Canine lymphoproliferative disease characterized by lymphocytosis: immunophenotypic markers of prognosis

BACKGROUND: Canine lymphoproliferative disease often presents with lymphocytosis and is immunophenotypically diverse. HYPOTHESIS: Immunophenotype predicts prognosis in canine lymphoproliferative disorders involving circulating lymphocytosis. ANIMALS: Dogs that had peripheral blood evaluation performed by flow cytometry by the Clinical Immunology Service at Colorado State University between 2003 and 2005. METHODS: Outcome data regarding treatment and survival were sought on patients with lymphocytosis comprising a single lymphocyte subset. Ninety-six patients that met the inclusion criteria had sufficient follow-up information to be included in the study. RESULTS: Four main phenotypic classifications were found: CD8+ T-cell, CD21+ B-cell, CD4-8-5+ (aberrant T-cell phenotype), and CD34+ (undifferentiated progenitor). Expression of CD34 predicted poor outcome with median survival of 16 days (P < .0001) compared with other phenotypes. Within the CD8+ phenotype, dogs presenting with a lymphocytosis >30,000 lymphocytes/muL had significantly shorter median survival (131 days) than those presenting with <30,000 lymphocytes/muL (1098 days, P < .0008). Within the T-cell leukemias, there was no difference in outcome between dogs with CD4-8-5+ leukemia and dogs with the CD8+ T-cell phenotype nor was the loss of expression of the pan-leukocyte marker CD45 associated with decreased survival time. A CD21+ lymphocytosis composed of large cells was associated with shorter survival time (129 days) than those with smaller circulating cells (median survival not reached, P < .01). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Immunophenotyping provides an objective method for determining prognosis in lymphoproliferative disorders characterized by lymphocytosis.     

Gross and histologic evidence of sharp and blunt trauma in North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) killed by vessels.

Vessel-whale collision events represented the ultimate cause of death for 21 (52.5%) of the 40 North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) necropsied between 1970 and December 2006. Injuries seen in vessel-struck whales fall into two distinct categories: 1) sharp trauma, often resulting from contact with the propeller, and 2) blunt trauma, presumably resulting from contact with a vessel's hull. This study analyzes four trauma cases that resulted from vessel-whale collisions, which together provide a framework for a more critical understanding of lethal blunt and sharp trauma resulting from vessel collisions with right whales. In case no. 1, contact with a propeller resulted in three deep lacerations. The animal survived acute trauma only to succumb nearly 14 years later when the lesions reopened and became infected. In case no. 2, anecdotal reports linked the laceration of large arteries of the peduncle and histologic evidence of perimortem trauma at a bone fracture site to vessel-whale collision trauma. Case no. 3 had a laceration of the oral rete and a fracture of the rostrum. Both of the areas displayed histologic evidence of perimortem blunt trauma. Finally, in case no. 4, an antemortem mandibular fracture, two additional skull fractures, and widespread hemorrhage were consistent with severe blunt trauma. Evidence from each case, including the timing of trauma relative to the time of death and identifying characteristics of both trauma types, are presented. Before this study, no detailed comparative analysis of trauma pathology that resulted from lethal interactions between vessels and right whales had been conducted. This study demonstrates the importance of detailed gross and histologic examination in determining the significance and timing of traumatic events. This work represents a new paradigm for the differential diagnosis of lethal sharp and blunt trauma in right whales hit by ships and will enhance the present understanding of the impact of anthropogenic mortality on this critically endangered species.     

Use of extensible internal device in the femur of young dogs.

An extensible internal device (EID) was developed to preserve growth plate during the treatment of fracture complications or segmental bone loss from tumour resection in children. Since this type of extensible, transphyseal, internal fixation device has only been used in a few paediatric cases; the aim of this study was to evaluate an in vivo canine study, a surgical application of this device, and its interference with longitudinal growth of the non-fractured distal femur. Ten clinically healthy two- to three-month-old poodles weighing 1.5-2.3 kg were used. Following a medial approach to the right distal femur, one extremity of the EID, similar to a T-plate, was fixed in the femoral condyle with two cortical screws placed below the growth plate. The other extremity, consisting of an adaptable brim with two screw holes and a plate guide, was fixed in the third distal of the femoral diaphysis with two cortical screws. The EID was removed 180 days after application. All of the dogs demonstrated full weight-bearing after surgery. The values of thigh and stifle circumferences, and stifle joint motion range did not show any difference between operated and control hindlimbs. The plate slid in the device according to longitudinal bone growth, in all but one dog. In this dog, a 10.5% shortening of the femoral shaft was observed due to a lack of EID sliding. The other dogs had the same longitudinal lengths in both femurs. The EID permits longitudinal bone growth without blocking the distal femur growth plate if appropriately placed.     

A formal method of determining the dietary amino acid requirements of laying‐type pullets during their growing period

1. The amino acid requirements of laying type pullets during the growing period can be estimated by measuring the growth of different components of the body and making use of nutritional constants that define the amount of each amino acid that is required for the production of the tissues being formed.

2. In this experiment, carcase analyses of each of three breeds of pullets were conducted at weekly intervals throughout the growth of the pullets, to 18 weeks of age. Measurements were made of body weight, gut‐fill and feather weight, and chemical analyses consisted of water, protein, lipid and ash measurements of both the body and the feathers. Each age group comprised 10 birds of each breed.

