Ovarian remnant removal using minimally invasive laparoscopic techniques in four dogs

Four partially intact, female dogs with a median age of 6 · 5 years were presented to Angell Animal Medical Center for laparoscopic treatment of ovarian remnant syndrome. Dogs were positioned in dorsal recumbency and a three‐port laparoscopic technique was used to identify and remove en bloc any abnormal tissue in the area of the ovarian pedicles. None of the dogs required conversion to open coeliotomy and there were no major complications. Abnormal tissue, including granulosa thecal cell tumour (n = 1), was identified bilaterally in three dogs and unilaterally in one dog. Clinical signs associated with ovarian remnant syndrome resolved in all dogs following surgery.     

Clinical characteristics and mode of inheritance of familial focal seizures in Standard Poodles

OBJECTIVE: To determine clinical characteristics and mode of inheritance of seizures in a family of Standard Poodles. DESIGN: Case series. ANIMALS: 90 Standard Poodles descended from the same maternal bloodline (30 with probable idiopathic epilepsy [PIE] and 60 without any history of seizures). PROCEDURES: Researchers contacted owners to determine whether dogs had ever had any seizures and, if so, the nature of any such seizures and any potential underlying causes. Dogs were considered to have PIE if they were between 6 months and 7.5 years old at the time of seizure onset and had no evidence of any underlying cause. To determine the mode of inheritance, segregation analyses were designed to allow the family to be analyzed as a whole, as opposed to as nuclear families. Competing models of inheritance were compared statistically for their ability to explain the data. RESULTS: Of the dogs with PIE, 28 (93%) had focal onset seizures with or without secondary generalization. Median age of onset was 3.7 years; 6 dogs were > 5 years old at the onset of seizures. Segregation analyses strongly suggested that PIE was inherited as a simple recessive autosomal trait with complete or almost complete penetrance. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggested that in this family of Standard Poodles, PIE was inherited as a simple recessive autosomal trait with complete or almost complete penetrance. Seizures often had focal, as opposed to generalized, onsets, and it was not uncommon for seizures to begin after 5 years of age.     

Effects of agricultural management on nematode–mite assemblages: Soil food web indices as predictors of mite community composition

Biological indicators based on abundances of soil organisms are powerful tools for inferring functional and diversity changes in soils affected by agricultural perturbations. Field plots, combining organic and conventional practices with no tillage, conservation tillage and standard tillage maintained different nematode assemblages and soil food webs. Soil food web indices based on nematode assemblages were reliable predictors of the trophic composition of functional characteristics of soil mite assemblages. Bacterial-feeding and predatory nematodes, together with predatory mites, were abundant in the organic-no till treatments and were associated with high values of the Enrichment and the Structure Index based on nematode assemblages. Conventional-Standard tillage treatments had high abundances of fungal- and plant-feeding nematodes and algivorous mites, associated with high values of the Basal and Channel Index. This study validates the hypothesis that nematode-based soil food web indices are useful indicators of other soil organisms such as mites, with similar functional roles and environmental sensitivities.     

A COMPARISON OF THE ROSTROCAUDAL OPEN MOUTH AND ROSTRO 10° VENTRO-CAUDODORSAL OBLIQUE RADIOGRAPHIC VIEWS FOR IMAGING FLUID IN THE FELINE TYMPANIC BULLA

Fluid within the tympanic bulla is an indication of middle ear disease. Radiography has a relatively low accuracy for the detection of soft tissue opacification in the tympanic bulla, and the most useful radiographic projection, the rostrocaudal open mouth (RCd (open mouth)), is technically difficult to perform in dogs and cats. An alternative projection for the feline tympanic bulla, the rostro 10 degrees ventro-caudodorsal oblique (R10 degrees V-CdDO), was compared to the RCd (open mouth) in 41 feline cadaver heads with the tympanic bullae randomly filled with KY jelly. Computed tomography was used as the gold standard. Each tympanic bulla was recorded as being positive or negative for soft tissue opacification. Although there was no significant difference between the accuracy of the two views, the R10 degrees V-CdDO was subjectively more accurate and easier to perform, and in a live patient may be performed without the need for general anesthesia. The R10 degrees V-CdDO projection is a good alternative to the RCd (open mouth) projection for detecting otitis media in the cat.     

Metal chelate molluscicides: The redistribution of iron diazaalkanolates from the gut lumen of the slug,Deroceras reticulatum (Müller) (Pulmonata: Limacidae)

Two related iron chelates, one toxic to slugs by ingestion, the other not, were introduced into the foregut of D. reticulatum. The subsequent movement and redistribution of the metal within the slug tissues was studied by labelling the chelates with the radioactive isotope ⁵⁵Fe. In slugs which survived treatment approximately half of the ⁵⁵Fe was voided in faeces. The iron retained became unevenly distributed, the highest concentration occurring in the digestive gland, irrespective of the chelate used. At high doses, slugs treated with tris(1-oxo-1,2-diazabutan-2-oxido)Fe(III) were fatally poisoned while those treated with the homologue, tris(1-oxo-1,2-diazaoctan-2-oxido)Fe(III) were not. Slugs killed by the toxic chelate consistently contained proportionally less iron in the digestive gland and proportionally more in the body wall and reproductive system. Dosing slugs already killed by carbon dioxide asphyxiation gave a similar pattern, suggesting that the greater mobility of the iron from the toxic chelate was not a function of the slugs' metabolism.     

Semitendinosus muscle transfer flap for external anal sphincter incompetence in a dog

A 5-year-old sexually intact female Yorkshire Terrier was referred with a history of fecal incontinence of at least 2 years and chronic intermittent colitis. The external anal sphincter to the left of the anus was intact; the external anal sphincter was not detectable to the right of the anus. To repair the defect, the semitendinosus muscle was isolated and severed 2 cm proximal to its insertion on the tibia. Care was taken to preserve the integrity of the vasculature and nerve supply in the proximal third of the muscle body. The body of the muscle was passed around the ventral and right aspects of the rectum; the cut end was secured with simple interrupted sutures dorsal to the levator ani and coccygeus muscles to simulate the external anal sphincter. After surgery, the dog could defecate normally. Absence of a portion of the external anal sphincter may be congenital or the result of anorectal trauma, rectal prolapse, severe perineal disease, or surgical resection. The use of a semitendinosus muscle flap for treatment of fecal incontinence secondary to sphincter incompetence in dogs may be a viable alternative to euthanasia.