Ciguatera Fish Poisoning: Treatment,Prevention and Management

Ciguatera Fish Poisoning (CFP) is the most frequently reported seafood-toxin illness in the world, and it causes substantial physical and functional impact. It produces a myriad of gastrointestinal, neurologic and/or cardiovascular symptoms which last days to weeks, or even months. Although there are reports of symptom amelioration with some interventions (e.g. IV mannitol), the appropriate treatment for CFP remains unclear to many physicians. We review the literature on the treatments for CFP, including randomized controlled studies and anecdotal reports. The article is intended to clarify treatment options, and provide information about management and prevention of CFP, for emergency room physicians, poison control information providers, other health care providers, and patients.     

Factors involved in alleviating water stress by partial crop removal in pear trees

We studied the relief of water stress associated with fruit thinning in pear (Pyrus communis L.) trees during drought to determine what mechanisms, other than stomatal adjustment, were involved. Combinations of control irrigation (equal to crop water use less effective rainfall) and deficit irrigation (equal to 20% of control irrigation), fruit load (unthinned and thinned to 40 fruits per tree) and root pruning (pruned and unpruned) treatments were applied to pear (cv. 'Conference') trees during Stage II of fruit development. Daily patterns of midday stem water potential (Psi(stem)) and leaf conductance to water vapor (g(l)) of deficit-irrigated trees differed after fruit thinning. In response to fruit thinning, gl progressively declined with water stress until 30 days after fruit thinning and then leveled off, whereas the effects of decreased fruit load on Psi(stem) peaked 30-40 days after fruit thinning and then tended to decline. Soil water depletion was significantly correlated with fruit load during drought. Our results indicate that stomatal adjustment and the resulting soil water conservation were the factors determining the Psi(stem) response to fruit thinning. However, these factors could not explain differences in daily patterns between g(l) and Psi(stem) after fruit thinning. In all cases, effects of root pruning treatments on Psi(stem) in deficit-irrigated trees were transitory (Psi(stem) recovered from root pruning in less than 30 days), but the recovery of Psi(stem) after root pruning was faster in trees with low fruit loads. This behavior is compatible with the concept that the water balance (reflected by Psi(stem) values) was better in trees with low fruit loads compared with unthinned trees, perhaps because more carbon was available for root growth. Thus, a root growth component is hypothesized as a mechanism to explain the bimodal Psi(stem) response to fruit thinning during drought.     

Response of winter root starch concentration to severe water stress and fruit load and its subsequent effects on early peach fruit development

Effect of water stress during stage III of peach fruit development on winter root starch concentration (RSC) and subsequent reproductive development was studied. Two irrigation treatments were applied in two consecutive seasons (2003-2004): full irrigation (FI) and no irrigation during stage III of fruit development until visible leaf wilting (LWI), which occurred when midday stem water potential reached -1.80 MPa. Three fruit thinning intensities were applied within each irrigation treatment. The year 2005 was a recovery year in which all trees received full irrigation and commercial fruit thinning. Water deficit and high fruit loads in the previous season significantly reduced the concentration of winter RSC. Fruit set and fruit growth from full bloom to 30 days after full bloom (30 DAFB) increased with increasing winter RSC before other factors, such as inter-fruit competition and availability of carbon from current photosynthesis, came into play. Consequently, severe water stress reduced the total number of fruits and fruit dry mass growth 30 DAFB. However, during the recovery year and after fruit thinning, fruit loads were similar between irrigation treatments and yield capacity remained unaffected. Peach fruit production recovered quickly from the deleterious effects of two consecutive years of water stress because of a combination of two factors: (1) reduced initial fruit set that was still adequate to achieve a commercial crop; and (2) the low sensitivity of fruit growth 30 DAFB to winter RSC.     

过瘤胃脂肪在奶牛日粮中的应用

高产奶牛—产奶量为9000L/头·泌乳期对营养的需要与普通奶牛有很大差别。在生产中,满足高产奶牛蛋白质和其它营养成分的需要比较容易,但是它们的能量需要却不能简单地通过谷物饲料来满足,尤其是在整个泌乳期的前1/3阶段。因此,在奶牛产后的一段时间内,必须为其提供更多的能量,以尽可能减少体重损失,而且,在泌乳早期增加能量供给量的同时不能影响瘤胃的正常活力。这也意味着维持高产奶牛的能量需要是非常重要的。因此,选择一种合适的“过瘤胃”脂肪是重要的。增加奶牛能量摄入量的常用方法有3种:增加干物质的摄入量,提高精料比例,提高日粮…     

Attainment of Puberty in the European Mouflon (Ovis gmelini musimon) and the Domestic Manchega Ewe (Ovis aries)

