Thallium toxicosis in a Pit Bull Terrier.

Thallotoxicosis is described in an adult Pit Bull Terrier. The dog exhibited anorexia, emesis, weakness, conscious proprioceptive deficits, and a hemorrhagic diarrhea before death. A severe, acute necrotizing enterocolitis was evident upon histological examination, as was a multifocal to coalescing pulmonary edema. Liver and kidney thallium concentrations were 18 and 26 ppm, respectively. The source of the thallium was determined to be thallium sulfate obtained by a person with the intent to harm family members. Although thallium has not been produced in the United States for 20 years, this report demonstrates the need to consider thallium toxicosis as a differential diagnosis for animals presenting with vague and mixed gastrointestinal and neurological signs.     

Novel iridovirus in a nautilus (Nautilus spp.).

Intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies suggestive of iridovirus infection were observed in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues from a nautilus (Nautilus spp.) that died without premonitory signs. Transmission electron microscopy revealed enveloped, hexagonal, viral particles that measured approximately 176 nm in diameter. Virions contained a dense central core and morphology typical of iridoviruses. Extracted DNA was amplified using primers homologous to conserved iridovirus sequences. The amplicons were cloned, sequenced, and determined to be approximately 60% similar to reported amphibian iridovirus sequences. A polymerase chain reaction-generated digoxigenin probe was used to detect viral nucleic acid in tissue sections by DNA in situ hybridization and high-affinity cytochemistry. The detected nucleic acid corresponded to the inclusion bodies observed microscopically. This represents a novel iridovirus of mollusks.     

Evaluation of hematological, chemistry and blood gas values in dogs receiving hemoglobin glutamer-200

Objective: To evaluate the degree of interference that administration of hemoglobin glutamer‐200 (Hb‐200) caused for complete blood counts (CBC), biochemical profiles, cooximetry, and point of care (POC) testing in healthy dogs. Design: Prospective, longitudinal experimental study. Setting: Veterinary medical teaching hospital. Animals: Six purpose‐bred research hounds. Interventions: Dogs were administered FDA‐approved hemoglobin‐based oxygen carrier (Hb‐200) intravenously at 7.5 mL/kg over 2 hours. Arterial and venous blood samples were obtained before administration (Time 0) and at 3, 8, 14, 26, 50, 74, 98, 122, and 146 hours following administration. Measurements and main results: No adverse health effects were observed in any of the dogs. Characteristic mucous membrane, serum, and plasma color changes occurred following administration of Hb‐200. Laboratory values that were significantly lower than baseline included packed cell volume, red blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, creatinine, cholesterol, alanine aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase. Laboratory values that were significantly greater than baseline included mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, arterial pH, arterial total carbon dioxide, arterial bicarbonate, amylase, albumin, total protein, globulin, calcium, phosphorous, total bilirubin, carboxyhemoglobin, and methemoglobin. All values returned to baseline by the completion of the 146‐hour monitoring period. Conclusions: In normal dogs, administration of Hb‐200 resulted in statistically significant changes in multiple laboratory parameters; however, these changes are not likely to be clinically significant in the care of critically ill dogs.     

Simulating fire frequency and urban growth in southern California coastal shrublands,USA

Fire is an important natural disturbance in the Mediterranean-climate coastal shrublands of southern California. However, anthropogenic ignitions have increased fire frequency to the point that it threatens the persistence of some shrub species and favors the expansion of exotic annual grasses. Because human settlement is a primary driver of increased ignitions, we integrated a landscape model of disturbance and succession (LANDIS) with an urban growth model (UGM) to simulate the combined effects of urban development and high fire frequency on the distribution of coastal shrublands. We tested whether urban development would contribute to an expansion of the wildland-urban interface (WUI) and/or change in average fire return intervals and compared the relative impacts of direct habitat loss and altered fire regimes on functional vegetation types. We also evaluated two methods of integrating the simulation models. The development pattern predicted by the UGM was predominantly aggregated, which minimized the expansion of the WUI and increase in fire frequency, suggesting that fire risk may be higher at intermediate levels of urbanization due to the spatial arrangement of ignition sources and fuel. The comparison of model coupling methods illustrated how cumulative effects of repeated fires may occur gradually as urban development expands across the landscape. Coastal sage scrub species and resprouting chaparral were more susceptible to direct habitat loss, but increased fire frequency was more of a concern to obligate seeder species that germinate from a persistent seed bank. Simulating different scenarios of fire frequency and urban growth within one modeling framework can help managers locate areas of highest risk and determine which vegetation types are most vulnerable to direct habitat loss, altered fire regimes, or both.     

