Effects of mid-season avermectin treatments on pyrethroid resistance in horn fly (Diptera: Muscidae) populations at three locations in Louisiana

Between 1999 and 2002, the effect of mid-season doramectin treatments on the level of resistance in pyrethroid-resistant horn fly populations was examined at three separate Louisiana State University Agricultural Center research stations. The cattle were treated with pyrethroid ear tags in all years at all farms, and each farm received a mid-season doramectin treatment in 1 year. The number of weeks of control at Red River was 11 weeks higher in the year following the mid-season treatment of doramectin. At Macon Ridge, the number of weeks of control was 2 weeks higher in the year following the doramectin treatment. No change was observed at St. Joseph. The LC50s for fly populations tested at Macon Ridge and St. Joseph were found to increase for pyrethroids from the spring populations to the fall populations between 2000 and 2002. The LC50s for fly populations at Red River followed the same trends except in 2000, the year when the doramectin treatment was administered. Flies collected pre and post-treatment each year from St. Joseph and Red River were assayed for two alleles (kdr and skdr) associated with target site resistance to pyrethroids. Flies collected pretreatment at Macon Ridge in 1999 also were assayed for the kdr and skdr, and this population of flies had a frequency of 85.6% R-kdr alleles. At St. Joseph and Red River there was a general decline in the frequency of homozygous susceptible skdr (SS-skdr) and homozygous susceptible kdr (SS-kdr) individuals, as well as a general increase in homozygous resistant skdr (RR-skdr) and homozygous resistant kdr (RR-kdr) individuals, during the 4-year study. At both sites, the frequency of R-kdr alleles increased significantly in flies collected in the fall compared to flies collected in the spring with the exception of Red River in 2000, when dormacetin was applied. The frequency of the R-kdr alleles was significantly higher in flies collected in the fall compared to flies collected in the spring in the following year at both sites in two out of three comparisons. The frequency of R-skdr alleles was significantly lower in fly populations tested in the spring compared to fly populations tested in the fall at both farms in years when doramectin was not applied but there were no differences in the years when doramectin was applied. The frequency of R-skdr alleles was significantly higher in fly populations tested in the fall compared to in the spring the following year during all three comparisons at Red River and in one of three comparisons at St. Joseph.     

Evaluation of the effects of ischemic injury and ureteral obstruction on delayed graft function in cats after renal autotransplantation

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relative importance of ischemic injury to delayed graft function (DGF) in cats. STUDY DESIGN: Experimental study. ANIMALS: Six intact female cats. METHODS: Cats had renal autograft transplantation without ureteral transection and reimplantation and a contralateral nephrectomy. Serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentrations were measured regularly and abdominal ultrasound was performed before surgery, the day after surgery and twice weekly thereafter. Ultrasound-guided renal biopsy was performed on day 7. Cats were euthanatized on day 21. Histology of the autograft, ureter, bladder, vascular anastomoses sites, and contralateral kidney were performed. Observations were compared with those from an historic group of research cats that had extravesicular ureteroneocystostomy and contralateral nephrectomy. RESULTS: Five cats completed the study. Serum creatinine and BUN concentrations increased after surgery, peaking at 3.2+/-0.8 and 77.6+/-15.9 mg/dL, respectively, 1-2 days after surgery. Serum creatinine concentration returned to the reference interval by 6 days after surgery. BUN gradually decreased in all cats but did not return to the reference interval by study end. Serum creatinine and BUN concentrations were consistently lower but not significantly so (P=.29 and .56, respectively) compared with the historic ureteroneocystostomy group. No ultrasonographic abnormalities or renal biopsy histologic abnormalities were observed. At necropsy, 1 autograft had generalized interstitial fibrosis. CONCLUSION: Harvesting the renal graft and the ischemia before revascularization causes impaired renal function after engraftment. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The process of harvesting and reimplanting the renal graft can contribute to DGF in cats, independent of ureteral obstruction.     