3. Gompertz functions accurately estimated the growth of both body protein and feather protein, to 18 weeks of age, from which the rate of growth of these two components of the body could be estimated. The mature weight of pullets was overestimated by the Gompertz growth curve, which may indicate that a pullet ceases to increase in body protein content once sexual maturity has been reached.

4. Using allometric relationships between the chemical components of the body and of feathers, all the components of growth could be estimated from the growth of body protein and feather protein. These components were then added together to determine the growth rate of the body as a whole.

5. The daily amino acid requirements for 4 functions were calculated, namely, those for the maintenance of body protein and feather protein, and for the gain in body protein and feather protein. These requirements were then summed to determine the requirement of pullets on each day of the growing period.

6. Using the ‘effective energy’ system, the amount of energy required by these pullets was calculated for each day of the growing period, from which the desired daily food intake of the pullets could be predicted. By dividing the amino acid requirement by this daily food intake it was possible to determine the concentration of amino acids that would be needed in the diet in order to meet the requirements of a pullet.

7. The results indicate that the ratio between the requirement for lysine and for methionine and cysteine changes dramatically during the growing period, negating the concept of a fixed ratio between all the amino acids during growth.

8. The above process is the first step in determining the optimal feeding programme for a population of pullets of a given genotype. The constraining effects, of the diet being offered and of the environment in which the pullets are housed, on the food intake and growth rate of each pullet have to be estimated, and such a theory can then be expanded to include all the individuals in the population. Only by the use: of simulation models can all these constraining effects be considered simultaneously.     

Two cases of hereditary quadriplegia and amblyopia in a litter of Irish setters

Two, one-month-old male Irish setters from the same litter showed incoordination, rotary nystagmus and motor and visual impairment. No abnormalities were found in either the blood, urine or cerebrospinal fluid. Radiographs of the head, chest and abdomen were normal. Histopathology revealed degeneration and necrosis of the granular layer and Purkinje cells of the cerebellar cortex. On electron microscopic examination, the granular cells showed dilated endoplasmic reticulum and vacuolated mitochondrial cristae. There was also serious destruction of Purkinje cells.     

Comparative pharmacokinetics of ampicillin-sulbactam combination in calves and sheep

The pharmacokinetics of ampicillin and sulbactam administered in combination were studied in calves and sheep. The animals were administered an aqueous solution of ampicillin/sulbactam (2: 1, w/w) intravenously and intramuscularly at doses of 13.2 and 6.6 mg.kg^-1, respectively. A microbiological method was used to detect ampicillin, and HPLC was used to detect sulbactam in serum. Following intravenous (i, v.) administration, the distribution phases were rapid and similar (about 15 min) for both drugs in both species, whereas sulbactam in calves and ampicillin in sheep showed a faster elimination rate. After intramuscular (i.m.) administration both drugs showed peak concentrations higher in calves than in sheep: the peak time of sulbactam was shorter in calves than in sheep. No other significant differences in the pharmacokinetics of the combination were observed between the species after i.m. injection. The mean residence and absorption times, calculated by non-compartmental analysis, for both calves and sheep suggested that the differences in ampicillin and sulbactam phgrmacokinetics could be attributable to the different molecular structures.     

Pyloric obstruction in a dog related to a gastrotomy incision closed with polypropylene

A five-year-old male, West Highland terrier was treated for a gastrointestinal foreign body via a gastrotomy incision and enterotomies. The dog was asymptomatic for several months but was eventually re-presented because of vomiting. Endoscopic and surgical evaluation confirmed a large mass within the pyloric canal that probably resulted from a reaction to the polypropylene suture material used to close the original gastrotomy incision. The mass was excised via a Y-U pyloroplasty incision and the dog has been free of vomiting for over a year.     

Demonstration of pseudorabies viral antigen in thick and ultrathin tissue sections of young pigs using an immunogold method

Pseudorabies (Aujeszky's) virus antigens were labeled in thick and ultrathin tissue sections of young pig brain and liver tissue, using an indirect immunogold method. Antigens were tagged with 20 nm gold particles. Controls proved the specificity of the reaction in paraffin sections and ultrathin epoxy sections. Immunogold staining was compared with immunoperoxidase staining in paraffin sections. In ultrathin sections stained with the immunogold method, the gold particles were present on viral nucleocapsids and viral envelopes, as well as on a number of other intracellular structures. These included the inner nuclear membrane, the nucleoplasm, intranuclear filaments, the endoplasmic reticulum, and free cytoplasmic polyribosomes. Gold particles were absent on mitochondria and microtubules. In paraffin sections, immunogold labeling for pseudorabies virus antigen was less sensitive than immunoperoxidase staining. Immunogold staining of ultrathin tissue sections can yield additional information on virus-host cell interactions.     

Genetic and physiological aspects of growth, body composition and feed efficiency in mice: a review

A review is presented of the genetic and physiological aspects of growth, body composition and feed efficiency in mice. The genetic parameters considered are: nature and extent of within and between-line genetic variation for body weight and growth rate; direct and correlated responses to selection for body weight, weight gain, feed intake and feed efficiency; direct genetic effects of the offspring (gO); maternal genetic effects (gM); heterosis in the offspring (hO); maternal heterosis (hM), and recombination effects in the offspring (rO). The physiological parameters considered are energy requirements for maintenance and growth. The role of thermoregulatory thermogenesis in relation to the partitioning of metabolizable energy between maintenance and growth requirements of large and small mice is emphasized. The relationship of feed efficiency with other traits is reviewed at length.