Splenic mast cell tumour and mastocytaemia in a cat: case study and literature review

CASE: An 11-year-old female domestic shorthaired cat presenting with clinical signs of depression, anorexia, weight loss, fever, anaemia and a mid-abdominal mass was referred for abdominal ultrasound examination. CLINICAL FINDINGS: Ultrasonography of the abdomen identified a markedly enlarged spleen. Ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy of the spleen revealed a uniform population of mast cells, 11% of which were observed to have phagocytosed erythrocytes. It is speculated that this may have been a contributing factor in the development of anaemia in this case. Mast cells were detected in a peripheral-blood smear and a diagnosis of systemic mastocytosis (splenic mast cell tumour together with mastocytaemia) was made. This diagnosis was subsequently confirmed by histopathology of the spleen. CONCLUSION: Splenectomy and treatment with corticosteroids appears to have resulted in remission of clinical signs and anaemia. A reduction in the concentration of mast cells in the peripheral blood had not occurred 6 weeks postsplenectomy, but was evident by 10 months post-splenectomy.     

A cross-sectional study of risk factors for obesity in cats in New Zealand

This study was done to identify risk factors for obesity in an urban cat population in New Zealand. A door-to-door survey (conducted within the city limits of Palmerston North) obtained information on the diet, health and behaviour of 202 cats. One hundred and eighty-two of these cats were weighed and their back and leg lengths were measured. The interviewer's assessment of the body condition of each cat was the dependent variable used in this study. Variables that were identified as significant (p< or =0.1) following univariable analysis were grouped into one of the three models for stepwise logistic multiple regression (one each for cat characteristics, environmental and management variables and feeding variables). A combined logistic-regression analysis was performed on the significant variables identified from the three component models. In the combined model, only three variables were significant: the presence of dogs in a household (decreased odds of obesity), longer leg length and owners underestimating cats' body condition (both increased odds).     

Effects of deficit irrigation strategies on cluster microclimate for improving fruit composition of Moscatel field-grown grapevines

The grapevine plays a very important role in the economic, social and cultural sectors of many regions; however vineyards are often grown in regions under stressful conditions and thus they are vulnerable to climate change. The objective of this research was to investigate the effect of partial root-zone drying (PRD) irrigation on vine water relations, vegetative growth, plant microclimate, berry composition and yield components, compared to conventional deficit irrigation (DI, 50% ETc), full irrigation (FI, 100% of ETc) and non-irrigated vines (NI). The study was undertaken in mature ‘Moscatel’ grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.) grown in Pegões, South of Portugal. Compared to the other irrigated treatments, PRD vines showed a better microclimate at the cluster zone with higher incident photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD). Within the more open canopies of NI and PRD treatments, berry temperatures were higher than those of denser ones (DI and FI). Compared to the conventional irrigation technique the better microclimate observed in PRD vines was a consequence of a reduction in vine growth, where lower values of leaf layer number, leaf area, canopy wideness, water shoots and shoot weight were observed. In PRD vines we observed a tendency to a development of a deeper root system, while DI and FI showed a more homogeneous root distribution throughout the different soil layers. PRD showed an improvement in berry quality with higher values of flavour precursors, and total phenols concentration without any significant yield reduction compared to DI and FI.     

Ineffectiveness of pruning to control citrus huanglongbing caused by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Candidatus</Emphasis> Liberibacter americanus

The huanglongbing (HLB) disease of citrus trees, caused by Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus and Ca. Liberibacter americanus, was first reported in Brazil in March, 2004. The presence of the disease has caused serious concerns among growers. Pruning experiments were conducted to determine if removal of symptomatic branches or the entire canopy (decapitation) would eliminate infected tissues and save HLB-affected trees. Pruning was done in five blocks on a total of 592 3- to 16 year-old ‘Valência’, ‘Hamlin’ or ‘Pêra’ sweet orange trees showing no symptoms or with two levels of symptom severity. Ten decapitated trees per block were caged and all trees were treated with insecticides to control the psyllid vector, Diaphorina citri. Mottled leaves reappeared on most symptomatic (69.2%) as well on some asymptomatic (7.6%) pruned trees, regardless of age, variety, and pruning procedure. Presence of the pathogen (Ca. Liberibacter americanus) in all symptomatic trees was confirmed by PCR. In general, the greater the symptom severity before pruning the lower the percentage of trees that remained asymptomatic after pruning.     

