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ThesisItem Open Access STUDIES ON CHARACTERIZATION AND PERFORMANCE OF VIZIANAGARAM SHEEP OF NORTH COASTAL ANDHRA PRADESH(SRI VENKATESWARA VETERINARY UNIVERSITY TIRUPATI - 517 502. (A.P.) INDIA, 2010-04) GANGARAJU, GOLLAMOORI; SARJAN RAO, K(MAJOR); JAGADEESWARA RAO, S; RAGHUNANDAN, T; GNANA PRAKASH, MABSTRACT: A study was undertaken on the a) distribution of local Vizianagaram sheep b) biometric and morphological characters of the breed c) productive and reproductive performance of the breed and d) managemental practices being followed by farmers of Vizianagaram breeding tract in north coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh comprising of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts. Based on nlultistage stratified random sampling technique, the study was carried out in 7 mandals each from every district and from each mandal 7 villages were selected. From each village 2-3 sheep farmers maintained local Vizianagaram sheep with an average flock size of 60-75 were selected for the study resulted in a sample size of 775. 1244 and 153 Vizianagaram sheep from Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts. The data recorded from farmers flocks were compared with the data of LRS, Garividi. The chest girth, body length and keight at withers (cm) were 35.2w0.33, 29.46M.37 and 40.3M.32 for ram lambs of below 1 year and 73.0W0.71. 60.91*0.82 and 68.84*0.62 for rams of 10-12 months. respectively. Significant (PThesisItem Open Access GENETIC ANALYSIS OF EXOTIC AND NATIVE CHICKEN(SRI VENKATESWARA VETERINARY UNIVERSITY TIRUPATI - 517 502. (A.P.) INDIA, 2010-12) SREENIVAS, DASARI; GNANA PRAKASH, M(MAJOR); SHARMA, R.P; RUDRANATH CHATTERJEE; RAVINDER REDDY, V; MAHENDER, MABSTRACT: The present investigation was carried out for estimation of genetic parameters on certain production, immunocompetence and egg quality traits in IWH, IWI and IWK strains and control population of White Leghorns and microsatellite marker based analysis on IWH and IWK strains and native breeds of Aseel and Kadaknath maintained at the Project Directorate on Poultry, Hyderabad. Significant genetic group differences were observed for all the production traits studied. The age at first egg (AFE) and body weights at 40, 52 and 64 weeks of age ranged from 143.49 * 0.56 to 155.63 * 0.57 days, 1290.74 * 7.21 to 1428.36 8.36, 1377.72 8.43 to 148 1.82 * 9.77 and 1455.73 * 9.49 to 1547.15 * 1 1.18 g, respectively. Egg production up to 40, 64 and 72 weeks of age ranged from 94.08 * 0.50 to 106.15 * 0.49, 178.24 * 1.20 to 202.32 k 1.18 and 190.90 + 1.22 to 215.17 1.20 eggs. respectively while egg weight at 28, 40, 52 and 64 weeks of age ranged from 43.81 * 0.15 to 46.77 * 0.15, 49.89 * 0.18 to 53.13 * 0.17, 53.1.3 k 0.16 to 54.65 * 0.15 and 55.47 * 0.15 to 57.59 * 0.14 g, respectively. The AFE was low to moderately heritable while the body weights were moderate to highly heritable. In general, egg production traits were lowly heritable while the egg weights were low to highly heritable. The genetic and phenotypic correlations of AFE were positive with body weights and egg weights but negative with egg production. The genetic and phenotypic correlations of body weight at 52 and 64 weeks of age were negative with egg production and positive with egg weight. The correlations among egg production traits and among egg weights were positive and high while the association between egg production and egg weight traits was moderate to high but negative. Significant differences among genetic groups were observed for antibody titre against SRBC and NDV only. Mean anti SRBC titre, anti NDV titre and response to PHA-P (mrn) ranged from 4.729 * 0.142 to 5.803 * 0.11 8, 10.033 .t 0.056 to 1 1.045 * 0.049 and 0.133 * 0.075 to 0.527 * 0.164, respectively. Heritability estimates of antibody titre against SRBC, NDV and response to PHA-P were low to medium. The anti SRBC titre had positive genetic correlation and negative phenotypic and environmental correlations with AFE. Genetic and phenotypic correlations with body weights and egg production traits were mostly positive. The genetic and phenotypic correlations of antibody titre against NDV with AFE and annual egg production were mostly positive. The correlations of response to PHA-P with other traits varied both in magnitude and direction. Significant genetic group differences were observed for various egg quality traits studied. The egg weight, haugh unit, yolk index, albumen index, yolk weight, albumen weight, shell weight and shell thickness ranged from 53.89 0.43 to 50.01 0.48 g, 65.38 * 0.92 to 80.98 * 1.01, 0.341 * 0.003 to 0.353 * 0.003, 0.056 * 0.002 to 0.087 * 0.002, 14.16 i 0.13 to 15.58k 0.12 g, 30.92 * 0.39 to 33.18k 0.39 g, 4.32 * 0.05 to 5.12 * 0.05 g and 0.336 k 0.003 to 0.376 * 0.003 mrn, respectively. The heritability estimates based on sire, dam and sire + dam components of variance for egg weight, yolk index, albumen index and albumen weight ranged from low to medium while those of haugh unit, yolk weight, shell weight and shell thickness ranged from low to high. The genetic and phenotypic correlations of egg weight with other egg quality traits except shell quality traits were mostly positive and moderate to high. High positive genetic and phenotypic correlations between haugh unit and other traits were observed. Genetic correlation of yolk weight with albumen weight was positive while that with shell quality traits was mostly negative. Shell weight was positively correlated with shell thickness. All the 15 microsatellite loci were polymorphic. The mean number of alleles (Na) varied from 2.0 to 5.0 among the loci and 3.13 * 0.13 to 3.80 k 0.13 among the populations. The effective number of alleles varied from 1.041 to 4.755 across the loci and between 2.33 0.09 and 3.21 k 0.1 1 among the populations. The allele frequency ranged from 0.012 to 0.980 across the loci. The overall mean PIC values ranged from 0.038 to 0.756 across the loci and 0.434 to 0.579 among the populations. The expected and observed heterozygosity estimates (0.634 * 0.020 and 0.723 * 0.031) were highest in Aseel, while lowest in IWH strain (0.500 i 0.022 and 0.471 * 0.034). Overall