Suspected macular degeneration in a captive western lowland gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla)

The case of a 31-year-old captive female Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) with decreased near vision but good distance vision is presented. Examination of the fundus revealed drusen-like bodies in the macula presumably because of an age-related macular degeneration (AMD).     

Evaluation of the presence of selected viral and bacterial nucleic acids in pericardial samples from dogs with or without idiopathic pericardial effusion

Many viruses have been identified in pericardial fluid and in tissue samples from humans with pericarditis by means of molecular diagnostics. In canine idiopathic pericardial effusion there is as yet no conclusive evidence to support the involvement of an infectious agent. This study was designed to investigate a possible relationship between idiopathic pericardial effusion in dogs and viruses most commonly encountered in humans affected with viral pericarditis. Coxsackievirus B3 RNA, influenza virus type A RNA, human adenovirus type 2 DNA, human cytomegalovirus DNA, and parvovirus B19 DNA were investigated using PCR on pericardial effusion samples and pericardial tissue specimens collected from 14 dogs with idiopathic pericardial effusion. PCR was also used to test for two bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi and Chlamydia pneumoniae. The same microorganisms were also looked for in pericardial effusions or pericardial washes from 10 dogs with neoplastic pericardial effusion, and in samples collected from 10 dogs which died of a non-cardiac disease. One pericardial effusion sample from a dog with the idiopathic form of the disease tested positive for influenza virus type A and sequencing of the amplicon confirmed the PCR result. In another dog from the same group a cytomegalovirus was detected by PCR in the effusion, but sequencing showed this to be a false-positive result. The genomes of the microorganisms investigated were not detected in neoplastic effusions or pericardial washes. The results indicate that viral and bacterial DNA/RNA of relevance for human pericarditis is rare in pericardial samples from dogs with idiopathic pericardial effusion. The finding of influenza type A viral RNA in pericardial fluid from one dog with the idiopathic form of the disease warrants further investigation.     

The Emperor Seamounts: southward motion of the Hawaiian hotspot plume in Earth's mantle

The Hawaiian-Emperor hotspot track has a prominent bend, which has served as the basis for the theory that the Hawaiian hotspot, fixed in the deep mantle, traced a change in plate motion. However, paleomagnetic and radiometric age data from samples recovered by ocean drilling define an age-progressive paleolatitude history, indicating that the Emperor Seamount trend was principally formed by the rapid motion (over 40 millimeters per year) of the Hawaiian hotspot plume during Late Cretaceous to early-Tertiary times (81 to 47 million years ago). Evidence for motion of the Hawaiian plume affects models of mantle convection and plate tectonics, changing our understanding of terrestrial dynamics.     

Gutteral pouch tympany in German warmblood foals: influence of sex,inbreeding and blood proportions of founding breeds as well as estimation of heritability

The objective of the present study was to analyse the importance of the influences of sex, inbreeding coefficient, proportion of genes of the original breeds and the additive genetic contribution to the occurrence of guttural pouch tympany in foals belonging to German Warmblood breeds. Foals affected by guttural pouch tympany were ascertained in the Clinic of Horses, School of Veterinary Medicine Hannover. This data set comprised 22 German Warmblood foals with guttural pouch tympany, which were patients of the Clinic for Horses between 1994 and 2001. Information on the pedigrees and all available relatives of these patients allowed us to group the affected foals into five families with a total of 289 animals. Female foals were significantly more often affected by guttural pouch tympany. The difference was 16.6% in favour of female foals. The size of the inbreeding coefficient was not important for the occurrence of guttural pouch tympany. The proportion of the genes of the breeds Arabian, Thoroughbred and Trakehner were not significantly different from a randomly selected sample of 10% of foals born in the same birth years and the same region. The heritability estimates for the frequency of guttural pouch tympany using a threshold model was 0.81 +/- 0.16. This is the first report that could show a genetic component responsible for guttural pouch tympany in horses.     

