Plasma histamine concentrations in horses administered sodium penicillin,guaifenesin–xylazine–ketamine and isoflurane with morphine or butorphanol

ObjectiveVarious drugs administered to horses undergoing surgical procedures can release histamine. Histamine concentrations were evaluated in horses prepared for surgery and administered butorphanol or morphine intraoperative infusions.Study designProspective studies with one randomized.AnimalsA total of 44 client-owned horses.MethodsIn one study, anesthesia was induced with xylazine followed by ketamine–diazepam. Anesthesia was maintained with guaifenesin–xylazine–ketamine (GXK) during surgical preparation. For surgery, isoflurane was administered with intravenous (IV) morphine (group M: 0.15 mg kg^–1 and 0.1 mg kg^–1 hour^–1; 15 horses) or butorphanol (group B: 0.05 mg kg^–1 and 0.01 mg kg^–1 hour^–1; 15 horses). Histamine and morphine concentrations were measured using enzyme-linked immunoassay before opioid injection (time 0), and after 1, 2, 5, 30, 60 and 90 minutes. In a subsequent study, plasma histamine concentrations were measured in 14 horses before drug administration (baseline), 15 minutes after IV sodium penicillin and 15 minutes after starting GXK IV infusion. Statistical comparison was performed using anova for repeated measures. Pearson correlation compared morphine and histamine concentrations. Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation. Significance was assumed when p ≤ 0.05.ResultsWith histamine, differences occurred between baseline (3.2 ± 2.4 ng mL^–1) and GXK (5.2 ± 7.1 ng mL^–1) and between baseline and time 0 in group B (11.9 ± 13.4 ng mL^–1) and group M (11.1 ± 12.4 ng mL^–1). No differences occurred between baseline and after penicillin or between groups M and B. Morphine concentrations were higher at 1 minute following injection (8.1 ± 5.1 ng mL^–1) than at 30 minutes (4.9 ± 3.1 ng mL^–1) and 60 minutes (4.0 ± 2.5 ng mL^–1). Histamine correlated with morphine at 2, 30 and 60 minutes.Conclusions and clinical relevanceGXK increased histamine concentration, but concentrations were similar with morphine and butorphanol.     

Subcellular localization and isoenzyme pattern of peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase in beet root (Beta vulgaris L.)

The two enzymes involved in enzymatic browning reactions, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (PO), have been partially purified and extracted from different fractions of beet root. PPO is mainly located in the membrane fraction, and it was also found in the soluble fraction. In both cases PPO was in its latent state. However, PO activity was higher in the soluble fraction than in the membrane fraction. Nevertheless, the highest values of specific activity for PO were obtained from the solubilized enzyme from acetone powders. Under native isoelectric focusing (IEF), several PPO isoenzymes were present in the pH range of 4.8-5.8. All of these isoenzymes shared a single band with a similar apparent mass under sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. PO was also analyzed by IEF, showing a complex isoenzyme pattern in all fractions. The characteristic basic PO isoenzyme of high pI found in both the soluble fraction and the solubilized enzyme from acetone powders was not detected in the membrane fraction. The kinetic characterization of PPO and PO from all fractions was carried out.     

Productive behavior in growing kid goats and methane production with the inclusion of chokecherry leaf (Prunus salicifolia)

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Currently for the reduction of methane (CH4) emissions are using fodder rich in condensed tannins, however, not yet known exactly how they act in the rumen...     

