Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: J. Necas Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic Author-Name: L. Bartosikova Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic Author-Name: P. Brauner Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: J. Kolar Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic Title: Hyaluronic acid (hyaluronan): a review Abstract: Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a high molecular weight biopolysacharide, discovered in 1934, by Karl Meyer and his assistant, John Palmer in the vitreous of bovine eyes. Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring biopolymer, which has important biological functions in bacteria and higher animals including humans. It is found in most connective tissues and is particularly concentrated in synovial fluid, the vitreous fluid of the eye, umbilical cords and chicken combs. It is naturally synthesized by a class of integral membrane proteins called hyaluronan synthases, and degraded by a family of enzymes called hyaluronidases. This review describes metabolisms, different physiological and pathological functions, basic pharmacological properties, and the clinical use of hyaluronic acid. Keywords: hyaluronic acid, metabolism, toxicity Journal: Veterinární medicína Pages: 397-411 Volume: 53 Issue: 8 Year: 2008 DOI: 10.17221/1930-VETMED File-URL: http://vetmed.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/1930-VETMED.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/vet-200808-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlvet:v:53:y:2008:i:8:id:1930-VETMED Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: J. Rajchard Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Agriculture, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic Title: Exogenous chemical substances in bird perception: a review Abstract: The perception of exogenous chemical substances, olfactory navigation and the use of the olfactory sense by birds to search for food are reviewed. Many results suggest that the olfactory sense is one of the important components of the navigation system in birds. The olfactory mechanisms used by homing pigeons to navigate homeward from distant sites have been well studied. The scent of potential food, carcasses, is a positive attracting percept for Vultures. Procellariiform seabirds (petrels, albatrosses and shearwaters) are able to localize food sources by using their olfactory sense. Procellariforms are sensitive to scented compounds associated with their primary prey: krill-related odors (pyrazines and trimethylamine), odors associated with phytoplankton (dimethyl sulfide - DMS) and ammonia. Anting is a specific type of behavior of over 200 bird species. Birds probably use anting to control ectoparasites, inhibit the growth of fungi or bacteria, to soothe skin irritated during the molting period, and to remove toxic formic acid from ants prior to their consumption. Insectivorous birds react to insect malodorous substances, produced by insect groups as a chemical defense against predators. Keywords: anting, food, navigation, olfactory Journal: Veterinární medicína Pages: 412-419 Volume: 53 Issue: 8 Year: 2008 DOI: 10.17221/1926-VETMED File-URL: http://vetmed.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/1926-VETMED.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/vet-200808-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlvet:v:53:y:2008:i:8:id:1926-VETMED Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: M. Kopecna Author-Workplace-Name: Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: I. Trcka Author-Workplace-Name: Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: J. Lamka Author-Workplace-Name: Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Pharmacy, Charles University, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic Author-Name: M. Moravkova Author-Workplace-Name: Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: P. Koubek Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: M. Heroldova Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: V. Mrlik Author-Workplace-Name: Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: A. Kralova Author-Workplace-Name: Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: I. Pavlik Author-Workplace-Name: Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic Title: The wildlife hosts of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in the Czech Republic during the years 2002-2007 Abstract: The objective of this study was to determine the wildlife hosts of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) in the Czech Republic. A total of 8 796 wildlife animals were examined by culture of faecal or tissue samples during the years 2002-2007. MAP was isolated from 12 (0.5%) out of 2 296 red deer (Cervus elaphus), two (0.2%) out of 835 roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), 78 (5.7%) out of 1 381 fallow deer (Dama dama), 28 (3.2%)out of 866 mouflons (Ovis musimon), four (2.5%) out of 162 chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) and from one (0.1%) out of 805 wild boar (Sus scrofa). MAP was not cultured from 82 badgers (Meles meles), 55 martens (Martes foina), one pine marten (Martes martes), 25 brown hares (Lepus europaeus), five rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), nine European polecats (Mustela putorius), two steppe polecats (Mustela eversmannii), two American minks (Mustela vison), four raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides) and four Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra). MAP was isolated from three (2.0%) out of 149 small terrestrial mammals: one (5.9%) out of 17 brown rats (Rattus norvegicus), one (1.7%) out of 59 common voles (Microtus arvalis) and one (2.6%) out of 39 lesser white-toothed shrews (Crocidura suaveolens). Culture examinations of 34 house mice (Mus musculus) and 2 113 pigeons (Columba livia f. domestica) were negative. All 123 in vitro growing MAP isolates from wild ruminants were of IS900 RFLP type B-C1. One mouflon infected with a MAP strain which did not grow on the tested media was after IS1311-PRA-PCR assessed as being infected with a "sheep" strain. The RFLP type of the MAP isolate from the wild boar was of the RFLP type A-C10. Although the detection of MAP in wildlife in the Czech Republic was not very high, their role as a potential risk factor for cattle should be considered. Keywords: Johne's disease, epidemiology, cattle, non-ruminant species, IS900 PCR Journal: Veterinární medicína Pages: 420-426 Volume: 53 Issue: 8 Year: 2008 DOI: 10.17221/1931-VETMED File-URL: http://vetmed.