Postoperative Analgesia for Stifle Surgery: A Comparison of Intra-articular Bupivacaine, Morphine, or Saline

A prospective study was undertaken to compare the analgesic effect of intra-articular bupivacaine, morphine, or saline in the 24-hour period following cranial cruciate ligament repair in dogs. Thirty-six clinical patients with ruptured cranial cruciate ligaments were randomly assigned to one of three groups. After surgical stabilization, and before skin closure, an intra-articular injection was given; group one (n = 12) received 0.5% bupivacaine HCl at 0.5 mL/kg, group two (n = 12) received morphine at 0.1 mg/kg diluted with saline to a volume of 0.5 mL/kg, and group three (n = 12) received saline at 0.5 mL/kg. Heart rate, respiratory rate, mean arterial blood pressure, cumulative pain score, visual analog pain score, and pain threshold test on both stifles were recorded preoperatively and at 0 to 6 and 24 hours postoperatively. Surgeons and pain scoring investigators were unaware of the intra-articular medication given. Supplemental analgesia, if needed, was provided in the postoperative period according to subjective assessment of patient discomfort. Postoperative pain scores were lowest in the bupivacaine group and highest in the saline group. Pain threshold, measured by applying calibrated loads to the knee, was higher postoperatively in the bupivacaine group than in the saline group. Dogs in the morphine and bupivacaine groups required less supplemental analgesia than dogs in the saline group. The local provision of analgesia reduces the need for systemic drugs with potential side effects. Both intra-articular morphine and intra-articular bupivacaine provided better postoperative analgesia than intra-articular saline, with intra-articular bupivacaine showing the greatest effect.     

Charcoal rot (Macrophomina phaseolina) across melon diversity: evaluating the interaction between the pathogen,plant age and environmental conditions as a step towards breeding for resistance

European Journal of Plant Pathology - Macrophomina phaseolina is a soil-borne fungal pathogen that incites charcoal rot in more than 500 plant species including melon, Cucumis melo. Disease...     

The use of the nondepolarizing neuromuscular blocking drug cis-atracurium in dogs

Objective This clinical trial attempted to evaluate the potency, onset and duration of action of cis‐atracurium in dogs. Animals Twenty dogs aged between 1 and 15 years and weighing between 15 and 85 kg admitted for a variety of elective, surgical procedures under general anaesthesia. Materials and methods Following induction of general anaesthesia, the effects of an intravenous loading dose of cis‐atracurium (0.1 mg kg^?1) were evaluated by counting visual responses to train of four (TOF) nerve stimulation. Incremental doses of 0.02 or 0.04 mg kg^?1 cis‐atracurium were administered when the first of four responses to TOF stimulation was present. Results An initial dose of 0.1 mg kg^?1 eliminated all four TOF responses in 18 out of 20 dogs. The same dose, repeated 10 minutes later in two animals in which blockade was incomplete, abolished all responses. In dogs receiving 0.1 mg kg^?1 cis‐atracurium neuromuscular blockade lasted 27.2 ± 9.3 minutes. Up to six incremental doses were given in individual animals; incremental doses appeared to be noncumulative. No untoward side‐effects were observed with the use of this drug. There was considerable variation between individuals in response to cis‐atracurium. Conclusions Cis‐atracurium is an effective neuromuscular blocking agent in the dog, although its potency varies. Clinical Relevance Further studies are required to determine whether observed differences in potency are related to age, breed or sex. Cis‐atracurium may prove useful in dogs with impaired renal and or hepatic function.     

Production of pollen in different lines of sunflowers and its relation to production of crossed seed

Summary Two separate experiments were conducted in which sunflower lines were tested for their pollen production and hybridization performance.In the first experiment, lines derived from a common source were tested for their pollen production. In the second experiment, two standard varieties were tested for their combining ability.The tested lines differed significantly in their pollen production. It was further shown by correlation analysis that these differences were maintained over two seasons. It is concluded that the technique developed in the investigations can be used to advantage in selecting male and female parents in the breeding program.Experiments on mixed seed rates of two standard varieties failed to give yield data, and consequently, no definite conclusions may be drawn.Agriculture and industry are just beginning to recognize the sunflower as an important source of oil and other substances. Since this crop has not been intensively studied, future investigators should be quite effective in advancing its relative importance, both as to production and utilization.     

Current sovietbiology and world science

Conclusion The protest against Michurinism, from non-Russian countries, has been on three main grounds: that his scientific theories are unconvincing; that the intrusion of political influence into scientific controversy is unjustifiable; and that the treatment meted out to his defeated opponents has included imprisonment and death.Modern genetics has grown through the work ofCorrens, Goldschmidt, Muller, Darlington, Haldane and many others, and today many aspects of it are thoroughly permeated with physiological and dynamic thinking.Lysenko, however, still attacks it on the old lines, using arguments form the pregenetical days ofDarwin as well as those produced byMichurin, Timirtazey, etc. who first criticized it. Lysenko's claim that heredity can be altered by external influences either by submitting the organism to altered conditions, or by grafting one type of plant to another, when the stock and graft are said to influence each other's hereditary qualities, may be looked upon as a scientific novelty.Neither of these two parts is easy to accept.Graft hybridization is a problem with a long history. Nearly all alleged cases in the past have turned out to be misinterpretations; but there is no doubt that viruses and some proteins can be transmitted in this way and act and cause the observed results. It is possible though not yet acceptable as proven, thatLysenko is on to something in this obscure and not fully understood field. But even if this be so, there seems no reason whatever to believe that this results could overthrow classical genetics, though he might conceivably represent an addition, even quite an important addition, to it.Thus it becomes clear that the gap between Michurinites and Neo-Mendelists does not appear to be absolute, and may be further narrowed as reliable evidence becomes more readily available to both groups.     

Etude sur l'extraction de la vanille par les ultra-sons

Summary In view of a preliminary investigation of liquid-solid extraction by means of Ultra-sonic waves, the effects of 300, 500 and 2000 kHz insonation was tried, using 50° alcohol and vanilla beans.The experimental results were calculated on a 12 hours extraction base, with a 250 ml Kumagawa.Our experiments have shown that an extraction efficiency of 94%, after 12 min. insonation, can be obtained, but that this efficiency seemed, in our particular case, to be closely correlated with the moisture content of the sample.Besides, the classical extraction in a Kumagawa showed, that such acquired caracters, as increased percentage in vanillin and oleoresines obtained after an ultrasonic irradiation remained stable.

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Zusammenfassung Ein Versuch wurde angestellt, Vanille-Extraktion mit Hilfe von Ultraschallwellen durchzuführen.Frequenzen von 300, 500 und 2000 kHz mit Intensitäten von 3,4–13 W/cm² und Extraktionsdauer, von 3–12 Min., wurden dazu verwendet.Die erzielten Ergebnisse haben deutlich gezeigt, dass unter günstigen Versuchsbedingungen, nach 12 min. Beschallung 94% einer klassischen Extraktion von 12 Stunden mit dem Apparat nachKumagawa, erzielt werden kann.Es scheint jedoch, dass in diesem besonderen Falle die Wirksamkeit der Extraktion vom Feuchtigkeitsgehalt des Vanillenmusters abhängt.Von grossem Interesse ist der Befund, dass der erhöhte Vanillinund Oelsubstanzen-(Oleoresine) Gehalt, der beschallten Vanille-schoten, stabil ist.Hiermit werden neue und interessante Entwicklungsmöglichkeiten dieser neuen Wissenschaft in der Zukunft eröffnet.