A practical method for determining the susceptibility of aquatic Vibrio and Aeromonas spp. to antibacterial agents

A practical dilution method for determining the degree of susceptibility of aquatic Vibrio and Aeromonas spp. to antibacterial agents is described. The method utilizes the differential ability of these two genera to ferment glucose. Acidification produced by the bacterial metabolism is demonstrated by the color change of an indicator (bromthymol blue) from blue-green to bright yellow. Where bacteria are inhibited by a sufficient concentration of the antibacterial drug tested, no color change occurs. The accurate quantitative results obtained with this method facilitate proper therapy for diseased fish, shrimps and oysters. The same method can in principle be applied to any other glucose-fermenting bacteria, when challenged with non-acidic antibacterial agents.     

Serologic response and lesions in goats experimentally infected with Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis of caprine and equine origins

Fifteen goat kids were experimentally inoculated with Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis. Five were given a strain of caprine origin (nitrate-negative biotype) intradermally, 5 were given a strain of equine origin (nitrate-positive biotype) intradermally, and 5 were inoculated intranasally with the caprine-origin strain. Animals were monitored for 127 days. The goats given the inocula intradermally developed abscesses; those given caprine-origin strain had multiple lesions both peripherally and in visceral locations (primarily endothoracic abscesses), whereas those given the equine-origin strain had abscesses only at injection sites and draining nodes. The difference in extent of lesions could be due to biotypic bacterial differences or to the individual strains used. Intranasally inoculated goats did not develop abscesses and were essentially no different from controls. The cranial part of the respiratory tract may not be an important portal of entry for C pseudotuberculosis. Serum samples obtained monthly from all animals were subjected to the synergistic hemolysis-inhibition test, which measures antibodies to the exotoxin of C pseudotuberculosis. Animals with abscesses developed titers within 1 month of inoculation. Animals without abscesses remained seronegative. The synergistic hemolysis-inhibition test may be a reliable diagnostic assay for caseous lymphadenitis in goats.     

The Quality of Education,Educational Institutions,and Cross‐Country Differences in Human Capital Accumulation

ABSTRACT Cross‐country studies of education and economic prosperity often reach conflicting results when using growth rates as the measure of economic development. However, growth rates lack persistence over time and may not accurately measure long‐term economic success over relatively short economic horizons. To overcome this potential specification problem, we estimate the relationship between key education variables and the capital to physical labor ratio. Using both cross‐sectional and panel specifications, we find that both the primary‐pupil–teacher ratio and decentralized education finance are associated with a larger capital to physical labor ratio. The relationship between human capital and expenditures, private education, and test scores are less robust.     

Pharmacokinetic and Phase I Evaluation of Carboplatin in Dogs

Thirty dogs with spontaneously occurring malignant neoplasms were treated monthly with carboplatin (CBDCA) given as a 30-minute intravenous infusion in a dose escalation study. Twenty-eight dogs were considered evaluable for toxicity. The maximally tolerated dose of CBDCA was conceptually defined as that dose, determined by logistic regression analyses of toxicity data, resulting in a 50% incidence of moderate toxicity (MOD₅₀) or a 5% incidence of severe toxicity (SEV₅). Each designated maximally tolerated dose was calculated for the first course of treatment only and for the first and second courses of treatment combined to estimate cumulative drug toxicity. The MOD₅₀ and SEV₅ for the first treatment course were 340 and 278 mg/M², respectively. MOD₅₀ and SEV₅ values for the first plus second treatment courses were 327 and 231 mg/M², respectively. The nadir of neutrophil and platelet counts occurred approximately 14 days after treatment. The mean neutrophil and platelet values for all dogs experiencing myelosuppression during the first two treatment courses were 1541/μL and 62,600/μL, respectively. Nonparametric pharmacokinetic analysis of plasma CBDCA values suggested that half-life (T_1/2), area-under-the-curve and total body clearance (CL_b) were not dose dependent. Volume of distribution (VD_ss) significantly increased with dose only between 100 and 150 mg/M², not between 150 and 300 mg/M². Dose-independent serum CBDCA pharmacokinetic disposition indicates that detailed investigation of tissue CBDCA distribution would be warranted and may identify novel dosing strategies that could improve the therapeutic index of CBDCA by minimizing toxicity. (Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 1993; 7:235–240. Copyright © 1993 by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.)     

