The pharmacokinetics of a slow-release theophylline preparation in horses after intravenous and oral administration

The pharmacokinetics of a slow-release theophylline formulation was investigated following intravenous and oral administration at 10 mg/kg in horses. A tricompartmental model was selected to describe the intravenous plasma profile. The elimination half-life (t1/2) was 16.91 ± 0.93 h, the apparent volume of distribution (V _d) was 1.35 ± 0.18 L/kg and the body clearance (Cl_B) was 0.061 ± 0.009 L kg^–1 h. After oral administration the half-life of absorption was 1.24 ± 0.30 h, and the calculated bioavailability was above 100%. Thet1/2 after oral administration was 18.51 ± 1.75 h, only a little longer than that after intravenous administration. The slow release formulation did not exhibit any advantage in prolonging thet1/2 of theophylline in the horse.     

Effects of fertilization with ammonium sulphate and potassium sulphate on the development of Sphaeropsis sapinea in Corsican pine

Potted plants ofPinus nigra subsp.laricio were fertilized with ammonium sulphate (AS) and potassium sulphate (PS) each year during 3 consecutive years. The then 5-year-old plants were artificially inoculated withSphaeropsis sapinea. The fungus caused much bigger bark necroses in plants that had been fertilized with AS, than in plants fertilized with PS. It is concluded thatP. nigra growing in poor sandy soil becomes more susceptible toS. sapinea when fertilized with an excess of AS. This may explain partly the increased incidence ofS. sapinea inP. nigra stands in areas with a high rate of atmospheric NH₄-deposition in the Netherlands.     

The pharmacokinetics and analgesic effects of extended‐release buprenorphine administered subcutaneously in healthy dogs

Buprenorphine is a partial μ agonist opioid used for analgesia in dogs. An extended‐release formulation (ER‐buprenorphine) has been shown to provide effective analgesia for 72 hr in rats and mice. Six healthy mongrel dogs were enrolled in a randomized, blinded crossover design to describe and compare the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of ER‐buprenorphine administered subcutaneous at 0.2 mg/kg (ER‐B) and commercially available buprenorphine for injection intravenously at 0.02 mg/kg (IV‐B). After drug administration, serial blood samples were collected to measure plasma buprenorphine concentrations using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry detection. Heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature, sedation score, and thermal threshold latency were recorded throughout the study. Median (range) terminal half‐life, time to maximum concentration, and maximum plasma concentration of ER‐buprenorphine were 12.74 hr (10.43–18.84 hr), 8 hr (4–36 hr), and 5.00 ng/ml (4.29–10.98 ng/ml), respectively. Mild bradycardia, hypothermia, and inappetence were noted in both groups. Thermal threshold latency was significantly prolonged compared to baseline up to 12 hr and up to 72 hr in IV‐B and ER‐B, respectively. These results showed that ER‐buprenorphine administered at a dose of 0.2 mg/kg resulted in prolonged and sustained plasma concentrations and antinociceptive effects up to 72 hr after drug administration.     

Preparation,characterization, and pharmacokinetics in swine of a florfenicol enteric formulation prepared using hot‐melt extrusion technology

The objective of this work was to manufacture an enteric formulation of florfenicol (FF) using hot‐melt extrusion (HME) technology and to evaluate its in vitro dissolution and in vivo pharmacokinetics. For the HME process, hypromellose acetate succinate LG (HPMCAS‐LG) was the enteric polymer mixed with FF, and the two components were extruded with a standard screw configuration at a speed of 50 rpm. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), powder X‐ray diffraction (PXRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR) were performed to characterize the HME extrudate. The release percentage of the enteric formulation in the acidic stage was <10% of the loaded FF, whereas that in the phosphate buffer stage was >80%. Pharmacokinetic evaluations in swine revealed that the enteric formulation had a longer t_1/2λ and MRT than commercially available FF powder (FULAIKA^®), indicating that the novel formulation exhibited enteric and sustained release properties. Compared with the commercial product, the relative bioavailability of the enteric formulation reached up to 117.2%. This study suggests that this formulation may have potential for future commercialization.     

