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The first record of vanda thrips (Dichromothrips corbetti [Priesner, 1936], Thysanoptera, Thripidae) in Slovakia is presented. An economically important pest with heavy infestations on flowers of Phalaenopsis orchids was recorded as introduced most probably from North African plantations. Potential infiltration of this exotic species into Central European glasshouses refers to the globalisation of trade in biological commodities.

Field experiments were conducted at two locations in 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 to investigate the weed suppressive ability of cover crop mulches in sugar beets. Three cover crops and two cover crop mixtures were tested in all four experiments. Weed densities ranged from 2 up to 210 plants/m² in Chenopodium album L. and Stellaria media (L.) Vill. as predominant species. Sinapis alba grew significantly faster than Vicia sativa, Raphanus sativus var. niger, and both cover crop mixtures. Sinapis alba, Vicia sativa, Raphanus sativus var. niger reduced weed density by 57, 22, and 15% across all locations, respectively. A mixture of seven different cover crops reduced weed emergence by 64% compared to the control plot without cover crop mulch. Early sugar beet growth was enhanced by all mulch treatments in 2015 and decelerated in 2016.

During 2014-2016, damage by the oriental chestnut gall wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae) was found on sweet chestnut trees at 4 localities in Slovakia. Dryocosmus kuriphilus is a specific plant pest on Castanea spp. In Europe it is considered as the most harmful insect pest on Castanea sativa. It is the first report of the oriental chestnut gall wasp occurrence on chestnut trees in Slovakia.

Ditylenchus weischeri was recently reported in the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Canada. Populations of D. weischeri from creeping thistle (Cirsium arvense L.) in Manitoba and D. dipsaci from garlic (Allium cepa L.) in Ontario were examined for their potential to grow on callused carrot (Daucus carota subsp. sativus) disks, alfalfa (Medi- cago sativa L.) and creeping thistle callus tissues, and pure cultures of eight fungal species, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium solani, Rhizoctonia solani, Verticillium dahliae, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Cladosporium cucumerinum, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, and Chaetomium spp. Ditylenchus weischeri and D. dipsaci could not be reared on any of the fungal isolates nor in the callus tissues of creeping thistle. In contrast to D. weischeri, D. dipsaci was successfully reared on the alfalfa callus tissue. On the callused carrot disks, with no media, an increase of 54 and 244 times the initial density of 80 nematodes was obtained for D. weischeri and D. dipsaci, respectively. Monoxenic rearing was performed using callused carrot disks to provide sufficient D. weischeri inoculum for the microplot study. The effect of D. weischeri on yellow pea varieties Agassiz and Bronco was determined in a microplot trial using initial densities of 0, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, and 3200 nematodes/plant. While it had no impact on pea grain yield, D. weischeri slightly reduced plant height, aboveground biomass, and pod length at the population densities of 1600 and 3200 nematodes/plant. The final population densities at harvest were not significantly different from the initial densities indicating the pea varieties were poor hosts to D. weischeri. The results of the present study indicate that D. weischeri is unlikely to be a pest of yellow pea for weather conditions of the Canadian Prairies.

Citrulline has been recently shown to behave as a novel compatible solute in the Citrullus lanatus (Cucurbitaceae) growing under desert conditions. In the present study we have investigated some aspects of the relationship which might occur in leaves of melon seedlings, also known to produce citrulline, between the capacity to accumulate this ureido amino acid and salt tolerance. With this end in view, salt-induced changes at the citrulline level have been compared in two melon genotypes exhibiting contrasted abilities to withstand the damaging effects of high salinity. Progressive salinization of the growing solution occurred at 23 days after sowing. The final 250 mmol/l external NaCl concentration was reached within 5 days and further maintained for 16 days. In response to this treatment, it was found that the citrulline amount increased in fully expanded leaves of both genotypes according to different kinetics. The salt tolerant genotype Midyat was induced to accumulate citrulline 4 days before the salt sensitive Yuva and as a consequence the final amount of this amino acid was twice higher in the former than in the latter. Compared with citrulline, the free proline level was found to be relatively low and the changes induced in response to the salt treatment exhibited different trends according to the genotypes under study. Thus at the end of the treatment mature leaves of the salt sensitive Yuva contained higher amount of proline than those of Midyat. The changes in the calculated molar ratio between citrulline and free proline suggested that salt tolerance might be associated with high values for this ratio and vice et versa for sensitivity. The interest of citrulline as a biochemical marker for salt tolerance of melon genotypes is discussed.

