Veterinární medicína, 2008 (vol. 53), issue 8
Hyaluronic acid (hyaluronan): a review
J. Necas, L. Bartosikova, P. Brauner, J. Kolar
Vet Med - Czech, 2008, 53(8):397-411 | DOI: 10.17221/1930-VETMED 
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...
Exogenous chemical substances in bird perception: a review
J. Rajchard
Vet Med - Czech, 2008, 53(8):412-419 | DOI: 10.17221/1926-VETMED
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...
The wildlife hosts of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in the Czech Republic during the years 2002-2007
M. Kopecna, I. Trcka, J. Lamka, M. Moravkova, P. Koubek, M. Heroldova, V. Mrlik, A. Kralova, I. Pavlik
Vet Med - Czech, 2008, 53(8):420-426 | DOI: 10.17221/1931-VETMED
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),...
Vitrification of immature bubaline cumulus oocyte complexes by the open-pulled straw and conventional straw methods and their subsequent in vitro fertilization
A. Sharma, G.N. Purohit
Vet Med - Czech, 2008, 53(8):427-433 | DOI: 10.17221/1928-VETMED
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...
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
J. Calka, M. Zalecki, K. Wasowicz, M.B. Arciszewski, M. Lakomy
Vet Med - Czech, 2008, 53(8):434-444 | DOI: 10.17221/1925-VETMED
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...
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
M. Moravkova, I. Trcka, J. Lamka, I. Pavlik
Vet Med - Czech, 2008, 53(8):445-451 | DOI: 10.17221/1927-VETMED
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...
Correction of congenital deformity of hind limbs of cat by femoro-tarsal arthrodesis: a case report
J. Park, K.R. Cho, B.C. Sutradhar, D. Chang, S.H. Choi, G. Kim
Vet Med - Czech, 2008, 53(8):452-455 | DOI: 10.17221/1929-VETMED
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...