Clinical presentation, auscultation recordings, ultrasonographic findings and treatment response of 12 adult cattle with chronic suppurative pneumonia: case study

Auscultation is considered the critical component of the veterinary clinical examination for the diagnosis of bovine respiratory disease but the accuracy with which adventitious sounds reflect underlying lung pathology remains largely unproven. Modern portable ultrasound machines provide the veterinary practitioner with an inexpensive, non-invasive tool with which to examine the pleural surfaces and superficial lung parenchyma. Simultaneous recording of sounds overlying normal lung and defined pathology allows critical assessment of auscultated sounds in the same animal removing confounding factors such as respiratory rate and thickness of the chest wall (body condition). Twelve cows, referred to the University of Edinburgh Veterinary School, were diagnosed with chronic suppurative pneumonia and enrolled into this prospective study to record and monitor lung sounds, ultrasonographic findings, and response to a standardised antibiotic treatment regimen. Most cows (8/12) had a normal rectal temperature on presentation but all cows had received antibiotic therapy at some time in the previous two weeks and six animals were receiving antibiotic treatment upon admission. All cattle were tachypnoeic (>40 breaths per minute) with frequent and productive coughing, halitosis, and a purulent nasal discharge most noticeable when the head was lowered. Ultrasonographic examination of the chest readily identified pathological changes consistent with severe lung pathology subsequently confirmed as chronic suppurative pneumonia in four cows at necropsy; eight cows recovered well after antibiotic treatment and were discharged two to six weeks after admission. It proved difficult to differentiate increased audibility of normal lung sounds due to tachypnoea from wheezes; coarse crackles were not commonly heard. In general, sounds were reduced in volume over consolidated lung relative to normal lung tissue situated dorsally. Rumen contraction sounds were commonly transmitted over areas of lung pathology. Trueperella (formerly Arcanobacterium) pyogenes was isolated from three of four lung tissue samples at necrospy. Treatment with procaine penicillin for 42 consecutive days resulted in marked improvement with return to normal appetite and improvement in body condition in 8 of 12 cows (67%) where lesions did not extend more than 10-15 cm above the level of the olecranon on both sides of the chest

Integrated olfactory receptor and microarray gene expression databases

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Gene expression patterns of olfactory receptors (ORs) are an important component of the signal encoding mechanism in the olfactory system since they determine the interactions between odorant ligands and sensory neurons. We have developed the Olfactory Receptor Microarray Database (ORMD) to house OR gene expression data. ORMD is integrated with the Olfactory Receptor Database (ORDB), which is a key repository of OR gene information. Both databases aim to aid experimental research related to olfaction.</p> <p>Description</p> <p>ORMD is a Web-accessible database that provides a secure data repository for OR microarray experiments. It contains both publicly available and private data; accessing the latter requires authenticated login. The ORMD is designed to allow users to not only deposit gene expression data but also manage their projects/experiments. For example, contributors can choose whether to make their datasets public. For each experiment, users can download the raw data files and view and export the gene expression data. For each OR gene being probed in a microarray experiment, a hyperlink to that gene in ORDB provides access to genomic and proteomic information related to the corresponding olfactory receptor. Individual ORs archived in ORDB are also linked to ORMD, allowing users access to the related microarray gene expression data.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>ORMD serves as a data repository and project management system. It facilitates the study of microarray experiments of gene expression in the olfactory system. In conjunction with ORDB, ORMD integrates gene expression data with the genomic and functional data of ORs, and is thus a useful resource for both olfactory researchers and the public.</p

Analysis of genome-wide DNA arrays reveals the genomic population structure and diversity in autochthonous Greek goat breeds

Goats play an important role in the livestock sector in Greece. The national herd consists mainly of two indigenous breeds, the Eghoria and Skopelos. Here, we report the population structure and genomic profiles of these two native goat breeds using Illumina's Goat SNP50 BeadChip. Moreover, we present a panel of candidate markers acquired using different genetic models for breed discrimination. Quality control on the initial dataset resulted in 48,841 SNPs kept for downstream analysis. Principal component and admixture analyses were applied to assess population structure. The rate of inbreeding within breed was evaluated based on the distribution of runs of homozygosity in the genome and respective coefficients, the genomic relationship matrix, the patterns of linkage disequilibrium, and the historic effective population size. Results showed that both breeds exhibit high levels of genetic diversity. Level of inbreeding between the two breeds estimated by the Wright's fixation index FST was low (Fst = 0.04362), indicating the existence of a weak genetic differentiation between them. In addition, grouping of farms according to their geographical locations was observed. This study presents for the first time a genome-based analysis on the genetic structure of the two indigenous Greek goat breeds and identifies markers that can be potentially exploited in future selective breeding programs for traceability purposes, targeted genetic improvement schemes and conservation strategies