The onset of puberty was assessed from plasma progesterone profiles for Mouflon (n = 8) and Manchega (n = 7) female lambs born in April. Four Mouflons exhibited their first ovulation at a mean date of 27 November ± 1.4 days, the mean age being 248.5 ± 3.9 days and the mean body weight 23.8 ± 0.6 kg. The remaining four Mouflons, which had a slower growth rate, attained puberty during the autumn of the following year. Five of seven Manchega lambs attained puberty in their first year at a mean date of 5 Oct ± 3.3, the mean age being 185.6 ± 2.6 days and the mean body weight 41.8 ± 2.0 kg. The mean live‐weight at the onset of puberty was 65.1 and 82% (p < 0.05) of adult body weights for Manchega and Mouflons, respectively. Overall, the results indicate that there is a threshold of body‐weight necessary for the attainment of puberty in the first breeding season for spring‐born lambs, which is very different between both Mouflon and Manchega. When body weight was below 23.8 ±0.6 and 41.8 ± 2.0 kg for Mouflon and Manchega lambs, respectively, first ovulation did not occur until the beginning of the next breeding season. The onset of puberty during the second year of life occurred within the specific reproductive seasons for Mouflon (October–April) and Manchega (July–March) ewes, despite minimal further growth.     

Development of TGMS lines for developing two-line rice hybrids for the tropics

A breeding program was initiated at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in 1990 to develop thermosensitive genic male sterile (TGMS) rice lines for developing two-line rice hybrids for the tropics. The TGMS trait was transferred from a temperate japonica TGMS mutant, Norin PL 12, to indica and tropical japonica rice varieties using the pedigree selection procedure. Six new TGMS rice lines adapted to tropical conditions were developed which showed complete pollen and spikelet sterility when maximum temperature was higher than 30 ^°C 1–2 week after panicle initiation. However, up to 85.5% spikelet fertility was observed when these lines were exposed to 26–29 ^°C during the critical stage. Using two of these TGMS lines, some heterotic rice hybrids showing 1–1.6 t/ha higher grain yield than the inbred check varieties were identified in unreplicated observational yield trial conducted at IRRI. Two of the six two-line hybrids yielded significantly higher than the check variety in a replicated preliminary yield trial. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Agroforestry systems with Ilex paraguariensis (American holly or yerba mate) and native timber trees on small farms in Misiones, Argentina

In Misiones, in the northeast of Argentina, agroforestry systems of timber trees and perennial cash crops are becoming increasingly common. We evaluated the productivity of Ilex paraguariensis St Hill (South American holly or yerba mate, Aquifoliaceae) in association with indigenous trees: Enterolobium contortisiliquum (Vellozo) Morong. (timbó, Leguminosae, a N₂-fixing tree), and two timber species, Balfourodendron riedelianum (Engler) Engler (guatambú, Rutaceae) and Tabebuia heptaphylla (Vellozo) Toledo (lapacho negro, Bignoniaceae). Five years after planting, the tree species were 2.7 to 5.0 m high and 3 to 7 cm in diameter at breast height, and the yerba mate produced its first harvest. Additionally, the production of associated crops of subsistence covered the annual needs of the farmer. These systems are promising for sustainable use of deforested lands in the region.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Effect of cutting and vacuum cleaning on the digestibility of oats by horses

Three mature Quarter Horse geldings were used in 2 Latin square experiments to measure the effect of cutting and vacuum cleaning of oats on digestibility. The horses were fed at the maintenance level of digestible energy (DE) as recommended by the NRC.¹²The data were analyzed by Latin square analysis of variance, and Tukey's t test was used to determine any differences between specific means.No significant differences among treatments were observed during either experiment, indicating that the digestibility of nutrients from oats was not affected by cutting and vacuum cleaning. Differences in the digestibility of the ether extract (EE) fraction between periods of experiment 1 were noted.     

Effect of sex, age, number of bronchoalveolar lavages and quantitation methods on the bronchoalveolar cell counts in rats.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of sex, age, number of bronchoalveolar lavages and method of quantitation on the number of bronchoalveolar cells in rats. Forty Long Evans rats were divided into four age-sex subgroups of ten animals each. Nine consecutive bronchoalveolar lavages were done in every rat and the number of bronchoalveolar cells/mL in lavages 1-3 (L1), 4-6 (L2) and 7-9 (L3) were determined by hemocytometer and electronic cell counts (Coulter Counter). The sex or age of the rats did not show a significant effect (p less than 0.05) in the number of bronchoalveolar cells recovered from the lungs; however, there was a significant difference (p less than 0.05) in the number of cells/mL among lavages 1-3, 4-6 and 7-9 (L1 approximately equal to L2 greater than L3). A discrepancy of approximately 8% in the counts of bronchoalveolar cells was found between the hemocytometer and the Coulter Counter; however, these two methods of cell quantitation showed a significant (p less than 0.01) positive correlation (r = 0.89). No significant (p greater than 0.05) differences were found in the percentage of fluid recovery (overall mean = 94.5%) among lavages L1, L2 and L3. It was concluded that the electronic cell counting of bronchoalveolar cells is as reliable as manual counting. Although sex or age did not significantly affect the number of cells recovered from the lung, caution should be used in the number of lavages done per rat since this variable may significantly affect the results.