Comparison of serum fructosamine and blood glycosylated hemoglobin concentrations for assessment of glycemic control in cats with diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: To correlate serum fructosamine concentrations with established measures of glycemic control and to compare serum fructosamine and blood glycosylated hemoglobin (GHb) concentrations as a means for assessing glycemic control in diabetic cats. DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort study. ANIMALS: 26 healthy cats, 5 cats with stress-induced hyperglycemia, 15 untreated diabetic cats, and 36 treated diabetic cats. PROCEDURE: Control of glycemia was classified and monitored and serum fructosamine and blood GHb concentrations were measured for 12 poorly controlled diabetic cats before and after improving glycemic control, 8 well-controlled treated diabetic cats before and after glycemic control deteriorated, and 5 cats with diabetes mellitus before and after onset of stress-induced hyperglycemia. RESULTS: Mean serum fructosamine and blood GHb concentrations were significantly higher in untreated diabetic cats, compared with healthy cats, and in 24 poorly controlled diabetic cats, compared with 12 well-controlled diabetic cats. Mean serum fructosamine and blood GHb concentrations decreased significantly in 12 poorly controlled diabetic cats after improving glycemic control and increased significantly in 8 well-controlled diabetic cats after glycemic control deteriorated. A significant stress-induced increase in mean blood glucose concentration was evident 12 hours after insulin administration, but not in 5 docile diabetic cats that became fractious. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Serum fructosamine and blood GHb concentrations are clinically useful tools for monitoring control of glycemia in cats with diabetes mellitus.     

The Gastroduodenal Effects of Buffered Aspirin, Carprofen, and Etodolac in Healthy Dogs

Twenty-four healthy mixed-breed dogs were divided into 4 groups. Group 1 received a placebo p.o. q12h, group 2 received an average of 16.5 (15.1-17.8) mg/kg buffered aspirin p.o. q12h, group 3 received an average of 2.2 (2.0-2.4) mg/kg carprofen p.o. q12h, and group 4 received an average of 12.8 (11.7-13.8) mg/kg etodolac p.o. q24h (with a placebo in the PM). All treatments continued for 28 consecutive days. Gastroduodenal endoscopy was performed on days -9, 0, 5, 14, and 28. Multiple gastric biopsies were obtained endoscopically on day -9 to determine each dog's Helicobacter infection status. Four regions in the stomach and 1 region in the proximal duodenum were evaluated endoscopically, and each was assigned a score from 1 to 11. Scores for each region then were summed to give a total score for each endoscopic evaluation. Erosions and submucosal hemorrhages were seen in all dogs receiving aspirin. Only minor gastric lesions were observed in the carprofen, etodolac, and control groups. No adverse clinical signs were noted in any dog given any treatment. Median total score on days 0, 5, 14, and 28, respectively, were as follows: group 1: 5.0, 5.0, 5.0, 5.0; group 2: 5.0, 27.0, 26.0, 27.5; group 3: 5.0, 5.0, 6.0, 5.0, group 4: 5.0, 7.0, 5.0, 5.0. There was no significant difference among dogs receiving carprofen, etodolac, or placebo. The administration of carprofen, etodolac, or placebo to healthy dogs resulted in significantly less gastroduodenal lesion development than in dogs receiving buffered aspirin.     

In vitro and in silico analysis of two genes (A2-1 and G1-1) differentially regulated during dormancy and sprouting in potato tubers

Summary Two cDNAs, corresponding to genes differentially regulated during dormancy and sprouting in potato tubers, cultivar Désirée, were isolated: i) G1-1 corresponded to a gene that was turned off during dormancy and turned on during early phases of sprouting; ii) A2-1 corresponded to a gene activated during dormancy and strongly repressed during the transition from dormancy to sprouting. When induced, both genes were expressed at low level. Full-length cDNAs and genomic clones were isolated and characterized. G1-1 was a short gene, 452 bp long, containing an intronless open reading frame, coding for a putative protein of 64 aminoacids. Sequence analysis showed that G1-1 was homologous to an expressed sequence tag (EST) ofArabidopsis thaliana. A2-1 full-length cDNA was 1577 bp long and contained an open reading frame coding for a putative protein of 383 aminoacids, which contained a Walker box binding domain, common to a multifunctional family of intracellular ATPases.     

Silencing of G1-1 and A2-1 genes. Effects on general plant phenotype and on tuber dormancy inSolanum tuberosum L.

Summary We have evaluated the effect that the, silencing of two genes specifically expressed in conditions of dormancy (A2-1) and sprouting (G1-1) had on tuber dormancy. For this purpose potato plants (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Désirée) were transformed with the antisense of the genes G1-1 and A2-1 under the control of constitutive 35S CaMV promoter. A first generation of transgenic plants was propagated from axenic stem cuttings and a second generation by tuber planting. The plants obtined were analyzed for the length of dormancy, plant morphology and agronomic characteristics. Statistical analysis of dormancy in lines obtained from the original transformants for the antisense of G1-1 gene showed a significant increase in length as compared with different types of control plants, with few effects on plant vegetative habit and tuber production. In contrast, results obtained on A2-1 antisense transformed plants did not reveal any significant change on the length of dormancy. Here we report small-scale field trials performed with the aim to select and regenerate commercially exploitable potato plants with a stable transgene-dependent phenotype, affecting the length of dormancy.     

