Liver biopsy techniques for adult horses and neonatal foals to assess copper status

Objective To evaluate standing, percutaneous, ultrasound-guided, transthoracic liver biopsy in mares, and transabdominal, laparoscopically-guided, liver biopsy under general anaesthesia in foals, as techniques for obtaining tissue for assessment of copper status. The techniques were evaluated with respect to ease of use and effect on the animal.
Procedure Twenty of 24 Thoroughbred mares and 21 of their foals were biopsied. The animals were part of a larger study of the effect of copper supplementation on copper status and the prevalence of developmental orthopaedic disease. Livers were also collected from unrelated horses and sampled to investigate the variability in the distribution of copper in liver tissue.
Result The biopsy technique caused no lasting effect on the mares, but there was an increased risk of viscus penetration associated with taking multiple biopsy cores. The use of ultrasonography to scan the target area for the liver identified four cases that were not appropriate candidates for liver biopsy, because of large intestine being located in the biopsy area. In the foals there were no serious postoperative adverse effects, nor was there any evidence of problems caused by the procedure when the abdomen was examined post-mortem at 5 months of age. In livers collected to investigate the variability of copper concentration, copper appeared to be relatively evenly distributed through the liver.
Conclusion Standing, percutaneous, ultrasound-guided, transthoracic liver biopsy in mares, and transabdominal, laparoscopically-guided, liver biopsy under general anaesthesia in foals are convenient procedures for obtaining liver tissue for assessing copper status in horses. The use of ultrasound to identify liver tissue is recommended, especially in older mares.     

7500 years of prehistoric footwear from arnold research cave, missouri

Accelerator mass spectrometer dating of an assemblage of fibrous and leather footwear from Arnold Research Cave in central Missouri documents a long sequence of shoe construction by prehistoric Midwestern peoples, beginning perhaps as early as 8300 calendar years before the present (cal years B.P.). An earlier fibrous sandal form dates from 8325 to 7675 cal years B.P., and later fibrous or leather slip-ons span the period from 5575 to 1070 cal years B.P. The assemblage adds to a growing picture of the highly varied nature of prehistoric footwear production in the United States throughout the Holocene.     

Pharmacokinetics of Enrofloxacin and Its Metabolite Ciprofloxacin in Male and Female Turkeys following Intravenous and Oral Administration

The pharmacokinetics of enrofloxacin (EFL) was investigated in turkeys (6 male and 6 female; 7-month-old at the start of the experiment), after intravenous and oral administration at a dose of 10 mg/kg body weight. The serum concentrations of EFL and its active metabolite ciprofloxacin (CFL) were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. The serum concentrations vs time were analysed by a compartmental analysis. The mean values of EFL pharmacokinetic parameters showed differences only between values of V_d,ss (3.46±0.19 for the females and 4.53±0.11 L/kg for the males, p>0.05). The metabolite CFL was eliminated more slowly than its parent compound. There were no statistically significant differences between the values of the CFL pharmacokinetic parameters calculated for both sexes, excluding the higher values (p>0.05) of C_max in the females. The ratio AUC_CFL/AUC_EFL×100 was 4.4% in the male and 6.84% in the female birds. After oral administration of EFL the values of F(%) were 77.83 in the female and 79.61 in the male turkeys. Higher CFL serum concentrations were measured in females (p>0.05). The pharmacokinetics of enrofloxacin and its metabolite ciprofloxacin in turkeys can be characterized as similar to that in chickens and very similar between both sexes.     

Production of Transgenic Farm Animals by Viral Vector-Mediated Gene Transfer

Transgenic technology holds considerable promise to advance understanding in biomedical and agricultural systems with some believing that one day transgenic animals may directly contribute to farming and breeding practice. Nevertheless, applications in livestock have been restricted in part by the inefficiency of the technology. The recent development of lentivirus vectors for transgene delivery may overcome some of this limitation. This presentation describes these vectors, their advantages and limitations.     

Pharmacokinetics of enrofloxacin in turkeys

The pharmacokinetics of enrofloxacin (EFL) and its active metabolite ciprofloxacin (CIP) was investigated in 7-8 month old turkeys (6 birds per sex). EFL was administered intravenously (i.v.) and orally (p.o.) at a dose 10 mg kg(-1) body weight. Blood was taken prior to and at 0.17, 0.33, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 24 h following drug administration. The concentrations of EFL and CIP in blood serum were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Serum concentrations versus time were analysed by a noncompartmental analysis. The elimination half-live and the mean residence time of EFL after i.v. injection for the serum were after oral administration 6.64+/-0.90 h, 8.96+/-1.18 h and 6.92+/-0.97 h, 11.91+/-1.87 h, respectively. After single p.o. administration, EFL was absorbed slowly (MAT=2.76+/-0.48 h) with time to reach maximum serum concentrations of 6.33+/-2.54 h. Maximum serum concentrations was 1.23+/-0.30 microg mL(-1). Oral bioavailability for for EFL after oral administration was found to be 69.20+/-1.49%. The ratios C(max)/MIC and AUC(0 --> 24)/MIC were respectively from 161.23+/-5.9 h to 12.90+/-0.5 h for the pharmacodynamic predictor C(max)/MIC, and from 2153.44+/-66.6 h to 137.82+/-4.27 h for AUC(0 --> 24)/MIC, for the different clinically significant microorganisms, whose values for MIC varies from 0.008 microg L(-1) to 0.125 microg mL(-1).