BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most important human pathogens that cause infection and also food intoxication by secreting various enterotoxins. Conventional culturing methods to detect S. aureus have some limitations such as being time-consuming due to bacterial growth and low precision and sensitivity in detecting viable but non-cultivable cells. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to detect and quantify enterotoxigenic (A-E) S. aureus in cream pastry products applying PCR coupling with propidium monoazide (PMA) to distinguish dead and live cells. METHODS: One hundred samples were randomly collected from pastry shops in Amol, in a period of 2 months. After preparing dilutions, bacterial pellets were separated and treated with PMA before DNA extraction. Real time PCR was conducted in order to quantify S.aureus cells and enterotoxigenic strains using specific primers. RESULTS: Results of conventional method were close to PMA-qPCR data (P>0.05), but data from qPCR that includes live and dead cells shows more bacterial count than two other methods. Sensitivity of the method applied in the present study, detecting low number of S.aureus cells (less than 10/g) seems considerable. CONCLUSIONS: Findings showed that applying PCR coupling with PMA results in more reliable data than conventional culturing method. Regarding this approach being time-effective, considerably sensitive and specific, it is expected that it be used in food quality control labs in monitoring systems in future.

Acetaminophen is widely used in human beings for analgesic purposes, but is one of the most frequent causes of poisoning in cats. Acetaminophen-poisoned cats develop methemoglobinemia and sometimes hepatic failure. To determine the benefit of using methylene blue, a treatment for methemoglobinemia, along with N-acetylcysteine (NAC), the recommended treatment for acetaminophen-poisoned cats, groups of 3 male and 3 female cats each were given methylene blue NAC, or both after administration of acetaminophen (120 mg/kg of body weight, PO). Male cats seemed more susceptible than female cats to acetaminophen toxicosis, because 3 males died of hepatic failure (2 cats given acetaminophen/methylene blue and 1 given acetaminophen/NAC/methylene blue). Although NAC alone seemed to elicit the best overall response, methylene blue, alone or in combination with NAC, may be useful in female cats.

Larkspur poisoning is a major cause of acute death of cattle on mountain and high plains rangelands of western United States. A nonlethal method to quantify dose response in cattle is needed to better estimate the toxicity of larkspur plants and the response of cattle to larkspur poisoning and to provide a basis for reference during studies. A numerical system of rating the clinical signs of larkspur poisoning was developed and used to describe the response of 10 Hereford cows given a repeated single daily dose of larkspur (Delphinium occidentale X barbeyi) by gavage. Larkspur poisoning resulted from a short-term cumulative effect, and a statistically significant increase in score was essentially maximal by 4 days. At the dose given, this effect did not persist for more than 4 days after cessation of dosing. Poisoning was most severe between 5 and 9 hours after dosing. Early signs of poisoning can be subtle and sometimes brief. The effect of larkspur poisoning can be exacerbated temporarily by exertion. Therefore, cattle could probably repeatedly consume an otherwise toxic daily dose, without manifesting marked signs of poisoning, if consumption decreased to a sufficient degree intermittently at 2- to 4-day intervals.

The efficacy of 4-methylpyrazole (4-MP) and ethanol as treatment for ethylene glycol (EG) intoxication in cats was compared. Twenty-two cats were assigned at random to 6 experimental groups. Cats of 1 experimental group were given only 4-MP; those of another experimental group were given only EG. Cats of 3 experimental groups were intoxicated with EG and given 4-MP at 0 hour or 2 or 3 hours after EG ingestion, and those of 1 experimental group were given EG and treated with ethanol 3 hours after EG ingestion. Physical, biochemical, hematologic, blood gas, serum and urine EG concentrations, and urinalysis findings were evaluated at 0, 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 24, 48, and 72 hours, 1 week, and 2 weeks after EG ingestion, or 4-MP treatment in cats of the 4-MP only group. The half-life of EG and percentage of ingested EG excreted unchanged were determined for each group. 4-Methylpyrazole treatment at 0 hour was most effective at preventing metabolism of EG. 4-Methylpyrazole was not effective in preventing development of renal failure when given 2 or 3 hours after EG ingestion. Ethanol given 3 hours after EG ingestion was successful in preventing development of renal dysfunction in 2 of the 6 cats treated 3 hours after EG ingestion. Of the remaining 4 cats treated with ethanol, 2 developed transient renal dysfunction and 2 developed acute oliguric renal failure and were euthanatized. 4-Methylpyrazol given 2 or 3 hours after EG ingestion was less effective in preventing EG metabolism than was ethanol given 3 hours after EG ingestion. Therefore 4-MP, at the dose found to be effective in dogs, cannot be recommended as an alternative to ethanol for treatment of EG intoxication in cats.