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/1931-VETMED.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/vet-200808-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlvet:v:53:y:2008:i:8:id:1931-VETMED Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: A. Sharma Author-Workplace-Name: Apollo College of Veterinary Medicine, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India Author-Name: G.N. Purohit Author-Workplace-Name: College of Veterinary and Animal Science, Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India Title: Vitrification of immature bubaline cumulus oocyte complexes by the open-pulled straw and conventional straw methods and their subsequent in vitro fertilization Abstract: The in vitro maturation (IVM), fertilization (IVF) and morphological changes in buffalo cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) cryopreserved by ultra rapid freezing using conventional (CON) and open-pulled straw (OPS) methods were tested. COCs were cryopreserved using a vitrification solution comprising of DPBS + 0.5M sucrose + 0.4% BSA and two concentrations (4.5 or 5.5M) of each cryoprotectant ethylene glycol (EG) and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and cryopreserved by either CON or OPS method. Vitrified COCs were stored in LN2 for seven days and then thawed, and morphologically normal COCs were used for IVM (n = 864) and IVF (n = 933) in two separate experiments to record (1) morphological damage of COCs due to vitrification, (2) nuclear maturation 24 h after culture (nine replicates) and (3) fertilization 24 h after insemination (10 replicates). The COCs were matured in vitro in TCM-199 medium using hormone supplements and fertilized using TALP-BSA. Freshly collected COCs were separately used for IVM (n = 110) and IVF (n = 130) and kept as control. The arcsin transformed data of the proportion of COCs matured or fertilized was compared by DNMR test. The highest proportion of morphologically normal COCs were seen in 5.5M EG with CON method (94.5%) and the lowest were seen in 4.5M DMSO with OPS method (82.4%). At the end of Experiment 1, it was revealed that IVM in all vitrification groups was significantly lower (P < 0.05) compared to control (66.4%). Amongst the various vitrification treatments the highest IVM was seen in 5.5M EG with OPS method (39.2%) and the lowest in 4.5M DMSO with CON method (19.3%). Comparison of both concentrations of EG and DMSO showed that the proportion of COCs attaining metaphase-II (M-II) increased with increasing concentration of both the cryoprotectants. However, at equal concentration of EG and DMSO the proportion of COCs attaining M-II were significantly higher in OPS method compared to CON method. In Experiment 2, a significantly higher (P < 0.05) IVF was seen for fresh COCs (45.4%) compared to vitrified COCs. Amongst the vitrification treatments the highest fertilization was seen for 5.5M EG with the OPS method (33.6 %) and the lowest for the 4.5M DMSO with CON method (15.17%). A dose dependant increase in the proportion of oocytes fertilized was seen with increasing concentration of both EG and DMSO [CON: 4.5M (15.2%), 5.5M (25.6%), OPS: 4.5M (21.3%) and 5.5M (27.5%)] in both CON and OPS methods. Comparison of the two cryoprotectants revealed that EG was better compared to DMSO. At equal concentrations of EG or DMSO a significantly higher (P < 0.05) proportion of fertilized oocytes were seen in OPS method compared to the CON method. It was concluded that developmental capacity of vitrified buffalo COCs could be improved by using OPS in comparison to conventional straws. Keywords: buffalo, in vitro fertilization (IVF), oocytes, open-pulled straw (OPS), vitrification Journal: Veterinární medicína Pages: 427-433 Volume: 53 Issue: 8 Year: 2008 DOI: 10.17221/1928-VETMED File-URL: http://vetmed.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/1928-VETMED.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/vet-200808-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlvet:v:53:y:2008:i:8:id:1928-VETMED Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: J. Calka Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland Author-Name: M. Zalecki Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland Author-Name: K. Wasowicz Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland Author-Name: M.B. Arciszewski Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences, Lublin, Poland Author-Name: M. Lakomy Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland Title: A comparison of the distribution and morphology of ChAT-, VAChT-immunoreactive and AChE-positive neurons in the thoracolumbar and sacral spinal cord of the pig Abstract: Present knowledge concerning the organization of cholinergic structures of the spinal cord has been derived primarily from studies on small laboratory animals, while there is a complete lack of information concerning its structure in the pig. In the present study we employed choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) immunocytochemistry and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) histochemistry to identify the cholinergic neuronal population in the thoracolumbar and sacral spinal cord of the pig. The distribution of