Effect of condensed tannin ingestion in sheep and goat parotid saliva proteome

Saliva appears as a defence mechanism, against potential negative effects of tannins, in some species of animals which have to deal with these plant secondary metabolites in their regular diets. This study was carried out to investigate changes in parotid saliva protein profiles of sheep (Ovis aries) and goats (Capra hircus), induced by condensed tannin ingestion. Five Merino sheep and five Serpentina goats were maintained on a quebracho tannin enriched diet for 10 days. Saliva was collected through catheters inserted on parotid ducts and salivary proteins were separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Matrix-assisted Laser desorption ionization - time of flight (MALDI-TOF) and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) were used to identify the proteins whose expression levels changed after tannin consumption. Although no new proteins appeared, quebracho tannin consumption increased saliva total protein concentration and produced changes in the proteome of both species. While some proteins were similarly altered in both species parotid salivary protein profile, sheep and goats also presented species-specific differences in response to tannin consumption.     

Failure of Lipopolysaccharides to Directly Trigger the Chemiluminescence Response of Isolated Equine Polymorphonuclear Leukocytes

Divergent results have been reported on the effects of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) on the activation of equine polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN). We therefore attempted to determine whether LPS alone can stimulate equine PMN or whether plasma factors are necessary. PMN were isolated from citrated blood on a discontinuous density gradient of Percoll. The luminol (10-3 mol/L)-enhanced chemiluminescence (CL) of 1.25 x 106 cells was measured after addition of Escherichia coli LPS (0.001-10 µg/ml) alone or after incubation in autologous plasma (1 h, 37°C). After direct stimulation with LPS, there were random variations of CL in 16 horses that were not reproducible from one sample to the next for the same horse. LPS which had been incubated in plasma gave a dose-dependent stimulation of the CL of the PMN, which did not occur if the plasma had been heat inactivated (1 h, 56°C). These results indicated a role for plasma factors, which were unlikely to be cytokines, as there were no monocytes or lymphocytes in the plasma incubated with LPS, but might have been complement fragments or LPS ligands, such as LPS binding protein. Studies using specific antibodies against these factors are needed to clarify this question.     

Resistance to moxidectin and abamectin in naturally acquired Ostertagia circumcincta infections in sheep

AIM: To investigate the occurrence of resistance to macrocylic lactone (ML) anthelmintics by Ostertagia circumcincta in lambs on a sheep and cattle property in the North Island of New Zea- land.

METHODS: Thirty lambs were randomly allocated to one of five equal-sized groups, consisting of an untreated control and four treatment groups. The treatments, which were administered at the manufacturer's recommended dose rates, included oral moxidectin, oral abamectin (both at 0.2 mg/kg), an albendazole-levamisole combination, and an albendazole-levamisole-ivermectin combination. Post mortem worm counts were undertaken 7 days after treatment to determine the efficacy of each anthelmintic.

RESULTS: The albendazole-levamisole and albendazole-levam-isole-ivermectin combinations both reduced O. circumcincta burdens to zero whereas for moxidectin and abamectin efficacies of only 72% and 29%, respectively, were recorded.

CONCLUSIONS: These results clearly demonstrated the occurrence of resistance to MLs by O. circumcincta. Although this is not the first occasion where resistance to this anthelmintic family has been detected in this parasite in sheep in New Zealand, it is the first instance that resistance to either moxidectin or abamectin has been reported.     

Sedative and antinociceptive effects of different combinations of detomidine and methadone in standing horses

Objective

To evaluate intravenous (IV) detomidine with methadone in horses to identify a combination which provides sedation and antinociception without adverse effects.

Artificially applied plant volatile organic compounds modify the behavior of a pest with no adverse effect on its natural enemies in the field

The use of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) derived from plants to manipulate insect pest behavior can be applied in an integrated pest management strategy (IPM) using a combination of attractive and repulsive stimuli. The “push–pull” strategy was developed on this idea in order to disturb and modify the distribution and abundance of pests to protect crops and reduce the use of agrochemicals. This field experiment investigates, in a “push–pull” context using broccoli as a target crop and Chinese cabbage as a pull component, the stimulo-deterrent effect of five synthetic VOCs (dimethyl disulfide, linalool, geraniol, eucalyptol and citronellol) on the oviposition of the cabbage root fly Delia radicum. With the exception of linalool, all compounds tested had a significant effect in the field and eucalyptol showed the most promising results, reducing oviposition on broccoli by 45 %. Moreover, eucalyptol was the only VOC able to reduce the final infestation of D. radicum, i.e., the number of pupae. The other VOCs reduced oviposition by 20–30 %. No adverse effect of the treatments was found on major parasitoids (Trybliographa rapae and Aleochara bipustulata) and potential predators of D. radicum. This study highlights the potential of VOCs as deterrent stimuli against agricultural pests in the field.     

