Uses and effectiveness of pamidronate disodium for treatment of dogs and cats with hypercalcemia

Uncorrected hypercalcemia can cause clinical signs such as polyuria, polydipsia, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, and depression and contributes to the development of primary renal failure and soft tissue mineralization. Treatment of hypercalcemia includes diagnosis and treatment of the underlying disease process and some combination of excracellular fluid volume expansion by administration of fluids intravenously and administration of glococorticosteroids, salmon calcitonin, and furosemide. Bisphosphonates such as pamidronate disodium also may be safe and effective in the treatment of hypercalcemia. The purpose of our study was to characterize the efficacy and safety of pamidronate in the treatment of hypercalcemia attritutable to several different disease processes in the dog and cat. Seven dogs and 2 cats were administered pamidronate at a dose of 1.05-2.0 mg/kg IV for a variety of disease processes, including neoplasia (n = 4), calcipotriene toxicity (n = 3), nocardiosis (n = 1), and idiopathic hypercalcemia with chronic renal failure (n = 1). In all the animals, IV pamidronate administration rapidly decreased serum calcium concentrations without evident toxicosis. Two animals received pamidronate several times without obvious toxicosis. On the basis of the findings in our retrospective study, pamidronate may be a safe and effective drug with which to lower both serum total and ionized calcium concentrations in patients with hypercalcemia arising from a wide variety of underlying disease processes.     

X-ray diffraction study of minerals from shocked iron meteorites

Diffraction analysis of minerals from iron meteorites indicates a pronounced shock-induced alteration in the minerals' crystallographic character. The extent of alteration seems to be dependent on the degree of shock and can therefore serve as a measure of shock intensity. The changes appear to be due to the minerals' direct recrystallization during passage of the shock wave.     

Local Control of Microdomain Orientation in Diblock Copolymer Thin Films with Electric Fields

Local control of the domain orientation in diblock copolymer thin films can be obtained by the application of electric fields on micrometer-length scales. Thin films of an asymmetric polystyrene-polymethylmethacrylate diblock copolymer, with cylindrical polymethylmethacrylate microdomains, were spin-coated onto substrates previously patterned with planar electrodes. The substrates, 100-nanometer-thick silicon nitride membranes, allow direct observation of the electrodes and the copolymer domain structure by transmission electron microscopy. The cylinders aligned parallel to the electric field lines for fields exceeding 30 kilovolts per centimeter, after annealing at 250°C in an inert atmosphere for 24 hours. This technique could find application in nanostructure fabrication.     

Effects of mineral-supplement delivery system on frequency, duration, and timing of supplement use by beef cows grazing topographically rugged, native rangeland in the Kansas Flint Hills

The effects of mineral-supplement delivery system on patterns of supplement use by grazing beef cows were measured in 2 studies. Study 1 was conducted on 4 pastures grazed by pregnant, mature beef cows (BW = 562 ± 38 kg) from February to May. Study 2 was conducted on 4 pastures grazed by lactating beef cows (BW = 579 ± 54 kg) and their calves from May to September. Treatments were mineral delivered in salt-based, granular form (salty) or mineral provided in a low-protein, cooked, molasses-based block (sweet); both were fed ad libitum. The salty supplement was supplied to cattle via a covered mineral feeder; the sweet supplement was supplied via an open-topped barrel. Both salty and sweet supplements were deployed in each pasture. No additional salt was supplied to cattle. Forage use in the vicinity of each supplement-deployment site and the frequency and duration of herd visits to each supplement-deployment site were measured during four 14-d periods during study 1 and seven 14-d periods during study 2. Supplements were moved to new locations within pastures at the beginning of each period. Consumption of the sweet supplement was greater than salty during each data-collection period in study 1; however, relative differences in consumption diminished over time (treatment × time, P = 0.03). In study 2, sweet consumption was greater than salty in periods 1, 6, and 7 but was not different from salty during periods 2, 3, 4, and 5 (treatment × time, P < 0.01). Increased consumption of the sweet supplement in study 1 translated to greater frequency of herd visits to supplement-deployment sites compared with the salty sites (2.82 vs. 2.47 herd visits/d; P = 0.02) and longer herd visits to supplement-deployment sites compared with the salty sites (125.7 vs. 54.9 min/herd visit; P < 0.01). The frequency of herd visits to mineral feeding sites in study 2 was similar (P > 0.10) between treatments for periods 1 through 6; however, herds visited the sweet sites more often than salty during period 7 (P < 0.01). Herd visits to the sweet sites were longer than those to the salty sites in study 2 (83.8 vs. 51.4 min/herd visit; P < 0.01). Forage disappearance within 100 m of supplement-deployment sites was not influenced (P ≥ 0.54) by treatment in either study. Results were interpreted to suggest that the sweet supplement influenced the location of grazing cattle more strongly than the salty supplement and may be more effective for luring cattle into specific areas of pasture during the winter, spring, and early fall but not during summer.     

