Liver torsion and associated bacterial peritonitis in a dog.

A Malamute was examined for acute abdominal pain and collapse. Radiographs of the abdomen showed a pneumoabdomen, and a lucent mass in the region of the liver. Abdominocentesis yielded an inflammatory exudate with bacteria compatible with a Bacillus or a Clostridium sp. A quadrate lobe torsion was found at postmortem.     

Insecticidal activity of the pyrethrins and related compounds VIII. Relation of polarity with activity in pyrethroids

Comparing insecticidal activities of a wide range of pyrethroids with polarities measured by reversed phase, thin-layer chromatography suggests that there are optimum polarities for potency in both Musca domestica and Phaedon cochleariae, and that these optima have closely similar values. The significance of these conclusions is discussed.     

Ketamine immobilization of northern elephant seals.

Ketamine was used as an immobilizing agent to obtain biological specimens from northern elephant seals in their natural habitat. Effective immobilization was achieved with dosages of 1.4 to 6.9 mg/kg of body weight.     

A new extraction method for benomyl residues in soil and its application in movement and persistence studies

A simple and rapid method for extracting benomyl residues from soils was compared with previous methods. Soil was extracted by shaking for 2 h at room temperature with (1:1) acetone/M aqueous ammonium chloride followed by clean-up by solvent partition and ultraviolet absorption estimation of carbendazim. Recoveries were comparable to those obtained by refluxing with methanolic hydrochloric acid for 4 h, hitherto the most efficient method reported, and were much greater than those obtained by extraction with ethyl acetate or chloroform. The new method gave more tractable extracts than those obtained by refluxing with methanolic hydrochloric acid, which form troublesome metal hydroxide precipitates during clean-up. In field experiments with 2-[¹⁴C]-benomyl and 2-[¹⁴C]-carbendazim, no radioactivity was found more than 25 mm from the soil surface during 10 months after surface application of 1 kg/ha. Carbendazim residues in soils from three field experiments indicated that its persistence is very sensitive to soil pH. The time for 50% loss of initial dose ranged from 26 months at pH 5.5 to less than 3 months at pH 7.2. Biological effectiveness in a crop may therefore depend markedly on differences in soil pH.     

Urinary excretion of immunoreactive sporidesmin metabolites in sheep in relation to factors influencing susceptibility to sporidesmin intoxication

AIM: To study the urinary disposition of orally administered sporidesmins A and D in sheep and identify factors influencing their kinetics, particularly the influence of breeding for resistance and susceptibility to sporidesmin, the mycotoxin responsible for the hepatogenous photosensitisation, facial eczema. METHODS: A competitive ELISA was used to monitor urinary output of immunoreactive metabolites after the intraruminal administration, to female Romney sheep, of either sporidesmin A or sporidesmin D, the nontoxic analogue. Preliminary characterisation of metabolites was carried out using HPLC with fractions monitored by ELISA. RESULTS: Maximum urinary excretion rates of immunoreactive metabolites occurred 2-8 h after dosing with sporidesmin D and 15-30 h after dosing with sporidesmin A. Sporidesmin D caused no liver injury, as detected by changes in serum enzyme activity, while the liver injury caused by sporidesmin A was greatest for the sheep with the highest cumulative output of metabolite. When sporidesmin D was administered in two separate doses to sheep bred for either resistance or susceptibility to facial eczema, the variability of metabolic output between sheep within groups was much less after the second dose. The mean urinary metabolite excretion was greater for the susceptible than the resistant sheep but the difference was not significant. Potentiation (caused by pre-administration of small doses of sporidesmin A) resulted in a more severe reaction to the dosed sporidesmin A. Urinary output of metabolite was less in the potentiated than in the unpotentiated sheep. When resistant and susceptible sheep were dosed with sporidesmin A after potentiation there was no difference between them in their cumulative totals or excretion rates of immunoreactive metabolites. However, the volume of urine produced by the susceptible sheep was lower and less variable than the resistant sheep and consequently the concentration of their urinary metabolites was higher. Preliminary ELISA examination of HPLC-fractionated urine from a sheep dosed with sporidesmin A indicated the presence of several metabolites of sporidesmin. CONCLUSION: Sporidesmin A and metabolites are rapidly excreted in urine but not as rapidly as sporidesmin D and its metabolites. Only minor differences between sheep bred for resistance and susceptibility were seen. Potentiation caused a more severe reaction to sporidesmin A and less urinary excretion of the sporidesmin and its metabolites. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This work is part of a programme with the aim of identifying FE-resistant animals without the need for sporidesmin dosing.     

Effects of vaccination prior to transit and administration of florfenicol at time of arrival in a feedlot on the health of transported calves and detection of Mannheimia haemolytica in nasal secretions

OBJECTIVE: To determine effects of vaccination prior to transit and prophylactic administration of florfenicol at time of arrival at a feedyard on health of cattle and colonization of the nasopharynx by Mannheimia haemolytica (MH). ANIMALS: 121 steers from Tennessee and 84 steers from New Mexico. PROCEDURE: Half of the steers were vaccinated before transport to a feedyard. Steers from Tennessee were vaccinated with MH bacterin-toxoid, and steers from New Mexico were vaccinated intranasally with modified-live leukotoxin-deficient MH. Half of the vaccinates and nonvaccinates were randomly selected to receive florfenicol on arrival at the feedyard. Steers were observed daily for respiratory tract disease (RTD). RESULTS: Administration of florfenicol at time of arrival reduced the incidence of RTD, delayed the interval before onset of RTD, and reduced the incidence of MH colonization of the nasopharynx for at least 4 days, but vaccination did not have any effect. Vaccination elicited an increase in serum antibody titers to MH. Administration of florfenicol at time of arrival reduced the development of serum antibody titers in intranasally vaccinated steers and both groups of nonvaccinated steers, but intranasal vaccination did not affect colonization by wild-type MH. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Administration of florfenicol at time of arrival decreased the incidence of MH organisms in the nasopharynx and delayed the onset of RTD. Prophylactic use of suitable antibiotics is likely to reduce the incidence of acute RTD in calves for several days after arrival at feedyards, which is the period when they are most susceptible to infectious organisms.     

Ventricular phytobezoar impaction in three micronesian kingfishers (Halcyon cinnamomina cinnamomina).

Three juvenile male Micronesian kingfishers (Halcyon cinnamomina cinnamomina) housed in the same enclosure presented with rapid weight gain and coelomic distension. Physical examination and radiography revealed marked enlargement of the ventriculus and a single, large foreign body within the ventriculus in each individual. Surgical removal by ventriculotomy was attempted in one individual, which died during the procedure. A second individual was treated with natural peanut butter 0.5 ml p.o. b.i.d. for 14 days and recovered, casting the foreign material. The third bird was similarly treated without success and subsequently died during attempts at endoscopic removal of the foreign body. In all three birds, the foreign bodies proved to be phytobezoars. The birds had been observed stripping leaf fragments from live corn plants (Dracaena fragrans) used in the enclosure. Plant fibers from the phytobezoars were compared with D. fragrans leaves and were considered identical. Medical treatment of phytobezoars with peanut butter or similar oil-containing substances in birds should be considered as an alternative to surgical extraction.