Does the induction agent affect the course of halothane anaesthesia in horses?

Four hundred and ninety horses were anaesthetised with halothane for clinical surgical or diagnostic procedures following induction with either detomidine/keta-mine, detomidine/thiopentone, xylazine/ketamine or guaiphenesin/thiopentone. Routine clinical monitoring was performed during anaesthesia. All horses developed hypotension (mean arterial pressures below 80 mm Hg) and respiratory depression (significant fall in respiratory rate and arterial carbon dioxide tension above 7 kPa (53 mm Hg)) consistent with the recognised effects of halothane. All anaesthetic procedures incorporating xylazine or detomidine resulted in lower pulse rates (28–35 per min) than after guaiphenesin/thiopentone (36–44 per min) and there was greater respiratory depression after techniques employing thiopentone rather than keta-mine. Development of hypotension was delayed after techniques using the α₂ adrenoceptor agonist agents (xylazine and detomidine), particularly detomidine. Prernedication with acepromazine did not affect any of the physiological variables measured after techniques employing detomidine. Recovery to standing was fastest after xylazine/ketamine (31±1 min) and slowest after detomidine/thiopentone (53±2 min). Recovery quality was best after detomidine/thiopentone and all techniques employing an α₂ adrenoceptor agonist agent resulted in smoother recovery than after guaiphenesin/thiopentone. This study demonstrates that most of the physiological effects of individual induction agents are overridden by the cardiovascular and respiratory depressant effects of halothane. The study also shows that detomidine is an acceptable sedative for use before general anaesthesia with halothane in horses.     

Variation and correlation analysis of flavonoids and carotenoids in Korean pigmented rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars

Flavonoids and carotenoids of pigmented rice ( Oryza sativa L.), including five black cultivars and two red cultivars, from Korea were characterized to determine the diversity among the phytochemicals and to analyze the relationships among their contents. Black cultivars were higher in flavonoids and carotenoids than the red and white cultivars. The profiles of eight phytochemicals identified from the rice grains were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA) to evaluate the differences among cultivars. PCA could fully distinguish between these cultivars. The Heugjinjubyeo (BR-1) and Heugseolbyeo (BR-2) cultivars were separated from the others based on flavonoid and carotenoid concentrations. Flavonoid contents had a positive correlation with carotenoid contents among all rice grains. The BR-1 and BR-2 cultivars appear to be good candidates for future breeding programs because they have simultaneously high flavonoid and carotenoid contents.     

Effects of embryonic exposure to α‐lipoic acid or ascorbic acid on hatching rate and development of zebrafish (Danio rerio)

This study investigates the effects of embryonic exposure to two different antioxidants on growth and development in fish. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos (100 per group) were exposed to lipoic acid (LA, 6–12 μM) or ascorbic acid (AA, 100–200 μM) and the hatching rate, standard lengths (SL) at hatching, development and growth post‐hatching monitored. The SLs at hatching were increased (P<0.05) in both antioxidant‐exposed groups relative to the controls, with no effect on yolk reserves. This enhanced development persisted up to 15 days post hatching. At hatching, cell proliferation rates (P<0.0005) and basic fibroblast growth factor (P<0.001), were greater in the antioxidant‐exposed fish than in the controls (0 μM antioxidant); no oxidative DNA damage was detected (P>0.05). Activity of the endogenous antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase was greater (P<0.001) in LA‐treated fish than in the controls. The results suggest that embryonic treatment of zebrafish with LA or AA during embryogenesis enhanced cell proliferation, leading to increased somatic growth in the larval stages, persisting into the juvenile stage. The findings support the treatment of embryonic fish with antioxidants for enhanced results in aquaculture.     

Detection and molecular characterization of porcine type 3 orthoreoviruses circulating in South Korea

Orthoreoviruses infect virtually all mammalian species, causing systemic infections including mild gastrointestinal and respiratory illnesses. However, little is known about the prevalence or genetic diversity of porcine orthoreoviruses in South Korea. We examined 237 diarrheic fecal samples collected from 78 pig farms around the country. RT-PCR utilizing primers specific for the L1 gene of mammalian orthoreoviruses showed that 45 (19.0%) samples were positive. The 10 strains isolated from orthoreovirus-positive samples formed typical perinuclear cytoplasmic inclusion bodies and had an atypical hemagglutination pattern; these are characteristics of type 3 orthoreovirus. Phylogenetic analysis of the S1 gene in these 10 Korean and other strains showed that type 3 orthoreoviruses could be divided into four lineages; the 10 Korean strains were included in porcine lineage IV, along with T3/porcine/Sichuan/2006. Sequence analysis showed that strains in lineage IV had nucleotide identities of 97.0-98.1% and deduced amino acid identities of 96.4-98.2%. Sequence analysis of the σ1 protein, a viral attachment protein, revealed that the amino acid sequences associated with neurotropism (amino acids 198-204, 249I, 350D, and 419E) were highly conserved among the Korean strains, confirming that neural tropism was present. In conclusion, our findings suggest that porcine orthoreovirus infections are endemic in pig farms in South Korea and that the 10 novel Korean porcine orthoreoviruses belong to porcine lineage IV of type 3 orthoreovirus. In addition, sequence analysis of S1 genes encoding the σ1 protein showed that the 9 of 10 Korean porcine orthoreoviruses exhibited neural tropism.     

Comparative stomach contents and growth of the juvenile black seabream, Acanthopagrus schlegeli, reared in illuminated and unilluminated cages

The present study was designed to determine the positive effects of artificial illumination on the juvenile black seabream, Acanthopagrus schlegeli , by comparing stomach contents and growth between juveniles exposed to light and those maintained in the absence of light. The major prey items for juvenile black seabream reared in illuminated cages were amphipods (IRI%=50.5), copepods (IRI%=44.7) and polychaetes (IRI%=3.0), whereas those for the juveniles maintained in unilluminated cages were copepods (IRI%=96.0), amphipods (IRI%=3.4) and polychaetes (IRI%=0.6). The specific growth rates (SGR) of the juveniles reared in illuminated cages (0.99%) were significantly higher than those of the juveniles maintained in unilluminated cages (0.78%).     

Apparent ileal digestibility of nutrients and amino acids in soybean meal,fish meal,spray‐dried plasma protein and fermented soybean meal to weaned pigs

This study sought to determine whether fermentation could increase apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of dry matter (DM), nitrogen (N), energy (E) and amino acids (AA) in fermented soybean meal (FSBM) greater than that of soybean meal (SBM) in weaned pigs. Four weaned pigs (10.00 ± 0.30 kg) were surgically equipped with T‐cannulas and randomly followed a 4 × 4 Latin square design of treatments (SBM, FSBM, fish meal and spray‐dried plasma protein). Overall, the fermentation process was able to reduce the amount of anti‐nutritional factors (ANF), including trypsin inhibitors, raffinose and stachyose, in the FSBM diet, which were significantly reduced by 39.4, 92.2, and 92.9%, respectively, as compared to the SBM diet. As a consequence of ANF reduction in FSBM, the AID of DM, N and E as well as AA was significantly greater with FSBM than SBM. Taken all together, the fermentation process improved the nutritional quality of SBM, due to ANF reduction, leading to improvement of digestibility of AA. As such, FSBM can be potentially used as a specialized feed ingredient, especially for young animal diets in an attempt to reduce diet costs.