Hemodynamics in the guinea pig after anesthetization with ketamine/xylazine

The resting hemodynamics were determined in 8 guinea pigs after they were anesthetized with ketamine/xylazine. Measurements were made of blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac output, arterial blood gases, and pH. These measurements were obtained initially at 4 to 5 hours after an injection (IM) of ketamine HCl (25 mg) and xylazine (0.15 mg) was given to anesthetize the animals for catheterization (period 1), again 5 days after the operation (period 2), and finally 4 to 5 hours after a 2nd injection of ketamine/xylazine (period 3). There were no differences in heart rates, respiratory rates, or cardiac outputs among the 3 study periods. However, arterial blood pressure was slightly, but significantly, lowered after, and presumably due to, instrumentation (62 +/- 4 mm of Hg, P less than 0.05) when compared with the 5-day postoperative period (67 +/- 7 mm of Hg) or after the readministration of anesthetics (66 +/- 7 mm of Hg). The partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the arterial blood was slightly lower (4 mm of Hg, P less than 0.05) in both acutely postanesthetic periods (period 1 and period 3) than in the same animals at postoperative day 5 (period 2). This study has demonstrated that resting hemodynamics measured shortly after this anesthesia with ketamine/xylazine are not largely different from those in chronically instrumented animals.     

Factors governing the toxicity of putative synaptic transmitters and their analogues when injected into the haemocoel of adult male Lucilia sericata

Acetylocholine, arecoline, 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl acetate, L-glutamic acid, L-4-methyl-eneglutamic acid, (±)-quisqualic acid, 4-aminobutyric acid, and dicrotophos were injected into the haemocoel of adult male Lucilia sericata. Large doses of the putative transmitters and their analogues were required for toxicity. The water soluble organo-phosphate dicrotophos was much more toxic than any of the other compounds. Electrophysiological experiments indicated that the putative transmitters were reaching their presumed site of action in the nervous system and that their toxicity could be correlated with the intensity and duration of their effect at this site. Biochemical measurements of the rate of loss of the putative transmitters from the haemolymph indicate that, in vivo, the test insect possesses efficient mechanisms for removing these compounds from the system being studied. It is concluded that the low toxicity of the putative transmitters, which are presumed to interact reversibly with post synaptic receptor sites, may be largely due to their rapid removal from the system, resulting in a rapid fall in concentration at the receptor site.     

Behavior of sick animals

The behavior of the sick animal is not necessarily a result of physical debilitation; it can be viewed as part of a highly organized adaptive strategy that is at times critical to survival if the animal were living in the wild state. Domestic ruminants appear to have retained this behavioral mode when they are sick. This article brings together several lines of current research about depression, appetite control, and the role of fever in facilitating an animal's ability to combat viral and bacterial infections.     

EFFECT OF DEPENDENCY VERSUS NONDEPENDENCY ON LUNG LESION VISUALIZATION

Paraffin blocks and mineral oil were used as a model to determine the effect of dependency versus nondependency on radiographic visualization of lung lesions in lateral thoracic radiographs. It was concluded that the increased opacity of the material surrounding the lesion, not contact between the heart and the lesion, was responsible for the inability to detect lung disease in the dependent lung. The results were tested in dogs with pneumonia in the right middle lung lobe. When the dog was in right lateral recumbency, the dependent right lung was increased in opacity and decreased in volume and the pulmonary lesion was difficult to detect. When the dog was in left lateral recumbency, the nondependent right lung was increased in volume and decreased in opacity and the pulmonary disease was clearly visible. A single recumbent lateral radiograph must not be used to assess a dog with suspected lung disease because lesions in the dependent lung lobes may not be detected.     

Probabilistic model for estimating field mortality of target and non-target bird populations when simultaneously exposed to avicide bait

A probabilistic model was developed to estimate target and non-target avian mortality associated with the application of the avicide CPTH (3-chloro-p-toluidine hydrochloride) to minimize sprouting rice damage in the southern USA. CPTH exposures for individual birds were predicted by random sampling from species-specific non-parametric distributions of bait seed consumption and CPTH residues detected on individual bait seeds. Mortality was predicted from the species-specific exposure versus mortality relationship. Individual variations in this response were captured in the model by Monte Carlo sampling from species-specific distributions of slopes and median toxicity values (LD50) for each bird. The model was used to simultaneously predict mortality (percentage of exposed population and number of birds killed/weight of consumed bait) for a target (blackbird) and non-target (mourning dove) species feeding on bait sites for up to five consecutive days.