Impact of carprofen administration on stress and nociception responses of calves to cautery dehorning

Citation: Stock, M. L., Barth, L. A., Van Engen, N. K., Millman, S. T., Gehring, R., Wang, C., . . . Coetzee, J. F. (2016). Impact of carprofen administration on stress and nociception responses of calves to cautery dehorning. Journal of Animal Science, 94(2), 542-555. doi:10.2527/jas2015-9510The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of carprofen administered immediately before cautery dehorning on nociception and stress. Forty Holstein calves aged approximately 6 to 8 wk old were either placebo treated and sham dehorned (n = 10) or cautery dehorned following administration of carprofen (1.4 mg/kg) subcutaneously (n = 10) or orally (n = 10) or a subcutaneous and oral placebo (n = 10) in a randomized, controlled trial. All animals were given a cornual nerve block using lidocaine before dehorning. Response variables including mechanical nociception threshold, ocular temperature, heart rate, and respiratory rate were measured before and following cautery dehorning for 96 h. Blood samples were also collected over 96 h following dehorning and analyzed for plasma cortisol and substance P concentrations by RIA. Plasma carprofen concentration and ex vivo PGE2 concentrations were also determined for this time period. Average daily gain was calculated for 7 d after dehorning. Data were analyzed using a linear mixed effects model with repeated measures, controlling for baseline values by their inclusion as a covariate in addition to planned contrasts. Dehorning was associated with decreased nociception thresholds throughout the study and a stress response immediately after dehorning, following the loss of local anesthesia, and 48 h after dehorning compared with sham-dehorned calves. Carprofen was well absorbed after administration and reached concentrations that inhibited ex vivo PGE2 concentrations for 72 h (subcutaneous) and 96 h (oral) compared with placebo-treated calves (P < 0.05). Carprofen-treated calves tended to be less sensitive (P = 0.097) to nociceptive threshold tests. Overall, at the dosing regimen studied, the effect of carprofen on sensitivity and stress following cautery dehorning was minimal. Consideration of route of administration and dose determination studies may be warranted

Pandemic Influenza Planning in the United States from a Health Disparities Perspective

Preparedness plans must account for the fact that illness and death rates may differ for members of some socioeconomic and racial/ethnic groups during a pandemic

The avian fossil record in Insular Southeast Asia and its implications for avian biogeography and palaeoecology

Excavations and studies of existing collections during the last decades have significantly increased the abundance as well as the diversity of the avian fossil record for Insular Southeast Asia. The avian fossil record covers the Eocene through the Holocene, with the majority of bird fossils Pleistocene in age. Fossil bird skeletal remains represent at least 63 species in 54 genera and 27 families, and two ichnospecies are represented by fossil footprints. Birds of prey, owls and swiftlets are common elements. Extinctions seem to have been few, suggesting continuity of avian lineages since at least the Late Pleistocene, although some shifts in species ranges have occurred in response to climatic change. Similarities between the Late Pleistocene avifaunas of Flores and Java suggest a dispersal route across southern Sundaland. Late Pleistocene assemblages of Niah Cave (Borneo) and Liang Bua (Flores) support the rainforest refugium hypothesis in Southeast Asia as they indicate the persistence of forest cover, at least locally, throughout the Late Pleistocene and Holocene

