Influence of three anesthetic protocols on glomerular filtration rate in dogs

OBJECTIVE: To investigate renal function in clinically normal dogs when awake and during anesthesia with medetomidine; xylazine, ketamine, and halothane (XKH) combination; or propofol. ANIMALS: 10 adult female Beagles. PROCEDURES: At intervals of 15 days, dogs were administered medetomidine (0.05 mg/kg, IV); XKH combination (xylazine [1 mg/kg, IV], ketamine [5 mg/kg, IV], and halothane [1% end-tidal concentration]); or propofol (6 mg/kg, IV) to induce anesthesia or no treatment. Glomerular filtration rate was assessed on the basis of renal uptake (RU; determined via renal scintigraphy) and plasma clearance (CL) of technetium 99m-labeled diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid ((99m)Tc-DTPA). RESULTS: In awake dogs, mean +/- SEM RU was 9.7 +/- 0.4% and CL was 3.86 +/- 0.23 mL/min/ kg. Renal uptake and CL of (99m)Tc-DTPA were not significantly modified by administration of XKH (RU, 11.4 +/- 0.9%; CL, 4.6 +/- 0.32 mL/min/kg) or propofol (RU, 9.7 +/- 0.3%; CL, 3.78 +/- 0.37 mL/min/kg). Half-life elimination time of plasma (99m)Tc-DTPA decreased significantly in XKH-anesthetized dogs, compared with the value in awake dogs (14.4 minutes and 28.9 minutes, respectively). However, glomerular filtration rate was significantly decreased by administration of medetomidine (RU, 3.9 +/- 0.1%), and the time to maximum kidney activity was significantly increased (867 +/- 56 seconds vs 181 +/- 11 seconds without anesthesia). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results indicated that anesthesia with propofol or an XKH combination did not alter renal function in healthy Beagles, but anesthesia with medetomidine decreased early RU of (99m)Tc-DTPA.     

Field effectiveness and biodegradation of cyclic imides in lettuce field soils

When 42 field trials, carried out from 1975 to 1989 in the Perpignan region (France) for control of lettuce drop caused by Sclerotinia minor, were compared, a decrease in the field effectiveness of cyclic imides was perceptible, beginning approximately in 1985. Moreover, in 15 out of 46 commercial lettuce fields surveyed in 1988 and 1989, the effectiveness of iprodione was less than 80%, the level of acceptability for the growers. In these fields, fungicide degradation, estimated by 3,5-dichloroaniline formation, was faster than in soils in which S. minor was adequately controlled. Statistical analyses showed that the iprodione degradation index was strongly linked to the history of fungicide treatment and was weakly correlated to soil pH or clay content. All the fields characterized by low iprodione effectiveness were associated with high levels of fungicide treatment and high degradation index. Moreover, we observed that soil from a field which had received iprodione for more than ten years did not degrade vinclozolin quickly, while soil from another part of the same field which had been treated with vinclozolin for eight years degraded vinclozolin faster than iprodione.     

Ocular fundus images with confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy in the dog, monkey and minipig

Confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (CSLO) is a new technique that enables ocular fundus image recording and retinal dynamic angiography to be performed. The ocular fundus image is acquired sequentially, point by point, and is reconstructed on a video monitor at the rate of 25 images per second. The feasibility of performing both ocular fundus image recordings and retinal angiography image recordings were tested on two dogs, two monkeys and two minipigs using a 40° field I + Tech CSLO. Fundus area of each dog, monkey and minipig were examined without any additional optical devices. The ocular fundus and angiography images were recorded, stabilized and analyzed under the same conditions. For each species, all images were easily recorded without any additional optical device in a lighted room and the morphology of the retinal images generated was similar to those obtained with a camera or angiography of higher resolution. Capillary phase or venous times are presented. Image recording at 25 frames/second enabled more retinal dynamics to be demonstrated than with use of regular angiography. This technique is noninvasive and easy to perform if the eye is fixed and eyelids maintained open. It also allows exploration of retinal microvascularization and could be utilized for clinical, pharmacologic and toxicologic investigations as well.     

Morbidity and mortality of bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) admitted to the Wildlife Center of Virginia, 1993-2003.

Medical records from 111 threatened bald eagles (86%, Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and peregrine falcons (14%, Falco peregrinus) admitted to the Wildlife Center of Virginia from 1993 to 2003 were reviewed to identify submitters, causes of morbidity and mortality, and final disposition. Half of all patients admitted were submitted by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries personnel. Trauma was the most common reason for presentation in bald eagles (70%) and peregrine falcons (81%). Additional causes of morbidity and mortality in bald eagles included toxicoses (10%), infectious diseases (8%), and orphaned young (1%). Neoplasia was confirmed in two trauma cases, suggesting underlying disease might have increased susceptibility to acute traumatic injuries. Peregrine falcons were also admitted for infectious disease (19%). The most frequent infectious disease for both species was West Nile virus. Thirty-nine percent of patients were released back into the wild, 28% were euthanized, 20% died, and 13% were placed in captivity. Postrelease monitoring that would determine whether rehabilitated animals survived to contribute to threatened populations was not performed in this study.     

