Consecutive changes in serum alkaline phosphatase isoenzyme 3 activities in Holstein heifers during the first 18 months of life.

This study investigated consecutive fluctuations in serum activities of bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (ALP) isoenzyme 3 (ALP3) in 11 clinically healthy Holstein heifers during the first 18 months of life. ALP3 activities at the first sampling time point after weaning (3 months) were significantly lower than those at multiple time points during the pre-weaning period. Those activities increased from a minimum at 3 months to a peak at 6 months during the post-weaning period. In the anthropometric data, daily body weight and wither height gains appeared to be below the public data at 4 months and 4-5 months, respectively. The data suggested that serum ALP3 activity can be used to monitor skeletal growth of heifers at weaning.

Anthropometric and blood data on a hand-reared captive Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) calf: A retrospective case report.

The anthropometric and blood data of an unsuccessfully hand-reared Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) calf were retrospectively compared with the data for calves raised by their real mothers or allomothers, to identify potential reasons for poor outcomes in the hand-reared case. The hand-reared calf grew normally in terms of body weight and withers height. However, blood biochemical data suggested reduced bone metabolism, low immune status, and malnutrition during its life. Blood bone markers were measured to determine whether a skeletal disorder was present in the Asian elephant calf, which was not clear from the anthropometric data. Monitoring these parameters in hand-reared Asian elephant calves, with the aim of keeping them within the normal range, may increase the success rate of hand-rearing of Asian elephant calves.

Determination of serum bone-specific alkaline phosphatase isoenzyme activity in captive Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) using an agarose gel electrophoresis method.

The bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (ALP) isoenzyme activity was measured in 51 serum samples from four captive Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) using a conventional method with wheat germ lectin precipitation and a commercial agarose gel electrophoresis (AGE) kit; the isoenzymes were designated as bone-specific ALP (BAP) and ALP isoenzyme 3 (ALP3), respectively. This study examined the suitability of the AGE kit for analyzing blood biochemistry in Asian elephants. The serum ALP3 and BAP activities were strongly positively correlated and met the evaluation criteria for agreement using Bland-Altman analysis. The results indicate that the AGE kit can be used to examine the blood biochemistry in Asian elephants instead of the conventional method.