mean inbreeding coefficients for IWH, IWK, Kadaknath and Aseel were 0.205, 0.1 16, -0.052 and -0.130, respectively. The mean values of Fls, FST and FIT values over all the loci were -0.050 & 0.065,0.05 1 & 0.308 and 0.003 k 0.064, respectively. The genetic distance was least between Kadaknath and Aseel (0.023) and highest between IWH and Aseel (0.160). Kadaknath and Aseel were closer with maximum genetic identity index (0.977) while IWH and Aseel were more wide apart with least identity index (0.852). Phylogenetic analysis grouped IWH and IWK strains in to one cluster and Kadaknath and Aseel breeds in to another cluster. All the loci except MCW 048 deviated significantly from equilibrium frequency in at least one of the populations, while all the loci except MCW 007 and MCW 048 departed from the equilibrium frequency on overall basis.ThesisItem Open Access A CLINICAL STUDY ON THE DISEASES OF ESOPHAGUS AND STOMACH WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ENDOSCOPY IN DOGS(SRI VENKATESWARA VETERINARY UNIVERSITY TIRUPATI - 517 502. (A.P.) INDIA, 2010-07) RAVIRAJ VINAYAK, SURYAWANSHI; RAGHAVENDER, K.B.P(MAJOR); GIREESH KUMAR, V; PURUSHOTHAM, G; SHANTHI LAKSHMI, MABSTRACT: The present study was undertaken in 42 cases out of the 120 clinical cases of dogs presented with diseases of esophagus and stomach with the history of persistent vomiting or regurgitation. A total of 120 dogs were presented with the chief complaint of recurrent vomiting or regurgitation. Out of the total of 120 cases selected for closer examination, 78 dogs (65%) responded to routine medical treatment with antiemetics, antibiotics and fluid therapy and hence, they were excluded from the purview of the present clinical study. The remaining 42 dogs (35%), which continued to vomit or regurgitate for more than one week and showed signs consistent with the primary diseases of the esophagus and stomach formed the patient material for the present clinical study. All the 42 clinical cases of dogs underwent routine physical, clinical, haematological and biochemical examinations as well as plain and contrast radiographic, Ultrasonographic and endoscopic assessment to rule out the concurrent diseases prior to the consideration in the present study. The results of the present study revealed that out of the total 42 cases selected for the present study, 31dogs (73.81%) had diseases of the esophagus while the rest (11dogs; 26.19%) had diseases of the stomach. During the present study, megaesophagus was diagnosed in 18 (42.86%) dogs, reflux esophagitis in 2 dogs (4.76%), vascular ring anomalies in 2 dogs (4.76%), esophageal diverticula and esophageal nodule in one dog each (2.38% each), esophageal foreign bodies in 5 dogs (11.90%), esophageal erosion or ulcers in 2 dogs (4.76%), chronic gastritis in 3 dogs (7.14%), gastric foreign bodies in 4 dogs (9.52% ), gastric erosion/ ulcer in 2 dogs (4.76%) and gastric dilatation and Volvulus in 2 dogs (4.76%). The results also showed that the occurrences of these diseases were seen in dogs ranging from two and a half months to thirteen years of age. No sex wise occurrence of the esophageal or stomach diseases was reported. All the dogs afflicted with the various diseases exhibited similar symptoms like emaciation, shrunken abdomen, chronic weight loss, prominent rib cage, regurgitation, vomiting or both. In the present clinical study, 18 clinical cases of megaesophagus were recorded. The disease was encountered in Labrador (2 dogs), Golden Retriever (2 Dogs), German Shepherd (5 Dogs), Doberman (2 Dogs), Mongrel (3 Dogs), Pomeranian (2 Dogs), Cocker Spaniel (1 Dog) and Boxer (1 Dog) breeds of dogs. The mean age of occurrence was found to be 6.25 ± 0.88 years. Out of these 18 dogs, 11were found to be males (61.12 %) and the rest were females (7 dogs; 38.88%). All these 18 dogs showed the signs of regurgitation of the food soon after food consumption. The haematological and biochemical studies showed that all the parameters studied were with in the normal range, except for haemoglobin. Ultrasonography did not reveal any sort of esophageal pathology. Radiographic features of megaesophagus in the seven dogs were air filled dilated esophagus and tracheoesophageal stripe sign. Esophagography clearly revealed generalized distention of esophagus in all the 18 dogs. While endoscopy revealed markedly dilated, flaccid esophagus and pooling of retained fluid, in the most dependent segment of the esophagus. The results of the present study indicated that among the three treatment regimens tested, Metoclopramide combined with feeding the dogs in an upright position from an elevated platform improved the esophageal function to the maximum extent. Post mortem examination of the seven dogs died or euthanized showed severe dilatation and thinning of the esophageal wall, while histopathological examination showed scanty muscle bundles, infiltration of polymorphonuclear cells with submucosal congestion and enlargement of submucosal glandular pattern with epithelial irregularity. Scanning electron microscopy revealed destruction of blood vessels, loss of normal architecture and direction of inner circular as well as outer longitudinal muscle fibers while, transmission electron microscopic examination showed complete loss of cellular architecture, mitochondrial destruction and complete loss of architecture of myoneuronal plate at the neuromuscular junction suggestive of neuromuscular disorder. Two clinical cases of dogs were tentatively diagnosed to be suffering from reflux esophagitis. Endoscopic examination characterized by mucosal erythema, haemorrhage, mucosal irregularity, erosion with thickened mucosal folds especially at the lower esophageal area confirmed reflux esophagitis. Endoscopic examination showed the evidence of reflux esophagitis in these two dogs. Both the dogs recovered uneventfully following the treatment adopted. Esophagoscopy of a nine year old male Pomeranian dog with sings of recurrent cough and retching revealed a lemon sized nodular growth appearing as broad based protuberance with nipple like orifice located just caudal to the base of the heart suggestive of Spirocerca lupi infestation. No surgical exploration was