The pole-cutting practice in the Bamileke country (Western Cameroon)

In the Bamileke country (West Cameroon), farmers use pole-cutting practice for plantation tree and hedge management. Depending on the species, this practice follows certain rules for gathering, conditioning and planting of pole-cuttings. The main function of the living fences determines the length of the cuttings, the space between them, the hedge structure and its latticing with raffia bamboo. Pole-cutting practice enables farmers to set up pigs, goats and sheep enclosures in the crop fields, as well as to demarcate the family lots. Trees stemming from pole-cutting are pollarded to supply the family group with the majority of their wood product requirements. Pole-cutting practice fulfills the needs of several farmers such as rapid delimitation of land, animal enclosures, firewood, construction wood, timber and cutting production. However, this practice needs a fine hedge management. With decreasing sheep and goat herds and the frequent absence of the farmer, techniques of hedge management are changing.

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Résumé En pays Bamiléké, sur les hauts plateaux de l'ouest du Cameroun, les paysans utilisent la technique des macro-boutures pour la gestion de leur parc arboré. L'utilisation du macrobouturage suit un certain nombre de règles pour la récolte des boutures, leur conditionnement et leur plantation, qui dépendent de l'espèce bouturée. La fonction principale de la haie détermine la longueur et l'espacement des boutures, leur organisation et leur palissage avec du bambou raphia. Cette technique contribue à la construction de haies séparant l'espace cultivé des parcs à bétail d'une part, et marquant les limites de leur concession d'autre part. Elle répond utilement à un certain nombre de besoins: marquage rapide de limites foncières; séparation élevage/agriculture; fourniture de la majeures parties des besoins de la famille en produits forestiers par une taille en tétard. Mais elle réquière une gestion fine des haies. Avec la diminution des troupeaux et l'abscence fréquente du chef de famille, les techniques de gestion du parc arboré évoluent.

     

Interactions between a non glycosylated human proline-rich protein and flavan-3-ols are affected by protein concentration and polyphenol/protein ratio

Interactions between salivary proline-rich proteins and tannins are involved in astringency, which is one of the most important organoleptic sensations perceived when drinking wine or tea. This work aimed to study interactions between a recombinant human salivary proline-rich protein, IB-5, and a flavan-3-ol monomer, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). IB-5 presented the characteristics of natively unfolded proteins. Interactions were studied by dynamic light scattering, isothermal titration microcalorimetry, and circular dichroism. The interaction mechanism was dependent on protein concentration. At low concentrations, a three-stage mechanism was evidenced. Saturation of the interaction sites (first stage) was followed by protein aggregation into metastable colloids at higher EGCG/protein ratios (second stage). Further increasing this ratio led to haze formation (third stage). At low ratios, a disorder-to-order transition of IB-5 structure upon binding was evidenced. At high protein concentrations, direct bridging between proteins and EGCG was observed, resulting in significantly lower aggregation and turbidity thresholds.     

Early results from the infrared astronomical satellite

For 10 months the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) provided astronomers with what might be termed their first view of the infrared sky on a clear, dark night. Without IRAS, atmospheric absorption and the thermal emission from both the atmosphere and Earthbound telescopes make the task of the infrared astronomer comparable to what an optical astronomer would face if required to work only on cloudy afternoons. IRAS observations are serving astronomers in the same manner as the photographic plates of the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey; just as the optical survey has been used by all astronomers for over three decades, as a source of quantitative information about the sky and as a "roadmap" for future observations, the results of IRAS will be studied for years to come. IRAS has demonstrated the power of infrared astronomy from space. Already, from a brief look at a miniscule fraction of the data available, we have learned much about the solar system, about nearby stars, about the Galaxy as a whole and about distant extragalactic systems. Comets are much dustier than previously thought. Solid particles, presumably the remnants of the star-formation process, orbit around Vega and other stars and may provide the raw material for planetary systems. Emission from cool interstellar material has been traced throughout the Galaxy all the way to the galactic poles. Both the clumpiness and breadth of the distribution of this material were previously unsuspected. The far-infrared sky away from the galactic plane has been found to be dominated by spiral galaxies, some of which emit more than 50 percent and as much as 98 percent of their energy in the infrared-an exciting and surprising revelation. The IRAS mission is clearly the pathfinder for future missions that, to a large extent, will be devoted to the discoveries revealed by IRAS.     

Temperatures, winds, and composition in the saturnian system

Stratospheric temperatures on Saturn imply a strong decay of the equatorial winds with altitude. If the decrease in winds reported from recent Hubble Space Telescope images is not a temporal change, then the features tracked must have been at least 130 kilometers higher than in earlier studies. Saturn's south polar stratosphere is warmer than predicted from simple radiative models. The C/H ratio on Saturn is seven times solar, twice Jupiter's. Saturn's ring temperatures have radial variations down to the smallest scale resolved (100 kilometers). Diurnal surface temperature variations on Phoebe suggest a more porous regolith than on the jovian satellites.