After freeze-drying, the ultrastructure of boar sperms was observed by optical and electron microscopy. The in vitro development ability of the sperm was also examined with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). The rate of male pronuclear formation was (68.52%), for cleavage (59.17%) and for blastocyst formation (19.16%) of the trehalose group (0.2 mol/L), significantly higher than those of the 50 mmol/L EDTA group (64.59%, 56.26% and 15.62%) and the control group (35.36%, 52.33% and 8.60%) (P < 0.05). After storage for 60, 120 and 180 d at 4 degrees C, no significant difference in the in vitro development was observed (P > 0.05). The male pronuclear, cleavage and blastocyst formation after ICSI with freeze-dried spermatozoa incubated for 1 h was superior than those incubated for 2 h (P < 0.05). No significant differences in the structures after stored at 4 degrees C or -20 degrees C (P > 0.05) were observed between the trehalose group and EDTA group. The percent of B grade freeze-dried boar spermatozoa in the trehalose group was higher than that of the EDTA group (P < 0.05). Based on the ultrastructure observation, main cryogenic damage in freeze-dried boar spermatozoa was swelling, damage or rupture in the sperm acrosome, neck and tail.
Animals ; Freeze Drying ; Male ; Semen Preservation ; methods ; veterinary ; Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic ; veterinary ; Spermatozoa ; Swine ; Trehalose ; pharmacology

A study of amoxicillin pharmacokinetics was conducted in healthy goats and goats with chronic lead intoxication. The intoxicated goats had increased serum concentrations of liver enzymes (alanine aminotransferase and gamma-glutamyl transferase), blood urea nitrogen, and reactivated delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase compared to the controls. Following intravenous amoxicillin (10 mg/kg bw) in control and lead-intoxicated goats, elimination half-lives were 4.14 and 1.26 h, respectively. The volumes of distribution based on the terminal phase were 1.19 and 0.38 L/kg, respectively, and those at steady-state were 0.54 and 0.18 L/kg, respectively. After intramuscular (IM) amoxicillin (10 mg/kg bw) in lead-intoxicated goats and control animals, the absorption, distribution, and elimination of the drug were more rapid in lead-intoxicated goats than the controls. Peak serum concentrations of 21.89 and 12.19 microg/mL were achieved at 1 h and 2 h, respectively, in lead-intoxicated and control goats. Amoxicillin bioavailability in the lead-intoxicated goats decreased 20% compared to the controls. After amoxicillin, more of the drug was excreted in the urine from lead-intoxicated goats than the controls. Our results suggested that lead intoxication in goats increases the rate of amoxicillin absorption after IM administration and distribution and elimination. Thus, lead intoxication may impair the therapeutic effectiveness of amoxicillin.
Amoxicillin/blood/*pharmacokinetics/urine ; Animals ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/blood/*pharmacokinetics/urine ; Area Under Curve ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/veterinary ; Goat Diseases/*chemically induced/metabolism ; Goats ; Half-Life ; Injections, Intramuscular/veterinary ; Injections, Intravenous/veterinary ; Lead Poisoning/etiology/metabolism/*veterinary ; Male

This study was performed to compare the effect of intratesticular (IT) injection of xylazine/ketamine combination for canine castration with those of intramuscular (IM) or intravenous (IV) injection. Xylazine and ketamine was administered simultaneously via intratesticularly (IT group), intramuscularly (IM group) or intravenously (IV group) at doses of 2 and 10 mg/kg, respectively. Pain response at the time of injection, mean induction time, mean arousal time, mean walking time and cardiopulmonary function during anesthesia were monitored after the xylazine and ketamine administration. In IV and IM groups, heart rates were significantly decreased 30 and 45 min after xylazine and ketamine administration, respectively (p < 0.05). Respiratory rates were significantly decreased in the IV group (p < 0.05). In the IT group, there was no significant changes in heart and respiratory rates. The occurrence of cardiac arrhythmias was less severe in IT group compared with those in IM and IV groups. The route of administration did not affect rectal temperature. Mean induction time was significantly (p < 0.05) longer in IT group than in IM and IV groups. On the contrary, mean arousal time and mean walking time were shortened in IT group. Clinical signs related to pain response at the time of injection and vomiting were less observed in IT group than in IM group, and head shaking was less shown in IT group than in IM and IV groups during recovery period. These results indicated that intratesticular injection of xylazine/ketamine for castration has several advantages such as less inhibition of cardiopulmonary function and fast recovery from anesthesia without severe complications, and would be an effective anesthetic method for castration in small animal practice.
Anesthesia, Intravenous/veterinary ; Anesthetics, Combined/adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; Anesthetics, Dissociative/adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; Animals ; Body Temperature/drug effects ; Castration/*veterinary ; Dogs ; Drug Administration Routes/veterinary ; Electrocardiography/drug effects/veterinary ; Heart Rate/drug effects ; Injections/veterinary ; Injections, Intramuscular/veterinary ; Ketamine/adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; Male ; Pain, Postoperative/prevention&control/veterinary ; Pulmonary Ventilation/drug effects ; Testis/*drug effects ; Vomiting/chemically induced/veterinary ; Xylazine/adverse effects/*therapeutic use

