Rotavirus infection in calves in Bangladesh

Faecal samples from 434 calves under 1 year of age (307 diarrhoeal and 127 normal) were collected from three dairy farms and one village in selected areas of Bangladesh. The samples were tested by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect the presence of rotavirus antigen. Of 402 dairy calves tested, 28 (7.0%) were positive, of which 21 (7.2%) were from diarrhoeic calves and 7 (6.3%) from non-diarrhoeic calves. Rotavirus infection varied from farm to farm (2.7–9.2%) and there was no positive response from any of the 32 village calves. Rotavirus was most commonly found in calves of 1 week of age or less (up to 22.2% in one group) but was not found in any calves later than 6 months of age. More than 80% of rotavirus-positive samples from diarrhoeic calves exhibited a titre of 128 or more (geometric mean 345±4.5), whereas non-diarrhoeal calves had titres less than or equal to 128 (geometric mean=29±1.9), suggesting that rotavirus infection in calves in Bangladesh was mostly associated with diarrhoea.     

Intramuscular and oral disposition of enrofloxacin in African grey parrots following single and multiple doses

The intramuscular (IM) and oral (PO) disposition of enrofloxacin, a new fluoroquinolone antimicrobial drug, were evaluated in African grey parrots. Peak enrofloxacin concentration, mean (+/- SEM), at 1 h following a 15-mg/kg IM dose was 3.87 (+/- 0.27) micrograms/ml and declined with a mean residence time of 3.05 h. Peak enrofloxacin plasma concentrations at 2 to 4 h following oral doses of 3, 15, and 30 mg/kg were 0.31 (+/- 0.11), 1.12 (+/- 0.11), and 1.69 (+/- 0.23) micrograms/ml, respectively, and declined with a mean residence time of 3.44-5.28 h. The relative bioavailability of the 15-mg/kg oral dose was 48%. An equipotent metabolite, ciprofloxacin, was detected in plasma at concentrations ranging from 3 to 78% of those of enrofloxacin. Enrofloxacin concentrations and area under the curve were significantly lower, the mean residence time significantly shorter and the ciprofloxacin/enrofloxacin ratios higher, following 10 days of oral treatment at 30 mg/kg every 12 h. Following 10 days of treatment, no significant biochemical changes were noted; however, polydipsia and polyuria occurred in treated birds, but resolved quickly upon discontinuation of enrofloxacin administration. These studies indicate that a rational starting dose for enrofloxacin in psittacines (7.5-30 mg/kg BID) should be higher than those in other domestic animals.     

Multifactorial analysis of distance in studies of ecological community structure

A framework is described for partitioning the matrix of between-sample distances that forms a starting point for many ecological studies into contributions attributable to different factors in a structured data set. This partitioning enables a series of ordinations to be produced that better enable an insight to be gained into the effects of the factors. More detailed application of the same partitioning provides a decomposition of each factorial effect into single degree-of-freedom contrasts, which enables reasons for observed trends to be investigated. The methods are illustrated by application to data from a study of marine community structure.     

Further studies on the antinociceptive activity and respiratory effects of buprenorphine in sheep

The thermal and mechanical analgesic profile of buprenorphine at a dose rate of 1.5 micrograms/kg i.v. was investigated in five sheep. This dose produced significant analgesia for 40 min against the thermal stimulus, but no mechanical antinociception. A higher dose rate of 12 micrograms/kg also failed to produce antinociception to a mechanical stimulus. In addition, the effect of the drug (6 micrograms/kg) on respiratory gas tensions was determined and no significant changes were observed.     

Norsalsolinol uptake into secretory vesicles via vesicular monoamine transporter and its secretion by membrane depolarization or purinoceptor stimulation in PC12 cells.

The intracellular dynamics of norsalsolinol, a neurotoxin candidate causing parkinsonism-like symptoms, in PC12 cells was studied. We found that dopamine and norsalsolinol are co-localized to secretory granule layer by sucrose density gradient in norsalsolinol-treated PC12 cells. The norsalsolinol was actively taken up into isolated secretory vesicle fraction from PC12 cells with a Km value of 41.5+/-6.8 microM. The uptake of 10 microM of norsalsolinol was sensitive to reserpine (1 microM), an inhibitor of vesicular dopamine transporter, and dopamine, an endogenous substrate, but insensitive to GBR-12909, an inhibitor of dopamine transporter on plasma membrane. In norsalsolinol-treated PC12 cells, exposure to high K+ or ATP resulted in simultaneous release of norsalsolinol and dopamine. Time course of a release of dopamine and that of norsalsolinol evoked by 50 mM KCl or 100 microM ATP corresponded to each other. These releases were dependent on the concentrations of secretagogues. These data suggest that norsalsolinol is taken up with dopamine into secretory vesicle via vesicular catecholamine transporter.     

The Effect of Exogenous Hormone Treatment on Spermiation in Rhynchocypris oxycephalus (Sauvage and Dabry)

For the evaluation of hormonal control of spermiation in fish, a method to quanify the spermiation response of mature Rhynchocypris oxycephalus (Sauvage and Dabry) to hormonal therapy is described. Spermatocrit was determined after 7 min centrifugation at 18,000 ± g and sperm density was estimated by a standard hemocytomer method. Sperm density can be predicted from spermatocrit since their relationship is linear as described by the regression equation, Y = 3.68X - 27.18 ( R ² = 0.82, N = 50). where Y is spermatocrit and × is sperm density. Milt production by mature R. oxycephalus was highest at 24 h after injection of 1,000 IU human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and 50 μg luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analogue (LHRHa) per kg body weight. Increased milt production coincided with low spermatocrit and sperm density levels. These results demonstrate that spermiation in mature R. oxycephalus can be reliably evaluated by a spermatocrit method and that HCG and LHRHa are effective in stimulating of spermiation in this species.