Efficacy of ozone and other treatment modalities for retained placenta in dairy cows.

Retained placenta is a worldwide recognized clinical condition in puerperal cows, which can significantly affect their health and fertility. Available treatment modalities are often of questionable efficacy or associated with time constraints, practicality or monetary considerations for their wide application in a routine dairy practice. The objective of this study was to compare and assess the efficacy of different treatment options, including a novel ozone treatment, for the retained placenta. Two hundred cows diagnosed with retained placenta were divided into five treatment groups, each receiving a different treatment option. Group A (n = 40) was given a combination treatment of intrauterine ozone and parenteral cephalexin; group B (n = 40) was given intrauterine ozone; group C (n = 40) was given a combination of parenteral cephalexin and intrauterine antibiotic tablets; group D (n = 40) was given only parenteral cephalexin and group E (n = 40) was given parenteral prostaglandins in 11-day intervals. The control group (group Z, n = 200) included cows that gave birth without assistance and were not diagnosed with a retained placenta. The ozone treatment (groups A and B) was found to be the most effective modality resulting in the shortest period of days open, the smallest number of artificial inseminations until pregnancy, the smallest number of animals diagnosed with fever within 10 days post-calving, the highest percentage of animals pregnant within 200 days after calving and the smallest number of animals culled because of infertility, when compared to the other treatment groups. The intrauterine ozone flush therefore has a potential as an efficacious and cost-effective treatment option for retained placenta, with an overall positive effect on puerperal health and fertility in cows.

Efficacy of ozone as a novel treatment option for urovagina in dairy cows.

Urovagina is detrimental to the health and fertility of cows worldwide. Surgery, the only known treatment, is not economically pragmatic to dairy practice, and it has some medical drawbacks. The objective of this study was to determine whether reproductive problems associated with urovagina could be alleviated through more practical and less-invasive treatment options to allow successful conception and term-pregnancy. Cows diagnosed with urovagina (n = 1219) were divided into three treatment groups, each containing an equal number of cows with mild, moderate and severe urovagina. The groups received one of three treatment options: saline (group A, n = 400), streptomycin (group B, n = 400) or ozone (group C, n = 419) flush, regardless of the severity of the urovagina condition within the group. The ozone treatment was found to be the most effective treatment modality, resulting in the shortest period of days open (95, 89 and 79 days in groups A, B and C, respectively; p < 0.05), the fewest number of inseminations until pregnancy (2.38, 1.84 and 1.63 in groups A, B and C, respectively; p < 0.05) and the smallest number of culled cows (20, 23 and 12 in groups A, B and C, respectively; p < 0.05). The ozone flush coupled with intracornual insemination presents an effective treatment option for urovagina that can lead to successful conceptions and pregnancies in dairy cows.

Incidence and factors associated with early pregnancy losses in Simmental dairy cows.

It has been suggested that management system, milk yield, parity, body condition score and ambient temperature can significantly influence the rate of early pregnancy loss in dairy cattle. The objectives of this study were to establish the extent and patterns of early pregnancy loss from days 32 to 86 of gestation, and to check relationships between management system, milk yield, ambient temperature (quartile), body condition score, bull and parity on the early pregnancy loss rate for Simmental dairy cattle in Croatia. Animals were housed in two dairy farms with two different management systems (pasture based-group A, n=435 and intensive-group B, n=425) with a total of 151 heifers and 709 cows. Overall pregnancy losses were recorded in 67 (7.79%) animals, with late embryonic losses in 30 (44.77%) and early fetal losses in 37 (55.23%) animals (P>0.05). Early pregnancy losses were twofold higher in group B when compared to the group A (P<0.05). More than the half of pregnancy losses were recorded during the III quartile (P<0.05). There was no significant relationship between the paternal bull and pregnancy loss rate. Low body condition score (BCS 2-3) was associated with the highest, while BCS 3.25-4 showed the lowest pregnancy loss rate (P<0.05). The pregnancy loss rate increased in parallel with parity and milk yield increase.

Influence of the semen deposition site on the calves' sex ratio in Simmental dairy cattle.

