MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING OF THE BRAIN OF NORMAL NEONATAL FOALS

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed on gthe brain of 5 normal, anesthetized, neonatal (age 3-to-6 days) Quarter Horse foals. The objectives of the study were to develop a technique for imaging the brain of neonatal foals, and to ascertain their normal brain anatomy. Interavenous propofol was administered for induction and maintenance of general anesthesia. Using spin echo MR techniques, T1 weighted sagittal and transverse views, and spin density and T2 weighted transverse views were successfully made of each foal. MR images provided excellent visualization of many anatomic struictures of the brain and head. MRI of the bgrain is feasible for selected neonantal equine patients.     

Local embryonic matrices determine region-specific phenotypes in neural crest cells

Membrane microcarriers were used to determine the ability of regional extracellular matrices to direct neural crest cell differentiation in culture. Neural crest cells from the axolotl embryo responded to extracellular matrix material explanted from the subepidermal migratory pathway by dispersing and by differentiating into pigment cells. In contrast, matrix material from the presumptive site of dorsal root ganglia stimulated pronounced cell-cell association and neurotypic expression. Cell line segregation during ontogeny of the neural crest that leads to diversification into pigment cells of the skin or into elements of the peripheral nervous system appears to be controlled in part by local cell-matrix interactions.     

Massive pulmonary thromboembolism in six horses

This report involves 6 cases in which medical records and post mortem findings were reviewed leading to the diagnosis of massive pulmonary thromboembolism (MPTE). All horses were mature and MPTE has not been recognised previously as a sequel to generalised systemic illness in mature horses. The clinical data and pathological findings of the cases are reported and the authors conclude that MPTE is an uncommon but important complication of medical and surgical disorders in mature horses. In 3 of the cases, the condition was nonfatal suggesting that some horses having developed PTE survive and the condition may not be recognised in such cases. The incidence of the condition might be higher than supposed.     

A Block Vertebra in an Equine Patient

A yearling Standardbred colt was presented to The Ohio State University Teaching Hospital with a primary complaint of ataxia. The diagnostic work-up identified spinal canal thinning at C4–C5 as well as a clinically insignificant block vertebra at C2–C3. The term block vertebra refers to a disturbance in the normal embryologic formation of the vertebral column, which results in the bony fusion of two vertebrae. It is the intent of this case study to document the unusual condition of a block vertebra in a horse. Key Words: Equine, Vertebra, Block vertebra     

The UK Turfgrass Market: An Overview of Customer Needs and Market Opportunities—an Agronomist's Perception

This paper discusses the experience of turfgrass advisory agronomists and research workers at the Sports Turf Research Institute—a long-established and independent organisation devoted purely to research and advice pertaining to turfgrasses and their culture. In the assessment of customer needs and market opportunities, strenuous efforts have been made to establish recent and current trends relating to pesticide sales, either from manufacturers and/or distributors. Because manufacturers were reluctant to divulge information about products, and distributors apparently had no access to such information, the only available data on pesticide use and sales are in the British Agrochemicals Association via their 1995 Annual Review and Handbook.     

New data and phylogenetic placement of the enigmatic Old World lupin: <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lupinus mariae</Emphasis>-<Emphasis Type="Italic">josephi</Emphasis> H. Pascual

Lupinus mariae-josephi H. Pascual is an intriguing lupin species recently discovered in the Mediterranean region. New data from seed coat micromorphology, cytology, and DNA sequences were generated in order to extend our knowledge on this species and to examine its evolutionary relationships within Lupinus. This species shows morphological similarities with the Mediterranean smooth seeded species of sections Micranthi and Lutei. It shares the same chromosome number 2n = 52 with the latter Old World taxa, but also with unifoliolate lupins from Florida. Besides, L. mariae-josephi exhibited a seed coat micromorphology “intermediate” between the rough and the smooth seed coat types. Phylogenetic analyses using ITS and ETS nrDNA spacers, and the LEGCYC1A locus supported L. mariae-josephi as a distinct Old World line, placed out of the Scabrispermae, but without clear placement amongst the Mediterranean smooth-seeded lineages. Unexpectedly, LEGCYC1A data revealed phylogenetic affinities between L. mariae-josephi and L. villosus, a unifoliolate North American lupin that might have experienced a reticulated evolutionary process. All together, the data underline the phylogenetic interest of L. mariae-josephi in Lupinus and the need of additional investigations in order to definitely elucidate its enigmatic status. Moreover, as L. mariae-josephi is one of the rare Old World lupins strictly restricted to poor basic soils, it opens new perspectives of ecological and agronomic interests in the wide areas of poor calcareous soils in the Mediterranean region.