Development and optimization of a fentanyl pharmacokinetic model for target-controlled infusion in anaesthetized dogs.

Objective: To investigate pharmacokinetics (PK) of fentanyl administered by target-controlled infusion (TCI), and to develop a PK model optimized by covariates for TCI in anaesthetized dogs.

Study Design: Prospective clinical study.

Animals: A group of 20 client-owned dogs with spinal pain undergoing anaesthesia for magnetic resonance imaging.

Disseminating Science and Education through Social Media: The Experience of a Students' Editorial Team at the University of Padova.

"WeSocial: Online Learning Community" is a project aiming to provide students with the basic skills in science communication via social media as a useful tool in their future careers and to disseminate the University Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science activities to the general public. The project is based on two main actions: professional training on science communication and social media strategies, and the establishment of an editorial team composed of students supervised by the teaching staff. When the training phase was concluded, official department accounts on Instagram (bca_campus_unipd) and Facebook (BCA_campus_unipd) were opened.

Beehive products as bioindicators of antimicrobial resistance contamination in the environment.

The use of antimicrobials in agricultural, veterinary and medical practice exerts selective pressure on environmental microbiota, promoting the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a global concern for the One Health Initiative Task Force (OHITF). Honeybees have been studied as bioindicators of AMR in the environment, but little is known about beehive products like honey and pollen. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of AMR genes (ARGs) in beehive products and investigated their origins.

Natural contaminants in bee pollen: DNA metabarcoding as a tool to identify floral sources of pyrrolizidine alkaloids and fungal diversity.

The use of bee pollen as a food supplement has increased in recent years as it contains several nutrients and phytochemicals. However, depending on floral composition, bee pollen can be contaminated by pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), PA N-oxides (PANOs) and toxigenic fungi found in plants, which may pose a potential health risk for consumers. Thus, a DNA metabarcoding approach based on internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region was used to identify the plant sources of 17 PAs/PANOs detected by a validated method in liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), as well as floral and fungal diversity in 61 bee pollen samples.

Midazolam oxidation in cattle liver microsomes: The role of cytochrome P450 3A.

In humans, the cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A) subfamily is involved in midazolam (MDZ) biotransformation into 1'- and 4-hydroxy metabolites, and the former serves as a probe for CYP3A catalytic activity. In veterinary species is still crucial to identify enzyme- and species-specific CYP substrates; thus, the aim of this study was to characterize MDZ oxidation in cattle liver. A HPLC-UV method was used to measure 1'- and 4-hydroxy MDZ (1'- and 4-OHMDZ, respectively) formation in cattle liver microsomes and assess the role of CYP3A by an immunoinhibition study.

Microbial metabarcoding highlights different bacterial and fungal populations in honey samples from local beekeepers and market in north-eastern Italy.

Due to its chemical properties, honey does not foster the growth of microorganisms, however it may contain a rich microbial community, including viable, stressed, and not viable microbes. In order to characterize honey microbiota focusing on the difference between products from beekeepers and large retail in the present study a culture-independent approach based on DNA metabarcoding was applied. Honey samples were collected from Local Beekeepers (LB) and Market sales (M) during four years with the aim to investigate the microbiological quality in the honey market.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in bee pollen identified by LC-MS/MS analysis and colour parameters using multivariate class modeling.

Toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) and their N-oxides (PANOs) can be present in bee pollen depending on the plants visited by bees. A liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated to monitor 17 PAs/PANOs in 44 bee pollens. The CIE-Lab colour coordinates with the specular component either included or excluded were recorded in pellets and ground aliquots.

Functional impact of cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A) missense variants in cattle.

Cytochrome P450 3A is the most important CYP subfamily in humans, and CYP3A4/CYP3A5 genetic variants contribute to inter-individual variability in drug metabolism. However, no information is available for bovine CYP3A (bCYP3A). Here we described bCYP3A missense single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and evaluated their functional effects.

Maternal and neonatal wellbeing during elective C-section induced with a combination of propofol and dexmedetomidine: How effective is the placental barrier in dogs?

Anaesthetics administered during C-section (CS) can cross the placenta and the foetal blood-brain barrier contributing to distress up to neonatal mortality. Therefore, to prevent neonatal risks, sedatives and analgesics are not commonly administered to the bitch until all pups are delivered. This study aims to evaluate the effect of a new anaesthetic and analgesic protocol for elective CS in dogs, focused on both maternal and neonatal wellbeing.

Transgenerational toxicity of flumequine over four generations of Daphnia magna.

In this study, the effects of both continuous and alternate exposure to 2 mg L of flumequine (FLU) on survival, growth and reproduction of Daphnia magna were evaluated over four generations. Mortality was the most evident effect, with an average mortality rate of 23 ± 14% across generations. Individuals destined to succumb were identifiable well in advance through their discolouration and lack of development, and limited or zero reproductive capacity.

Effects of enrofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and trimethoprim on two generations of Daphnia magna.

Multigenerational tests on Daphnia magna were performed exposing two subsequent generation to enrofloxacin (EFX) and its metabolite ciprofloxacin (CPX), and to trimethoprim (TMP). Mortality rate of 100% and 50% was detected in F0 at concentrations of ≥ 13 mgL(-1) (EFX) and 50 mgL(-1) (TMP), respectively. In F1 with respect to F0, both for growth and reproduction, a worsening trend of the response with EFX, a similar response with CPX and an attenuating trend with TMP was observed.

Sublethal effects of trimethoprim on four freshwater organisms.

Sublethal effects of trimethoprim (TMP) were evaluated in four freshwater organisms: Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and Lemna minor (growth inhibition), Daphnia magna (reproduction and growth inhibition) and Poecilia reticulata (swimming activity inhibition). Cytochrome P4501A induction was also evaluated in P. reticulata.

High performance liquid chromatography determination of cytochrome P450 1A and 2C activities in bovine liver microsomes.

This study reports fluorescence high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and UV-Vis HPLC methods for the determination of 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) and tolbutamide methylhydroxylase (TMH) activities, respectively, using bovine liver microsomes. The detection limits were 0.022 and 5.

Integrated analytical approach in veal calves administered the anabolic androgenic steroids boldenone and boldione: urine and plasma kinetic profile and changes in plasma protein expression.

Surveillance of illegal use of steroids hormones in cattle breeding is a key issue to preserve human health. To this purpose, an integrated approach has been developed for the analysis of plasma and urine from calves treated orally with a single dose of a combination of the androgenic steroids boldenone and boldione. A quantitative estimation of steroid hormones was obtained by LC-APCI-Q-MS/MS analysis of plasma and urine samples obtained at various times up to 36 and 24 h after treatment, respectively.