Pain management in horses and farm animals

Objective: This review discusses the different analgesic drugs and routes of administration used in large animals for acute pain management. General guidelines and doses are given to assist in choosing techniques that provide effective analgesia. Etiology: Noxious stimuli are perceived, recognized, and localized by specialized sensory systems located at spinal and supraspinal levels. Diagnosis: Localizing the source of the noxious stimulus as well as understanding the behavioral aspects and physiological changes that result from such insult is important to adequately diagnose and treat pain. Pain assessment is far from being definite and objective; not only are there species differences, but also individual variation. In addition, the behavioral and physiological manifestations vary with the acute or chronic nature of pain. Therapy: Pain management should include (1) selecting drugs that better control the type of pain elicited by the insult; (2) selecting techniques of analgesic drug administration that act on pathways or anatomical locations where the nociceptive information is being processed or originating from; (3) combining analgesic drugs that act on different pain pathways; and (4) provide the best possible comfort for the animal. Prognosis: Providing pain relief improves the animal's well being and outcome; however, interpreting and diagnosing pain remains difficult. Continuing research in pain management will contribute to the evaluation of the pathophysiology of pain, pain assessment, and newer analgesic drugs and techniques.     

陕西黄土高原中南部土壤CO2释放量变化研究

本文根据 NaOH溶液吸收CO_2的方法 ,对陕西黄土高原中南部4个观测点的土壤CO_2释放量时行了昼夜观测。观测结果表明 ,不同地区、不同气候和不同土质土壤CO_2释放量存在差异 ,冷干地区较暖湿地区土壤CO_2释放量少,凉季较暖季土壤CO_2释放量少;粘性硬质土较松散黄土CO_2 释放量少。长武、洛川、西安南郊土壤CO_2释放量变化再次证明 ,在厚层黄土发育的地区 ,土壤CO_2释放量变化相对于大气温度变化具有滞后性,从当日早晨至次日早晨,CO_2释放量具有由低变高再变低的普遍规律。     

硅对盐胁迫下黄瓜幼苗根系质膜、液泡膜酶活性的影响

研究硅对盐胁迫下黄瓜幼苗生长及根细胞质膜H^＋-ATPase、液泡膜H^＋-ATPase、H^＋-PPase和Ca^2＋-ATPase活性的影响。结果表明：盐胁迫严重抑制黄瓜幼苗生长,根细胞质膜H^＋-ATPase、液泡膜H^＋-ATPase、H^＋-PPase和Ca^2＋-ATPase活性明显降低。硅处理明显提高盐胁迫黄瓜根液泡膜H^＋-ATPase、H^＋-PPase、Ca^2＋-ATPase活性,一定程度上维持了液泡膜质子泵活性,有效地防御了细胞质酸化,这可能是硅提高黄瓜耐盐性的一个重要因素。     

Effect of tetrandrine on radiosensitivity of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells

AIM: To investigate the mechanism of the radiosensitizing effect of maximum non-cytotoxic doses of tetrandrine (Tet) on nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines CNE1 and CNE2.METHODS: The cells were treated with ma-ximum non-cytotoxic doses of Tet (for CNE1 cells at 1.5 μmol/L and for CNE2 cells at 1.8 μmol/L), irradiation at 4 Gy, or combination of irradiation and maximum non-cytotoxic doses of Tet. The cell cycle distribution was analyzed by flow cytometry. The protein levels of γ-H2AX, cleaved caspase-3, p-CDC25C, CDK1, p-CDK1, cyclin B1, ERK and p-ERK were determined by Western blot.RESULTS: The expression of γ-H2AX was increased in CNE1 cells and CNE2 cells after combined treatment with irradiation and maximum non-cytotoxic doses of Tet. The percentages of CNE1 cells and CNE2 cells at G₂/M phase in irradiation group were (18.09±0.42)% and (18.48±1.32)%, respectively, which were decreased to (15.88±1.04)% and (13.80±0.82)% in combined treatment group, respectively (P<0.05). Combined treatment enhanced the increase in the protein level of cleaved caspase-3 caused by irradiation. The protein levels of p-CDC25C and p-CDK1 were increased in a dose-dependent manner by Tet treatment (P<0.05), while the expression of CDK1 showed no difference among different doses of Tet treatments. The protein levels of p-CDC25C, p-CDK1 and CDK1 showed no difference after the treatment with maximum non-cytotoxic doses of Tet. The combined treatment with irradiation and the maximum non-cytotoxic doses of Tet decreased the protein levels of p-CDC25C and p-CDK1 (P<0.05), increased the expression of cyclin B1, and had no influence on the expression of CDK1 (P<0.05). The combined treatment resulted in an increase in the protein level of p-ERK1 (P<0.05).CONCLUSION: The maximum non-cytotoxic doses of Tet enhance the DNA damage and apoptosis in CNE1 cells and CNE2 cells caused by irradiation, and the mechanism might be associated with ending of G₂/M arrest via activation of ERK/CDC25C/CDK1/cyclin B1 pathways.     

