Candida albicans peritonitis in a dog

Objective – To describe the clinical management of a case of Candida albicans peritonitis in a dog and discuss the pathogenicity of Candida peritonitis along with treatment using the fungistatic agent, fluconazole.
Case Summary – A 15-week-old Papillon developed peritonitis secondary to enterectomy site dehiscence. A pure growth of Candida albicans was obtained from the abdominal fluid. Surgical repair of the dehiscence was performed and antifungal therapy instituted with fluconazole postoperatively. A marked exudative process was noted postoperatively with production of large volumes of fluid from the abdominal drain. Fresh frozen plasma and pentastarch were provided for oncotic support. Recovery was complicated by megaesophagus, however, the patient gradually improved and was discharged 11 days after surgery.
New or Unique Information Provided – To our knowledge, this is the first case report of successful treatment of Candida albicans peritonitis in a dog. A marked exudative process was noted during therapy requiring significant oncotic support. Resolution of the disease process was achieved with surgical intervention and antifungal therapy.     

Drought stress in sunflower causes inhibition of seed filling due to reduced cell-extension growth

Cultivation of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) as one of the most important oil crops is of great importance, especially with focus on drought tolerance under the current climate change. Less precipitation and increasing temperatures lead to more regions with drought problems. In a container experiment, with two different sunflower cultivars, drought stress of 40% water-holding capacity was applied at the seed-filling phase and compared to a control group with regular irrigation to 70% water-holding capacity. Four intermediate harvests during the seed-filling phase and a final harvest at maturity were conducted. During the seed-filling phase, sugar and α-amino-acid concentrations of seeds were not reduced by drought stress. Thus, assimilate availability was sufficient, pointing to no source limitation of seed development. The DNA content of the seeds was also not affected and pointed to no limitation of cell division. However, 40 days after flowering a reduction of cell extension was found. Consequently, a sink limitation occurred under drought stress. At final harvest, seed yield was significantly reduced under drought stress due to a lower single seed weight, whereas seed number per plant was unaffected. Oil concentration was not reduced by drought stress. Thus, oil synthesis did not limit oil yield. Consequently, a reduced oil yield under drought stress during the seed-filling phase was caused by a lower seed weight, which resulted from a decreased cell extension.     

Nanoscopy in a living mouse brain

We demonstrated superresolution optical microscopy in a living higher animal. Stimulated emission depletion (STED) fluorescence nanoscopy reveals neurons in the cerebral cortex of a mouse with <70-nanometer resolution. Dendritic spines and their subtle changes can be observed at their relevant scales over extended periods of time.     

Prevalence of antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Anaplasma phagocytophilum and their clinical relevance in dogs in Munich, Germany

Although prevalences of antibodies against Borrelia (B.) burgdorferi sensu lato (sl) and Anaplasma (A.) phagocytophilum have been reported to be high in the German dog population, the importance of the diseases caused by both agents is still not well characterized in a field situation.The aim of this study was (1) to determine the prevalence of antibodies to B. burgdorferi sl and A. phagocytophilum in dogs in Munich, Germany, and (2) to assess the clinical presentation and laboratory values of antibody-positive dogs and compare them to a negative control group. In total, 448 randomly selected dogs were screened for antibodies to B. burgdorferi sl and A. phagocytophilum with the SNAP 4Dx assay (IDEXX, Laboratories, Inc., USA). Dogs carrying antibodies against B. burgdorferi sl and/or A. phagocytophilum were classified as "positive"(n=100), the following 100 negative dogs served as control group. In both groups, physical examination and laboratory parameters were compared. 22 (4.9%) dogs had antibodies to B. burgdorferi sl, 78 (19.4%) to A. phagocytophilum, nine (2.0%) to both agents. Bernese Mountain Dogs had significantly more often antibodies against B. burgdorferi sl. Negative dogs were more often diagnosed as "healthy" compared to A. phagocytophilum antibody-positives that showed more often elevated body temperature and poor general condition; beyond that, there were no differences in clinical and laboratory abnormalities between both groups. Although dogs tested negative were more often considered healthy, there were no differences in parameters considered "specific" for both infections between dogs with and without antibodies. Hence, tests detecting antibodies against both agents are not able to detect animals with the clinical disease.     

Global internet trade of plants – legality and risks

Internet trade of plants has been investigated in a short study that focused on plants for planting imported into Germany from third countries worldwide. Internet trade of plants may pose a high phytosanitary risk when commodities are infested with non‐native pests including quarantine pests. The offers of 1097 internet traders, in particular non‐European traders, have been checked. One hundred and seventeen consignments of plants were purchased from 70 different internet traders and investigated in detail. As only individual plants were purchased the study shows in particular what is available for purchase to private consumers. The study revealed that 89% of the consignments did not comply with phytosanitary import requirements for one or more reasons. In all these cases the phytosanitary certificate was missing and in 68% of the consignments the customs declaration was missing or wrong. Wrong customs declarations indicate that these internet traders ignored the import requirements or provided incorrect information to the import authorities. Prohibited plants could be easily bought via the internet. In addition, harmful organisms were found in 13% of the consignments and 2% of these were quarantine pests. All consignments that were accompanied by the required phytosanitary certificate issued by the National Plant Protection Organisation of the exporting country (11%) complied with the EU and German, respectively, import requirements.     