Buffer capacity and Cu affinity of soil particulate organic matter (POM) size fractions

Particulate organic matter fractions (POM), defined as sand‐sized organic separates in soils, are known to be labile organic components with a rapid turnover. Recently, POM fractions were identified to be metal‐enriched in both metal‐contaminated and uncontaminated soils. However, mechanisms for such metal‐enrichment are poorly understood, because of the paucity of information on the chemical properties of POM. The aim of this study was to quantify the reactivity of POM towards Cu and to show a POM‐size effect on this reactivity. POM was isolated from soils with different organic amendment managements: straw (S), conifer compost (CC), and non‐amended (NA). Two POM size fractions were isolated by density‐fractionation in water: 50–200 μm and 200–2000 μm. These fractions were studied for their metal contents, acid‐base properties and affinity toward Cu. The buffer capacity and Cu affinity were modeled by FITEQL 4.0 software and compared between the two POM size fractions. Each POM size fraction provided a buffer capacity due to the presence of reactive sites, the greatest being for the 50–200 μm POM fractions. A signature of organic inputs as seen by the buffer capacities was observed for the 50–200 μm but not for the 200–2000 μm POM fractions. But Cu affinity was comparable between the coarse and fine POM fractions and no significant differences were found between NA, S and CC samples. We checked the hypothesis that decreasing POM size due to degradation processes generates more reactive surface sites. Results confirmed that soil POM plays a key role as a metal sink, due to its chemical properties.     

癫痫患者血浆皮质醇浓度测定的临床意义

本文对47例癫痫患者血浆皮质醇浓度作了测定,结果表明:癫痫发作期及间歇期的血浆皮质醇浓度高于对照组(P<0.01,0.05),发作期又高于间歇期(P<0.01);原发性癫痫控制期与对照组浓度比较无差异(P>0.05);继发性癫痫发作期、间歇期浓度分别高于原发性癫痫发作期、间歇期(P<0.01);苯妥英钠治疗与丙戊酸钠治疗组浓度比较元差异(P>0.05),但后者高于对照组(P<0.05)。对其机理和临床意义作了探讨。     

Equine postanaesthetic myositis: Thromboxanes,prostacyclin and prostaglandin E2 production

Arachidonic acid cyclooxygenase metabolites, thromboxane B₂ (TXB₂), prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) and 6-keto-prostaglandin F₁ (6-keto-PGF₁) were measured in horses where anaesthesia was maintained with halothane. Two horses suffering from postanaesthetic myositis were compared with four normal horses. TXB₂ and PGE₂ levels were higher in mixed venous blood drawn from the myopathic horses. An increase of TXB₂ and PGE₂ levels appeared when myopathic horses were rolled into dorsal recumbency after a prolonged period of lateral recumbency. One hour after the end of anaesthesia, TXB₂ had continued to increase whereas PGE₂ decreased. By measurements on blood samples drawn from the brachial vein, we have shown that the rising level of TXB₂ in mixed venous blood is mainly due to the increase of TXB₂ in blood draining the dependent leg. The origin of the rise in PGE₂ is not demonstrated in this study. 6-keto-PGF₁ did not change during anaesthesia. An explanation of this imbalance between TXB₂ and 6-keto-PGF₁ production is considered.     

Approche directe pour la mise en évidence des phénomènes radicalaires lors de myopathie postanesthésique équine: étude préliminaire.

This preliminary study demonstrated the existence of a free radical generation during an experimental postischemic muscular reperfusion in a halothane anesthetized horse. The authors used alpha-phényl-N-tert-butylnitrone as a spin trap agent and the electronic paramagnetic resonance method to observe in vivo a free radical generation.