CORRELATION OF RADIOGRAPHIC, NECROPSY AND HISTOLOGIC FINDINGS IN 8 DOGS WITH ELBOW DYSPLASIA

Elbow dysplasia is osteoarthrosis/degenerative joint disease due to abnormal development of the elbow joint. The abnormaldevelopment is the result of specific inherited etiologies alone or in combination. This paper attempts to clarify the diagnosis of elbow dysplasia based on the presence of degenerative joint disease by correlating rediographic necropsy, necropsy, and histopathologic results using elbows from 8 German Shepherd dogs. All elbows had radiographic changes consistent with osteoarthrosis/degenerativejoint disease which were identified best on the flexedmedial-lateral projection. Radiographically, a specific diagnosis was made inseven elbows; ununited anconeal process(6) and osteochondrosis (1). At necropsy these lesions were confirmed plus 14 elbows were identified that had fragmented medial coronoid process (6), abnormally shaped medial coronoid processes of fissures in the articualr cartilage of the medial coronoid process (8). additionally, histopathologically there was proliferative synovitis at the radial notch of the ulna and degenerative changes on the proximal, nonarticualr surface of the anconeal process at the site of insertion of the olecranon ligament and joint capsule.Therefore, for screening the elbow joint to identify elbow dysplasia, the recognition of osteoarthrosis/degenerative joint disease on an extreme flexed mediolateral rediograph appears to be sufficient.     

Induction of humoral immune response and protective immunity in chickens against Salmonella enteritidis after a single dose of killed bacterium-loaded microspheres.

Formalin-inactivated Salmonella enteritidis phage type 4 strain 119/95 (SE) was encapsulated in biodegradable poly (DL-lactide co-glycolic acid) PLGA; (65:35) microspheres by a modified water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w) double-emulsion solvent extraction/evaporation technique. These SE-loaded microspheres (SE-MS) were porous and spherical in shape with diameters of 0.4-10 microm and 20-80 microm in two preparations. SE-MS were subsequently used to vaccinate specific-pathogen-free chickens in a single dose in order to investigate the potency of a single-dose vaccination in inducing immune responses and protective immunity. In Experiment 1, 4-wk-old chickens that were vaccinated intramuscularly with 20-80-microm SE-MS generated long lasting (over 6 mo) and persistently high serum anti-SE immunoglobulin (Ig)G antibody response. In Experiment 2, 2-wk-old chickens were vaccinated orally with 0.4-10-microm or intramuscularly with 20-80-microm SE-MS and challenged with 10(9) colony-forming units of homologous SE strain at 6 wk postvaccination. When challenged intramuscularly, one each of the orally vaccinated (n = 10) and the intramuscularly vaccinated birds (n = 10) showed clinical signs and death, whereas all of the nonvaccinated control birds (n = 12) were sick and 11 of them were killed. When challenge was via oral route, 26.1% of cloacal swabs and 24.0% of organs (liver, spleen, and cecum) collected from orally vaccinated birds (n = 35) were positive for SE, comparable to 27.9% of feces and 18.7% of organs from the intramuscularly vaccinated birds (n = 35). These figures were significantly lower than those for nonvaccinated birds (n = 30) from which 59.3% of feces and 44.0% of organs tested SE positive (P < 0.05). The humoral immune response was also determined after vaccination with a single dose. The intramuscular vaccination elicited higher serum IgG response than oral administration, but the latter elicited a significant intestinal mucosal IgA antibody response. This is the first evidence that chickens vaccinated with killed SE-loaded PLGA microspheres, intramuscularly and orally in a single dose, developed systematic and local immune responses, thereby conferring protective immunity.     

GEPIC – modelling wheat yield and crop water productivity with high resolution on a global scale

With population growth and economic development, the agricultural sector is facing the challenge to produce more food with less water. Crop water productivity (CWP) is important for understanding water–food relationships. It also provides a basis for the assessment of water use efficiency embodied in global food trade. However, traditional methods are not sufficient for estimating CWP on a global scale considering large spatial and temporal variations across different geographical locations. In this paper, a GIS-based EPIC model (GEPIC) is developed and tested to estimate wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield and CWP at a grid resolution of 30′ on the land surface. A comparison between simulated yields and FAO statistical yields in 102 countries over 10 years shows a good agreement. The simulated CWP is also mostly in line with the CWP reported in the literature.     

