The dietary toxicity of flocoumafen to hens: Elimination and accumulation following repeated oral administration

In a dietary toxicity study, laying hens received a diet containing the rodenticide flocoumafen at concentrations of 1.5, 5, 10 and 50 mg kg^?1 for five consecutive days. The LC₅₀ at termination following a 28-day observation period was 16.4 mg kg^?1. Livers of birds which received doses of flocoumafen between 5 and 50 mg kg^?1 had concentrations of flocoumafen (1.5 nmol g^?1) that were independent of dose. The data indicate the presence in hen liver of a saturable high-affinity flocoumafen binding site with similar characteristics and capacity to that of the quail and rat. Residues of flocoumafen in samples of breast and leg muscle were low in all exposure groups. Higher, dose-related residues were found in samples of abdominal fat and skin-associated fat and there was a clear demonstration of the transfer of dose-related residues into eggs. In a separate study in which hens were dosed with [¹⁴C]flocoumafen for five consecutive days at a daily rate of 1 and 4 mg kg^?1 body weight, the majority (68 %) of the daily radioactive dose was eliminated over the following 24 hours via excreta. Residues in liver at death or when killed accounted for < 1 % of the cumulative administered radioactivity. Residues in eggs were located primarily in the yolk with maximum concentrations 1.0 mg kg^?1 or 0.18% of the low dose; 2.1 mg kg^?1 or 0.06% of the high dose as [¹⁴C]flocoumafen equivalents were observed at 10 days after start of dosing. Some 40 % of the total activity in the yolk was unchanged flocoumafen.     

Comparison of fractional excretion and 24-hour urinary excretion of sodium and potassium in clinically normal cats and cats with induced chronic renal failure.

The influence of induced chronic renal failure on 24-hour urinary excretion and fractional excretion of sodium and potassium was studied in cats. Induction of chronic renal failure significantly increased fractional excretion of potassium (P less than 0.0001) and sodium (P less than 0.05); however, 24-hour urinary excretion of sodium and potassium decreased slightly following induction of chronic renal failure. Fractional excretion and 24-hour urinary excretion of sodium and potassium were compared by linear regression in clinically normal cats, cats with chronic renal failure, and clinically normal and affected cats combined. In clinically normal cats, linear regression revealed only moderate correlation between fractional excretion and 24-hour urinary excretion for sodium and potassium. Linear regression of these same relationships in cats with chronic renal failure, and in clinically normal cats and cats with chronic renal failure combined, indicated low correlation. Fractional excretions of sodium and potassium were not reliable indicators of 24-hour urinary excretion of these electrolytes in cats with chronic renal failure or unknown glomerular filtration rate. Fractional excretion of potassium and sodium correlated only moderately with 24-hour urinary excretion in clinically normal cats.     

Comparative approach to health maintenance: how will it work?

A prototype for the implementation of a comprehensive health maintenance program is described in which the expertise of veterinary medicine is brought to bear on preventive medicine and on special generic environmental disease factors as they impact on human health. For the sake of organization and the ease of presentation, certain specific activities have been divided into two overlapping categories: environmental health and health education. The implementation of a comprehensive health care delivery system will become a reality only when the full array of health resources is matched with health needs. It cannot be overemphasized that the delivery of health care services is not exclusively within the purview of any one profession; rather, interdependence and sharing of responsibilities and activities in a team approach are characteristics of the human health system.     

Impedance monitoring of equine intestinal motility

Myoelectrical and myomechanical activities of the distal portion of the jejunum and pelvic flexure were studied in 7 ponies, using permanently implanted monopolar and bipolar stainless steel electrodes. Dental acrylic embedded recording electrodes were surgically sutured to the serosal surface of the distal portion of the jejunum and pelvic flexure. Myoelectrically, regular spike bursts and irregular spike bursts were observed in the jejunum. Short spike bursts and long spike bursts were recorded and associated with spike potentials, using impedance recording techniques. Electrical and mechanical data could be monitored simultaneously from the same recording electrode, using separate channels on a physiograph. This method proved effective to monitor periodically myomechanical activity at the same time that myoelectrical activity was being evaluated. The recording system required fewer recording devices to be attached to the intestinal tract, was an inexpensive method of obtaining myomechanical recordings, and did not alter markedly the myoelectrical activity when mechanical activity was being monitored.