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Background: An omphalocele is a rare congenital malformation characterized by the protrusion of the abdominal contents through the base of the umbilical cord. A defect in the midline of the abdomen results in the abdominal contents being covered by a membranous sac near the umbilical cord, which ultimately results in the failure of the abdominal organs to return to the abdominal cavity in the early gestational stages and the development of an omphalocele. This study aimed to address the diagnosis, medical-surgical management, and treatment for an omphalocele in a newborn calf.Case:A 2-day-old male Red Angus calf, weighing 35 kg, was referred to the HVU-UFSM. According to the owner, the animal was born via normal delivery, had ingested milk, was alert, and had an enlarged pendulous abdomen at the umbilicus. Physical examination did not show any changes in vital functions; however, intestinal stasis was observed. An in-depth examination revealed the presence of a round mass of tissue approximately 15 cm in diameter that was filling the remnant of the umbilical cord. This structure was covered by a thin, slightly dried membrane that isolated the contents from the external environment. On palpation, the mass was firm and non-reducible, and an omphalocele was suspected. Given the severity of the condition, the animal immediately underwent an emergency surgical procedure to correct the congenital defect. The surgery involved placing the intestinal loops that were present inside the sac in the abdominal cavity. At the end of the procedure, the animal was placed in a quadrupedal position to better assess omphalocele reduction. Postoperatively, the following medications were administered: a single dose of an analgesic along with a dipyrone and hyoscine-based antispasmodic (25 mg/kg, IM), an enrofloxacin-based antibiotic (2.5 mg/kg, IM) once a day for 7 days, and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, meloxicam (0.5 mg/kg, IM), for 3 days; in addition, the surgical wound was cleaned with a 2% povidone-iodine solution. The animal defecated shortly after the surgery. It received the first postoperative treatment and subsequently recommended therapy on the farm. Wound healing was observed after 10 days, and the stitches were removed by a local veterinarian.Discussion: Birth defects, which are not uncommon in the offspring of a herd, are anomalies in the structure and/or function of a certain system of the organism or part of it. An omphalocele is one of these anomalies and has been reported in foals, cats, dogs, pigs, buffalos, calves, goats, dolphins, and sheep. However, its cause is remains unknown. Although it is speculated that the condition is caused by a recessive genetic trait, it has not been confirmed as a hereditary anomaly. In humans, omphalocele is often associated with other anomalies and, in addition to the intestine, other organs of the abdomen may be involved, which significantly increases mortality. The animal in this study presented with intestinal stasis solely due to the entrapment of portions of the small intestine, and no other organic alteration was found to be associated with the omphalocele. Other abnormalities associated with this congenital defect have not been reported in literature either. The case described herein demonstrates how the clinical approach, early diagnosis, surgical intervention, and therapeutic management achieved the objective of correcting an omphalocele in a neonate calf. Keywords: congenital defect, omphalocele, malformation.Título: Onfalocele em bezerro neonatoDescritores: defeito congênito, onfalopatia, malformação.

Background: Swine enzootic pneumonia (SEP), caused by the bacterium Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, is one of the main respiratory diseases of pigs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the frequency of SEP in one farm with an independent production system, low level of technification and high losses in the meat packing plant, based on slaughterhouse, clinical and laboratory monitoring.Materials, Methods & Results: This study consisted of three monitoring steps, divided into three periods: P1, P2 and P3. In the first step of the study, slaughterhouse reports were analyzed and slaughtering was monitored at one meatpacking plant in Santa Maria, RS, Brazil. The second step of the study started by drawing up a profile of the farm that supplied the pigs to the aforementioned slaughterhouse, after which clinical monitoring was performed on three occasions. The third step of the study (laboratory monitoring) involved collecting lung fragments containing suspected SEP lesions from the meatpacking plant and subjecting them analysis. The average measured enzootic pneumonia (EP) in P3 was 38.54% (P < 0.05) higher than in P1 and 29.79 higher than in P2. The mean frequency of pulmonary emphysema (PE) in P3 was 59.13% (P < 0.05) higher than in P1 and 48.04% higher than in P2. The mean number of lung adhesions (LA) did not differ statistically (P > 0.05) between P1, P2 and P3. As for the mean frequency of pulmonary hepatization (PH), P3 was 48.80% higher (P < 0.05) than P1 and 41.78% higher than P2. With regard to the mean frequency of craniodorsal lung lesions (CLL), P3 was 48.26% higher (P < 0.05) than P1 and 40.77% higher than P2. The mean frequency of disseminated lesions (DL) and the pneumonia severity