Antibiotic susceptibilities of Salmonella species isolated at a large animal veterinary medical center: a three year study.

The antibiograms of 408 Salmonella species isolated from large animals were collected during a three year study from 1981 through 1983. The predominant Salmonella serogroup among these isolates was group B. A consistently high percentage of all isolates were resistant to ampicillin and tetracycline. A pattern of increasing resistance to chloramphenicol and gentamicin was documented for serogroup B isolates while the susceptibility of the isolates to neomycin increased. There was a decrease in the incidence of susceptibility to sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim among the group E isolates. These changes were not as remarkable, nor as alarming, as the overall decreased susceptibility to chloramphenicol and gentamicin. An evaluation of the principles concerning use of antimicrobial agents in veterinary medicine for treatment of Salmonella infections is recommended.     

THE PATH OF CARBON IN PHOTOSYNTHESIS. XXVII. SUGAR-CONJUGATED PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS ENHANCE GENERAL PRODUCTIVITY

We have found that applications of sugar-conjugated plant growth regulators (SPGRs) by exposures of roots or shoots to millimolar (mM) SPGRs are key to their uptake and transport for enhancement of vegetative productivity of the entire plant as compared to control populations. Initial surveys utilizing foliar applications of identically nutrient-supplemented 0.3 mM cytokinin glycosides, N⁶-benzyladenine glycosides, kinetin glycosides; and a 0.3 mM auxin glycoside, indoxyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (IG) resulted in significant shoot enhancements over controls. Foliar application of 0.3 mM kinetin glucoside resulted in significant root increase above the control. Foliar application of 3 mM to 6 mM IG resulted in enhanced root and shoot growths over controls. Similarly, increases of root and shoot yields over controls were observed as a result of foliar application of 3 mM indoxyl-β-D-glucuronide. Foliar application of 1 mM trans-zeatin-β-D-glucoside was particularly effective, resulting in significant enhancement of root and shoot growth with no phytotoxicity.     

Laboratory simulation of volcano seismicity

The physical processes generating seismicity within volcanic edifices are highly complex and not fully understood. We report results from a laboratory experiment in which basalt from Mount Etna volcano (Italy) was deformed and fractured. The experiment was monitored with an array of transducers around the sample to permit full-waveform capture, location, and analysis of microseismic events. Rapid post-failure decompression of the water-filled pore volume and damage zone triggered many low-frequency events, analogous to volcanic long-period seismicity. The low frequencies were associated with pore fluid decompression and were located in the damage zone in the fractured sample; these events exhibited a weak component of shear (double-couple) slip, consistent with fluid-driven events occurring beneath active volcanoes.     

Alcohol oxidation in rate inhibited by pyrazole, oximes, and amides

Pyrazole, previously reported to inhibit ethanol oxidation in the rat, also effectively blocks the in vivo metabolism of methanol, propanol, isopropanol, n-butanol, and isobutanol. A variety of oximes and amides are also effective inhibitors of ethanol metabolism. These various inhibitors may prove important in the elucidation of several facets of alcohol metabolism and also may have application in the treatment of methanol poisoning and in the reduction of the sequelae of the disulfiram-ethanol reaction syndrome in man.     

Decoupling from international food safety standards: how small-scale indigenous farmers cope with conflicting institutions to ensure market participation

Although inclusion in formal value chains extends the prospect of improving the livelihoods of rural small-scale producers, such a step is often contingent on compliance with internationally-promoted food safety standards. Limited research has addressed the challenges this represents for small rural producers who, grounded in culturally-embedded food safety conceptions, face difficulties in complying. We address this gap here through a multiple case study involving four public school feeding programs that source meals from local rural providers in the Bolivian Altiplan. Institutional logics theory is used to describe public food safety regulations and to compare them to food safety conceptions in the local indigenous Aymara rural setting. We identify a value-based conflict that leads to non-compliance of formal food safety rules that jeopardizes the participation of small farmers in the market. These include: (1) partial adoption of formal rules; (2) selective adoption of convenient rules; and (3) ceremonial adoption to avoid compliance. Decoupling strategies allow local actors to largely disregard the formal food safety regulations while accommodating traditional cultural practices and continuing to access the market. However, these practices put the long-term sustainability of the farmers’ participation in potentially favorable opportunities at risk.     

Injectable anesthetics and anesthetic adjuncts

The purpose of this article is to review the use of selected anesthetics and anesthetic adjuncts in horses. Emphasis is placed on the pharmacologic bases of their use.     

Dorsal displacement of the soft palate in 92 horses during high-speed treadmill examination (1993-1998)

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the occurrence of dorsal displacement of the soft palate (DDSP) during high-speed treadmill (HSTM) exercise in racehorses, and determine treatment efficacy relative to the endoscopic findings observed during resting and HSTM endoscopic examination. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. Animals-Ninety-two racehorses (74 Thoroughbreds, 18 Standardbreds). METHODS: The signalment, history (clinical and race), treatments, and video recordings made during resting and HSTM endoscopy were reviewed in 92 racehorses that developed DDSP during HSTM exercise. Only horses that completed 3 starts before and after HSTM examination were included in performance-outcome analysis. Statistical associations were made between the independent variables (the historical findings and the resting and HSTM endoscopic findings) and performance outcome. RESULTS: Forty-five horses (49%) displaced their palate in an uncomplicated manner, whereas the other horses either had another upper-respiratory abnormality in association with DDSP (35) or displaced after swallowing (12). Although respiratory noise was not recorded during HSTM exercise, only 57 horses (62%) that developed DDSP during HSTM examination had a history of abnormal upper-respiratory noise. For the 45 horses that met the criteria for performance outcome analysis, there were no independent variables recorded during resting or HSTM endoscopy that had a significant association with performance outcome. Treatment for DDSP varied by clinician. Overall, 29 horses (64%) had improved average earnings per start after diagnosis and treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Thirty-five horses (38%) that had DDSP during HSTM endoscopy had no previous history of abnormal upper-respiratory noise, and 74 (80%) had no structural abnormalities noted on resting endoscopic examination. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: HSTM examination is an excellent tool for diagnosis of DDSP and the manner in which it occurs. DDSP did not occur similarly in all horses, and was often associated with another upper-respiratory abnormality. Thus, it is unlikely that a single treatment can be applied effectively for all horses that experience DDSP. Both surgical and medical treatments can be beneficial in improving a horse's performance after a diagnosis of DDSP is made. Neither resting nor HSTM endoscopic findings were clearly prognostic.