Veterinary-care events and costs over a 5-year follow-up period for warmblooded riding horses with or without previously recorded locomotor problems in Sweden

Our objective was to determine the amount, type and cost of veterinary care during a 5-year follow-up period, in Swedish warmblooded riding horses with and without locomotor problems as recorded in 1997. The study population comprised horses with complete insurance both for veterinary care and life during 1997. The horses were followed from the beginning of January 1998 to the end of December 2002. The exposed cohort was composed of 1558 horses that had experienced >or=1 veterinary-care event because of locomotor problems in 1997 (LP-cohort). The exposure-negative (LN) cohort was composed of 16,513 horses that had no recorded locomotor problem during 1997. For the outcome of locomotor problems during the follow-up period, stratified incidence proportions and a repeated-measures multivariable-logistic regression model in general produced the same conclusions. An interaction between year and cohort showed larger odds ratios (ORs) in the first year of follow-up compared to later (OR 4.8 and 1.2 in the LP- and LN-cohort, respectively), but a smaller difference during the subsequent years (in the 5th year OR 1.8 and 1.0, respectively). Horses with life-insurance values of >30,000 SEK in the LP- and LN-cohorts had ORs of 4.7 (99% CI 3.9, 5.6) and 2.6 (99% CI 2.3, 2.9), respectively. For life-insurance values of 相似文献   

陕西三种类型土壤剖面硝酸盐累积、分布与土壤质地的关系

研究了陕北黄绵土,关中土与陕南水稻土土壤剖面中硝酸盐的分布与累积,分析了硝酸盐淋移与土壤剖面粘粒含量的关系。结果表明,黄绵土由于粘粒含量少,土壤疏松,氮肥施入土壤后硝化作用速度快,氮素多以硝态氮存在于土壤中,遇到过量的灌溉或降水,容易引起硝酸盐淋失。在米脂的川道地,施肥2个月后,硝酸盐峰值在50cm左右,4个多月后,峰值下移至100cm左右,6个月后,该峰值下降到130cm左右,一年内,硝酸盐的峰值已经消失,分布在130至350cm之间。因此,在黄绵土地区可以灌溉的川道地,氮素损失的主要途径是硝酸盐淋失。关中土,粘粒含量相对较高,硝化作用速度快,但由于在80120cm有一粘化层,阻碍了水分与硝酸盐的向下淋移,使得大部分硝酸盐累积在0100cm土层,其累积量占到0400cm总累积量的64%～74%,而200400cm仅占到7%～13%。而且淋移到100cm以下的硝酸盐,也通过反硝化损失了。陕南水稻土,由于深层土壤水饱和,硝酸盐难以向下淋移,氮素主要累积在土壤表层。由于下层土壤长期处于厌气条件,即使淋移到下层的硝酸盐也通过反硝化作用而损失掉了。     

Pharmacokinetics of amoxicillin administered in drinking water to recently weaned 3- to 4-week-old pigs with diarrhea experimentally induced by Escherichia coli O149:F4

OBJECTIVE: To measure effects of Escherichia coli O149:F4-induced diarrhea on water consumption and pharmacokinetics of amoxicillin after administration in drinking water. ANIMALS: 24 recently weaned 24- to 28-day-old crossbred pigs. PROCEDURE: 10 pigs were inoculated with E. coli O149:F4; all 10 pigs subsequently developed diarrhea. Pigs were medicated by administration of amoxicillin in the drinking water (0.75 mg/mL) for a 4-hour period on 2 consecutive days. Fourteen age-matched noninfected healthy pigs (control group) were medicated in a similar manner. Blood samples were obtained from both groups daily, and plasma concentrations of amoxicillin were analyzed by use of high-performance liquid chromatography. RESULTS: Diarrhea reduced the area under the plasma concentration-versus-time curve (AUC) and maximum plasma concentration (C(max)) of amoxicillin on the first day of medication by 56% and 63%, respectively. The AUC of amoxicillin on the second day of medication for diarrheic pigs did not differ significantly from that of control pigs on the first day of medication. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: E. coli-induced diarrhea reduced the AUC of amoxicillin and time that plasma concentration of amoxicillin was > 0.025 microg/mL and, hence, less likely to have a therapeutic effect on the first day of administration in drinking water. On the assumption that plasma concentrations may indirectly reflect concentrations at the site of infection, analysis of our results suggests that higher doses of amoxicillin may be appropriate for administration in drinking water during a 4-hour period on the first day that pigs have diarrhea attributable to E. coli O149:F4.     

