Caudal epidural co-administration of methadone and morphine in horses: An evaluation of analgesic properties and effects on locomotor function,mentation and physical examination parameters

Caudal epidural analgesia is a well-established therapeutic modality for pain alleviation in horses. Additionally, epidural analgesia could potentially be a complementary diagnostic tool for confirmation of pain-related conditions in horses presenting with nonspecific signs of poor performance or rideability issues. To use the epidural as a diagnostic tool, the administered medications should provide efficient analgesia without accompanying adverse effects. Therefore, the objectives of the current study were to evaluate the analgesic properties and effects on locomotor function, mentation and physical examination parameters of caudal epidural co-administration of methadone and morphine in horses. Five mares received a caudal epidural injection of 0.1 mg/kg bwt methadone and 0.1 mg/kg bwt morphine diluted to a total volume of 4.4 mL/100 kg. Before and several times thereafter, horses were subjected to mechanical nociceptive threshold evaluation, physical examination, assessment of mentation and locomotor function examination. Horses were assigned ataxia scores (0–4) by a group of inexperienced raters (three senior-year veterinary students) and a group of experienced raters (two board-certified internal medicine specialists) that assessed the locomotor examinations either live or video-based. The epidural co-administration of methadone and morphine resulted in clinically relevant and statistically significant increases of horses’ tolerance to mechanical noxious stimuli at the coccygeal, perineal, sacral, lumbar and thoracic regions. Analgesia was evident after 4.4 h and lasted at least 5 h. Regional differences in the onset of analgesia reflected a cranial spread of the analgesic solution. No horses showed signs of gait disturbances; the overall median ataxia score was 0 at all times; and the average difference in scores between two randomly selected raters for a random horse at a random time point was 0.377 indicating high inter-rater agreement. There were no adverse changes of mentation and physical examination parameters. Observed side effects included signs of decreased frequency of defaecation, generalised sweating, and pruritus.     

Genetics of equine bleeding disorders

Genetic bleeding disorders can have a profound impact on a horse's health and athletic career. As such, it is important to understand the mechanisms of these diseases and how they are diagnosed. These diseases include haemophilia A, von Willebrand disease, prekallikrein deficiency, Glanzmann's Thrombasthenia and Atypical Equine Thrombasthenia. Exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage also has a proposed genetic component. Genetic mutations have been identified for haemophilia A and Glanzmann's Thrombasthenia in the horse. Mutations are known for von Willebrand disease and prekallikrein deficiency in other species. In the absence of genetic tests, bleeding disorders are typically diagnosed by measuring platelet function, von Willebrand factor, and other coagulation protein levels and activities. For autosomal recessive diseases, genetic testing can prevent the breeding of two carriers.     

Changes in the predicted function of the rumen bacterial community of Japanese Black beef cattle during the fattening stages according to Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses

We investigated changes in the predicted functions of the rumen bacterial community in Japanese Black beef cattle during fattening. Nine cattle were fed a high-concentrate diet during the early, middle, and late fattening stages consecutively (10–14, 15–22, and 23–30 months of age, respectively). The rumen fluid and solid samples collected at each stage were subjected to sequencing analyses. The sequencing results were clustered and classified into operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Representative sequences and a raw counting table for each OTU were submitted to the Piphillin website. The predicted functions were revealed by the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database as the ratio of the total sequence. In the early stage, “Biosynthesis of secondary metabolites” was significantly higher in the fluid fraction than in the solid fraction. “Two-component system” in the middle stage was significantly lower and “Purine metabolism” in the late stage was significantly higher in the fluid fraction than those in the solid fraction. The fluid fraction was significantly correlated with acetic acid, propionic acid, and bacterial metabolism, such as “Biosynthesis of secondary metabolites” and “Sugar metabolism.” Moreover, the solid fraction was correlated with “Purine metabolism” and “Biosynthesis of secondary metabolism”. These results suggest that the rumen bacterial community in Japanese Black beef cattle adapts to changes in rumen conditions by altering their functions in response to a long-term high-grain diet.     

我国和欧盟兽药质量监督抽检工作机制对比研究

为更好地完善我国兽药质量监督抽检计划,通过对欧盟药品抽检管理工作机制的研究,本文分析了欧盟和我国兽药监督抽检管理方式的不同,从抽检责任部门、抽检目的、抽检计划内容、抽检计划制定流程、抽检品种的遴选和检测参数的确定等6方面进行了对比分析,探讨我国兽药质量监督抽检工作的管理中可以借鉴的方面。     

家庭猪场防控非洲猪瘟的关键点分析

非洲猪瘟对家庭猪场的生产稳定性带来极大的挑战。文章分析了家庭猪场防控非洲猪瘟存在的问题及对关键点针对性的防控措施。     

中小型饲料企业的供应链管理与物流配送

中小型饲料企业是饲料产品经济发展中的重要组成部分,也是我国农牧行业经济发展的重要组成部分.随着计算机物联网技术的不断发展,当前线上销售模式应成为中小型饲料企业创新经济增长点的重点发展领域,而要想更好的发展线上运营模式必须考虑当前中小型饲料企业自身供应链管理物流配送的发展状况.本文研究分析当前中小型饲料企业供应链管理及物...     

青海野生鸟类禽流感监测防控亟待关注解决的问题

近年来,青藏高原迁徙的野生鸟类不断发生高致病禽流感疫病,给生态安全和人们的健康带来了极大的威胁。如何面对和做好野生鸟类的疫源疫病监测与防控,本文通过青海省发生和开展的防控工作情况,就面临和亟待解决的问题,提出对策建议。     

表达H5亚型禽流感病毒HA基因的重组马立克氏病病毒的构建

采用聚合酶链反应或反转录聚合酶链反应扩增出H5亚型禽流感病毒(AIV)的HA基因、网状内皮增生症病毒的长末端重复序列(LTR)、马立克氏病病毒(MDV)Rispens CVI988毒株基因组的sorf 1和sorf 2序列、两端带loxp位点的lac/smGFP标志基因,构建含这些基因的转移载体质粒pMHA;以MDV Rispens CVI988毒株的基因组DNA和PMHA质粒DNA共转染鸡胚成纤维细胞(CEF),采用同源重组方法将LTR、lac/smGFP和HA基因插入到MDV基因组,获得重组病毒rMDV-HA/GFP;以cre介导的同源重组去除lac/smGFP标志基因,再转染CEF,获得仅带LTR启动子和HA基因的重组MDV疫苗毒株rMDV-HA.rMDV-HA仍保留了MDV RispensCVI988疫苗毒株的复制特点,并能稳定表达AIV的HA.     

三峡水库重庆库区移土培肥的效益分析——以云阳县为例

应用前后对比分析法,对三峡水库重庆库区云阳县移土培肥一期与二期工程进行效益分析;得出移土培肥工程将给三峡库区带来巨大的生态效益、经济效益和社会效益的结论;说明该工程不仅能带动库区经济发展,并对其社会及生态环境产生深远影响。     

新蚕药添食对防治家蚕病的效果比较

本试验用新药蚕用脓病清，蚕用抗菌素九0一九和常用氯霉素分别给家蚕添食，结果表明，经添食上述药物后，蚕期病死蚕数，死笼率明显低于对照区，虫蛹统一生命率显高于对照区。说明三种蚕药对蚕病的发生均起到较好的防治作用，但以添食氯霉素的效果最好。