Balancing the use of maize (Zea mays L.) residues for soil amendment and forage is an important strategy for agricultural sustainability. Therefore, the study assessed the impacts of four proportions of maize residues to soil retention (S) and forage (F) on soil total organic carbon (TOC); total nitrogen (TN); carbon/nitrogen ratio (C/N); grain yield, economic benefits and nutritional contents of removed residues. The concentrations of TOC and TN increased when more residue returned, while the C/N ratios were S₁₀₀ + F₀ > S₃₄ + F₆₆ > S₆₆ + F₃₄. Also, crude protein, crude fat, and crude starch in the removed residues were F₃₄ > F₆₆ > F₁₀₀, while the crude fiber and ash contents exhibited the opposite trend. The crop yield improved with residue retention increased, but there were no differences on the economic benefits of the four residue-use systems. The S₃₄ + F₆₆ system maintained a TOC ranging from 11.51 to 13.37 g/kg, a TN from 1.12 to 1.16 g/kg, 92.93% of the annual yields of the S₁₀₀ + F₀ system, and 6.2 t/ha/year of forage. Therefore, the S₃₄ + F₆₆ system can balance the use of maize residues for soil amendments and forage to sustainably develop a household crop-livestock system.

In Hawaii, past use of arsenical pesticides has left elevated levels of arsenic (As) in some soils. Sorption isotherms of an Andosol and an Acrisol showed that the former required 1100 mg/kg, and the latter 300 mg/kg of added As to maintain 0.20 mg As/L in solution, the maximum allowable As level in streams/rivers in Hawaii. Greenhouse experiments were conducted on an Andosol (315 mg/kg total As), which was amended with 0, 5 g/kg compost, 5 g Fe/kg as amorphous Fe(OH)₃, or 250 mg P/kg as Ca(H₂PO₄)₂, and on a low-As (15 mg/kg) Acrisol, which was spiked with 0, 150 or 300 mg As/kg as Na₂HAsO₄.7 H₂O. Brake fern (Pteris vittata L.) was used as the test plant. Arsenic concentration in the fern fronds averaged 355 mg/kg in the Andosol, and 2610 and 1270 mg/kg (from consecutive plantings, 2 and 12 months after As addition, respectively) in the Acrisol spiked with 300 mg/kg of As. Chemical reactions, as suggested by sequential extractions, likely controlled the availability and uptake of soil As. Mehlich-3 extraction could be used to identify As-contaminated soils and potential phytoremediation as it correlated well with bioaccessible As and with As in fern fronds.

Miscanthus × giganteus (Greef et Deu) is an agro-energy crop of the second generation cultivated in purpose to obtain annually renewable bio-fuel produced from the aboveground biomass. Cultivation is preferred on marginal lands to avoid occupation of arable lands. Influence of fertilization and soil type Gleysol, Planosol and Technosol (open pit coal mine overburden) on yield and biomass traits of miscanthus were investigated during five years' field experiment. Among biometric characteristics: stem height, length and width of leaves, the number of leaves (dry and green) per stem and number of stems per rhizome, only the last one has a strong positive correlation with yield. Fertilization increased yield during fourth and fifth year of development on Gleysol and Technosol. The highest yield on Gleysol was 23.12 t/ha in 2014, on Planosol 10.16 t/ha, and 4.77 t/ha in 2015 on Technosol. The yield of miscanthus, beside fertilization, depends on weather conditions and weeds. Cultivation of miscanthus is possible on marginal soils with minimum application of agricultural measures only in the year of establishment. Gleysol is a type of soil that can be recommended for miscanthus cultivation.

