Eosinophilic papulocrustous dermatitis (miliary dermatitis) and eosinophilic inflammatory bowel disease in two cats

Two cats with chronic eosinophilic skin disease were investigated. The clinical investigation of the skin disease in one cat was limited and inflammatory bowel disease was diagnosed post mortem. A history of weight loss and a palpably thickened bowel in the second cat suggested concurrent gastrointestinal disease. Diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease was confirmed on biopsy. Treatment with azathioprine and methylprednisolone acetate resolved the signs of gastrointestinal disease, the pruritus and 95% of the skin lesions. The concurrence of eosinophilic papulocrustous dermatitis and eosinophilic bowel disease raises the possibility of their being linked bv a common aetiology or pathophysiology.     

Base-catalysed hydrolysis of (E)- and (Z)-mevinphos

The rates at which (E)- and (Z)-mevinphos are hydrolysed in aqueous solutions in the pH range 8.7–11.5, and in the temperature range 30–50°C, have been measured. The overall activation parameters have been calculated, and equations to allow calculation of the rates in any basic conditions are given. The complicated routes by which (E)- and (Z)-mevinphos are hydrolysed to simple molecules have been deduced. The rates for the individual steps in each route have been either measured experimentally, or have been calculated through analogue simulation of all the reactions, by matching the calculated to the observed ultraviolet spectral changes during hydrolysis. It is proposed that (Z)-2-carboxyl-1-methylvinyl dimethyl phosphate is not observed as a hydrolysis product of (Z)-mevinphos because it decomposes by an extremely fast intramolecular reaction. The reasons for the greater lability of (E)-mevinphos are also discussed.     

Effects of adjuvants on the performance of a novel powdery mildew fungicide, 1-(4-chlorobenzyl)-4-phenylpiperidine

The effects of adjuvants on the performance of a dispersible concentrate formulation (DCI) of a novel powdery mildew fungicide, 1-(4-chlorobenzyl)-4-phenylpiperidine (I) were investigated. The method involved assessment, under glasshouse conditions, of the therapeutic (curative) control of infections of powdery mildew (Erysiphe graminis DC f.sp. hordei Marchal) on barley (Hordeum vulgare, L.) eight to nine days after spray application to plants that had been inoculated one day prior to spraying. The results from the first trial showed that marked improvements (∽five-fold) in the performance of DCI could be obtained by the spray tank addition of some types of surfactant adjuvants and a series of further trials investigating a wide range of adjuvants was conducted. Nonylphenol, alkylamine and alcohol ethoxylates varying in mean ethylene oxide content between 5 and 20 moles were highly effective. There were indications that optimum performance enhancements were obtained with these surfactants containing between 5 and 10 moles ethylene oxide. Lower enhancements, sometimes only marginal, were obtained from trisiloxane, phosphate ester, propylene oxide, alkylamine-propylene oxide and castor oil ethoxylates and also alkyl polyglucoside biosurfactants. Negligible adjuvant enhancements were observed with emulsifiable paraffinic/naphthenic and rape seed oils, though slightly better enhancements were seen with an emulsifiable transmethylated rape seed oil and, interestingly, larger enhancements with an emulsifiable lipophilic alcohol. A final trial identified the alcohol ethoxylate, ‘Dobanol’ 91-6, as the most effective adjuvant and that its optimum application rate under glasshouse conditions was 250 g ha^-1. This information will be used to guide the design of field trials. © 1997 SCI     

The physical and chemical properties of the herbicide cinmethylin (SD 95481)

Cinmethylin (SD 95481), is a novel herbicide developed for the selective pre-emergence control of many annual grass weeds in a wide range of temperate and tropical crops. Representing new herbicide chemistry, cinmethylin is in the cineole family. Cinmethylin is a mobile colourless liquid with a boiling point of 313°C under an inert atmosphere at atmospheric pressure. It has a density of 1015 kg m^?3 and a viscosity of 70–90 mPa s, both at 20°C. It is miscible in all proportions with most organic solvents but has a low solubility, 63 mg litre^?1, in water. It has a vapour pressure of 10.2 mPa (20°C) and the vapour pressure/temperature relationship is given by log_e P(Pa)=28.9–9816/T (K). The n-octanol/water partition coefficient is 6850 and soil organic matter/water sorption coefficient (K_om) ranges between 165 and 235 over the three types of soil used in these studies. Cinmethylin is stable in water over the pH range 3–11. Solutions of cinmethylin in water or solvents are reasonably stable to sunlight, though thin films on a quartz surface photooxidise mainly to an ester within 24 h. This rate can be reduced by the addition of photostabilisers or by sorption onto soil surfaces. In an inert atmosphere cinmethylin is stable to high temperatures, though, in air, oxidation occurs at temperatures above 100°C to give the same product as by photodecay.     

