The prevalence and nature of cardiac arrhythmias in horses following general anaesthesia and surgery

Background

The prevalence and nature of arrhythmias in horses following general anaesthesia and surgery is poorly documented. It has been proposed that horses undergoing emergency surgery for gastrointestinal disorders may be at particular risk of developing arrhythmias. Our primary objective was to determine the prevalence and nature of arrhythmias in horses following anaesthesia in a clinical setting and to establish if there was a difference in the prevalence of arrhythmias between horses with and without gastrointestinal disease undergoing surgery. Our secondary objective was to assess selected available risk factors for association with the development of arrhythmias following anaesthesia and surgery.

Methods

Horses with evidence of gastrointestinal disease undergoing an exploratory laparotomy and horses with no evidence of gastrointestinal disease undergoing orthopaedic surgery between September 2009 and January 2011 were recruited prospectively. A telemetric electrocardiogram (ECG) was fitted to each horse following recovery from anaesthesia and left in place for 24 hours. Selected electrolytes were measured before, during and after surgery and data was extracted from clinical records for analysis. Recorded ECGs were analysed and the arrhythmias characterised. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify risk factors associated with the development of arrhythmias.

Results

Sixty-seven horses with gastrointestinal disease and 37 without gastrointestinal disease were recruited. Arrhythmias were very common during the post-operative period in both groups of horses. Supra-ventricular and bradyarrhythmias predominated in both groups. There were no significant differences in prevalence of any type of arrhythmias between the horses with or without gastrointestinal disease. Post-operative tachycardia and sodium derangements were associated with the development of any type of arrhythmia.

Conclusions

This is the first study to report the prevalence of arrhythmias in horses during the post-operative period in a clinical setting. This study shows that arrhythmias are very common in horses following surgery. It showed no differences between those horses with or without gastrointestinal disease. Arrhythmias occurring in horses during the post-anaesthetic period require further investigation.     

Deklaration und Wirklichkeit bei pflanzlichen Erzeugnissen

The German Union of Consumers in Bonn demands firmly from the German Federal Government that a long felt need is filled in the new German Food Laws. Until present, there are no regulation for residues of toxic environmental biocides such as Cadmium, Lead, Mercury in fodder and foodstuffs. The Union also calls for restrictive regulations on another field. The fallacious propaganda of food-producers advertising certain products as ‘Pure Nature’, ‘Bio’, ‘Vita’, ‘Without Residues’ etc. is most unrealistic and mislead the consumer. Toxic residues of heavy metals and certain presticides are ubiquitous and can not be avoided in foodstuffs. Examples are given by the author.     

Historical landscape ecology of an urbanized California valley: wetlands and woodlands in the Santa Clara Valley

Historical records provide information to land managers and landscape ecologists attempting to understand current trajectories in altered landscapes. In this study, we synthesized a heterogeneous array of historical sources to reconstruct historical land cover in California’s Santa Clara Valley (a.k.a. “Silicon Valley”). To increase and assess accuracy, we used the triangulation of overlapping, independent data sources and the application of certainty level standards. The region has been subject to extensive urbanization, so we also evaluated the applicability of historical landscape reconstructions to the altered landscape. We found evidence for five major land cover types prior to significant Euro–American modification. Valley freshwater marsh, wet meadow, alkali meadow, willow grove, and valley oak savanna have all experienced extreme decline (85–100%) since Euro–American settlement. However, comparison of historical land cover patterns to contemporary land use suggested several new strategies for environmental recovery, despite the limitations of surrounding urbanization. We also observed a temporal shift in riparian habitat along the mainstem of Coyote Creek, from a relatively open mixture of riparian scrub, sycamore woodland, and unvegetated gravel bars to dense riparian forest, likely resulting from stream flow regulation. By identifying former land cover patterns we provide a basis for evaluating local landscape change and setting restoration targets, including the identification of residual features and under-recognized land cover types. These findings suggest that reliable historical landscape reconstructions can be developed in the absence of standardized historical data sources and can be of value even in highly modified regions.     

