Presence of Cocaine in the Tissues of the European Eel, Anguilla anguilla, Exposed to Environmental Cocaine Concentrations

The presence of illicit drugs and their metabolites in surface waters has to be considered a new type of hazard, still unknown, for the aquatic ecosystem, due to the potent pharmacological activities of all the illicit drugs. Our research was therefore aimed at evaluating the impact of illicit drugs on the aquatic fauna, till now still undervalued. To this aim, we verified the ability of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla), a well-known biomonitor of environmental contamination, to bioaccumulate cocaine, one of the most abundant illicit drugs found in surface waters. Silver eels were exposed to a nominal cocaine concentration of 20?ng/l for 1?month; at the same time, control, carrier, and post-exposure recovery groups were made. Brains, gills, liver, kidney, muscle, gonads, spleen, digestive tract, and sections of dorsal skin were assayed by high-pressure liquid chromatography. Cocaine was found in the tissues of the treated eels and, at low concentrations, in almost all tissues of post-exposure recovery eels. These results indicate that cocaine is able to accumulate into the eel tissues; its presence suggests potential risks for eels since cocaine could affect their physiology and contribute to their decline, and for humans consuming contaminated fish.     

Influence of Temperament Score and Handling Facility on Stress,Reproductive Hormone Concentrations,and Fixed Time AI Pregnancy Rates in Beef Heifers

The objectives were (i) to evaluate the effect of temperament, determined by modified 2‐point chute exit and gait score, on artificial insemination (AI) pregnancy rates in beef heifers following fixed time AI and (ii) to determine the effect of temperament on cortisol, substance‐P, prolactin and progesterone at initiation of synchronization and at the time of AI. Angus beef heifers (n = 967) at eight locations were included in this study. At the initiation of synchronization (Day 0 = initiation of synchronization), all heifers received a body condition score (BCS), and temperament score (0 = calm; slow exit and walk or 1 = excitable; fast exit or jump or trot or run). Blood samples were collected from a sub‐population of heifers (n = 86) at both synchronization initiation and the time of AI to determine the differences in serum progesterone, cortisol, prolactin and substance‐P concentrations between temperament groups. Heifers were synchronized with 5‐day CO‐Synch+ controlled internal drug release (CIDR) protocol and were inseminated at 56 h after CIDR removal. Heifers were examined for pregnancy by ultrasound 70 days after AI to determine AI pregnancy. Controlling for synchronization treatment (p = 0.03), facility design (p = 0.05), and cattle handling facility design by temperament score interaction (p = 0.02), the AI pregnancy differed between heifers with excitable and calm temperament (51.9% vs 60.3%; p = 0.01). The alley‐way with acute bends and turns, and long straight alley‐way had lower AI pregnancy rate than did the semicircular alley‐way (53.5%, 56.3% and 67.0% respectively; p = 0.05). The serum hormone concentrations differed significantly between different types of cattle handling facility (p < 0.05). The cattle handling facility design by temperament group interactions significantly influenced progesterone (p = 0.01), cortisol (p = 0.01), prolactin (p = 0.02) and substance‐P (p = 0.04) both at the initiation of synchronization and at the time of AI. Inter‐ and intra‐rater agreement for temperament scoring were moderate and good (Kappa = 0.596 ± 0.07 and 0.797 ± 0.11) respectively. The predictive value for calm and pregnant to AI was 0.87, and excited and non‐pregnant to AI was 0.76. In conclusion, the modified 2‐point temperament scoring method can be used to identify heifers with excitable temperament. Heifers with excitable temperament had lower AI pregnancy. Further, cattle handling facility design influenced the temperament and AI pregnancy.     

Comparison of three methods of feeding colostrum to dairy calves

Absorption of colostral immunoglobulins by Holstein calves was studied in 3 herds in which 3 methods of colostrum feeding were used. Failure of passive transfer, as determined by calf serum immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) concentration less than 10 mg/ml at 48 hours of age, was diagnosed in 61.4% of calves from a dairy in which calves were nursed by their dams, 19.3% of calves from a dairy using nipple-bottle feeding, and 10.8% of calves from a dairy using tube feeding. The management factor determined to have the greatest influence on the probability of failure of passive transfer in the herds using artificial methods of colostrum feeding (bottle feeding or tube feeding) was the volume of colostrum fed as it affected the amount of IgG1 received by the calf. In dairies that used artificial feeding methods, failure of passive transfer was infrequent in calves fed greater than or equal to 100 g IgG1 in the first colostrum feeding. In the dairy that allowed calves to suckle, prevalence of failure of passive transfer was greater than 50% even among calves nursed by cows with above-average colostral IgG1 concentration. Analysis of the effect of other management factors on calf immunoglobulin absorption revealed small negative effects associated with the use of previously frozen colostrum and the use of colostrum from cows with long nonlactating intervals.     

