Historically, there has been considerable discussion within the nuisance wildlife control and trapping communities as to whether drowning is a humane method for killing animals. The issue received more attention in 1993, when the American Veterinary Medical Association's Panel on Euthanasia reaffirmed its position that drowning is an unacceptable method (Andrews et al. 1993). For this article, ...

The effects of eight polycyclic aromatic compounds on the survival and reproduction of the collembolan Folsomia fimetaria L. were investigated in a well-characterized Danish agricultural soil. With the exception of acridine, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and neutral N-, S-, and O-monosubstituted analogues showed similar toxicities to soil collembolans when the results were expressed i...

Genetically-determined regional differences in the GABA-ergic make-up of the brain exist in two lines of Wistar rats viz apomorphine-susceptible (APO-SUS) and apomorphine-unsusceptible (APO-UNSUS) Wistar rats, Propofol is a GABA-mimetic general anesthetic. This study compared the responses to propofol in APO-SUS and APO-UNSUS rats. Propofol induced a higher incidence of involuntary muscular con...

The present study was conducted to determine the toxicity of different polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on the green algae, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and the haemocytes from the European abalone, Haliotis tuberculata. Using the algal growth inhibition test, the green algae median Effective Concentration (EC50) values ranged from 0.34μM for PCB28 to more than 100μM for PCBs 101 and 153. Co...

Diving with an underwater breathing apparatus has been the subject of research in several scientific areas for a long time. Decompression and recompression are complex and involve knowledge of physics and physiology. The purpose of this article was to review the basic physics of autonomous diving and to describe phenomena not so obvious to scientists working in other fields. Special emphasis wa...

EEGs and somatosensory evoked responses from the brachial plexus, neck and scalp were recorded in seven comatose patients on continuous thiopentone infusion. Although pathological in five of the patients, the evoked responses were present in all. Additional amounts of thiopentone producing a full suppression of all spontaneous EEG activity had no effects either on the configuration of the evoke...

Isobutylene has a low order of acute toxicity. As isobutylene is a gas at normal temperature and pressure, ingestion or dermal absorption of this material is unlikely. The 2-hour LC50 of isobutylene in mice was 180,000 ppm (415 mg/L) and the 4-hour LC50 in rats was 270,000 ppm (620 mg/L). Inhalation of isobutylene can produce central nervous system depression, anesthesia and/or asphyxiation. Ho...