Potential impact of diphacinone application strategies on secondary exposure risk in a common rodent pest: implications for management of California ground squirrels.

Anticoagulant rodenticides are a common tool used to manage rodents in agricultural systems, but they have received increased scrutiny given concerns about secondary exposure in non-target wildlife. Rodenticide application strategy is one factor that influences exposure risk. To understand the impact of application strategy, we tested residues of a first-generation anticoagulant (diphacinone) in liver tissue of radiotransmittered California ground squirrels (Otospermophilus beecheyi) following spot treatments, broadcast applications, and bait station applications in rangelands in central California during summer and autumn 2018-2019.

An assessment of vegetation management practices and burrow fumigation with aluminum phosphide as tools for managing voles within perennial crop fields in California, USA.

Voles (Cricetidae) cause extensive damage to a variety of crops throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere. The removal of vegetation from crop fields at the end of the growing season, combined with a subsequent burrow fumigant application of aluminum phosphide, has the potential to substantially curtail vole activity but has not been thoroughly examined. We set up a study to test the impact of these management tools in perennial globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var.

Efficacy and nontarget impact of zinc phosphide-coated cabbage as a ground squirrel management tool.

Background: Effective management of ground squirrels relies on an integrated pest management (IPM) approach. Rodenticides may be included in an IPM program, but they must be efficacious with minimal impact on nontarget species. A zinc phosphide-coated green bait may meet these requirements.

Novel and current rodenticides for pocket gopher Thomomys spp. management in vineyards: what works?

Background: Rodenticides are often included as part of an integrated pest management approach for managing pocket gophers (Thomomys spp.) given that they are relatively quick and inexpensive to apply. Strychnine has historically been the most effective toxicant for pocket gophers, but its use is currently limited in the United States; alternative registered toxicants have not proven effective.

Perceived damage and areas of needed research for wildlife pests of California agriculture.

Many wildlife species cause extensive damage to a variety of agricultural commodities in California, with estimates of damage in the hundreds of millions annually. Given the limited availability of resources to solve all human-wildlife conflicts, we should focus management efforts on issues that provide the greatest benefit to agricultural commodities in California. This survey provides quantitative data on research needs to better guide future efforts in developing more effective, practical and appropriate methods for managing these species.

Effectiveness of rodenticides for managing invasive roof rats and native deer mice in orchards.

Roof rats (Rattus rattus) and deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) are occasional pests of nut and tree fruit orchards throughout California and in many other parts of the USA and beyond. In general, the most practical and cost-effective control method for rodents in many agricultural environments is the use of rodenticides (toxic baits), but little or no information exists on the efficacy of current rodenticides in controlling roof rats and deer mice in orchards. Therefore, our goals were to develop an index of rodent activity to monitor efficacy of rodenticides and to subsequently test the efficacy of three California Department of Food and Agriculture rodenticide baits (0.

Anticonvulsant effects of Searsia dentata (Anacardiaceae) leaf extract in rats.

Searsia species are used in South Africa to treat epilepsy. Previous studies have demonstrated an in vitro N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor antagonistic effect of the ethanolic leaf extract. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential anticonvulsant properties of the ethanolic extract of S.

Depression after status epilepticus: behavioural and biochemical deficits and effects of fluoxetine.

Depression represents one of the most common comorbidities in patients with epilepsy. However, the mechanisms of depression in epilepsy patients are poorly understood. Establishment of animal models of this comorbidity is critical for both understanding the mechanisms of the condition, and for preclinical development of effective therapies.

Treatment of experimental status epilepticus in immature rats: dissociation between anticonvulsant and antiepileptogenic effects.

We studied the effects of treating status epilepticus (SE) induced by lithium and pilocarpine at postnatal day 15 (P15) or 28 (P28), on the severity of acute SE and of SE-induced epileptogenesis. Rats received topiramate (10 or 50 mg/kg, IP) or diazepam (5 mg/kg, IP) 20, 40 or 70 min after pilocarpine, and three months after SE 24-h video/EEG recordings were obtained for one (P28) or two weeks (P15) continuously. In P15 rats, topiramate did not modify the course of SE, yet treatment at 20 or 40 min completely prevented the development of spontaneous recurrent seizures (SRS) while later treatment (70 min) was partially effective in reducing the severity and frequency of SRS.

In vivo interaction between serotonin and galanin receptors types 1 and 2 in the dorsal raphe: implication for limbic seizures.

The neuropeptide galanin suppresses seizure activity in the hippocampus by inhibiting glutamatergic neurotransmission. Galanin may also modulate limbic seizures through interaction with other neurotransmitters in neuronal populations that project to the hippocampus. We examined the role of galanin receptors types 1 and 2 in the dorsal raphe (DR) in the regulation of serotonergic transmission and limbic seizures.

Evidence of caspase-3 activation in hyposmotic stress-induced necrosis.

Primary culture of dentate gyrus was submitted to a hyposmotic stress that induces a rapid cell death that is necrosis morphologically. Surprisingly, we observed a rapid and dramatic upregulation of the active form of caspase-3 (caspase-3(a)) in both neurons and glial cells. Caspase-3(a) immunoreactivity appears as early as 1 min after hyposmotic treatment, when some neurons are still alive, suggesting that caspase-3(a) may contribute to further necrotic cell death.

Hypoxic neuronal necrosis: protein synthesis-independent activation of a cell death program.

Hypoxic necrosis of dentate gyrus neurons in primary culture required the activation of an orderly cell death program independent of protein synthesis. Early mitochondrial swelling and loss of the mitochondrial membrane potential were accompanied by release of cytochrome c and followed by caspase-9-dependent activation of caspase-3. Caspase-3 and -9 inhibitors reduced neuronal necrosis.