It has been suggested that the time of insemination has effect on the calves' sex ratio because of the differences in timing of capacitation, motility and survival time of the X and Y spermatozoa in the female reproductive tract. We have conducted a field trial to study the effects of different semen deposition sites on the sex ratio and fertility in cattle. Two groups of 450 cows were inseminated via artificial insemination: group A was inseminated into the uterine body and group B was inseminated deep into the uterine horn ipsilateral to the ovary with dominant follicle. After applying several exclusion criteria, a total of 607 pregnant cows were considered for data analysis (group A = 318 and group B = 289 cows). The conception rate was 7% higher (p < 0.05) in the group A, with 23% more of the male calf pregnancies (p < 0.001). At the same time, 18% more of the female calves were calved in the group B (p < 0.005). The difference in male calves between the two groups was 21% and in female calves was 20% (p < 0.001). We conclude that semen deposition site plays a significant role in differences in gender ratio observed after calving. Intracornual semen deposition resulted in a higher ratio of female calves, whereas uterine body deposition site resulted in higher male calves ratio, probably contributing physiologically to the differences in motility, capacitation time, the lifespan of X vs Y spermatozoa and to the pronounced shift of X spermatozoa in the female genital tract.

Photoperiod gene control over partitioning between reproductive and vegetative growth.

The hypothesis tested was that lack of photoperiod gene activity allows inherent partitioning of photosynthate to continued growth of the earliest potential buds, flowers, pods, and seeds (the organs that give rise to the yield). Alternatively, and competitively, photoperiod gene activity causes the photosynthate to be partitioned predominantly toward continued growth of new vegetative organs plus later initiation of more reproductive (yield) organs. This hypothesis was tested by comparing an insensitive and a photoperiod-sensitive bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cultivar and their F1 with F2 segregates of undetermined genotype. Randomly derived homozygous F8 segregates were also compared. The F8 generation included one photoperiod-insensitive and one photoperiod-sensitive genotype in a 1:1 ratio, which verified control by one photoperiod gene. Under long daylength (LD), in addition to early versus late flowering and maturity, the two genotypes expressed opposite levels of 23 other traits that would be changed by competitive partitioning of the photosynthate. In contrast, under short daylength (SD), both genotypes flowered and matured early, and both expressed the levels for all 25 traits that the photoperiod-insensitive genotype expressed in both SD and LD. The photoperiod gene interacted with daylength to control the levels of all three major physiological components of yield: the aerial biomass, harvest index, and days to maturity. Included among the other traits with levels altered by daylength-modulated photoperiod gene activity were: the number of branches, nodes, leaves and leaf area, the rate of yield accumulation, and sink activity.

A whole-system reconsideration of paradigms about photoperiod and temperature control of crop yield.

Effects by photoperiod gene(s) and daylength on crop yield and its three major physiological components (aerial biomass, harvest index, and days to harvest maturity) are reviewed for bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.). In these plus many other cited crops, photoperiod sensitive gene(s) delay days to flowering and/or days to maturity in non-promotive daylength while simultaneously lowering the harvest index. Thus, for many crops, earlier maturity is associated with higher harvest index, and/or it has been shown that photoperiod gene(s) control partitioning of photosynthate toward reproductive growth versus toward competitive partitioning to continued vegetative growth. Our conclusion is that photoperiod gene control over this partitioning precedes and is causal of the photoperiodgene control over days to flowering and maturity. This implies shifts from commonly accepted paradigms about effects by photoperiod and about breeding for higher yield. These paradigm shifts suggest more efficient ways to breed for cultivar adaption to the specific growing season duration and environment of each geographical site and for higher crop yield.

Improving efficiency of breeding for higher crop yield.

Exclusive selection for yield raises, the harvest index of self-pollinated crops with little or no gain in total bipmass. In addition to selection for yield, it is suggested that efficient breeding for higher yield requires simultaneous selection for yield's three major, genetically controlled physiological components. The following are needed: (1) a superior rate of biomass accumulation. (2) a superior rate of actual yield accumulation in order to acquire a high harvest index, and (3) a time to harvest maturity that is neither shorter nor longer than the duration of the growing season. That duration is provided by the environment, which is the fourth major determinant of yield. Simultaneous selection is required because genetically established interconnections among the three major physiological components cause: (a) a correlation between the harvest index and days to maturity that is usually negative; (b) a correlation between the harvest index and total biomass that is often negative, and (c) a correlation between biomass and days to maturity that is usually positive. All three physiological components and the correlations among them can be quantified by yield system analysis (YSA) of yield trials. An additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) statistical analysis can separate and quantify the genotype × environment interaction (G × E) effect on yield and on each physiological component that is caused by each genotype and by the different environment of each yield trial. The use of yield trials to select parents which have the highest rates of accumulation of both biomass and yield, in addition to selecting for the G × E that is specifically adapted to the site can accelerate advance toward the highest potential yield at each geographical site. Higher yield for many sites will raise average regional yield. Higher yield for multiple regions and continents will raise average yield on a world-wide basis. Genetic and physiological bases for lack of indirect selection for biomass from exclusive selection for yield are explained.