Low‐density lipoproteins and milk serum proteins improve the quality of stallion sperm after vitrification in straws

Lipids and proteins can be used for sperm vitrification to preserve the integrity of sperm membranes or to increase the viscosity of the medium. This study evaluated the effect of low‐density lipoproteins (LDL) and milk serum proteins (Pronexcell) for stallion sperm vitrification. Hippex extender (Barex Biochemical Products, The Netherlands), plus 1% of bovine serum albumin and 100 mM of trehalose, was used as control for sperm vitrification. In experiment 1, different concentrations of LDL (L1 = 0.25, L2 = 0.5, L3 = 1%) and in experiment 2 of Pronexcell (P1 = 1, P2 = 5, P3 = 10%) were added to control extender. Vitrification was performed in 0.25‐ml straws directly plunged into liquid nitrogen. Total motility (TM, %) and progressive motility (PM, %) were analysed by CASA, and plasma membrane (IMS, %) and acrosome membrane integrity (AIS, %) were assessed under epifluorescence microscopy. Post‐warmed sperm parameters were compared between treatments by ANOVA. Results were expressed as mean ± SEM. In both experiments, the minimum concentration of LDL and Pronexcell obtained significantly higher values (p < 0.01) than the control extender for TM (L1 = 52.95 ± 4.4; P1 = 58.99 ± 4.6; C = 30.88 ± 3.0), PM (L1 = 36.79 ± 5.5; P1 = 47.25 ± 4.3; C = 19.20 ± 2.4), IMS (L1 = 68.88 ± 3.6; P1 = 47.25 ± 4.3; C = 52.81 ± 2.6) and AIS (L1 = 45.88 ± 3.6; P1 = 47.25 ± 4.3; C = 26.00 ± 2.1). No differences in sperm parameters were found among different concentrations of LDL or Pronexcell. In conclusion, the addition of 0.25% LDL and 1% Pronexcell to the vitrification extender is recommended to improve the quality of stallion sperm after vitrification.     

Occurrence, Distribution and Epidemiology of Grapevine Yellows in Spain

The main viticultural production areas in Spain were surveyed in 1994, 1995 and 1996 for the occurrence and incidence of Grapevine Yellows diseases associated to phytoplasmas. Samples from 300 plants showing symptoms of phytoplasma infection were collected from grapevine fields in the Spanish regions of Aragón, Catalonia and Navarra and analysed by PCR with specific primers for a non-ribosomal DNA of stolbur/Bois Noir (BN) and of Flavescence dorée (FD) phytoplasma. Nested PCR with universal primers P1/P7 and fU5/rU3 was also used. In the survey conducted in 1994 and 1995 only BN/stolbur phytoplasma was detected. The incidence of symptomatic plants was low in five plots of Catalonia from 3% to 18% in 1994 and 1995, respectively, and high in two plots of Navarra, from 60% to 80%. In the survey conducted in 1996 the incidence of symptomatic plants in Catalonia increased (6–80%) due to the presence of FD in five plots in the Northeastern Catalonia. An epidemiological study was carried out in two BN-affected plots of two regions from 1994 to 1997, with the evaluation of potential vectors and of host plants. The stolbur phytoplasma was found in individuals from different insect species belonging to the families Cicadellidae and Delphacidae. Some wild plants naturally infected with stolbur phytoplasma around the infected grapevines were: Convolvulus arvensis, Lavandula officinalis, Polygonum convolvulus, Solanum nigrum, and Thymus officinalis. The incidence of the disease in one BN-infected grapevine plot increased from 3.4% in 1994 to 18.40% in 1997.     

Characterization and growth conditions of Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains with different virulence degrees that cause acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease in Litopenaeus vannamei

The phenotypic characteristics and growth kinetics at several temperatures, salinities, and pH values of three Vibrio parahaemolyticus (Vp) strains with different virulence and one nonpathogenic strain were evaluated. Independent of the virulence of the strain, a high metabolic diversity was found, which yielded different colored phenotypes on the CHROMagar? Vibrio. All strains were resistant to ampicillin and carbenicillin, and Vp AHPND+ organisms were the most sensitive to enrofloxacin. The exponential growth of Vp strains started at 1–2 hr of incubation, although no relationship was observed between the bacterial density and degree of virulence. Moreover, the growth of the most virulent strain was independent of the nutrients in the incubation media during the initial hour postinoculation. No strain grew at 4°C in 0% NaCl and pH 4, but only Vp AHPND+ grew at 44°C. For all strains, the lag phase was proportional to the NaCl concentration, and the growth was better at pH 8–9. However, the Vp AHPND? strain displayed a greater variability, was more sensitive to extreme conditions, and showed a lag phase of 9 hr independent of the pH.     

