Austral Journal of Veterinary Sciences
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The effect of ginger on testis of Broiler breeders
Get PDFThe rhizome of ginger is a fresh or dried organ of the plant Zingiber officinale, which has been used as a medicine since ancient times. The present study was conducted to examine the effects of ginger on testicular histomorphometry in roosters of broiler chicken flocks. Eighty single-day rooster of broiler chickens belonging to 308 Ross breed was used in the present study. The chickens were divided into two groups with 40 broiler roosters (experimental and control groups). Initially, the rhizome of ginger was powdered; 1 g/kg of ginger powder was added to the ration of the group treated with ginger from the beginning of the breeding season. The blood samples were taken from each chick at 20 weeks of age. The samples were stained with H&E. Data was expressed as mean ± SD. T-test was used to analyse and compare the difference between the control is also an experimental groups using SPSS 9.0 software. The testosterone level, weight of the testicle, thickness of seminal tube and number of spermatids in the experimental group compared to the control group increased significantly P<0.05. The most important difference between the control and the intervention group treated with ginger was the number and density of spermatids and spermatozoids cells in the lumen area of the seminal tubes. The present study obtained positive results for the efficacy of using ginger in roosters of broiler chick flocks
Haematological parameters in a free-ranging population of Didelphis virginiana from Mexico
Get PDFThe American opossum Didelphis virginiana is the marsupial species with the largest geographic distribution in North America, a very important natural host and key to the maintenance and transmission of many zoonotic pathogenic microorganisms of importance in public health, and one of the wild mammals with the greatest adaptation to the human environment, but despite all that very little is known about some physiological aspects in their free-ranging populations. In the present study, basic haematological parameters of 201 opossums from a synanthropic population of D. virginiana in a rural locality of the state of Yucatan, are first described. The average values of haemoglobin, packed cell volume, red blood cells, and eosinophils were higher in males and adults (except eosinophils) than in females and juveniles, respectively, and juvenile opossums had higher values of lymphocytes, neutrophils, and platelets than males. Non-pregnant females had significantly higher values of mean corpuscular volume, lymphocytes and platelets than pregnant ones, while red blood cell count and segmented neutrophils showed higher values in pregnant females. The establishment of the basic haematological parameters for free-ranging populations of D. virginiana is a very useful reference for both the health monitoring of the populations and further studying the host-parasite relationship of some zoonotic pathogens present in the Yucatan Peninsula
Site and extent of digestion of nitrogen compounds and organic matter in steers fed a finishing diet with dried distillers grains plus solubles supplemented with urea
Get PDFFour Holstein steers (266 ± 13 kg) with ruminal and duodenal cannulae were used to evaluate the effect of inclusion of different levels of urea (0%, 0.4%, 0.8% and 1.2%) in a steam-flaked, corn-based finishing diet containing dried distillers grains plus solubles (DDGS) on the site and extent of N compounds and organic matter (OM) digestion, and on the ruminal N-NH3 and blood concentrations of urea nitrogen. Increasing the urea levels linearly decreased the OM flow to the duodenum (P<0.04) and increased the total N and non-ammoniacal N flow to the duodenum (P<0.01), which resulted from linear increases in the flow of microbial N and NH3-N (P<0.01) without affecting the feed residual N flow (P≥0.47). Increasing the urea levels linearly increased ruminal digestion of OM and dietary N (P≤0.03), and decreased protein efficiency (P<0.01) without affecting microbial efficiency. The urea supplementation did not affect post-ruminal digestion. Urea supplementation linearly increased (P<0.01) total tract digestion of N compounds without affecting total tract digestion of OM. Ruminal pH averaged 6.09 ± 0.03 and was not affected (P≥0.97) by the inclusion of urea. Ruminal NH3-N concentration increased with urea supplementation (linear component, P<0.01). The same effect was observed for blood urea concentrations and plasma urea (P<0.01). On the basis of the results observed here, urea can be incorporated in finishing corn-based diets that include DDGS. However, this must done carefully to avoid exceeding the RDP concentration in the diets in order to optimise ruminal fermentation and reduce the risk of high N excretion in the faeces. This is relevant when higher levels of DDGS are included in the diets (i.e. 30%)
Avian pox in a turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) from northern Chile
Get PDFA debilitated turkey vulture (Cathartes aura), showing prominent nodular masses in its head, was found in Antofagasta, Chile. Histopathological examination revealed the presence of epidermal hyperplasia and hypertrophy with typical eosinophilic intracytoplasmatic inclusion bodies in epithelial cells. Accordingly, a diagnosis of avian pox was established, corresponding to the first known occurrence of the disease in the southern hemisphere
Evaluation of reduced amino acids diets added with protected protease on productive performance in 25-100 kg barrows
