Hypertrophic osteopathy associated with a bronchial foreign body and lobar pneumonia in a dog

Hypertrophic osteopathy was diagnosed in a dog with a bronchial foreign body and lobar pneumonia. Hypertrophic osteopathy is generally associated with primary or secondary neoplasms of the lungs and rarely associated with nonneoplastic thoracic lesions. The foreign body and affected lung lobe were removed by pneumonectomy, resulting in recovery of the dog and resolution of the hypertrophic osteopathy lesions.     

A 200 CENTIMETER FOCAL SPOT-FILM DISTANCE (FFD) TECHNIQUE FOR EQUINE THORACIC RADIOGRAPHY

The construction of a variable kVp, variable mA radiographic technique chart for the equine thorax using linear regression analysis is described. The independent variables in the analysis were body weight (pounds) and thoracic girth (inches) and the dependent variables were the radiographic exposure techniques (mAs, kV.p). Four areas (lateral views only) of each horse's thorax were radiographed using a focal spot-film distance (FFD) of 200 cm with the animal standing. The four views were craniodorsal, cranioventral, caudodorsal and caudoventral. For comparison, an additional caudodorsal view was made at 100 cm FFD to quantitate the decrease in exposure, the increased magnification and the decreased area of the lung exposed on the x-ray tube side of the horse compared with 200 cm FFD technique. Body weight was a satisfactory means to determine radiographic technique factors for thoracic radiographs in the horse. Thoracic girth (inches) was also measured and used to determine radiographic technique factors but was less exacting and less convenient than body weight.     

Alterations in Carbohydrate Metabolism in Canine Lymphoma

Following an overnight fast, blood samples were obtained from 14 dogs with previously untreated lymphoma before and 5, 15, 30, 45, 60, and 90 minutes following an intravenous challenge with 500 mg/kg dextrose. Samples were assayed for glucose, lactate, and insulin concentrations and compared statistically with ten control dogs of similar weight and age undergoing an identical dextrose challenge. Dogs with lymphoma had similar glucose tolerance curves when compared with controls. Lactate concentrations were significantly higher (P less than 0.001) at baseline and all time periods of the glucose tolerance test in dogs with lymphoma when compared with controls. Rise in lactate concentrations over baseline levels in the first 30 minutes of the glucose tolerance test were significantly higher in dogs with lymphoma (P = 0.011). Insulin concentrations were significantly higher (P less than 0.001) at baseline and at the 5-, 45-, 60-, and 90-minute time periods of the glucose tolerance test in dogs with lymphoma. Rise in insulin concentrations over baseline in the first 5 minutes of the glucose tolerance test were also significantly greater in dogs with lymphoma (P = 0.021). These results indicate carbohydrate metabolism is altered in dogs with lymphoma. Many of these alterations parallel those observed in human patients suffering from cancer cachexia making canine lymphoma a potential model for further study of the pathogenesis and therapy of cancer cachexia.     

Rideau: A new red-skinned maincrop table variety with high resistance to verttcillium wilt strains

Rideau is a maincrop, red-skinned potato variety with excellent boiling and baking quality. It is not suitable for chips and French fries. In Ontario, its yield is higher than Chieftain’s and its plants are very resistant toVerticillium alboatrum andV. dahliae. Tubers are moderately resistant to common scab but somewhat susceptible toRhizoctonia sclerotia.     

Salmonella in sewage effluent and the relationship to animal and human disease in the north of Scotland

During the period July 1982 to December 1984, the presence of salmonella organisms was investigated at weekly intervals in the sewage system and abattoir effluent of a town in the north of Scotland. Three hundred and fifteen isolations, representing 37 different serotypes, were made which included 20 different Salmonella typhimurium phage types and four different S enteritidis phage types. Ten of the serotypes were isolated from livestock in the district during the survey as well as in the periods immediately before and after the survey. There were seven recorded incidents of human infection, involving four salmonella serotypes, only three of which were isolated concurrently from sewage.     