conducted as the dog was not available for further investigation. Plain radiography of five cases out of 42 cases (11.90%) revealed osseous foreign bodies in the esophagus of four dogs and radiolucent foreign bodies (socks) in an other dog. In three dogs, osseous foreign bodies located in the thoracic esophagus were pushed in to the stomach successfully by endoscope itself. In dog, osseous foreign bodies located in the post pharyngeal was retrieved by cheatle forceps under the endoscopic illumination. The dog with socks in the cervical esophagus vomited the socks out due to emetic effects of xylazine prior to endoscopic manoeuvre. All dogs recovered uneventfully. Barium swallow of the dogs revealed stricture of esophagus over the base of heart and cranial distention of esophagus suggestive of vascular ring anomalies. Despite of giving supportive therapy, both the dogs died. Necropsy revealed distention of esophagus cranial to the constructive vascular band confirmed vascular ring anomalies. Histopathological examination further confirmed presence of concurrent gastritis. Plain radiography of three year old female German shepherd dog with post prandial regurgitation, revealed saclike out pouching of cranial thoracic esophageal wall that rested on floor of sternum which was further confirmed by endoscopy. No treatment was initiated in this case on the owner was reluctant for surgery. The two dogs with vomiting of about three weeks duration that did not respond to routine medication were diagnosed to be suffering from esophageal erosions/ulcers, both by endoscopy and by positive contrast radiography. The dogs responded well to the treatment adopted. Gastroscopy of all three dogs revealed generalized congestion as well as petechial hemorrhagic spots on gastric mucosa with minor areas of mucosal erosions suggestive of chronic gastritis. Cytological examination of stomach fluid collected during endoscopy further confirmed chronic gastritis. No Helicobacter Like Organisms (HLO) was encountered. These three dogs responded well to the treatment protocol adopted i.e. combination of amoxicillin, clarithromycin, Metronidazole and ranitidine. In the present study, gastroscopy of two dogs revealed gastric ulcerative patches with marked thickening and irregular edges confirmed gastric erosion or ulcers. Both the dogs treated with sucralfate and omperazole responded well to complete recovery. In present clinical study, four dogs were diagnosed to be affected with gastric foreign bodies. Out of four cases, two dogs that underwent plain radiographic examination revealed presence of sewing needle in the stomach of one dog and a pair of metal caps of cool drink bottle and a safety pin in another dog. The metallic foreign bodies whose removal was considered to be too risky by endoscope were removed by standard gastrotomy. In the remaining two dogs that swallowed dog nylon belt, plain radiograph did not confirm their presence. Endoscopic examination revealed presence of dog collar made up of nylon in the stomach. Endoscopic retrieval of the nylon belt in the stomach of one dog was successfully done while, in the second case, the radiolucent foreign body (another nylon belt), which turned out later on to be a linear foreign body, was removed successfully by standard gastrotomy and enterotomy operation. All the dogs recovered uneventfully. In the two dogs with gastric dilatation and volvulus (GD-V) in the present study, the clinical and radiographic signs helped in confirmation of the disease and the clinical out come of their treatment with surgical derotation and gastropexy was uneventful. From the results of the present clinical study, it was concluded that about 35% of dogs (42 out of 120 dogs) that were refractory to general medical treatment for vomiting or regurgitation were appeared to be affected with primary diseases of esophagus and stomach. The most common malady affecting the esophagus in dogs was found to be megaesophagus (18), and this can be reasonably well managed by using metoclopramide and feeding the dogs in an upright position from an elevated platform. The disease is considered to be a neuromuscular disease as seen during scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The neuromuscular junctions as seen by transmission electron microscopy appeared to be destroyed in cases of megaesophagus. Esophagography was found to be more useful procedure in confirming the cases of megaesophagus than endoscopy. This is because it is sometimes difficult in mild cases to be sure whether the esophagus was really dilated or it appeared so due to insufflation during endoscopy. On endoscopy examination, a large cavernous lumen extending the length of the esophagus is vividly suggestive of megaesophagus. But a normal esophagus can also appear flaccid and distended under anaesthesia. The other diseases encountered in the present study in their order frequency of occurrence are esophageal foreign bodies (5), gastric foreign bodies (4), chronic gastritis (3), reflux esophagitis (2), esophageal erosion/ulcer (2), gastric erosion/ ulcer (2), vascular ring anomalies (2), gastric dilatation and volvulus (2), esophageal nodule (1) and esophageal diverticulum (1). Endoscopy is not always useful in treatment of esophageal or gastric foreign bodies in dogs for the shape and size of foreign body, duration of obstruction and nature and location of foreign body in the esophagus and stomach determine the use and success of endoscopy for therapeutic purpose. Endoscopy proved to be a valuable and useful aid in the diagnosis of esophageal and gastric ulcers/ erosions, esophageal nodule and esophageal diverticulum. Albeit veterinarians are still in the early phase of adoption of minimally invasive procedures, endoscopy proves to be vital diagnostic and therapeutic tool of the future veterinarians armamentarium.ThesisItem Open Access GENETIC EVALUATION OF ONGOLE CATTLE UNDER PROGENY TESTING PROGRAMME(SRI VENKATESWARA VETERINARY UNIVERSITY TIRUPATI - 517 502. (A.P.) INDIA, 2010-05) SAI REDDY, S; RAMESH GUPTA, B(MAJOR); VINOO, R; SUDHAKAR, K; MAHENDER, MABSTRACT : The data on Ongole cattle maintained under the ICAR Network Project on Genetic improvement of Ongole