Dissipation kinetics of pre-plant pesticides in greenhouse-devoted soils.

This work was conducted to study the distribution of methyl isothiocyanate (MITC) in greenhouse soils treated with the fumigant dazomet (DZ) from the formulated product "Basamid Granular(®)", but also of 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D) and chloropicrin (CP) from the fumigant "Agrocelhone NE(®)". In order to achieve this aim, several methods for the determination of fumigants residues in soils, but also pepper fruits were optimized and characterized. With independence of the soil depth, no residues of MITC, 1,3-D and CP above the detection limits were observed in soils covered with a polyethylene (PE) film (0.04 mm thick) after 27, 13 and 8 days of treatment, respectively. Liberation and dissipation curves of MITC in soil in presence of a PE film (0.04 mm) used to limit volatilization losses were also obtained. According to the results, the rate of decomposition of DZ into MITC have a half-life of 3.7 days in the surface horizon (5-10 cm) of the soil while in the subsurface horizon (15-20 cm), MITC formation rate is slightly slow (half-life of 3.2 days). With respect to the dissipation process, half-lives lower than 1 day were obtained for both depths (0.8 and 0.9 for the surface and the subsurface horizon, respectively). In the case of 1,3-D and CP in soil, the dissipation half-life of 1,3-D on soils was a bit higher than for CP (2 days vs. 1). In addition, the presence of residues of the fumigants on green pepper fruits grown on the treated soils was not detected as expected.

Total pulmonary torsion without vascular compromise--a case report.

A new case of pulmonary torsion is reported. Only 15 cases of this rare entity have been published in the literature, all of them either surgically treated short term or resulting in death. Small right-side pneumothorax following diagnostic transthoracic puncture seemed to be the mechanism of production. Because of the absence of acute clinical manifestations, fibroscopy, isotopic perfusion scanning, and hemodynamic and pulmonary angiographic studies were done. The lack of compromise in the pulmonary flow and venous pulmonary return explains the surprisingly good progress (ten months, at present) of the patient.

The use of ELISA for the detection of African horse sickness viruses in Culicoides midges.

The use of ELISA for the detection of African horse sickness viruses (AHSV) in midges preserved in 5.0% formalin was evaluated. No differences were detected by ELISA when testing AHSV infected batches of Culicoides midges collected in diluent with or without the addition of formalin. The ELISA was considered highly sensitive and easily distinguished between non-infected midges and batches containing varying numbers of infected and non-infected midges. Positive ELISA reactions were detected with formalin-preserved midges collected from the south of Spain during the 1988 AHSV epizootic. The assay, therefore, may be used in surveillance studies of either fresh or formalin-preserved midges to identify undisclosed and persistent AHSV foci. This information would be useful in helping to eradicate the virus from Europe and North Africa.

Antibodies in horses, mules and donkeys following monovalent vaccination against African horse sickness.

A total of 256 sera collected from three species of domesticated equidae in four different Spanish provinces were examined 1-4 months after the administration of attenuated monovalent African horse sickness virus (AHSV) serotype 4 vaccine. Approximately 10% of the sera were negative by ELISA, virus neutralization, agar gel immuno-diffusion and complement fixation tests. Similar negative reactions were recorded with sera from two ponies after experimental primary vaccination. The rapid rise in antibodies in sera from these two ponies, after a second dose of vaccine, suggested they would probably have been immune to challenge. It is therefore suggested that the apparent absence of antibodies against AHSV in some animals after primary vaccination may not necessarily indicate a total lack of protection.

[Conservative treatment in spontaneous splenic rupture due to infectious mononucleosis]. / Tratamiento conservador en la rotura espontánea de bazo por mononucleosis infecciosa.

Spontaneous rupture of the spleen secondary to infectious mononucleosis frequently proves to be an urgent surgical decision: splenectomy during a exploratory laparotomy. Few cases have been described where diagnosis was made by means of an abdominal ultrasound and those followed-up and treated conservatively, are most exceptional. A case of rupture of spleen during a course of an infectious mononucleosis, confirmed by abdominal ultrasounds and treated conservatively, with good evolution, is presented.

Isolations of African horse sickness virus from vector insects made during the 1988 epizootic in Spain.

This paper describes the first isolations of African horse sickness virus (AHSV) from insects in Spain. Seven isolations of AHSV serotype 4 were made; four from Culicoides imicola a known vector of the virus elsewhere, two from mixed pools of Culicoides species not including C. imicola and one from blood engorged mosquitoes. Three further isolations of AHSV serotype 4 were also made from horses kept adjacent to the insect collecting sites. This work presents the first definitive identification of the vectors of AHSV in Spain during the 1987, 88 and 89 epizootics. Suggestions are also made concerning the significance of these findings with regard to the epidemiology of African horse sickness in Spain.

[New esters of substituted anilinonicotinic and phenylanthranilic acids]. / Nuevos ésteres de ácidos anilinonicotínicos y N-fenilantranílicos sustituidos.

In the search for new non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs with low ulcerogenic activity, phthalidyl and pivaloyloxymethyl esters of anilinonicotinic and N-phenylanthranilic acids were synthesized. One of them, the 3-phthalidyl ester of 2-([3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]amino)-3-pyridinecarboxylic acid, also named talniflumate, showed lower ulcerogenic activity and toxicity and greater antiinflammatory activity than the niflumic acid.