Postanesthetic Pulmonary Edema In an Arab Stallion

A six-year-old arabian stallion was admitted to The Ohio State University Veterinary Hospital for evaluation and repair of a comminuted fracture of the second phalanx. The horse developed impaired arterial oxygenation during surgey and pulmonary edema post-operatively. We postulate that impaired arterial oxygenation resulted from atelectasis of the dependent lung during annesthesia, and the pulmonary edema occurred following re-expansion of the atelectatic of the initiating cause of the edema, removal of excess lung water from the alveoli, and restoration of normal arterial oxygenation. The horse was fully recovered within 12 hours of initiation of clinical signs of respiratory compromise. The horse was fully recovered within 12 hours of initiation of clinical signs of respiratory compromise. This report describes re-expansion pulmonary edema due to reperfusion injury in a horse, treatment of the condition, and a possible explanation of the pathogenesis of this pulmonary pathology.     

Evaluation of the RZWQM-CERES-Maize hybrid model for maize production

The root zone water quality model (RZWQM) was developed primarily for water quality research with a generic plant growth module primarily serving as a sink for plant nitrogen and water uptake. In this study, we coupled the CERES-Maize Version 3.5 crop growth model with RZWQM to provide RZWQM users with the option for selecting a more comprehensive plant growth model. In the hybrid model, RZWQM supplied CERES with daily soil water and nitrogen contents, soil temperature, and potential evapotranspiration, in addition to daily weather data. CERES-Maize supplied RZWQM with daily water and nitrogen uptake, and other plant growth variables (e.g., root distribution and leaf area index). The RZWQM-CERES hybrid model was evaluated with two well-documented experimental datasets distributed with DSSAT (Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer) Version 3.5, which had various nitrogen and irrigation treatments. Simulation results were compared to the original DSSAT-CERES-Maize model. Both models used the same plant cultivar coefficients and the same soil parameters as distributed with DSSAT Version 3.5. The hybrid model provided similar maize prediction in terms of yield, biomass and leaf area index, as the DSSAT-CERES model when the same soil and crop parameters were used. No overall differences were found between the two models based on the paired t test, suggesting successful coupling of the two models. The hybrid model offers RZWQM users access to a rigorous new plant growth model and provides CERES-Maize users with a tool to address soil and water quality issues under different cropping systems.     

Drug residues in food animals. III. Plasma and tissue kinetics of potassium penicillin G in young cross-bred swine

Twenty-two young cross-bred swine were treated either intravenously or orally with potassium penicillin G. The pharmacokinetics of penicillin G were determined in plasma and tissues. The plasma half-life of penicillin G in swine was found to be 19.45±1.69 min, and the distribution and elimination kinetics were found to fit a classical two-compartment model. The volume of distribution was found to be 0.53±0.12 1/kg, and the body clearance was found to be 19.06±5.06 ml/min/kg which exceeded the effective renal plasma flow of 16.50±2.73 ml/min/kg, suggesting that the drug was eliminated both by tubular excretion and glomerular filtration. The elimination rate constants (Beta) for the major organs were as follows: muscle, 0.00343 min^-1; lung, 0.0310 min^-1; fat, 0.0394 min^-1; and kidney, 0.0213 min^-1, which compared favorably with the elimination rate constant found in plasma (0.0320 min^-1). These values were found to be significantly similar at the level of P < 0.005 in muscle, spleen and fat, and at a level of P < 0.025 in lung tissue. The data indicates that blood plasma would be a satisfactory body fluid for estimating this drug in tissue.     

The Value of a Net‐Cage as a Fish Aggregating Device in Southern California

There is an urgent need for primary data that can be used to quantify the value of marine aquaculture facilities that also describe influences on the surrounding natural ecosystem and its wild fish communities. Divers completed 360 transect replicates below a net‐cage and at nearby and distant rocky reefs off Catalina Island, California, estimating the species abundance and size class of all conspicuous fishes in the water column. We observed 10,234 fishes aggregating below the net‐cage with a mean annual density of 142 (SE ± 30) per 100 m² and diversity H′ 2.29. At the adjacent reference reef, we counted 8452 fishes with a mean annual density of 117 (SE ± 20) and H′ 1.45 and at Reference Reef 2, located 500 m away, there were 8958 fishes with a density of 124 (SE ± 20) and H′ 1.13. The total density of fishes was the same between the study sites (ANOVA; P = 0.24); however, the spatial density of fishes in the water column was different between the net‐cage and reference reefs. Additionally, the density of juvenile fish was significantly lower at the net‐cage (ANOVA; P = 0.02), while the density of subadult and adult fishes was higher (ANOVA; P = 0.03). Feeding guild analysis ranked the net‐cage highest (3507), while Reference Reef 1 (2149), and Reference Reef 2 (2241), had lower values, a relationship often found between artificial and natural reefs. This suggests the importance of available trophic resources to the adult population of wild fishes, and has implications in the artificial reef attraction–production debate. The results of this study not only reproduce a pattern of fish attraction to net‐cages in the marine environment reported in previous studies but also demonstrate a relative habitat value compared in both time and space, of the fish community at a net‐cage compared with vibrant kelp bed communities.     

Projecting the bird community response resulting from the adoption of shelterbelt agroforestry practices in Eastern Nebraska

Evolving agricultural policies have influenced management practices within agroecosystems, impacting available habitats for many species of wildlife. Enhancing wildlife habitat has become an explicit objective of existing agricultural policy. Thus, there is renewed focus on field borders and the use of shelterbelt agroforestry systems to achieve conservation goals in the Midwest. Two Representative Farms – a 283-ha dryland and 510-ha irrigated farm were created in Saunders County, Nebraska. The Habitat Analysis and Modeling System (HAMS) was used to describe the composition and spatial pattern of the existing farms and surrounding landscape, as well as for the landscapes surrounding selected Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) routes. Simulated land use changes resulting from the implementation of two shelterbelt scenarios, Agricultural and Wildlife, were incorporated on each Representative Farm and surrounding landscape. Landscape variables which influence breeding bird species richness and community composition as determined from BBS routes were measured on simulated farm landscapes. A more heterogeneous landscape results from implementing either scenario. The percent total woods was a significant determinant of bird species richness on the BBS routes and was important in influencing bird communities at the farm- and landscape-level. Other landscape metrics which influenced the bird community composition on BBS routes were woody edge percentages and edge density values. Policies promoting shelterbelts create edge habitats which ultimately favor birds within the Forest-edge/generalist guild while bird species in need of conservation such as grassland-field species would potentially be negatively affected. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Survival of tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus) and Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii) seedlings in forests of southwestern Oregon

Survival of tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus) and Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii) seedlings was studied in order to interpret succession in conifer hardwood forests and to determine ways to suppress establishment of these species. Seed protected from rodents and birds, and unprotected seed was sown in clearcuts and in conifer stands 40 to 200+ years old. Second-year survival rates of tanoak seedlings were high (50–70%) in exposed clearcuts and conifer stands. Seed predators appear to be of prime importance in limiting tanoak establishment. Survival rates of Pacific madrone seedlings on the same sites as the tanoak were low (0–8%), and many factors caused mortality. Seedlings of both species grew slowly; after 3 years, average tanoak height was only 6.0 to 14.0 cm, average madrone height 2.0 to 6.0 cm.