A COMPARISON OF THE ROSTROCAUDAL OPEN MOUTH AND ROSTRO 10° VENTRO-CAUDODORSAL OBLIQUE RADIOGRAPHIC VIEWS FOR IMAGING FLUID IN THE FELINE TYMPANIC BULLA

Fluid within the tympanic bulla is an indication of middle ear disease. Radiography has a relatively low accuracy for the detection of soft tissue opacification in the tympanic bulla, and the most useful radiographic projection, the rostrocaudal open mouth (RCd (open mouth)), is technically difficult to perform in dogs and cats. An alternative projection for the feline tympanic bulla, the rostro 10 degrees ventro-caudodorsal oblique (R10 degrees V-CdDO), was compared to the RCd (open mouth) in 41 feline cadaver heads with the tympanic bullae randomly filled with KY jelly. Computed tomography was used as the gold standard. Each tympanic bulla was recorded as being positive or negative for soft tissue opacification. Although there was no significant difference between the accuracy of the two views, the R10 degrees V-CdDO was subjectively more accurate and easier to perform, and in a live patient may be performed without the need for general anesthesia. The R10 degrees V-CdDO projection is a good alternative to the RCd (open mouth) projection for detecting otitis media in the cat.     

Short-term baths with essential oils of Lippia sidoides,Ocimum gratissimum and Zingiber officinale influence blood parameters and survival of tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) after infection with Aeromonas hydrophila

This study evaluated the effect of short-term baths with the essential oils (EOs) of Lippia sidoides, Ocimum gratissimum and Zingiber officinale on the survival, haematological, biochemical and histopathological parameters of native fish tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum), challenged with Aeromonas hydrophila. After challenge, the fish infected with A. hydrophila received therapeutic baths of 60 min, for five consecutive days. Treatments were as follows: challenged and not treated; challenged and treated with 10 mg L^?1 of gentamicin; challenged and treated with EO of L. sidoides (2.5 and 5.0 mg L^?1); challenged and treated with EO of O. gratissimum (5.0 and 10.0 mg L^?1); challenged and treated with Z. officinale EO (5.0 and 10.0 mg L^?1). The highest survival rates were 89.5% (fish treated with 5.0 mg L^?1 of O. gratissimum EO) and 75.0% (fish treated with 5.0 mg L^?1 of L. sidoides EO). Reductions in the haematocrit percentage, haemoglobin and erythrocyte number were observed in fish treated with L. sidoides and Z. officinale EOs compared with control fish. Mild to moderate damage to the liver tissue of fish after challenge and EO treatments were observed. It is suggested that baths containing O. gratissimum and L. sidoides EOs consist in a viable treatment to increase survival rates of C. macropomum infected with A. hydrophila.     

Oocyte growth in temperate basses: multiple forms of vitellogenin and their receptor

A full-length cDNA encoding a vitellogenin (Vg) receptor (VgR) was isolated and sequenced from a white perch, Morone americana, ovarian cDNA library. The perch expresses a single VgR that is structurally classified as an LR8 type (without an 0-linked sugar domain) and appears to be the only species observed to possess no splice variant of the receptor. We proposed a hypothetical model for ovarian lipid transfer in Morone species, one in which the `single VgR' transports Vg and other lipoproteins via a selective endocytotic pathway based on ligand affinity, in conjunction with a lipase-mediated pathway of fatty acid transport.     

Microbial origin of the abdominal swelling affecting farmed larvae of gilt-head seabream, Sparus aurata L.

The aetiological agents of the abdominal swelling affecting farmed larvae of gilt-head seabream, Sparus aurata L., were studied. Four Vibrio strains were isolated from larvae of S. aurata affected by this disease, and all strains reproduced the disease in healthy larvae under controlled infection experiments, producing a significant increase of the mortality rates compared to the control (non-inoculated larvae). Several enzymatic properties, which can act as .virulence factors, were demonstrated both in the extracellular products (ECPs) and In live cells of the strains tested. Histopathological examinations of the infected fish larvae revealed important changes of the anterior intestine and liver characterized by a marked hyperthrophy of the intestinal epithelium and hepatocytes, and by a separation of the mucosal and submucosal layers in the digestive tube. These histological alterations were associated with the constant presence of cocobacillar bacteria in the anterior intestine and in the liver. However, the precise pathogenic mechanisms of the strains tested have not been completely elucidated yet.     

