Capsid coding sequences of foot-and-mouth disease viruses are determinants of pathogenicity in pigs     

Lohse L  Jackson T  Bøtner A  Belsham GJ 《Veterinary research》2012,43(1):46

The surface exposed capsid proteins, VP1, VP2 and VP3, of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) determine its antigenicity and the ability of the virus to interact with host-cell receptors. Hence, modification of these structural proteins may alter the properties of the virus.In the present study we compared the pathogenicity of different FMDVs in young pigs. In total 32 pigs, 7-weeks-old, were exposed to virus, either by direct inoculation or through contact with inoculated pigs, using cell culture adapted (O1K B64), chimeric (O1K/A-TUR and O1K/O-UKG) or field strain (O-UKG/34/2001) viruses. The O1K B64 virus and the two chimeric viruses are identical to each other except for the capsid coding region.Animals exposed to O1K B64 did not exhibit signs of disease, while pigs exposed to each of the other viruses showed typical clinical signs of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). All pigs infected with the O1K/O-UKG chimera or the field strain (O-UKG/34/2001) developed fulminant disease. Furthermore, 3 of 4 in-contact pigs exposed to the O1K/O-UKG virus died in the acute phase of infection, likely from myocardial infection. However, in the group exposed to the O1K/A-TUR chimeric virus, only 1 pig showed symptoms of disease within the time frame of the experiment (10 days). All pigs that developed clinical disease showed a high level of viral RNA in serum and infected pigs that survived the acute phase of infection developed a serotype specific antibody response. It is concluded that the capsid coding sequences are determinants of FMDV pathogenicity in pigs.  相似文献   

The effects of kale (Brassica oleracea ssp. acephala), basil (Ocimum basilicum) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris) as forage material in organic egg production on egg quality     

Hammershøj M  Steenfeldt S 《British poultry science》2012,53(2):245-256

1. In organic egg production, forage material as part of the diet for laying hens is mandatory. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of feeding with forage materials including maize silage, herbs or kale on egg production and various egg quality parameters of the shell, yolk colour, egg albumen, sensory properties, fatty acid and carotenoid composition of the egg yolk.

2. A total of 5 dietary treatments were tested for 5 weeks, consisting of a basal organic feed plus 120?g/hen.d of the following forage materials: 1) maize silage (control), 2) maize silage incl. 15?g/kg basil, 3) maize silage incl. 30?g/kg basil, 4) maize silage incl. 15?g/kg thyme, or 5) fresh kale leaves. Each was supplied to three replicates of 20 hens. A total of 300 hens was used.

3. Feed intake, forage intake and laying rate did not differ with treatment, but egg weight and egg mass produced increased significantly with the kale treatment.

4. The egg shell strength tended to be higher with the kale treatment, and egg yolk colour was significantly more red with the kale treatment and more yellow with basil and kale treatments. The albumen DM content and albumen gel strength were lowest with the thyme treatment. By sensory evaluation, the kale treatment resulted in eggs with less sulphur aroma, higher yolk colour score, and more sweet and less watery albumen taste. Furthermore, the eggs of the kale treatment had significantly higher lutein and β-carotene content. Also, violaxanthin, an orange xanthophyll, tended to be higher in kale and eggs from hens receiving kale.

5. In conclusion, forage material, especially basil and kale, resulted in increased egg production and eggs of high and differentiable quality.  相似文献   

Effects of percutaneous needle liver biopsy on dairy cow behaviour     

Mølgaard L  Damgaard BM  Bjerre-Harpøth V  Herskin MS 《Research in veterinary science》2012,93(3):1248-1254

In cattle, percutaneous needle liver biopsy is used for scientific examination of liver metabolism. The impact of the biopsy procedure is, however, poorly investigated. Our aim was to examine the behaviour of dairy cows during and after liver biopsy. Data were collected from 18 dry cows. Percutaneous needle liver biopsies (after administration of local anaesthesia (2% Procaine)) and blood samples were taken during restraining. During the control treatment, animals were restrained and blood sampled. During the biopsy procedure, cows showed increased restlessness (P=0.008), frequency of head shaking (P=0.016), and decreased rumination (P=0.064). After biopsies, tail pressing (P=0.016) and time spent perching (P=0.058) increased. Time spent upright (P=0.10) and number of leg movements (P=0.033) increased during the night as compared to controls. Thus, liver biopsy induced behavioural changes for up to 19h - and particularly for behaviour previously associated with pain. Even though the exact welfare impact of percutaneous needle liver biopsies in cows is not known, and the magnitude of the behavioural changes was limited, pain always has negative effects on animal welfare. Therefore, if the present biopsy procedure - involving several biopsy passes - is to be used, improvement of the anaesthetic protocol as well as the inclusion of analgesics should be considered.  相似文献   

