Bayesian kriging of seroprevalence to Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis and Neospora caninum in Alberta beef and dairy cattle.

Identifying spatial patterns of risk is important in the study of diseases with ecologic causes. Furthermore, relatively complex hierarchical modeling is required to determine how factors that are organized across levels interact, such as how an ecologic cause interacts with farm management and with animal characteristics. The objective of this study was to map the risk for Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP - the causative agent of Johne's disease) and Neospora caninum (NC - the cause of neosporosis) infections in Alberta beef and dairy cattle.

Variations in equid SLC11A1 (NRAMP1) genes and associations with Rhodococcus equi pneumonia in horses.

Rhodococcus equi is an important intracellular pathogen of horses, most commonly causing chronic, suppurative bronchopneumonia in foals. Although most foals likely are exposed to environmental R. equi within the 1st few days of life, only some develop R.

Musculoskeletal problems associated with lameness and poor performance among horses used for barrel racing: 118 cases (2000-2003).

Objective: To identify types of musculoskeletal problems associated with lameness or poor performance in horses used for barrel racing.

Design: Retrospective case series.

Animals: 118 horses.

Effects of a new injectable short-term release deslorelin in foal-heat mares.

Mares treated with subcutaneous deslorelin implants on the first postpartum estrus early in the breeding season had significant reductions in the number of large follicles at early pregnancy examinations and delayed return to estrus (in mares that failed to become pregnant); these adverse effects were attributed to a prolonged release of the drug from the implant. In 2003, an injectable short-term release (<24 h) deslorelin product became available. The objective of this study was to determine if this product would hasten ovulation in early foaling first postpartum estrus mares without reducing the number of large follicles at early pregnancy examination (14-15 days postovulation).

Effects of deslorelin or hCG administration on reproductive performance in first postpartum estrus mares.

A tendency for deslorelin implants to suppress subsequent follicular growth and delay return to estrus following induced ovulation has been documented in nonlactating mares. To investigate this phenomenon in lactating mares, 22 broodmares in southeast Texas were administered either deslorelin or hCG to induce ovulation in the first postpartum estrus during February and March 2001. Mares were teased daily and examined twice weekly (Tuesdays and Thursdays) by transrectal ultrasonography.

Detection of Rhodococcus equi by polymerase chain reaction using species-specific nonproprietary primers.

Species-specific primers for the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of Rhodococcus equi were developed. These primers were based on unique DNA fragments produced from R. equi reference strains and field isolates.

Values of urine specific gravity for thoroughbred horses treated with furosemide prior to racing compared with untreated horses.

The distribution of specific gravity values for 2,599 urine samples collected from racing Thoroughbred horses that were known to have received furosemide prior to racing was compared with that for 1,669 urine samples from racing Thoroughbred horses that reportedly had not received furosemide. Values of specific gravity for furosemide-treated horses were significantly lower (P < 0.001) than those for horses that had not received furosemide, and the proportion of horses with urine specific gravity either <1.

Evaluation of acetaminophen absorption in horses with experimentally induced delayed gastric emptying.

Objective: To evaluate the correlation between the half-time of liquid-phase gastric emptying (T50) determined by use of nuclear scintigraphy, using technetiumTc 99m pentetate, and absorption variables of orally administered acetaminophen in horses with experimentally delayed gastric emptying.

Animals: 6 mature horses.

Procedure: Delayed gastric emptying was induced by IV injection of atropine sulfate.

First-pass nuclear angiocardiography in the evaluation of patent ductus arteriosus in dogs.

First-pass nuclear angiocardiography (FPNA) was performed in 5 normal dogs and in 19 dogs with left-to-right shunting patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). Affected dogs were evaluated before and after an occlusion procedure (surgical ligation or transarterial coil embolization). Two methods of analysis were used to evaluate the pulmonary time-activity curves and assess the magnitude of the shunt.

Association of serologic status for Neospora caninum and postweaning feed efficiency in beef steers.

Objective: To determine the effects of serologic status for Neospora caninum on short-term weight gain, feed intake, and feed efficiency (feed intake/gain).

Design: Longitudinal observational study.

Animals: 34 weaned mixed-breed beef steers.

Estimation of the probability for exceeding thresholds of urine specific gravity and plasma concentration of furosemide at various intervals after intravenous administration of furosemide in horses.

Objective: To estimate the probability of concurrently exceeding thresholds for plasma concentration of furosemide and urine specific gravity after IV administration of furosemide in horses.

Animals: 12 mature healthy Thoroughbred (n = 6) or Quarter Horse (6) mares.

Procedure: Venous blood was collected from each horse prior to and 0.

Renal hypoplasia and dysplasia in an American miniature foal.

Diagnostic imaging, including computed tomography, of a two-month-old foal with renal failure indicated that its right kidney was probably absent and that its left kidney was abnormal in shape. The foal was stabilised and released, but three days later its clinical signs recurred. Postmortem examination revealed renal hypoplasia and dysplasia, the first reported case of this condition in an American miniature horse.