In this study, a simulation experiment by farm warming with infrared ray radiator was carried out, and results showed that the broad bean (Vicia faba L.) growing days were shortened by increased temperature. The seedling, ramifying, budding, blooming, podding, and maturing stages were shortened by 1-4, 1-2, 1, 2-3, 1-2, and 2-4 days, respectively, and the whole growing period was shortened by 7-16 days when the temperature increased by 0.5-2.0°C. The broad bean yield increased by 10.1-16.6% when the temperature increased by 0.5-1.0°C, and significantly decreased by 38.1-90.1% when the temperature increased by 1.5-2.0°C. Increased temperature significantly improved the fat, carbohydrate, ash and energy contents.

Vegetation restorations of degraded meadows have been widely implemented. The evaluation of soil nutrient changes as affected by degradation is vital for efficient restorations. However, while macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) have been widely investigated, sulfur (S) as one important element correlated tightly with other nutrients has not been thoroughly studied. Two studies were conducted to determine changes of sulfur as affected by degradation and elevation gradients. The results showed that available S (AS) changed non-linearly with elevation and the first principal component based on other soil nutrient variables. Soil AS depended on degradation levels and contributed substantially to the separation of meadows with different degradation levels. Moreover, AS responded stronger to changes in elevation gradients and degradation levels compared with other major nutrients. Thereby, AS could be an important nutrient responding to meadow disturbance, which should be considered in future studies on meadow soil nutrients cycling and vegetation restorations. The findings have implications for ecological restoration of degraded meadows with respect to soil nutrient management and conservations.

In this research, laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) technique combined with back-propagation neural network (BPNN) was employed to analyse different nitrogen (N) fertilization levels in paddy rice. Leaf fluorescence characteristics (FLCs) were measured by using the LIF system built in our laboratory and exhibited different FLCs with different nitrogen fertilization levels. The correlation between fluorescence intensity ratios (F685/F460, F735/F460 and F735/F685) and the dose of N fertilization was established and analysed. Then, the BPNN algorithm was utilized to validate that the different N fertilization levels can be classified based on the three FLCs. The overall identification accuracies of 2014 and 2015 were 90% and 92.5%, respectively. Experimental results demonstrated that the three FLCs with the help of multivariate analysis can be served as a helpful tool in the evaluation of paddy rice N fertilization levels. Besides, this study can also provide guidance for the selection of LIF Lidar channels in the following research.

Potato yield is affected by an interaction between nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) supply. This hypothesis was verified in a series of field experiments conducted during 2010-2013 in Albania (AL), Czech Republic (CZ) and Poland (PL). The two-factorial experiment was founded on relative scales of K (0, 50, 100, and 150%), and N application rates (75% and 100%) of the recommended doses, which were country-specific. The average tuber yield was doubled for AL, increased by 50% for PL, and by 15% for the CZ in response to K and N interaction. These differences are caused by an increase in the apparent nitrogen efficiency (ANE), which rose significantly by the progressive Krates. Maximum average ANE of 90 kg tubers/kg N was recorded in AL; it was 2-fold lower in CZ. Top average apparent potassium efficiency (AKE) of 65 kg tubers/kg K was recorded in PL; it was 4-times lower in CZ. The relationships between AKE and ANE clearly demonstrate the tight interaction between the N and K, and its effects on potato yield. However, a sound K application management should be adjusted to the local edaphic and climatic conditions.

