Intake and utilization of sorghum and maize green fodder in spotted deer under captivity.

PURPOSE: The feeding value and nutritional adequacy of two cereal fodder, viz. sorghum (Sorghum vulgare) and maize (Zea mays), were evaluated in spotted deer (Axis axis) and compared with that in sheep in two consecutive feeding trials of 35 days each. METHODS: Four spotted deer (2 years of age, 68.3 kg average body weight) and six sheep (1.5 years of age, 18.0 kg average body weight) were fed on the above two fodder types as sole feed. Nutrient digestibility and evaluations were made through two digestion studies that ended with each feeding period. RESULT: Both sorghum and maize fodder provided 11% CP and 4.4 kcal DE per gram of TDN in the two species studied. A lower intake of DM (40.6 vs 47.5 g/kg(0.75)) and other nutrients was observed in deer during maize feeding period. It was similar but lower in sheep compared to deer. The digestibility of nutrients from both fodder types was higher in deer (66-77%) than sheep (45-62%). Numerically, most of the nutrients from sorghum fodder were better digested than maize except CP and EE. Maize fodder provided a higher percentage of NDF (70.85% vs 67.90%) and ADF (37.22% vs 30.74%) with a digestibility depression of about two units in deer and three to five units in sheep. Deer and sheep lost body weight during both the sorghum (2.0 and 0.7 kg) and the maize (2.5 and 0.4 kg) feeding periods. CONCLUSION: Although the nutritive value of cereal fodder seemed optimum, a lower voluntary feed intake in both deer and sheep contributed to inadequate nutrient intake compared to standard recommendation.

Prevalence of Muellerius capillaris in free-ranging spotted deer (Cervus axis) in India and its experimental cross-transmission to goats.

A survey to assess the prevalence of parasitic infections among axis deer (Cervus axis) in three National Parks in India revealed infections with the lungworm Muellerius capillaris. Clinical signs were not evident in infected animals. Therefore, it is suggested that C. axis is probably a carrier of the infection. Under laboratory conditions, terrestrial molluscs (Macrochalamys sp.) were infected with first stage larvae of M. capillaris collected from fecal pellets of C. axis. Feeding of third stage larvae collected from these snails on day 14 post exposure produced patent infections in goats. On day 31 post infection, adult M. capillaris could be collected from the lungs of infected goats. This study establishes the possibility of cross-transmission of M. capillaris between wild and domestic animals in India.

Primary extradural spinal melanoma.

Primary spinal melanoma is uncommon, with only 36 cases reported in the available literature. These lesions usually occur as diffuse melanomatosis. Solitary lesions are rare. Extradural locations is extremely rare, with only tow case reports in the literature. One such patient is reported and relevant literature reviewed.

X-ray reflectivity study of semiconductor interfaces.

The results of an X-ray reflectivity study of thick AlAs-AlGaAs and thin Ge-Si-Ge multilayers grown using metal-organic vapour-phase epitaxy and ion-beam sputtering deposition techniques, respectively, are presented. Asymmetry in interfaces is observed in both of these semiconductor multilayers. It is also observed that although the Si-on-Ge interface is sharp, an Si(0.4)Ge(0.6) alloy is formed at the Ge-on-Si interface. In the case of the III-V semiconductor, the AlAs-on-AlGaAs interface shows much greater roughness than that observed in the AlGaAs-on-AlAs interface. For thin multilayers it is demonstrated that the compositional profile as a function of depth can be obtained directly from the X-ray reflectivity data.