First report of porcine circovirus type 2 infections in Cuba

To obtain information about the porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) infection status of pigs in Cuba and the probable association of PCV2 with other porcine viruses, tissue samples collected from ill pigs were evaluated using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR analysis showed that 67.7% of the samples (23/34) from seven swine herds of six different geographic regions were detected to be positive for PCV2. Ten of the 23 PCV2 positive samples (43.5%) shown a concurrent infection with porcine parvovirus (PPV) and 17 of 23 PCV2 positive samples (73.9%) exhibited a concomitant infection with classical swine fever virus (CSFV). This study is the first report of PCV2 infecting pigs with different clinical conditions in Cuban swine herds and provides evidence of PCV2 co-infection with PPV and CSFV in the field.     

SA+CaCl2对菊花花瓣生理和花期的影响

以不同浓度的水杨酸(SA+CaCl2)水溶液对菊花"兼六香菊"品种全株喷雾处理,测定整个花期花瓣中可溶性蛋白、可溶性糖含量、超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活力、超氧阴离子(O2-)产生速率、丙二醛(MDA)含量以及相对电导率的变化.结果表明:不同浓度的SA+CaCl2均能提高花瓣中可溶性蛋白和可溶性糖含量、SOD活力和降低了O2-产生速率、MDA含量和相对电导率,花期有不同程度的延长,其中以SA 15 mg/L+CaC12160 mg/L处理效果较佳.     

羊口疮病毒B2L基因密码子偏好性分析

B2L蛋白是羊口疮病毒(ORFV)的主要囊膜蛋白,为重要保护性抗原之一,可刺激机体产生强烈的抗体反应。本研究对B2L基因运用Visual Gene Developer生物信息学软件,分析其在大肠杆菌、毕赤酵母、昆虫杆状病毒表达系统中的密码子使用偏好性,从而选择一个最适表达系统,以增加B2L蛋白的表达量。分析表明,B2L基因在昆虫杆状病毒表达系统中会得到更好的表达,这为B2L基因表达系统的选择提供了参考。     

Effect of dexmedetomidine and xylazine followed by MK-467 on gastrointestinal microperfusion in anaesthetized horses

Objective

To compare the effects of MK-467 during isoflurane anaesthesia combined with xylazine or dexmedetomidine on global and gastrointestinal perfusion parameters.

Time course of the incidence/multiplicity and histopathological features of murine colonic dysplasia,adenoma and adenocarcinoma induced by benzo[a]pyrene and dextran sulfate sodium

Benzo[a]pyrene (BP) is mutagenic but noncarcinogenic in the murine colon. Recently, we reported rapid induction of colonic tumors by treatment of CD2F₁ mice with BP (125 mg/kg for 5 days) followed by a colitis inducer, dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) (4% in drinking water for 1 or 2 weeks). However, there are no reports on detailed time course and histopathological features of colonic proliferative lesions in this model. Here, we show the detailed time course of colonic dysplasia, adenoma and adenocarcinoma induced by treatment with BP, DSS, and a combination of the two (BP/DSS). In the colon of mice exposed to BP/DSS, 14.6 dysplastic foci per mouse were present one week after DSS treatment (week 4). The number of dysplastic foci decreased with time to 3.1 at week 9 and thereafter remained almost constant. At week 4, 1.5 adenocarcinomas were also observed, with a marked increase in numbers with time, reaching 29.3 at week 14. In contrast, the number of dysplastic foci induced by DSS alone showed a time course similar to that following BP/DSS treatment; however, only a few tumors appeared. Neither dysplastic foci nor neoplastic lesions were induced by BP only. In mice exposed to BP/DSS, β-catenin was demonstrated immunohistochemically in the nucleus and/or cytoplasm of the tumor cells, and this translocation from the cell membrane was evident in subsets of dysplastic foci. In dysplastic foci induced by DSS alone, β-catenin was absent in the nucleus/cytoplasm. These finding suggest that aberrant β-catenin accumulation in dysplastic foci is associated with tumor progression in this BP/DSS model.