猪败血型链球菌病的诊疗报告

本文阐述了猪链球菌病的临床症状、实验室检验及防治方法，力求为科学防控猪链球菌病提供有益的探索和参考。     

Serum triglyceride concentration in dogs with epilepsy treated with phenobarbital or with phenobarbital and bromide

OBJECTIVE: To compare serum triglyceride concentrations obtained after food had been withheld (i.e., fasting concentrations) in dogs with epilepsy that had been treated long term (> or = 3 months) with phenobarbital or with phenobarbital and potassium bromide with concentrations in healthy control dogs. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. ANIMALS: 57 epileptic dogs that had been treated with phenobarbital (n=28) or with phenobarbital and bromide (29) and 57 healthy, untreated control dogs matched on the basis of age, breed, sex, neuter status, and body condition score. PROCEDURES: Blood samples were collected after food had been withheld for at least 12 hours, and serum biochemical and lipid concentrations were determined. Oral fat tolerance tests were performed in 15 control dogs and 9 dogs with epilepsy treated with phenobarbital alone. RESULTS: 19 of the 57 (33%) epileptic dogs had fasting serum triglyceride concentrations greater than the upper reference limit. Nine (16%) dogs had a history of pancreatitis, and 5 of the 9 had high fasting serum triglyceride concentrations at the time of the study. A significant relationship was found between body condition score and fasting serum triglyceride concentration in all dogs, but serum triglyceride concentration was not significantly associated with phenobarbital dosage or serum phenobarbital concentration. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggested that dogs treated long term with phenobarbital or with phenobarbital and bromide may develop hypertriglyceridemia. Fasting serum triglyceride concentration should be periodically monitored in dogs treated with phenobarbital because hypertriglyceridemia is a risk factor for pancreatitis.     

Mixed stream channel morphologies: implications for fish community diversity

• 1. Stream classification systems are widely used in stream management and restoration. Whereas the principal morphological types of these classification systems are increasingly recognized for their ecological connections, the roles of intermediate and mixed morphologies are still poorly understood, yet may be biologically significant.
• 2. Twenty‐five stream reaches in north‐western Vermont were classified by channel morphology to determine whether fish community diversity differed among pool‐riffle, mixed (i.e. pool‐riffle/cascade, pool‐riffle/other) and forced pool‐riffle stream morphological groups. Stream reach surveys included cross‐sectional surveys, longitudinal profiles, bed substrate characterization, and fish surveys.
• 3. Three fish community diversity measures were calculated: (1) species richness (S); (2) Shannon–Weaver Index (H′); and (3) Simpson's Index (1/D). Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) followed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to explore potential differences in fish diversity among stream morphological groups. Fish diversity was significantly different for all three community diversity measures (P?0.05), with pool‐riffle/cascade morphology consistently exhibiting the greatest fish diversity and forced pool‐riffle the lowest.
• 4. These results suggest that fish community diversity is significantly associated with distinct channel morphologies. Generally, pool‐riffle/cascade and pool‐riffle/other stream morphological groups supported habitats that fostered greater species diversity than more homogeneous and uniform pool‐riffle reaches. The observed patterns of diversity are likely to be the result of habitat patches created by variations in flow and other physical characteristics in reaches of mixed morphologies.
• 5. These results support fish sampling schemes that incorporate morphological heterogeneity, such as proportional‐distance designation. Sampling strategies that focus on homogeneous reaches may underestimate diversity, and misrepresent stream condition when fish community data are used in indices of biological integrity (IBIs). Reaches of mixed stream morphologies should be recognized as areas of biological importance in stream and catchment management and in conservation efforts.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stabilizing Lead-Salt Diode Lasers: Understanding and Controlling Chaotic Frequency Emission

Lead-salt tunable diode lasers (TDLs) are the only devices currently available that can generate tunable monochromatic radiation at arbitrary wavelengths between 3 and 30 micrometers and are particularly useful for high-resolution spectroscopy over a wide range of spectral regimes. Detailed observations of TDLs show that the observed instrumental linewidth is actually a temporal average of many narrow (less than 0.5 megahertz) emission "modes." The time scale characteristic of these "modes," which appear to be of relatively constant intensity, is of the order of a microsecond. The laser's behavior is highly suggestive of a chaotic process, that is, seemingly random excursions of a dynamic variable (frequency) within a bounded range. This report shows experimentally that TDL emissions are indeed chaotic. Furthermore, in a simple and robust fashion, this chaotic behavior has been successfully controlled with the use of recent techniques that take advantage of chaos to produce a narrow band laser output.