The intensity of resistance by mature Merino ewes against Haemonchus contortus and Tichostrongylus colubriformis in single-species and combined-species infection

Three-year-old, non-lactating and non-pregnant Merino ewes, raised on pasture under a program of strategic treatment with anthelmintic and found to be extremely resistant to "trickle" infection with Haemonchus contortus, were given single-dose infections with either H. contortus or Trichostrongylus colubriformis or both species together. The purpose was to ascertain the intensity of protective immunity against the 2 parasites in sheep with immunity acquired from a presumably slight exposure to infection. To provide a criterion, some infected ewes were immunosuppressed with corticosteroid, dexamethasone. Untreated ewes were extremely resistant to challenge infection with either 15,000 or 150,000 H. contortus or 15,000 T. colubriformis. Surprisingly, when mixed infection was given, egg counts for H. contortus were significantly elevated compared with infection by that species alone. Antibody to antigens from infective larval and adult H. contortus was measured in serum by enzyme-linked-immunosorbent assay (ELISA) during the course of infection. Serum titres against larval antigens were significantly depressed when infections with either H. contortus or T. colubriformis were permitted by immunosuppression with dexamethasone, whereas those against adult antigen were depressed when infection with T. colubriformis was permitted.     

Ergovaline does not alter the severity of ryegrass staggers induced by lolitrem B

AIM: To investigate a possible interaction between lolitrem B and ergovaline by comparing the incidence and severity of ryegrass staggers in sheep grazing ryegrass (Lolium perenne) containing lolitrem B or ryegrass containing both lolitrem B and ergovaline.

METHODS: Ninety lambs, aged approximately 6 months, were grazed on plots of perennial ryegrass infected with either AR98 endophyte (containing lolitrem B), standard endophyte (containing lolitrem B and ergovaline) or no endophyte, for up to 42 days from 2 February 2010. Ten lambs were grazed on three replicate plots per cultivar. Herbage samples were collected for alkaloid analysis and lambs were scored for ryegrass staggers (scores from 0–5) weekly during the study. Any animal which was scored ≥4 was removed from the study.

RESULTS: Concentrations of lolitrem B did not differ between AR98 and standard endophyte-infected pastures during the study period (p=0.26), and ergovaline was present only in standard endophyte pastures. Ryegrass staggers was observed in sheep grazing both the AR98 and standard endophyte plots, with median scores increasing in the third week of the study. Prior to the end of the 42-day grazing period, 22 and 17 animals were removed from the standard endophyte and AR98 plots, respectively, because their staggers scores were ≥4. The cumulative probability of lambs having scores ≥4 did not differ between animals grazing the two pasture types (p=0.41).

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: There was no evidence for ergovaline increasing the severity of ryegrass staggers induced by lolitrem B. In situations where the severity of ryegrass staggers appears to be greater than that predicted on the basis of concentrations of lolitrem B, the presence of other tremorgenic alkaloids should be investigated.     

Temperate zone coastal seascapes: seascape patterning and adjacent seagrass habitat shape the distribution of rocky reef fish assemblages

Landscape Ecology - Whilst the composition and arrangement of habitats within landscape mosaics are known to be important determinants of biodiversity patterns, the influence of seascape patterning...     

Isolating the effect of soil properties on agricultural soil greenhouse gas emissions under controlled conditions

Agricultural soils are important sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Soil properties and environmental factors have complex interactions which influence the dynamics of these GHG fluxes. Four arable and five grassland soils which represent the range of soil textures and climatic conditions of the main agricultural areas in the UK were incubated at two different moisture contents (50 or 80% water holding capacity) and with or without inorganic fertiliser application (70 kg N ha⁻¹ ammonium nitrate) over 22 days. Emissions of N₂O, CO₂ and CH₄ were measured twice per week by headspace gas sampling, and cumulative fluxes were calculated. Multiple regression modelling was carried out to determine which factors (soil mineral N, organic carbon and total nitrogen contents, C:N ratios, clay contents and pH) that best explained the variation in GHG fluxes. Clay, mineral N and soil C contents were found to be the most important explanatory variables controlling GHG fluxes in this study. However, none of the measured variables explained a significant amount of variation in CO₂ fluxes from the arable soils. The results were generally consistent with previously published work. However, N₂O emissions from the two Scottish soils were substantially more sensitive to inorganic N fertiliser application at 80% water holding capacity than the other soils, with the N₂O emissions being up to 107 times higher than the other studied soils.     

