An enzyme immunoassay to measure canine circulating fibronectin

A competitive enzyme immunoassay has been used to detect and quantitate fibronectin in canine plasma. In this test, purified fibronectin, bound to microtiter plates, competes with plasma fibronectin for the conjugated antibody, rabbit-anticanine, fibronectin-horseradish peroxidase. The assay could detect fibronectin in purified standards from 58 ng/ml to 580 microgram/ml. The range of 1-100 microgram/ml was linear for plasma samples diluted 1:10, allowing samples with fibronectin concentrations from 10-1000 microgram/ml to be easily measured by this method. The mean normal fibronectin concentration of 132 dogs, by this method, was determined to be 320 +/- 74 microgram/ml.     

Glycosylated hemoglobin in dogs: precision, stability, and diagnostic utility

The precision and stability of the ion exchange chromatography assay for canine glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA(1)) were examined. The coefficient of variation (CV) of within-run replicate assays was 1.3 to 2.6%; the CV of between-run duplicate assays was 3.1%. The mean HbA(1) content in 44 healthy dogs was 7.1% (SD = 1.1%, range = 5.1-9.7%). Paired aliquots of 12 blood samples were stored at 4 degrees C and 25 degrees C, and HbA(1) was measured on the day of collection and at 3, 5, and 7 days after collection. In the blood stored at 4 degrees C, no significant increase in the HbA(1) content was seen. No significant increase in HbA(1) content was found in the blood stored at 25 degrees C after 3 days, but dramatic increases were observed after 5 and 7 days of storage. No significant difference was observed in the HbA1 content in heart blood collected 18 hours after death from 9 dogs kept at 25 degrees C. The HbA(1) content was measured in 10 hospitalized diabetic dogs. Five of the dogs had received no insulin and all 5 had elevated HbA(1) values. The other 5 dogs had received insulin for 1 to 9 months; 2 of the 5 had increased HbA(1) content. The HbA(1) content was determined periodically for 9 months in one diabetic dog and it declined from 14% to 8.2%.     

Braconidae (Hymenoptera) associated with forest and ornamental trees and shrubs in Israel

Data are presented on the occurrence of Braconidae (Hymenoptera parasitica) parasitizing insects associated with forest and ornamental trees and shrubs in Israel. Fifty-five genera of plants are listed, the richest in braconid fauna being tamarisk (9 species); acacia, pistachio and poplar (8 species each); carob and oak (7 species each). Of the 95 species of insect hosts mentioned, 53 are Lepidoptera, mostly Gelechiidae (7 species), Pyralidae (6 species), Noctuidae (5 species), Gracillariidae, Tortricidae, Geometridae, Lymantriidae and Lycaenidae (3 species each); 44 are Coleoptera, mostly Cerambycidae (13 species), Scolytidae (12 species), and Bostrichidae (9 species); three are Diptera. Of the 92 species of braconids listed, of which only 65 have been fully named, 56 develop in Lepidoptera, mostly Noctuidae (15 species), Gelechiidae (11 species) and Pyralidae (9 species); 33 species develop in Coleoptera, mostly Cerambycidae (12 species, Bostrichidae (10 species) and Scolytidae (5 species); and three species develop in Diptera. Thirty-eight species are new to the fauna of Israel; at least three of them are new to science,viz., Gnaptodon, Gildoria andDendrosotinus titubatus Papp.     

The effect of some benzoyl phenylureas on the larvae of earias insulana

Diflubenzuron, PH 60-38, PH 6043, penfluron (PH 60-44), PH 6045, triflumuron, chlorfuazuron (IKI-7899), teflubenzuron (CME 134), XRD473 and Dowco 439 were tested for their efficacy against the larvae of the spiny bollworm,Earias insulana (Boisd.), in laboratory experiments. The compounds were incorporated at different concentrations in an artificial diet and 5-day-old larvae were introduced and grown on the treated diets until pupation and adult emergence. Teflubenzuron was active at 0.1 ppm, chlorfuazuron at 0.75 ppm and PH 60-38 at 10 ppm; triflumuron and diflubenzuron were active only at 50 ppm; all the rest of the compounds were even less active. When cotton bolls were dipped in teflubenzuron and offered to 6-day-old larvae in the laboratory, only 4% and 10% of the larvae penetrated inside the bolls treated with 50 and 25 ppm a.i., respectively, whereas 68% penetrated inside untreated bolls.