Reducing elasmobranch bycatch: Laboratory investigation of rare earth metal and magnetic deterrents with spiny dogfish and Pacific halibut

Spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthius) comprises a significant unwanted bycatch on demersal longlines set for halibut and cod in shelf waters of the east and west coasts of North America. In this laboratory study, attacks on baits were tested in the presence of two different rare earth materials (neodymium–iron–boride magnets and cerium mischmetal) believed to deter elasmobranch catch. Experiments were made with spiny dogfish and with Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) in pairwise tests of the rare earth materials and inert metal controls. Dogfish attacked and consumed baits tested with cerium mischmetal at a lower frequency than controls. Times to attack the baits were significantly higher in the presence of mischmetal, as were numbers of approaches before first attack. The time differential between mischmetal and control treatments and the number of baits consumed converged with increasing food deprivation (1 h, 2 d, and 4 d), but treatment differences were always significant. Cerium mischmetal appeared to be irritating to dogfish and may disrupt their bait detection and orientation abilities. Magnets also appeared to irritate dogfish but provided no protection for baits in feeding trials. Pacific halibut showed no reaction whatsoever to the rare earth magnets or cerium mischmetal. Mischmetal, therefore, may be useful in reducing spiny dogfish bycatch in the halibut fishery. Disadvantages in using mischmetal in commercial operations are expense, hazardous nature, and relatively rapid hydrolysis in seawater.     

Sequential lesions of experimental bovine pneumonic pasteurellosis

A strain of Pasteurella haemolytica biotype A serotype 1, which had been isolated from a pathologically-confirmed outbreak of bovine pneumonic pasteurellosis, was used successfully to reproduce the disease in conventional calves. The development of the various pathological features was studied at regular intervals following infection. The acute inflammatory reaction which had developed by day 2 after initial infection was characterised by flooding of the alveoli by oedema and neutrophils together with a mild degree of bronchiolar epithelial necrosis. This progressed to an acute exudative fibrinous pneumonia with extensive involvement of the interlobular septa and often with pleurisy. Subsequently, these pulmonary lesions became walled off by fibrous tissue which became infiltrated by plasma cells and lymphocytes. At this stage organisms could be demonstrated only within these nodules in the lung tissue.     

Effects of dietary astaxanthin concentration and feeding period on the skin pigmentation of Australian snapper Pagrus auratus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)

A single‐factor experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary astaxanthin concentration on the skin colour of snapper. Snapper (mean weight=129 g) were held in white cages and fed one of seven dietary levels of unesterified astaxanthin (0, 13, 26, 39, 52, 65 or 78 mg astaxanthin kg^?1) for 63 days. Treatments comprised four replicate cages, each containing five fish. The skin colour of all fish was quantified using the CIE L^*, a^*, b^* colour scale after 21, 42 and 63 days. In addition, total carotenoid concentrations of the skin of two fish cage^?1 were determined after 63 days. Supplementing diets with astaxanthin strongly affected redness (a^*) and yellowness (b^*) values of the skin at all sampling times. After 21 days, the a^* values increased linearly as the dietary astaxanthin concentration was increased before a plateau was attained between 39 and 78 mg kg^?1. The b^* values similarly increased above basal levels in all astaxanthin diets. By 42 days, a^* and b^* values increased in magnitude while a plateau remained between 39 and 78 mg kg^?1. After 63 days, there were no further increases in measured colour values, suggesting that maximum pigmentation was imparted in the skin of snapper fed diets >39 mg kg^?1 after 42 days. Similarly, there were no differences in total carotenoid concentrations of the skin of snapper fed diets >39 mg kg^?1 after 63 days. The plateaus that occurred in a^* and b^* values, while still increasing in magnitude between 21 and 42 days, indicate that the rate of astaxanthin deposition in snapper is limited and astaxanthin in diets containing >39 mg astaxanthin kg^?1 is not efficiently utilized. Astaxanthin retention after 63 days was greatest from the 13 mg kg^?1 diet; however, skin pigmentation was not adequate. An astaxanthin concentration of 39 mg kg^?1 provided the second greatest retention in the skin while obtaining maximum pigmentation. To efficiently maximize skin pigmentation, snapper growers should commence feeding diets containing a minimum of 39 mg unesterified astaxanthin kg^?1 at least 42 days before sale.     

The receptivity of graft-polyacrolein on powdered beech wood (Fagus crenata) to hydroxylamine

Summary The receptivity of graft-polyacrolein on wood to hydroxylamine is discussed in terms of a geometric model for the voids and surfaces formed in wood by the swelling action of water. The receptivity of the carbonyl group of graft-polyacrolein varies inversely with the number of graft sites. This relationship is a consequence of decrease in the spacing between graft chains on the primary surface. The receptivity increases gradually with an increase in the amount of graft polymer, and this is a result of the swelling action of graft-polyacrolein which extends to the microscopically visible macropores of wood.     

温度对大叶桃花心木(Swietenia macrophylla King)幼苗叶片的光合影响

本文研究了大叶桃花心木（Swietenia macrophylla King）一年生幼苗在经过夜温处理后的光响应曲线和在饱和光强下的CO2反应曲线.结果表明:在大气CO2浓度下,叶片的最佳光合作用温度在25-31℃之间,而在饱和CO2浓度下为31-35℃.在25℃以下光合速率开始降低,主要是由于羧化效率的降低,而当温度超过31℃时,光合速率下降,是因为羧化效率的降低和呼吸速率的增加.CO2浓度对光合的促进作用在低温下受到抑制,这意味着未来在CO2浓度增高的情况下,高浓度的CO2对热带常绿植物光合的促进在冬天低温情况下表现不十分明显.图4参23.