OBJECTIVESTo determine the possible relationship between plasma potassium concentration and severity of acute trimethyltin chloride (TMT) poisoning and to assess the mechanism of TMT induced hypokalemia.

METHODSSD rats were treated with various dosages of TMT (i.p.). All the indices were measured and analysed for determining their possible relations with plasma K+.

RESULTSWith increase of dosage, the plasma K+ level dropped rapidly, and deaths appeared more quickly. The LD50 of TMT (i.p.) was 14.7 mg/kgbw. In the low dosage group (10 mg/kgbw), the plasma K+ level dropped slowly with the lowest dosage on day 6 (4.85 mmol/L). It rose again on day 11 (5.06 mmol/L), and recovered on day 28. The poisoning signs corresponded with decline of the span of K+ level. The plasma Na+ level dropped half an hour after TMT treatment, but recovered 24 h later. In the high dosage group (46.4 mg/kgbw), the levels of plasma K+ and Na+ fell rapidly within half an hour (P < 0.05), the intracellular potassium concentration of RBC did not decrease obviously (P > 0.05), the activities of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase and Mg(2+)-ATPase in RBC membrane were depressed remarkably (P < 0.01, P < 0.05, respectively), the plasma aldosterone concentrations rose as high as tenfold (P < 0.01), the arterial blood pH fell from 7.434 to 7.258 (P < 0.01), pCO2 was raised from 29.62 to 45.33 mmHg (P < 0.01). In the 24 h urine test, when rats were treated with TMT (21.5 mg/kgbw, i.p.), urine volume, urinary potassium, sodium and chloride increased significantly in comparison with those in the controls (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONTMT could induce hypokalemia in SD rats. The available evidence suggests that TMT can induce acute renal leakage of potassium. At the same time, a significant rise of plasma aldosterone may play an important role in promoting potassium leakage from kidney to result in severe hypokalemia with inhaling acid-base abnormalities produced, which aggravate the poisoning symptoms. In the end the rats would die of respiratory failure.

Animals ; Female ; Hypokalemia ; chemically induced ; veterinary ; Injections, Intraperitoneal ; Kidney Diseases ; chemically induced ; veterinary ; Lethal Dose 50 ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Severity of Illness Index ; Trimethyltin Compounds ; pharmacology ; poisoning