Detection of novel chlamydiae in cats with ocular disease

OBJECTIVE: To detect and characterize the full range of chlamydial infections in cats with ocular disease by use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays, cytologic examination, immunohistochemical analysis, and evaluation of clinical information including status for feline herpesvirus-1 (FeHV-1). SAMPLE POPULATION: DNA extracted from 226 conjunctival samples obtained from cats with clinically diagnosed keratitis or conjunctivitis and 30 conjunctival samples from healthy cats. PROCEDURE: PCR assays for the 16S rRNA gene specific for the order Chlamydiales and a new Chlamydophila felis (formerly Chlamydia psittaci) species-specific 23S rRNA gene were performed. Seventy-four conjunctival samples were prepared with Romanowsky-type stain, grouped on the basis of inflammatory pattern, and screened for chlamydial inclusions by use of immunohistochemical analysis. Clinical information and FeHV-1 status were recorded. RESULTS: 26 (12%) specimens had positive results for the only known feline chlamydial pathogen, C felis. Surprisingly, an additional 88 (39%) were positive for non-C felis chlamydial DNA. Identification of non-C felis chlamydial DNA by direct sequencing revealed 16S rRNA gene sequences that were 99% homologous to the sequence for Neochlamydia hartmannellae, an amebic endosymbiont. Chlamydial prevalence was significantly higher in cats with ocular disease. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Application of a broad-range detection method resulted in identification of a new agent associated with ocular disease in cats. Finding chlamydia-like agents such as N hartmannellae in coinfections with their obligate amebic host, Hartmannella vermiformis, raises questions about the potential role of these microorganisms in causation or exacerbation of ocular disease in cats.     

Rückstände von Carbendazim und anderen Fungiziden im Bienenhonig aufgrund der Blütespritzung von Winterraps

Zusammenfassung: 91 hessische Rapshonige der Erntejahre 2000 bis 2002 wurden auf Rückstände der zur Blütespritzung zugelassenen Fungizide Carbendazim, Iprodion, Metconazol, Tebuconazol und Vinclozolin untersucht. Dabei traten Tebuconazol und Vinclozolin vereinzelt in Mengen bis max. 0,018 mg/kg auf, Carbendazim hingegen in 35,2 % aller Proben und in Gehalten von bis zu 0,118 mg/kg. Im Mai 2002 wurden zwei isoliert gelegene Rapsflächen (9,8 bzw. 5,5 ha) während der Vollblüte mit 1 l/ha Derosal^® (360 g/l Carbendazim) bzw. mit 1,5 l/ha Folicur^® (251,2 g/l Tebuconazol) gespritzt. In jeweils sechs Honigproben von unmittelbar an den Flächen aufgestellten Völkern wurden Rückstandsgehalte von durchschnittlich 0,145 mg/kg (0,061 – 0,227 mg/kg) Carbendazim bzw. 0,018 mg/kg (<BG – 0,025 mg/kg) Tebuconazol ermittelt. Wirkstoffspezifische Eigenschaften des Carbendazims führen offensichtlich zu außergewöhnlich hohen Belastungswerten im Honig. Ungeachtet ihrer toxikologischen Relevanz veranlassten diese Befunde die Herstellerfirmen zu einer zwischenzeitlichen Vertriebseinstellung von Carbendazim und Thiopanatemethyl auf dem deutschen Markt.

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Residues of Carbendazim and other fungicides in honey due to blossom application in canola

Summary: During 2000 to 2002, 91 Hessian spring honeys from regions with an extended cultivation of canola were analysed for residues of the registered fungicides Carbendazim, Iprodion, Metconazol, Tebuconazol and Vinclozolin. The samples included 15 honeys from certified ecological apiaries.While Iprodion and Metconazol were not detected at all and Tebuconazol and Vinclozolin only sporadic with maximum levels of 0,018 mg/kg, Carbendazim was found in 35,2 % of the samples with up to 0,118 mg/kg. The eco honeys did not differ from the other samples.In May 2002 two isolated canola fields (9,8 resp. 5,5 ha) were treated with 1 l/ha Derosal^® (active in gredient: 360 g/l Carbendazim) in 600 l water/ha resp. with 1,5 l/ha Folicur^® (active ingredient: 251,2 g/l Tebuconazol) in 400 l water/ha during full blossom while a third field served as an untreated control. Three honey bee colonies were placed close to each field four days before treatment. From each hive, two samples of fresh honey were taken seven days after the treatment and analysed for residues of Carbendazim and Tebuconazol. While only one of six samples from the control field was contaminated with 0,080 mg/kg Carbendazim, each of the six honey samples from the Carbendazim treated field showed residues of Carbendazim (average: 0,145 mg/kg, range: 0,061 – 0,227 mg/kg) and five of six samples from the Tebuconazol treated field were positive for Tebuconazol (average: 0,018 mg/kg, range: <DL – 0,025 mg/kg).Due to its specific characters (slightly hydrophilic compared to other fungicides) a blossom application of Carbendazim can result in extremely high residue levels in honey. In the meantime, the manufacturers of Carbendazim and Thiophanatemethyl acknowledged these findings and, irrespectively of its toxicological relevance, stopped their deal with such products on the German market.