The complex interaction process of the abiotic factors (sunlight, air temperature and soil water) in regulating maize (Zea mays L.) photosynthesis has not been fully understood. Our field experiment explored the changed sensitivity (or role) of the abiotic factors in regulating maize photosynthesis under a drought development process. The experiment established a scenario with a long-term drought and an instantaneous cloud cover. The results revealed that long-term drought stress causes the sensitivity (or role) of sunlight and temperature exchanged in regulating maize photosynthesis. The maize photosynthesis was more sensitive to instantaneous sunlight rather than temperature in the absence of drought. However, a diminishing photosynthetic sensitivity to sunlight but an increasing photosynthetic sensitivity to temperature was observed with drought development process. The variable photosynthetic sensitivity indicated that the roles of temperature and sunlight in regulating maize photosynthesis were exchanged, so it is expected that higher photosynthetic rate could be achieved by adjusting temperature rather than sunlight after severe drought. Nevertheless, further studies are needed to provide more evidence and mechanism explanations.

Soils harbour enormously diverse bacterial communities that interact specifically with plants generating beneficial interactions between them. This study was the first approach to assess bacterial communities before sowing with three cotton genotypes, including both transgenic and conventional ones. The structure of bacterial communities was identified using the next generation sequencing analysis, ion torrent PGM (Personal Genome Machine™) sequencer technology, based on the V2-V3 16S rRNA gene region. Quantitative insights into microbial ecology pipeline were used to identify the structure and diversity of bacterial communities in bulk soil samples collected in the northeast of Mexico. Bulk soil textures and chemical properties, including most nutrients, were homogeneous in these bulk soil samples. Relative abundance analysis showed similar bacterial community structures. Dominant taxonomic phyla were Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes and Bacteroidetes, whereas the main families were Bacillaceae, Chitinophagaceae and Rhodospirillaceae with an abundance average of BS1 (bulk soil sample), BS2 and BS3 (24.85, 19.74 and 19.71%, respectively). Alpha diversity analysis showed a high diversity (Shannon and Simpson index) and a large value of the observed species found in bulk soils samples. These results allowed establishing the previous bacterial structural community in an unused soil before sowing it with a transgenic crop for the first time.

he column adsorption study examines irrigation water treatment prior to its application in order to ensure water-crop-consumer heavy metal transfer reduction to the safe level using locust bean husk char (LBHC) as biosorbent. Char structural pattern was investigated with SEM-EDX machine. Contaminated surface water was introduced simultaneously into the bioreactors containing 100 and 200 g of LBHC and collected after 30, 60, 90 120 and 150 min of detention time. Removal efficiency, isotherm and kinetic sorption model were the evaluation tools for the study. Percent of Cr, Cd and As removal at 150 min retention time were 83.33, 100 and 100%, respectively for 100 g biosorbents. A similar trend was observed for Cr and As removal at the same retention time for 200 g of LBHC. Metals sorption conforms to the Freundlich isotherm with correlation coefficient values greater than 0.92. Experimental kinetics had a good fit for pseudo second order (R² > 0.94 for most cases). Removal efficiency is a function of contact time, biosorbent dosage and metal concerned. Locust bean husk char has good and effective treatability for some heavy metals in mildly polluted water.

In the experiment, a group of 10 dairy cows was housed in a pen bedded with various amounts of wheat straw (5.2-13 kg/cow per day). The resulting mixture of feces, urine and bedding was stored in cubic containers with a volume of 1.5 m³. At regular intervals, the containers containing manure were weighed and manure leachate production was assessed. Daily changes in individual monitored variables over time in accordance with the amount of bedding per livestock unit per day (1 livestock unit = 500 kg live weight) were modelled using nonlinear mixed regression models. It was determined that manure weight changes and daily production of manure leachate released from manure stored in containers were related to storage duration and bedding amount in a statically significant manner. The results support the hypothesis that the amount of bedding has a statistically significant effect on the properties of manure stored in a manure pile.

Translocation of tracers incorporated into the upper layer of topsoil was evaluated in the course of seedbed preparation for winter wheat. Aluminium cubes with the edge length of 16 mm were used as tracers that were placed into the soil before its tillage into furrows perpendicular to the direction of passes. After the passes of the OPALL-AGRI combined cultivator, the tracers were searched and marked using a metal detector. The translocation of tracers was evaluated during multiple passes on flatland and on the slope. During the seedbed preparation on the slope, downslope and upslope passes in a fall line direction were chosen. Results of the tracers movement measuring that simulate the soil particle translocation indicate a pronounced movement of the upper layer of topsoil during multiple downslope passes of the combined cultivator. A significant translocation was also observed after passes on flatland. A significantly smaller lengthwise translocation of tracers was found out at upslope passes. The type of translocation on flatland and upslope was quite similar, on the other hand, downslope movement was much larger. The upslope passes were found to have a very limited function with regard to the correction of the undesirable downslope movement of soil particles that occurs in the course of tillage.

