Use of neuromuscular blockade with rocuronium bromide for intubation in cats

ObjectiveTo determine whether neuromuscular blockade with rocuronium bromide (RB) would improve endotracheal intubation (EI) conditions in comparison with topical lidocaine hydrochloride (LH).Study designRandomized prospective study.AnimalsForty seven healthy cats of unspecified breed, aged 17 ± 11 months and weighing 2.8 ± 0.8 kg, undergoing elective procedures.MethodsAnesthesia was induced with xylazine (XZ) (1.1 mg kg^?1 IM) and tiletamine‐zolazepam (XTZ) (7 mg kg^?1 IM) and EI was attempted. Cats which could not be intubated at the first attempt (n = 34), were randomly medicated with either 0.1 mL LH 10% spray on the laryngeal mucosa (n = 17) or 0.6 mg kg^?1 intravenous RB (n = 17). Sixty seconds later, a second attempt at EI was performed. The effect of both drugs was assessed using a previously published scale (Sandor Agoston). EI conditions associated with laryngoscopy, vocal cord position and movement, cough, patient movement, time and attempts needed in order to perform EI were recorded. Heart rate and end‐expired CO₂ concentration were monitored.ResultsGroups were comparable in age, weight, gender and hematological parameters. Clinically acceptable EI conditions were not significantly different between RB and LH assisted groups (p = 0.31). However, there was a significant difference in cough, vocal cord movement and position between the RB and the LH groups. The group intubated at the first attempt and receiving neither RB nor LH coughed persistently (11/13). The cats receiving RB had to be ventilated for 10–28 minutes.Conclusions and clinical relevanceThe present study shows that, when used in cats anesthetized with XTZ, RB paralyzes the internal laryngeal muscles keeping the vocal cords in an intermediate position (paramedial) 60 seconds after being administered. RB is an effective alternative to LH to overcome the airway protective reflexes when performing EI but requires ventilatory support until the paralysis wears off.     

Signatures of selection in Charolais beef cattle identified by genome‐wide analysis

Charolais cattle are one of the most important breeds for meat production worldwide; in México, its selection is mainly made by live weight traits. One strategy for mapping important genomic regions that might influence productive traits is the identification of signatures of selection. This type of genomic features contains loci with extended linkage disequilibrium (LD) and homozygosity patterns that are commonly associated with sites of quantitative trait locus (QTL). Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify the signatures of selection in Charolais cattle genotyped with the GeneSeek Genomic Profiler Bovine HD panel consisting of 77 K single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). A total 61,311 SNPs and 819 samples were used for the analysis. Identification of signatures of selection was carried out using the integrated haplotype score (iHS) methodology implemented in the rehh R package. The top ten SNPs with the highest piHS values were located on BTA 4, 5, 6 and 14. By identifying markers in LD with top ten SNPs, the candidate regions defined were mapped to 52.8–59.3 Mb on BTA 4; 67.5–69.3 on BTA 5; 39.5–41.0 Mb on BTA 6; and 26.4–29.6 Mb on BTA 14. The comparison of these candidate regions with the bovine QTLdb effectively confirmed the association (p < 0.05) with QTL related to growth traits and other important productive traits. The genomic regions identified in this study indicated selection for growth traits on the Charolais population via the conservation of haplotypes on various chromosomes. These genomic regions and their associated genes could serve as the basis for haplotype association studies and for the identification of causal genes related to growth traits.     

Decomposition of microcystin-LR, microcystin-RR, and microcystin-YR in water samples submitted to in vitro dissolution tests

The presence of cyanobacterial toxins (microcystins) in waters and food increases the risk of toxicity to animal and human health. These toxins can degrade in the human gastrointestinal tract before they are absorbed. To evaluate this possible degradation, water samples spiked with known concentrations of microcystins MC-LR, MC-RR, and MC-YR, which are the toxins most commonly produced by such toxic cyanobacteria as Microcystis aeruginosa, Oscillatoria spp., and Nostoc spp., were submitted to a dissolution test that used gastric and intestinal fluids according to U.S. Pharmacopeia conditions. HPLC with UV detection was used to determine the toxins before and after treatments. This study revealed enzymatic alterations in gastric conditions for all the toxins assayed. MC-RR was the toxin most affected: its range of inactivation was 49-64%. The percentage of degradation for MC-YR and MC-LR was around 30%. However, none was degraded by intestinal digestion.     

Biological aging of sherry wines using pure cultures of two flor yeast strains under controlled microaeration

Sherry wines obtained after biological aging for an average of 0, 2, and 4 years were inoculated separately with the flor yeast strains Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. capensis and Saccharomyces bayanus and subjected to short, periodic microaeration to a dissolved oxygen concentration of 4 mg L(-1) after formation of the yeast film. A principal component analysis with the acetaldehyde, ethanol, volatile acidity, and glycerol concentrations obtained was performed. The first principal component was found to account for 49.5% of the overall variance and to be defined mainly by glycerol and ethanol. The second component accounted for 38.8% of the variance and was defined by volatile acidity and acetaldehyde. The conditions used in the tests allowed the biological aging of the wines to be substantially shortened. Thus, 42 days after flor-film formation by S. cerevisiae var. capensis, 0- and 2-year-old wines exhibited parameter values similar to those obtained for the wine aged for 4 years. The wines inoculated with S. bayanus exhibited high acetaldehyde concentrations and ethanol levels above 15% (v/v)-sherry wines with alcohol concentrations below 14.5% are undesirable-, so one need not exclude the sequential or simultaneous inoculation of S. bayanus together with S. cerevisiae var. capensis in order to improve the biological aging process.     