Aeroponics for the culture of organisms, tissues and cells.

Characteristics of aeroponics are discussed. Contrast is made, where appropriate, with hydroponics and aero-hydroponics as applies to research and commercial applications of nutrient mist technology. Topics include whole plants, plant tissue cultures, cell and microbial cultures, and animal tissue cultures with regard to operational considerations (moisture, temperature, minerals, gaseous atmosphere) and design of apparati.

Use of AMMI and linear regression models to analyze genotype-environment interaction in durum wheat.

The joint durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L var 'durum') breeding program of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) for the Mediterranean region employs extensive multilocation testing. Multilocation testing produces significant genotype-environment (GE) interaction that reduces the accuracy for estimating yield and selecting appropriate germ plasm. The sum of squares (SS) of GE interaction was partitioned by linear regression techniques into joint, genotypic, and environmental regressions, and by Additive Main effects and the Multiplicative Interactions (AMMI) model into five significant Interaction Principal Component Axes (IPCA). The AMMI model was more effective in partitioning the interaction SS than the linear regression technique. The SS contained in the AMMI model was 6 times higher than the SS for all three regressions. Postdictive assessment recommended the use of the first five IPCA axes, while predictive assessment AMMI1 (main effects plus IPCA1). After elimination of random variation, AMMI1 estimates for genotypic yields within sites were more precise than unadjusted means. This increased precision was equivalent to increasing the number of replications by a factor of 3.7.

Imputing missing yield trial data.

The Additive Main effects and Multiplicative Interaction (AMMI) statistical model has been demonstrated effective for understanding genotype-environment interactions in yields, estimating yields more accurately, selecting superior genotypes more reliably, and allowing more flexible and efficient experimental designs. However, AMMI had required data for every genotype and environment combination or treatment; i.e., missing data were inadmissible. The present paper addresses the problem. The Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm is implemented for fitting AMMI depite missing data. This missing-data version of AMMI is here termed "EM-AMMI". EM-AMMI is used to quantify the direct and indirect information in a yield trial, providing theoretical insight into the gain in accuracy observed and into the process of imputing missing data. For a given treatment, the direct yield data are the replicates of that treatment, and the indirect data are all the other yield data in the trial. EM-AMMI is used to inpute missing data for a New York soybean yield trial. Important applications arise from both unintentional and intentional missing data. Empirical measurements demonstrate good predictive success, and statistical theory attributes this success to the Stein effect.

Accuracy and selection success in yield trial analyses.

Yield trials serve research purposes of estimation and selection. Order statistics are used here to quantify the successes or problems to be expected in selection tasks commonly encountered in breeding and agronomy. Greater accuracy of yield estimates implies greater selection success. A New York soybean yield trial serves as a specific example. The Additive Main effects and Multiplicative Interaction (AMMI) statistical model is used to increase the accuracy of these soybean yield estimates, thereby increasing the probability of successfully selecting, on the basis of the empirical yield data, that genotype which has the maximum true mean. The statistical strategy for increasing accuracy is extremely cost effective relative to the alternative strategy of increasing the number of replications. Better selections increase the speed and effectiveness of breeding programs, and increase the reliability of variety recommendations. Selection tasks are frequently more difficult than may be suspected.

Predictive and postdictive success of statistical analyses of yield trials.

The accuracy of a yield trial can be increased by improved experimental techniques, more replicates, or more efficient statistical analyses. The third option involves nominal fixed costs, and is therefore very attractive. The statistical analysis recommended here combines the Additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) model with a predictive assessment of accuracy. AMMI begins with the usual analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compute genotype and environment additive effects. It then applies principal components analysis (PCA) to analyze non-additive interaction effects. Tests with a New York soybean yield trial show that the predictive accuracy of AMMI with only two replicates is equal to the predictive accuracy of means based on five replicates. The effectiveness of AMMI increases with the size of the yield trial and with the noisiness of the data. Statistical analysis of yield trials with the AMMI model has a number of promising implications for agronomy and plant breeding research programs.