BOVINE BABESIOSIS: COMPARISON OF FLUORESCENT ANTIBODY AND GIEMSA STAINING IN POST-MORTEM DIAGNOSIS OF INFECTION

SUMMARY Following experimental infections of cattle, Babesia argentina was detected in smears of heart, lung and kidney, immediately, and up to 8 hours post-mortem (PM), using Giemsa staining, while smears of brain were positive for up to 28 hours after death. Direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) staining detected B. argentina in heart and lung smears for 12 hours, in kidney smears for 16 hours, and in brain smears for 28 hours after death. Following experimental infections with B. bigemina, this organism could be recognised morphologically in smears of heart, lung and kidney immediately after death, but by one hour and up to 8 hours PM, its morphology resembled B. argentina in Giemsa stained films. A few red blood cells inside and outside brain capillaries were infected with organisms resembling B. argentina up to 16 hours after death. DFA staining detected B. bigemina in heart and lung smears for 12, and in kidney smears for 16 hours after death. A few infected red blood cells inside and outside capillaries were also seen in brain smears 16 hours after death. Organ smears could be held at 22°C for 5 days and both species of Babesia detected by either Giemsa or DFA staining.B. argentina was diagnosed by Giemsa staining of organ smears from 27 field cases of babesiosis. DFA confirmed B. argentina in 22, identified B. bigemina in 3 and failed to detect parasites in the other 2 cases. B. argentha was diagnosed by Giemsa staining in 10 and B. bigemina in 1 blood film from field cases. DFA confirmed B. argentina in 4 cases and B. bigemina in the 1 case. Serum from 5 of 12 animals which died in the field from natural B. argenfina infec- tions, had fluorescent antibody titres 2 64. After an experimental primary blood infection with B. argentina and while parasites were still detectable, 18 of 72 cattle had titres 2 64. Because there was no significant statistical difference between these results, it was con- cluded that the 12 field cases were due to primary infections, not recrudescences or hetero- logous strains or variants.     

A model for demonstrating the adhesion of Actinobacillus seminis to epithelial cells.

The objective of this study was to demonstrate that a field isolate of Actinobacillus seminis (As8C) will adhere to epithelial cells and that this adhesion can be inhibited by pretreating the bacteria with mouse serum containing polyclonal antibodies (PoAbs) prepared against this isolate. An indirect fluorescent antibody test, transmission electron microscopy, and phase-contrast microscopy confirmed the adhesion of As8C to an established culture of bovine kidney epithelial cells (BKECs). In a bacterial adhesion assay, 40 As8C were estimated to adhere to each BKEC after 60 min. Using a bacterial inhibition assay, PoAbs diluted 10(-2) or 10(-3) inhibited the adhesion of As8C to BKECs by approximately 90%. Bacterial inhibition decreased to about 50% when the PoAbs were diluted to 10(-4). There was less than 10% inhibition of adhesion of As8C to BKECs when higher dilutions of PoAbs were used. The inhibition of As8C adhesion to BKECs was less than 20% following pretreatment of BKECs with 10(-2) to 10(-5) dilutions of PoAbs. Moreover, pretreatment of As8C with a 10(-2) dilution of PoAbs did not appear to adversely affect bacterial growth on agar. It is likely that the PoAbs interrupted the adhesion of As8C to BKECs by sterically interfering with a bacterial adhesin-epithelial cell receptor interaction.     

An investigation of the etiology of a mild diarrhea observed in a group of grower/finisher pigs

An investigation into a mild diarrhea in a group of grower/finisher pigs was carried out in order to determine the etiology. A tiamulin injection and a carbadox-medicated ration were given to pens of pigs in a 2 x 2 factorial experimental design. Pens of pigs were assessed a score, based on the consistency of the feces in the pen, each week. The clinical investigation looked for the intestinal pathogens Brachyspira pilosicoli, B. hyodysenteriae, Lawsonia intracellularis, Salmonella spp., Yersinia spp., transmissible gastroenteritis virus, and rotavirus. Despite a rigorous investigation, the diarrhea was not attributed to any pathogen. A mild colitis was noted among pigs necropsied while affected with diarrhea. Improved diagnostic tools may allow a more effective response to an outbreak of mild disease, while at the same time reducing the amount of antimicrobials used in swine production.     

The 1987 whittier narrows earthquake in the los angeles metropolitan area, california

The Whittier Narrows earthquake sequence (local magnitude, M(L) = 5.9), which caused over $358-million damage, indicates that assessments of earthquake hazards in the Los Angeles metropolitan area may be underestimated. The sequence ruptured a previously unidentified thrust fault that may be part of a large system of thrust faults that extends across the entire east-west length of the northern margin of the Los Angeles basin. Peak horizontal accelerations from the main shock, which were measured at ground level and in structures, were as high as 0.6g (where g is the acceleration of gravity at sea level) within 50 kilometers of the epicenter. The distribution of the modified Mercalli intensity VII reflects a broad north-south elongated zone of damage that is approximately centered on the main shock epicenter.