Cardiovascular effects of topical ophthalmic 10% phenylephrine in dogs

Objective To evaluate the effect of topical ophthalmic 10% phenylephrine on systolic arterial pressure (SAP), diastolic arterial pressure (DAP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), pulse rate (PR) and electrocardiogram (ECG) in dogs. Animals studied Nine clinically normal dogs. Procedure Arterial catheters were placed in the dorsal pedal artery of awake dogs and ECG leads were attached. After a 15‐min acclimatization period, baseline PR, SAP, DAP and MAP were recorded every 5 min for 20 min. Two treatment groups (eight dogs each) were studied. Group I: one drop of phenylephrine was placed in each eye once. Group II: one drop of phenylephrine was placed in each eye three times at 5‐min intervals. Following treatment, PR, SAP, DAP and MAP were recorded every 5 min for 90 min. The mixed procedure of the SAS system was used to perform a repeated measures analysis of variance to test for linear and quadratic trends across time. Results Group I: There was a significant quadratic decrease in PR across time (P = 0.0051). Systolic arterial pressure increased linearly with time (P = 0.0002), MAP increased linearly with time (P = 0.0131), and DAP increased linearly with time (P = 0.0001). Group II: There was a significant quadratic decrease in PR across time (P = 0.0023). There was a significant quadratic increase in SAP (P = 0.0324), MAP (P = 0.0103) and DAP (P = 0.0131) across time. Conclusions Topical ophthalmic application of 10% phenylephrine in normal dogs results in elevation of arterial blood pressure and reflex bradycardia.     

A genetic upper limit to whole-body protein deposition in a strain of growing pigs

The genetic upper limit to daily whole-body protein deposition (Pdmax) is an important constraint on pig growth. The Pdmax was determined for a specified pig genotype using N balance and serial slaughter techniques. A traditional N-balance study, involving 36 and 90 kg of BW Large White x (Landrace x Large White) entire male pigs, was first conducted to demonstrate that a highly digestible, nutrient-dense diet (1.54% Lys; 18 MJ of DE/kg, air-dried basis) was able to support the attainment of Pdmax within the constraints of pig appetite. Animals were allocated to set levels of feed intake [set proportions of ad libitum DE intake (DEi), 50 to 100%]. Nitrogen retention increased linearly with DEi up to 25.3 and 35.2 MJ of DE/d for the 36 and 90 kg of BW pigs, respectively, then showed a departure (P < 0.05) from linearity. For DEi of the experimental diet above the latter intakes, which were approximately 80% of a determined ad libitum DEi, the pigs deposited protein at a rate approaching Pdmax. When a linear plateau response model (accepted a priori) was fitted, Pdmax values of 189.9 g/d at a DEi breakpoint of 28.3 MJ of DE/d at 36 kg of BW and 186.4 g/d at a DEi breakpoint of 37.3 MJ of DE/d at 90 kg of BW were found. In the serial slaughter study, 18 female and 18 entire male pigs were allocated to 5 slaughter BW (25, 45, 65, 85, and 110 kg) such that there were 5, 3, 3, 3, and 4 animals of each sex at each slaughter weight, respectively. Animals were fed the experimental diet ad libitum, and whole-body protein was determined at slaughter. Growth data were analyzed by differentiating and combining continuous mathematical functions for BW and body composition. The ad libitum DEi were 27.4 and 50.7 MJ/d at 36 and 90 kg of BW for the entire males and were assumed, based on the N-balance results, sufficiently high to allow expression of Pdmax. There was an effect (P < 0.05) of sex on Pdmax vs. time (days on trial). Over the BW range of 25 to 85 kg, Pdmax was constant for the entire male and female pigs at 170 and 147 g/d, respectively. Above 85 kg of BW, Pdmax was no longer constant for either sex.     