Organizational learning through participatory research: CIP and CARE in Peru

Participatory research (PR) has been analyzed and documented from different points of view, with emphasis on the benefits generated for farmers. The effect of PR on organizational learning has, however, received little attention. This paper analyzes the interaction between a research and a development institution, the International Potato Center (CIP) and CARE in Peru, respectively, and makes the case that PR can contribute to creating a collaborative learning environment among organizations. The paper describes the evolution of the inter-institutional collaborative environment between the two institutions for more than a decade, including an information-transfer period (1993–1996), an action-learning period (1997–2002), and a social-learning period (2003–2007). Several lessons learned from each period are described, as are changes in institutional contexts and stakeholders’ perceptions. The case shows that research and development-oriented organizations can interact fruitfully using PR as a mechanism to promote learning, flexibility in interactions, and innovation. Interactions foster the diffusion of information and the sharing of tacit knowledge within and between organizations, which in turn influences behavior. However, the paper also argues that long-term inter-organizational interactions are needed to facilitate learning, which can be used to influence the way organizations implement their interventions in a constantly changing environment.     

Composition and Reactivity of A‐ and B‐type Starch Granules of Normal,Partial Waxy,and Waxy Wheat

Wheat has great potential to make inroads into starch markets with the advent of partial waxy and waxy starches of diverse composition and properties. The majority of isolated starch utilized in food applications is chemically modified to improve starch properties according to the intended use. Therefore, it is critical to understand factors that affect wheat starch reactivity. This work investigated the relative reactivities of normal, partial waxy, and waxy wheat starches and their respective A‐ and B‐type starch granule fractions. Native starch isolated from four closely related soft wheat lines (normal, partial waxy, and full waxy) was modified through 1) substitution (propylene oxide analog) and 2) cross‐linking (phosphorus oxychloride) reactions to generate both types of modified starch products for each wheat line. Characterization of the unmodified starch fractions confirmed compositional differences among the cultivars and their respective granule types. In cross‐linking reactions, B‐type granules were slightly more reacted than A‐type granules for all cultivars, while the waxy starch generally exhibited higher reactivity compared with normal and partial waxy starches. For the substituted starches, no differences in reactivity were observed among the cultivars or between the two granule types.     

Integrating social network development into marine protected area management capacity building and institutionalization in the Philippines and Indonesia

1. comprehensive needs assessment;
2. strong collaborative partnerships for programme delivery;
3. clear learning objectives and intended long‐term results; and
4. strong and sustained political will at the local, national, and regional scales.
5. Each MPA site, region, and capacity‐building programme is unique in structure and content, yet what all programmes have in common is that they build on the principles of trust and community building to create a locally relevant format and framework for the network to flourish.

     

The status and development of insecticide resistance in Danish populations of the housefly Musca domestica L

Samples of housefly (Musca domestica) field populations were collected from Danish livestock farms in 1997. The tolerance of the first‐generation offspring was determined for a number of insecticides. Dose‐response values were obtained by topical application for the pyrethroids bioresmethrin and pyrethrum, both synergised with piperonyl butoxide, and the organophosphate dimethoate. The organophosphates azamethiphos and propetamphos and the carbamate methomyl were tested in discriminating dose feeding bioassays. Resistance was low to moderate in most of the populations for most of the compounds tested, but this study also revealed the existence of high resistance to pyrethroid, organophosphate and carbamate insecticides in some populations. The resistance factors at LD₅₀ for bioresmethrin/piperonyl butoxide ranged between 2 and 98, and for pyrethrum/piperonyl butoxide between 2 and 29. Our results indicate that pyrethroid resistance in Denmark is increasing, since four of the 21 farms showed more than 100‐fold resistance at LD₉₅, a level of resistance only observed once before. Resistance factors at LD₅₀ for dimethoate ranged from 9 to 100, and showed two distinct trends: populations with either decreasing or increasing resistance. Resistance to azamethiphos was found to be widespread and high. Although two strains with high methomyl and propetamphos resistance were observed, methomyl and propetamphos resistance is moderate and appears not to be increasing. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry     

An assessment of vulnerability in Alaska groundfish

Federal fishery management rules in the United States have recently changed, necessitating an examination of which fish stocks require annual catch limits and how appropriate stock complexes are formed. We used an analytical approach termed productivity-susceptibility analysis (PSA) to analyze the vulnerability of federally managed Alaska groundfish stocks to overfishing. The focus of the effort was non-target stocks that have limited data available for determining stock status and vulnerability. The PSA approach was originally created to assess risks to bycatch in Australian trawl fisheries and compares productivity attributes (e.g. life-history traits) to factors that determine a stock's susceptibility to fishing impacts, producing a combined score indicative of a stock's relative vulnerability to overfishing. We used a form of the PSA developed by a working group from the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service specifically for use in assessing vulnerability in federally managed fisheries. Alaska groundfish displayed a wide range of vulnerability scores, and this result was mainly due to variability in productivity scores. Susceptibility scores varied less than productivity scores and were centered on an intermediate value. The inclusion of target stocks in the PSA was valuable for assessing the relative vulnerability of the non-target stocks. Sensitivity analyses indicated that PSAs respond differently to changes in attribute scores depending on their initial conditions, and managers should be careful in interpreting changes in PSA results when stocks are re-evaluated.