Characteristics of veal calves upon arrival, at 28 and 84 days, and at end of the production cycle.

Holstein bull calves arriving at five special-fed veal farms (eight production groups) were scored for various physical condition traits and blood-sampled within 2 h after arrival and at 28 d, 84 d, and 1 wk prior to slaughter at 116 to 143 d. Of 1179 total calves in the production groups, 758 calves were scored and evaluated. Blood cell analyses (red and white blood cell counts, hemoglobin, and packed cell volume) were conducted at all four sampling times; total serum protein concentration was obtained at 0 and 28 d. The study was initiated in autumn and ended the following autumn. Mean initial and final body weights were 46.3+/-0.17 and 209.7+/-0.77 kg; mean mortality was 2.5%. Average daily gain of the eight groups ranged from 1.23 to 1.70 kg/d. Subjective scores of 5 = excellent to 1 = very poor condition were used to evaluate 16 different physical condition characteristics. With the exception of leg joint, hoof, and foot scores, most of the physical condition scores exhibited improvement during the first 28 d. Foot and leg impairments did not appear to hinder the ambulatory ability of the calves during the production period. Physical condition scores at d 0 and 28 were generally not related to numbers or types of medical treatments (enteric, respiratory, other, or total) or to average daily gain during the production period. Means for most erythrocytic and leukocytic traits upon arrival (d 0) were within normal ranges, although 27.4% of the calves were clinically or marginally anemic. Final mean hemoglobin and packed cell volume were 8.53 g/dl and 26.1%. Forty-three percent of the calves at d 0 were colostral deficient, assuming that total serum protein concentrations of <5.5 g/dl indicate colostral deficiency. No blood trait was consistently correlated with body weight gain when gain during the production period was divided into quartiles and the blood traits were averaged by gain quartile. Calves in the lowest serum total protein quartile (mean 4.58 g/dl) had more respiratory and total medical treatments than quartiles with higher total protein means. Dairy bull calves arriving at veal production units after transporting from the dairy farm to the auction market (or other collection facility) have several physical impairments. However, most of these physical impairments are improved early in the veal feeding period and are not generally related to subsequent growth rate or medical treatment.

Effects of alternating current iontophoresis on drug delivery.

OBJECTIVE: The duration of direct current (DC) iontophoresis is limited to 10- to 15-minute periods because of electrochemical burns from hydrogen and hydroxide ions generated by the DC current. A new iontophoretic device, the Lectro Patch, uses a low-frequency alternating current (AC). AC current is theorized to generate H+ ions during one phase and OH- when the current reverses polarity, thus possibly neutralizing pH changes and avoiding burns. This study examined this possibility and evaluated drug delivery with AC iontophoresis, using hydroxocobalamin. DESIGN: A known amount of hydroxocobalamin dissolved in 6mL of water was loaded in Lectro Patches, two of which were then taped on the forearms of 10 patient volunteers. One patch was activated to deliver drug by AC iontophoresis. The second patch was not activated and served as a control for delivery by diffusion. Trials were run for 2 and 4 hours, with both 1,000 micrograms/mL and 2,000 micrograms/mL concentrations. SETTING: Study was conducted with inpatients in an extended care setting using volunteers. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Amounts of hydroxocobalamin remaining in the Lectro Patches after iontophoresis were assayed by spectrophotometry. Data were analyzed by ANOVA. RESULTS: No burns occurred. Significantly greater losses occurred with 4 hours of iontophoresis than with 2 hours (p < 0.05). There was no significant effect of changing the concentration of hydroxocobalamin. CONCLUSIONS: AC iontophoresis avoids electrochemical burns; charged drugs can be delivered by AC iontophoresis; and delivery of drug increases with duration of application.

Effects of live animal performance and hemoglobin level on special-fed veal carcass characteristics.

