Effects of long-term administration of enalapril on clinical indicators of renal function in dogs with compensated mitral regurgitation

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of long-term administration of enalapril on renal function in dogs with severe, compensated mitral regurgitation. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. ANIMALS: 139 dogs with mitral regurgitation but without overt signs of heart failure. PROCEDURE: Dogs were randomly assigned to be treated with enalapril (0.5 mg/kg [0.23 mg/lb], PO, q 24 h) or placebo, and serum creatinine and urea nitrogen concentrations were measured at regular intervals for up to 26 months. RESULTS: Adequate information on renal function was obtained from 132 dogs; follow-up time ranged from 0.5 to 26 months (median, 12 months). Mean serum creatinine and urea nitrogen concentrations were not significantly different between dogs receiving enalapril and dogs receiving the placebo at any time, nor were concentrations significantly different from baseline concentrations. Proportions of dogs that developed azotemia or that had a +/- 35% increase in serum creatinine or urea nitrogen concentration were also not significantly different between groups. Conclusions: And Clinical Relevance: Results suggest that administration of enalapril for up to 2 years did not have any demonstrable adverse effects on renal function in dogs with severe, compensated mitral regurgitation.     

Use of the Vettest 8008 and refractometry for determination of total protein,albumin, and globulin concentrations in feline effusions

Background— Pleural and peritoneal effusion is a common clinical finding in feline practice. Determination of fluid albumin (ALB) and globulin (GLOB) concentrations in addition to total protein (TP) concentration can be helpful in diagnosing or ruling out certain diseases in cats, especially feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). Objective— The objective of this study was to compare effusion TP, ALB, and GLOB results obtained by a refractometer and a bench‐top dry chemistry analyzer with those results obtained by a reference method. Methods— Twenty‐six pleural and 14 peritoneal effusion samples were analyzed from 40 cats with various diseases. TP and ALB concentrations were determined by a reference automated wet chemistry analyzer (Kone Specific, Kone Instruments, Espoo, Finland), a bench‐top dry chemistry analyzer (Vettest 8008, IDEXX Laboratories Ltd, Chalfont St Peter, UK), and a refractometer (Atago SPR‐T2, Atago Co, Tokyo, Japan). GLOB, albumin to globulin (A/G) ratio, and globulins as a percentage of total proteins (GLOB%) were calculated. Results were analyzed by paired t tests, difference plots, and Deming's regression analysis. Results— Correlation coefficients (r) for TP with Vettest versus Kone and refractometer versus Kone methods were .97 and .94, respectively. GLOB and GLOB% values were significantly higher and A/G ratios were significantly lower with Vettest versus Kone methods. Correlation coefficients for ALB, GLOB, GLOB% and A/G ratio with Vettest versus Kone methods were .86, .93, .82, and .73, respectively. Although correlation with other methods was good, the refractometer underestimated TP concentrations in 3 samples. Conclusions— The refractometer is an acceptable method for determination of TP concentration in feline effusions. The Vettest 8008 also is an acceptable method for the determination of TP and ALB concentrations, however, calculated A/G ratios obtained with the Vettest are unacceptable.     

Measurement of ionized calcium in canine blood samples collected in prefilled and self-filled heparinized syringes using the i-STAT point-of-care analyzer

BACKGROUND: Heparinized syringes are commonly used with point-of-care analyzers (eg, i-STAT) to measure ionized calcium (iCa(2+)); however there is little information about the validity of their use in canine patients. OBJECTIVE: To examine the suitability of prefilled (40 IU heparin/mL) and self-filled (150 IU heparin/mL) heparinized syringes for iCa(2+) measurements using the i-STAT analyzer. METHODS: Forty-seven blood samples were collected from 41 canine patients. Two milliliters of blood were collected into a 2-mL nonanticoagulated (NA) syringe, a commercially available preheparinized (PH) syringe (dry calcium-balanced lithium heparin, 40 IU/mL), and a 2-mL self-filled heparinized (SH) syringe (liquid sodium heparin, 150 IU/mL). iCa(2+) was measured in the sample using the i-STAT analyzer and a wet-reagent analyzer (KoneLab 30i) used as the reference instrument. Data were analyzed using paired t-tests, Pearson correlation coefficient, and Bland-Altman difference plots. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the results obtained from NA and PH syringes using the i-STAT analyzer, and the correlation was excellent (r =.97). The i-STAT values from the SH syringes (mean, 1.07 mmol/L) were significantly lower (P<.001) than those from the NA syringes (mean, 1.38 mmol/L). iCa(2+) was significantly higher with the i-STAT analyzer than with the KoneLab analyzer for both the PH (mean i-STAT, 1.38 mmol/L vs mean KoneLab, 1.30 mmol/L) and SH (mean i-STAT, 1.07 mmol/L vs mean KoneLab, 1.03 mmol/L) samples. CONCLUSIONS: Blood samples collected in the PH syringes used in this study can be used interchangeably with those collected in NA syringes for measuring iCa(2+) using the i-STAT analyzer. SH syringes with high-concentration heparin products (5000 IU/mL) are unsuitable for measuring iCa(2+) because they cause clinically significant underestimations. Although there was good correlation between the i-STAT and KoneLab analyzers, the results should be interpreted using analyzer-specific reference intervals.     