Anthocyanin and flavonoid production from Perilla frutescens: pilot plant scale processing including cross-flow microfiltration and reverse osmosis

Extraction and concentration at a pilot plant scale of anthocyanins and flavonoids from Perilla frutescens var. frutescens harvested in the Guangzhou area of China were investigated. The study of extraction efficiency using mineral acids and organic acids showed that 0.01 mol/L nitric acid was the most suitable to extract flavonoids from this slightly red leaf cultivar. The red extract contained 12 mg/L (as cyanidin equivalent) anthocyanins and other flavones. The multistep process included cross-flow microfiltration (CFM) with a ceramic type membrane, reverse osmosis (RO), and rotating evaporation (RE). The filtration fluxes were high and constant for CFM (150 L/h/m2 at 0.6 b) and for RO (22 L/h/m2 at 40 b). The red extract was concentrated 9.4 times by RO and then 5.4 times by RE. It contained 422 mg/L anthocyanins, representing 77% of the total extracted anthocyanin. The proportion of flavonoids was found unchanged during processing. The concentrated extract showed a pH of 2.7, and its free acidity was found to be 46% of the acidity added for extraction, because of the buffering capacity of the extract. At the concentration level reached, a crystallized deposit occurred and was identified as tartrate.     

Effect of 4-amino-6-methyl-3-phenylamino-1,2,4-triazin-5(4H)-one on the integrity of chloroplasts from barley leaves

4-Amino-6-methyl-3-phenylamino-1,2,4-triazin-5(4H)-one alters the integrity of chloroplasts in barley (Hordeum vulgare L. var. Hassan) leaves as judged by their sedimentation profiles in linear gradients of sucrose. This effect may be related to the inhibition caused by 4-amino-6-methyl-3-phenylamino-1,2,4-triazine-5(4H)-one of both ascorbate peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities, and could thus be explained by an accumulation of toxic reduced-oxygen species in illuminated chloroplasts.     

Renal handling of calcium and phosphorus in experimental renal hyperparathyroidism in dogs

Twenty-four hour urinary excretion, fractional excretion and the filtered load of calcium and phosphorus were monitored as hyperparathyroidism evolved in a model of progressive canine renal failure. Thirteen beagles of both sexes aged four and a half months were used. Nine of them were subjected to a renal damaging schedule (neomycine, 60 mg/kg/48 h, IM, 32 weeks) in order to induce chronic renal failure leading to secondary hyperparathyroidism (2HPT group). The remaining four were kept as the control group. The experiment was conducted over 32 weeks. Blood and 24 h urine were collected every four weeks. Calcium, phosphorus and creatinine were analyzed. Plasma parathormone and calcitonin were determined at weeks 0, 12, 24 and 32. The level of renal function in the 2HPT animals was reduced to 25% of that of the controls (endogenous creatinine clearance was 0.45 +/- 0.22 mL/min/kg as opposed to 1.81 +/- 0.54 mL/min/kg). Hyperparathyroidism was confirmed by a progressive increase in the levels of the parathyroid hormone. Calcitonin levels were not modified. A tendency to hypocalcaemia was observed, reaching statistically significant levels from the twenty-eighth week of the study, when hyperphosphataemia also became significant. Daily urinary excretion of calcium and phosphorus remained at values considered normal throughout the experiment with no alteration imputable to the impaired renal function. This is explained by the decrease in the filtered load of these elements (in both cases statistically significant from the 24th week on) being associated with an increase in their fractional excretion. Thus, calcium and phosphorus urinary excretion values could be maintained in a normal range up to the end of the experiment, showing that renal calcium handling in dogs with experimentally induced renal failure seems to differ from that observed in human patients.