Growth and carcass characteristics were measured on 975 Holstein bull calves raised on four commercial veal farms (nine feeding groups). Average values for blood hemoglobin (Hb), live weight and gain, dressing percentage (DP; hide-on and hide-off), visual muscle color score, rib-eye-area (REA), and carcass conformation score were 7.8 g/dl, 187.1 kg, 1.46 kg/d, 67.4%, 60.4%, 1.42, 42.0 sq cm, and 11.7, respectively. Carcass weights averaged 127.6 and 112.4 kg for hide-on and hide-off, respectively. There were few significant correlations of Hb with growth performance, carcass weight or DP. Pre-slaughter Hb was correlated 0.54 (P < 0.01) with flank muscle color score. Calves which were either heavier or which gained weight more rapidly tended to have slightly lower muscle color scores, larger REA and higher carcass conformation scores. Results from this study suggest that pre-slaughter Hb levels are higher than previously reported in specialfed veal, and there is no apparent relationship of Hb value, red blood cell count or mean corpuscular hemoglobin with growth performance traits. Although final Hb values were moderately predictive of muscle color score (accounting for 29% of the within-group variance), apparently there are other factors both within and between farms which influence muscle color in special-fed veal carcasses.

Blood, growth, and other characteristics of special-fed veal calves in private cooperator herds.

The objectives of this study were to determine the mean values for mortality, blood, and growth traits and the correlations among blood and growth traits on privately owned farms producing special-fed veal. Mortality percentages were available on 13 groups of special-fed veal calves (n = 1403) from four farms; growth and some blood traits were available on 9 groups from four farms (n = 975). Mean mortality percentages for periods 0 to 2, 2 to 7, and 7 to 16 wk, and over 16 wk were 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, and 3.1%, respectively. Means for average daily gain for 2 to 7 wk were 1.37 +/- .008 kg and for 7 to 16 wk were 1.52 +/- .001 kg. When calves arrived at the veal farm, total plasma protein averaged 6.2 +/- .05 g/dl. Examination of total plasma protein upon arrival of calves indicated that 81% of the calves had received colostrum. The base level indicating colostral deficiency was < 5.5 g/dl of total plasma protein; 51% of the calves had total plasma protein > 6.0 g/dl at arrival. Mean hemoglobin concentrations at arrival and at 2, 7, and 16 wk were 11.1 +/- .15, 10.6 +/- .18, 9.2 +/- .14, and 7.8 +/- .13 g/dl, respectively. Means for hemoglobin were generally higher than previously reported for special-fed veal calves reared in individual stalls. Hemoglobin and red blood cell counts were correlated positively with 16-wk average daily gain and body weight, and midtrial white blood cell counts were correlated negatively with average daily gain and body weight from 2 to 7 wk; there were no other significant relationships between blood traits and growth performance measures.

Effects of different doses of zeranol on growth, hemoglobin, and carcass traits in veal calves.

Effects of different doses of zeranol on ADG, hemoglobin (Hb), feed efficiency (FE), and carcass traits were evaluated in special-fed veal calves in two trials. On d 0, calves were implanted subcutaneously in the middle third of the ear with either 0 (control, placebo pellet), 12, 24, 36, or 48 mg of zeranol. Trial 1 was conducted from February through May 1990 with 120 Holstein bull calves (17 to 21 d of age on d 0) and Trial 2 was conducted from May through August 1991 with 100 Holstein bull calves (24 to 28 d of age d 0). Calves were fed on an individual calf basis. Calves in Trial 1 that were implanted with 48 mg of zeranol had improved FE (P < .05) and ADG (P < .05) during Period 1 (0 to 43 d). No significant differences in ADG or FE were observed among treatments in Trial 2. Hemoglobin levels at slaughter averaged 7.88 +/- .096 and 8.19 +/- .149 g/dL over all treatments for Trials 1 and 2, respectively. The only postslaughter trait affected by zeranol dose was testicular weight. In both trials, testicular weight at slaughter decreased (P < .05) with increasing doses of zeranol. Dressing percentage tended to be higher for 48-mg implants than for controls but the difference was not significant. There were no significant zeranol dose effects on longissimus muscle area, flank color, carcass conformation, or percentage of fore- vs hind-quarter weight. These results indicated that higher doses of zeranol improved ADG and FE during the first 6 wk after the trial period (to 8 wk of age), decreased testicular weight, and increased hide-on carcass dressing percentage for calves implanted with 48 mg of zeranol compared with those that received 0 mg of zeranol.

Mastitis in beef cows and its effects on calf weight gain.

