Effects of colored light-emitting diode illumination on behavior and performance of laying hens.

The best method for lighting poultry houses has been an issue for many decades, generating much interest in any new systems that become available. Poultry farmers are now increasingly using colored LED (light-emitting diodes) to illuminate hen houses (e.g., in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and England). In Switzerland all newly installed systems are now equipped with LED, preferably green ones. The LED give monochromatic light from different wavelengths and have several advantages over conventional illuminants, including high energy efficiency, long life, high reliability, and low maintenance costs. The following study examines the effects of illumination with white, red, and green LED on behavior and production parameters of laying hens. Light intensities in the 3 treatments were adjusted to be perceived by hens as equal. Twenty-four groups of 25 laying hens were kept in identical compartments (5.0 × 3.3 m) equipped with a litter area, raised perches, feed and drinking facilities, and nest boxes. Initially, they were kept under white LED for a 2-wk adaptation period. For the next 4 wk, 8 randomly chosen compartments were lit with red LED (640 nm) and 8 others with green LED (520 nm). Behavior was monitored during the last 2 wk of the trial. Additionally weight gain, feed consumption, onset of lay, and laying performance were recorded. The results showed minor effects of green light on explorative behavior, whereas red light reduced aggressiveness compared with white light. The accelerating effect of red light on sexual development of laying hens was confirmed, and the trial demonstrated that this effect was due to the specific wavelength and not the intensity of light. However, an additional effect of light intensity may exist and should not be excluded.

[Diagnostic workup of chronic inflammatory bowel disease in the horse]. / Diagnostische Aufarbeitung der chronischen Darmentzündung beim Pferd.

The present retrospective study describes the diagnostic workup and collected findings in 7 horses with chronic inflammatory bowel disease over the years 2000-2006. The diagnosis could be confirmed histologically with biopsies taken during laparoscopy or laparotomy or during post mortem examination. Weight loss and chronic diarrhoea were the most commonly reported clinical findings. Among ancillary examinations (fecal analysis, gastroscopy, abdominal ultrasonography, rectal mucosal biopsy) the D-xylose absorption test provided the most useful information. Although clinical signs and laboratory findings are helpful diagnostic tools, a definitive diagnosis is only possible by histological analysis of the intestinal segment.

3D imaging of microstructure of spruce wood.

Synchrotron radiation phase-contrast X-ray tomographic microscopy (srPCXTM) was applied to observation and identification of the features of spruce anatomy at the cellular lengthscale. The pilot experiments presented in the paper clearly revealed the features of the heartwood of Spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.), such as lumina and pits connecting the lumina, with a theoretical voxel size of 0.7 x 0.7 x 0.7 microm(3). The experiments were carried out on microspecimens of heartwood, measuring approximately 200 by 200 micrometers in cross-section. The technique for production and preparation of wood microsamples was developed within the framework of this investigation. The total porosity of the samples was derived and the values of the microstructural parameters, such as the diameters of tracheid, cell wall thicknesses and pit diameters were assessed non-invasively. Microstructural features as thin/small as approximately 1.5 microm were revealed and reconstructed in 3D. It is suggested that the position of sub-voxel-sized features (such as position of tori in the bordered pit pairs) can be determined indirectly using watershed segmentation. Moreover, the paper discusses the practical issues connected with a pipelined phase-contrast synchrotron-based microtomography experiment and the possible future potentials of this technique in the domain of wood science.

[Pemphigus foliaceus in a Haflinger gelding]. / Pemphigus foliaceus bei einem Haflingerwallach.

A 10-year-old Haflinger gelding was presented with severe generalized chronic dermatitis characterized by scales, crusts and widespread alopecia with a partially diffuse and partially circumscribed pattern. Pemphigus foliaceus was diagnosed based on history, clinical signs and histological examination of skin biopsies. Typical histological findings were subcorneal pustules with accumulations of intact neutrophil granulocytes and acantholytic keratinocytes. The gelding was treated with glucocorticoids and gold salts. The skin lesions resolved completely after 8 weeks of treatment. No recurrence was observed within 1 year.

[ERG diagnosis and differential diagnosis: results of examination over 6 years]. / ERG-Diagnose und Differentialdiagnose: Untersuchungsergebnisse über 6 Jahre.

PURPOSE: This study reviews the patient material first from the point of view of referral diagnosis. Secondly, we focus on difficulties in selective differential diagnoses. PATIENTS AND METHOD: 1501 patients underwent electroretinographic (ERG) testing from 1989 to 1994, amounting to 1815 ERG recordings, including follow-up examinations. The technique applied is full-field, single flash ERG with selective stimulation of the rod- and of the cone-systems. In 3.8% (57 cases) the ERG was performed under general anesthesia in outpatients. RESULTS: Tapetoretinal degenerations, toxic retinal side effects, inflammatory disease and ocular trauma represented, in this order, the major groups of referral diagnoses aside from unclear visual loss. The documentation or the exclusion of tapetoretinal degeneration represented the largest share (57%) of the application of the diagnostic procedure. 171 cases of isolated retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and 33 cases of syndromic RP were identified. Frequent and rare diagnostic entities and their differential diagnoses within this group are discussed. Inevitably, a number of diagnostic decisions remain problematic, in particular at the first examination. These diagnostic difficulties are addressed also and include the differentiation between RP sine pigmento and congenital amaurosis Leber in infants, RP with macular involvement vs. cone-rod degeneration, unilateral RP vs. postinflammatory conditions, and progressive cone dystrophy vs. achromatopsia, cone-rod degeneration or Stargardt's disease. CONCLUSIONS: Frequent and meaningful indications for ERG recording and difficult diagnostic decisions arise from this review of a relatively large group of patients. A number of diagnoses can hardly, if not at all be established without ERG testing. These include retinal cause of visual loss in infants, congenital amaurosis Leber, RP sine pigmento, early stages of RP, carrier status in XL RP and in choroideremia, progressive cone dystrophy, toxic retinopathy without fundus changes, retinal involvement in uveitis with opaque media, and incomplete CSNB.