Leukocytes trapped in the fetal membranes of newborn foals

Upon the delivery of a foal’s pelvis at the end of stage 2 of labor, the foal’s hind legs remain inside the mare’s vagina, presumably to prevent any tension on or the rupture of the still intact umbilical cord. Current thinking on the purpose of maintaining an intact umbilical cord for several minutes after birth is that fetal blood that is still in the vascular bed of the fetal membranes has to be given some time to drain back into the neonate [1,2]. However, immediately after delivery of the foal a strong pulse is palpable in the arteries of its umbilical cord, implying that blood is not only draining from the membranes to the fetus, but many be pumped from the fetus into the membranes. As part of a larger study on the extent and possible significance of umbilical blood flow during the immediate post-delivery period we measured blood gas concentrations in umbilical venous and arterial blood. In order to be better able to interpret our blood gas findings, routine hematological evaluations were performed on the umbilical blood samples of three of the foals and in all three we discovered that more white blood cells were entering the fetal membranes than were leaving though the vein. This study tested the hypothesis that white blood cell counts in umbilical venous blood are lower than white blood cell counts in arterial umbilical blood of newborn foals. We also hypothesized that the extent of this apparent entrapment of fetal white cells in the allantochorion plays a role in placental separation and, hence, the interval between the delivery of the foal and the expulsion of its afterbirth

Rectal prolapse associated with a healed pelvic fracture in a pregnant free-ranging African black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis). Part 2 : surgery and necropsy : case report

The oedematous and traumatised protruding section of the rectal tissue of an adult free-ranging female African black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) was surgically amputated. Immediately before completion of surgery, the rhinoceros died of anaesthetic-related cardiac arrest. At necropsy a deformed pelvis and sacrum associated with a healed fracture of the left ileal wing were noted. New bone formation in and around the left ventral sacral foramina may have resulted in neuropathy of particularly the 3rd and 4th left ventral sacral nerves, which (in the horse) supply the majority of the nerve fibres innervating the caudal rectum and anus. The cause of the injury is not known, although back injuries, presumably sustained during mating by bulls, have been recorded in white rhinoceros. An encounter with elephants could also have been responsible for the injury in this case

Rectal prolapse associated with a healed pelvic fracture in a pregnant free-ranging African black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis). Part 1 : anaesthesia : case report

Anaesthesia was required in a heavily-pregnant, adult, free-ranging African black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis with a rectal prolapse for examination and possible treatment. The animal was immobilised with 4.5 mg etorphine and 60 mg azaperone. For continued observation, the immobilised animal was transported to a boma. Additional etorphine and azaperone were administered to keep the animal anaesthetised during treatment and transport. In addition, 15 mg nalorphine was administered during this time to improve ventilation and reduce muscle rigidity. Sixty hours later, in preparation for surgery, 2.5 mg etorphine and 40 mg azaperone were administered, followed by endotracheal intubation and halothane anaesthesia. During anaesthesia, a decrease in tidal volume was observed. Venous blood-gas analysis indicated a decrease in the oxygen partial pressure, and a mixed respiratory and metabolic acidosis. Cardiac arrest was preceded by an increase in heart rate and tidal volume after 80 min of inhalation anaesthesia

The Ascomycota tree of life: A phylum-wide phylogeny clarifies the origin and evolution of fundamental reproductive and ecological traits

We present a 6-gene, 420-species maximum-likelihood phylogeny of Ascomycota, the largest phylum of Fungi. This analysis is the most taxonomically complete to date with species sampled from all 15 currently circumscribed classes. A number of superclass-level nodes that have previously evaded resolution and were unnamed in classifications of the Fungi are resolved for the first time. Based on the 6-gene phylogeny we conducted a phylogenetic informativeness analysis of all 6 genes and a series of ancestral character state reconstructions that focused on morphology of sporocarps, ascus dehiscence, and evolution of nutritional modes and ecologies. A gene-by-gene assessment of phylogenetic informativeness yielded higher levels of informativeness for protein genes (RPB1, RPB2, and TEF1) as compared with the ribosomal genes, which have been the standard bearer in fungal systematics. Our reconstruction of sporocarp characters is consistent with 2 origins for multicellular sexual reproductive structures in Ascomycota, once in the common ancestor of Pezizomycotina and once in the common ancestor of Neolectomycetes. This first report of dual origins of ascomycete sporocarps highlights the complicated nature of assessing homology of morphological traits across Fungi. Furthermore, ancestral reconstruction supports an open sporocarp with an exposed hymenium (apothecium) as the primitive morphology for Pezizomycotina with multiple derivations of the partially (perithecia) or completely enclosed (cleistothecia) sporocarps. Ascus dehiscence is most informative at the class level within Pezizomycotina with most superclass nodes reconstructed equivocally. Character-state reconstructions support a terrestrial, saprobic ecology as ancestral. In contrast to previous studies, these analyses support multiple origins of lichenization events with the loss of lichenization as less frequent and limited to terminal, closely related species