Haemonchus contortus infection. Neonatal Native lambs (n = 8) and weaner Native lambs (n = 15) were randomly assigned to a treatment or a control group. Lambs in the treatment group received dexamethasone by intramuscular injection three times a week for 10 weeks (neonatal) and 15 weeks (weaners). All lambs were monitored for fecal egg count (FEC), blood packed cell volume (PCV), and white blood cell differential counts on a weekly basis for the duration of the studies. Neonatal lambs were kept on pasture with their dams and weaner lambs were dewormed at weaning and kept in pens where they received trickle infections. Serum antibody titers to H. contortus whole worm antigen (WWA) were determined using ELISA. Lymphocyte proliferation assays on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were done to assess lymphocyte function. All lambs were vaccinated with killed Brucella abortus strain 19 to assess the effect of dexamethasone treatment on antibody response. All lambs were necropsied at the end of each study to recover the contents of the gastrointestinal tract for nematode enumeration and identification. The results showed that mean FEC and mean PCV of the treatment group was significantly higher and lower, respectively, than in the control group in both neonatal and weaner lambs from weeks 6 and 5, respectively. At necropsy, total nematode count was significantly higher in treatment groups than in the control groups. Serum antibody titers to H. contortus WWA were significantly lower in treated groups than in control groups. Treatment groups showed a consistent depression in lymphocyte percentage being significantly lower from week 6 in both neonatal and weaner lambs. No differences were found in the response of PBMC to mitogen stimulation between the groups. Lambs in the control groups showed strong positive brucellosis card tests and the treatment groups did not. Dexamethasone treatment resulted in depression of the immune response and loss of natural resistance of Native lambs to H. contortus infection. The results of these studies suggest that some aspects of the immune response may underlie the natural resistance of Native sheep to H. contortus infection.  相似文献   

Comparison and standardisation of serological methods for the diagnosis of Neospora caninum infection in bovines     

von Blumröder D  Schares G  Norton R  Williams DJ  Esteban-Redondo I  Wright S  Björkman C  Frössling J  Risco-Castillo V  Fernández-García A  Ortega-Mora LM  Sager H  Hemphill A  van Maanen C  Wouda W  Conraths FJ 《Veterinary parasitology》2004,120(1-2):11-22

Various existing serological tests were compared with a standard panel of 523 sera in a multicentred study across Europe. Well characterised sera from animals that were experimentally or naturally infected with Neospora caninum as well as sera from cattle deemed uninfected with N. caninum were provided by the participants of the study and analysed in several commercial (CHEKIT Dr. Bommeli/Intervet, CIVTEST BOVIS NEOSPORA Hipra, Cypress Diagnostics C.V., Herd Check IDEXX, Mastazyme MAST Diagnostics, P38-ELISA Animal Welfare and Food Safety GmbH (AFOSA)) as well as in-house assays (five ELISAs and one IFAT). Most tests showed a high level of agreement in the interpretation of the test results (positive or negative). A further distinct increase in agreement between tests was obtained after the application of standardised cut-offs offered by a two-graph receiver operating characteristic analysis. This procedure allows a standardised interpretation of results obtained with different tests used in independent, parallel seroepidemiological studies.  相似文献   

Variation in free jumping technique within and among horses with little experience in show jumping     

Santamaría S  Bobbert ME  Back W  Barneveld A  van Weeren PR 《American journal of veterinary research》2004,65(7):938-944

OBJECTIVE: To quantify variation in the jumping technique within and among young horses with little jumping experience, establish relationships between kinetic and kinematic variables, and identify a limited set of variables characteristic for detecting differences in jumping performance among horses. ANIMALS: Fifteen 4-year-old Dutch Warmblood horses. PROCEDURE: The horses were raised under standardized conditions and trained in accordance with a fixed protocol for a short period. Subsequently, horses were analyzed kinematically during free jumping over a fence with a height of 1.05 m. RESULTS: Within-horse variation in all variables that quantified jumping technique was smaller than variation among horses. However, some horses had less variation than others. Height of the center of gravity (CG) at the apex of the jump ranged from 1.80 to 2.01 m among horses; this variation could be explained by the variation in vertical velocity of the CG at takeoff (r, 0.78). Horses that had higher vertical velocity at takeoff left the ground and landed again farther from the fence, had shorter push-off phases for the forelimbs and hind limbs, and generated greater vertical acceleration of the CG primarily during the hind limb push-off. However, all horses cleared the fence successfully, independent of jumping technique. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Each horse had its own jumping technique. Differences among techniques were characterized by variations in the vertical velocity of the CG at takeoff. It must be determined whether jumping performance later in life can be predicted from observing free jumps of young horses.  相似文献   