Canine aggression is a widespread problem which receives a lot of attention from the media. It has important consequences in terms of public health and animal welfare. To address this issue it is necessary to first determine its epidemiological characteristics in the target population. This study was aimed at exploring the characteristics and determining the risk factors for dog aggression in the Slovak Republic and, in particular, for aggression directed at humans. For this purpose, we used a questionnaire directed to dog owners which included information about dog and owner characteristics, housing, training and fear behaviour. From the 177 analysed questionnaires, 67% portrayed dogs with some type of aggressive behaviour. Half of the animals showed some degree of owner-directed aggression and almost 40% were aggressive towards unfamiliar people. The approach of an unfamiliar male was the situation that stimulated most dogs to behave aggressively (33.3%) and a small percentage (2.3%) of the animals always showed aggression when approached by an unfamiliar child. Multivariate logistic regression models found that "owner's age" (OR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.93 - 0.99) and "neuter status" (OR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.13-0.98) were significantly associated (P < 0.05) with the exhibiting of aggressive behaviour in different contexts. "Dog's sex" (OR, 2.16; 95% CI, 1.09-4.27) and "type of training" (OR, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.19-4.80) were significantly associated (P < 0.05) with the exhibiting of aggressive behaviour towards familiar people. Younger owners were more likely to have aggressive dogs and neutered dogs were less likely to be aggressive in different contexts. Male dogs and dogs with informal training were more likely to be aggressive towards familiar people. Manifestations of fear were significantly associated with the expression of aggressive behaviour in all models. This study provides the first preliminary results on the characteristics and potential risk factors for human-directed aggression in Slovakia. The analysis of these data may help in determining which preventive measures should be given priority in this country.

Ultrasound scans were used to image pathological features in sea turtles. Scans were carried out in 19 loggerhead sea turtles, weighing from 2 to 21 kg, during the course of clinical examinations using 3.5 and 7.5 MHz sector transducers. The examination was performed after placing turtles in dorsal recumbency. Turtles were manually restrained and, in order to find the most suitable acoustic windows, were held down either by their heads (left and right cervicobrachial windows), front flippers (left and right axillary windows) or back flippers (left and right prefemoral and postfemoral windows). The right and left cervicobrachial windows allowed visualisation of the liver and gallbladder; the stomach was localised through the left prefemoral acoustic window; the intestinal loops were observed through the left and right prefemoral acoustic windows; the bladder was identified through both prefemoral acoustic windows. The pathological findings were as follows: idiopathic ileus, an intestinal linear foreign body and smooth muscle hypertrophy, presence of calculi and sediment in the gallbladder. These results highlight the importance of ultrasound examination along with clinical examination in sea turtles for the evaluation of coelomic pathologies.