Harvest regimen optimization and essential oil production in five tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.) genotypes under a northern climate

Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.) was cultivated at the Norwegian Crop Research Institute at the Apelsvoll Research Centre, Division Kise, in the period from 2000 to 2001. The study focused on different harvesting regimens for high biomass production and essential oil (EO) yield and quality. Two tansy genotypes from Canada (Richters and Goldsticks) and three Norwegian genotypes (Steinvikholmen, Alvdal, and Brumunddal) were studied. The Canadian genotypes reached a height of 130-145 cm and showed a higher dry weight of aerial plant parts compared to the Norwegian plants in 2000. Similar oil yields could be observed for the Canadian types and genotype Steinvikholmen in the range of 30.8-34.6 L/ha when the plants were harvested twice during budding and before flowering after regrowth (year 2001). In contrast, single harvesting at the full bloom stage resulted in higher oil yields, between 42.1 and 44.5 L/ha (Canadian genotypes), whereas 21.0-38.4 L/ha was obtained from the Norwegian types. Tansy genotypes could be grouped into the following chemotypes: the mixed chemotypes Steinvikholmen (thujone-camphor), Alvdal (thujone-camphor-borneol), Goldsticks (thujone-camphor-chrysanthenyl type), and Brumunddal (thujone-camphor-1,8-cineole-bornyl acetate/borneol-alpha-terpineol) and the distinct chemotype Richters, with average concentrations of (E)-chrysanthenyl acetate >40% in both leaf and flower EO.     

Effect of 2-Chloroethanephosphonic Acid (Ethrel) on Health,Dormancy, and Flower and Corm Yield of Gladioli

2-Chloroethanephosphonic acid (Ethrel), an ethylene releasing compound, was used on gladiolus corms as a 30-minute dip treatment in various concentrations and at various times during storage.

The most important effect of Ethrel was the marked increase in health and survival of treated plants infected with latent Fusarium.

Ethrel at 1000 ppm enhanced sprouting when corms were stored at high temperatures or stored for a short period at 5 °C. Treatment of cold-stored corms at high concentrations delayed sprouting.

Ethrel increased corm splitting, delayed flowering and slightly shortened flower stems. The size of harvested corms was reduced, but the yield of cormels was greatly increased by Ethrel.     

Regulation of bone mass in mice by the lipoxygenase gene Alox15

The development of osteoporosis involves the interaction of multiple environmental and genetic factors. Through combined genetic and genomic approaches, we identified the lipoxygenase gene Alox15 as a negative regulator of peak bone mineral density in mice. Crossbreeding experiments with Alox15 knockout mice confirmed that 12/15-lipoxygenase plays a role in skeletal development. Pharmacologic inhibitors of this enzyme improved bone density and strength in two rodent models of osteoporosis. These results suggest that drugs targeting the 12/15-lipoxygenase pathway merit investigation as a therapy for osteoporosis.     

What happens after technology adoption? Gendered aspects of small-scale irrigation technologies in Ethiopia,Ghana, and Tanzania

Diverse agricultural technologies are promoted to increase yields and incomes, save time, improve food and nutritional security, and even empower women. Yet a gender gap in technology adoption remains for many agricultural technologies, even for those that are promoted for women. This paper complements the literature on gender and technology adoption, which largely focuses on reasons for low rates of female technology adoption, by shifting attention to what happens within a household after it adopts a technology. Understanding the expected benefits and costs of adoption, from the perspective of women users in households with adult males, can help explain observed technology adoption rates and why technology adoption is often not sustained in the longer term. Drawing on qualitative data from Ethiopia, Ghana, and Tanzania, this paper develops a framework for examining the intrahousehold distribution of benefits from technology adoption, focusing on small-scale irrigation technologies. The framework contributes to the conceptual and empirical exploration of joint control over technology by men and women in the same household. Efforts to promote technology adoption for agricultural development and women’s empowerment would benefit from an understanding of intrahousehold control over technology to avoid interpreting technology adoption as an end in and of itself.     

Gender and property rights in the commons: Examples of water rights in South Asia

In many countries and resource sectors, the state is devolving responsibility for natural resource management responsibility to ``communities' or local user groups. However, both policymakers and researchers in this area have tended to ignore the implications of gender and other forms of intra-community power differences for the effectiveness and equity of natural resource management. In the irrigation sector, despite the rhetoric on women's participation, a review of evidence from South Asia shows that organizations often exclude women through formal or informal membership rules and practices. Women may have other ways to obtain irrigation services, but even if they are effective, these other informal ways of obtaining irrigation services are typically less secure. As resource management – and rights to resources – are transferred from the state to local organizations, ensuring women's participation is essential for gender equity in control over resources. Greater involvement of women can also strengthen the effectiveness of local organizations by improving women's compliance with rules and maintenance contributions. Further detailed and comparative research is required to identify the major factors that affect women's participation and control over resources, if devolution policies are to be both equitable and sustainable. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.