Unipodal stance influences radiographic evaluation of foot balance in horses     

Zoë Joostens  Laurence Evrard  Valeria Busoni 《Veterinary radiology & ultrasound》2019,60(3):273-279

Lifting the contralateral forelimb (unipodal stance) is often used as a method of restraint in horses. This experimental one group pretest, posttest study was conducted to evaluate the effects of unipodal stance on quantitative radiographic parameters in equine forefeet. Seven nonlame horses were randomly selected. Lateromedial (LM) and dorsopalmar (DP) projections were acquired for both forefeet, squarely placed on blocks, using two X‐ray generators. Radiographs of each foot were acquired first in a bipodal stance, immediately followed by the same radiographic projections obtained in a unipodal stance. The following measurements were recorded for each stance: distal interphalangeal joint (DIPJ) space width on both projections; mediolateral joint balance as the difference between lateral and medial DIPJ space widths on DP projections; extensor process‐to‐middle phalangeal condyle distance; and deep digital flexor tendon angle on LM projections. A matched pairs design and Student's t‐test with a 95% confidence level were used to test for statistical significance. Compared to a bipodal stance, lateral DIPJ space width was significantly reduced on unipodal DP views, whereas mediolateral joint imbalance and to a lesser extent medial DIPJ space width were significantly increased. On unipodal LM views, there was a significant higher degree of DIPJ flexion. These findings suggest that stance should be carefully taken into consideration when measuring radiographic parameters in equine forefeet, especially if assessing foot balance and conformation, as unipodal stance significantly affects the mediolateral balance of the DIPJ on DP radiographs and significantly alters the phalangeal axis on LM radiographs.  相似文献   

Detection of Chlamydiaceae in ocular swabs from Australian pre‐export feedlot sheep     

M Jelocnik  M Laurence  FR Murdoch  A Polkinghorne 《Australian veterinary journal》2019,97(10):401-403

Infectious Ovine Keratoconjunctivitis (IOK) is a contagious ocular disease of sheep. A range of organisms have been observed as the aetiological agents of IOK. In this study, the presence of chlamydial pathogens (C. pecorum, C. abortus, C. psittaci) in conjunctival swabs was tested for. The swabs were collected from sheep with varying grades of IOK in an Australian pre‐export feedlot. The sheep had been rejected from a shipment because of the eye disease. The relative contribution of chlamydial pathogens to IOK and the rejection of animals was evaluated. In total, 149 conjunctival swabs were taken from rejected sheep (IOK Grades 1 to 6; n = 126) as well as those with healthy eyes (Grade 0; n = 23). Screening for chlamydial pathogens was done using species–specific qPCR assays. Chlamydial DNA was detected in 35.6% (53/149) of conjunctival samples. C. pecorum was the most predominant species with an overall prevalence of 28.9% (43/149). C. psittaci prevalence was 6.7% (10/149). Both organisms were detected in healthy as well as IOK‐affected eyes. All swabs tested negative for C. abortus. The results from this study demonstrate that Chlamydia spp can be readily detected in sheep presenting with IOK. The zoonotic C. abortus was not detected in any of the samples in this study, providing further evidence to the suggestion that this pathogen remains absent from Australia. Although the exact contribution of Chlamydia spp in the IOK pathogenesis is unclear, such studies are anticipated to be of benefit to Australian domestic and live export production systems.  相似文献   

Estimating direct genetic and maternal effects affecting rabbit growth and feed efficiency with a factorial design     

Herv Garreau  Julien Ruesche  Hlne Gilbert  Elodie Balmisse  Florence Benitez  Franois Richard  Ingrid David  Laurence Drouilhet  Olivier Zemb 《Zeitschrift für Tierzüchtung und Züchtungsbiologie》2019,136(3):168-173

The aim of this experiment was to evaluate the significance of neonatal environment on feed efficiency. For that purpose, rabbits from a line selected for residual feed intake (RFI) during 10 generations (G10 kits) were cross‐fostered with non‐selected control does (i.e., G0 line), and reciprocally. In parallel, sibs were fostered by mothers from their original line. Nine hundred animals were raised in individual (N = 456) or collective (N = 320) cages. Traits analysed in this study were body weight at 32 days and at 63 days, average daily gain (ADG), feed intake between weaning and 63 days (FI), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and RFI. The maternal environment offered by does from the line selected for RFI deteriorated the FCR of the kits, independently of their line of origin, during fattening (+0.08 ± 0.02) compared to FCR of kits nursed by G0 does. The line, the type of housing and the batch were significant effects for all the measured traits: G10 kits were lighter than their G0 counterparts at 32 days (?82.9 ± 9 g, p < 0.0001) and at 63 days (?161 ± 16 g, p < 0.0001). They also had a lower ADG (?2.36 ± 0.36 g/day, p < 0.0001), RFI (?521 ± 24 g/day, p < 0.0001) and a lower FI (?855 ± 31 g, p < 0.0001), resulting in a more desirable feed efficiency (FCR: ?0.35 ± 0.02). There was no significant difference in the contrast of G10 and G0 performances between collective and individual/digestive cages (p > 0.22): ?2.35 g/day versus 2.94 g/day for ADG, ?0.39 versus ?0.40 for FCR, ?577 g versus ?565 g for RFI and ?879 g versus ?859 g for FI, respectively). Thus, no genotype‐by‐environment (housing) interaction is expected at the commercial level, that is, no re‐ranking of the animals due to collective housing.  相似文献   

