Recovery of brodifacoum in vomitus following induction of emesis in dogs that had ingested rodenticide bait

AIM: To assess the benefit of inducing emesis in dogs that have ingested rodenticide bait containing brodifacoum (BDF), by determining the amount of BDF in bait recovered from the vomitus relative to the estimated amount consumed.

METHODS: Between 2014 and 2015 samples of vomitus from seven dogs that ingested rodenticide baits containing BDF were submitted by veterinarians in New Zealand. All seven dogs had been given apomorphine by the veterinarian and vomited within 1 hour of ingesting the bait. Some or all of the bait particles were retrieved from each sample and were analysed for concentrations of BDF using HPLC. Based on estimations of the mass of bait consumed, the concentration of BDF stated on the product label, and the estimated mass of bait in the vomitus of each dog, the amount of BDF in the vomited bait was calculated as a percentage of the amount ingested.

RESULTS: For five dogs an estimation of the mass of bait ingested was provided by the submitting veterinarian. For these dogs the estimated percentage of BDF in the bait retrieved from the vomitus was between 10–77%. All dogs were well after discharge but only one dog returned for further testing. This dog had a normal prothrombin time 3 days after ingestion.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The induction of emesis within 1 hour of ingestion can be a useful tool in reducing the exposure of dogs to a toxic dose of BDF. The BDF was not fully absorbed within 1 hour of ingestion suggesting that the early induction of emesis can remove bait containing BDF before it can be fully absorbed.     

Retrospective assessment of tolerability and efficacy of zoledronate in the palliative treatment of cancer-bearing dogs

Zoledronate is a bisphosphonate frequently used for the treatment of hypercalcaemia of malignancy and tumour-associated bone pain in dogs, however, there is a paucity of information regarding its use in veterinary medicine. The aim of this retrospective study was to report the tolerability of zoledronate in the palliative treatment of cancer-bearing dogs and secondarily to to assess the efficacy of zoledronate for the treatment of hypercalcaemia of malignancy. Thirty-seven dogs (22 with tumour-associated bone pain and 15 with hypercalcaemia of malignancy) that received 114 zoledronate infusions were included. Tolerability was assessed by the absence of post-zoledronate hypocalcaemia or other adverse events as defined by Veterinary Cooperative Oncology Group-Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events criteria. Efficacy was assessed by comparison of available ionized calcium levels before and after zoledronate administration in hypercalcaemic dogs. In 79% of zoledronate infusions, no adverse events were reported. The majority of adverse events which occurred in the other 21% of infusions could be attributed to concurrent chemotherapy or the underlying neoplastic disease. There was a small but significant increase in creatinine following treatment with zoledronate, however, none of the dogs developed clinically significant renal disease. In eight hypercalcaemic dogs with available ionized calcium following zoledronate administration, ionized calcium decreased rapidly within 7 days following treatment with zoledronate. Zoledronate is well-tolerated with few recorded adverse events, however, monitoring of serum creatinine is advised. Zoledronate seems to be effective in the treatment of hypercalcaemia of malignancy.     

Combining endophytic fungi and bacteria for the biocontrol of Radopholus similis (Cobb) Thorne and for effects on plant growth

Eight endophytic fungal and bacterial isolates with antagonistic activity against Radopholus similis were evaluated in vivo for their individual and combined effects on biocontrol of R. similis and on the growth of “Grand Naine” cultivar banana plantlets in the greenhouse. Penetration efficiency (PE) of R. similis was between 3 and 21% in 29 biological agents (BAs) treatments, less than the 29% of the nematode-alone control (p ≤ 0.0001); 24 of the BAs treatments did not differ from the PE of 5% for a nematicide control. Twenty nine BAs treatments exhibited antagonistic activity against nematodes which reduced final population levels between 18 and 93%, relative to those on nematode-alone control plants (p ≤ 0.0001), and 14 BAs treatments were statistically similar to the nematicide treatment (88% reduction). Twenty four BAs treatments had increments of plant root biomass ranging from 20 to 58%, greater than the control plants; 37% of the treatments with single and combined BAs inoculations had root length increments ranging from 29 to 54% compared with control and chemical treatment. The nematicide, Terbufos 10GR, did not affect plant growth.     

Chitosan-Based Films with 2-Aminothiophene Derivative: Formulation,Characterization and Potential Antifungal Activity

In this study, films of chitosan and 2-amino-4,5,6,7-tetrahydrobenzo[b]thiophene-3-carbonitrile (6CN), a 2-aminothiophene derivative with great pharmacological potential, were prepared as a system for a topical formulation. 6CN-chitosan films were characterized by physicochemical analyses, such as Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). Additionally, the antifungal potential of the films was evaluated in vitro against three species of Candida (C. albicans, C. tropicalis, and C. parapsilosis). The results of the FTIR and thermal analysis showed the incorporation of 6CN in the polymer matrix. In the diffractogram, the 6CN-chitosan films exhibited diffraction halos that were characteristic of amorphous structures, while the micrographs showed that 6CN particles were dispersed in the chitosan matrix, exhibiting pores and cracks on the film surface. In addition, the results of antifungal investigation demonstrated that 6CN-chitosan films were effective against Candida species showing potential for application as a new antifungal drug.     

Effects of deficit irrigation strategies on cluster microclimate for improving fruit composition of Moscatel field-grown grapevines

The grapevine plays a very important role in the economic, social and cultural sectors of many regions; however vineyards are often grown in regions under stressful conditions and thus they are vulnerable to climate change. The objective of this research was to investigate the effect of partial root-zone drying (PRD) irrigation on vine water relations, vegetative growth, plant microclimate, berry composition and yield components, compared to conventional deficit irrigation (DI, 50% ETc), full irrigation (FI, 100% of ETc) and non-irrigated vines (NI). The study was undertaken in mature ‘Moscatel’ grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.) grown in Pegões, South of Portugal. Compared to the other irrigated treatments, PRD vines showed a better microclimate at the cluster zone with higher incident photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD). Within the more open canopies of NI and PRD treatments, berry temperatures were higher than those of denser ones (DI and FI). Compared to the conventional irrigation technique the better microclimate observed in PRD vines was a consequence of a reduction in vine growth, where lower values of leaf layer number, leaf area, canopy wideness, water shoots and shoot weight were observed. In PRD vines we observed a tendency to a development of a deeper root system, while DI and FI showed a more homogeneous root distribution throughout the different soil layers. PRD showed an improvement in berry quality with higher values of flavour precursors, and total phenols concentration without any significant yield reduction compared to DI and FI.     

Cacao leaf procyanidins increase locally and systemically in response to infection by Moniliophthora perniciosa basidiospores

Flavan-3-ol monomers and oligomers from dimers to decamers were quantitatively determined by HPLC-FLD in leaves of four Theobroma cacao varieties. Cacao flush leaves had higher procyanidin content than mature leaves. Moniliophthora perniciosa basidiospore infection results in an increase in cacao leaf procyanidins in the inoculated leaves, as well as in the uninoculated, adjacent, older leaves on an actively growing branch, resulting in both a local and systemic increase in procyanidin content in response to infection. Procyanidin oligomers increased significantly in leaves of the less susceptible genotype Scavina 6 upon infection, and total procyanidin levels were higher than in Cacao Comum a more disease susceptible genotype. Selection of genotypes with high constitutive and/or inducible content of procyanidins in young flush leaves may be a strategy to develop witches’ broom disease resistant cultivars.