Osteosarcoma of the distal femur, combined with multiple bone infarcts: the case of a 10-year-old poodle

A ten-year-old female poodle was presented for left hindlimb lameness. Radiographically, irregular intramedullary densities of long bones (bone infarcts) and a lytic lesion in the left distal femur were detected. Two years after the first examination, the lesions in the distal femur were definitely identified as osteosarcoma and the dog was euthanized. Pathological and histological changes of the bone infarcts as well as of the osteosarcoma are described. Regarding bibliographical data, occurrence and aetiopathogenesis of osteosarcoma associated with multifocal bone infarction in man and dog are discussed.     

甘薯潜隐病毒莲藕分离物辅助成分-蛋白酶基因原核表达及抗血清制备

根据已报道的甘薯潜隐病毒莲藕分离物sweet potato latent virus-lotus(SPLV-lotus)核苷酸序列设计引物,采用RT-PCR从感病莲藕样品中扩增获得SPLV-lotus辅助成分-蛋白酶基因(HC-Pro),大小为1 375 bp。通过序列测定和分析后,将其克隆到原核表达载体pGEX4T-1,转化大肠杆菌Rosetta(DE3),经IPTG诱导并纯化获得大小为74 kD的融合蛋白pGEX4T-1-HC-ProSPLV-lotus。SDS-PAGE结果显示,融合蛋白获得过量表达。以纯化蛋白为抗原免疫新西兰大白兔制备抗血清,采用ELISA和Western blot对抗血清效价和特异性进行检测,当HC-Pro抗血清稀释比为1∶256 000时,ELISA显色后OD450读数仍高于0.6,表明所制备抗血清合格;Western blot结果显示,在感染SPLV-lotus植株样品中仍能检测到单一目的条带。这些结果表明,制备的抗血清效价合格且可用于SPLV-lotus的特异性检测。     

ENDOSCOPIC ULTRASOUND INSTRUMENTATION, APPLICATIONS IN HUMANS, AND POTENTIAL VETERINARY APPLICATIONS

Endoluminal scanning under endoscopic guidance, or endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS), has become the most significant advance for imaging the gastrointestinal (GI) tract wall and contiguous organs in the past 20 years. It was originally designed to overcome the limitations in humans to imaging the abdominal organs transabdominally, such as large penetration depths and GI air. This imaging modality provides detailed images of pathological processes both within and outside of the GI wall since a high-frequency transducer can be brought into close proximity with the target regions. It has found most success in humans for the staging of lung, gastric, and esophageal cancer, the detection of both lymphatic and hepatic metastases, and diagnosis of pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer, as well as achieving an important role in interventional and therapeutic procedures. The EUS examination can be performed to examine both the thorax and abdomen in animals when both conventional transthoracic or transabdominal ultrasound are inadequate due to intervening air, bone, large penetration depths, or obesity. The echoendoscope is similar to a conventional endoscope but has an ultrasound transducer at its tip. Both radial and linear multifrequency scanners are available. Linear scanners allow fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of the bowel wall or extraluminal structures. Transducer coupling is either by direct mucosal contact or by inflation of a water-filled balloon surrounding the transducer. Current thoracic applications for EUS in veterinary medicine include examination of the mediastinum, bronchial lymph nodes, esophagus, and pulmonary lesions as well as FNA of pulmonary masses. Abdominal applications include examination of both pancreatic limbs and the liver, including portosystemic shunts, detection of lymphadenomegaly, and examination of the gastric wall, duodenum, and jejunum. Other potential applications in dogs and cats include tumor staging and intrapelvic ultrasound.     

覆盖紫花苜蓿对采煤沉陷区植物生长和土壤化学生物性状的影响

以神东矿区采煤沉陷地种植的复垦植物(野樱桃、文冠果、欧李和山杏)为试材,采用野外原位监测方法,研究覆盖紫花苜蓿和未覆盖处理(对照,CK)对植物生长及土壤化学和生物性状的影响。结果表明:覆盖紫花苜蓿处理的野樱桃、文冠果、欧李和山杏苗木地上部干质量比未覆盖处理显著增加31.7%~54.6%,根干质量增加25.6%~41.0%;同样地,植物成活率和叶色值分别增加到85%和32.0以上,显著高于对照;覆盖处理的土壤碱解氮、有机质、速效磷、速效钾含量增幅较对照分别达到12.5%~17.9%、14.0%~17.8%、14.0%~23.2%、13.6%~28.4%,差异显著;土壤酸性磷酸酶、蔗糖酶、脲酶和硝酸还原酶活性分别比对照显著提高36.4%~41.6%、21.8%~51.2%、33.6%~44.7%、20.5%~39.9%。因此,覆盖紫花苜蓿有利于改善神东采煤沉陷区复垦植物生长、提高土壤化学和生物学性状水平,为矿区生态恢复提供依据。     

ULTRASONOGRAPHIC DETECTION OF ADRENAL GLAND TUMOR AND URETEROLITHIASIS IN A GUINEA PIG

A 5-year-old guinea pig was presented to the University of Berne Small Animal Radiology Department for an ultrasound examination of the abdomen to confirm a suspected diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome. The patient had bilateral alopecia, was apathic and obese. Ultrasonographically, a tumor of the left adrenal gland, obstruction of the left ureter by an ureterolith, as well as hydronephrosis of the left kidney were detected. During surgery to relieve the ureteral obstruction the adrenal gland tumor was removed. The guinea pig died post-operatively due to blood loss. The left adrenal gland tumor was found histopathologically to be an adenoma and the right adrenal gland also had multiple small adenomas, but grossly appeared normal. The ureterolith was analyzed and found by x-ray diffraction to consist of calcium carbonate.     

Comparative evaluation of six different body regions of the dog using analog and digital radiography

In this study the quality of digital and analog radiography in dogs was compared. For this purpose, three conventional radiographs (varying in exposure) and three digital radiographs (varying in MUSI-contrast [MUSI = MUlti Scale Image Contrast], the main post-processing parameter) of six different body regions of the dog were evaluated (thorax, abdomen, skull, femur, hip joints, elbow). The quality of the radiographs was evaluated by eight veterinary specialists familiar with radiographic images using a questionnaire based on details of each body region significant in obtaining a radiographic diagnosis. In the first part of the study the overall quality of the radiographs was evaluated. Within one region, 89.5% (43/48) chose a digital radiograph as the best image. Divided into analog and digital groups, the digital image with the highest MUSI-contrast was most often considered the best, while the analog image considered the best varied between the one with the medium and the one with the longest exposure time. In the second part of the study, each image was rated for the visibility of specific, diagnostically important details. After summarisation of the scores for each criterion, divided into analog and digital imaging, the digital images were rated considerably superior to conventional images. The results of image comparison revealed that digital radiographs showed better image detail than radiographs taken with the analog technique in all six areas of the body.