breed through the Associate Herd Testing Programme at Lam farm, Guntur (1935), Cattle Breeding Farm, Chadalawada, Prakasam district (625), Livestock Research Station Mahanandi, Kurnool district (404) and Composite Livestock Farm, Chintaladevi, Nellore district (201), spread over a period of 22 years from 1987 to 2008, were analyzed. Multivariate analysis was undertaken to estimate the genetic divergence between the sets of the bulls under the progeny testing programme. The morphometric differences of the chromosomes between the cows born by embryo transfer technique and artificial insemination were studied. The overall least squares means for body weight, height at withers, chest girth and body length of Ongole cattle from birth to 24 months of age ranged from 26.49 to 245.40 kg, 71.58 to 133.58 cm, 66.35 to 146.53 cm and 62.91 to 127.64 cm, respectively. The effects of farm and period of birth were significant on the body weight, height at withers, chest girth and body length at all the ages studied. Season of birth significantly affected the body weight at birth, 1 and 3 months of age; height at withers at birth, 1 and 6 months age; chest girth at 3 months and body length at 6 months of age. The sex of the calf and set of the bulls significantly influenced the body weights and biometrical measurements, virtually at all the ages. The overall least squares means for 300-days lactation milk yield, total lactation milk yield, lactation length, peak yield, days to reach peak yield, milk yield per day of lactation and milk yield per day of calving interval were 718.53 kg, 720.90 kg, 233.99 days, 3.90 kg, 35.67 days, 3.08 kg and 1.43 kg, respectively and almost all these traits were affected significantly by the farm, period of calving, set of the bulls and order of lactation. However, peak yield alone was affected (P<0.01) by the season of calving and none of the production traits were influenced by the sex of the calf. The overall least squares means of number of inseminations per conception, age at first conception, age at first calving, gestation period, service period, dry period and calving interval were 2.02, 1358.82 days, 1592.22 days, 287.58 days 232.38 days, 282.94 days and 517.61 days, respectively and almost all these characters were affected by the farm, period, set of the bulls and order of lactation, while none of the reproductive traits were influenced by the season. Sex of the calf had significant influence on gestation period and dry period only. The mean breeding efficiency of the Ongole cows varied from 63.66 to 83.75 per cent and the rank correlations of breeding efficiency estimated by three different formulae were positive and significant. The farm and set of the bulls significantly influenced the breeding efficiency. The overall least squares means for life time milk yield, herd life, productive life, milk yield per day of herd life and productive life; wet days and dry days per herd life; wet days and dry days per productive life and gestation period per herd life and productive life were 3805.88 kg, 3773.84 days, 2287.48 days, 1.00 and 1.67 kg; 32.15 and 67.85%; 53.58 and 46.41% and 39.46 and 66.54%, respectively and all these traits were influenced by one or the other of the non-genetic effects studied. However, none of these characters were influenced by the set of the bulls. The estimates of heritability and genetic and phenotypic correlations of body weights and biometrical measurements varied from 0.01 to 0.43, 0.06 to 0.99 and 0.03 0.40 respectively. Similarly, the heritabilities of 300-days lactation milk yield, total lactation milk yield, Lactation length, peak yield, milk yield per day of lactation, milk yield per day of calving interval, gestation period, service period, dry period and calving interval were 0.27, 0.24, 0.21, 0.24, 0.09, 0.22, 0.14, 0.06, 0.06 and 0.06, respectively. The genetic correlations among production and reproduction traits were positive and ranged from 0.04 to 0.99, while the phenotypic correlations among these traits varied from 0.01 to 0.49. The heritability estimates for life time milk yield, herd life, productive life, lactation milk yield per herd life and productive life; wet and dry days per herd life; wet and dry days per productive life and gestation period per herd life and productive life were 0.66, 0.10, 0.17, 0.49 and 0.49; 0.23 and 0.23; 0.30 and 0.30 and 0.08 and 0.08, respectively. The genetic correlations among the various life time production traits ranged between 0.69 and 0.99 whereas the phenotypic correlations ranged from 0.01 to 0.47. The Mahalonobis genetic distances (D2) between all combinations of sets were highly significant. The calving interval, total lactation milk yield and lactation length contributed 40%, 40% and 20% to the total genetic diversity among the sets. Two distinct clusters were formed, the first one consisting of sets 1, 2, 3 and 5, while the second cluster had only 4th set. The diploid chromosome number was found to be 60, XX in both ET born and AI born cows. All autosomes were acrocentric, while the X-chromosome was longest submetacentric. The mean relative length of the autosomes varied from 1.95 to 4.97 and 1.95 to 4.99 per cent in ET and AI born cows respectively. The relative length of chromosome 20 of ET born cows was significantly longer (2.86%) than that of the AI born cows (2.77%). Except this, no other differences either in chromosome number or in chromosome morphology were detected between the ET born and AI born cows, suggesting that ET born cows were as good as the AI born cows with respect to their chromosome profiles. The present study indicated that the overall performance of the animals of Lam farm, with respect to the production, reproduction and life time traits, was the best, followed by Chadalawada, Mahanandi and Chintaladevi farms. The performance of the Ongole cattle during various periods did not exhibit any specific trend while the animals either born or calved during summer exhibited superior performance, when compared to those in rainy and winter seasons. The production and reproduction performance of the cows delivering female calves was better than those giving birth to male calves. The genetic