No effect of turkey herpesvirus infections on the outcome of avian pneumovirus infections in turkeys.

To determine whether turkey herpesvirus (HVT) impairs the aspecific and specific defense against an avian pneumovirus (APV) infection, specific-pathogen-free turkeys were inoculated at 7 days of age with HVT and 1, 5, or 7 wk later with APV. Clinical signs, APV replication, and development of antibodies against APV were evaluated. No differences were found between the birds that received both HVT and APV and those that received only APV.     

MENSURATION OF THE NORMAL PITUITARY GLAND FROM MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGES IN 96 DOGS

The pituitary gland was measured from transverse magnetic resonance T1-weighted images after Gadolinium administration in 96 dogs weighing from 13 to 45 kg. The measurements were done by hand with calipers. The mean (+/- standard deviation) pituitary gland height was 5.1 mm (+/-0.9 mm). The mean width was 6.4 mm (+/- 1.1 mm). The correlation coefficient between pituitary and brain measurements, between pituitary measurement and body weight, and brain measurements and body weight was 0.0 to 0.3. A hyperintense region was present on T1-weighted images in the center of the pituitary gland in 64% of the dogs. At necropsy the pituitary glands were grossly and histologically normal. No pituitary gland measurements were performed at necropsy.     

Culture of bovine bone marrow progenitor cells in vitro.

In vitro methylcellulose cultures of bovine bone marrow progenitor cells were developed. An existing technique described for bovine species was compared to a method for human tissue and further adapted during subsequent experiments. Bovine bone marrow samples were collected at the slaughterhouse, and mononuclear cells were separated by gradient centrifugation (1.077 g/ml specific density and 400 g). The use of 3% bovine leucocyte-conditioned medium, produced by stimulation of blood lymphocytes with 4 microg/ml concanavalin A and harvested on day 4 of culture, gave better results than the use of supernatant of the human bladder carcinoma 5637, which is widely used in human bone marrow cultures. However, bovine leucocyte-conditioned medium was not added to erythroid cultures because inhibitory effects were observed. Erythroid colonies were stimulated with erythropoietin, and hemin was added to enable microscopic identification. Reduced oxygen tension was necessary to induce growth of erythroid colonies. This was not necessary for myeloid cultures. In conclusion, the results of this study show that the growth of myeloid and erythroid colonies in methylcellulose-based medium requires different culture conditions, which are different from the culture conditions for human cells.     

Postanesthetic Pulmonary Edema In an Arab Stallion

A six-year-old arabian stallion was admitted to The Ohio State University Veterinary Hospital for evaluation and repair of a comminuted fracture of the second phalanx. The horse developed impaired arterial oxygenation during surgey and pulmonary edema post-operatively. We postulate that impaired arterial oxygenation resulted from atelectasis of the dependent lung during annesthesia, and the pulmonary edema occurred following re-expansion of the atelectatic of the initiating cause of the edema, removal of excess lung water from the alveoli, and restoration of normal arterial oxygenation. The horse was fully recovered within 12 hours of initiation of clinical signs of respiratory compromise. The horse was fully recovered within 12 hours of initiation of clinical signs of respiratory compromise. This report describes re-expansion pulmonary edema due to reperfusion injury in a horse, treatment of the condition, and a possible explanation of the pathogenesis of this pulmonary pathology.     

A Tremor Syndrome With a Central Axonopathy in Scottish Terriers

A central axonopathy in 2 male and 1 female Scottish Terrier puppies from 3 different but related litters is reported. Clinical signs consisting of severe whole-body tremors and ataxia were first detected at the age of 10 to 12 weeks. They worsened with activity and excitement and diminished during rest or sleep. Two dogs also had paraparesis. In 1 dog the neurological deficits progressed over several months. Neuropathological examination revealed widespread axonal changes, vacuolation, and gliosis in the white matter of the central nervous system.     

COLLAGENASE CHEMONUCLEOLYSIS—A LONG TERM RADIOGRAPHIC STUDY IN NORMAL DOGS

Five clinically normal five year old dogs were used in this study. From a randomised table inter ver tebral discs were each injected with either collagenase or calcium chloride diluent. The surgically exposed cervical discs were injected with 50 units whereas thoracic and lumbar discs were injected under fluoroscopic guidance with 100 units of the enzyme. Postinjection radiographs revealed significant (p ≤ .05) disc space narrowing in enzyme injected discs. The cervical discs had the highest frequency of radiographic narrowing (87%) followed by the thoracic (70%) and lumbar (53%) discs. Spondylosis deformans developed at the sites of cervical enzyme injections. None of the dogs had neurologic abnormalities one year postinjection.     

Particle Size Distribution in Two Lipid Emulsions Used for the Enrichment of Artemia nauplii as a Function of Their Preparation Method and Storage Time

The present study examined the distribution of particle sizes in two experimental standardized lipid emulsions (distributed by ICES, International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) as a function of the preparation method (hand shaking or ultrasonic blending) and as a function of storage time. A 24-h enrichment trial compared the incorporated HUFA levels in the nauplii of Artemia franciscana .
The emulsion droplets in the 50% HUFA emulsion (ICES 50, ethyl ester based) were much smaller than in the 30% HUFA emulsion (ICES 30, triacylglycerol-based) in which 90% of the droplets had a diameter below 12.3 μm as compared to 1.3 pn in ICES 50. The blending method highly affected particle sizes. High-shear blending instead of the classical hand shaking of the emulsion of both ICES 30 and 50 reduced the mean particle size from 5.06 to 1.07 μm and from 0.38 to 0.11 μm, respectively. The particle size distributions remained stable during the 1-wk storage, suggesting the absence of agglomeration or bacterial development. The fatty acid composition of 24-h enriched Artemia reflected differences in the HUFA profile of the emulsions, but was independent of observed differences in the size of the particles.     

MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING OF CEREBRAL CORTICAL NECROSIS (POLIOENCEPHALOMALACIA) IN A DOG

A 3-year-old neutered female mixed breed dog was examined because of severe, generalized seizure activity, tetraparesis, and encephalopathic signs. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) evaluation was unremarkable except for a mild increase in protein. Serum and CSF titers for infectious diseases were negative. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging examination of the brain was performed and lesions were found within the cerebral gray matter of the temporal and parietal lobes. The lesions had increased signal intensity on T1, T2, and proton density-weighted images. There was mild inhomogeneous enhancement following intravenous contrast medium administration. Neurologic status improved and the seizures were well controlled, but the dog never regained normal mentation and euthanasia was performed 10 weeks after initial evaluation. At necropsy, severe cerebral cortical necrosis was found in the regions corresponding to the lesions seen on MR imaging examination. Large numbers of fat-containing macrophages (gitter cells) were found within these areas, and are thought to be responsible for the characteristic hyperintensity seen on the MR images.     

Blastocyst Evaluation by Means of Differential Staining: a Practical Approach

Techniques for in vitro production of embryos have been developed world-wide in different species, with promising results in human and ruminants. Thousands of human IVF-babies have been born during the last 20 years and thousands of in vitro -produced calves have been born since the late 1980s. With current methods for bovine in vitro fertilization, about 30–40% of in vitro -fertilized bovine oocytes develop further to the blastocyst stage and can be used for transfer. A proper evaluation of blastocyst quality remains however, an important challenge for every researcher involved in embryology and for every clinician who wants to select the best embryos for transfer. This review attempts to summarize the different methods available for estimation of blastocyst quality with a special emphasis upon differential staining.