A non-radiometric method for measuring serum thymidine kinase activity in malignant lymphoma in dogs

The aim of this study was to evaluate an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), for determination of serum thymidine kinase 1 (sTK1) activity in dogs with malignant lymphoma (ML) and compare it with a thymidine kinase (TK) radioenzymatic assay (TK-REA). The TK-REA has recently been shown to be useful in determining the clinical stage and prognosis in canine ML. In addition, serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was measured. Forty-five dogs were included in the study. Sixty serum samples from these dogs, stored in a tumour serum sample bank (stored at -20 degrees C), were analysed. Apart from 37 dogs with ML, four normal dogs as well as two dogs with mammary carcinomas, one dog with bladder carcinoma, and one dog with malignant fibrous histiocytoma were included. Staging of ML was based on the modified World Health Organization (WHO) staging system for canine ML. The diagnosis of all tumours was verified by histopathology. The TK activity (units per litre [U/L]) ranged from 1.0 to 607.9 in the TK-REA analysis and from 1.1 to 510 in the TK-ELISA (normal reference value <7U/L). The range for LDH was between 12 and 1194 U/L (normal reference value <228 U/L). There was a significant correlation between the TK-REA and the TK-ELISA. The correlation coefficient (CC) was 0.97 and the standard error of the estimate (SEE) was 3.7 U/L. There was no correlation between LDH and either the TK-REA or the TK-ELISA (CC=0.53 for both assays; SEE=26.7 and 12.7 U/L, respectively). Most of the variation in LDH was still within the normal reference range. The mean LDH in dogs with high-stage (stage IV+V) disease was 201.9 U/L. The corresponding values for the TK-REA and TK-ELISA were 109 and 109.9 U/L, respectively. The significant relation between the TK-REA and the TK-ELISA was confirmed by Bland-Altman analysis. The TK-ELISA assay, because of its relative simplicity, will permit measurement of TK in cases of ML in dogs to become a routine procedure.     

Preserving new anthelmintics: a simple method for estimating faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) confidence limits when efficacy and/or nematode aggregation is high

As it has been 30 years since a new anthelmintic class was released, it is appropriate to review management practices aimed at slowing the development of anthelmintic resistance to all drug classes. Recommendations to delay anthelmintic resistance, provide refugia and the use of a simulation model were reviewed to find optimum treatment strategies that maintain nematode control. Simulated Australian conditions indicated that a common successful low-risk treatment program was a rapid rotation between a "triple-combination" product (benzimidazole+levamisole+abamectin) and a new high-efficacy drug (monepantel). Where Haemonchus contortus was a threat, moxidectin was required at critical times because of its persistent activity against this parasite. Leaving up to 4% of adult sheep untreated provided sufficient "refugia" for non-selected worms to reduce the risk of selecting for anthelmintic resistance without compromising nematode control. For a new anthelmintic, efficacy estimated by faecal egg count reduction (FECR) is likely to be at or close to 100%, however using current methods the 95% confidence limits (CL) for 100% are incorrectly determined as 100%. The fewer eggs counted pre-treatment, the more likely an estimate of 100% will occur, particularly if the true efficacy is >90%. A novel way to determine the lower-CL (LCL) for 100% efficacy is to reframe FECR as a binomial proportion, i.e. define: n and x as the total number of eggs counted (rather than eggs per gram of faeces) for all pre-treatment and post-treatment animals, respectively; p the proportion of resistant eggs is p = x/n and percent efficacy is 100 ×(1-p) (assuming equal treatment group sizes and detection levels, pre- and post-treatment). The LCL is approximated from the cumulative inverse beta distribution by: 95%LCL=100 ×(1-(BETAINV(0.975, x+1, n-x+1))). This method is simpler than the current method, independent of the number of animals tested, and demonstrates that for 100% efficacy at least 37 eggs (not eggs per gram) need to be counted pre-treatment before the LCL can exceed 90%. When nematode aggregation is high, this method can be usefully applied to efficacy estimates lower than 100%, and in this case the 95% upper-CL (UCL) can be estimated by: 95% UCL = 100 ×(1((BETAINV(0.025, x+1, n-x+1))), with the LCL approximated as described above. A simulation study to estimate the precision and accuracy of this method found that the more conservative 99%CL was optimum; in this case 0.975 and 0.025 are replaced by 0.995 and 0.005 to estimate the LCL and UCL, respectively.     

