THE EFFECT OF A COMBINATION OF MEDETOMIDINE-BUTORPHANOL AND MEDETOMIDINE, BUTORPHANOL, ATROPINE ON GLOMERULAR FILTRATION RATE IN DOGS

The effects of intramuscularly administered medetomidine and butorphanol (MB), and medetomidine, butorphanol, atropine (MBA) on glomerular filtration rate (GFR) were determined in six dogs as measured by 99m-Tc-labeled diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (99mTc-DTPA) nuclear scintigraphy. Direct systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressures and heart rate were measured at regular time intervals before, during, and after GFR calculations. The mean GFR measurement following MB was significantly greater (4.44 ml/min/kg) than following MBA (3.82 ml/min/kg) or saline treatment (3.41 ml/min/kg). There was no significant difference between the mean GFR measurements following MBA injection and following saline injection. Diastolic and mean arterial pressures following MBA injection were significantly higher than the values recorded after either MB or saline alone. Heart rate following MB administration was significantly lower than that recorded for dogs receiving MBA or saline alone. The results of this study indicate that the administration of medetomidine in combination with butorphanol significantly increases total GFR in healthy dogs, while the administration of the combination of medetomidine, butorphanol, and atropine does not.     

Modeling multi-scale spatial ecological processes under the discrete event systems paradigm

A multi-scale spatial ecological model of a wet sclerophyllous forest subject to recurrent fires is presented. The model is specified in a Discrete Event Systems framework (DEVS) (Zeigler, 1990) interfaced with a Geographic Information System (GIS), and includes the ability to simulate landscape dynamics at several levels of resolution simultaneously. This is achieved by encoding a modular hierarchical representation of the forest landscape components into a set of nested, interconnected, and spatially referenced dynamic models. The results of the landscape dynamics simulations are displayed as sequences of maps through time, illustrating the potential of this modeling methodology for dealing with complex hierarchical structures that operate at several spatial and temporal resolutions.Research work supported by Junta Nacional de Investigaçäo Científica e Tecnológica, Portugal, and the Advanced Resource Technology Program, University of Arizona, USA.     

Dietary selenate versus selenite for cattle, sheep, and horses.

Food and Drug Administration regulations currently permit addition of .3 mg of Se per kilogram of diet for chickens, turkeys, ducks, swine, sheep, and cattle. However, field reports indicate that this level may not be adequate for ruminants in all situations. Because sodium selenite is the most common supplemental form and is known to be readily absorbed to particles or reduced to insoluble elemental Se or selenides in acid, anaerobic environments, studies were conducted with dairy cattle, sheep, and horses fed sodium selenate to determine whether Se from this source was more bioavailable than Se from sodium selenite. A 2-wk period of no Se supplementation was followed by 49 or 56 d of Se supplementation at .3 mg/kg of dietary DM. Serum Se concentrations and glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) activities measured initially and periodically thereafter revealed no difference between Se forms in sheep and horses and only a small (P less than .05) advantage for selenate in supporting serum Se concentration in dairy cattle. Selenium concentrations in skeletal muscle and liver of sheep were not different between Se forms. Serum Se, but not GSHPx, increased with time, and .3 mg of supplemental Se per kilogram of dietary DM from either sodium selenate or sodium selenite supported normal serum Se concentrations in sheep, dairy cattle, and horses.     

Treatment of peritonitis.

In summary, peritonitis in the horse is a potentially life-threatening disease that must be treated promptly and aggressively. Therapy should be aimed at reducing systemic shock and hypovolemia, correction of the primary cause, antibiotic and anti-inflammatory therapy, and abdominal drainage and lavage. The prognosis depends on the ability to diagnose and treat the underlying cause and prevent the development of complications. Mortality rates can be as high as 59.7%, with horses developing postoperative peritonitis having a 56% mortality rate. Long-term complications like adhesion formation or internal abscesses may further reduce the survival rate. The prognosis is best determined by an early and quick response to aggressive treatment.     

Evaluation of Transmittance and Reflectance Pulse Oximetry in a Canine Model of Hypotension and Desaturation

Ten, anesthetized dogs were instrumented with three pulse oximeter probes; two lingual transmittance probes and one rectal reflective probe. Arterial oxygen desaturation was produced by decreasing the inspired oxygen concentration. Hypotension was produced with an infusion of nitroprusside. Simultaneous pulse oximeter readings (SpO₂) were compared to co-oximeter measured arterial saturation (SaO₂) collected over a range of SaO₂ (50–100%) and mean arterial pressures (40–100mmHg). Each of the monitors and means of evaluating SpO₂ studied provided accurate SpO₂ measurements over a range of mean arterial pressure from 40–100mmHg. All of the monitors tested tended to overestimate the SaO₂ when the arterial saturation was less than 70%.     

Induction of lactogenic immunity to transmissible gastroenteritis virus of swine using an attenuated coronavirus mutant able to survive in the physicochemical environment of the digestive tract.

