Urethane anesthesia in adult female rats: preliminary observations

Urethane is widely used as a rodent anesthetic in the laboratory setting, and is characterized as producing long‐lasting anesthesia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality of anesthesia provided by a single dose of urethane based on the response to a noxious stimulus. If the quality of anesthesia was insufficient to prevent gross purposeful movement (GPM), isoflurane was also administered until no response to noxious stimulation occurred. Five adult Harlan Sprague Dawley rats (6 months of age, 250–300 g) were given urethane (1.4 g kg^?1 IP) and evaluated for 120 minutes post‐injection. If the rats became laterally recumbent by 20 minutes post‐injection, a large hemostat was positioned around the tail and the response to tail clamping was assessed. If no GPM occurred, an additional 20 minutes was allowed to elapse. If the rats were not laterally recumbent or GPM was present, they were placed in a chamber and isoflurane in oxygen was administered. Inspired isoflurane concentrations (ISO) were measured using a S/5 anesthetic gas analyzer (Datex‐Ohmeda Division, Helsinki, Finland) calibrated before each experiment with a standardized calibration gas mixture (DOT‐34 NRC 300/375 m 1014, Datex‐Ohmeda Division, Helsinki, Finland). A period of 20 minutes was allowed for equilibration to inspired ISO. The tail‐clamp stimulus was then re‐applied and the animal's response recorded. If GPM was absent, ISO was lowered by 10–20% and an additional 20 minute interval elapsed. In contrast, if GPM was present, ISO was increased by 10–20%. This procedure was repeated until the ISO required to prevent GPM was determined in duplicate. The position within the estrus cycle influenced pain thresholds in the rats. As such, a vaginal smear was prepared from each rat and the position in the estrus cycle was determined based on vaginal cytology. Rats were euthanatized at the end of the study period. All values were mean ± SD. Four rats became recumbent after urethane injection (time to recumbency: 45 ± 17 seconds). Of these, two rats (one estrus, one metestrus) did not require isoflurane supplementation for the duration of the study. The three remaining rats (two metestrus, one estrus) required isoflurane supplementation. The mean ISO required to prevent GPM was 0.26 ± 0.16%. Position within the estrus cycle did not appear to affect the animal's response to urethane. These results indicate that urethane anesthesia is not long lasting in all rats and provides variable quality of anesthesia. This is of particular concern in the laboratory setting where muscle relaxants are often administered to rats shortly after urethane injection.     

基于高温诱发树木多倍体的模糊PID温度控制器

针对树木枝芽的室外高温诱发多倍体处理,介绍了一种模糊PID温度控制器,该控制器具有显示温度、设定温度、自动控制温度等功能。控制器采用PID参数模糊自整定方法,充分发挥了其动态响应好、上升时间快、超调小的特点,具有较高的动态跟踪品质和稳态精度,并在实际应用中取得了较好的控制效果。     

Demonstration of non-inferiority of a novel combination intramammary antimicrobial in the treatment of clinical mastitis

AIM: To test the non-inferiority of a novel combination intramammary product containing penicillin and cloxacillin to a reference intramammary product containing oxytetracycline, oleandomycin, neomycin and prednisolone with regard to bacteriological cure and clinical cure.

METHODS: Clinical cases of mastitis were sourced from 30 spring-calving dairy farms in the Southland region of New Zealand. Affected quarters were infused three times at 24 hourly intervals with either the novel combination product containing 1?g penicillin and 200?mg cloxacillin, or a reference product containing 200?mg oxytetracycline, 100?mg oleandomycin, 100?mg neomycin and 5?mg prednisolone. Cows were enrolled when a farmer detected a case of clinical mastitis. Milk samples were collected for microbiological culture immediately before treatment (Day 0) and on Days 9, 16 and 23. Bacteriological cure was compared for 187 and 178 quarters treated with the reference and novel product, respectively, and clinical cure was compared for 235 and 223 quarters, respectively. Non-inferiority was assessed by calculating the difference in cure rates between the two products and constructing a 95% CI around the difference, using the variance inflation factor to account for herd level clustering. The non-inferiority margin was 20% for both bacteriological and clinical cure. Generalising estimating equation models were used to determine predictor variables.

RESULTS: The bacteriological cure percentage, adjusted to account for herd-level clustering, was 8.5 (95% CI=?1.7–21.8)% higher for quarters treated with the novel than the reference product. The adjusted clinical cure percentage was 0.3 (95% CI=?11.2–12.0)% higher for clinical quarters treated with the novel than the reference product. Bacterial species was the only covariate for bacteriological cure (p=0.003), and quarter score at enrolment (indicating udder inflammation) was the only covariate for clinical cure (p=0.032) in the multivariable models.

CONCLUSION: The novel combination product was demonstrated to be non-inferior to the reference product with regards to both bacteriological cure and clinical cure.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Clinicians treating mastitis now have access to this novel combination intramammary product, and demonstration of its non-inferiority compared to the existing reference product will provide options for treatment approaches. The novel product contains fewer antimicrobials; which are of a narrower spectrum of activity.     

木材缺陷图像的灰度形态滤波

介绍数学形态学中的灰度形态滤波方法,给出对木材缺陷图像进行闭、开运算处理后的仿真图像实例,利用木材缺陷图像截面灰度分布对处理效果进行分析.结果表明:采用灰度形态滤波方法对木材缺陷图像进行滤波处理,可有效去除木材缺陷图像中的噪声,改善图像的视觉效果,提高后期缺陷边缘检测的精确度,从而证明该方法对木材缺陷图像进行滤波处理是可行的.     

Pulmonary mycobacteriosis caused by Mycobacterium intracellulare in a Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii)

The health of captive Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) is currently of increased interest because wild populations are being decimated by the spread of devil facial tumour disease. This report describes the pathology of an aged captive Tasmanian devil that had a pulmonary mycobacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium intracellulare in addition to multiple neoplastic processes.     

Progress on role of exosomes derived from leukemia cells

Exosomes are bilayer-lipid membrane nanovesicle from almost all living cell types which are involved in intercellular substance transporting and signaling communication. Exosomes are 30~120 nm in diameter, can transfer bioactive molecules including DNA, RNA, microRNA, protein as well as lipids derived from parents' cells to recipient cells by body fluids, and specifically influence their physiological or pathological conditions. Leukemia is due to malignant proliferation of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. It was reported that leukemia cells derived exosomes play a key role in disease progression, drug resistance, and predict prognosis. This paper will outline the role of exosomes derived from leukemia cells and provide important information to help explore the molecular pathogenesis, biomarker as well as therapeutic target of leukemia.