Quarter milk samples from 51 purebred (Angus, Polled Hereford, and Simmental) and 69 crossbred (Angus x Simmental x Charolais three-way cross) beef cows were collected aseptically at three times during lactation to determine the prevalence of intramammary infection, milk somatic cell counts (SCC), and effects of infection on calf weight gain. Quarter infection prevalence was 13.1, 14.9, and 27.5% in early, mid, and late lactation; corresponding cow infection prevalence was 25.8, 29.2, and 54.4%. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from 2.9, 2.7, and 3.2% of quarters in early, mid, and late lactation, respectively. Corynebacterium bovis, generally regarded as a minor pathogen, was isolated from 4.0, 7.6, and 18.2% of quarters at the three respective times. Geometric SCC means (10(3) cells/ml) were 1,522, 344, and 509 for S. aureus-infected quarters; 344, 899, and 221 for Staphylococcus hyicus-infected quarters; 65, 36, and 86 for C. bovis-infected quarters; and 20, 17, and 18 for uninfected quarters in early, mid, and late lactation, respectively. Adjusted 205-d weight gain for calves with S. aureus-infected dams was 9.6 kg less (P less than .05) than for calves with uninfected dams. Adjusted 205-d weight gain for calves with dams infected with any mastitis pathogen did not differ significantly from that of calves with uninfected dams. At weaning half of the infected cows and half of the uninfected cows were given an intramammary infusion product containing 300 mg of cephapirin benzathine in each quarter; the remaining cows were untreated controls. Quarter samples were collected aseptically from all cows 14 to 28 d after subsequent calving. Quarter prevalence of infection after calving was lower (P less than .05) in treated (8.2%) than in control (22.4%) cows. Significantly more infections present at weaning were eliminated in treated than in control cows, but the new infection rate during the dry period and early lactation did not differ between the two groups.

Pulmonary aspergillosis associated with acute enteritis in a horse.

Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis was detected at postmortem examination of an 8-year-old Quarter Horse mare that had a history of diarrhea, laminitis, and bilateral nasal discharge. A diagnosis of Ehrlichia risticii infection was made on the basis of clinical signs of diarrhea and pyrexia, high serum antibody titer to E risticii (1:2,560), and multiple Salmonella-negative cultures obtained from fecal and colonic specimens. Possible pathogenic mechanisms contributing to the development of pulmonary aspergillosis secondary to enteric disease include mycotic invasion of the intestinal tract or immunocompromise and tissue devitalization secondary to severe enterocolitis. Exposure of the mare to large numbers of Aspergillus organisms may have been important in this case.

Influence of decoquinate fed to neonatal dairy calves on early and conventional weaning systems.

Forty-four Holstein calves were assigned randomly to treatments in a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of weaning age (4 or 7 wk) and coccidiostat (treatment or control). The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of a coccidiostat, decoquinate, on health parameters and growth of neonatal dairy calves on early and conventional weaning systems. Calves weaned at 4 wk had greater intakes of grain in wk 5 to 7 than did calves weaned at 7 wk. Differences in intakes between weaning groups were not apparent from wk 8 to 24. Fecal coccidia oocyst counts were not affected by age at weaning but were affected by coccidiostat feeding at the rate of .5 mg/kg BW/d offered from 3 d of age and throughout the trial. No effects due to age at weaning or coccidiostat treatment were found in plasma glucose, urea N, and minerals (Ca, P, Na, Cl, K, Mg). Growth parameters were significantly increased in treated animals. Total BW was increased (wk 9 to 24) in treated over control calves (127.3 versus 118.5 kg). Height at withers was also increased in treated calves (95.0 vs. 92.8 cm). Coccidiosis treatment increased growth of dairy calves from 9 to 24 wk, but no interactions were found between coccidiosis treatment and age at weaning.

Severe acid-base abnormalities associated with cocaine abuse.

Severe acid-base disorders accompanying cocaine abuse have been reported but not emphasized in the literature. We report three cases of cocaine toxicity associated with profound acid-base derangements. Two cases demonstrated severe metabolic acidosis, one of which was not associated with known seizure activity. In addition, one case of profound alkalosis associated with cocaine use is presented. These cases are reported to emphasize the marked acid-base changes that can occur as a result of cocaine toxicity.