A spatial hazard model for cluster detection on continuous indicators of disease: application to somatic cell score

Methods for spatial cluster detection dealing with diseases quantified by continuous variables are few, whereas several diseases are better approached by continuous indicators. For example, subclinical mastitis of the dairy cow is evaluated using a continuous marker of udder inflammation, the somatic cell score (SCS). Consequently, this study proposed to analyze spatialized risk and cluster components of herd SCS through a new method based on a spatial hazard model. The dataset included annual SCS for 34 142 French dairy herds for the year 2000, and important SCS risk factors: mean parity, percentage of winter and spring calvings, and herd size. The model allowed the simultaneous estimation of the effects of known risk factors and of potential spatial clusters on SCS, and the mapping of the estimated clusters and their range. Mean parity and winter and spring calvings were significantly associated with subclinical mastitis risk. The model with the presence of 3 clusters was highly significant, and the 3 clusters were attractive, i.e. closeness to cluster center increased the occurrence of high SCS. The three localizations were the following: close to the city of Troyes in the northeast of France; around the city of Limoges in the center-west; and in the southwest close to the city of Tarbes. The semi-parametric method based on spatial hazard modeling applies to continuous variables, and takes account of both risk factors and potential heterogeneity of the background population. This tool allows a quantitative detection but assumes a spatially specified form for clusters.     

The economic impact of clinical transmissible gastroenteritis for swine producers participating in the Missouri mail-in-record program

Economic loss from transmissible gastroenteritis (TGE) was estimated at $0.18 per hog marketed for the average Missouri Mail-in-Record swine panel producer in 1978. This cost was $0.19 per hog marketed in 1979. These estimates were averaged for all producers in the record system, those with TGE in their herds as well as TGE-free herds. Estimates were also prepared for those herds with TGE outbreaks. In 1978, the average loss due to TGE for producers who had the disease on their farms was estimated at $1.74 per hog marketed, or 18% of the average return earned above total production costs. In 1979, this cost was $1.25 per hog marketed, or 13% of the average return earned above total production costs.     

Evaluation of the agar gel immunodiffusion test for diagnosis of subclinical paratuberculosis in cattle

Concurrent bacteriologic culture of feces and agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) testing was performed on all cows and bred heifers over 14 months old in 10 dairy herds during a 32-month period to determine the effectiveness of the AGID test for the detection of subclinical paratuberculosis. Herds were sampled 5 times and, when possible, culled animals were tested again at slaughter. During 5 herd-wide samplings, Mycobacterium paratuberculosis was isolated from 139 fecal specimens obtained from 109 cattle. Results of the AGID test were simultaneously positive 40 of 139 times (28.8%). Thirty-six of the 109 cattle (33.0%) determined to be infected had a positive AGID test result at some point during the 5 herd-wide samplings. When results of tests performed at time of slaughter were included, 117 cattle were identified as infected by culture methods; 55 of these (47.0%) were AGID test-positive at some point during the study. The upper limit of the maximal false-positive rate for the AGID test was 2.1%. On the basis of colony counts from cultures, subclinically infected cows shedding higher numbers of M paratuberculosis in their feces were more likely to have positive AGID test results (P less than 0.0001). In known infected cattle, neither the culture nor AGID test results were consistently positive on repeated testing. Of 48 official calfhood paratuberculosis vaccinates tested as adults, 3 had positive AGID test results and in 1 of these, M paratuberculosis was also isolated from the feces, indicating that the rate of false-positive AGID test results in calfhood vaccinates is low.     

A new set of microsatellite markers for Fragaria species and their application in linkage analysis

Summary

This study reports the development of 68 new microsatellite markers. Of these, 45 were obtained, together with 20 others already published, from an AC-enriched genomic library of the wild strawberry Fragaria vesca. The 68 markers were tested for transportability to the cultivated strawberry F. ananassa ‘Miss’ and 83% gave positive amplifications. Twenty pairs of primers were selected and tested for their transportability to 16 Fragaria taxa and eight species of Rosaceae (peach, almond, apricot, European and Sino-Japanese plums, sweet and sour cherry, apple). The average proportion of primers amplifying loci in Fragaria was 69%, while the transportability to Rosaceae was very low and resulted in null amplification for 80% of the primer pairs. In addition, 23 microsatellite markers were developed from F. ananassa ‘expressed sequence tags’ databases. A total of 141 primer pairs from these and published primers, were tested for polymorphism in the two parents (91.333.2 and ‘Snovit’; both belonging to F. vesca) of a full sib population of 46 individuals. Fifty-eight percent of the primers were discarded because they were monomorphic, or were difficult to interpret, or their allelic conformation was not useful for mapping. The segregation of 73 primers was tested in the progeny and a partial map of the female parent was constructed, based on the segregation of 66 useful markers that were ordered into eight linkage groups of which four had from seven to 14 markers.