Effect of hyperimmune plasma on the severity of pneumonia caused by Rhodococcus equi in experimentally infected foals

This study evaluated the prophylactic effectiveness of hyperimmune plasma (HIP) as an aid in the prevention of pneumonia caused by experimental infection with Rhodococcus equi. Thirty neonatal foals were administered R. equi HIP or saline at 2 days of age and were infected with virulent R. equi at 7 days. All foals developed signs or symptoms of respiratory disease. Radiographic scores on day 28 and neutrophil concentrations on day 49 were significantly greater in control foals, and time to respiratory effort score of 2 or higher was significantly shorter for control foals. Three foals, all in the principal group, died or were euthanized before the end of the study, but there was no significant difference in mortality between groups. VapA titers were significantly greater in principal foals. Administration of R. equi HIP decreased the severity of radiographic lesions and prolonged time to increased respiratory effort due to R. equi-induced pneumonia.     

Exclusions in inclusive programs: state-sponsored sustainable development initiatives amongst the Kurichya in Kerala,India

We critically discuss the impact of sustainable development initiatives in Kerala, India, on biodiversity and on women farmers in the matrilineal Adivasi community of the Kurichya-tribe in Wayanad. By contextualizing development programs regarding the specifically gendered access to land, division of labor, distribution of knowledge and decision-making power, we situate our analysis within the theoretical framework of feminist political ecology. We first outline women’s gaining of social and political space in local self-government institutions (Panchayath) and then critically discuss the impacts of women’s farming groups (Joint Liability Groups: JLGs). Decentralization and development programs have aimed at empowering women and reducing poverty through improved food security. However, little success has materialized, as patriarchal power structures concerning decision-making processes as well as control over the most valuable resources (land and rice) and traditional knowledge have been maintained. Whereas women’s self-help groups (Kudumbasree) in Kerala have enhanced their position, women’s farming groups (JLGs), by contrast, have brought little betterment. In some cases they have even downsized women’s management and knowledge of resources related to agriculture and do not integrate or enhance Kurichya women’s knowledge. As some women are now introducing high-yielding rice seeds and fertilizer and as it is impossible for them to control land and get access to traditional rice seeds—the domain of men—we contest the notion of women being considered the preservers of agrobiodiversity. We argue, rather, that the construction and transformation of ecological traditional knowledge is highly dependent on the gendered multi-scaled power structures of state and community.     

SINGLE‐SHOT TURBO SPIN ECHO PULSE SEQUENCE FINDINGS IN DOGS WITH AND WITHOUT PROGRESSIVE MYELOMALACIA

Progressive myelomalacia is an uncommon type of ischemic, hemorrhagic spinal cord infarction. Diagnosis can be difficult, but prompt recognition is important. We hypothesized that cerebrospinal fluid signal attenuation on magnetic resonance (MR) images would be more extensive in dogs that developed progressive myelomalacia vs. control dogs. A retrospective analytic cohort study was designed. Dogs were included if they presented for acute paraplegia and loss of deep pain perception and had undergone MR imaging using both sagittal single‐shot turbo spin echo (SSTSE) and standard sagittal T2‐weighted fast spin echo (T2W) pulse sequences. Dogs were divided into progressive myelomalacia and control groups for comparisons. All MR examinations were evaluated by three reviewers blinded to patient outcome. Length of cerebrospinal fluid attenuation was recorded as a ratio to the length of the L2 vertebral body in SSTSE and T2W sequences (CSF:L2_SSTSE and CSF:L2_T2, respectively). Length of intramedullary spinal cord hyperintensity was recorded as a ratio to the length of the L2 vertebral body in T2W sequences. A total of 21 dogs were included (five in the progressive myelomalacia group and 16 in the control group). The mean CSF:L2_SSTSE attenuation value was significantly higher in dogs that developed progressive myelomalacia (CSF:L2_SSTSE = 10.7) compared to controls (CSF:L2_SSTSE = 5.4; P = 0.015). A cut off ratio of attenuation >7.4 provided optimal differentiation between groups in this study. Findings supported the conclusion that dogs with CSF:L2_SSTSE ≤ 7.4 are unlikely to develop progressive myelomalacia while dogs with CSF:L2_SSTSE > 7.4 are indeterminate for progressive myelomalacia.     

Extreme lymphocytosis with myelomonocytic morphology in a horse with diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma

An 11‐year‐old, 443‐kg Haflinger mare was presented to the North Carolina State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital with a 2‐week history of lethargy and a 3‐day duration of anorexia, pyrexia, tachycardia, and ventral edema. Severe pitting edema, peripheral lymphadenopathy, and a caudal abdominal mass were noted on physical examination. An extreme leukocytosis (154.3 × 10³/μL) and microscopic hematologic findings suggestive of myelomonocytic leukemia were observed. Serum protein electrophoresis revealed a monoclonal gammopathy and urine protein electrophoresis revealed a monoclonal light chain proteinuria. Necropsy and histopathology confirmed widespread neoplastic infiltration in many organs with a heterogenous population of cells; there was no apparent evidence of bone marrow involvement. Immunohistochemistry confirmed presence of a majority of B cells with a limited antigen expression, admixed with a lower number of T cells. Molecular clonality analysis of IgH2, IgH3, and kappa‐deleting element (KDE, B cell) on whole blood and KDE on infiltrated tissues revealed clonal rearrangements, and the KDE intron clones that amplified in blood and in infiltrated tissue were identical. In contrast, the clonality analysis of T‐cell receptor γ revealed no clonality on blood cells and infiltrated tissues. In conjunction with the histopathologic changes, the lesion was interpreted to be composed of neoplastic B cells with a reactive T‐cell population. Polymerase chain reaction testing for equine herpes virus 5 was negative. The final diagnosis was diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma with a marked hematogenous component.