Spatial differences in occurrence of paratuberculosis in Danish dairy herds and in control programme participation     

Bihrmann K  Nielsen SS  Toft N  Ersbøll AK 《Preventive veterinary medicine》2012,103(2-3):112-119

Paratuberculosis is a chronic infection of economic importance to the cattle industry and a voluntary control programme is offered to Danish dairy farmers. Our objective was to evaluate spatial differences in both control programme participation and paratuberculosis prevalence in Denmark. The study included 4414 dairy herds: 1249 were participating in the control programme, and 1503 were tested for antibodies to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP). Spatial differences were evaluated by kernel smoothing, kriging, and cluster analysis. Participation was lowest among herds on the island Zealand (≤23%). The risk of a herd being infected with MAP was found to be high on most of Zealand, but the uncertainty of this result was large due to a limited number of tested herds. In the rest of the country, the south western part of the peninsula Jutland had the highest risk of MAP (≥91%). The risk of MAP was also high (86-91%) in the northern part of both Jutland and Funen. The predicted apparent within-herd prevalence was highest (5-8.5%) in some local areas across Jutland, in the north western part of the island Funen, and in the south and western part of Zealand. Scan statistics located the primary cluster of herds with high apparent within-herd prevalence in the western part of Funen. Furthermore, a number of significant clusters were found in Jutland and a single significant cluster in Zealand. Consistency was found between kriging and scan statistics results with respect to location of areas with high apparent within-herd prevalence of MAP. Potential explanations for differences in participation include herd size and local herd health advisers, whereas for example soil characteristics might influence prevalence. Further studies are needed to evaluate these and other risk factors.  相似文献   

Effect of days in milk and milk yield on testing positive in milk antibody ELISA to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in dairy cattle     

Nielsen SS  Toft N 《Veterinary immunology and immunopathology》2012,149(1-2):6-10

Milk samples are becoming more used as a diagnostic specimen for assessment of occurrence of antibodies to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP). This study assessed the effect of days in milk (DIM) and milk yield on testing positive in a commercial MAP specific milk antibody ELISA among 222,774 Danish Holstein cows. Results showed that odds of testing positive on 1-2 DIM were 9-27 times higher than the rest of lactation, where the chance of testing positive varied less. The reason is most likely a high concentration of non-specific antibodies in colostrum. Consequently, samples from the first couple of DIM should be excluded from MAP testing until further information on their significance is established. Milk yield also had a significant effect on odds of testing positive due to its diluting effect. Inclusion of milk yield in the interpretation of test results could improve the diagnostic value, resulting in more predictable patterns corresponding to progression of infection.  相似文献   

Age-structured dynamic, stochastic and mechanistic simulation model of Salmonella Dublin infection within dairy herds     

Nielsen LR  Kudahl AB  Østergaard S 《Preventive veterinary medicine》2012,105(1-2):59-74

In the demand for a decision support tool to guide farmers wanting to control Salmonella Dublin (S. Dublin) in Danish dairy herds, we developed an age-structured stochastic, mechanistic and dynamic simulation model of S. Dublin in dairy herds, which incorporated six age groups (neonatal, preweaned calves, weaned calves, growing heifers, breeding heifers and cows) and five infection states (susceptible, acutely infected, carrier, super shedder and resistant). The model simulated population and infection dynamics over a period of 10 years in weekly time steps as: 1) population sizes of each of the six age-groups; 2) S. Dublin incidence and number of animals in each infection state; and 3) S. Dublin related morbidity and mortality in the acutely infected animals. The effects of introducing one infectious heifer on the risk of spread of S. Dublin within the herd and on the duration of infection were estimated through 1000 simulation iterations for 48 scenarios. The scenarios covered all combinations of three herd sizes (70, 200 and 400 cows), four hygiene levels indicating infectious contact parameters, and four herd susceptibility levels indicating different susceptibility parameters for the individual animals in each of the six age groups in the herd. The hygiene level was highly influential on the probability that the infection spread within the herd, duration of infection and epidemic size. The herd susceptibility level was also influential, but not likely to provide sufficient prevention and control of infection on its own. Herd size did not affect the probability of infection spread upon exposure, but the larger the herd the more important were management and housing practices that improve hygiene and reduce susceptibility to shorten durations of infection in the herd and to increase the probability of extinction. In general, disease and mortality patterns followed epidemic waves in the herds. However, an interesting pattern was seen for acute infections and abortions in adult cattle after the first 2 years of infection in herds with poor hygiene and high susceptibility. Repeated infections in young stock lead to a high proportion of resistant adult cattle, which lead to a dampening effect on acute infections in adults and associated abortions. Sensitivity analyses of 24 alternative scenarios showed that a super shedder state was not essential to mimic the infection dynamics and persistence patterns known from field studies, but a persistent carrier state was required in the model to mimic real life S. Dublin infections.  相似文献   

