Evaluation of intravenous administration of meloxicam for perioperative pain management following stifle joint surgery in dogs

OBJECTIVE: To compare preoperative administration of meloxicam and butorphanol to perioperative administration of butorphanol alone for control of postoperative signs of pain in dogs. ANIMALS: 40 client-owned dogs scheduled for surgical repair of a cranial cruciate ligament rupture. PROCEDURE: Group-1 dogs received butorphanol (0.2 mg/kg, IV) and meloxicam (0.2 mg/kg, IV) just prior to surgery. Group-2 dogs received butorphanol just prior to surgery (0.2 mg/kg, IV) and at incision closure (0.1 mg/kg, IV). Pain assessment began 1 to 2 hours before surgery and from extubation until 24 hours after surgery by obtaining the following measurements: the visual analog scale (VAS) score, cumulative pain score (CPS), adjusted cumulative pain score, modified cumulative pain score, and the adjusted modified cumulative pain score (AMCPS). Serum cortisol concentration was measured between 12 to 24 and between 1 to 2 hours prior to surgery, and at 30 minutes, and 1, 2, 4, 8, 18, and 24 hours after extubation. RESULTS: No significant differences between treatment groups were observed in CPS or VAS score. At 8, 9, 10, and 11 hours after extubation, meloxicam-butorphanol-treated dogs had a significantly lower AMCPS, compared with butorphanol-alone-treated dogs. Total serum cortisol concentration (area under the curve) during the measurement period was significantly lower in meloxicam-butorphanol-treated dogs, compared with butorphanol-alone treated dogs. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Preoperative single dose administration of meloxicam-butorphanol is equivalent to or slightly better than the administration of 2 perioperative doses of butorphanol for the control of postoperative signs of pain in dogs.     

Identification of major allergens of Malassezia pachydermatis in dogs with atopic dermatitis and Malassezia overgrowth

Abstract We have previously shown that both atopic and normal dogs generate an IgG response to antigens of Malassezia pachydermatis . The aim of this study was to compare IgE responses to separated proteins of M. pachydermatis in 28 atopic dogs with Malassezia dermatitis and 22 clinically normal dogs using Western immunoblotting. Six different detection systems were evaluated in order to assess sensitivity and eliminate nonspecific binding and cross-reactivity. The protocol yielding the best results utilized a monoclonal mouse antidog IgE, an alkaline phosphatase conjugated goat antimouse IgG which had been passed through a canine IgG column 3 times, a chemiluminescent substrate and a digital imaging system. Proteins of 45, 52, 56 and 63 kDa were recognized by more than 50% of the atopic dog sera and thus represented major allergens. Only a minority of normal dogs showed faint IgE binding to these proteins. The results indicate that the majority of atopic dogs with Malassezia dermatitis have a greater IgE response than normal dogs, suggesting an IgE-mediated immune response may be clinically important in the pathogenesis of the disease.     

Temporal and spatial dynamics of insecticide resistance in Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

Advances in understanding insecticide resistance in the peach-potato aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer), at the genotypic, biochemical and molecular levels have led to rapid and precise methods for the detection of several resistance mechanisms (elevated carboxylesterase, modified acetylcholinesterase or MACE, and knockdown resistance or kdr) in individual insects, and for monitoring their frequencies over space and time. This paper summarises the results of two long-term surveys of resistance dynamics in M persicae in England, based on samples collected directly from field and glasshouse crops or from four 12.2-m suction traps. The study showed marked fluctuations in resistance frequencies that probably reflect the counteracting forces of selection imposed by insecticides for aphids possessing more copies of esterase resistance genes, and selection against these forms when insecticide use is relaxed. There is growing evidence that several different resistance mechanisms in M persicae have associated fitness costs. In the case of esterase and MACE, these costs are apparently strong enough to effect a decline in resistance frequency over winter, and a more prolonged decline over successive cropping seasons when aphid numbers are insufficient to trigger intensive chemical applications. Changes in the overall frequency of resistance genotypes may also be influenced by the predominance of year-round parthenogenesis in M persicae in the UK, leading to non-random associations between mechanisms and selection operating on clonal lineages rather than individual genotypes.     