variation among the set of bulls did not show a definite trend although the multivariate analysis revealed two clusters, one consisting of sets 1, 2, 3 and 5 and another set 4, with a considerable inter cluster distance.ThesisItem Open Access COGNITIVE AND NEURO-ENDOCRINE DISRUPTION OF LEAD AND MONOCROTOPHOS AND THEIR RELATION TO THYROTOXICITY IN PERINATALLY EXPOSED RATS(SRI VENKATESWARA VETERINARY UNIVERSITY , TIRUPATI – 517502. (A.P.) INDIA, 2010-06) KALA KUMAR, B. D. P; GOPALA REDDY, A (Major); RAVI KUMAR, P; KONDAL REDDY, K; ANAND KUMAR, AABSTRACT : Thyroid hormone is essential for neuronal and glial genesis and also the time specific migration of neurons. Any change in the sequential neurodevelopment of foetus or the neonate would be manifested as behavioural abnormality in the adult life. In utero exposure to xenobiotics would interfere with the availability of maternal thyroid hormone to the foetus. Pesticides and heavy metals form a major chunk of the environmental pollutants that affect the behaviour of animals and human beings. Monocrotophos a widely used pesticide and lead a ubiquitous heavy metal are known neurotoxicants. The role of these two substances in thyroid disruption and subsequent developmental neurotoxicity was studied. Thirty pregnant female rats were divided into five groups. Group I was Sham. Methimazole (II), monocrotophos (III), lead acetate (IV) were administered singly and in combination (V) to assess the interaction. AChE, thyroid profile (TSH, T3 and T4), maternal behaviour, litter size, neonatal mortality, neurodevelopmental (brain wet weights, DNA, RNA and protein), neurobehavioural (auditory startle response, rope descent, mid air righting reflex, elevated plus maze, photoactometry and morris water maze) and neurochemical (acetyl choline and glutamate content of the brain) parameters were studied. Histopathology of thyroid and brain were conducted. Inhibition of AChE was < 20% in III and V. Thyroid profile decreased in II and T4 increased in IV. Maternal behaviour was significantly (p<0.01) interfered in III and V. Neurodevelopmental and neurobehavioural parameters did not reveal significant changes. Glutamate content was highest in group V indicating excitotoxicity. Thyroid was affected significantly in II, III and IV but not in V. Cerebral cortical layers were affected in groups II through V. The three layers of cerebellum either had abnormal arrangement or decreased cellularity in all treated groups. Thus, it is concluded that monocrotophos and lead acetate could act as thyroid disruptors and might have interfered with neurodevelopment during the perinatal exposure. Group V also affected neurodevelopment but did not affect thyroid histology suggesting other mechanisms could have contributed to the neurotoxicity.ThesisItem Open Access CLINICO – DIAGNOSTIC AND THERAPEUTIC STUDIES ON OTITIS IN BUFFALOES(Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University, TIRUPATI – 517 502,A.P, 2010-11) LAKSHMI RANI, N; NALINI KUMARI, K (Maqjor); SYAAMA SUNDAR, N; SURESH KUMAR, R.V; SREENU, MAKKENA; ANAND KUMAR, PABSTRACT: On screening of 2807 buffaloes presented at the Teaching Veterinary Clinical Service Complex, NTR College of Veterinary Science, Gannavaram during the period between January 2009 to July 2010, the incidence of otitis accounted for 4.31 per cent. Of the affected animals 62.80% exhibited unilateral otitis and 37.19% showed bilateral otitis. The incidence of otitis at Agrigold dairy farm, Keesara and Buffalo Research station, Venkata Ramannagudem was recorded as 1.61% and 3.48% respectively. Highest number of cases of otitis were observed in buffaloes of above 3 years of age group (76.86%) and in the winter season (43.80%). The main clinical signs observed in animals with otitis included aural discharge, inspissated pus, excess cerumen, inflammatory changes of pinna, head shaking, otalgia, enlarged lymph nodes, drooping, nodules on the pinna, head tilt and facial paralysis. Few affected animals showed cough, nasal discharge, elevated body temperature, drop in milk yield, emaciation, anorexia and skin lesions. The percent incidence of otitis externa and media was 95.04% and 4.96% respectively. A total of 166 ears from 121 buffaloes were screened for the presence of parasites. The etiological agents identified were parasites (70.48%), bacteria (66.27%) and yeast (62.05%). Among the parasites Railletia auris and Stephanofilaria species were identified from 12.5% and 10.00% of healthy ears. In otitis, Stephanofilaria species, Onchocerca species, Rhabditis species and Railletia auris were obtained from 32.47%, 5.98%, 5.13% and 40.17% of ears respectively. Roll swab cytology revealed the presence of Malassezia in healthy and otitic ears as 47.50% and 50.60% respectively. But in diseased ears cytology revealed Malassezial overgrowth and neutrophilia. The predominant bacteria found in healthy ears were Staphylococcus species (76.20%). Cultural examination revealed isolation of 137 isolates from otitic ears of which Staphylococcus species, Pseudomonas species and Proteus species accounted for 33.57, 26.27 and 16.79 percent respectively. Other bacteria isolated were Escherichia coli (11.68%), Klebsiella species (5.84%), Micrococci species (3.65%) and Pasteurella species (2.19%). Malassezia was isolated from 47.50% of healthy ears and 59.04% of otitic ears. Whereas Candida and Aspergillus were obtained from 6.02% and 4.22% of otitic ears respectively. Otitic animals exhibited neutrophilia, eosinophilia and reduced hemoglobin levels when compared to healthy animals. The video-otoscopic findings of 28 animals included unilateral otitis (16 animals), bilateral otitis (12 animals), purulent secretions (34 ears), encrusted exudates (6 ears), ulcerations (21 ears), hyperplastic epithelium (8 ears), meatus stenosis (3 ears) mites (19 ears) and rupture of tympanic membrane in 2 ears. A molecular study of Malassezia isolated from 23 otitic ears and 5 healthy ears through PCR assay revealed M. sympodialis by yielding a product of approximately 580bp size specific for 26S r DNA gene sequence. Enrofloxacin was sensitive in 90.24% of otic samples while clotrimazole in 87.69% of samples. Therapeutic trials were