Mild infectious laryngotracheitis in broilers in the southeast     

Sellers HS  García M  Glisson JR  Brown TP  Sander JS  Guy JS 《Avian diseases》2004,48(2):430-436

During 2001, a mild infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) infection occurred in broiler flocks in the southeastern United States. Clinical signs included mild tracheitis, swollen sinuses, and conjunctivitis, with no increased mortality and minimal serologic response. Infrequent intranuclear inclusion bodies with or without syncytial cell formation were observed in eyelid, trachea, and larynx and in the chorioallantoic membrane of infected embryos. Immunohistochemistry and a nested infectious laryngotracheitis polymerase chain reaction (ILT PCR) were utilized to confirm the presence of ILTV nucleic acid in fixed tissues. In addition, 2-wk-old specific-pathogen-free (SPF) birds inoculated with field material exhibited the mild signs observed in broilers in the field. Tracheal swabs and tissues taken from these SPF birds were also positive by nested ILT PCR. Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of ILT PCR products indicated that ILT virus associated with mild respiratory disease in the southeast is related to the chicken embryo origin vaccine type strains.  相似文献   

In vitro susceptibility of field isolates of Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica recovered in Spain to several antimicrobial agents     

García del Blanco N  Gutiérrez Martín CB  de la Puente Redondo VA  Rodríguez Ferri EF 《Research in veterinary science》2004,76(3):195-198

Forty-two recent (1997-1999) Spanish isolates of Francisella tularensis subsp.holarctica were tested in a broth microdilution method for their susceptibilities to 29 antimicrobial agents, including penicillins, cephalosporins, cephamicins, monobactams, penems, aminoglycosides, tetracyclines, macrolides, quinolones, chloramphenicol and fosfomycin. The isolates were resistant to beta-lactam antibiotics and susceptible to chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin and norfloxacin.  相似文献   

Effect of formic acid on performance, digestibility, intestinal histomorphology and plasma metabolite levels of broiler chickens     

Hernández F  García V  Madrid J  Orengo J  Catalá P  Megías MD 《British poultry science》2006,47(1):50-56

1. The effect of dietary formic acid on performance, digestibility, intestinal histomorphology and plasma metabolite levels of broiler chickens was studied. 2. An experiment with 120 Ross male broiler chickens was conducted from 1 to 42 d of age at the laboratory. There were 4 treatment groups: control (C), 10 mg/kg feed avilamycin (AV) and formic acid at two concentrations, 5 and 10 g/kg feed (FA5 and FA10, respectively). 3. No differences in weight gain, feed intake or feed conversion ratio were observed in male broiler chickens fed on the different diets. 4. An effect of the additives on ileal dry matter (DM) digestibility at 42 d of age was detected with the finisher diets; AV and 10 g/kg of feed formic acid slightly improved ileal DM digestibility compared to the other treatment groups. 5. Jejunum pH was not affected when 5 or 10 g/kg formic acid was added, and the results do not clearly show a positive effect of formic acid on the intestinal histomorphology. 6. No differences were noticed for blood metabolites in the different diets, and the levels of calcium and phosphorus in the plasma were not altered by formic acid addition. 7. In conclusion, when using broiler chickens under conditions of good hygiene, dietary formic acid did not have a clear positive effect on performance, intestinal histomorphology or plasma metabolite levels; however, there was a slight positive effect on the ileal digestibility of nutrients.  相似文献   

Sorption behavior of volatile phenols at the oak wood/wine interface in a model system     

Barrera-García VD  Gougeon RD  Voilley A  Chassagne D 《Journal of agricultural and food chemistry》2006,54(11):3982-3989