Aqueous humor and plasma concentrations of a compounded 0.2% solution of terbinafine following topical ocular administration to normal equine eyes

Objective To determine the transcorneal penetration and systemic absorption of a compounded 0.2% terbinafine solution following repeated topical administration to normal equine eyes. Sample population Six healthy adult horses with normal ocular examinations. Procedures One eye of each horse received 0.2 mL of a compounded 0.2% terbinafine solution every 4 h for seven doses. During the 1 h following administration of the final dose, multiple peripheral blood samples were obtained, and a single aqueous humor (AH) sample was collected at the end of the hour. AH and plasma concentrations of terbinafine were determined using high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Stability of the formulation was assessed with HPLC analysis over a 14‐day time period. Results Terbinafine was not detected in the AH or plasma of any horse at any time point. No signs of ocular irritation or systemic toxicity were noted in any horse at any time point. The solution was stable over 14 days. Conclusion Topical ocular administration of compounded 0.2% terbinafine solution does not result in detectable AH or plasma levels following administration to normal equine eyes, suggesting its use for deep corneal or intraocular fungal infections in equine ophthalmology may be limited.     

VH1-44 gene usage defines a subset of canine B-cell lymphomas associated with better patient survival

The use of specific immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region (VH) genes has been associated with increased patient survival in human B-cell lymphomas (hBCL). Given the similarity of human and canine BCL (cBCL) in morphology and clinical treatment, we examined the choice of VH in cBCL and determined whether VH gene selection was a distinct feature associated with survival time in dogs. VH gene selection and mutational status in 52 cBCL, including 29 diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (cDLBCL, the most common subtype of cBCL), were analyzed by comparison with the 80 published canine germline VH gene sequences. We further examined the prognostic impact of the subgroups defined by these features on canine survival. We found that VH1-44 was preferentially expressed in the majority of the 52 cBCLs (60%) as well as in the majority of the cDLBCL subset (59%). VH1-44 gene expression was associated with a statistically better overall survival (p = 0.039) in cBCL patients, as well as in the cDLBCL subset of patients (p = 0.038). These findings suggest that VH gene selection in cBCL is not random and may therefore have functional implications for cBCL lymphomagenesis, in addition to being a useful prognostic biomarker.     

Evaluation of keratin fibre damages

This paper investigated the effect of three different treatments, namely: (i) sunlight (simulated by Xenon light) exposures, (ii) bleaching and (iii) perming on the damage of keratin fibre (with the use human hair). Four different testing methods were applied to quantify the hair damages. On evaluating the test results, it was concluded that the bleaching process imparted the most severe damaging action for hair. The results of the different test methods were evaluated and discussed.     

The reasonable scale of water reuse system in irrigation area: a case study of Chitong irrigation district in Taiwan

The aim of this study is to assess the potential of the irrigation return-flow in a water reuse system, for the supply of other local water users. Both field survey and water-budget analysis were conducted, and the Chitong irrigation district in Taiwan was selected as the case study area. The results indicate that through the regulation of a pond with the effective capacity of 20,000 m³, a stable supply of 10,000 CMD of reuse water can be generated if the return-flow from the irrigation area of 200 hectares, which is about the size of a rotation plot, is intercepted. However, as the irrigation and effective rainfall are low from December to March, which are considered high risk for water supply, the irrigation return-flow decreases accordingly, and a series of responding measures are also suggested.     

The Effect of Consumption of Selenium Enriched Rye/Wheat Sourdough Bread on the Body’s Selenium Status

The potential of selenium-enriched rye/wheat sourdough bread as a route for supplementing dietary selenium intakes is reported. In addition to their normal diets, 24 female volunteers (24 to 25 years old) were fed either selenium-enriched bread or non-enriched bread each day (68.02 and 0.84 μg selenium day⁻¹ respectively) for 4 weeks. The chemical form of the selenium in the bread had been characterised using HPLC-ICP-MS, which showed that 42% of the extractable selenium was present as selenomethionine. Plasma selenium levels and plasma platelet glutathione peroxidase (GPx1) activity were measured in the volunteers’ blood over a 6-week period. A statistically significant difference (p = 0.001) was observed in the mean percentage change data, calculated from the plasma selenium level measurements for the enriched and control group, over the duration of the study. A comparable difference was not observed for the platelet GPx1 activity (p = 0.756), over the same period. Two weeks after cessation of the feeding stage, i.e., at t = 6 weeks, the mean percentage change value for the selenium plasma levels in the enriched group was still significantly elevated, suggesting that the absorbed selenium had been incorporated into the body’s selenium reserves, and was then being slowly released back into the volunteers’ blood.