Both wheat (Triticum aestivum) bran arabinoxylans and gut flora-mediated fermentation products protect human colon cells from genotoxic activities of 4-hydroxynonenal and hydrogen peroxide

Dietary fibers are fermented by the gut flora to yield short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which inhibit the growth of tumor cells, induce glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), and protect cells from the genotoxic activity of 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE). Here, we investigated effects of wheat bran-derived arabinoxylans and fermentation products on these parameters of chemoprevention. Newly isolated water extractable (WeAx) and alkali extractable arabinoxylans (AeAx) were fermented under anaerobic conditions with human feces. Resulting fermentation supernatants (FSs) were analyzed for SCFAs and used to treat HT29 colon cancer cells. Cell growth, cytotoxicity, antigenotoxicity against hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or HNE, and GST activity were determined. Nonfermented WeAx decreased H2O2-induced DNA damage by 64%, thus demonstrating chemoprotective properties by this nonfermented wheat bran fiber. The fermentation of WeAx and AeAx resulted in 3-fold increases of SCFA, but all FSs (including the control without arabinoxylans) inhibited the growth of the HT29 cells, reduced the genotoxicity of HNE, and enhanced the activity of GSTs (FS WeAx, 2-fold; FS AeAx, 1.7-fold; and control FS, 1.4-fold), which detoxify HNE. Thus, increases in SCFAs were not reflected by enhanced functional effects. The conclusion is that fermentation mixtures contain modulatory compounds that arise from the feces and might add to the effectiveness of SCFAs.     

Fine-root rhizosphere and morphological adaptations to site conditions in interaction with tree mineral nutrition in young silver birch (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Betula pendula</Emphasis> Roth.) stands

Limited nutrient acquisition from soil is a key process limiting productivity in boreal forest. We investigated short-root morphological adaptations and rhizosphere effect in relation to site conditions in interaction with tree mineral nutrition. We studied seven young (8- to 14-year-old) silver birch (Betula pendula Roth.) stands on abandoned agricultural land in Estonia. Soil pH varied from 3.8 to 7.0, and soil N % from 0.07 to 0.26%. Tree nutrient (NPK) status was expressed by leaf nutrient concentrations. Leaf N correlated negatively with short-root specific length and area. Summed activity (SA) and metabolic diversity of bacteria (by BIOLOG Ecoplate™), bacterial community diversity (by DGGE) and pH_KCl were determined for rhizosphere (R) and bulk soil (S) to reveal the extent of the rhizosphere effect. Bacterial activity in rhizosphere was 1.4–4.7 times higher than in bulk soil. Ratio SA_R/SA_S indicating root support to the rhizosphere bacterial communities decreased with increasing bulk soil pH; however, when bulk soil pH was ≥5, the decrease in SA_R/SA_S was insignificant, i.e. the rhizosphere effect stayed at a stable level. Diversity of bacterial community was 6% higher in bulk soil than in rhizosphere. Rhizosphere acidification occurred in studied stands when bulk soil pH_KCl ≥ 5. Short-root N % correlated positively with SA_R/SA_S. We concluded that tree N-nutritional status was related to short-root morphological parameters but not to studied microbiological characteristics in the soil of young silver birch stands.     

Incidence of persistent viraemia and latent feline leukaemia virus infection in cats with lymphoma

In the past, feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) infection, and also latent FeLV infection, were commonly associated with lymphoma and leukaemia. In this study, the prevalence of FeLV provirus in tumour tissue and bone marrow in FeLV antigen-negative cats with these tumours was assessed. Seventy-seven diseased cats were surveyed (61 antigen-negative, 16 antigen-positive). Blood, bone marrow, and tumour samples were investigated by two polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays detecting deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequences of the long terminal repeats (LTR) and the envelope (env) region of the FeLV genome. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed in bone marrow and tumour tissue. None of the antigen-negative cats with lymphoma was detectably infected with latent FeLV. The prevalence of FeLV viraemia in cats with lymphoma was 20.8%. This suggests that causes other than FeLV play a role in tumorigenesis, and that latent FeLV infection is unlikely to be responsible for most feline lymphomas and leukaemias.     

Suitability and calibration of a rebound tonometer to measure IOP in rabbit and pig eyes

Objective To utilize the Icare tonometer TAO1 for intraocular pressure (IOP) determination in experimental animals. To calculate true IOP calibration functions for rabbit and porcine eyes. Animals Enucleated eyes of 3‐year‐old healthy experimental rabbits (New Zealand white), and healthy 1 year old experimental pigs (Deutsche Landrasse) were used for the determination of IOP. Procedures Manometric (Geuder GmbH, Heidelberg/Germany) and rebound tonometry (Icare tonometer TAO1, Icare, Helsinki/Finland) were used to record IOP in enucleated animal eyes (rabbit n = 2, pig n = 3). Results The Icare tonometer TAO1 measurements underestimated true IOP by 37–60% in rabbit eyes and 17–63% in porcine eyes. IOP values obtained by both rebound and manometric tonometry for rabbit and porcine eyes followed a linear regression curve. Linear functions were calculated to correct the Icare tonometer TAO1 measurements to true IOP for both rabbit (p = 1.4244p_ic + 4.2421) and porcine eyes (p = 1.0799p_ic + 5.8557). Conclusions The Icare tonometer TAO1 can be utilized for IOP determination in rabbit and porcine eyes when measured values are corrected with the appropriate linear function.