Salt marshes – present functioning and future change     

Boorman  Laurence A. 《Mangroves and Salt Marshes》1999,3(4):227-241

Salt marshes are no longer viewed as intertidal wastelands of little value to anyone. They are now widely recognised as playing a major role in coastal defence, in wildlife conservation on the coast and as a key source of organic material and nutrients vitally important for a wide range of marine communities. This appreciation of the importance of salt marshes has been brought even more sharply into focus because of the threats posed by predicted rise in sea level as a result of global climatic change. Three decades ago the possibilities of exchanges of organic matter between salt marshes and the sea were already being recognised in certain areas but it is only in the past five years or so that this process has been studied in a wide range of different areas. Detailed studies have been made into the way that salt marsh fluxes change with the development of increasingly mature and, therefore, increasingly complex salt marsh communities. As well as being sources and sinks of mineral nutrients and organic matter, salt marshes can also function as a sink for pollutants that would otherwise be damaging to the environment. Salt marshes also act as a sink for sediment within coastal ecosystems. Through their various functions they can be seen to be acting as dynamic living filters for various ecologically important materials. With increasing threats to the survival of salt marshes as a result of man's activities in the coastal zone being augmented by the threats from predicted sea level rise, a new approach to salt marsh conservation has come to the fore and that is the actual creation of new salt marshes. For this process to be fully effective we have to make full use of our increased understanding of salt marsh structure and function. Following a review of the current state of the art in the field of salt marsh research, an assessment is made of specific future research needs. Despite the greatly increased effort which has been directed to salt marsh research over the past few years we still have to recognise that resources are limited and, therefore, critical evaluations of the various options regarding the direction of our future efforts need to be made.  相似文献   

Successful rearing of whiteleg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei larvae fed a desiccation‐tolerant nematode to replace Artemia          下载免费PDF全文

L.H. Seychelles  S. Happe  E. Palacios  M. Ludwig  S. Hollmer  R.‐U. Ehlers  C. Schulz  L. Mercier 《Aquaculture Nutrition》2018,24(2):903-910

The nematode Panagrolaimus sp. was tested as live feed to replace Artemia nauplii during first larval stages of whiteleg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei. In Trial 1, shrimp larvae were fed one of four diets from Zoea 2 to Postlarva 1 (PL1): (A) Artemia nauplii, control treatment; (NC) nematodes enriched in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) provided by the dinoflagellate Crypthecodinium cohnii; (N) non‐enriched nematodes; and (Algae) a mixture of microalgae supplemented in C. cohnii cells. In Trial 2, shrimp were fed (A), (NC) and a different treatment (NS) with nematodes enriched in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) provided by the commercial product S.presso^®, until Postlarva 6 (PL6). Mysis 1 larvae fed nematodes of the three dietary treatments were 300 μm longer (3.2 ± 0.3 mm) than control larvae. At PL1, control shrimp were 300 μm longer (4.5 ± 0.3 mm) than those fed DHA‐enriched or PUFAs‐enriched nematodes. No differences were observed in length and survival at PL6 between control larvae and those fed DHA‐enriched nematodes (5.1 ± 0.5 mm; 33.1%–44.4%). Shrimp fed microalgae showed a delay in development at PL1. This work is the first demonstration of Panagrolaimus sp. suitability as a complete substitute for Artemia in rearing shrimp from Zoea 2 to PL6.  相似文献   

Evaluation of a compensation scheme to bring about pastoralist tolerance of lions   总被引：2，自引：1，他引：1  

Seamus D. Maclennan  Rosemary J. Groom  David W. Macdonald  Laurence G. Frank   《Biological conservation》2009,142(11):2419-2427

Lions (Panthera leo) are in decline throughout most of their range due to human persecution, largely provoked by depredation on livestock, and there is debate as to the usefulness of financial instruments to mitigate this conflict. Intending to reduce local lion-killing, the Mbirikani Predator Compensation Fund compensates members of Mbirikani Group Ranch for livestock depredation at a flat rate (close to average market value), after the kill has been verified and with penalties imposed for poor husbandry. Despite penalizing claimants, 55% of claims arose because livestock were lost in the bush. Between 1st April 2003 and 31st December 2006, 754 cattle, 80 donkeys and 1844 sheep/goats were killed (2.31% of the total livestock herd each year). Forty-three percent of kills were ascribed to spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta); leopards (Panthera pardus) and cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) were blamed for 37% of cases, lions 7%, jackals (Canis mesomelas) 7% and buffalo (Syncerus caffer) and elephants (Loxodonta africana) together 6%. Significantly more attacks took place during months of lower rainfall but the rate of attacks was not related to the density of livestock on the ranch, or the ratio of wild herbivores to domestic stock. There was no correlation between local market prices and the number of claims per month. Despite compensation, at least one lion per year was killed in 2004, 2005 and 2006. We describe some features of large carnivore depredation in the study area and suggest that regional recovery of the lion population may require compensation on a wider scale.  相似文献   