Animal and Vegetation Response to Modified Intensive–Early Stocking on Shortgrass Rangeland

A comparison of animal gains and vegetation trends was made from 2002–2008 between a continuous season-long stocking (SLS) system and a modified intensive–early stocking system (IES) with late-season grazing (IES 1.6× + 1; 1.6 times the number of animals of the SLS system from May 1 to July 15, and 1 times the number of animals of SLS from July 15 to October 1) on shortgrass native rangeland of western Kansas. The continuous season-long stocked system placed animals at a density of 1.37 ha · steer^?1 from May through October, or 2.63 animal unit months (AUM) · ha^?1, whereas the intensive–early stocked system with late-season grazing (3.33 AUM · ha^?1) stocked pastures at 0.85 ha · steer^?1 from May through the middle of July, and then stocked pastures at 1.37 ha · steer^?1 for the remainder of the grazing season by removing the heaviest animals mid-July each yr. Average daily gains (0.78 vs. 0.70 kg · d^?1, P = 0.039) and total animal gain (58 vs. 52 kg, P = 0.042) were different between the continuous season-long stocked and the intensive–early stocked animals during the first half of the grazing season. No difference was found between average daily gain (0.61 vs. 0.62 kg · d^?1, P = 0.726) and total animal gain (48 vs. 49 kg, P = 0.711) for the continuous season-long stocked and intensive–early stocked with late-season grazing animals during the last half of the season. Total individual animal gain (106 vs. 101 kg, P = 0.154) and average daily gain (0.70 vs. 0.66 kg · d^?1, P = 0.152) was not different between the continuous season-long stocked and the intensive–early stocked system animals that were on pasture the entire grazing season. Total beef gain on a land-area basis (96 vs. 77 kg · ha^?1, P = 0.008) was greater for the modified intensive–early stocked system with late-season grazing with greater animal densities. Changes in residual biomass and most key vegetation components at the end of the grazing season were not different between the two systems.     

The efficacy of a commercial shampoo and whirlpooling in the treatment of canine pruritus - a double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled study

Twenty‐two dogs with a history of at least 4 weeks pruritus were studied to determine the effect of whirlpool use on the efficacy of topical therapy with an antipruritic shampoo (Allermyl®, Virbac; Bad Oldesloe, Germany). Dogs in group 1 received initially topical therapy with conventional shampooing (2 mL shampoo per kilogram bodyweight) once weekly for 4 weeks. Dogs in group 2 received the same therapy using a whirlpool (Sanwhirl, Peter Aschauer GmbH; Gräfelfing, Germany). The treatments were crossed between the groups resulting in each dog in groups 1 and 2 receiving both therapies. Group 3 was the control group and was treated once weekly in the whirlpool without any shampoo during the 8 weeks of study. Prior to each therapy, dogs were evaluated by a clinician not aware of the type of treatment using a clinical scoring system (Canine Atopic Dermatitis Extent and Severity Index – CADESI). Owners evaluated the pruritus daily on a visual analogue scale. There was a significant difference in pruritus scores but not CADESI scores after therapy between the control treatment and the conventional shampoo therapy or shampoo treatment in the whirlpool. These results provide evidence for the short‐term benefit of shampoo therapy for canine pruritus.