Intraoperative pain responses following intraovarian versus mesovarian injection of lidocaine in mares undergoing laparoscopic ovariectomy

OBJECTIVE: To compare intraoperative pain responses following intraovarian versus mesovarian injection of lidocaine in mares undergoing laparoscopic ovariectomy. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. ANIMALS: 15 mares between 4 and 20 years old. PROCEDURE: Standard bilateral laparoscopic ovariectomy was performed. Prior to manipulation of the ovary, 2% lidocaine (10 mL) was injected into the ovary and saline (0.9% NaCI) solution (10 mL) was injected into the mesovarium on 1 side, with saline solution (10 mL) injected into the ovary and 2% lidocaine (10 mL) injected into the mesovarium on the other side. Presence (yes vs no) and severity (visual analogue scale) of pain were scored at 5 times (grasping of the ovary, dissection of the mesosalpinx, tightening of the first loop ligature, tightening of the second loop ligature, and transection of the ovarian pedicle) by 2 individuals blinded to treatment and each other's observations. RESULTS: During 4 of the 5 observation periods, significantly fewer mares had signs of pain following mesovarian injection of lidocaine, and during 2 of the 5 observation periods, visual analogue scale score was significantly lower. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggest that mesovarian injection of lidocaine is associated with significantly lower pain responses, compared with intraovarian injection, in horses undergoing laparoscopic ovariectomy.     

Age-dependent seroprevalence of antibodies against a Helicobacter pylori-like organism and Helicobacter pylori in commercially reared swine

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of antibodies against a swine-origin Helicobacter pylori-like organism (HPLO) and H pylori in conventionally reared swine. ANIMALS: 640 conventionally reared swine of various ages from 16 high-health farms in Canada, 20 sows from Ohio, and 35 gnotobiotic swine. PROCEDURES: Blood was collected from the cranial vena cava. Sera were collected and tested via ELISA for antibodies against antigen prepared from a swine-origin HPLO and human H pylori strain 26695. RESULTS: Antibodies reactive with a swine HPLO, H pylori, or both were detected in 483 of 640 swine from all 16 farms in western Canada. Seroprevalence varied with age and was low (5.6%) in suckling ( 4 weeks old to adulthood. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Findings suggested that colonization by a swine-origin HPLO, H pylori, or both and resultant seroconversion, like that of H pylori infection in humans, were common in commercial swine operations. Furthermore, data indicated that gastric infection was acquired at an early age. The relationships to gastric colonization by HPLOs and clinical manifestations of disease such as gastritis and gastroesophageal ulceration remain to be determined.     

Binding of SH2 domains of phospholipase C gamma 1, GAP, and Src to activated growth factor receptors

Phospholipase C gamma 1 (PLC gamma 1) and p21ras guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) activating protein (GAP) bind to and are phosphorylated by activated growth factor receptors. Both PLC gamma 1 and GAP contain two adjacent copies of the noncatalytic Src homology 2 (SH2) domain. The SH2 domains of PLC gamma 1 synthesized individually in bacteria formed high affinity complexes with the epidermal growth factor (EGF)- or platelet derived growth factor (PDGF)-receptors in cell lysates, and bound synergistically to activated receptors when expressed together as one bacterial protein. In vitro complex formation was dependent on prior growth factor stimulation and was competed by intracellular PLC gamma 1. Similar results were obtained for binding of GAP SH2 domains to the PDGF-receptor. The isolated SH2 domains of other signaling proteins, such as p60src and Crk, also bound activated PDGF-receptors in vitro. SH2 domains, therefore, provide a common mechanism by which enzymatically diverse regulatory proteins can physically associate with the same activated receptors and thereby couple growth factor stimulation to intracellular signal transduction pathways.     

Global carbon sinks and their variability inferred from atmospheric O2 and delta13C

Recent time-series measurements of atmospheric O2 show that the land biosphere and world oceans annually sequestered 1.4 +/- 0.8 and 2.0 +/- 0.6 gigatons of carbon, respectively, between mid-1991 and mid-1997. The rapid storage of carbon by the land biosphere from 1991 to 1997 contrasts with the 1980s, when the land biosphere was approximately neutral. Comparison with measurements of delta13CO2 implies an isotopic flux of 89 +/- 21 gigatons of carbon per mil per year, in agreement with model- and inventory-based estimates of this flux. Both the delta13C and the O2 data show significant interannual variability in carbon storage over the period of record. The general agreement of the independent estimates from O2 and delta13C is a robust signal of variable carbon uptake by both the land biosphere and the oceans.