EFFECT OF COPPER SMELTING AIR POLLUTION ON THE MITES (ACARI) ASSOCIATED WITH YOUNG SCOTS PINE FORESTS POLLUTED BY A COPPER SMELTING WORKS AT GŁOGÓW,POLAND. II. SOIL MITES

Water, Air, &; Soil Pollution - The soil mites were investigated in the areas covered with dead needles in young Scots pine forests (plant association Leucobryo-Pinetum), polluted by a copper...     

Spatio-temporal variations in sediment nutrient levels: the River Adour

The retention capacity of the flood zone of the River Adour (SWFrance) has been estimated. This zone consists of ca. 1 km²of riparian vegetative strips (rvs) and ca. 16 km² offloodplain (Barthes). A novel method of sediment collection hasbeen used in both sectors to determine the quantities of sedimenttogether with concentrations of organic nitrogen and carbon. Thestudy indicates that the vegetative strips accumulate largequantities of sediment with total nitrogen and total carbonconcentrations of ca. 4 mg/g dry matter and ca. 30 mg/g drymatter respectively. These concentrations were found to vary asa function of topography and vegetation. The floodplain receivesless sediment but the observed concentrations of nitrogen andcarbon are more variable and found in the range of 1–9 mg/gdry matter and 10–82 mg/g dry matter respectively. Thehighest levels of C and N are generally found in wooded areas ofthe floodplain.     

Past temperatures directly from the greenland ice sheet

A Monte Carlo inverse method has been used on the temperature profiles measured down through the Greenland Ice Core Project (GRIP) borehole, at the summit of the Greenland Ice Sheet, and the Dye 3 borehole 865 kilometers farther south. The result is a 50, 000-year-long temperature history at GRIP and a 7000-year history at Dye 3. The Last Glacial Maximum, the Climatic Optimum, the Medieval Warmth, the Little Ice Age, and a warm period at 1930 A.D. are resolved from the GRIP reconstruction with the amplitudes -23 kelvin, +2.5 kelvin, +1 kelvin, -1 kelvin, and +0.5 kelvin, respectively. The Dye 3 temperature is similar to the GRIP history but has an amplitude 1.5 times larger, indicating higher climatic variability there. The calculated terrestrial heat flow density from the GRIP inversion is 51.3 milliwatts per square meter.     

Indigofera spicata (creeping indigo) poisoning of three ponies

Three ponies continuously grazed a pasture containing an estimated 24% Indigofera spicata (wet weight basis) for 4–6 weeks in April and May 2004. They developed ataxia, paresis, depression, muscle fasciculations, dysphagia, ptyalism and halitosis. Two also developed corneal opacity. One pony recovered with supportive treatment, but the other two were euthanased and necropsied. Neuropathology was not present in either case, but both livers had periacinar and periportal lymphocytic infiltrations and hydropic degeneration of mid‐zonal hepatocytes, with mild to moderate periacinar necrosis also evident in one. The I. spicata contained 2.66 mg 3‐nitropropionic acid (3‐NPA)/g dry matter and 1.5 mg indospicine/g dry matter. Indospicine, but not 3‐NPA, was detected in serum from both of the euthanased ponies and indospicine was detected in heart, liver and muscle from the one pony in which this assay was performed. The clinical syndrome closely resembled ‘Birdsville horse disease’ caused by I. linnaei and was similar to that reported in horses poisoned by the closely related species I. hendecaphylla and to 3‐NPA poisoning of other animals, including humans. 3‐NPA is thought to cause this neurological syndrome. To our knowledge, this is the first authenticated report of I. spicata poisoning in grazing animals. We also report here the first published evidence that 3‐NPA and indospicine exist in naturalised I. spicata in Australia and of the formation of indospicine residues in tissues of animals grazing paddocks infested with I. spicata.     

The effect of anesthesia and surgery on heart rate variability in dogs

Heart rate variability (HRV) may be useful for objective assessment of stress and pain in animals. The objective of this study was to describe the effect of anesthesia and surgery on HRV in dogs. We hypothesized that surgery would decrease HRV to a greater degree and for a longer duration than anesthesia alone. Four healthy male dogs (29 ± 2 kg) were instrumented for ambulatory ECG monitoring. Continuous ECG data was obtained for 1 day prior to, and 6 days following anesthesia alone (ANES) or anesthesia plus unilateral stifle arthrotomy (ANSX). The anesthetic protocol included xylazine (0.5 mg kg^–1 IM), morphine (0.5 mg kg^–1 IM), atropine (0.04 mg kg^–1 IM), thiopental (10 mg kg^–1 IV) and isoflurane in oxygen. A single dose of morphine (0.5 mg kg^–1 IM) was administered at extubation. Time domain analysis of HRV was performed on 5 minutes epochs of artefact‐ and arrhythmia‐free ECG data obtained at 12 noon and 12 midnight on each of the seven experimental days. Mean RR interval, standard deviation of normal R‐R intervals (SDNN), and the standard deviation of successive differences in RR intervals (SDSD) were compared to baseline for ANES and ANSX. Pain scores obtained during the day were also evaluated. Significance was set at p < 0.01. There were no differences between groups for any baseline data. Mean RR interval did not differ from baseline on days 1–6 in ANES or ANSX. SDNN and SDSD values at noon were not different from baseline on days 1–6 in ANES or ANSX. At midnight on days 1 and 2, SDNN was significantly decreased from baseline in ANSX, and on day 1 a significant difference between groups existed. ANSX values of SDSD at midnight were significantly decreased from baseline and ANES on day 1. Pain scores for ANSX were significantly greater than baseline on days 1–3, and different from ANES on days 1–5. These results suggest that HRV is decreased following anesthesia plus surgery, and that changes in HRV may be associated with pain.     

Meningoencephalitis and other conditions associated with Histophilus ovis infection in sheep

Histophilus ovis was isolated from 29 sheep in 20 flocks and 2 artificial insemination (AI) centres in southern New South Wales from 1984 to 1990. The clinical and pathological findings were consistent with previous reports and included polyarthritis (7 flocks), epididymo-orchitis (5), meningoencephalitis (3), pneumonia (3), septicaemia (2), mastitis (1) and metritis (1). Six sheep had meningoencephalitis, a syndrome not previously associated with H ovis infection in sheep, which was similar pathologically to thromboembolic meningoencephalitis in cattle, caused by the related organism, Haemophilus somnus. H ovis was isolated from the semen of 12-month-old rams in a flock that had polyarthritis due to H ovis, in 4-month-old ram lambs and from the uterus of a ewe in a flock that had sporadic cases of H ovis septicaemia.