"Hyperostotic tympanic bone spicules" (HTBS), or "mucoperiosteal exostoses" (ME, syn.) are small, globular (≥ 1 mm in diameter), mostly stalked and drumstick-like, bony structures, which arise from the inner wall of the tympanic bulla and project into the middle ear cavity. HTBS present as mineral densities inside the tympanic bulla on radiographs or computed tomographic (CT) images. They have previously been referred to as "otoliths" and were thought to represent mineral concretions secondary to otitis media. Recently, it was shown that HTBS actually consist of regularly composed bone tissue, covered by normal middle ear mucosa. So far, HTBS have only extensively been described in dogs, where they occur with a prevalence of up to > 45%. A recent study detected ME, most likely representing HTBS, in the tympanic cavities of skeletonised skull bones of African lions. To estimate the occurrence of HTBS in other mammal species, the middle ears of adult animals of 78 different domestic, wild, and zoo species undergoing routine necropsy at the Institute of Veterinary Pathology of the LMU Munich, Germany were examined in the present study. HTBS were found in the tympanic bullae of carnivorous species, such as canids (wolf, fox), and in several large felid species (lion, tiger, leopard, cheetah). In contrast, HTBS were not present in domestic cats (more than to 200 cases), small carnivorous species such as mustelids, nor in any primate, ungulate, ruminant, pig, insectivore, or rodent species. The detectability of HTBS by CT of the tympanic bullae of large felids was demonstrated in an African lion. Histologically, HTBS consisted of mature lamellar bone, covered by periosteum and a partially ciliated, flat epithelium, regularly without any apparent inflammatory alterations. The present study demonstrates that HTBS may frequently occur in large felids and in different canid species. These findings should be taken into account when examining the middle ear, or interpreting bulla radiographs/CT-images of the respective species. However, the factors triggering the development of HTBS remain to be identified.

Cyprinid herpesvirus 3 also known as koi herpesvirus is a causative agent of highly contagious disease (koi herpesvirus disease) and can cause significant losses in fish stocks. The disease is restricted to koi and common carp, but recent investigations have shown that other cyprinids as well as non-cyprinid species are asymptomatically susceptible to this virus and can play either a role as a potential carrier or can contribute to biological conservation of this virus. The susceptibility of two non-target species, stone loach (Barbatula barbatula) and sterbel - a hybrid between sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus) and beluga (Huso huso) to cyprinid herpesvirus 3 was tested by means of their co-habitation together with naïve koi and intraperitoneally KHV-infected koi (primary challenge). On the 15 ^th day post-infection (dpi), a secondary challenge was started (a portion of the surviving stone loach and sterbel were transferred to tanks with other naïve koi). All dead as well as surviving fish were investigated for the presence of KHV DNA in pooled samples of tissue from individual fish by nested PCR. Sampling for PCR from surviving fish was performed on the 15^th dpi and on the 30^th dpi of the primary challenge, and on the 30^th dpi of the secondary challenge. During the primary challenge (up to the 30^th dpi), average cumulative mortality in duplicated experimental groups was as follows: koi 100%, sterbel and stone loach both 5%. In the primary challenge, no surviving stone loach or sterbel sampled on the 15^th dpi or those that died previously were found to be positive for viral DNA. Results of PCR revealed the presence of KHV DNA in 95% of co-habited naïve koi samples. PCR analysis of tissues taken from surviving fish on the 30^th dpi revealed the presence of viral DNA in 77.8% (7/9) of stone loach and in 22.2% (2/9) of sterbel. Cumulative mortality of fish in the secondary challenge was 100% for stone loach and for koi co-habitating with them, and 50% for koi co-habitating with sterbel, which all survived. Despite the high mortality of koi and stone loach in the secondary challenge (probably caused by malfunction of biofilters or bacterial infection), none of them, nor any of the sturgeon hybrids were considered to be positive for KHV DNA. In summary, the hybrid between sterlet and beluga and the stone loach seemed to be susceptible to cyprinid herpesvirus 3, but we could not prove that they can transfer this virus to naïve koi.

An 11-year-old, intact male Maltese dog presented with a history of vomiting and regurgitation. On plain radiographs, a caudodorsal thoracic mass was identified, and there were no radiographic signs frequently associated with an oesophageal mass. An oesophagram with fluoroscopy showed no classical signs of an oesophageal mass such as an irregular mucosal surface, a filling defect, or decreased ability of the lumen to pass contrast medium through the oesophageal lumen. A mass of pulmonary or mediastinal origin rather than of oesophageal origin was suggested. During the operation for mass removal, a gross connection between the suspected mass and the adventitia of the distal oesophagus was identified; thus, excision of the extraluminal mass was performed from the outer oesophageal wall. Histopathology confirmed the mass to be an oesophageal leiomyoma. This case highlights that the differentiation of an extraluminal oesophageal mass from other masses of mediastinal or lung origin can be challenging with radiographs and oesophagram alone. Even when the radiographic signs are not suggestive of an oesophageal mass, an extraluminal oesophageal mass should be considered.