Effect of supplemental dietary slow‐release urea on growth performance and physiological status of dairy heifers

We examined the effect of supplemental dietary slow‐release urea on the growth performance and physiological status of 16 dairy Holstein heifers (10 months of age, 322 ± 10 kg). The heifers were offered a formulated isocaloric and isonitrogenous 70:30 roughage : concentrate ration and were assigned randomly to one of four levels of slow‐release urea supplementation (0% [U₀], 1% [U₁], 1.5% [U_1.5] and 2% [U₂] dry matter [DM]). The total study lasted 95 days, which included a 20 days adaptation period. Dry matter intake (DMI) of U₂ was lower than the intakes of U₀ and U₁ (p < .05), while average daily gains (ADG) of U₁ and U_1.5 were higher than U₀ and U₂ (p < .05). Rumen volatile fatty acids concentration did not differ among the four treatments, while ammonia nitrogen concentration increased with an increase in urea level (p < .05). Serum blood urea nitrogen concentration was lower in U_1.5 than in U₀ and U₂ while serum free fatty acids concentration in U₂ was higher than in the other three treatments (p < .05). We concluded that the addition of urea at a level of 1.5 to 2.0% DM resulted in a reduction in DMI but the addition of 1.0%–1.5% urea resulted in the highest ADG, with no negative effects on rumen fermentation and health status of the calves.     

微生物发酵床猪舍空气微生物种群结构的研究

为了研究微生物发酵床猪舍空气微生物的组成,采用自然沉降法对猪舍空气微生物进行收集,利用16S rRNA序列分析及形态观察确定微生物的分类,揭示猪舍空气微生物的多样性。从猪舍空气中共分离到细菌60余株,经过16S rRNA基因序列的同源性比对,最终确定27个代表菌株进行后续分析。分析结果表明,27株细菌中包含芽孢杆菌属14个种（51.9%）,假单胞菌5个种（18.5%）,葡萄球菌4个种（14.8%）,苍白杆菌属、类芽孢杆菌属、赖氨酸芽孢杆菌属及单胞菌属各1个种;27株细菌中包含5种条件致病菌,6种有机物降解菌。采用SPSS分析将猪舍空气微生物按采集地点明显聚成6类：仅分布于猪舍下风处的菌、仅分布于猪舍上风处的菌、仅分布于猪舍外的菌、猪舍上风和下风处共有菌、猪舍下风处和猪舍外共有菌及3处共有菌。对猪舍空气微生物空间分布的研究显示,猪舍下风处微生物种类较多,有20种,多于猪舍上风处和猪舍外部,其中15种为下风处特有种。由于微生物以气溶胶的形式存在,猪舍内相邻位置具有相似的微生物组成。以上研究结果表明,微生物发酵床猪舍空气微生物种类丰富,且微生物分布与风向相关。     

Green infrastructure practices for improvement of urban air quality

Green Infrastructure (GI) practices have shown to be promising in mitigating the air pollution in urban areas of several cities across the world. GI practices such as trees, green roofs and green walls are widely used in United States and Europe to mitigate the air pollution. However, there is yet limited knowledge available in identifying the most suitable GI strategy for an urban area in improving the air quality. Furthermore, it is evident that Australia is still lagging behind in adapting GI to mitigate air pollution, compared with US and Europe. Therefore, this study analyzed the air quality improvement through several GI scenarios consisting of trees, green roofs and green walls considering a case study area in Melbourne, Australia by using the i-Tree Eco software. The results were compared with case studies in different cities across the world. The results showed that the i-Tree Eco software can be successfully applied to an Australian case study area to quantify the air quality improvement benefits of GI. The results were further assessed with several environmental, economic and social indicators to identify the most suitable GI scenarios for the study area. These indicators were quantified using different methods, to assess the effectiveness of different GI scenarios. The results showed that, trees provided the highest air pollution removal capability among the different GI considered for the study area. Combination of different GI such as green roofs and green walls with trees did not provide a significant increment of air quality improvement however, has provided more local benefits such as building energy savings. The results obtained from this study were also beneficial in developing policies related to future GI applications in major cities of Australia for the air quality improvement.     

桑塔纳汽车空调系统故障的诊断与使用保养

夏天汽车空调的使用频率较高的,空调虽然给人们带来舒适,但出现故障也让人头疼,文章以桑塔纳汽车空调系统为例,对出现的常见故障及正确使用与保养知识进行了分析和介绍,希望能够为大家解决空调系统故障带来方便。