Pharmacologic considerations in drug therapy in foals

Rational drug therapy in the foal requires a sound knowledge of the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of various drugs as well as a thorough understanding of the physiologic differences that exist between the neonate and the adult and that may serve to alter drug disposition and, therefore, drug response. A summary of these physiologic factors with emphasis on the foal is presented and is followed by recommendations regarding the applied therapeutics of various antimicrobial agents.     

Cardiac dysrhythmias during anesthesia for cervical decompression in the dog

In a retrospective study, the risk for cardiac dysrhythmias was evaluated in dogs undergoing ventral decompression and/or fenestration of the cervical spine (CERV) and compared with that for dogs undergoing dorsal laminectomy for decompression of the thoracic or lumbar spine (TL). The dogs in the CERV subset (48 dogs) tended to be heavier and older than the dogs in the TL subset (111 dogs). There was no apparent bias detected in treatment before anesthesia and surgery. The risk for dysrhythmias was 2.5 times greater in the CERV subset, compared with that in the TL subset (P less than 0.01). The risk for ventricular premature contraction was 3.5 times higher in the CERV group (P less than 0.05). Bradycardia was found in 6 dogs from the CERV subset and was not found in any dogs from the TL subset. A logistic model was derived from the data and may be used to evaluate the risk for dysrhythmias in similar patients undergoing similar surgery and anesthesia. This model uses age, preoperative heart rate, and site of surgery (CERV or TL) to estimate the risk.     

Web 2.0 and the veterinary profession: current trends and future implications for lifelong learning

The NOVICE project is an EU initiative under the Lifelong Learning Programme, which aims to develop an online, professional network to promote informal, lifelong learning within the veterinary profession, using Web 2.0 tools. To inform the development of the network, a need analysis study was undertaken with relevant stakeholders. Focus group discussions were undertaken with veterinary students and veterinarians and a survey was administered to first-year students and recent graduates. The results indicate that use of computers and the internet is ubiquitous among junior members of the profession and that use of Web 2.0 tools is increasing. Concerns raised in relation to participation in online communities include verifying the quality of information and issues around professionalism. Compared with face-to-face communities, online communities were perceived to offer a number of advantages. These include convenient access to expert advice on an international scale, as well as helping to alleviate certain barriers to participation in formal, continuing education such as time, distance and cost.     

Changes in the microbial community and physico-chemical characteristics of topsoils stockpiled during opencast mining

Abstract. Experiments on the effects of stockpiling soil on an opencast coal mine in Derbyshire showed that there were significant changes in the microbial community. Numbers of aerobic bacteria in stored soils ranged from 0.5 to 12.8 ± 10⁷ colony-forming-units (CFU)g^-1 with the smallest values being in the deepest parts of the oldest stores, whereas an adjacent undisturbed soil contained 6.6 ± 10⁷ CFU g^-1. There was a greater effect on the numbers of fungal spores, which ranged from 0.1 to 6.7 ± 10⁵ CFU g^-1 soil, all less than the 10 ± 10⁵ CFU g^-1 recorded for the undisturbed control soil. The number of fungal spores in the deepest part of the older soil stores was only 1/100 of the number in the undisturbed soil. This was mirrored by the biomass values, as determined by adenosine triphosphate (ATP) assay. Values of ATP ranged from 0.38 to 13.13 nmol g^-1 as compared to 5.8 nmol g^-1 in the undisturbed soil. All three of these microbiological properties decreased in value with both age and depth of storage. Neither anaerobic nor spore-forming bacterial numbers were greatly affected by storage.
The pH values tended toward neutrality in the deeper parts of the soil stores, and there was less organic matter in the older stores.     

Pine needle abortion in cattle: pathological observations

Grazing of ponderosa pine needles by pregnant cows may cause abortion. The abortions are frequently accompanied by retained placenta. Death is not uncommon in cows that abort. Ten cows were placed on a ponderosa pine needle experiment. Six of these cows were fed pine needles and four served as controls. All six cows receiving pine needles aborted, and three of them died shortly after the abortion. Death was due to a severe septicemia. Although the cows were necropsied shortly after death, all tissues were necrotic. Other lesions are described. Three of the six calves died shortly after the abortion. The other three were small and weak but survived due to intensive care.     

Shoot production from the flower head of Allium cepa L.

Shoots have been produced from onion capitulum tissue plated onto agar-solidified media. Up to 98 shoots have been produced per capitulum of cultivar ‘Produre’, the optimal number when explants were cultured upon BDS based medium containing 1.0 mg l⁻¹ BA. The shoots produced in culture were categorised according to their most obvious morphological affinities, and 3 of these categories appeared to be derived by modification of existing floral parts. Shoots could be produced from flower-heads until the meiotic stage in pollen formation of their buds. Over 50% of the shoots produced in each experiment could be regenerated to whole plants, and at maturity they showed no apparent morphological or cytological variation. The value of this method of shoot induction for propagation and breeding purposes, and its usefulness as a site for mutagenic treatments are discussed.     

Premature bovine parturition induced by ponderosa pine: effects of pine needles, bark and branch tips

Three components of Ponderosa pine trees were administered via gavage to pregnant cows to determine their ability to induce premature parturition. When tips of branches, bark or needles were administered (2.7 kg/day) starting at 250 d of pregnancy, early parturition was induced in an average of 3.4, 5.0 and 9.1 d, respectively, compared to 31.8 d for water gavaged controls (P less than 0.01). Less pine material was required to induce parturition with tips and bark (9.4 and 11.2 kg/cow, respectively) than with needles (25.0 kg/cow P less than 0.05). Cows fed pine material retained fetal membranes longer after parturition; 13.0 d for needles, 10.5 d for bark and greater than 3.0 d for tips versus less than 0.5 d for controls (P less than 0.01). However, 2 of the cows fed tips died within 48 hours after parturition with fetal membranes intact and the other 2 cows fed tips became depressed, pyrexic and emaciated. They survived after extended veterinary care with antibiotic and fluid therapy. Administration of pine materials modified serum progesterone concentration profiles; there was significant elevation in progesterone 1-3 days after pine material was administered. Subsequently, pine material induced a premature decline in progesterone levels prior to parturition, which occurred more rapidly in cows fed bark and tips suggesting a dose response relationship. Pine material also modified serum cortisol concentration profiles; the main difference was a prolonged elevation in cows receiving tips. Branch tips and bark from Ponderosa pine are more potent in inducing parturition than needles.