Get PDFThe objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of adding protected protease to low-amino acids (AA) diets on the growth performance of barrows. Three decreasing levels of AA (protein levels), with or without the addition of protease were fed to 48 hybrid barrows (27.42±3.48 kg initial body weight). The experimental design was a completely randomised with a factorial arrangement of treatments. An analysis of variance was performed with GLM of SAS and the means comparison was performed with Tukey test (P≤0.05). The productive performance was not affected by addition of proteases in the diet at the three stages (P>0.05). Only in growing barrows, the interaction of standard protein diet and protease reduced backfat thickness (P≤0.05). Protein level in finishing I barrows did not affect (P>0.05) growth performance variables. Low-protein diets increased (P≤0.05) average daily gain, final body weight and fat-free lean gain in growing and finishing II barrows. Concentration of urea in plasma decreased with the reduction of CP and increased with the addition of protease (P≤0.05) at the three stages. In conclusion, low protein diets improved or maintained growth performance variables and reduced the plasma urea nitrogen, whereas supplementation with protease did not show any effect on productive performance
Report of 2018 equine influenza outbreak in Chile
Get PDFThe present study reports an outbreak of equine influenza (EI) occurred in Chile in January 2018, with cases spread along the country, from the Atacama to the Magallanes Region. The virus identified corresponded to the H3N8 subtype, affecting equines, donkeys, and mules. Clinical signs ranged from mild to severe, with a higher mortality rate in donkeys
Burnout syndrome prevalence in veterinarians working in Chile
Get PDFBurnout Syndrome is a psycho-emotional syndrome that affects workers in any activity or profession. In recent years, veterinarians have been described as one of the most affected professionals, which has motivated the development of this research. The primary objective of this work was to determine the prevalence of Burnout Syndrome in veterinarians working in Chile. We evaluated the possible correlation of Burnout Syndrome with socio-demographic variables. The Socio-Demographic Characterization Survey and the Maslach Burnout Syndrome Inventory-General Survey (MBI) were applied to 521 participants, who were contacted through the Veterinary Medical Association of Chile (COLMEVET) and social networks. Fisher and Chi-square statistical tests and correspondence analysis were used to determine the association among variables. The prevalence of Burnout Syndrome in Chilean veterinarians was 24% (124/521). There was statistical significance between Burnout Syndrome and the variables ‘years in employment’ and ‘monthly salary’. There is a high prevalence of Burnout Syndrome in veterinarians working in Chile that was related to the variables ‘years in employment’ and ‘monthly salary’. Prevention using psychological therapy could reduce the incidence of symptoms linked to adaptive difficulties, cognitive discrepancies, psychological discomfort, and emotional regulation, promoting health improvement and resistance to Burnout Syndrome in Chilean veterinarians. This research corresponds to the first exploratory study related to the subject in Chil
Effects of tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) powder on broiler performance parameters and histopathology of internal organs
Get PDFThe aim of this study is to evaluate whether the addition of tarragon in the diet of broiler chickens affects their performance and histological structures of internal organs. A total of 240 day-old Ross 308 male broiler chickens were used. The experiment included four treatment groups, with six replications per treatment. The experiment lasted 42 days and the chickens were provided with feed and water ad libitum. Experimental groups were given basal diet only (control group), basal diet + 0.1% tarragon powder (T1 group), basal diet + 0.2% tarragon powder (T2 group) and basal diet+ 0.5% tarragon powder (T3 group). The tarragon additive did not affect the values of the daily feed intake (DFI) and feed conversion rate (FCR) during the trial periods, while the highest daily weight gain (DWG) was recorded in the control group (P<0.05) on days 29-35 and 36-42. The longest jejunum villi was observed in the T2 group (P<0.05). The results indicate that different amounts of tarragon powder additive did not affect the DFI and FCR as performance parameters, while they had a negative impact on DWG. In addition, the livers, kidneys and intestinal tissue structures did not change. Therefore, the tarragon powder had no negative effects on the health of chickens
Electrochemotherapy in the treatment of neoplasms in dogs and cats
Get PDFElectrochemotherapy (ECT) is a technique that combines chemotherapy with local application of specific electric pulses with the aim of increasing the permeability of the plasma membrane in a reversible way, improving the influx of chemotherapeutic drugs into the cytoplasm and potentiating their cytotoxic effects. This technique has broadened the range of possible treatments for oncological patients, either on its own or as adjuvant to surgical procedures. It is especially useful in tumors located in regions with only a small surgical safety margin, such as the limb extremities, skull, oral cavity, neck and perianal region, among others. ECT makes it feasible to perform procedures more conservatively, or even to perform otherwise infeasible procedures, by expanding the margins without removing healthy tissues. The objective of this paper is to provide a brief bibliographic review of the principles, applications and future possibilities of electrochemotherapy, helping to disseminate pertinent information about this relatively new technique for the treatment of cancer
Accidental and late parasitological diagnosis of Leishmania sp. in a dog from a low disease transmission area of Brazil: a case report
Get PDFCanine Leishmaniasis diagnosis must be fast and accurate since dogs are urban reservoirs of the disease and earlier therapeutic intervention is more clinically effective. However, this still represents a challenge, particularly in low transmission areas. The present report describes the difficulties of clinical suspicion and the late diagnosis of a dog infected with Leishmania sp