undertaken based on etiology and the animals were divided into 6 groups. It was found that ivermectin (G I a) was 100% effective than closantel (G I b) in treating parasitic otitis. The percent recovery was more in G I a (100% G I a vs 44.44% G I b) with a comparatively less time taken for recovery (recovery rate of 37.5% on 7th day in G I a vs 0 % in G I b). Therapy with ivermectin and enrofloxacin along with or without meloxicam was effective in otitis with parasites and bacteria. However, comparatively better and quick recovery rate was noticed when meloxicam was included. In otitic buffaloes with parasites and yeast, ivermectin and clotrimazole (G III b) was more effective than ivermectin in combination with povidone iodine (G III a). The percent cure was more in G III b vs G III a (100% vs 81.81%) with a comparatively quick recovery (55.56%-7th day, 33.33%-14th day, 11.11%-21st day vs 36.36%-7th day, 27.28%-14th day, 18.18%-21st day). Higher recovery rate was achieved with ivermectin, enrofloxacin, meloxicam and clotrimazole (G IV b) (81.82%) in otitis due to parasite, bacteria and yeast than when povidone iodine (G IV a) was used in place of clotrimazole (66.67%). Bacterial otitis had 100% recovery upon therapy with enrofloxacin and meloxicam while the recovery rate was 83.33% and 66.67% when treated In otitis with bacteria and yeast involvement, both clotrimazole (84.62%) and povidone iodine (83.33%) were effective. It is concluded that parasitic otitis is more common especially with mite infestation. Malassezial overgrowth was also recorded in high percentage of otitic cases. Cytology was a simple, quick and informative diagnostic tool while video-otoscopy revealed more details of the ear. Malassezia sympodialis was detected by PCR studies. Ivermectin and enrofloxacin had superior efficacy in otitis due to parasites and bacteria. During Malassezial involvement though clotrimazole was relatively superior, povidone iodine also exhibited efficacy and was cheaper. Anti-inflammatory agent in the therapeutic regimens hastened the recovery rate.ThesisItem Open Access A STUDY ON ENDOSULFAN RESIDUES IN MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS OBTAINED FROM DIFFERENT PRODUCTION SYSTEMS(Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University, TIRUPATI – 517 502,A.P, 2010-07) SURESH BABU, DASINENI; SARJAN RAO, K (Major) MURTHY, P.R.S; SANKAR REDDY, I; SURESH, JABSTRACT : A study was carried out on Endosulfan pesticide residues in milk and milk products obtained from four different production systems existing in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. The study area was selected based on a Stratified Random Sampling Technique. The study group comprises 4 mandals x 5 villages x 5 farmers = 100 farmers sample size. Farmers selected were representing the production systems under study and the information was collected using pretested questionnaire by personal interview and observation. The information about cropping pattern, reasons for the usage pattern of Endosulfan, economic advantage, feeding pattern and animal husbandry status was derived by using the questionnaire and personal interview. 24 milk samples (4x6, RBD) and 40 (4x10, RBD) milk product samples of four varieties and another 36 (6x6, RBD) Endoslulfan fortified milk samples were analysed for the residues of Endosulfan by Gas Chromatography equipped with Electron Capture Detector system using multiresidue method. Apart from that 24 (4x6, RBD) milk samples were analysed for their chemical composition with Lactan-1-4 equipment. The milk samples were collected from small holders production system, organized dairy farms, cooperative societies and commercial dairy plants and collection system. The samples were collected at two months interval over a period of one year and analyzed for Endosulfan residues. 10 samples each of paneer, ghee, curd and doodh peda (4x10, RBD) were analysed for the residues of Endosulfan. 24 pooled milk samples (4x6, RBD) were collected and fortified with Endosulfan 35% EC at the rate of 0.04mg per kg level for heat treatments namely Thermization, Pasteurization, Boiling and Sterilization. Besides 6 positive control samples 6 negative control samples were also analysed for Endosulfan residues. The cattle population in the mandals studied ranged from 8652 to 15953 contributing 0.78 and 1.4 per cent of district population and buffalo population ranged from 419 to 10206 and the per cent contribution to the district was 0.31 and 7.5 respectively. The cattle and buffalo population in the Chittoor district was 1104349 and 134759 respectively. All the four production systems were functioning in the district .There were 54 bulk milk cooling units and 28 private dairy plants existing in the district. Among the food crops, paddy was cultivated to the highest extent. The total area under paddy cultivation in the study mandals ranged from 2.9 to 42.2 per cent while in the Chittoor district it was 5.0 to 35.3 per cent. Among fruits, vegetables and pulses, sugarcane and mango were cultivated to a considerable extent. The per cent area cultivation of sugarcane in the study mandals ranged from 4.2 to 19.7 and in the Chittoor district it was 9.8 to 20.6 per cent. The per cent area cultivation of mango in the mandals studied and in the Chittoor district ranged from 2.0 to 19.2 and 0.2 to 17. Among non-food crops, groundnut was predominating in the mandals studied and in the Chittoor district. The per cent area under groundnut cultivation in the mandals studied ranged from 38.1 to 66.1 and in Chittoor district it ranged from 19.6 to 48.0. Endosulfan was sprayed in all the food as well as non food crops to control pests and to increase crop yields. The economic advantage derived by using Endosulfan was ranging from 25 to 100 per cent. 76 to 88 per cent of the respondent farmers in the study were spraying Endosulfan at the rate of 300 ml or 140 gai per acre and most of the farmers were spraying two times (88-92 per cent). All the farmers in the study area were feeding crop residues, concentrates, green fodder and also allowing the animals for grazing. 