Long‐Term Totally Implantable Venous Access Ports in Dogs and Cats Receiving Chemotherapy

Introduction:  We evaluated the totally implantable subcutaneous vascular access port (VAP) in 16 cancer patients undergoing intermittent chemotherapy for more than 30 months.
Methods:  Ports were surgically placed (The CompanionPort, Norfolk Vet Products, Skokie, Illinois 60076) in the jugular vein of 12 dogs and 4 cats between 1/2002 and 7/2004. Body weight determined polyurethane catheter size (4, 5, 7 fr.). The polysulfone port, surrounded by titanium, was anchored to subcutaneous tissue in the dorsolateral neck and confirmed with C‐arm fluoroscopy. All blood samples were obtained via VAP. Nine anticancer agents, other medications, crystalloids/colloids, and whole blood were administered. Ports were flushed every 4–5 weeks with heparinized saline solution (100 IU/ml). Removed catheters were submitted for bacteriology.
Results:  Seven of 16 animals are still alive. VAP were used for 1.5 to more than 30 months with 4–60 injections/port. Catheter tips were visualized from the left atrium distally into the caudal vena cava. Adverse events included post‐operative subcutaneous bruising and/or hematoma (4/16), difficult aspiration (4/16), catheter malposition (1/16), positional flushing (1/16), and occlusion requiring replacement (1/16). No thrombus formation or extravasation was evident. Bacterial colonization without signs of septicemia was observed in 3/4 catheters.
Conclusions:  VAP are an effective way of achieving long‐term venous access in the dog and cat. Complications are typically minor and infrequent.     

Epidemiological Study of Non‐contagious Intramammary Infections in Nine Commercial Dairy Herds following a Staphylococcus aureus Control Programme

Changes in prevalence in intramammary infection, by pathogen type, in herds applying a stringent contagious mastitis control programme was studied. Enrollment of 1651 lactating cows and collection of milk samples was made in this ancillary study to a cohort study of the dynamics of mastitis prevalence after adoption of a strict contagious mastitis control programme that targeted the elimination of mastitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus. Nine commercial dairies in Italy were used. Aseptic collection of milk samples from all lactating cows was performed at the time of enrollment, from all cows within 7–14 days of entering the lactating herd after the date of enrollment, and from all lactating cows at 2, 4, 7, 10 and 14 months after the date of enrollment. Prevalence of intramammary infection by pathogen type was determined from culture of milk samples. Application of the strict contagious mastitis programme did not lead to an increased risk of non‐contagious mastitis. The risk of coliform, environmental streptococcal and coagulase‐negative staphylococcal intramammary infections decreased after adoption of the programme. The data reported herein indicate that the overall risk for any intramammary infections decreases with adoption of a strict contagious mastitis programme, and that such a programme therefore does not necessarily lead to an increase in environmental mastitis.     

Retrospective analysis of the influence of environmental drivers on commercial stocks and fishing opportunities in the Irish Sea

Irish Sea fisheries have undergone considerable change in recent years following the decline of commercially important finfish stocks and their slow response to management's recovery plans. In 2015, the fishing industry called for a holistic exploration into the impact of environmental change and food web effects to identify the drivers underpinning stock dynamics. In this study, we identify correlations between large‐scale climatic indicators, temperature, primary and secondary productivity, and fish recruitment in the Irish Sea and incorporate them into an Ecopath with Ecosim food web model co‐created by scientists and fishers. Negative correlations were found between the North Atlantic Oscillation winter index (NAOw) and large zooplankton abundance and between the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and the recruitment of cod (Gadus morhua) and whiting (Merlangius merlangus). Using correlation analyses to direct the addition of environmental drivers to the Irish Sea ecosystem model improved the models fit against observed biomass and catch data and revealed the indirect impacts of environmental change as mitigated through trophic interactions. Model simulations suggest that historic environmental change suppressed the overall production of commercial finfish, limiting opportunities for the fishing industry, whilst also dampening the rate of stock recovery despite marked reductions in fishing effort. These results suggest that failure to account for ecosystem information may lead to misconceived expectations and flawed fisheries management; therefore, there is a need to operationalize ecosystem information through management procedures to support fisheries advice.     

The development ofRhizoctonia solani Kühn on the underground parts of the potato plant

Summary The development of the sclerotia (black scurf) ofRhizoctonia solani Kühn, on potato tubers is related to tuber maturity and the health of the root and stolon systems. Few sclerotia formed on tubers from untreated plants until the onset of plant senescence when, as the tubers matured and roots and stolons decayed, sclerotia developed both rapidly and extensively. Application of acid to haulms in early August led to an increase in black scurf on tubers, initially related to the increase in root and stolon infection, but especially after later harvests, to the degree of tuber maturity. Later in August, scurf increases were paralleled both by tuber changes and root and stolon infection. My mid-September, when acid application was to plants becoming senescent, there was little difference between patterns of infection found on treated and check plants.

