Evaluation of Plasma Detectable Concentrations of Two Lidocaine Transdermal Formulations and Their Analgesic Effect in the Horse

Transdermal absorption of four lidocaine (L) patches (5%) was compared with the transdermal absorption of L cream (5%) to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of the two formulations applied on the same anatomic region under dressing in eight horses. The animals were also assessed for antinociceptive effect after removal of the patches and cream, using a psychophysical method visual analog scale, by pricking the patient's skin to test the response to pain. Horses were randomly assigned to four treatment groups: in groups I and II, four L patches were applied for a period of 24 hours with and without alcohol precleaning, respectively; in group III, 5% L cream was applied every 2 hours over a 24-hour period on the same anatomic site. Group IV was the control. No clinical side effects were noted with either formulation. L was detectable in plasma 6 to 24 hours after application of the patches, and the highest plasma concentrations were reached between 12 and 18 hours. The use of alcohol to preclean the skin appeared to reduce the transdermal drug absorption over time. After L cream application, the peak plasma drug concentration occurred at 24 hours. Nociception assessment after L patch or L cream application showed a decreased response when the L cream was used. The results of this study showed that there was minimal absorption from the L patches compared with the L cream in horses. Also, the L cream treatment reduced significantly the intensity of nociception quality as measured by the visual analog scale.     

Production,Characterization and Biocompatibility of Marine Collagen Matrices from an Alternative and Sustainable Source: The Sea Urchin Paracentrotus lividus

Collagen has become a key-molecule in cell culture studies and in the tissue engineering field. Industrially, the principal sources of collagen are calf skin and bones which, however, could be associated to risks of serious disease transmission. In fact, collagen derived from alternative and riskless sources is required, and marine organisms are among the safest and recently exploited ones. Sea urchins possess a circular area of soft tissue surrounding the mouth, the peristomial membrane (PM), mainly composed by mammalian-like collagen. The PM of the edible sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus therefore represents a potential unexploited collagen source, easily obtainable as a food industry waste product. Our results demonstrate that it is possible to extract native collagen fibrils from the PM and produce suitable substrates for in vitro system. The obtained matrices appear as a homogeneous fibrillar network (mean fibril diameter 30–400 nm and mesh < 2 μm) and display remarkable mechanical properties in term of stiffness (146 ± 48 MPa) and viscosity (60.98 ± 52.07 GPa·s). In vitro tests with horse pbMSC show a good biocompatibility in terms of overall cell growth. The obtained results indicate that the sea urchin P. lividus can be a valuable low-cost collagen source for mechanically resistant biomedical devices.     

Spontaneous pneumopericardium in a dog with bronchopulmonary disease complicated by pyothorax and pneumothorax

Spontaneous pneumopericardium is a rare condition consisting of pericardial gas in the absence of iatrogenic or traumatic causes; it has been described secondary to pneumonia, lung abscess, and bronchopulmonary disease. This report describes a case of spontaneous pneumopericardium in a dog presenting with dyspnea secondary to pyopneumothorax complicating a bronchopulmonary disease.     

Evaluation of interleukin-2 treatment for prevention of intramammary infections in cows after calving

A low-dose treatment based on interleukin-2 (IL-2) was investigated for preventing mastitis in dairy cows. The treatment consisted of a single dose of IL-2 injected into the skin region drained by the supramammary lymph node 3-5 days after calving. The study included 45 cows (23 treated and 22 controls) from three commercial dairy herds. The results showed that the treatment had no side effects. The treatment with IL-2 induced the significant increase of several milk markers related to leukocyte and epithelial cell functions, i.e. SCC (somatic cell counts), serum amyloid A (SAA), lactoferrin and NAGase. The increased concentration of milk markers suggested also an activity of IL-2 on epithelial cells, resulting in a higher resistance to invading pathogens. Indeed, the increased efficiency of cells in the udder is supported by the higher frequency of healthy quarters observed in the treated group until day 17-19 after calving, in comparison with the control one.     

Leishmania DNA load and cytokine expression levels in asymptomatic naturally infected dogs

The factors responsible for the clinical progress of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in dogs have not been yet established. The starting hypothesis was the possibility of associating the changing level of a specific type of cytokines with the evolution of the infection towards infection-manifested disease or resistant behaviour. For this purpose the authors have established a connection between Leishmania load, cytokine mRNA accumulation, and the progression of the disease in naturally infected asymptomatic dogs. We made use of real-time (RT) PCR system to detect the expression of cytokine mRNA levels during all the phases of the infection. In particular, we measured the amount of parasites in samples such as blood, lymph nodes and skin, and the expression levels of IFN-gamma, IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, IL-12 and IL-18 cytokines in the blood. We employed different targeted real-time PCR assay on 40 naturally infected dogs, initially asymptomatic; 20 of these progressed to overt disease, and the 20 remaining dogs remained asymptomatic throughout the period of study (2 years). Two other groups included: 20 naturally infected dogs with clinical signs of VL, and 20 healthy dogs living in a non-endemic area. All these animals were employed as positive and negative controls, respectively. The overall results obtained demonstrate that the simultaneous evaluation of parasites and cytokine levels represents a reliable tool for predicting disease development, and thus for choosing the best treatment for the asymptomatic form of the disease.     