60-72 per cent of the farmers were maintaining upto 3 dairy animals mostly crossbred cows and 68-80 per cent were possessing less than 2 hectares of land.72-80 per cent of the farmers were producing upto 30 litres of milk per day and 88-92 per cent were disposing milk to collection centres of cooperative societies and private dairy plants. The chemical constituents were significantly (P<0.01) different among different production systems. The mean fat per cent of milk from the four production systems ranged from 4.088±0.0457 (small holder production system) to 4.44±0.0642 (commercial dairy plants and collection system). The mean solids not fat (SNF) per cent of milk from the four production systems ranged from 7.62±0.159 (small holder production system) to 7.948±0.0392 (organized dairy farms).The mean protein per cent of the milk analysed from different production systems ranged from 2.88±0.0044 (small holders production system) to 2.98±0.0122 per cent (organized dairy farms).The density as indicated by mean lactometer reading of milk obtained from four production systems ranged from 25.38±0.0450 (commercial dairy plants and collection system) to 26.743±0.0071 (organized dairy farms).The mean freezing point in the present study ranged from -0.495 ± 0.94 (cooperative societies) to -0.529 ± 0.94 (small holder production system) The mean added water per cent in the present study ranged from 5.0±0.683 (organized dairy farms) to 9.0±0.258 (small holder production system) The results on the study of pesticide residues in milk and milk products showed that there was no contamination with Endosulfan. The level of Endosulfan was Below Detectable Limits (BDL) of less than 0.0003 ppm in comparison to MRLs for Endosulfan, it was 0.004 ppm on milk basis and 0.1ppm on 4% fat basis. The mean quantity recovery of Endosulfan from milk samples subjected for Thermization, Pasteurization, Boiling and Sterilization were 0.0043±0.00004, 0.0038±0.00004, 0.0025±0.00004 and 0.0023±0.00004 respectively. While the recovery from positive and negative controls were 0.0330±0.00007 and Nil, respectively and the percent recovery was 10.90±0.096, 9.62±0.096, 6.25±0.134 and 5.84±0.094, respectively where as in the positive control it was 82.5±1.82. No traces of Endosulfan were found in the negative control. Among the different methods of heat treatment, sterilization was the most effective followed by boiling and pasteurization. The least effective method was thermization. There was a significant (P<0.01) variation observed for the mean quantity recovery and per cent recovery of Endosulfan residues among different heat treatment methods under evaluation.ThesisItem Open Access A STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF ENZYMES AND HERBAL RESIDUES ON THE PERFORMANCE, NUTRIENT UTILIZATION AND CARCASS CHARACTERISTICS OF CROSS-BRED PIGS(Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University, TIRUPATI – 517 502,A.P, 2010) SURYANARAYANA, M.V.A.N; RAVI, A (Major); RAMANA, J.V; SUDHAKARA REDDY, P; ESWARA PRASAD, PABSTRACT: In a completely randomized design five dietary treatments were evaluated for their effect on performance during creep, grower and finisher phases of growth, nutrient utilization during grower and finisher phases, caracass characteristics, lipid profile in serum, fatty acid profile in pork and economics of production of crossbred (LWY x Desi) entire male pigs. The dietary treatments were standard (control, T1), economic (T2) with cocktail enzymes, T2 supplemented with herbal residues such as Turmeric (T3), Amla (T4) or Ginger (T5). Before proceeding with the animal experimentation, the effect of enzyme cocktail with low, medium or high activities for xylanase, _- glucanase, cellulase and phytase on in vitro organic matter digestibility and energy content of T1 and T2 was evaluated by in vitro studies to arrive at the best enzyme cocktail for inclusion in the diets of pigs during growth trial. The herbal residues were also evaluated in vitro at 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 % concentration for their inhibitory effect on gut pathogens on agargel plates and were included in pig diets at 2 % where maximum inhibitory effect was observed. Among the herbal residues, ginger contained higher CP, CF, hemicellulose, cellulose, total NSP, amla contained higher TA while turmeric contained higher EE, NDF and ADF. The herbal residues were in the order of ginger>turmeric>amla for their inhibitory effect on bacteria pathogens. The maximum in vitro organic matter digestibility (OMdv) and energy digestibility (Ed) for standard (T1) and economic (T2) for creep, grower and finisher diets was observed with enzyme cocktail containing high (3500, 2500, 1250 and 3000) than with medium (3000, 2000, 1000 and 2500) or low (2500, 1500,750 and 2000) activity (U /kg) of xylanase, _-glucanase, cellulase and phytase activities, respectively All the experimental diets were isonitrogenous, but T2 to T5 contained higher TA, CF, P, NDF, ADF, cellulose and lignin due to inclusion of sunflower cake and higher levels of DORB than T1 during the three phases of growth. There was a corresponding increase in the NSP components such as pentosans, pectins and total NSP along with a decrease in starch content in T2 to T5 than in T1. During grower phase, higher (P<0.01) DM digestibility in T1 and T4 and lower (P<0.05) OM digestibility in T2 than in other treatments were observed. The CP digestibility (%) was higher (P<0.01) in T1 (80.31) than in T2 (72.18) and T4 (67.54) fed pigs while it was comparable with T3 (76.73) and T5 (76.01). 