The effects of water restriction on rectal temperature, respiratory rate and selected blood variables in intensively reared Lacaune ewes were evaluated. The tests were carried out over the course of 28 days in spring on 30 lactating sheep divided into three groups of 10 animals each, matched by lactation status and body weight and allocated into individual boxes. The animal groups were as follows: control group W100 with drinking water for the whole day (24 h/24 h), while the two experimental groups each received 80% (W80 group) and 60% (W60 group) of the water ration of the control group, respectively. The feed, in according with physiological and production needs of the animals, was administered in three daily meals (08:00, 14:00 and 20:00 h). Water intake was recorded three times per day (at 08:00, 14:00 and 20:00 h) and the daily feed intake at 08:00 h, while the rectal temperature, respiratory rate were measured and blood samplings were carried out on Day 0, Day 14 and Day 28. In water-restriction groups (W80 and W60) a lower (P < 0.01) feed intake of meadow hay, and a lower ingestion of alfalfa hay pellet in the W60 group compared to W100 group were observed. In addition, the water restriction regimen resulted in a significant decrease of respiratory rate (P < 0.05) and an increase in serum total protein, urea, creatinine, sodium, chlorine, reactive oxygen metabolites, cortisol, haemoglobin and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (P < 0.05), red blood cell counts, and haematocrit (P < 0.01). These results show the important role of water, as limiting factor for animal breeding in low-water availability environments. Where possible, the management of low-dairy breeds should be well adapted to support the productive performance.

Immunophenotyping is a valuable method for prognosis in canine malignant lymphoma. The general B-cell marker is CD79a; however, Pax5 or B-cell specific activator protein, a transcription factor that controls B-cell identity and cell maturation, could also be used as a B-cell indicator in canine lymphomas. This study aimed to use Pax5, CD79a and CD3 expression in immunohistochemistry of spontaneous canine lymphomas, in order to carry out diagnosis and histopathological classification according to the World Health Organization guidelines. Forty-six retrospective cases including 33 multicentric, eight extranodal, and five alimentary lymphomas in dogs were immunostained by anti-Pax5 and anti-CD79a antibodies for B-cell identification, and anti-CD3 antibody for T-cell identification. T-cell lymphomas (CD3+/Pax5-/CD79a-) accounted for 30.43% of cases (14/46), and four of the lymphomas (28.57%) presented with CD3+/Pax5-/CD79a+. Conversely, B-cell lymphomas (CD3-/Pax5+/CD79a+) accounted for 69.57% of cases (32/46) and 12.5% of these (4/32) showed only Pax5-positive cells (CD3-/Pax5+/CD79a-). Therefore, in dogs, Pax5 appears to be a more useful marker for staining all B-cell subtypes compared to CD79a. Immunophenotyping with both Pax5 and CD3 are necessary for lymphoid lineage identification in canine lymphomas.

This case report describes an episode of acute ataxia, tremor, vertical nystagmus and progressive weakness in a mixed breed dog treated with high doses of metronidazole. Complete blood cell count, serum biochemistry, coagulation profile, blood pressure measurement, urinalysis, computed tomography of the brain and cerebrospinal fluid examination were unremarkable. Metronidazole had been administered at a dose of 65 mg/kg/day and neurotoxicity was, therefore, suspected. Drug concentrations in the patient's serum and cerebrospinal fluid were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography and compared to control dogs. Metronidazole administration was immediately discontinued; supportive care consisted of fluid therapy and diazepam treatment. The neurological status of the patient improved rapidly within 72 h. The aim of this case report is to describe the clinical presentation of metronidazole intoxication in a mixed breed dog and to interpret the chromatographic analysis which can be a beneficial diagnostic and screening tool in dogs intoxicated with metronidazole.