Effects of an Oregano Based Dietary Supplement on Performance of Broiler Chickens Experimentally Infected with Eimeria Acervulina and Eimeria Maxima

A study was conducted to examine the effect of dietary oregano essential oil supplementation on the performance of broiler chickens challenged with Eimeria acervulina and Eimeria maxima at 14 days of age. A total of 375 day-old Cobb-500 male chicks separated into 5 equal groups with three replicates each, were used in this study. Two of the groups, one challenged with 1 X 10(5) sporulated oocysts of E. acervulina along with 1 X 10(5) sporulated oocysts of E. maxima and the other not, were given a basal diet and served as controls. The other three groups also challenged with combined E. acervulina and E. maxima were administered diets supplemented with oregano essential oil by adding the product Orego- Stim (containing 5% oregano essential oil) at the levels of 300 or 600 mg/kg, and the last group the anticoccidial substance salinomycin at the dosage of 60 mg/kg. Following the challenge, survival rate, bloody diarrhea and oocysts excretion, as well as intestinal lesion score were all determined. Throughout the experimental period that lasted 35 days, body weight gain and feed intake were weekly recorded, and feed conversion ratios were calculated. The results showed that dietary oregano oil supplementation in both oregano supplemented groups, attained body weight gains and feed conversion ratios not differing (p>0.05) to those of the non-challenged group or the salinomycin group. The challenged control presented lower (p>0.05) performance than those of the other groups for the consecutive three weeks after the challenge. These performance parameters along with lesion scoring indicated that oregano essential oil exerted an anticoccidial effect against E. acervulina and E. maxima, comparable to salinomycin

Case report: High prevalence rate of ovine mastitis, caused by coagulase-negative staphylococci and predisposed by increased gossypol consumption

A case of unusually high (>94%) prevalence of mastitis in a flock of dairy sheep, which was caused by coagulase-negative staphylococci (cnS) and associated with increased gossypol consumption, is presented. The animals were given a ration containing 25% cottonseed meal, whilst the farmer complained of significantly reduced milk yield. Various clinically detectable abnormalities were found in the mammary glands; the California mastitis test (CMT) performed was always positive (≥1). Bacterial species isolated from mammary secretion samples were cnS (n=54), Staphylococcus aureus (n=5), Bacillus spp. (n=5), Escherichia coli (n=3) and Arcanobacterium pyogenes (n=2). During the post mortem examination, pathological findings characteristic of rumen acidosis were found in the mammary gland, macroscopic and histological lesions characteristic of chronic mastitis were seen. Bacteria (cnS, n=23; Bacillus spp., n=3; S. aureus, n=2; E. coli, n=2) were also isolated from mammary tissue samples. Gossypol was detected in pooled milk samples collected from the ewes. A hypothetical model involving the high prevalence rate of staphylococcal mastitis with the increased dietary intake of gossypol is proposed. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Effects of essential oils on milk production, milk composition, and rumen microbiota in Chios dairy ewes

The effect of the addition of an essential oil (EO) preparation (containing a mixture of natural and nature-identical EO) on the performance of dairy ewes of the Chios breed was investigated. Eighty lactating ewes were allocated into 4 equal groups in a randomized block design, each with 4 replicates of 5 ewes housed in the same pen. The 4 groups were fed the same total mixed ration allowance, the roughage being a mixture of corn silage, lucerne hay, and wheat straw, and the concentrate based on cereals and oil cakes. Control ewes were fed their daily allowance of total mixed ration without any EQ. The other 3 groups were supplemented with EO at levels of 50, 100, and 150 mg/kg of the concentrated feed, respectively. Individual milk yield was recorded daily and feed refusals were recorded on a pen basis weekly during the first 5 mo of lactation. Milk samples were analyzed for chemical composition, somatic cell count, and urea content. Rumen samples were analyzed for pH, NH(3)-N content, and protozoa, cellulolytic, hyper-ammonia-producing, and total viable bacteria counts. Results showed that inclusion of EO increased milk production per ewe, the effect being dose dependent [1.565, 1.681, 1.876, and 2.119 L/d (standard error of the difference +/- 0.176) for the control, 50, 100, and 150 mg of EO/kg of concentrate diets, respectively], and thus improved feed utilization. Although the inclusion of EO did not affect milk composition, it lowered urea concentration and somatic cell count in milk samples at the highest supplementation level compared with the control. Total counts of viable and cellulolytic bacteria and protozoa were not influenced by EO supplementation; however, counts of hyper-ammonia-producing bacteria were decreased at the 2 highest supplementation levels compared with the control group. Rumen pH was not affected by EO supplementation, but rumen NH(3)-N was reduced at the highest EO supplementation level, and acetate rumen concentrations tended to decrease and propionate to increase in a dose-dependent manner. In conclusion, EO supplementation may improve feed utilization and performance of the high-yielding dairy Chios ewes; however, the underlying mechanisms leading to this improvement merit further investigation