Preliminary report on osteochondrosis in cattle in the north-western parts of South Africa.

The north-western part of South Africa, in particular, is well known for mineral imbalances. Aphosphorosis, resulting in rickets and osteomalacia, received a lot of attention at the turn of the nineteenth century (1882-1912). This was followed in 1997 by research on Vryburg hepatosis, another area-specific mineral imbalance-related disease in young calves reared on manganese-rich soil derived from the weathering of dolomitic (carbonate) rock formations.

Standardization criteria for an ischemic surgical model of acute hepatic failure in pigs.

The establishment of a reliable large animal model of acute hepatic failure (AHF) is critical for the evaluation of supportive therapies such as bioartificial liver support systems (BALSS). Large animal surgical models bear some resemblance to the clinical syndrome of AHF in humans. However, these are inherently complex and are predisposed to inter-individual variation.