“无我”的宁静与“有我”的振动——陶渊明与华兹华斯诗歌中“自然”观比较

陶渊明和华兹华斯同出于对各自现实政治不满的目的 ,返始归根回到了自然。由于诗人分属于东西方完全不同的文化系统 ,且在各自的文学土壤上滋生、发展 ,因此在自然之中呈现出“无我”与“有我”的明显差异。     

R-41, a sunflower restorer inbred line, carrying two genes for resistance against a highly virulent Spanish population of Orobanche cernua

The inheritance of resistance to a highly virulent population of sunflower broomrape (Orobanche cernua) has been studied in R-41, a Spanish sunflower restorer inbred line. Using the cytoplasmic male-sterile inbred line HA-89 (cms; very susceptible to this population of broomrape) as a female parent, progenies of the cross with R-41, i.e. Fl, F2 and BC1 to both parents, as well as the parental lines, were analysed for their reaction to the broomrape population EC-94. The goodness of fit of the observed vs expected segregation ratios indicated that the inheritance of resistance to broomrape in line R-41 is conferred by two independent dominant genes.     

In vivo kinetic study on uptake and distribution of intramuscular tritium-labeled polysulfated glycosaminoglycan in equine body fluid compartments and articular cartilage in an osteochondrial defect model

The uptake and distribution of intramuscularly (IM) administered tritium-labeled polysulfated glycosaminoglycan (³H-PSGAG) in serum, synovial fluid, and articular cartilage of eight horses was quantitated, and hyaluronic acid (HA) concentration of the middle carpal joint was evaluated in a pharmacokinetic study. A full-thickness articular cartilage defect, created on the distal articular surface of the left radial carpal bone of each horse served as an osteochondral defect model. ³H-PSGAG (500 mg) was injected IM, between 14 and 35 days after creation of the defects. Scintillation analysis of serum and synovial fluid, collected from both middle carpal joints at specific predetermined times up to 96 hours post-injection, revealed mean ³H-PSGAG concentrations peaked at 2 hours post-injection. ³H-PSGAG was detected in cartilage and subchondral bone 96 hours post-injection in samples from all eight horses. There were no statistically significant differences in ³H-PSGAG concentration of synovial fluid or cartilage between cartilage defect and control (right middle carpal) joints.

HA assay of synovial fluid revealed concentrations significantly increased at 24, 48, and 96 hours post-injection in both joints. The concentration nearly doubled 48 hours post-injection. However, no statistically significant differences were found between synovial concentrations of HA in cartilage defect and control joints.

³H-PSGAG administered IM to horses, was distributed in the blood, synovial fluid, and articular cartilage. HA concentrations in synovial fluid increased after IM administration of polysulfated glycosaminoglycan.     

Residue management for reducing evaporation in relation to soil type and evaporativity1

Abstract. Usual residue-management options are to remove the residue, use it as mulch with or without undercutting or to incorporate it into the soil. While the role of surface mulch in evaporation has been widely studied, the information on the effect on evaporation of mulch with undercutting or residue incorporated into soil, particularly in relation to soil type and evaporativity (E_o) is lacking. We studied the effect of wheat straw used in various ways on the course of evaporation loss from soil columns with three soils at Ludhiana, India and one soil at Bushland, Texas, USA, under two E_o's Energy-limited evaporation rates under mulch (E_om) followed the soil-specific relation E_om/E_o= a e^(bRes+cEo), where Res is residue rate t/ha and a, b and c are constants; E_o, is expressed in mm/d. In an effort to model the total evaporation (CE) during the energy-limited stage ‘U’ was obtained from appropriate CE versus time curves and (CE-U) was regressed over (t - ti)^0.5 to obtain the slope ‘α’ (Ritchie 1972) for the soil-limited evaporation stage. The observed ‘U’ was independent of mulch rate and E_o but was strongly affected by soil type, Values of ‘α’ decreased with increase in mulch rate and decrease in E_o and coarseness of soil. The otherwise short lived benefit of evaporation reduction with mulch per se, which peaked after a few days was maintained when residue was mixed with soil at the stage when evaporation reduction reached a maximum; this benefit continued for several weeks. Cumulative evaporation values computed from ‘U’ and ‘α’ agreed closely with the observed values under straw mulch for loamy sand and clay loam soils and for ‘undercut’ and ‘residue mixed’ treatments on all soils regardless of E_o, and for all situations under small E_o. However, for sandy loam and silt loam soils under E_o of 10 mm/d, the modified square root of the time function of Jalota et al. (1988) gave a better fit.     

Differentiation and transplantation antigens on the surface of mononuclear cells of cattle, horses and dogs

The determination of differentiation and transplantation antigens will be of growing importance in immune diagnosis for individual animals as well as for breeding purposes in populations. Differentiation antigens characterize subsets of cell populations and indicate their functional capacity while transplantation antigens represent markers of individuals of a species. Occurrence and significance of these antigenic systems are briefly reviewed.