Mass spectrometry analysis of volatile compounds in raw meat for the authentication of the feeding background of farm animals

The authentication of the conditions of animal production, based on the analysis of meat commercial cuts, is a major challenge on both societal and analytical grounds. The aim of the present work was to propose a method for the extraction of the volatile compounds from ruminant raw muscles trimmed of fat and to assess by mass spectrometry-based techniques the relevance of these compounds for the authentication of the type of feeding offered to the animals. The first step of the study consisted of validating conditions of dynamic headspace (DH) extraction of volatile compounds that enabled us to minimize the appearance of heat-induced artifacts and to maximize the richness of the DH-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry profile (DH-GC-MS) of raw lamb muscle. An extraction temperature of 35 degrees C (vs 60 and 90 degrees C) and a sample mass of 6.25 g (vs 12.5, 25, and 50 g) were shown to be suitable. The second step aimed at identifying volatile compounds enabling us to discriminate muscle samples from 16 experimental lambs fed either concentrate (n = 8) or pasture (n = 8). Before, to carefully explore the information given by the DH-GC-MS signal, the MS spectra acquired along the chromatogram were summed and then converted in a virtual-DH-MS spectral fingerprint to have a quick overview of the discriminative potential of the volatile fraction. According to univariate (analysis of variance) and to multivariate (principal component analysis) data treatments performed on virtual-DH-MS fingerprints, the meat volatile fraction was relevant to reveal the type of feeding of the living animal. The detailed examination of the information given by the GC dimension showed that 33 volatile compounds among the 204 detected in the muscle by DH-GC-MS enabled us to discriminate the type of feeding of the lambs. The relevance of these results is discussed in light of previous studies performed on adipose tissues.     

Characterization of the volatile constituents in the essential oil of Pistacia lentiscus L. from different origins and its antifungal and antioxidant activity

Essential oil (EO) from aerial parts (leaves, juvenile branches, and flowers when present) of Pistacia lentiscus L. growing wild in five localities of Sardinia (Italy) was extracted by steam-distillation (SD) and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC), FID, and GC-ion trap mass spectrometry (ITMS). Samples of P. lentiscus L. were harvested between April and October to study the seasonal chemical variability of the EO. A total of 45 compounds accounting for 97.5-98.4% of the total EO were identified, and the major compounds were alpha-pinene (14.8-22.6%), beta-myrcene (1-19.4%), p-cymene (1.6-16.2%), and terpinen-4-ol (14.2-28.3%). The yields of EO (v/dry w) ranged between 0.09 and 0.32%. Similar content of the major compounds was found in samples from different origins and seasonal variability was also observed. The EOs were tested for their antifungal activity against Aspergillus flavus, Rhizoctonia solani, Penicillium commune, Fusarium oxysporum. Two samples were weakly effective against Aspergillus flavus. Furthermore, terpinenol and alpha-terpineol, two of the major components of EO of Pistacia lentiscus L., totally inhibited the mycelian growth of A. flavus. Quite good antioxidant activity of the EO was also found.     

Glorious past, uncertain present, bad future? Assessing effects of land-use changes on habitat suitability for a threatened farmland bird species

Land-use changes have strong impacts on biological communities. Among them, land abandonment is threatening a large number of conservation-concern species associated with semi-natural habitats shaped by ‘traditional’ farming. We focused on the red-backed shrike as a model for investigating the effect of land abandonment on a threatened bird species, and used historical data to model dynamic scenarios. We explored variations in habitat suitability from the 1950s to the present and predicted possible future variations. After investigating local habitat preferences of the species, we formulated a spatially explicit model of habitat suitability for shrikes according to current land-use types; then, we evaluated past habitat suitability, by applying the model to three known past scenarios, and simulated the habitat changes after land abandonment. By combining a habitat-association approach with past and future land use scenarios, we assessed and predicted the effects of habitat changes caused by abandonment. Shrike occurrence was favoured by the cover of four types of grassland and of shrubland with trees, and negatively affected by broadleaved woodlands. The current average habitat suitability is less than half of what it was in the 1950s. Future predictions in a complete abandonment scenario suggest that important decrease could be expected 10 or 20 years after abandonment, and that after 30 years the red-backed shrike would be completely extinct. Alternative scenarios involving partial abandonment suggested that subsidy policies may mitigate the effects of abandonment. Knowing land-use dynamics allowed the exploration of effects of land-use changes and corroborated the importance of low-intensity farming for conservation.     

Bioremediation of Oil Sludge in Shengli Oilfield

Large quantity of dehydrated oil sludge, generated in the disposal process of oil-containing sewage in Shengli oilfield, needs to be rendered harmless to human and to the environment. Bioremediation has been accepted as an important method for the treatment of oil sludge by employing indigenous or extraneous microbial flora. The bioremediation of a dehydrated oil sludge of 960 m³ in volume was carried out in a prepared bed in Binyi oil-containing sewage disposal station, Shengli oil fields, China. Four different treatments were made to study the impact of certain process parameters on the bioremediation efficiency. Of the oil contaminants, 52.75% was degraded within 160 days when treated in a greenhouse, while the oil contaminations decreased by only 15.46% in the untreated sludge. The variations of the physical and chemical properties of oil sludge, the amount and the functional diversity of microorganisms in sludge were characterized. The results indicated that the water-holding capacity of oil sludge, the amount and the metabolism functional diversity of microorganisms in sludge in the three treatments increased markedly compared with the control.