Embryo vaccination against Marek's disease with serotypes 1, 2 and 3 vaccines administered singly or in combination

Marek's disease virus (MDV) vaccines of serotypes 1 and 2 administered in 18-day-old embryonated eggs induced better protection against post-hatch challenge at 3 days with virulent MDV than vaccines given at hatch. Embryonal vaccination with a polyvalent vaccine containing equal quantities of serotypes 1 and 2 of MDV and serotype 3 virus (turkey herpesvirus, HVT) was also significantly more effective than post-hatch vaccination. These and earlier results indicate that protective efficacy of single or combined Marek's disease vaccine serotypes against post-hatch challenge at 3 days can be substantially improved if the vaccines are injected into 18-day embryos rather than at hatch. Injection of vaccines of serotypes 1 or 2 into embryonated eggs or hatched chicks did not cause detectable gross or microscopic lesions in chickens. Vaccine viruses of serotypes 1 and 2 could be isolated from spleen cells of chickens 1 week post-vaccination, and the titer of recoverable viruses was higher in chickens that received the vaccines at the 18th day of embryonation than in chickens vaccinated at hatch. Although embryo vaccination with HVT usually provided better protection than post-hatch vaccination against early post-hatch challenge with variant pathotypes of MDV, the protection was poor regardless of vaccination protocol. If challenge with variant pathotypes of MDV was delayed until embryonally or post-hatch HVT-vaccinated chickens were 21 days of age, protection of chickens by HVT was not enhanced. Thus, resistance induced by embryonal vaccination with HVT was qualitatively similar to that induced by post-hatch vaccination with this virus.     

Conjunctive representation of position, direction, and velocity in entorhinal cortex

Grid cells in the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) are part of an environment-independent spatial coordinate system. To determine how information about location, direction, and distance is integrated in the grid-cell network, we recorded from each principal cell layer of MEC in rats that explored two-dimensional environments. Whereas layer II was predominated by grid cells, grid cells colocalized with head-direction cells and conjunctive grid x head-direction cells in the deeper layers. All cell types were modulated by running speed. The conjunction of positional, directional, and translational information in a single MEC cell type may enable grid coordinates to be updated during self-motion-based navigation.     

Effects of tramadol,morphine or their combination in dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy on peri-operative electroencephalographic responses and post-operative pain

Abstract

AIM: To compare the peri-operative electroencephalogram (EEG) responses and post-operative analgesic efficacy of pre-operative morphine or tramadol with a combination of low-dose pre-operative morphine and post-operative tramadol, in dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy.

METHODS: Dogs undergoing routine ovariohysterectomy were treated with either pre-operative morphine (0.5 mg/kg S/C, n=8), or tramadol (3 mg/kg S/C, n=8), or pre-operative low-dose morphine (0.1 mg/kg S/C) and post-operative tramadol (3 mg/kg I/V, n=8). All dogs received routine pre-anaesthetic medication, and anaesthesia was induced with I/V thiopentone to effect and maintained with halothane in oxygen. Respiratory rate, heart rate, end-tidal halothane tension (EtHal) and end-tidal CO₂ tension (EtCO₂) were monitored throughout surgery. The EEG was recorded continuously in a three electrode montage. Median frequency (F50), total power (Ptot) and 95% spectral edge frequency (F95) of the EEG power spectra were compared during different 100-second periods of surgery: prior to and during skin incision, ligation of each ovarian pedicle, ligation of uterine body and skin closure. Post-operatively, pain was assessed using the short form of the Glasgow composite measure pain scale (CMPS-SF).

RESULTS: There was no difference in F50 or Ptot of the EEG between baseline and noxious surgical events within each treatment group, or between the three groups (p>0.05). The mean F95 was higher during the first three periods of surgery for dogs administered tramadol and low-dose morphine than those that received 0.5 mg/kg morphine (p=0.001). Dogs that received low-dose morphine and tramadol had lower CMPS-SF pain scores after ovariohysterectomy than those that received either tramadol or morphine alone (p=0.001). There was no difference in pain scores between dogs in the latter two groups.

CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Tramadol and morphine administered pre-operatively provided an equal degree of post-operative analgesia in dogs after ovariohysterectomy. A combination of pre-operative low-dose morphine and post-operative tramadol produced better post-operative analgesia than either drug administered alone pre-operatively. Administration of analgesics pre- and post-operatively could result in improved post-operative well-being of ovariohysterectomised dogs.