Effect of high pressure on isomerization and degradation of lactose in alkaline media

The combined effects of temperature (60 degrees C) and high-pressure treatments (400 MPa for 3 h) on the isomerization-degradation of lactose (10%) in basic media were studied. The formation of isomeric disaccharides (lactulose and epilactose) and galactose decreased by the application of high pressure in aqueous sodium hydroxide 4 mM (pH 10.2) and 8 mM (pH 10.6), and sodium carbonate-bicarbonate buffer (pH 10.0). In addition, no substantial color development was observed in the sodium hydroxide systems for high and atmospheric pressure, whereas the application of high pressure led to a noticeable decrease of color development in the carbonate-bicarbonate system.     

Influence of wine turbidity on the accumulation of volatile compounds from the oak barrel

In this work the influence of the turbidity of a red wine aged in oak barrels on the accumulation of volatile compounds has been studied. From the results obtained, it may be concluded that the wine turbidity had an effect on the concentration of many of the oak volatile compounds, especially furanic and phenolic compounds. In all cases the concentrations of furanic aldehydes and vanillin were significantly higher (p < 0.01) in the filtered wine than in the unfiltered wine. However, in the unfiltered wine the concentrations of gamma-butyrolactone and eugenol were higher. This difference in the concentrations would be due to the different compositions of the wines and the binding of compounds to some components of the lees. Likewise, it has been observed that the composition of the lees is fundamental in the binding of volatile compounds to the lees as the fermentative lees behave differently from the lees from the wine aging in barrels.     

Effects of microwave cooking conditions on bioactive compounds present in broccoli inflorescences

Cooking as a domestic processing method has a great impact on food nutrients. Most Brassica (Brassicaceae, Cruciferae) vegetables are mainly consumed after being cooked, and cooking considerably affects their health-promoting compounds (specifically, glucosinolates, phenolic compunds, minerals, and vitamin C studied here). The microwave cooking process presents controversial results in the literature due to the different conditions that are employed (time, power, and added water). Therefore, the aim of this work was to study the influence of these conditions during microwave cooking on the human bioactive compounds of broccoli. The results show a general decrease in the levels of all the studied compounds except for mineral nutrients which were stable under all cooking conditions. Vitamin C showed the greatest losses mainly because of degradation and leaching, whereas losses for phenolic compounds and glucosinolates were mainly due to leaching into water. In general, the longest microwave cooking time and the higher volume of cooking water should be avoided to minimize losses of nutrients.     

Parameter estimation in selected populations with missing data

This study proposes a procedure to estimate genetic parameters in populations where a selection process results in the loss of an unknown number of observations. The method was developed under the Bayesian inference scope following the missing data theory approach. Its implementation requires slight modifications to the Gibbs sampler algorithm. In order to show the efficiency of this option, a simulation study was conducted.     

Intestinal and haematic parasitism in the birds of the Almuñecar (Granada, Spain) ornithological garden

Birds from the Almuñecar ornithological garden (Granada, Spain) were surveyed from June 2006 to May 2007 to establish programmes to prevent, control, and treat intestinal and haematic parasites. A total of 984 faecal samples and 41 samples of blood were collected from Psittacidae, Cacatuidae, Phasianidae, and Anatidae. One or more intestinal parasites were identified in 51.6% of the samples. Blood parasites were found in 26.8% of the birds examined. The most frequent pathogenic endoparasites were coccidians, such as Cyclospora sp. (4.5%), Eimeria sp. (4.1%) and Isospora sp. (2%) and helminths such as Capillaria sp. (10. 1%), Ascaridia sp. (4.9%) and Heterakis gallinarum (4.9%). All the parasites varied with season but the most were found year round. Multiple parasitic infections by intestinal parasites were common, with 196 of 984 faecal samples having 2–5 intestinal parasites. The most frequent cases of multiple parasitism were Blastocystis plus Entamoeba sp. and Blastocystis plus Cyclospora sp. The haematic protozoa detected were Haemoproteus sp. (17%) and Plasmodium sp. (7.3%). Multiple parasitism by Haemoproteus sp. and Plasmodium sp. was detected in 1 sample of Gallus gallus. After each sampling, some of the affected animals were treated according to our results, and the corresponding programmes of prevention and control were designed.     

Evaluating top soil trace element pollution in the vicinity of a cement plant and a former open-cast uranium mine in central Argentina

Purpose  

Heavy metals are especially dangerous because of their persistence and toxicity. Soil behaves as a sink of heavy metals by aerial deposition of particles emitted by different human activities. The aims of this work were to identify the levels and sources of heavy metal and trace elements in agricultural and residential areas in Argentina and to evaluate the enrichment of total and HCl-extracted heavy metals.