Opportunities for Growth Regulation of Amenity Grass

Plant growth regulators have found applications in numerous crop situations but amenity turf provides a unique challenge. This paper discusses the major opportunities in this sector and reports results from trials carried out in the UK over four years with trinexapac-ethyl in a range of situations. The weight of clippings was reduced by 40% and absolute sward height by up to 21% compared to the untreated control; of more practical relevance for mown turf, this amounts to a reduction of up to 48% in clippings weight when the influence of height of mowing is taken into account. It is safe to a wide range of grass species. The data show considerable potential for this PGR as a management tool for amenity turf in Northern Europe.     

The detection of allelic variants at the recessive vrn loci of winter wheat

Substitution lines with reciprocal substitutions of chromosomes containing recessive alleles of the homoeologous group 5 chromosomeVrn genes between varieties of winter wheat with high vernalisation requirement (‘Mironovskaya 808’) and low vernalisation requirements (‘Bezostaya 1’) have been created. On this basis the genetic determination of vernalisation requirement was established. Substitution lines Mironovskaya 808 (Bezostaya 1 5A), Mironovskaya 808 (Bezostaya 1 5B), Mironovskaya 808 (Bezostaya 1 5D) and reciprocal substitution lines Bezostaya 1 (Mironovskaya 808 5A), Bezostaya 1 (Mironovskaya 808 5B) and Bezostaya 1 (Mironovskaya 808 5D) were grown under different durations of vernalisation (3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 weeks) and their response was evaluated. Photoperiodic sensitivity of the original parental genotypes was also determined. Reciprocal substitution lines of the same chromosome that carries the same vrn allele responded differently to vernalisation deficit. Differences have been shown between all group 5 reciprocal substitutions. Lines carrying chromosomes 5A and 5D of Mironovskaya 808 had a high vernalisation requirement whereas lines carrying chromosome 5B of Bezostaya 1 (vrn2^B) had a low vernalisation requirement. The reciprocal lines had a reverse requirement. This explains the different vernalisation requirements of the original varieties: Mironovskaya 808 with a high vernalisation requirement carries two alleles (vrn1^M and vrn3^M) in its genotype that increase the vernalisation requirement, whereas Bezostaya 1 with a lower requirement for vernalisation contains only one such allele (vrn2^B). By combination of the alleles in the lines with the substitution of chromosome 5B carrying vrn2 allele that in both original genotypes work inversely to the other alleles, transgressive genotypes have been formed: genotype vrn1^M vrn2^B vrn3^M determines a higher vernalisation requirement than original variety Mironovskaya 808, and genotype vrn1^B vrn2^M vrn3^B determines a lower vernalisation requirement than the original Bezostaya 1. An incomplete vernalisation requirement prolonged the time to heading, with exponential dependence on the vernalisation deficit, or prevented heading altogether. The original varieties further differed in photoperiodic sensitivity (Mironovskaya 808 sensitive, Bezostaya 1 less sensitive) that also influenced the background of substitution lines. The impact of the background on the heading time showed itself by about one week difference between Mironovskaya 808 and Bezostaya 1 grown under 8 weeks vernalisation and normal photoperiod. The difference between the lines with Mironovskaya 808 background and the lines with Bezostaya 1 background was approximately the same and was not significantly changed in different vernalisation variants of the lines. This difference may be caused by different photoperiodic sensitivity of the original varieties, but also by other genes, such as genes of earliness per se. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The Two Cultures of Science： Implications for University-Industry Relationships in the U.S. Agriculture Biotechnology

Partnerships between U.S. universities and industries have existed for several decades and in recent years have become generally more varied, wider in scope, more aggressive and experimental and higher in public visibility. In addition, in the last few decades, public and private interests have advocated for government policies and laws to globally promote the commercialization of university science. This paper examines the persistence or convergence of the two cultures of science and the implications of this commercialization for university-industry relationships in agriculture biotechnology. The perceptions and values of over 200 U.S. university and industry scientists, managers and administrators who participate in or oversee research collaborations in agricultural biotechnology were analyzed. The findings revealed that the participants in these research relationships continue to perceive very distinct cultures of science and identify a wide range of concerns and disadvantages of these partnerships. Several actions were discussed to ensure that the two cultures serve complementary roles and that they maximize the public benefits from these increasing collaborations.