20 The digestibility of CF, EE, NFE, cellulose, hemicellulose, NDF, ADF and calcium was comparable among treatments. The digestibility (%) of phosphorus was higher (P<0.01) in pigs fed T2 to T5 than in T1 and the values were 56.36, 64.59, 65.94, 68.89 and 66.74 for T1 to T5 respectively. The N retained (g/d) was comparable among treatments and the values were 29.93, 28.79, 28.80, 27.39 and 29.80 in T1 to T5 fed pigs, respectively. The N retained (% intake) was higher in T5 than in T4 while for other treatments, it was comparable with T4 or T5. The N retained (% absorbed) was comparable among treatments. The Ca retained (g/d) or as % on intake was higher in T2 than in other treatments and as % of absorbed it was comparable among treatments. A trend to a higher (P>0.05) P retention (% intake or % absorbed) was observed in T2 to T5 than in T1 fed pigs. The digestibility (%) of DM, OM, CF, EE, NFE, cellulose, hemicellulose, NDF, ADF, calcium and P was comparable among treatments during finisher phase. The CP digestibility in T1 (77.08) was higher (P<0.01) than in T2 (60.68), T4 (69.18) and was comparable with T3 (70.7) or T5 (70.73) fed pigs. The N retained (g/d) or as % of intake during finisher phase was higher in T1 than in T2 or T4 fed pigs while the calcium retained (g/d) or % of intake was higher in T5 than in T1 fed pigs. The P retained (g/d) was higher in pigs fed T2 to T5 than those fed T1 and when expressed as % of intake or % of absorbed it was comparable among treatments. The ADG (g) in pigs fed creep diets was lower (P<0.05) in T1 than in other diets and the values were 184, 223, 227, 233 and 246 for T1 to T5, respectively. The ADFI (kg) was in the range of 0.16 to 0.19 and the differences among treatments were not significant. The feed /kg gain in T1 (0.93) was higher (P<0.05) than in T2 (0.72), T3 (0.79), T4 (0.82) or T5 (0.69) fed pigs. During grower phase, the ADG (P<0.01), ADFI (kg) and the feed /kg gain (P>0.05) were 435, 403, 418, 378 and 419 ; 1.54, 1.57, 1.51, 1.49 and 1.52 and 3.54, 3.89, 3.61, 3.94 and 3.62 in pigs fed T1 to T5 respectively. During finisher phase the ADG (g), ADFI (kg) and the feed /kg gain (P<0.01) were 487, 336, 380, 346 and 409; 2.92, 2.38, 2.19, 2.27 and 2.31 and 5.99, 7.08, 5.76, 6.55 and 5.65 in pigs fed T1 to T5, respectively. The cost of feed /kg gain (Rs) was 13.6, 10.5, 11.5, 11.9 and 10.0 (creep phase); 50.3, 54.1, 50.3, 54.8 and 50.2 (grower phase) and 79.1, 89.2, 72.9, 82.9 and 71.5 (finisher phase) for diets T1 to T5, respectively and the differences among treatments were not significant. The carcass traits such as hot carcass weight, carcass length, loin eye area, average back fat thickness, primal cuts and dressing percentage were not significantly different among the treatments. Lower (P<0.01) serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and higher (P<0.01) HDL cholesterol (mg/dl) was observed in pigs fed T2 to T5 than those fed T1. The saturated fatty acids, C14, C16 and C18 content in pork of pigs fed T1 to T5 was not significantly different among treatments. The unsaturated fatty acid C16:1 in T3, C18:1 in T4 was higher (P<0.01) than in other treatments. The other unsaturated fatty acids, C18:2, C18:3 and C20:4 were comparable among treatments. The EPA was higher (P<0.05) in the pork of pigs fed T1 or T2 than other treatments while the DHA was comparable among treatments. Higher (P<0.05) LCFA and lower (P<0.05) MCFA was observed in pork of pigs fed T3 than in other treatments. It is concluded that the effect of enzymes and herbal residues in improving the growth performance of pigs was more pronounced during creep phase. During growing and finisher phases, enzymes along with herbal residues were more beneficial than enzymes alone. Among the herbal residues, the beneficial effect was in the order of ginger>turmeric> amla.ThesisItem Open Access SEROEPIDEMIOLOGY AND MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF LEPTOSPIROSIS IN ANDHRA PRADESH(Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University, TIRUPATI – 517 502,A.P, 2010-11) RANI PRAMEELA, D; SREENIVASULU, D (Major); UMAMAHESWARA RAO, S; ESWAR PRASAD, P; SRILATHA, ChABSTRACT: Leptospirosis the world wide zoonosis is considered as reemerging disease. Besides economic losses caused by leptospira to animal production, its zoonotic character makes it an important public health problem. Due to the endemicity of the disease in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka the adjoining states of Andhra Pradesh and absence of detailed information on leptospirosis in the state, the present work was planed to study seroepidemiology, isolation, characterization of leptospira and development of inactivated adjuvanted vaccine and to asses immune response in rabbits. The seroepidemiological study conducted using MAT on 2320 serum samples collected from apparently healthy cattle, sheep, goat, dogs and pigs revealed 20.9 percent positivity. Similarly 33.37 percent positivity was recorded from clinically suspected cases of cattle, sheep, pigs, dogs and humans. High seroprevalence in coastal region (23.09 percent) followed by Rayalaseema (17.49 percent) and Telangana (16.30 percent) was observed.. High seropositivity was recorded during north east monsoon (28.29 percent) followed by south west monsoon (21.45 percent) and lowest in summer (7.26 percent). Biochemical analysis of serum samples from cattle positive for MAT showed elevated levels of total bilirubin, SGPT and SGOT. Clinical samples collected from cattle (26) sheep (42) dogs (13), Pigs (15), Humans (53), and stagnated water in rice fields (10) were inoculated in EMJH Liquid medium with tween 80, antibiotics and 5- Flurouracil. A total of 17 isolates were recovered from sheep (5), rat (5), pigs (4), Humans (2) and rice field (1) were purified and maintained in EMJH liquid medium and semi solid medium. Physiochemical characterization of isolates at 130C, growth in the presence of 8-Azaguanine and lipase activity revealed the pathogencity of the isolates. PCR detected 12 isolates, of 17 isolates tested. RAPD DNA analysis was found to be simple and rapid test for identifying serovars of leptospira. The test identified the leptopsiral isolates as L. hardjo, L. autumnalis and L.pomona. 16S rRNA PCR sequence analysis of leptospiral isolates recovered from sheep were identified as Leptonema illini, L. hardjo and L.inadai, from rats were identified as Leptonema illini, L. noghuchi and from pigs identified as L. Pomona. A trivalent inactivated vaccine was prepared with three commonly circulating serovars namely L. grippotyposa, L. hardjo and L. autumnalis. The vaccine was adjuvanted with alumminium hydroxide (Vaccine-I) and Montanide (Vaccine-II) and the immune response in rabbits was studied. There is no significant difference between the vaccines. Both the adjuvanted vaccines yielded satisfactory immune response up to 150 days post vaccination.