The sorption in a model system of aroma compounds of enological interest (mixture of the eight derivatives from guaiacol, 4-ethylphenol, and whiskylactone) onto wood was investigated to assess the influence of wood on the concentration of these volatiles during the aging of wine. To evaluate the influence of the solubility of aroma compounds in sorption phenomena, this parameter was determined for each volatile compound in model wine at 10 and 25 degrees C. The solubility is significantly higher in the model wine than in water and remains constant in the range of temperatures studied, except for guaiacol and vanillin. Kinetic and equilibrium sorptions were investigated. Sorption kinetics showed that the sorption equilibrium for all aroma compounds was reached after 6-7 days. From the study of the individual sorption isotherms, two distinct kinds of sorption behavior were observed depending on the presence or not of an ethylenic para substituent conjugated to the phenyl ring. K(ww) partition coefficients between the wood and the model wine were determined, which exhibited an unusual positive variation with temperature.  相似文献   

Journey length and high temperatures: effects on rabbit welfare and meat quality     

Liste G  María GA  Buil T  García-Belenguer S  Chacón G  Olleta JL  Sañudo C  Villarroel M 《DTW. Deutsche tier?rztliche Wochenschrift》2006,113(2):59-64

The transport of domestic animals by road can increase levels of stress and decrease meat quality, especially in unfavourable climates. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of journey duration and vertical position on the transport truck on some physiological indicators of stress and on instrumental meat quality parameters in commercial rabbits. In the summer months (June and July, 2003), 78 rabbits were subjected to either long (7 h) (LJ) or short (1 h) (SJ) journeys (3 replicates each, n = 6) between the farm and an abattoir in northern Spain. The position (top, middle, or bottom) occupied by the rabbits on the Multi-Floor cage Rolling Stand (MFRS) of the transport truck was recorded. Blood samples were collected at sticking and meat pH was measured at 24 h post-mortem (pH24). At 48 h post-mortem, samples of the M. longissimus dorsi were used to determine water-holding capacity (WHC) and instrumental tenderness using an INSTRON machine. The levels of corticosterone, glucose, lactate, and creatine kinase were slightly higher in LJ than in SJ samples, but the difference was not statistically significant (p < or = 0.10). Independent of journey length, rabbits in the middle and bottom of the MFRS showed higher levels (p < or = 0.05) of glucose and creatine kinase (middle), and corticosterone (bottom) than the rabbits located at the top floor. The pH 24 and WHC values of the SJ and LJ rabbits did not differ significantly. Journey length had a significant effect (p < or = 0.01) on meat tenderness. The meat from rabbits subjected to LJ had higher values of maximum stress and total toughness than did the SJ rabbits (p < or = 0.05). There were similar differences (p < or = 0.05) between LJ and SJ rabbits in their stress values of compression at 20% and 40% (measures of the tenderness of raw meat). In hot weather, the position on the transport truck appeared to have a greater effect on rabbit welfare than the duration of the journey.  相似文献   

Piroplasma infection in dogs in northern Spain     

García AT 《Veterinary parasitology》2006,138(1-2):97-102

Babesiosis is a world-wide zoonosis caused by tick-borne hematozoan parasites of the genus Babesia. Canine Babesidae have historically been classified as "large Babesia" (Babesia canis) and "small Babesia" (Babesia gibsoni) based on the size of their intraerythrocytic forms. Genetic sequencing technology using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has allowed further subdivision. B. gibsoni has three strains: "Asia", "California" and a recently identified small babesial-like parasite, Theileria annae. This newly recognised piroplasm appears to be hyperendemic in northwest Spain. In order to provide some insight into the situation, all the cases diagnosed in our laboratory (NW of Spain) during 2003 were evaluated. Our study (62 samples) shows the existence of a piroplasm morphologically different from B. canis and similar to B. gibsoni, which is genetically related to T. annae. Severe regenerative anemia and thrombocytopenia are almost constant characteristics of infection with T. annae in dogs. In many cases azotemia is found. Abnormally high serum concentrations of urea and creatinin, together with elevated concentrations of inorganic phosphorus, hypoalbuminemia, hypercholesterolemia, proteinuria, high protein/creatinin and presence of hyaline and granular casts in the microscopic examination of urine sediment suggest a glomerular component to the disease. We conclude that observational research and clinical trials should be conducted in order to improve our understanding of this emerging disease in order to provide some insight into the best therapeutic practices.  相似文献