Lions and Warriors: Social factors underlying declining African lion populations and the effect of incentive-based management in Kenya     

Leela Hazzah  Monique Borgerhoff Mulder  Laurence Frank   《Biological conservation》2009,142(11):2428-2437

African lion (Panthera leo) populations are in decline throughout most of Africa, but the problem is particularly acute in southern Kenya, where Maasai people are spearing and poisoning lions at a rate that will ensure near term local extinction. Lion killing is shaped by Maasai perception of livestock depredation, socio-economic factors, and the complex relationship between Maasai and conservation. These all affect tolerance for lions and consequently Maasai behavior towards conservation initiatives and carnivores in general. We used an in-depth quantitative questionnaire and participatory rural appraisals (PRAs) to identify the social and ecological predictors of lion killing and to investigate the effect of a compensation scheme on individual tolerance. Individuals who lose a greater proportion of their livestock to predators relative to their overall livestock loss, those affiliated with an evangelical church, and those who mainly sell rather than accumulate livestock all reported a higher propensity to kill carnivores. The future of carnivore conservation in this region depends on a better understanding of the nuances of human–carnivore conflict and a concerted effort to address appropriate cultural and community-level institutions, chiefly by providing economic benefits to local people who engage in positive conservation activities.  相似文献   

Influence of Freshwater Sediment Characteristics on Persistence of Fecal Indicator Bacteria     

Laurence Haller  Essoêfli Amedegnato  John Poté  Walter Wildi 《Water, air, and soil pollution》2009,203(1-4):217-227

Extended persistence of enteric bacteria in coastal sediments and potential remobilization of pathogens during natural turbulence or human activities may induce an increased risk of human infections. In this study, the effect of sediment characteristics such as particle grain size and nutrient and organic matter contents on the survival of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) including total coliforms, Escherichia coli, and Enterococcus was investigated. The experimentation was carried out for 50 days in microcosms containing lake water and different contaminated freshwater sediments in continuous-flow and batch conditions. Results of this study revealed: (1) extended FIB survival in sediments up to 50 days, (2) higher growth and lower decay rates of FIB in sediments with high levels of organic matter and nutrients and small (mainly silt) grain size, and (3) longer survival of Enterococcus sp. compared to E. coli and total coliforms. FIB survival in sediments and possible resuspension are of considerable significance for the understanding of permanent microbial pollution in water column and therefore human risk during recreational activities.  相似文献   

Amphoteric Surfactants for PAH and Lead Polluted-Soil Treatment Using Flotation     

Mouton  Julia  Mercier  Guy  Blais  Jean-François 《Water, air, and soil pollution》2009,199(1-4):381-387

Water, Air, & Soil Pollution - Nineteen soil samples (SE Spain) with very different chemical physical properties and developed over different parent materials were contaminated by adding...  相似文献   

Effect of nitrogen fertilization on nitrogen dynamics in oilseed rape using 15N‐labeling field experiment     

Julie Gombert  Frédérik Le Dily  Jérémy Lothier  Philippe Etienne  Laurence Rossato  Jean‐Michel Allirand  Alexandra Jullien  Alexandre Savin  Alain Ourry 《植物养料与土壤学杂志》2010,173(6):875-884

In order to optimize nitrogen (N) fertilization and to reduce the environmental impact of oilseed rape without decreasing yield, a clearer understanding of N dynamics inside the plant is crucial. The present investigation therefore aimed to study the effects of different N‐application rates on the dynamics of N uptake, partitioning, and remobilization. The experiment was conducted on winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L. cv. Capitol) under three levels of N input (0, 100, and 200 kg N ha^–1) from stem elongation to maturity using ¹⁵N‐labeling technique to distinguish between N uptake and N retranslocation in the plant. Nitrogen fertilization affected the time‐course of N uptake and also the allocation of N taken up from flowering to maturity. Most pod N came from N remobilization, and leaves accounted for the largest source of remobilized N regardless the N‐application rate. However, the contribution of leaves to the remobilized N pool increased with the N dose whereas the one of taproot decreased. Stems were the main sink for remobilized N from stem elongation to flowering. Leaves remained longer on N200 than on N0 and N100 plants, and N concentration in fallen leaves increased with the N treatment and in N100 plants along an axial gradient from the basal to the upper leaves. Overall, these results show that the timing of N supply is more crucial than the N amount to attain a high N efficiency.  相似文献