[The pharmacokinetics of midazolam in various kinds of anesthesia]. / Die Pharmakokinetik des Midazolam während verschiedener Anaesthesie-Bedingungen.

Several authors reported a decrease in metabolism of drugs during inhalational anesthesia. In this study we investigated the influence of several kinds of anesthesia on the metabolism of midazolam. Methods. In 43 patients who underwent minor surgery, anesthesia was induced by injecting 0.2 mg fentanyl followed by 0.15 mg/kg midazolam. Anesthesia was maintained by either halothane/nitrous oxide (group 1), isoflurane/nitrous oxide (group 2), fentanyl/droperidol/nitrous oxide (group 3), or halothane/air/oxygen (group 4). Venous blood was drawn after 5, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, 240, 300 and 360 min. Using the two-compartment model we estimated distribution half-life (t1/2a), elimination half-life (t1/2el), clearance (Cl), and volumes of distribution (Vz = volume in elimination phase). Results. There were no significant differences of elimination parameters between the four groups. Elimination half-life ranged from 0.72 to 15.06 h. Cl ranged from 2.5 to 12.8 ml/min per kilogram. Four patients (= 9%) had a t1/2el of 7-15 h; in 16 cases we found secondary concentration peaks. There was no correlation between drowsiness in the postoperative period and midazolam concentration. Conclusion. Even if anesthesia should influence the metabolism of midazolam, for example by reducing liver blood flow, we did not find any difference between the four groups. In accordance with others, we found some patients with a half-life of up to 15 h, which might reflect the influence of the anesthesia itself.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Should platelets be radiolabelled in plasma medium?

Because of the low labelling efficiency of platelets with In-111 oxine in plasma containing media, most investigators have labelled platelets in plasma-free media. However, labelling of platelets with In-111 oxine in plasma-free media may result in either: irreversible damage leading to rapid clearance from the circulation and permanent hepatic sequestration; or reversible damage with transient hepatic sequestration without affecting the in vivo survival. Since human platelets can be labelled with In-111 oxine in plasma in sufficient efficiency for routine clinical use, they should be labelled in plasma whenever possible. The use of newer In-111 chelates, tropolone and mercaptopyridine-N-oxide, which label platelets with high efficiency in plasma as well as in plasma-free media, may offer another alternative.

Effects of chelates and incubation media on platelet labeling with indium-111.

We studied the effects of various [111In]chelates and incubation media on labeling efficiency (LE) and in vivo survival of platelets. High LE of human and rabbit platelets in plasma were obtained with [111In]tropolone and [111In]mercaptopyridine-N-oxide. Indium-111 oxine in plasma resulted in a moderate LE and required a longer incubation time, while [111In]oxine sulfate had low LE and inconsistent labeling. High LE for all forms of [111In]chelates were achieved in labeling media free of plasma. However, in vivo platelet survival in rabbits was markedly reduced when platelets were labeled in the absence of plasma.

Organ distribution and fate of human platelets: studies of asplenic and splenomegalic patients.

Little is known about the organ distribution and fate of human platelets. We investigated the kinetics, organ distribution, and fate of autologous 111In-oxine-labeled platelets in 12 normal volunteers, four asplenic subjects, and four patients with splenomegaly. The initial recovery of infused 111In-platelets from the circulation was 97.8 +/- 9.8% (means +/- SD) for asplenic subjects and 26.3 +/- 5.9% for splenomegalic patients as compared to 59.2 +/- 9.3% for normal controls. The mean platelet survival times as derived from the multiple-hit model were 9.2 +/- 1.0 days for asplenics and 6.2 +/- 0.6 days for splenomegalic subjects (8.4 +/- 0.8 days for normals). At 30 min postinfusion, 79.4 +/- 19.2% of the infused 111In-platelets pooled in the spleen of splenomegalic subjects and 42.7 +/- 12.2% in normal controls. There was 7.1 +/- 2.0, 12.6 +/- 3.7, and 29.3 +/- 8.4% pooling in the liver of splenomegalic, normal, and asplenic subjects, respectively. At 10 days postinfusion, 37 and 24% of the 111In-platelets were sequestered in the spleen and liver of normal control subjects, respectively. Similar figures for splenomegalic subjects were 71 and 14%, respectively. In asplenic subjects, 89% was sequestered in the liver. We conclude that spleen and liver are the primary sites of platelet destruction, accounting for 61% of infused 111In-platelets in normal volunteers and 85% in splenomegalics, while the liver is the primary site of platelet destruction, accounting for 89% in asplenic subjects.