Initial sequence characterization of the rhabdoviruses of squamate reptiles, including a novel rhabdovirus from a caiman lizard (Dracaena guianensis)

Rhabdoviruses infect a variety of hosts, including non-avian reptiles. Consensus PCR techniques were used to obtain partial RNA-dependent RNA polymerase gene sequence from five rhabdoviruses of South American lizards; Marco, Chaco, Timbo, Sena Madureira, and a rhabdovirus from a caiman lizard (Dracaena guianensis). The caiman lizard rhabdovirus formed inclusions in erythrocytes, which may be a route for infecting hematophagous insects. This is the first information on behavior of a rhabdovirus in squamates. We also obtained sequence from two rhabdoviruses of Australian lizards, confirming previous Charleville virus sequence and finding that, unlike a previous sequence report but in agreement with serologic reports, Almpiwar virus is clearly distinct from Charleville virus. Bayesian and maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis revealed that most known rhabdoviruses of squamates cluster in the Almpiwar subgroup. The exception is Marco virus, which is found in the Hart Park group.     

Towards assessing the sustainability of European logging operations

The forest-based sector has been at the forefront in operationally implementing the sustainability concept, its associated principles and indicators for sustainable forest management. Several methods have been developed to study environmental impacts of forestry activities, but none of the existing tools address all the dimensions of sustainability along the whole forest wood chain (FWC) in a balanced way. Consequently, the decision was made to develop a tool for sustainability impact assessment (ToSIA), the modelling framework for sustainability impact assessment of FWCs. The objective of the EU Project Eforwood was to develop ToSIA, a decision support tool. Within ToSIA, a FWC is modelled as a number of interconnected processes. For each process, a range of economic, environmental and social indicators and their respective values are calculated, thus representing the three pillars of sustainability. By this method, the multifunctionality of forests can be assessed and supply chains can be compared with respect to sustainability. Sensitivity analysis and scenario techniques can be applied to learn about the effect of expected changes to the structure of the chain, the material flows and the indicator values. In order to provide the tool with information about forest and logging operations, data were collected at two fundamental levels: (1) a regional level with case studies in Scandinavia, Iberia and Baden-Württemberg and (2) a European level with a case study that reflects conditions in the 27 countries of the European Union. This paper describes and details the harvesting and logging processes for the European countries. The results are displayed for each of the three regional case studies as well as aggregated to five principal areas in Europe: Eastern, Northern, Western, Central and Southwest Europe.     

Transmission of multiple antimicrobial-resistant Staphylococcus intermedius between dogs affected by deep pyoderma and their owners

The occurrence of antimicrobial-resistant Staphylococcus intermedius strains was investigated in 13 dogs affected by deep pyoderma, their owners and 13 individuals without daily contact with dogs (control group). A total of 90 canine and 33 human S. intermedius isolates were typed by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to determine their possible identity. The occurrence of S. intermedius in dog-owners was significantly higher compared with the control group (Fisher's exact test, P=0.03), with S. intermedius being detected in seven dog-owners and in one individual not exposed to dogs. The results of the PFGE analysis showed that six out of 13 (46%) owners carried strains identical to those isolated from their dogs. Strains detected in both dogs and humans were resistant up to five different antimicrobial classes, including penicillins, fusidic acid, macrolides/lincosamides, tetracycline and chloramphenicol. Based on the results of this study, owners of dogs affected by deep pyoderma often carry multiple antimicrobial-resistant strains of S. intermedius occurring in their dogs. Independent of the direction and modalities of transmission, this finding raises questions concerning the possible transfer of resistance genes from canine S. intermedius to human pathogenic staphylococci.     

A critical discussion of the physics of wood–water interactions

This paper reviews recent findings on wood–water interaction and puts them into context of established knowledge in the field. Several new findings challenge prevalent theories and are critically discussed in an attempt to advance current knowledge and highlight gaps. The focus of this review is put on water in the broadest concept of wood products, that is, the living tree is not considered. Moreover, the review covers the basic wood–water relation, states and transitions. Secondary effects such as the ability of water to alter physical properties of wood are only discussed in cases where there is an influence on state and/or transition.