An ion chromatographic method was used to simultaneously determine nitrate and nitrite ions in biological samples. Ultrafiltration was used to produce a protein-free filtrate. Chloride interferences were eliminated by precipitation as the silver salt. Detection limits and average recoveries were 0.5 mg/L and 102% for nitrate and 0.2 mg/L and 78% for nitrite, respectively. Nitrate concentration was 2.1 +/- 1.8 mg/L and 4.9 +/- 0.8 mg/L in serum and ocular fluid of healthy cattle, respectively; nitrite was not detected. A severe case of nitrate poisoning in cattle was described and used to study the concentrations of nitrate and nitrite in samples obtained under natural conditions. Nitrate concentration of acutely poisoned cattle was 35% lower in ocular fluid at 158.1 +/- 51.4 mg/L, than in serum at 256.3 +/- 113.4 mg/L. Nitrite was not detected, because of the long processing time (> 3 hours) required for samples obtained in the field. A gradual decrease in ocular fluid nitrate of 29.4% at 24 hours, 25.9% at 36 hours, 51.6% at 48 hours, and 73.2% at 60 hours was observed; however, concentrations remained diagnostically significant (73.2 mg/L) 60 hours after death. Twenty-four hours after poisoning, the serum nitrate concentration of severely ill (52.7 +/- 51.9 mg/L) and moderately affected (12.4 +/- 5.7 mg/L) cattle that survived was indicative of the severity of clinical signs previously observed. Nitrate in serum and ocular fluid was stable in samples stored for 24 hours at 23 C, 1 week at 4 C, and 1 month at -20 C.

Hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate (HSCAS), an anticaking agent for mixed feed, was added to the diets of growing wethers (mean body weight, 34.0 kg) and was evaluated for its ability to diminish the clinical signs of aflatoxicosis. The experimental design consisted of 4 treatment groups of 5 wethers each, consuming concentrations of 0 g of HSCAS and 0 g of aflatoxin (AF)/kg of feed (control; group 1); 20 g of HSCAS/kg (2.0%; group 2), 2.6 mg of AF/kg (group 3); or 20 g of HSCAS (2.0%) plus 2.6 mg of AF/kg (group 4). Wethers were maintained in indoor pens, with feed and water available ad libitum for 42 days. Lambs were observed twice daily and weighed weekly, and blood samples were obtained every 2 weeks for hematologic and serum biochemical analyses and for measurement of mitogen-induced lymphocyte-stimulation index. At the termination of the study, wethers were euthanatized and necropsied. Body weight gain was diminished significantly (P less than 0.05) by consumption of 2.6 mg of AF/kg of feed, whereas body weight of lambs consuming HSCAS plus AF did not differ from that of control wethers. The AF-alone treatment increased serum aspartate transaminase and gamma-glutamyltransferase activities, prothrombin time, and cholesterol, uric acid, and triglyceride values and decreased albumin, glucose, and urea nitrogen values, and urea-to-creatine ratio. A 27% decrease in lymphocyte stimulation index, increased spleen weight (as a percentage of body weight), and decreased liver weight were induced by AF-alone treatment. Results indicate that HSCAS may be a high-affinity sorbent for AF, that 2.6 mg of AF/kg of feed induces signs of aflatoxicosis in growing wethers, that lambs may not be as resistant to the effects of AF as previously thought, that 2.0% HSCAS can substantially reduce the toxic effects of 2.6 mg of AF/kg, and that sorbent compounds may offer a novel approach to the preventive management of aflatoxicosis in livestock.

A study was undertaken to determine the pressor and toxic effects of etoposide, an antineoplastic agent, when administered IV in 0.9% sodium chloride solution (0.4 mg of etoposide/ml) over a 30-minute period to dogs at a dosage of 40 mg/m2 of body surface. On day 1, 6 adult German Shorthaired Pointers were anesthetized with halothane, and blood pressures were measured via a femoral artery catheter before, during, and after the etoposide was administered. Systolic, diastolic, and mean blood pressures of each dog increased significantly (P less than 0.01) within 30 minutes after initiation of etoposide infusion. On day 3, when the dogs were not anesthetized, etoposide was again administered to each dog, using the same dosage. Each dog developed a moderate to severe cutaneous reaction characterized by moderate to severe pruritus, urticaria, and swelling of the head and extremities that began during the second infusion of etoposide. These same cutaneous reactions were seen on day 30, when etoposide was administered to 3 of the previously treated dogs and 2 previously untreated Beagles. We concluded that the administration of the commercial preparation of etoposide is likely to cause a significant reduction in blood pressure of anesthetized dogs, and that the drug is likely to induce a moderate to severe cutaneous reaction when administered to unanesthetized dogs.