Hemostatic response to surgical neutering via ovariectomy and ovariohysterectomy in dogs     

ER Moldal  AT Kristensen  ME Peeters  A Nødtvedt  J Kirpensteijn 《American journal of veterinary research》2012,73(9):1469-1476

Objective-To investigate the hemostatic response to surgery and compare the response for ovariohysterectomy with that for ovariectomy and to evaluate the usefulness of thromboelastography on plasma samples. Animals-42 female dogs. Procedures-Dogs were assigned to undergo ovariohysterectomy or ovariectomy. Blood samples were collected immediately before and 1, 6, and 24 hours after surgery and stored at -80°C for subsequent analysis. Plasma samples were subjected to thromboelastography after thawing. In addition, coagulation variables were measured, including concentrations of von Willebrand factor antigen, fibrinogen, antithrombin, and protein C; activity of factor VIII; activated partial thromboplastin time; prothrombin time; and thrombin time. The fibrinolytic response was assessed via concentrations of D-dimer, plasminogen, and α-2-antiplasmin (plasmin inhibitor). Results-Substantial hemostatic and fibrinolytic activation was evident after surgery in both groups, as characterized by significantly increased global clot strength and an overall hypercoagulable state at 4 hours after surgery in addition to decreases in von Willebrand factor antigen and factor VIII concentrations and shortened prothrombin and thrombin times. The dogs also typically had activation of the fibrinolytic system, as evidenced by increased postoperative concentrations of D-dimer, plasminogen, and plasmin inhibitor. Differences between the 2 groups could not be detected for any variables. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Elective surgery with limited tissue trauma induced hemostatic activation in dogs, which led to hypercoagulability after surgery. A difference between the ovariohysterectomy and ovariectomy groups was not detected. Thromboelastography can be used on plasma samples and may be useful for evaluating patterns over time.  相似文献   

Echocardiographic evaluation of changes in left ventricular size and valvular regurgitation associated with physical training during and after maturity in Standardbred trotters     

Buhl R  Ersbøll AK 《Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association》2012,240(2):205-212

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Current status of canine cancer registration - report from an international workshop     

Nødtvedt A  Berke O  Bonnett BN  Brønden L 《Veterinary and comparative oncology》2012,10(2):95-101

This is a report from a workshop on canine cancer registration hosted at the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science in Oslo in August 2010. The aim is to present a summary of the current efforts to gather data on canine (and feline) cancer based on information from participants at the workshop. A definition and classification of cancer registries is provided together with an inventory of the databases presented. Particular focus is placed on the distinction between population-based and hospital-based cancer registries. Future challenges are discussed and issues relating to harmonization of diagnostic coding, defining the population-at-risk, individual animal identification and data quality are included. Finally, other groups working within the field of cancer registration in companion animals are encouraged to contact the authors for future collaboration.  相似文献   

Residue cover,soil structure,weed infestation and spring cereal yields as affected by tillage and straw management on three soils in Norway     

T. Seehusen  I. S. Hofgaard  K. S. Tørresen  H. Riley 《Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section B - Plant Soil Science》2017,67(2):93-109

Four field trials (spring wheat and oats) were conducted (one on clay soil, one on loam soil and two on silt soil) for three years in important cereal growing districts, to investigate the influence of tillage regimes (ploughing versus reduced tillage in either autumn or spring) and straw management (removed and retained) on plant residue amounts, weed populations, soil structural parameters and cereal yields. The effect of tillage on soil structure varied, mainly due to the short trial period. In general, the amount of small soil aggregates increased with tillage intensity. Reduced soil tillage, and in some cases spring ploughing, gave significantly higher aggregate stability than autumn ploughing, thus providing protection against erosion. However, decreasing tillage intensity increased the amounts of weeds, particularly of Poa annua on silt soil. Straw treatment only slightly affected yields, while effects of tillage varied between both year and location. Reduced tillage, compared to ploughing, gave only small yield differences on loam soil, while it was superior on clay soil and inferior on silt soil. Our results suggest that shallow spring ploughing is a good alternative to autumn ploughing, since it gave comparable yields, better protection against erosion and was nearly as effective against weeds.  相似文献