Response to immunotherapy in six related horses with urticaria secondary to atopy

Urticaria secondary to atopy may be a familial problem in some horses. Immunotherapy using a vaccine containing antigens selected on the basis of history and results of intradermal testing can be an effective method of managing atopy in horses; a response to therapy may be seen within 2 months.     

Effects of growth-regulating chemicals on two cultivars of Mid-Century Hybrid lily

The effects on growth and flowering of Mid-Century Hybrid lilies ‘Enchantment’ and ‘Joan Evans’ of soil drench applications of ancymidol at 0, 5, 10 and 15 ppm have been compared with those produced by drenches of chlormequat chloride, chlorphonium chloride and ethephon at 25 000, 1000 and 1000 ppm, respectively.Ancymidol inhibited stem growth more effectively than a 5000-fold greater quantity of chlormequat chloride. Chlorphonium chloride had little dwarfing effect, and ethephon, although producing height reductions similar to those obtained with 5 ppm ancymidol, delayed flowering slightly in both cultivars (significantly in ‘Enchantment’), and adversely affected overall plant appearance.Ancymidol reduced the lateral spread of foliage, increased the proportion of the total stem length bearing dead leaves, did not significantly delay flowering in either cultivar and appeared to favour the initiation and survival of secondary flowers in ‘Enchantment’.     

云南省曲靖市1995－2005年兽药质量抽检情况分析

以曲靖市兽药监察所最近十年的兽药质量监督抽检报告为基础材料进行统计分析，反映兽药质量监督抽检工作情况及兽药质量状况。     

人员在岗培训在实施兽药GMP现场管理中的作用

论述了对兽药生产企业进行人员在岗培训的必要性,对实施在岗培训的基本程序和应注意的事项进行了总结,旨在为兽药企业进行GMP现场管理提供参考。     

Lidocaine in the horse: its pharmacological effects and their relationship to analytical findings

Lidocaine is a local anaesthetic agent that is widely used in equine medicine. It is also an Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) Class 2 foreign substance that may cause regulators to impose substantial penalties if residues are identified in post race urine samples. Therefore, an analytical/pharmacological database was developed for this drug. Using our abaxial sesamoid local anaesthetic model, the highest no-effect dose (HNED) for the local anaesthetic effect of lidocaine was determined to be 4 mg. Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) screening, administration of the HNED of lidocaine to eight horses yielded peak serum and urine concentrations of apparent lidocaine of 0.84 ng/mL at 30 min and 72.8 ng/mL at 60 min after injection, respectively. These concentrations of apparent lidocaine are readily detectable by routine ELISA screening tests (LIDOCAINE ELISA, Neogen, Lexington, KY). ELISA screening does not specifically identify lidocaine or its metabolites, which include 3-hydroxylidocaine, dimethylaniline, 4-hydroxydimethylaniline, monoethylglycinexylidine, 3-hydroxymonoethylglycinexylidine, and glycinexylidine. As 3-hydroxylidocaine is the major metabolite recovered from equine urine, it was synthesized, purified and characterized, and a quantitative mass spectrometric method was developed for 3-hydroxylidocaine as recovered from horse urine. Following subcutaneous (s.c.) injection of the HNED of lidocaine, the concentration of 3-hydroxylidocaine recovered from urine reached a peak of about 315 ng/mL at 1 h after administration. The mean pH of the 1 h post dosing urine samples was 7.7, and there was no apparent effect of pH on the amount of 3-hydroxylidocaine recovered. Within the context of these experiments, the data suggests that recovery of less than 315 ng/mL of 3-hydroxylidocaine from a post race urine sample is unlikely to be associated with a recent local anaesthetic effect of lidocaine. Therefore these data may be of assistance to industry professionals in evaluating the significance of small concentrations of lidocaine or its metabolites in postrace urine samples. It should be noted that the quantitative data are based on analytical methods developed specifically for this study, and that methods used by other laboratories may yield different recoveries of urine 3-hydroxylidocaine.