Equine grass sickness : the geochemical connection

A new study uses the British Geological Survey’s geochemical map to investigate whether minerals in the environment are a factor in this predominantly fatal neurodegenerative disease of horse

Equine grass sickness in Scotland: a case-control study of environmental geochemical risk factors

Epidemiological investigations suggest that soil macro- and micro-nutrients may be a trigger for the occurrence of equine grass sickness (EGS). However, there is limited information regarding relationships between exposure to geochemical elements and the occurrence of EGS. Objectives To determine whether the geographical distribution of EGS cases referred to the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies was associated with the presence or absence of particular geochemical elements in the environment

Can the distribution of cases of equine grass sickness in Scotland be explained by geochemical parameters?

Equine grass sickness (EGS) is a frequently fatal neurological disease, which affects horses grazing fields in certain geographical locations. The aim of this study was to determine whether the geographical distribution of EGS cases referred to the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Edinburgh, Scotland was associated with the presence or absence of particular geochemical parameters in the environment

The effect of post-weaning growth on the fertility of Brahman cross heifers

In the dry tropics of northern Australia heifers are generally weaned mid-year at about six months of age and experience two dry seasons and a wet season prior to first mating at 2 years of age when only 60% are likely to conceive (Entwistle 19830. Pre-mating liveweight (PMLW) explains much of the variation in conception rate, but year effects explain further variations (Rudder et al 1985)

The effect of post-weaning growth on the fertility of Brahman cross heifers

In the dry tropics of northern Australia heifers are generally weaned mid-year at about six months of age and experience two dry seasons and a wet season prior to first mating at 2 years of age when only 60% are likely to conceive (Entwistle 19830. Pre-mating liveweight (PMLW) explains much of the variation in conception rate, but year effects explain further variations (Rudder et al 1985)

The Repronomics Project - enabling genetic improvement in reproduction in Northern Australia

This paper provides a brief description of a large breeding and genotyping project currently being conducted in northern Australia using three tropically-adapted beef breeds. Intensive recording of early-in-life female reproduction phenotypes using real-time ultrasound on large numbers of females will significantly increase the size of the genomic reference populations for these key traits and breeds. This phenotypic data, along with high density SNP genotypes, will provide crucial data to enable the effective implementation of new BREEDPLAN genomic evaluations currently being developed for the Australian beef industry, and will assist in increasing the accuracy of selection, especially in young bulls. The project design will also allow investigations of GxE interactions for female reproduction traits; the potential development of new traits; and methodologies required for the implementation of across-breed genomic evaluations

Prepartum supplementation effects on growth and fertility in Bos indicus-cross cows

Three experiments were conducted in the dry tropics of north Australia using Bos indicus-cross cows. Cows in mid–late pregnancy were either unsupplemented during the late dry season or offered ad libitum (2 kg/day) molasses with 7.4% urea (w/w) (M8U) or cottonseed meal (1 kg/day) for up to 54 days commencing 2 months before the start of the calving season. Supplementation reduced weight loss in experiments 1 and 2 (P<0.05), but had no significant effect on weight or body condition in experiment 3. Supplementation had no effect on subsequent calf growth or cow lactation yields. Following early wet season rains in experiment 1, 9 and 49% of cows were ovulating 40 and 80 days post-partum, respectively, with no effect of supplementation. In experiment 2, 10 and 100% of cows had ovulated by 60 and 200 days post-partum, respectively. At any time between 80 and 180 days post-partum, supplemented cows were more likely to be cycling (P<0.05), independent of supplementation effects on weight or body condition. The average post-partum interval to oestrus was 30 days less in cows supplemented for 42 days (P = 0.08). In experiment 3, pregnancy rates in 1/2 and 3/4 Brahmans supplemented with M8U for 54 days (MU54) or whose calves were weaned at 2–3 months of age (WEAN) were 14% higher in the latter 2 months of mating than in cows supplemented for less than 40 days. Good seasonal conditions resulted in high pregnancy rates in all mature 5/8 Brahmans; when not weaned early, their average calving to conception interval (CCI) was 54 days (s.e. = 8.5 days). Pregnancy rates of first-lactation 5/8 Brahmans (average CCI of 125 days) supplemented for 39 days or less and weaned when calves averaged 6 months of age were 14–32% lower between 2 and 9 months post-partum than in contemporaries in the MU54 or WEAN treatment groups. It was concluded that dry-season supplementation of mid- to late-pregnant Bos indicus-cross cows with an energy concentrate for 42–54 days (‘spike’ feeding) may reduce post-partum anoestrus intervals via a mechanism which is not dependent on the effects on weight or body condition

The Repronomics Project - enabling genetic improvement in reproduction in Northern Australia

This paper provides a brief description of a large breeding and genotyping project currently being conducted in northern Australia using three tropically-adapted beef breeds. Intensive recording of early-in-life female reproduction phenotypes using real-time ultrasound on large numbers of females will significantly increase the size of the genomic reference populations for these key traits and breeds. This phenotypic data, along with high density SNP genotypes, will provide crucial data to enable the effective implementation of new BREEDPLAN genomic evaluations currently being developed for the Australian beef industry, and will assist in increasing the accuracy of selection, especially in young bulls. The project design will also allow investigations of GxE interactions for female reproduction traits; the potential development of new traits; and methodologies required for the implementation of across-breed genomic evaluations

Schizophrenia and Affective Disorders—Cosegregation with a Translocation at Chromosome 1q42 That Directly Disrupts Brain-Expressed Genes: Clinical and P300 Findings in a Family

A family with a (1;11)(q42;q14.3) translocation significantly linked to a clinical phenotype that includes schizophrenia and affective disorders is described. This translocation generates a LOD score of 3.6 when the disease phenotype is restricted to schizophrenia, of 4.5 when the disease phenotype is restricted to affective disorders, of 7.1 when relatives with recurrent major depression, with bipolar disorder, or with schizophrenia are all classed as affected. This evidence for linkage is among the strongest reported for a psychiatric disorder. Family members showed no distinctive features by which the psychiatric phenotype could be distinguished from unrelated cases of either schizophrenia or affective disorders, and no physical, neurological, or dysmorphic conditions co-occurred with psychiatric symptoms. Translocation carriers and noncarriers had the same mean intelligence quotient. Translocation carriers were similar to subjects with schizophrenia and different from noncarriers and controls, in showing a significant reduction in the amplitude of the P300 event-related potential (ERP). Furthermore, P300 amplitude reduction and latency prolongation were measured in some carriers of the translocation who had no psychiatric symptoms—a pattern found in other families with multiple members with schizophrenia, in which amplitude of and latency of P300 appear to be trait markers of risk. The results of karyotypic, clinical, and ERP investigations of this family suggest that the recently described genes DISC1 and DISC2, which are directly disrupted by the breakpoint on chromosome 1, may have a role in the development of a disease phenotype that includes schizophrenia as well as unipolar and bipolar affective disorders