Recent rapid speciation and ecomorph divergence in Indo-Australian sea snakes

The viviparous sea snakes (Hydrophiinae) are a young radiation of at least 62 species that display spectacular morphological diversity and high levels of local sympatry. To shed light on the mechanisms underlying sea snake diversification, we investigated recent speciation and eco-morphological differentiation in a clade of four nominal species with overlapping ranges in Southeast Asia and Australia. Analyses of morphology and stomach contents identified the presence of two distinct ecomorphs: a ‘macrocephalic’ ecomorph that reaches >2 m in length, has a large head and feeds on crevicedwelling eels and gobies; and a ‘microcephalic’ ecomorph that rarely exceeds 1 m in length, has a small head and narrow fore-body and hunts snake eels in burrows. Mitochondrial sequences show a lack of reciprocal monophyly between ecomorphs and among putative species. However, individual assignment based on newly developed microsatellites separated co-distributed specimens into four significantly differentiated clusters corresponding to morphological species designations, indicating limited recent gene flow and progress towards speciation. A coalescent species tree (based on mitochondrial and nuclear sequences) and isolation-migration model (mitochondrial and microsatellite markers) suggest between one and three transitions between ecomorphs within the last approximately 1.2 million to approximately 840 000 years. In particular, the macrocephalic ‘eastern’ population of Hydrophis cyanocinctus and microcephalic H. melanocephalus appear to have diverged very recently and rapidly, resulting in major phenotypic differences and restriction of gene flow in sympatry. These results highlight the viviparous sea snakes as a promising system for speciation studies in the marine environment.Kate L. Sanders, Arne R. Rasmussen, Mumpuni, Johan Elmberg, Anslem de Silva, Michael L. Guinea and Michael S.Y. Le

Power and limitations of electrophoretic separations in proteomics strategies

Proteomics can be defined as the large-scale analysis of proteins. Due to the complexity of biological systems, it is required to concatenate various separation techniques prior to mass spectrometry. These techniques, dealing with proteins or peptides, can rely on chromatography or electrophoresis. In this review, the electrophoretic techniques are under scrutiny. Their principles are recalled, and their applications for peptide and protein separations are presented and critically discussed. In addition, the features that are specific to gel electrophoresis and that interplay with mass spectrometry (i.e., protein detection after electrophoresis, and the process leading from a gel piece to a solution of peptides) are also discussed

The hypoglossal complex of vertebrates

No Abstract.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/49924/1/900720304_ftp.pd

Vicariance or dispersal? Historical biogeography of three Sunda shelf murine rodents ( Maxomys surifer , Leopoldamys sabanus and Maxomys whiteheadi )

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75628/1/j.1095-8312.2004.00281.x.pd

Meningococcal, influenza virus, and hepatitis B virus vaccination coverage level among health care workers in Hajj

Abstract Background The objective of this study was to assess the compliance of health care workers (HCWs) employed in Hajj in receiving the meningococcal, influenza, and hepatitis B vaccines. Methods A cross-sectional survey of doctors and nurses working in all Mena and Arafat hospitals and primary health care centers who attended Hajj-medicine training programs immediately before the beginning of Hajj of the lunar Islamic year 1423 (2003) using self-administered structured questionnaire which included demographic data and data on vaccination history. Results A total of 392 HCWs were studied including 215 (54.8%) nurses and 177 (45.2%) doctors. One hundred and sixty four (41.8%) HCWs were from Makkah and the rest were recruited from other regions in Saudi Arabia. Three hundred and twenty three (82.4%) HCWs received the quadrivalent (ACYW135) meningococcal meningitis vaccine with 271 (83.9%) HCWs receiving it at least 2 weeks before coming to Hajj, whereas the remaining 52 (16.1%) HCWs received it within Conclusion The meningococcal and hepatitis B vaccination coverage level among HCWs in Hajj was suboptimal and the influenza vaccination level was notably low. Strategies to improve vaccination coverage among HCWs should be adopted by all health care facilities in Saudi Arabia.</p

ASTROMOD: a computer program integrating vegetation dynamics modelling, environmental modelling and spatial data visualisation in Microsoft Excel

This paper describes the development of a software framework for predicting vegetation change within the Astroni crater, a state nature reserve near Naples, Italy. ASTROMOD (ASTROni MODel), is designed to allow the analysis of environmental and management scenarios in the crater, thus aiding the reserve's manager in effective decision making. ASTROMOD comprises a vegetation dynamics model developed for forest ecosystems, combined with models of environmental determinants. It integrates a user-friendly interface for visualising spatial data, a parameter database and a series of programming modules within Microsoft Excel. This approach is a significant departure from other spatial biophysical modelling approaches which require costly and complex software tools