Case report: Brown-Séquard's syndrome associated with histiocytic lymphoma.

Brown-Séquard's syndrome is a rare spinal cord lesion usually produced by penetrating injuries in which ipsilateral hemiparesis and loss of position sense is associated with loss of pain and temperature sensation on the opposite side of the body. Reported here is an unusual cause of the syndrome, and a review of the pathophysiology of the syndrome is presented.

Porcine proliferative enteritis: serological, microbiological and pathological studies from three field epizootics.

Three outbreaks of porcine proliferative enteritis were evaluated clinically, pathologically, microbiologically and serologically. The disease was characterized by a chronic intermittent diarrhea. Pathological lesions included a thickened, turbid ileum with the microscopic appearance of proliferating ileal crypt epithelial cells. Comma shaped intracytoplasmic organisms were observed in the apical portions of the proliferating crypt epithelial cells with a Warthin-Starry silver stain. Microbiologically, both Campylobacter sputorum subspecies mucosalis and Campylobacter hyointestinalis, were cultured from ileal specimens of seven pigs with lesions of porcine proliferative enteritis. Microagglutination antibody titers were determined on sera from 12 of 14 pigs with porcine proliferative enteritis and on sera from 91 clinically normal swine. Pigs with porcine proliferative enteritis had a low antibody titer to subspecies mucosalis that ranged from 1-3 with a mean of 2.17. A varied C. hyointestinalis titer from 3-7 with mean of 4.83 was determined. Titers to either subspecies mucosalis and C. hyointestinalis were higher in non-porcine proliferative enteritis pigs. The results indicate that the presence of a positive titer to either C. hyointestinalis or subspecies mucosalis in swine is not indicative of clinical disease. The isolation of C. hyointestinalis from diseased ileal specimens (porcine proliferative enteritis) confirms previous reports implicating this agent in the disease.

Selenium toxicity and porcine focal symmetrical poliomyelomalacia: description of a field outbreak and experimental reproduction.

An acute afebrile paretic condition was diagnosed in 18 of 225 feeder pigs between eight to ten weeks of age. Nine pigs died acutely, seven pigs were euthanatized and two appeared to recover. Macroscopic lesions in the ventral horns of the cervical and lumbar/sacral spinal cord enlargements consisted of focal, bilateral, depressed areas. Histopathologically, the lesion consisted of endothelial proliferation, glial cell reaction and microcavitation. Similar lesions were observed in some brain stem motor nuclei. High selenium levels were detected in the pig feed and in pig tissues and blood. Two of five experimental pigs fed a commercial grower ration and supplemented with 52 ppm selenium as sodium selenite developed paresis and paralysis after a 29 day feeding trial. Histopathological lesions of focal symmetrical poliomyelomalacia confined to the cervical and lumbar/sacral spinal cord enlargements, and identical to those in the field cases, were produced. Select brain stem motor nuclei were also affected.

Nutritional myodegeneration in a group of Chianina heifers.

A group of yearling Chianina heifers experienced abortion, stillbirth, and periparturient recumbency. Two heifers calved 3 to 4 weeks before their due date. Eight calves were stillborn or died within 48 hours after birth. Seven heifers died or were euthanatized. Necropsy and blood and tissue analyses revealed myodegeneration and a combined deficiency of vitamin E and selenium. Rapid growth in these heifers coupled with the stresses of late pregnancy and parturition may have contributed to this episode of nutritional myodegeneration.

Porcine focal symmetrical poliomyelomalacia.

An acute afebrile paretic condition was diagnosed in 16 of 100 feeder pigs between eight to ten weeks of age. Nine pigs died acutely and seven pigs were euthanized. Macroscopic lesions in the ventral horns of the cervical, thoracic, lumbar and sacral segments of the spinal cord consisted of focal, bilateral, grey depressed areas. There was a bilateral symmetrical focal poliomyelomalacia histopathologically characterized by microcavitation, endothelial and glial cell proliferation and infiltration of eosinophils. Clinical and pathological findings resemble spontaneous and experimental lesions associated with acute nicotinamide deficiency and selenium toxicosis in swine.