A bioavailability and pharmacokinetics study of doxycycline was carried out on 30 healthy ostriches after a single intravenous (IV), intramuscular (IM) and oral dose of 15 mg/kg body weight. The plasma doxycycline concentration was determined by HPLC/UV at 0 (pretreatment), 0.08, 0.25, 0.5 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24 and 48 h after administration. The plasma concentration-time curves were examined using non-compartmental methods based on the statistical moment theory for only the higher dose. After IV administration, the elimination half-life (t(1/2beta)), mean residence time (MRT), volume of distribution at the steady-state (V(ss)), volume of distribution (Vd(area)) and total body clearance (Cl(B)) were 7.67 +/- 0.62 h, 6.68 +/- 0.86 h, 0.86 +/- 0.16 l/kg, 1.67 +/- 0.52 l/kg and 2.51 +/- 0.63 ml/min/kg, respectively. After IM and oral dosing, the mean peak plasma concentrations (C(max)) were 1.34 +/- 0.33 and 0.30 +/- 0.04 microgram/ml, respectively, which were achieved at a postadministration time (t(max)) of 0.75 +/- 0.18, 3.03 +/- 0.48 h, respectively. The t(1/2beta), Vd(area) and Cl(B) after IM administration were 25.02 +/- 3.98 h, 23.99 +/- 3.4 l/kg and 12.14 +/- 1.71 ml/min/kg, respectively and 19.25 +/- 2.53 h, 61.49 +/- 7 l/kg and 40.19 +/- 3.79 ml/min/kg after oral administration, respectively. The absolute bioavailability (F) of doxycycline was 5.03 and 17.52% after oral and IM administration, respectively. These results show that the dose data from other animals particularly mammals cannot be extrapolated to ostriches. Therefore, based on these results along with those reported in the literature, further studies on the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic, in vitro minimum inhibitory concentration values and clinical applications of doxycycline in ostriches are required.
Administration, Oral ; Animals ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/administration & dosage/blood/*pharmacokinetics ; Area Under Curve ; Biological Availability ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Doxycycline/administration & dosage/blood/*pharmacokinetics ; Half-Life ; Injections, Intramuscular/veterinary ; Injections, Intravenous/veterinary ; Struthioniformes/*metabolism

We investigated the disposition kinetics and urinary excretion of cefpirome in buffalo calves after a single intravenous administration of 10 mg/kg. Also, an appropriate dosage regimen was calculated. At 1 min after injection, the concentration of cefpirome in the plasma was 57.4 +/- 0.72 microgram/ml, which declined to 0.22 +/- 0.01 microgram/ml at 24 h. The cefpirome was rapidly distributed from the blood to the tissue compartment as shown by the high distribution coefficient values (8.67 +/- 0.46/h), and by the drug's rate of transfer constant from the central to the peripheral compartment, K12 (4.94 +/- 0.31/h). The elimination halflife and the volume of distribution were 2.14 +/- 0.02 h and 0.42 +/- 0.005 l/kg, respectively. Once the distribution equilibrium was reached between the tissues and plasma, the total body clearance (ClB) and the ratio of the drug present in the peripheral to the central compartment (T/P ratio) were 0.14 +/- 0.002 l/kg/h and 1.73 +/- 0.06, respectively. Based on the pharmacokinetic parameters we obtained, an appropriate intravenous cefpirome dosage regimen for treating cefpiromesensitive bacteria in buffalo calves would be 8.0 mg/kg repeated at 12 h intervals for 5 days, or until persistence of the bacterial infection occurred.
Animals ; Buffaloes/*metabolism/urine ; Cephalosporins/administration & dosage/*pharmacokinetics/*urine ; Injections, Intravenous/veterinary ; Kinetics ; Metabolic Clearance Rate/physiology

In order to identify antigens that can help prevent camel tick infestations, three major glycoproteins (GLPs) about 97, 66 and 40 kDa in size were purified from adult and larval Egyptian ticks, Hyalomma (H.) dromedarii, using a single-step purification method with Con-A sepharose. The purified GLPs were evaluated as vaccines against camel tick infestation in rabbits. The rabbits received three intramuscular inoculations of GLPs (20 microg/animal) on days 0, 14, and 28. In the immunoblot analysis, Sera from the immunized rabbits recognized the native GLPs and other proteins from larval and adult H. dromedarii ticks along with those from other tick species such as Rhipicephalus sanguineus but not Ornithodoros moubata. The effects of immunity induced by these GLPs were determined by exposing rabbits to adult H. dromedarii ticks. These results demonstrated that GLP immunization led to a slightly decreased reproductive index and significantly reduced rates of egg hatchability. These results demonstrated that immunization with the purified GLPs can provide protection against infestation by H. dromedarii and some other tick species. Further studies are needed to confirm the effectiveness of immunization with GLPs against other tick species.
Animals ; Antigens/immunology/isolation & purification ; Argasidae/immunology ; Chromatography, Affinity/veterinary ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel/veterinary ; Female ; Glycoproteins/*immunology/isolation & purification ; Immunoblotting/veterinary ; Injections, Intramuscular/veterinary ; Ixodidae/growth & development/*immunology ; Life Cycle Stages ; Male ; Rabbits/*immunology/parasitology ; Reproduction ; Species Specificity ; Tick Infestations/immunology/prevention & control/*veterinary