index (PSI) showed no statistical difference (P > 0.05) between the three evaluated periods. On the other hand, in the finishing period (FP), the frequency of coughing and sneezing was 37.56% (P < 0.05) higher in P1 than in P3. The frequency of coughing and sneezing evaluated in the nursery phase (CF) did not differ (P > 0.05) between periods. The samples sent to the laboratory MicroVet tested positive for M. hyopneumoniae, Influenza virus and Pasteurella multocida capsular type A. In the samples sent to the laboratory LABAC, the mean PCRmo (PCR for identification of mollicutes) did not differ (P > 0.05) in the analyzed periods, although the presence of DNA from bacteria of the class Mollicutes was confirmed in the fragments. In addition, the mean results of PCRmy (PCR for identification of M. hyopneumoniae) also did not differ (P > 0.05), although they revealed positivity for M. hyopneumoniae. Discussion: In relationship to the mean frequency of PE in each analyzed period, our study revealed an increase in the number of pulmonary lesions at slaughter during the periods under analysis. This finding is in agreement with those of other authors, who explain that pneumonias is one of the main health problems for swine producers. Some lesions are identified more frequently in routine inspections in meatpacking plants, including pulmonary emphysema, lung adhesions and pneumonia caused by M. hyopneumoniae. In our study, we found that the clinical signs of respiratory distress decline between the periods under evaluation, but during slaughter, the lesions suggestive of SEP continued to show an upward trend, mainly because they were chronic. Other authors state that several control measures should be adopted to ensure good zootechnical indices, including vaccination, strategic medication and the reduction of risk factors, thereby minimizing the level of M. hyopneumoniae infection in the herd.

Background : In swine production, good reproduction rates can be achieved through genetic selection and reproductive biotechnologies. One of these biotechnologies is artificial insemination, which contributes to disseminate genes and optimize breeding boars, thus improving the quality of insemination doses. This study focused on evaluating the intervals between semen collection from boars at the beginning of their reproductive maturity vis-a-vis the viability of insemination doses. Materials, Methods & Results : Twenty 9-month-old boars of the genetic lineage AGPIC 337 (Agroceres PIC) were used in this study. The experimental design used here was completely randomized, and the randomly selected males were divided into four treatment groups, which were named according to the interval between semen sample collections: T1: 2 days; T2: 3 days; T3: 4 days and T4: 7 days. Each treatment comprised 5 animals, and at the end of the 90 days of this study, a total of 150 ejaculates were obtained in T1, 110 in T2, 90 in T3 and 60 in T4. The values of total motility, volume and sperm concentration of the ejaculates were evaluated, as was oxidative stress by means of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), the latter after 0, 72, 120 and 168 h of the study. Membrane integrity was evaluated at 0, 72, 120 and 168 h using the eosin-nigrosin staining procedure. Sperm heat resistance was tested after 120 h, and sperm morphology after 72, 120 and 168 h. Sperm concentrations differed, with T3 showing 27.04% and 29.65% higher concentrations ( P < 0.05) than groups T2 and T1, respectively. Total motility in group T4 was 0.56%, 1.98% and 3.28% higher ( P < 0.05) than in T3, T2 and T1, respectively, indicating that the 7-day interval produced the best result. The heat resistance test showed the expected results, i.e., T2 and T4 did not differ in terms of total motility, but that of T4 was 4.96% higher ( P < 0.05) than T3 and 7.71% higher than T1. As for plasma membrane integrity, T4 had 6.45%, 8.09% and 12.72% more cells with intact membranes ( P < 0.05) than T3, T2 and T1, respectively. With regard to TBARS, group T1 showed higher concentrations ( P < 0.05) than T2 (6.18%), T3 (11.13%) and T4 (9.12%), i.e., the sperm cells in the animals of T1 showed greater changes. As for sperm morphology, the number of intact cells in T4 was 6.08%, 7.53% and 12.44% higher ( P < 0.05) than in T3, T2 and T1, respectively. Discussion : With respect to total motility, other authors have reported similar results, i.e., the motility of sperm was highest when collected at 7-day intervals and lower when collected at shorter intervals. Despite the statistical differences between treatments, these results were found to be similar to those recommended in the literature for use in the preparation of insemination doses. Thus, we suggest that all the intervals between collections can be used in the routine of semen production centers, since the minimum requirement for an ejaculate to be accepted in an artificial insemination program is to have a total motility of no less than 70 percent. At the beginning of their reproductive maturity, boars may be subjected to intervals between collections of at least 2 days, without impairing the total motility of insemination doses. However, the best results are obtained when semen is collected at 7-day intervals, which ensures higher total motility, morphologically healthy cells with intact membranes, and less oxidative damage caused by lipid peroxidation.