Lupus-Type "Anticoagulant" in a Dog With Hemolysis and Thrombosis

A circulating anticoagulant was detected in a 2-year-old Chesapeake Bay Retriever with hemolytic anemia, nephrotic syndrome, thrombocytopenia, polyarthropathy, and pulmonary thromboembolism. A persistent prolongation of the activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) was detected, and it did not correct with repeated administration of fresh frozen plasma. The aPTT was still prolonged, with a 1:1 mixture of patient's plasma and normal dog plasma in vitro, suggesting the presence of a circulating inhibitor. Results of assays to characterize the inhibitor were compatible with those described for the lupus anticoagulant in human patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Paradoxically, patients having the lupus anticoagulant are at increased risk for thrombosis. Pulmonary thromboembolism has been described as a frequent complication of immune-mediated hemolytic anemia in the dog, and the presence of a circulating anticoagulant should be considered as a potential mechanism.     

A streak disease of pearl millet caused by a leafhopper-transmitted geminivirus

The cause of a streak disease of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), originating from Nigeria, has been attributed to a geminivirus belonging to the African streak virus cluster. A full-length, infectious clone of the virus was obtained which was transmissible by the vectorCicadulina mbila (Naudé). Analysis of the complete nucleotide sequence of the coat protein gene of this virus shows it to be most closely related to sugarcane streak virus. The possible evolutionary implications of this finding are discussed.     

PERINATAL FOAL MORTALITY ASSOCIATED WITH A HERPESVIRUS

An outbreak of perinatal foal mortality associated with a herpesvirus is described. Twenty two foals either were still-born, or died soon after birth, or were weak and soon developed severe respiratory signs, or were normal at birth and developed respiratory symptoms 18 to 24 hours later. Elevated temperatures, heart and respiratory rates were constant features. The animals were severely leucopaenic, and showed an absolute neutropaenia. At autopsy the lungs were enlarged, and showed varying degrees of aeration and moderate to severe oedema and congestion. Histopathology showed an acute focal necrotising bronchiolitis with the presence of intranuclear eosinophilic inclusion bodies. Herpesvirus was recovered from 9 foals in cell culture and identified by electron microscopy.     

THE EFFECTS OF PATIENT POSITIONING AND SLICE SELECTION ON CANINE ACETABULAR ANGLE ASSESSMENT WITH COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY

Acetabular angles (AAs) and dorsal acetabular rim angles acquired by computed tomographic (CT) imaging have been used to assess patient response to juvenile pubic symphysiodesis surgery. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of patient positioning and slice selection on these angles, and an attempt was made to devise a repeatable method of measuring these angles that would eliminate positioning effects. We found significant variation in AAs with small differences in pelvic tilt and slice selection. Dorsal acetabular rim angles were not affected. As a result of positioning differences from one CT study to the next, every attempt should be made to standardize pelvic tilt, or eliminate its effect on AAs by standardizing gantry angle in relation to an anatomic landmark that will not change over time. The floor of the sacral vertebral canal may be a reasonable landmark for this purpose and deserves further study.     

Effects of relative humidity, light intensity and photoperiod on the colony development of Erysiphe sp. on Rhododendron

Growth and reproduction by powdery mildew pathogens is generally inhibited by decreasing relative humidity. With Erysiphe sp. on Rhododendron cv. Elizabeth, the initial stages of colony development were adversely affected by reducing the relative humidity from 100% to 70 and 85%. No significant effects on secondary or tertiary hyphal development were detected. Light intensity and photoperiod both had considerable effect on the induced resistance response of the host. Over the initial 5 days of colonization there were no significant differences between any of the treatments. After 13 days, however, expansion of fungal colonies at 180 photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) was limited solely to the area initially infested by primary hyphae. By comparison, in colonies grown at 80 PAR regardless of day length, secondary and tertiary hyphae had extended beyond the area first colonized. These effects resulted in differing morphologies, small colonies of densely packed hyphae formed at 180 PAR compared with open spreading colonies at 80 PAR.     

Effect of parental origin on early life history traits of European eel

Establishment of European eel (Anguilla anguilla) hatchery production will rely on selectively bred individuals that produce progeny with the best traits in successive generations. As such, this study used a quantitative genetic breeding design, between four females and nine males (four wild‐caught and five cultured), to investigate the effect of paternal origin (wild‐caught vs. cultured) and quantify the relative importance of parental effects, including genetic compatibility, on early life history (ELH) performance traits (i.e. fertilization success, embryonic survival at 32 hr post‐fertilization, hatch success and larval deformities at 2 days post‐hatch) of European eel. Wild‐caught males had higher (56%) spermatocrit values than cultured males (45%), while fertilization success, embryonic survival, hatch success and larval deformities were not significantly impacted by paternal origin. This demonstrates that short‐term domestication of male eels does not negatively affect offspring quality and enables the consideration of cultured male broodstock in future breeding programmes. Moreover, paternity significantly explained 9.5% of the variability in embryonic survival, providing further evidence that paternal effects need to be taken into consideration in assisted reproduction protocols. Furthermore, maternity significantly explained 54.8% of the variation for fertilization success, 61.7% for embryonic survival, 88.1% for hatching success and 62.8% for larval deformities, validating that maternity is a major factor influencing these “critical” ELH traits. At last, the parental interaction explained 12.8% of the variation for fertilization success, 8.3% for embryonic survival, 4.5% for hatch success and 20.5% for larval deformities. Thus, we conclude that eggs of one female can develop more successfully when crossed with a compatible male, highlighting the importance of mate choice for successful propagation of high‐quality offspring. Together, this knowledge will improve early offspring performance, leading to future breeding programmes for this critically endangered and economically important species.