CO/FT regulatory module controls timing of flowering and seasonal growth cessation in trees

Forest trees display a perennial growth behavior characterized by a multiple-year delay in flowering and, in temperate regions, an annual cycling between growth and dormancy. We show here that the CO/FT regulatory module, which controls flowering time in response to variations in daylength in annual plants, controls flowering in aspen trees. Unexpectedly, however, it also controls the short-day-induced growth cessation and bud set occurring in the fall. This regulatory mechanism can explain the ecogenetic variation in a highly adaptive trait: the critical daylength for growth cessation displayed by aspen trees sampled across a latitudinal gradient spanning northern Europe.     

氮肥施用对环境污染影响的研究

通过田间试验和野外调查对陕西三个主要农业生态区的施氮情况及其对土壤和地下水污染的影响进行了研究。结果表明,有些高产地区由于过量施氮已在0～4米深的土层中积累了大量NO3-N,并使地下水和地表水受到不同程度的污染;在当季作物生长期间,土壤中NO3-N淋失深度和淋失量与施氮量、施氮技术、地面接水量和土壤质地有密切关系。     

Complex diel cycles of gene expression in coral-algal symbiosis

Circadian regulation of plant-animal endosymbioses is complicated by a diversity of internal and external cues. Here, we show that stress-related genes in corals are coupled to the circadian clock, anticipating major changes in the intracellular milieu. In this regard, numerous chaperones are "hard-wired" to the clock, effectively preparing the coral for the consequences of oxidative protein damage imposed by symbiont photosynthesis (when O(2) > 250% saturation), including synexpression of antioxidant genes being light-gated. Conversely, central metabolism appears to be regulated by the hypoxia-inducible factor system in coral. These results reveal the complexity of endosymbiosis as well as the plasticity regulation downstream of the circadian clock.     

Cell Death Inducing Microbial Protein Phosphatase Inhibitors—Mechanisms of Action

Okadaic acid (OA) and microcystin (MC) as well as several other microbial toxins like nodularin and calyculinA are known as tumor promoters as well as inducers of apoptotic cell death. Their intracellular targets are the major serine/threonine protein phosphatases. This review summarizes mechanisms believed to be responsible for the death induction and tumor promotion with focus on the interdependent production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and activation of Ca²⁺/calmodulin kinase II (CaM-KII). New data are presented using inhibitors of specific ROS producing enzymes to curb nodularin/MC-induced liver cell (hepatocyte) death. They indicate that enzymes of the arachidonic acid pathway, notably phospholipase A2, 5-lipoxygenase, and cyclooxygenases, may be required for nodularin/MC-induced (and presumably OA-induced) cell death, suggesting new ways to overcome at least some aspects of OA and MC toxicity.     

Significance of ossificated ungular cartilages regarding the performance of cold-blooded trotters

Background

Ossification of the ungular cartilages (OUC) in the foot of horses has been studied for more than 100 years. There is a high heritability of this condition but its clinical relevance has remained questionable. Nevertheless, modern equine orthopedic literature ranks OUC as one of top 10 causes of lameness in cold-blooded trotters and stallions of these breeds are excluded from breeding if they have more than mild levels of side bones. Cold-blooded trotters have been used for racing for many decades and official sports data have been available since 1923. A decreased performance is often the only obvious clinical sign noticed by trainers and owners motivating them to seek professional help from veterinarians and farriers. By comparing various performance parameters in Swedish-Norwegian cold-blooded trotters without and with different grades of OUC, we aimed to determine the clinical relevance of ossified hoof cartilages in a population of high-performance horses.Front hooves from 649 Swedish-Norwegian cold-blooded trotters were evaluated radiologically regarding OUC. Breeding index and official sports data originating from strict protocols kept by groups of officials in trotting associations was used for comparison of performance of these horses that together had competed in more than 23,000 races between 1973 and 2009. Generalized linear mixed models were used for the statistical analyses. The response variable was modeled using ordinal logistic models with a multinomial distribution and a cumulative logit link function. The horse was used as a random factor.

Results

Significant effects of gender on performance were demonstrated, but no correlations were found between different positions nor grades of ossified ungular cartilage and number of starts, running pace, race winnings, number of races completed in a regular gait.

Conclusions

Ossification of the ungular cartilages does not cause decreased performance in cold-blooded trotters and is therefore most likely not a cause of clinical or subclinical lameness in this breed. Results from this study can assist equine professionals in evaluating and interpreting the clinical relevance of radiological findings on ossified hoof cartilage among heavy and high-performing horses.