Abnormal motor activity during anaesthesia in a dog: a case report

Seizures or convulsions that occur during anaesthesia in veterinary patients are infrequently reported in the literature. Consequently, the incidence of such events is unknown. Several drugs commonly used in clinical veterinary anaesthesia have been shown to induce epileptiform activity in both human clinical patients and experimental candidates. The present case report describes convulsions in a four-year old male Bernese mountain dog during maintenance of anaesthesia with isoflurane after premedication with acepromazine and methadone followed by co-induction with propofol and ketamine. The dog had no history of previous convulsions. The use of several sedative and anaesthetic drugs makes it difficult to find one single causative pharmaceutical.     

Effects of dietary horse beans (Vicia faba) on colostrum and milk composition and milk yield in sows

In an experiment sows received 0, 17 and 34% horse beans in the diet. Horse beans replaced the protein mixture (soybean meal, fishmeal, and meat and bone meal) by one half or in full.The composition of colostrum was altered by the dietary horse beans. An increase in dietary horse beans significantly reduced dry matter contents (P ≤ 0.05) and protein contents (P ≤ 0.001). As to the various protein fractions, total whey protein and albumin showed the greatest decline (P ≤ 0.001), followed by immunoglobulin (P ≤ 0.01) and beta lactoglobulins (P ≤ 0.05). Casein and alpha lactalbumin contents were not altered significantly.The total fat content of colostrum was not influenced by dietary horse beans, but the percentages of C 18:1 increased (P ≤ 0.001) and C 18:2 decreased (P ≤ 0.001) with increasing amounts of horse beans in the diet.The effect of horse beans on the composition of sow milk was insignificant, although there was a tendency to higher dry matter and protein content in milk from sows fed diets without horse beans.Horse beans at both levels had a negative effect on milk yield (linear trend: P ≤ 0.05).     

Cross-reactivity of monoclonal antibodies to bovine immunoglobulins with immunoglobulins of other species.

Monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) to bovine immunoglobulin heavy chain of the four major isotypes gamma 1, gamma 2, alpha, mu and the light chains (combined kappa and lambda) were produced and found to cross-react in enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) with immunoglobulins of some other animal species despite the discrete specificity associated with an antibody derived from a single clone. This cross-reactivity, particularly amongst ruminants, could be utilized in serological testing for the diagnosis of disease in these species. For example, Mabs produced against bovine immunoglobulin light chain cross-react with bison immunoglobulin light chain and were used successfully in serological testing as the secondary detection antibody in an indirect ELISA for the diagnosis of Brucella abortus in bison herds in north-western Canada.     

Cytotoxicity of cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa.

Cytotoxic effects of crude extracts and fractions of the purification steps towards Microcystin-LR (MCYST-LR) were investigated in vitro. Cytotoxicity was evaluated by measure of lactate dehydrogenase liberation of Chang liver cells and by hemolysis. Crude extracts of strain PCC 7806 damaged the cells within a few minutes. In contrast, MCYST-LR did not show any detectable cytotoxic effects. The cytotoxic activity could be related to a heat-labile substance with a molecular weight of about 30,000 Da.     

Biologische Bodeneigenschaften in Obstbau- und Baumschulbetrieben bei ökologischer und integrierter Bewirtschaftung und verschiedener organischer N-Düngung

In organic farming only organic N-fertilizers are allowed. They have to be mineralized by soil biota before they become effective for the plant. There are a number of different organic N-fertilizers offered commercially in order to allow for a precise management of the N-supply to plants in organic farming. We tested the effects of the fertilizers “Vinasse” (product resulting from sugar-beet molasses), “Haarmehlpellets” (pellets of grounded pig bristles), “Rizinusschrot” (grist of Ricinus communis seeds), “Phytopearls” (from maize conversion), “Maltaflor” (malt germs and “Vinasse”), “Horndünger” (horn parings) and manure on soil respiration, soil animal feeding activity, earthworm abundance, microbial biomass and the C_mic/N_mic-ratio in tree nurseries and apple fruit production under organic vs. integrated management respectively. The investigations were part of a two year lasting project regarding yield effects and N-turnover that has already been reported in this journal (vol. 48/3: Dierend et al. 2006a, 2006b, Schacht et al. 2006). Significant differences between fertilized plots and unfertilized control plots were observed only at one of the four sites (Jork, organic fruit production) in soil respiration and in soil animal feeding activity. There were no significant differences in the soil biological parameters between plots that had received different types of organic fertilizers. There were also no significant differences between different levels of fertilizer application which were ranging from 30 to 135?kg N/ha. The soils from the four investigation sites differed significantly in their biological status. At the tree nurseries there were only few earthworms (ca. 15/m²) and a low microbial biomass (105 ... 190?mg C_mik/kg dry soil). The soils under fruit production were more intensively colonized by soil organisms, according to the lower degree of soil disturbance in these cultures. In tree nursery as well as in fruit production the soils under organic management had higher microbial biomasses and a wider ratio of C to N in the microbial biomass compared to their counterparts with integrated management. This is indicating that there is a stronger tendency to incorporate additional N into the microbial biomass in the organically managed soils. If there is a high activity of (endogeic) earthworms the nutrients are quickly remobilized and so become available for the plants.     

Analysis of the bovine plasma proteome by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry

In this study, the bovine plasma proteome was analysed using a three step protocol: (1) plasma was treated with a combinatorial peptide ligand library (CPLL) to assimilate the differences in concentrations of different proteins in raw plasma; (2) CPLL-treated material was fractionated by three standard electrophoretic separation techniques, and (3) samples were analysed by nano-liquid chromatography (nLC) matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation (MALDI) time-of-flight tandem (TOF/TOF) mass spectrometry. The efficiencies of three fractionation protocols for plasma proteome analysis were compared.After size fractionation by sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS–PAGE), resolution of proteins was better and yields of identified proteins were higher than after charge-based fractionation by preparative gel-free isoelectric focussing. For proteins with isoelectric points >6 and molecular weights ?63 kDa, the best results were obtained with a ‘shotgun’ approach, in which the CPLL-treated plasma was digested and the peptides, rather than the proteins, were fractionated by gel-free isoelectric focussing. However, the three fractionation techniques were largely complementary, since only about one-third of the proteome was identified by each approach.     

耕地土壤有机碳组分的季节变化

Carbon fractions in soils apparently vary not only in space, but also over time. A lack of knowledge on the seasonal variability of labile carbon fractions under arable land hampers the reliability and comparability of soil organic carbon(SOC) surveys from different studies. Therefore, we studied the seasonal variability of two SOC fractions, particulate organic matter(POM) and dissolved organic carbon(DOC), under maize cropping: POM was determined as the SOC content in particle-size fractions, and DOC was measured as the water-extractable SOC(WESOC) of air-dried soil. Ammonium, nitrate, and water-extractable nitrogen were measured as potential regulating factors of WESOC formation because carbon and nitrogen cycles in soils are strongly connected. There was a significant annual variation of WESOC(coefficient of variation(CV) = 30%). Temporal variations of SOC in particle-size fractions were smaller than those of WESOC. The stocks of SOC in particle-size fractions decreased with decreasing particle sizes, exhibiting a CV of 20%for the coarse sand-size fraction(250–2 000 μm), of 9% for the fine sand-size fraction(50–250 μm), and of 5% for the silt-size fraction(20–50 μm). The WESOC and SOC in particle-size fractions both peaked in March and reached the minimum in May/June and August, respectively. These results indicate the importance of the time of soil sampling during the course of a year, especially when investigating WESOC.