Halothane-sparing effect of xylazine in dogs and subsequent reversal with tolazoline

Halothane MAC (the minimum alveolar concentration of halothane to produce anaesthesia in 50% of the animals tested) was determined to be 0.92 ± 0.16 volumes % in eight English Pointer dogs. Alterations in halothane MAC induced by an intravenous bolus of xylazine (1.1 mg/kg) and then tolazoline (5 mg/kg) was determined in each dog following control (halothane MAC) measurement. Following xylazine administration, MAC significantly decreased to 0.57 ± 0.023%. Immediately following determination of the xylazine-halothane MAC value in each dog, tolazoline was administered and the halothane requirement (MAC) was again assessed. Halothane MAC significantly increased to 1.24 ± 0.036%. Tolazoline administration induced immediate arousal in the xylazine-halothane anaesthetized dogs requiring a rapid increase in halothane concentration to maintain anaesthesia. Thus, the administration of tolazoline, an alpha adrenergic antagonist, following xylazine administration significantly increased the anaesthetic requirement (MAC) of halothane. Xylazine, an alpha 2 adrenergic agonist, decreased halothane anaesthetic requirement (MAC) in the eight dogs studied. These results are consistent with the hypotheses that stimulation of central alpha 2 receptors is the mechanism by which xylazine produces sedation and that inhibition of CNS excitatory neurotransmitter release decreases halothane anaesthetic requirement. In contrast, the increase in halothane requirement and arousal from xylazine-halothane anaesthesia that occurred following i.v. tolazoline administration indicates an increase in CNS excitatory neurotransmitter activity.     

FACTORS AFFECTING PERSISTENCE AND INACTIVATION OF DIQUAT AND PARAQUAT

Summary. The adsorption of diquat cation was found to be 0.3, 2.0–2.5 and 80–100 mg/g on a sandy loam soil, Grade Hydrite 10 Georgia kaolinite and National Standard Bentonite, respectively. Bentonite (113 lb/surface ac) applied to plastic pools previously treated with 1 ppm paraquat reduced the concentration of paraquat to less than 0–05 ppm within 24 hr of application. Only bentonite appeared to hold either diquat or paraquat in a form unavailable to wheat. Appreciable uptake by wheat from soil treated with diquat or paraquat (16 lb/ac pre-emergence) occurred only in soil or sand in which the herbicide leached below the 05 in. zone. A 12 hr dark period following foliage application did not appear to enhance movement of either herbicide in wheat. Loss of radioactivity was observed when diquat or paraquat was exposed to ultraviolet light (2537 Å).
Facteurs agissant sur la persistence et l'inactivation du diquat et du paraquat     

FACTORS AFFECTING THE PHYTOTOXICITY OF PARAQUAT*

Summary. Temperatures of 5–6° C delayed leaf necrosis of glasshouse-grown oats (Avena sativa), winter peas (Pisum sativum), huisache (Acacia farnesiana), mesquite (Prosopis julijiora var. glandutosa), live oak (Quercus virginiana) and yaupon (Ilex vomitoria) for at least 48 hr after treatment with paraquat as compared with higher temperatures. After 96 hr, oats, winter peas, huisache and mesquite at 5° C usually showed as much necrosis as plants at 24–28° C. Similar results were obtained with live oak and yaupon, and with yaupon in the field, except that longer periods were sometimes required for plants at low temperatures to develop injury comparable with that at higher temperatures. Washing yaupon and live oak leaves 1 hr after application reduced the effectiveness of paraquat regardless of temperature, but washing winter peas 10 min after application had little or no effect on phytotoxicity. Field-grown mesquite showed extensive leaf necrosis when leaves were washed after 20 min, live oak leaves similarly treated and washed were not injured, while the response of winged elm (Ulmus alata) was intermediate. Percentage leaf necrosis of mesquite, winged elm, yaupon and live oak increased with increasing paraquat concentration; 6–9 μg/leaf on mesquite and 20 μg/leaf on winged elm gave 100% necrosis after 4 days. Complete leaf necrosis of live oak and yaupon was not attained during this period even with 80 μg/Ieaf. Nursery-grown mesquite, yaupon and greenbriar (Smilax bona-nox) and natural stands of yaupon were treated at two growth stages, in March and May. Paraquat was more effective on mesquite when applied in May, but there were no differences with the other species. Facteurs affectant la toxicité du paraquat     

TWO METHODS FOR QUANTITATIVE DESCRIPTION OF SOIL PARTICLE SHAPE

It was required to be able to measure the shapes of soil particles in order that the influence of shape on soil mechanical properties could be investigated. Two methods were developed, both of which can be applied to particle cross-sections or outlines. The first is a shape function which compares chord lengths with arc lengths around the particle outlines. The second method involves taking discrete Fourier transforms of the normalized curvatures of the outlines, and the production of curvature spectra. Both methods are illustrated with the use of the same data. The data were for three sizes of particle from a sandy soil. Both methods illustrate the greater asphericity or angularity of the smaller particles, which is consistent with the Griffith theory of comminution. Change in shape with particle size may be useful for classifying soils according to their methods of formation.