We investigated the mechanism by which inosine, a metabolite of adenosine that accumulates to Ͼ 1 mM levels in ischemic tissues, triggers mast cell degranulation. Inosine was found to do the following: (

This experiment evaluated intra-testicular injection of a sclerosing drug, lactic acid, for castration of bulls. Its use was compared in 58 Brahman cross calves (50 to 128kg) with the general practice of open surgical castration. Chemical castration appeared to be more painful than surgical castration, though post-operative swelling and pain appeared similar for both methods. Chemical castration took 3 times longer than surgical castration (58 sec v 20 sec; P less than 0.01). Scrotal necrosis occurred in 25% of chemically-castrated calves and appeared due to drug leakage from the testes under the high pressure of injection. Healing time for chemical castrates was approximately twice that for surgical castrates. Five chemically-castrated calves (18%) retained one testis. Though all 5 were rendered sterile, each maintained androgenesis. This led to secondary male behaviour which caused management problems. Castration method did not influence post-operative growth. It is concluded that lactic acid administration is not a suitable alternative to the open surgical technique for castration of Brahman cross calves.

A total of 10,543 cattle from 1,386 farms throughout Queensland was examined at abattoirs and the presence of stephanofilarial lesions was related to property of origin, sex, breed, and age of the slaughtered cattle and season of slaughter. The mean prevalence was 38% and within the infected area this varied from less than 5% in south east Queensland to 95% on Cape York Peninsula. The prevalence of lesions was higher in bulls than in steers [corrected] and was least in cows [corrected]. Bos indicus animals had a lower prevalence than B. taurus. Prevalence increased with age. The distribution of the disease closely matched that of the buffalo fly, Haematobia irritans exigua.

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