Osteomyelitis of the sustentaculum tali in horses: 10 cases (1992-1998).

Objective: To determine outcome of horses with osteomyelitis of the sustentaculum tali (ST), with or without associated tarsal sheath tenosynovitis, following surgical debridement and lavage.

Design: Retrospective study.

Animals: 10 horses in which a diagnosis of osteomyelitis of the ST had been made on the basis of history, physical examination findings, and results of radiography.

Application of Sartwell's model (lognormal distribution of incubation periods) to age at onset and age at death of foals with Rhodococcus equi pneumonia as evidence of perinatal infection.

The distributions of the incubation periods for infectious and neoplastic diseases originating from point-source exposures, and for genetic diseases, follow a lognormal distribution (Sartwell's model). Conversely, incubation periods in propagated outbreaks and diseases with strong environmental components do not follow a lognormal distribution. In this study Sartwell's model was applied to the age at onset and age at death of foals with Rhodococcus equi pneumonia.

Retrograde ejaculation in a stallion.

Retrograde ejaculation was diagnosed in a 10-year-old Arabian stallion. Despite behavioral signs consistent with ejaculation, the collection receptacle of an artificial vagina remained devoid of semen on numerous occasions. Catheterization of the urinary bladder yielded large numbers of spermatozoa, even when an ejaculate was obtained, whereas low numbers (< 1 X 10(6)/ml) of spermatozoa are found in the bladder of clinically normal stallions after ejaculation.

Association of serologic status for Neospora caninum with postweaning weight gain and carcass measurements in beef calves.

Objective: To determine the seroprevalence for Neospora caninum in a population of beef calves in a feedlot and the association of serologic status with postweaning weight gain and carcass measurements.

Design: Longitudinal observational study.

Animals: 1,009 weaned beef steers from 92 herds.

Effect of intrauterine treatment with prostaglandin E2 prior to insemination of mares in the uterine horn or body.

Two trials were conducted to investigate the effects of intrauterine infusion of PGE2 and uterine horn insemination on pregnancy rates in mares achieved by breeding with a suboptimal number of normal spermatozoa. Estrus was synchronized and mares were teased daily with a stallion to detect estrus. Mares in estrus were examined by transrectal palpation and ultrasonography to monitor follicular status.

Osseous sequestration in cattle: 110 cases (1987-1997).

Objective: To determine risk factors for development of sequestra in cattle and identify factors associated with a successful outcome.

Design: Retrospective study.

Animals: 110 cattle.

Effects of transport container and ambient storage temperature on motion characteristics of equine spermatozoa.

This study was conducted to compare the cooling rates and storage temperatures within equine semen transport containers exposed to different ambient temperatures, and to evaluate the ability of these containers to preserve spermatozoal motility following 24 h of storage under these conditions. In Experiment 1, nonfat dried milk solids, glucose, sucrose, equine semen extender was divided into seven 40-mL aliquots and loaded into seven different semen transport containers: Equitainer I, Equitainer II, Equitainer III, ExpectaFoal, Bio-Flite, Lane STS, and Equine Express. After containers were loaded, they were subjected to one of three ambient storage temperatures: 1) 22 degrees C for 72 h, 2) -20 degrees C for 6 h followed by 22 degrees C for 66 h, or 3) 37 degrees C for 72 h.

Risk factors for enterolithiasis among horses in Texas.

Objective: To identify risk factors for enterolithiasis in horses.

Design: Matched case-control study.

Animals: 26 horses with enteroliths, 104 horses with other causes of colic that underwent surgery (52 horses, surgical control group) or were treated medically (52 horses, nonsurgical control group).

Prokinetic effects of erythromycin on the ileum, cecum, and pelvic flexure of horses during the postoperative period.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of erythromycin on motility of the ileum, cecum, and pelvic flexure of horses during the postoperative and post-recovery periods.

Animals: 8 healthy adult horses.

Procedure: Horses were anesthetized and bipolar electrodes were implanted in smooth muscle of the ileum, cecum, and pelvic flexure.

Estrous cycle characteristics and response to estrus synchronization in mammoth asses (Equus asinus americanus).

Breeding records from a herd of mammoth asses (Equus asinus americanus) maintained on pasture in southeast Texas from 1990 to 1998 were reviewed. Jennies were pasture or hand mated, and estrus was either observed while the jennies were on pasture or when exposed to a jack after being penned. Eighty-one estrus periods and 43 diestrus intervals were recorded in 33 jennies over 4 seasons of the year (January-March, April-June, July-September, and October-December).

Use of prostaglandin E2 to ripen the cervix of the mare prior to induction of parturition.

Eleven light-breed pregnant mares (335 to 347 d gestaton) were used to evaluate the use of prostaglandin E2 as a cervical ripening agent prior to induction of parturition during the months of April and May. Six hours prior to induction, each mare's cervix was examined per vagina for softness and dilation. Each mare was then assigned to 1 of 2 treatment groups: Group PGE mares (n = 7) received 2.