Pharmacokinetics of carprofen and firocoxib for medication control in racing greyhounds

Animals used in sport should be treated as required to ensure animal welfare but any such use of medication should also be controlled to ensure integrity. Pharmacokinetic studies on groups of six greyhounds were performed to measure plasma and urine levels of carprofen and firocoxib to inform medication control advice. Using the standard methodology for medication control the Irrelevant Plasma Concentration was determined as 20 and 2 ng/mL for carprofen and firocoxib, respectively. The Irrelevant Urine Concentration was also determined as 0.3 and 2 ng/mL for carprofen and firocoxib, respectively. These Irrelevant Plasma and Urine Concentrations will allow laboratory Screening Limits, Detection Times and Withdrawal Time advice to be determined and publicised by regulators of greyhound racing. The Screening Limits will also inform Recommended Limits of Detection if meat-containing residues of these medications are fed to greyhounds.     

Antibiosis activity of Pantoea agglomerans biocontrol strain E325 against Erwinia amylovora on apple flower stigmas

Pantoea agglomerans E325, the active ingredient in a commercial product for fire blight control, was previously shown in vitro to produce a unique alkaline- and phosphate-sensitive antibiotic specific to Erwinia amylovora. Antibiosis was evaluated as a mode of antagonism on flower stigmas using two antibiosis-deficient mutants. On King's medium B, mutants E325ad1 and E325ad2 have stable smooth-butyrous or hypermucoid colony morphologies, respectively, and the parental strain E325 exhibits phenotypic plasticity with predominantly hypermucoid colonies accompanied by slower-growing, smooth-butyrous colonies. Mutants were tested against E. amylovora on stigmas of detached flowers of crab apple (Malus mandshurica) in growth chambers and apple (Malus domestica) in the orchard. Epiphytic fitness of the antibiosis-negative mutants was similar or greater than the parental strain as determined by relative area under the population curve (RAUPC). In laboratory and orchard trials, both mutants had significantly lower inhibitory activity against the pathogen (i.e., less reduction of E. amylovora RAUPC) compared with the parental strain. E325 and the mutants caused similar decreases in pH in a broth medium, indicating that acidification, which was previously reported as a possible mechanism of pathogen inhibition on stigmas, is not directly related to antibiosis. In this study we provide the first evidence for E325 antibiosis involved in E. amylovora growth suppression on apple flower stigmas.     

Antagonism of detomidine with tolazoline in isoflurane-anaesthetised ponies

The effects of tolazoline (4.0 mg/kg iv) antagonism of detomidine (0.02 mg/kg iv) were evaluated in isoflurane-anaesthetised, ventilated ponies. Each of 6 ponies received both tolazoline and saline treatment during separate anaesthetic episodes only (no surgery was performed). Detomidine administration produced an increase in blood pressure, decrease in heart rate and decrease in P_aO₂ Tolazoline treatment transiently increased heart rate while blood pressure returned to baseline after both treatments. Arterial oxygenation decreased further after tolazoline treatment while oxgenation recovered towards baseline with saline treatment. No other cardiopulmonary effects were detected. Recovery from anaesthesia tended to be more rapid when detomidine was antagonized. The potential benefit of antagonizing detomidine-induced bradycardia with tolazoline, during isoflurane anaesthesia should be weighed against the potential to produce a decrease in arterial oxygenation. The mechanism for this effect is not clear.     

Humoral immune responses in seals infected by phocine distemper virus

Recently the isolation and characterisation of a morbillivirus which caused high mortality in common seals (Phoca vitulina) in 1988 have been reported. Because of the clinical and pathological similarity of the disease in seals to that of distemper in dogs, the name phocine distemper virus (PDV) has been proposed. There are marked differences in the virus-induced proteins of PDV compared to other morbilliviruses and the humoral immune response of moribund and dead seals to PDV was restricted to some of the internal antigens of PDV, similar to the response described earlier for canine distemper virus infection in dogs.     

Exophiala angulospora Causes Systemic Mycosis in Atlantic Halibut: a Case Report

Filamentous black yeasts from the genus Exophiala are ubiquitous, opportunistic pathogens causing both superficial and systemic mycoses in warm- and cold-blooded animals. Infections by black yeasts have been reported relatively frequently in a variety of captive and farmed freshwater and marine fishes. In November 2012, moribund and recently dead, farm-raised Atlantic Halibut Hippoglossus hippoglossus were necropsied to determine the cause of death. Histopathology revealed that three of seven fish were affected by a combination of an ascending trans-ductual granulomatous mycotic nephritis, necrotizing histiocytic encephalitis, and in one fish the addition of a fibrogranulomatous submucosal branchitis. Microbial cultures of kidney using selective mycotic media revealed pure growth of a black-pigmenting septated agent. Application of molecular and phenotypic taxonomy methodologies determined that all three isolates were genetically consistent with Exophiala angulospora. This is the first report of E. angulospora as the causal agent of systemic mycosis in Atlantic Halibut.

Received January 27, 2014; accepted July 23, 2014     

Contribution of stream channel erosion to sediment yield from an urbanizing watershed

Stream channel erosion has long been suspected as the major contributor to long-term sediment yield from urbanizing watersheds. For San Diego Creek in southern California, measurements from 1983 to 1993 showed that stream channel erosion furnished 10(5) megagrams per year of sediment, or about two-thirds of the total sediment yield. Thus, because channel erosion can be a major source of sediment yield from urbanizing areas, channel stabilization should be a priority in managing sediment yield.     

Effect of Molasses on Regrowth of E. coli O157:H7 And Salmonella in Compost Teas

Compost water extracts (compost teas) are gaining popularity among organic growers, largely because of their disease suppressive activity when applied to foliage or soil. Production methods often include addition of supplemental constituents, particularly molasses, to stimulate plant-beneficial microbial populations. We have found that molasses amendments also favor regrowth of human pathogenic bacteria, raising public health concerns about potential contamination of treated crops, particularly produce intended for fresh consumption. Using disease outbreak strains marked with green fluorescent protein (GFP) and spontaneous antibiotic-resistance, we found that regrowth of Salmonella enterica serovar Thompson and Escherichia coli O157:H7 was positively correlated with molasses concentration. For Salmonella, regrowth was also dependent on the type of starter compost material used. Salmonella populations increased from 1 at time 0 to over 1000 CFU ml^?1 in dairy manure compost tea with 1% molasses, and from 1 at time 0 to over 350,000 CFU ml^?1 in chicken manure compost tea by 72 h. E. coli populations increased from 1 at time 0 to approximately 1000 CFU ml^?1 in both types of tea by 72 h. Pathogen regrowth did not occur when molasses was eliminated or kept to 0.2%.