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound is one of method for evaluating renal perfusion. The purpose of this project was to assess perfusion patterns and dynamics in normal micropig kidney using ultrasonographic contrast media. Eight young healthy micropigs were included in this study. Micropigs were anesthetized with propofol and received an intravenous bolus of microbubble contrast media through an ear vein. Time/mean pixel value (MPV) curves were generated for selected regions in the right renal cortex and medulla. The parenchyma was enhanced in two phases. The cortex was first enhanced followed by a more gradual enhancement of the medulla. A significant difference in perfusion was detected between the cortex and medulla. Following the bolus injection, the average upslope was 0.68 +/- 0.27 MPV/sec, downslope was -0.27 +/- 0.13 MPV/sec, baseline was 73.9 +/- 16.5 MPV, peak was 84.6 +/- 17.2 MPV, and time-to-peak (from injection) was 17.5 +/- 6.6 sec for the cortex. For the medulla, the average upslope was 0.50 +/- 0.24 MPV/sec, downslope was -0.12 +/- 0.06 MPV/sec, baseline was 52.7 +/- 7.0 MPV, peak was 65.2 +/- 9.3 MPV, and time-to-peak (from injection) was 27.5 +/- 5.0 sec. These data can be used as normal reference values for studying young micropigs.
Animals ; Contrast Media/*diagnostic use ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Injections, Intravenous/veterinary ; Kidney/*blood supply/ultrasonography ; Kidney Function Tests/veterinary ; Linear Models ; Microbubbles/diagnostic use/veterinary ; Reference Values ; Renal Circulation ; Sulfur Hexafluoride/diagnostic use ; Swine ; Swine, Miniature/*physiology ; Ultrasonography/*methods/veterinary

Thirty-one dogs with patellar luxation (grades 2 and 3) were categorized into three groups. Group 1 (G.1; n = 12) had sodium hyaluronate (SHA) intra-articularly injected into the stifle joint that received surgery. Group 2 (G.2; n = 10) received SHA twice: first after surgery and then 1 week later. Group 3 (G.3; n = 9) served as a control, without injection. Blood was collected before injection and then once a week for 4 weeks after injection for evaluation of chondroitin sulfate (CS-WF6) and hyaluronan (HA). The results revealed significantly (p < 0.05) improved clinical scores by the end of week 4 in G.1 and G.2 relative to G.3; however, there was no significant difference between G.1 and G.2. There was a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in serum CS-WF6 levels beginning at week 2 in G.1 and G.2. At weeks 3 and 4, serum HA in G.1 and G.2 differed from that in G.3 (p < 0.05). No significant difference (p > 0.05) was observed in serum biomarkers between G.1 and G.2. In conclusion, intra-articular injection with SHA after joint surgery may improve homeostasis of the joint, retarding the process of OA.
Animals ; Blood Chemical Analysis/veterinary ; Chondroitin Sulfates/metabolism ; *Dogs ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/veterinary ; Female ; Hyaluronic Acid/*administration & dosage/metabolism ; Injections, Intra-Articular/veterinary ; Male ; Osteoarthritis, Knee/drug therapy/prevention & control/*veterinary ; Stifle/*surgery ; Viscosupplements/*administration & dosage

To determine the effect of exogenous 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3] combined with induced parturition on calcium (Ca) metabolism, cows received a single intramuscular injection of 1,25(OH)2D3 and prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF2alpha) closely before calving. Ten late-pregnant, multiparous Holstein cows were assigned to 1,25(OH)2D3 group (five treated with both 1,25(OH)2D3 and PGF2alpha) and control group (five treated with PGF2alpha). 1,25(OH)2D3 group showed an increase in plasma Ca concentration around parturition, whereas control group revealed a decrease in plasma Ca level. Plasma Ca concentration in 1,25(OH)2D3 group were significantly higher than that in control group during .0.5 to 3 days after parturition.
Animals ; Calcitriol/*pharmacology ; Calcium/blood/*metabolism ; Cattle/*metabolism ; Dinoprost/*pharmacology ; Drug Administration Schedule/veterinary ; Female ; Injections, Intramuscular/veterinary ; Magnesium/blood ; Parturient Paresis/prevention&control ; Parturition/blood/*metabolism ; Phosphorus/blood ; Pregnancy ; Statistics, Nonparametric