Evaluation of arterial injury due to balloon angioplasty by 111In-labelled platelets.

The sensitivity of 111In-labelled platelets for the detection of intimal trauma following balloon angioplasty was evaluated in 8 arteries in 6 patients. Focal platelet accumulation was detected at all 3 iliacs, one superficial femoral and the anterior tibial artery angioplasty sites. Minimal platelet accumulation was present at the superficial femoral artery angioplasty site in another patient whereas in both renal arteries no focal platelet accumulation was detectable. These results indicate that 111In-labelled platelets may provide a sensitive method for evaluation platelet accumulation at the balloon angioplasty site in the peripheral circulation.

111In oxine-labeled rabbit platelets: in vivo distribution and sites of destruction.

We have studied the kinetics, biodistribution, and fate of autologous platelets labeled with 111In-oxine in rabbits. The initial recovery was 75% and mean survival time was 2.8 days when the data were analyzed by the multiple-hit gamma function model. Using a modified geometric mean for correction of attenuation, there was good correlation between the values obtained by in vivo quantification and those obtained by postmortem measurements of the radioactivity in the liver and the spleen (i.e., r = 0.854 and 0.899, respectively, n = 32). Using this method, it was shown that after infusion, the 111In-platelets rapidly accumulated in these two organs reaching 35% and 12% of the injected dose in the liver and spleen, respectively, by 1 day. Thereafter, there was little subsequent change. On the sixth day, when essentially all of the 111In-platelets had cleared from the circulation, a total of 82% of the injected dose was deposited in the three major reticuloendothelial organs: liver (40%), spleen (14%), and bone marrow (28%). Our results suggest that in addition to liver and spleen, bone marrow played an important role in sequestering platelets in rabbits.

Kinetics and distribution of 111Indium-labeled platelets in patients with homocystinuria.

Homocystinuria is an inborn error of metabolism involving a high incidence of thromboembolism. It sometimes improves with large doses of pyridoxine. We investigated the kinetics and distribution of 111Indoxine-labeled platelets in 11 normal volunteers and 12 patients with homocystinuria, none of whom had clinical evidence of acute thrombosis at the time of the study. Six of the patients were resistant to pyridoxine and had homocystinemia. There were no statistical differences in mean platelet-survival times between pyridoxine responders and nonresponders or between normal subjects and pyridoxine responders or nonresponders, regardless of whether a linear, exponential, or multiple-hit model was used to analyze the kinetic data. Plasma homocystine levels had no apparent effect on mean platelet-survival time. There was no abnormal accumulation of platelets in any of the patients, and the distribution of platelets in liver and spleen was similar to that in normal subjects. Our results suggest that the kinetics and distribution of platelets in patients with homocystinuria who have no clinical evidence of thromboembolism are normal. Thus, the data do not provide evidence for disordered platelet function or for an ongoing interaction of platelets with vessel walls in this condition.

Human platelets labeled with In-111 8-hydroxyquinoline: kinetics, distribution, and estimates of radiation dose.

Platelets from nine normal male subjects were labeled with In-111 8-hydroxyquinoline (In-111 oxine) in the presence of plasma in either "closed" blood transfer packs or in "open" test tubes. The mean labeling efficiencies in these two systems were 27 and 53%, respectively. Mean survival time of In-111-labeled autologous platelets was 8.76 days, with a standard deviation of 1.05 according to the maximum-likelihood estimate of the gamma-function model. The initial recovery of In-111 platelets in the circulation was 57% with a standard deviation of 11%. The distribution of In-111 platelets in liver and spleen was quantitated by anterior, posterior, and transmission gamma-camera imaging. During the first 30 min, 38% of the injected dose accumulated in the spleen, 13% in the liver. No significant increase in In-111 radioactivity was observed in either of the two organs over a 3-9-day period. The bone marrow was an additional site of In-111 accumulation. The spleen was the critical organ with respect to radiation dose. The splenic dose was estimated to be 34 rad/mCi In-111 platelets, that of the liver 2.1 rad/mCi. With the injection of 100-150 microCi of In-111-labeled platelets in normal subjects, giving a splenic radiation of 5 rad, a complete 10-day survival study can be performed and uptake of In-111 in different organs can be measured quantitatively for at least 3-4 days.