喂料后称重肉种母鸡

在美国,大多数家禽生产商采取隔日饲喂方案来控制种用小母鸡体重。在当前鸡舍条件下,隔日饲喂方案是给所有鸡均匀分配饲料最好的方法,以保证鸡群均匀度。但是,嗉囊或者消化道内有食物会使鸡只的实际体重增加而且随着时间延长消化道内饲料逐渐减少。因此,后备种鸡一般在未采食的那天进行称重以规范数据,将体重与嗉囊或者消化道内有无饲料分开。然后每周在固定时间称重。这样称得的体重称为“空腹”体重。     

Suggested guidelines for immunohistochemical techniques in veterinary diagnostic laboratories

This document is the consensus of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) Subcommittee on Standardization of Immunohistochemistry on a set of guidelines for immunohistochemistry (IHC) testing in veterinary laboratories. Immunohistochemistry is a powerful ancillary methodology frequently used in many veterinary laboratories for both diagnostic and research purposes. However, neither standardization nor validation of IHC tests has been completely achieved in veterinary medicine. This document addresses both issues. Topics covered include antibody selection, fixation, antigen retrieval, antibody incubation, antibody dilutions, tissue and reagent controls, buffers, and detection systems. The validation of an IHC test is addressed for both infectious diseases and neoplastic processes. In addition, storage and handling of IHC reagents, interpretation, quality control and assurance, and troubleshooting are also discussed. Proper standardization and validation of IHC will improve the quality of diagnostics in veterinary laboratories.     

Relationships between chemical structure and phloem mobility in Ricinus communis var. Gibsonii with reference to a series of ω-(1-naphthoxy)alkanoic acids

The phloem translocation of an homologous series of ω-(1-[1-⁴C]naphthoxy)alkanoic acids relative to that of applied [6,6′-³H] sucrose was measured in Ricinus communis var. Gibsonii. Relative phloem mobility decreased with increase in octan-l-ol/water partition coefficients. However, non-ionisable compounds with partition coefficients similar to the readily translocated acids were not phloem mobile. These results are explained in terms of an ion-trap mechanism subject to limitations on the partition coefficients of the acids and possibly their anions.     

Determination of phosphine residues in fumigated cereals and other foodstuffs

An improved method for the determination of phosphine residues in a range of stored foodstuffs with a limit of detection better than 0.1, μg kg^?1 is described. The method has been used to obtain data on the amount of phosphine which remains in these commodities after treatment at typical dosage levels and on its persistence during storage. Results show that in cereal grains and nuts residues fall quickly to below internationally recommended levels although trace amounts of phosphine could be detected several months after treatment in all commodities examined.     

Analysis of soil wetting and solute transport in subsurface trickle irrigation

The increased use of trickle or drip irrigation is seen as one way of helping to improve the sustainability of irrigation systems around the world. However, soil water and solute transport properties and soil profile characteristics are often not adequately incorporated in the design and management of trickle systems. In this paper, we describe results of a simulation study designed to highlight the impacts of soil properties on water and solute transport from buried trickle emitters. The analysis addresses the influence of soil hydraulic properties, soil layering, trickle discharge rate, irrigation frequency, and timing of nutrient application on wetting patterns and solute distribution. We show that (1) trickle irrigation can improve plant water availability in medium and low permeability fine-textured soils, providing that design and management are adapted to account for their soil hydraulic properties, (2) in highly permeable coarse-textured soils, water and nutrients move quickly downwards from the emitter, making it difficult to wet the near surface zone if emitters are buried too deep, and (3) changing the fertigation strategy for highly permeable coarse-textured soils to apply nutrients at the beginning of an irrigation cycle can maintain larger amounts of nutrient near to and above the emitter, thereby making them less susceptible to leaching losses. The results demonstrate the need to account for differences in soil hydraulic properties and solute transport when designing irrigation and fertigation management strategies. Failure to do this will result in inefficient systems and lost opportunities for reducing the negative environmental impacts of irrigation.Communicated by J. Annandale