Structural and biological characterization of aminated-derivatized oat beta-glucan

beta-Glucan extracted from oats was subjected to reductive amination, producing a cationic beta-glucan derivative of which physiological properties were characterized. The degree of substitution was obtained from elemental analysis, which was 0.48. In addition, the distribution of amino groups in the beta-glucan derivative was investigated by FT-IR analysis. In vitro bile acid binding capacity of the aminated beta-glucan was examined, showing significantly higher bile acid binding activity than native beta-glucan. Moreover, the beta-glucan derivative showed pronounced antimicrobial effects against Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis, and ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibition activities which were dependent on its concentration. Furthermore, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) experiments demonstrated that the beta-glucan derivative stimulated the synthesis of nitric oxide. The improved functionalities of the derivative could be explained by its polycationic characteristics.     

Comparison of regional climate scenario data by a spatial resolution for the impact assessment of the uncertainty associated with meteorological inputs data on crop yield simulations in Korea

Uncertainty of crop yield simulation would be affected by weather input data prepared from different sources of climate datasets. Although regional climate data at a high spatial resolution would be useful for the impact assessment of climate change on crop production, little effort has been made to characterize the uncertainty associated with such climate data in terms of crop yield simulations. The objectives of this study were to compare climate scenario data products obtained from a series of downscaling processes and to identify an overall pattern of uncertainty in these climate data in terms of crop yield simulation. Regional climate scenario data from 2011 to 2014 had a spatiotemporal pattern of uncertainty, which differed by meteorological variables and spatial resolution. Overall, the uncertainty of daily minimum temperature was greater than that of maximum temperature. Daily minimum temperature also had relatively greater uncertainty in an early season of crop production, which could result in the cumulative impact on the uncertainty of crop yield simulations. For the uncertainty of climate data at different spatial resolution, climate data at higher spatial resolution, e.g. 1 km, tended to have lower uncertainty than data at resolution of 12.5 km did. Still, the uncertainty of regional climate data was relatively similar between data at resolution of 12.5 km and 1 km in major rice production areas in Korea except in areas near Seosan. This merits further studies to examine actual differences in projected crop yields using regional climate scenario data in the future and to assess the impact of uncertainty associated with regional climate data on crop yield simulation.     

RADIATION AND CISPLATIN FOR TREATMENT OF CANINE URINARY BLADDER CARCINOMA

Two cases of canine urinary bladder carcinoma were treated with combined radiation and cisplatin. Total radiation dose was 4400 cGy for one dog and 4800 cCy for the other. Cobalt 60 radiation was fractioned using 400 cGy per fraction. Cisplatin was administered intraarterially at a dose of 50 mg/m² divided equally six to seven hours before the first three radiation fractions. Cisplatin was administered before the last three radiation fractions at the same dose and time, but was infused intravenously. Objective evaluation using double contrast cystograms revealed reduction in tumor size in both dogs. The therapy was well-tolerated with minimal side effects.     

Use of contrast‐enhanced ultrasonography in the diagnosis of a liver lobe torsion in a rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

A 1‐year‐old male French Lop rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) was presented with a sudden onset of hyporexia. Physical examination revealed cranial abdominal discomfort. Liver enzymes were elevated on serum biochemistry profile. Abdominal radiographs showed diffusely gas‐dilated small intestinal loops. On abdominal ultrasound, a lobe in the right aspect of the liver was hypoechoic with rounded margins and was surrounded by hyperechoic fat and anechoic fluid. Contrast‐enhanced ultrasonography showed complete lack of perfusion in the abnormal right liver lobe. Exploratory laparotomy revealed torsion of the quadrate liver lobe. Diffuse coagulation necrosis was noted on histopathologic examination. The rabbit fully recovered after surgery.     

Stereochemical Determination of Fistularins Isolated from the Marine Sponge Ecionemia acervus and Their Regulatory Effect on Intestinal Inflammation

By activity-guided fractionation based on inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE₂), six fistularin compounds (1–6) were isolated from the marine sponge Ecionemia acervus (order Astrophorida). Based on stereochemical structure determination using Mosher’s method, fistularin-3 was assigned as a new stereoisomer. On the basis of the stereochemistry of fistularin-3, the stereochemical homogeneity of all six compounds was established by comparing carbon and proton chemical shifts. For fistularin-1 (1) and -2 (2), quantum calculations were performed to confirm their stereochemistry. In a co-culture system of human epithelial Caco-2 cells and THP-1 macrophages, all six isolated compounds showed potent anti-inflammatory activities. These bioactive fistularins inhibited the production of NO, PGE₂, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 induced by lipopolysaccharide and interferon gamma. Inducible NO synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 expression and MAPK phosphorylation were downregulated in response to the inhibition of NF-κB nuclear translocation. Among the compounds tested, fistularin-1 (1) and 19-deoxyfistularin-3 (4) showed the highest activity. These findings suggest the potential use of the marine sponge E. acervus and its metabolites as pharmaceuticals for the treatment of inflammation-related diseases including inflammatory bowel disease.