Phenotypic characterisation of Phaeoacremonium and Phaeomoniella strains isolated from grapevines: enzyme production and virulence of extra-cellular filtrate on grapevine calluses

Extra-cellular enzyme production of different Phaeoacremonium spp. and Phaemoniella chlamydospora isolates were used to assay the possibility of inter-specific characterisation. Isolates of Phaeoacremonium aleophilum, Phaeoacremonium angustius, P. viticola and Ph. chlamydospora were grown on solid media and the activities of extra-cellular amylases, lipases, proteases, cellulases, xylanases, laccase, polygalacturonase, pectate lyase, lignin peroxidase, manganese peroxidase, urease and chitinase were assayed. Phaeoacremonium species showed activities of a larger number of enzymes and also enzyme activity was frequently higher suggesting that Phaeoacremonium can be more virulent. To assay if the produced extra-cellular enzymes could reflect the virulence capacity of the two genera, calluses of Vitis vinifera L. (cvs. Baga and Maria Gomes) and of a rootstock (R3309) were inoculated with filtrated culture liquid medium of three isolates of Ph. chlamydospora and one of P. angustius. Filtrates from all strains decreased callus growth and membrane integrity, while soluble protein content of calluses decreased with the strains CAP 054 and 1AS. P. angustius (CAP 054) induced the more severe symptoms in all genotypes. Water content decreased together with an increase of osmolality in both cultivars but not in rootstock suggesting that osmorregulatory capacity is more affected in cultivars. Data show that: (1) Phaeoacremonium and Phaeomoniella genera have different patterns of extra- cellular enzymatic production; (2) these fungi produce extra-cellular compound(s) that induce(s) senescence symptoms in plant cells inhibiting callus proliferation; (3) among the strains tested in plant calluses the most virulent isolate (CAP 054) also produced higher amounts of some extra-cellular enzymes; (5) rootstock calluses were less sensitive to inoculation than grapevine calluses.     

Prediction of multinomial probability of land use change using a bisection decomposition and logistic regression

Land use change is an important research area in landscape ecology and urban development. Prediction of land use change (urban development) provides critical information for making the right policies and management plans in order to maintain and improve ecosystem and city functions. Logistic regression is a widely used method to predict binomial probabilities of land use change when just two responses (change and no-change) are considered. However, in practice, more than two types of change are encountered and multinomial probabilities are therefore needed. The existing methods for predicting multinomial probabilities have limits in building multinomial probability models and are often based on improper assumptions. This is due to the lack of proper methodology and inadequate software. In this study, a procedure has been developed for building models to predict the multinomial probabilities of land use change and urban development. The foundation of this procedure consists of a special bisection decomposition system for the decomposition of multiple-class systems to bi-class systems, conditional probability inference, and logistic regression for binomial probability models. A case study of urban development has been conducted to evaluate this procedure. The evaluation results demonstrated that different samples and bisection decomposition systems led to very similar quality and performance in the developed multinomial probability models, which indicates the high stability of the proposed procedure for this case study.     

Agent-based land-use models: a review of applications

Agent-based modelling is an approach that has been receiving attention by the land use modelling community in recent years, mainly because it offers a way of incorporating the influence of human decision-making on land use in a mechanistic, formal, and spatially explicit way, taking into account social interaction, adaptation, and decision-making at different levels. Specific advantages of agent-based models include their ability to model individual decision-making entities and their interactions, to incorporate social processes and non-monetary influences on decision-making, and to dynamically link social and environmental processes. A number of such models are now beginning to appear—it is timely, therefore, to review the uses to which agent-based land use models have been put so far, and to discuss some of the relevant lessons learnt, also drawing on those from other areas of simulation modelling, in relation to future applications. In this paper, we review applications of agent-based land use models under the headings of (a) policy analysis and planning, (b) participatory modelling, (c) explaining spatial patterns of land use or settlement, (d) testing social science concepts and (e) explaining land use functions. The greatest use of such models so far has been by the research community as tools for organising knowledge from empirical studies, and for exploring theoretical aspects of particular systems. However, there is a need to demonstrate that such models are able to solve problems in the real world better than traditional modelling approaches. It is concluded that in terms of decision support, agent-based land-use models are probably more useful as research tools to develop an underlying knowledge base which can then be developed together with end-users into simple rules-of-thumb, rather than as operational decision support tools. This paper arises from research conducted as part of the UK Research Councils’ RELU Programme (award number RES-224-25-0102). RELU is funded jointly by the Economic and Social Research Council, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the Natural Environment Research Council, with additional funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department.     

果戈里大街沥青混凝土路面裂缝的原因与防治

针对哈尔滨市南岗区果戈里大街的路面设计、施工状况的调查,分析了沥青路面裂缝原因与几个因素的关系,并结合有关资料提出一些防治措施。     

Effect of site preparation on survival and growth of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziessi Mirb. Franco.) seedlings

The performance (survival and growth) of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii Mirb. Franco.) seedlings planted in minimally disturbed, scalped, and bedded soils, both with and without herbicidal control of weeds, were compared. Douglas-fir growing for 3 years in bedded soils treated with herbicide were heavier, taller, and had deeper root systems than trees growing in other preparations. Scalping did not improve seedling performance when compared to minimally disturbed soils. Soils rich in organic matter benefited tree growth. Competing vegetation in raised beds was detrimental to seedling performance.