Vapour pressure of permethrin

The vapour pressures of the separate isomers of permethrin have been determined over a range of temperatures by two laboratories using different versions of the gas saturation method. A statistical analysis of the sets of data from the two laboratories shows no significant differences for the cis isomers but a small difference in the 20°C extrapolated values for the trans isomer exists. However, this difference is discounted as arising from experimental error and the mean values of the estimated vapour pressures at 20°C are given as 2.5 μPa (cis) and 1.5 μPa (trans).     

In vitro effects of malathion and O,O,S-trimethyl phosphorothioate on cytotoxic T-lymphocyte responses

Oral administration of O,O,S-trimethyl phosphorothioate (OOS), an impurity present in technical formulations of malathion, has been shown to be associated with a high incidence of pneumonia in rats and to be highly immunosuppressive in mice. Based on these findings, an in vitro model was established to study the effect of this and other organophosphorus compounds on murine cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses. The organophosphorus compounds were tested for their ability to block in vitro generation of CTL responses to alloantigen and/or the expression of these cytotoxic responses. Responses were generated in C57Bl/6 (H-2^b) spleen cells to mitomycin C-blocked P815 (H-2^d) tumor cells. The cytotoxicity of the cultured splenocytes to P815 target was measured using a 4-hr chromium release assay. These data demonstrated that malathion was able to block the ability of splenocytes to sensitize to P815 at concentrations as low as 25 μg/ml, but was not able to block the expression of cytotoxicity by mature killer T cells. The same was true for OOS which had been activated by preincubation with rat liver postmitochondrial supernatant (PMS). Activated OOS blocked the generation of CTL responses at concentrations as low as 75 μg/ml while having no effect on mature cytotoxic cells. In fact, both malathion and activated OOS were no longer able to suppress CTL responses if treatment was performed as early as 24 hr after exposure to antigen. Additionally, it was demonstrated that when malathion was preincubated with PMS it was no longer suppressive and that OOS without activation failed to suppress CTL responses.     

Reinvestigating adjuvants for the wild oat herbicide,flamprop-M-isopropyl. II: Field performance

A field trials programme was conducted in which the performance of a new emulsifiable concentrate formulation (ECI) of flamprop-M-isopropyl containing the adjuvant, ‘Dobanol’ 25-7, in a ratio of 2:1 (by weight) with the AI, was compared with the current commercial formulation of ‘Commando’, in combination with its recommended adjuvant, ‘Swirl’, for the control of wild oat (Avena fatua L.) in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). A further treatment, in which the ‘Dobanol’ 25-7: AI ratio was increased to 4:1 by the spray tank addition of the former, was also included. The mean results from six trials (five wheat, one barley) showed that the addition of ‘Swirl’ to ‘Commando’ was beneficial, increasing wild oat floret control from a mean value of 80% to 92% at current recommended rates (flamprop-M-isopropyl, 600 g ha^?1; ‘Swirl’, 2.5 litre ha^?1). However, combinations of flamprop-M-isopropyl and ‘Dobanol’ 25-7 gave superior levels of control even at lower AI application rates. For example, a mean level of 96% control of Avena spp. was obtained at 300 g AI ha^?1 with 1200 g ha^?1 ‘Dobanol’ 25–7; with even better control at higher rates of application of both components. This improvement in performance was accompanied by a higher risk of crop phytotoxicity than observed with the ‘Commando’/‘Swirl’ mixtures. Symptoms initially were scorch and subsequently growth depression, particularly of tillers. None of the mean values in the six ‘efficacy’ trials reached commercially unacceptable levels, but in a further six ‘crop effects’ trials (three wheat, three barley), in which double rates were applied, the levels of phytotoxicity did become unacceptable and subsequently reduced grain yields. In contrast, two barley ‘crop effects’ trials gave yields higher than the control plots, possibly through the effects of reducing stem length and lodging thereby enabling more efficient harvesting. Nevertheless, there were rates of application of flamprop-M-isopropyl in the range 300–400 g ha^?1 with ratios of ‘Dobanol’ 25-7 in the range 2:1 to 4:1 that would achieve high levels of control of Avena spp. without undue risk of crop phytotoxicity and further trials are planned to support this new adjuvant system.