ChAT-, VAChT- and AChE-positive cells was found to be similar. Distinct groups of cholinergic neurons were observed in the gray matter of the ventral horn, intermediolateral nucleus, intermediomedial nucleus as well as individual stained cells were found in the area around the central canal and in the base of the dorsal horn. Double staining confirmed complete colocalization of ChAT with AChE in the ventral horn and intermediolateral nucleus although in the intermediomedial nucleus only 64% of the AChE-positive neurons expressed ChAT-immunoreactivity, indicating unique, region restricted, diversity of ChAT and AChE staining. Our results revealed details concerning spatial distribution and morphological features of the cholinergic neurons in the thoracolumbar and sacral spinal cord of the pig. We also found that the pattern of distribution of cholinergic neurons in the porcine spinal cord shows great similarity to the organization of the cholinergic system in other mammalian species studied. Keywords: porcine, cholinergic system, choline acetyltransferase, vesicular acetylcholine transporter, acetylcholinesterase, central nervous system Journal: Veterinární medicína Pages: 434-444 Volume: 53 Issue: 8 Year: 2008 DOI: 10.17221/1925-VETMED File-URL: http://vetmed.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/1925-VETMED.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/vet-200808-0005.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlvet:v:53:y:2008:i:8:id:1925-VETMED Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: M. Moravkova Author-Workplace-Name: Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: I. Trcka Author-Workplace-Name: Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: J. Lamka Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Pharmacy, Charles University, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic Author-Name: I. Pavlik Author-Workplace-Name: Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic Title: A mixed infection of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis and M. a. hominissuis in one red deer (Cervus elaphus) studied by IS900 BstEII and IS1245 PvuII RFLP analyses: a case report Abstract: A mixed infection with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) and Mycobacterium avium subsp. hominissuis (MAH) in one naturally infected red deer stag from a game park is described. The animal was euthanized because of symptoms of poor condition, weight loss and chronic diarrhoea. In spite of that, pathological lesions were observed only in the mesenteric lymph nodes, which were five to ten times enlarged with confluent caseous granulomas of 1 to 10 mm in size. Mycobacteria were isolated from all studied samples: a mixed infection of MAP and MAH was confirmed by multiplex PCR for the detection of IS 900, IS9011, IS1245 and dnaJ. MAP of the identical IS900 BstEII RFLP type C1 was isolated from all tissue samples and faeces. MAH isolates were detected in six examined tissue samples, including three mesenteric lymph nodes with caseous granulomas. Only minor differences in the band numbers and position of four different IS1245 PvuII RFLP patterns of MAH isolates were found. It follows from these results that red deer may potentially be infected with MAH, when a MAP infection is under way. Keywords: Johne's disease, mycobacteriosis, game park, molecular epidemiology, zoonosis, food safety Journal: Veterinární medicína Pages: 445-451 Volume: 53 Issue: 8 Year: 2008 DOI: 10.17221/1927-VETMED File-URL: http://vetmed.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/1927-VETMED.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/vet-200808-0006.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlvet:v:53:y:2008:i:8:id:1927-VETMED Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: J. Park Author-Workplace-Name: Laboratory of Veterinary Surgery, Author-Name: K.R. Cho Author-Workplace-Name: Laboratory of Veterinary Surgery, Author-Name: B.C. Sutradhar Author-Workplace-Name: Laboratory of Veterinary Surgery, Author-Name: D. Chang Author-Workplace-Name: Laboratory of Veterinary Radiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Chungbuk National University, South Korea Author-Name: S.H. Choi Author-Workplace-Name: Laboratory of Veterinary Surgery, Author-Name: G. Kim Author-Workplace-Name: Laboratory of Veterinary Surgery, Title: Correction of congenital deformity of hind limbs of cat by femoro-tarsal arthrodesis: a case report Abstract: Congenitally deformed tibia-fibulas of both hind limbs were diagnosed in a four-month-old, female, domestic shorthair cat that was unable to bear weight and whose movement was painful on both stifle and hock joints. Bleeding was observed repeatedly from the wound made by deformed tibias at the cranial sides of hock joints where the bones were exposed. Radiography and computed tomography revealed a corn-shaped tibia and bow shaped fibula which extended cranio-distally without formation of the hock joints. Femoro-tarsal arthrodesis was successfully executed on both hind legs after exclusion of the deformed and pliable tibia-fibulas. Follow-up radiography showed that bone fusions had gradually improved and were without complications. Postoperatively, the cat was capable of walking on the corrected hind legs and running on the movement of hip joints. To the authors' knowledge, this is the 1st reported case of femoro-tarsal arthrodesis in a cat. In this case, femoro-tarsal arthrodesis resulted in a satisfactory outcome for congenitally deformed tibia-fibulas in cat. Keywords: femoro-tarsal arthrodesis, lame, shorthair cat Journal: Veterinární medicína Pages: 452-455 Volume: 53 Issue: 8 Year: 2008 DOI: 10.17221/1929-VETMED File-URL: http://vetmed.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/1929-VETMED.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/vet-200808-0007.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlvet:v:53:y:2008:i:8:id:1929-VETMED