Objective-To compare efficacy and duration of effect on corneal sensitivity of 0.5% proparacaine hydrochloride, 0.5% bupivacaine hydrochloride, 2% lidocaine hydrochloride, and 2% mepivacaine hydrochloride solutions following ocular administration in clinically normal horses. Animals-68 clinically normal horses. Procedures-60 horses were assigned to receive 1 anesthetic agent in 1 eye. For each of another 8 horses, 1 eye was treated with each of the anesthetic agents in random order with a 1-week washout period between treatments. Corneal sensitivity was assessed via corneal touch threshold (CTT) measurements obtained with a Cochet-Bonnet aesthesiometer before and at 1 minute, at 5-minute intervals from 5 to 60 minutes, and at 10-minute intervals from 60 to 90 minutes after application of 0.2 mL of anesthetic agent. General linear mixed models were fitted to the CTT data from each of the 2 experimental groups to assess the effects of the anesthetic agents over time, accounting for repeated observations within individual horses. Results-Corneal sensitivity decreased immediately following topical application of each anesthetic agent; effects persisted for 35 minutes for proparacaine and mepivacaine treatments, 45 minutes for lidocaine treatment, and 60 minutes for bupivacaine treatment. Maximal CTT reduction was achieved following application of bupivacaine or proparacaine solution, whereas mepivacaine solution was least effective. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Ocular application of each evaluated anesthetic agent reduced corneal sensitivity in horses; although 0.5% proparacaine or 2% lidocaine solution appeared to induce adequate short-duration corneal anesthesia, use of 0.5% bupivacaine solution may be more appropriate for procedures requiring longer periods of corneal anesthesia. (Am J Vet Res 2013;74:459-464)

Abstract A total of 69 sows (DNA Line 200 × 400) and their progeny were used to determine if feeding a combination of vitamin D3 and 25(OH)D3 influences neonatal and sow vitamin D status, muscle fiber morphometrics at birth and weaning, and subsequent growth performance. Within 3 d of breeding, sows were allotted to one of three dietary treatments fortified with 1,500 IU/kg vitamin D3 (CON), 500 IU/kg vitamin D3 + 25 μg/kg 25(OH)D3 (DL), or 1,500 IU/kg vitamin D3 + 50 μg/kg 25(OH)D3 (DH). When pigs were sacrificed at birth, there were no treatment effects for all fiber morphometric measures (P > 0.170), except primary fiber number and the ratio of secondary to primary muscle fibers (P < 0.016). Pigs from CON fed sows had fewer primary fibers than pigs from sows fed the DH treatment (P = 0.014), with pigs from sows fed DL treatment not differing from either (P > 0.104). Pigs from CON and DL fed sows had a greater secondary to primary muscle fiber ratio compared to pigs from DH sows (P < 0.022) but did not differ from each other (P = 0.994). There were treatment × time interactions for all sow and pig serum metabolites (P < 0.001). Therefore, treatment means were compared within the time period. At all time periods, sow serum 25(OH)D3 concentrations differed for all treatments with the magnitude of difference largest at weaning (P < 0.011), where serum 25(OH)D3 concentration was always the greatest when sows were fed the DH diet. At birth, piglets from DH fed sows had greater serum 25(OH)D3 concentrations than piglets from sows fed the DL treatment (P = 0.003), with piglets from sows fed CON treatment not differing from either (P > 0.061). At weaning, serum concentrations of 25(OH)D3 in piglets from all sow treatments were different (P < 0.001), with the greatest concentration in piglets from DH sows, followed by CON, and followed by DL. There were no treatment × time interactions for any of the metabolites measured in milk and no treatment or time main effects for 24,25(OH)2D3 concentration (P > 0.068). Colostrum collected within 12 h of parturition contained less (P = 0.001) 25(OH)D3 than milk collected on day 21 of lactation. Regardless of time, concentrations of 25(OH)D3 in milk were different (P < 0.030), with the largest 25(OH)D3 concentration from DH fed sows, followed by DL, and then CON. In conclusion, combining vitamin D3 and 25(OH)D3 in the maternal diet improves the vitamin D status of the dam and progeny and it increases primary muscle fiber number at birth.

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Background: Heart Rhythm Society guidelines outlining magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) excluded children and epicardial or abandoned leads due to theoretical risks of harm. Research investigating these risks is lacking. The primary objective of our study is to determine the incidence of adverse events to patients or CIEDs from MRI imaging. The secondary objective is to describe CIED-related artifact on MRI images. Methods: A single-center retrospective review was performed on all patients with CIEDs who underwent 1.5 Tesla MRI between July 2007 and May 2019. We subdivided patients among four cohorts: (1) patients <18 years of age, (2) epicardial leads, (3) abandoned endocardial leads, and (4) abandoned epicardial leads. Descriptive statistics pre-and post-MRI and at follow-up within 1.5 years were conducted. Results: Fifty-four MRIs were performed on 40 patients. Median age was 21.2 years (IQR 12.0-25.0). Eighteen (33%) MRIs contained abandoned leads; 20 (37%) contained epicardial leads. Three patients, one with abandoned epicardial leads and two with abandoned endocardial leads, experienced mild discomfort at the CIED site. One adult with endocardial leads experienced a pause in the heart rate while programmed in a nonpacing mode. No clinically important changes to CIED parameters occurred. Nine MRIs (17%), especially those with functional cardiac imaging, were uninterpretable due to image artifact. Conclusion: In this study, pediatric and adult CHD patients with CIEDs, many with epicardial or abandoned leads, underwent MRIs without clinically significant complications. In some, CIED artifact reduced cardiac MRI image quality due to CIED position.

Previous research by the authors has established that southern root-knot nematode (SRKN, Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid & White) Chitwood) and yellow and purple nutsedge (YNS, Cyperus esculentus L. and PNS, C. rotundus L.) form a pest-complex that adversely affects a wide variety of crops in the southern and western U.S. These pests appear to have co-evolved a mutually-beneficial relationship that promotes the survival of both nematodes and weeds to the detriment of crops. Traditional management has usually targeted one pest at a time, but managing this pest complex requires that all members of the complex be managed simultaneously. A series of experiments was performed to determine if this specific pest complex could be managed through crop-rotation using a non-dormant M. incognita-resistant variety of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) which can aggressively compete with, and hence decrease, occurrence of both species of nutsedges (NS), and subsequently decrease SRKN by decreasing the availability of root systems of host plants. A previous journal article discussed predicting counts of SRKN second-stage juveniles (SRKN-J2) as a function of YNS and PNS plant counts from a two-year alfalfa rotation experiment, using the Poisson distribution and a scale parameter to handle problems of overdispersion. In this paper, we examine three generalizations of the Poisson distribution that allow for the count variance being larger than the mean count: the Generalized Poisson, the Zero-Inflated Poisson (ZIP), and the Poisson Hurdle. The ZIP and Hurdle Poisson distributions both account for zero counts as a separate part of the distribution, while the Generalized Poisson incorporates a separate parameter that increases the variance relative to the mean. Different biological scenarios are presented for which each of these three general Poisson distributions might be logically appropriate. In addition, we use the alfalfa rotation data to present comparisons of fitted regression models of the three general Poisson distributions to the results from the previous analysis using the Poisson. For this data, there was no single probability distribution that worked best for all six sampling dates (three in each of the two years). This is not surprising in that over time the alfalfa rotation was, as planned, decreasing both nutsedge and nematode counts, thus presenting a "moving target" for the modeling process.