---

Zusammenfassung In diesem Artikel wird der Fortlauf der Infektion durchRhizoctonia solani Kühn an Wurzeln. Stolonen und Knollen beschrieben. Ferner wird der Einfluss der Krautvernichtung und des zeitlichen Abstandes zwischen ihr und der Ernte auf diese Infektion untersucht. Pflanzknollen der Sorte Majestic wurden am Kronenende direkt vor dem Auspflanzen mit vier Isolaten vonR. solani (aus Sklerotien von Kartoffelknollen) inokuliert. An den ausgelesenen Knollen war keine Pockenkrankheit sichtbar. Das Kraut wurde an einem von fünf Daten gespritzt resp, nicht gespritzt und die Pflanzen nachher in Intervallen geerntet (Tabelle 1). Wurzel- und Stolonenteile wurden gewaschen, dann auf Leitungswasseragar, das 50 mg Neomycin und Chloramphenicol proliter enthielt, gebracht und vor der Beurteilung auf Rhizoctoniabefall w?hrend 48 Stunden bei Zimmertemperatur bebrütet. Die Pflanzknollen wurden gem?ss Tabelle 2 auf Sklerotienbefall beurteilt. Zur Reifesch?tzung wurde jede Knolle der L?nge nach geschnitten und der Prozentsatz des Periderms notiert, das mit einer Pinzette entfernt werden konnte, wenn man am Kronenende begann. Die Kontrollpflanzen hatten bis Mitte September bei nur beschr?nkter lokaler Infektion durchR. solani (Abb. 1 und 2) relativ gesunde Untergrundsysteme. In den folgenden drei Wochen reiften die Knollenperiderme. Wurzeln und Stolonen wurden weitgehend vom Pilz besiedelt. Folglich ?nderte sich die N?hrstoffversorgung des Pilzes, eine Situation, von der man weiss, dass sie die Entwicklung zur Sklerotienbildung f?rdert. Mitte September widerspiegelt sich die ?nderung in der Ern?hrung in einem Ansteigen der Anzahl von Knollen mit Pocken und in deren Ausdehnung auf den Knollen (Abb. 3 und 4). Krautvernichtung mit S?ure Anfang August führte zu einer Zunahme der Pockenkrankheit, was anf?nglich auf eine Zunahme der Wurzel- und Stoloneninfektion, sp?ter aber auf den Grad der Knollenreife (Abb. 5) in Beziehung stand.: Sp?ter, im August, wurden die Krankheitszunahmen mit Knollen?nderungen wie mit Wurzel- und Stoloneninfektion gleichlaufend. Die S?ureanwendung Mitte September geschah an alternden Pflanzen und ?nderte das an Kontrollpflanzen beobachtete Infektionsbild wenig.

---

Résumé Cet article décrit l'évolution de la contamination, parRhizoctonia solani Kühn, des racines, stolons et tubercules de pommes de terre, et examine l'influence du défanage et de l'intervalle défanagerécolté sur une telle contamination. Des tubercules de la variété Majestic n'étant pas visuellement porteurs de sclérotes ont été inoculés à la couronne, juste avant la plantation, avec 4 souches deR. solani provenant de sclérotes sur tubercules de pommes de terre. Les tiges ont été ou n'ont pas été défanées à 5 dates différentes et on a récolté ensuite les tubercules à intervalles réguliers (tableau 1). Les fragments de racines et de stolons ont été lavés, placés sur une gelose à l'eau du robinet, contenant 50 mg de néomycin et de chloramphénicol par litre, et mis à incuber 48 heures à température ambiante avant notation de l'infection parR. solani. La notation des sclérotes sur tuberculesfils a été effectuée comme cela est indiqué dans le tableau 2. Comme estimation de la ‘maturité’ chaque tubercule a été coupé selon l'axe longitudinal et on a noté le pourcentage de périderme, en partant de la couronne qui a pu être enlevé avec des pinces. Les plantes témoins ont eu leurs systémes souterrains relativement sains jusqu'à la mi-septembre avec des contaminations locales parR. solani, limitées (figures 1 & 2). Les trois semaines suivantes, la maturité des tubercules a augmenté et les racines et stolons ont été fortement contaminés par le champignon. Le support nutritionnel du champignon a donc été altéré, cet élément connu permet de stimuler la maturité des sclérotes en cours de formation. Vers la mi-septembre, des changements nutritionnels se sont soldés par une augmentation du nombre de tubercules porteurs de sclérotes et par l'extension de ces derniers (figures 3 & 4). Le défanage aux colorants nitrés début ao?t a entrainé une augmentation des sclérotes, qui s'était manifestée initialement par une augmentation de la contamination des racines et stolons, et plus tard au niveau du degré de maturité du tubercule (figure 5). Plus tardivement en ao?t, l'augmentation des sclérotes allait de paire avec le changement de tubercule et avec la contamination des racines et stolons. Vers la mi-septembre, le défanage sur des plantes proches de la senescence a eu un léger effet sur la contamination des plantes témoins.