A transmissible gastroenteritis (TGE) coronavirus mutant (188-SG), selected as attenuated and resistant to acidity and proteases of the digestive tract of adult pigs, was used as vaccine ("Nouzilly strain") in sows to protect suckling piglets against a challenge exposure carried out with a highly virulent TGEV strain. The pregnant sows were immunized once (42-49 days before farrowing) or twice (42-49 and 7-15 days before farrowing) by the oral, intramuscular or conjunctival route with the 188-SG strain. Sows exposed to virulent TGEV in the field and experimentally infected sows (two oral inoculations during pregnancy) were used as positive controls leading to high protection. The neutralizing antibody response to vaccination and/or infection was studied in serum and milk. No protection against mortality was observed in the litters of (1) the nine seronegative, susceptible sows, with piglet mortality of 65/70, (2) the seven once orally vaccinated sows, with mortality of 44/54, (3) the seven sows vaccinated twice by the conjunctival route, with mortality of 55/76. Moderate protection was observed in (1) the eight sows vaccinated intramuscularly twice with piglet mortality of 36/90, (2) the seven orally and intramuscularly vaccinated sows with piglet mortality of 31/51. In of 3 contrast, improved protection was observed in (1) the 10 sows vaccinated twice orally, with piglet mortality of 23/95, (2) the four naturally infected sows with piglet mortality of 6/41, (3) the six sows experimentally infected with virulent TGEV with piglet mortality of 1/59. No correlation was found between neutralizing antibodies titers in serum and milk and protection rate of the piglets. The results indicate that relative protective lactogenic immunity against TGEV is induced only by repeated ingestion of the attenuated 188-SG strain of TGEV.     

Plasma cell pododermatitis in a cat

Plasma cell pododermatitis, an uncommon disease of unknown etiology, is described in a six year old male domestic short-haired cat. The cat was referred with a history of lameness associated with swelling, softness and ulceration of the foot pads. The history suggested a seasonal occurrence of the condition. The dermis and subcutis of the foot pads were infiltrated by inflammatory cells which were mainly plasma cells. The large number of plasma cells present in the lesions suggests an immunological basis for the condition.     

Phytotoxicity on cotton ex-plants of an 18.5 kDa protein from culture filtrates of Verticillium dahliae

A phytotoxic protein that evokes the typical symptoms of Verticillium wilt disease in seedlings of Gossypium hirsutum L. (Upland cotton) was isolated from culture filtrates of Verticillium dahliae. The protein was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, Sephadex-G100 fractionation, and native PAGE. The 18.5 kDa protein, designated VD18.5, appears to be a single subunit protein with an isoelectric point between 3 and 5. VD18.5 induces symptoms of leaf dehydration, chlorosis, necrosis and stem discoloration in seedlings of the disease susceptible cotton cultivar Siokra 1–4. The LD₅₀ of VD18.5 on protoplasts of Siokra 1–4 was 18 μg mL⁻¹. VD18.5 had no noticeable effect on Pima S-7, which is a disease resistant cultivar. Phytotoxic activity was partially destroyed at high temperature and was abolished by digestion with proteinase K. Mass spectrometry fingerprinting and protein sequence data from VD18.5 yielded no significant matches when submitted to the Mascot search engine and NCBI non-redundant protein databases, respectively. These results suggest that VD18.5 is a novel protein that may be involved in the development of some of the symptoms associated with Verticillium wilt disease in the cotton plant.     

Anastomosis Groups, Pathogenicity and Sensitivity to Fungicides of Rhizoctonia solani Isolates Collected on Potato Crops in France

A collection of 241 isolates of Rhizoctonia solani obtained from potato plants grown in different areas in France was characterized for anastomosis grouping, symptomatology on tubers of different cultivars and sensitivity to three fungicides. Most isolates collected belonged to (anastomosis groups (AGs)) AG 3, but 2% and 4% of the isolates were AG 5 and AG 2-1. AG 3 and AG 2-1 isolates were mostly obtained from sclerotia on tubers, but all AG 5, some AG 3 and some AG 2-1 isolates were recovered from superficial tuber alterations, like deformations, corky or scabby lesions. Sclerotia were formed on tubers produced by healthy stem cuttings grown in soil artificially infested with AG 3, but not on tubers grown in soil infested with either AG 5 or AG 2-1. No variation in susceptibility to sclerotial formation was observed among five potato cultivars. In all cases, a large proportion of tubers showed superficial corky lesions, often associated with deformations. The proportion of tubers with lesions and deformations was highest in soil infested with AG 2-1 and significantly lower on cv. Samba in all treatments. All isolates were highly sensitive to flutolanil, iprodione and pencycuron, except the AG 5 isolates, moderately sensitive to pencycuron. These results show that, although AG 3 is the most common R. solani group on potato in France, AG 5 and AG 2-1 may be present. Isolates differed for pathogenicity. In vitro sensitivity to fungicides varied among AGs.