COMPARISON BETWEEN COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHIC AND SURGICAL FINDINGS IN NINE LARGE-BREED DOGS WITH LUMBOSACRAL STENOSIS

In a three-year prospective study, computed tomographic (CT) and surgical findings were compared for nine large breed dogs with lumbosacral stenosis. Surgically-excised tissue was examined histologically in seven dogs and additional necropsy evaluation was performed in one dog. The CT abnormalities observed at sites of confirmed cauda equina compression were: loss of epidural fat, increased soft tissue opacity, bulging of the intervertebral disc margin, spondylosis, thecal sac displacement, narrowed intervertebral foramen, narrowed vertebral canal, thickened articular process, articular process subluxation, articular process osteophyte, and telescoped sacral lamina. The CT characteristics of lumbosacral degenerative disease and discospondylitis were similar to those described in humans. In three dogs, CT findings at the site of cauda equina compression were consistent with congenital or developmental spinal stenosis, but the method of surgical exposure precluded confirmation. Epidural fibrosis (eight dogs) and multi-level CT abnormalities (six dogs) were identified but the cause(s) and significance were unknown.     

Über den Einfluß von Trockenstreß in unterschiedlichen Entwicklungsphasen auf Wachstum, Blütenabwurf und Ertrag der Sojabohne (Glycine max [L.] Merr.)

The influence of droughtstress during various growth phases on yield parameter and flower drop of the soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) was studied in a pod trial under arid conditions at Alexandria/Egypt. The two cultivars Calland and Williams do not differ in their reaction to droughtstress.
The seed yield was decreased by ca. 18% when two weeks of drought occurred. Droughtstress during the seed filling phase reduced the yield by 25%. This decrease in yield is due to a decrease in pod number and seed number per plant. Flower drop on the main stem is not influenced by droughtstress and there is no relation to the seed yield per plant.     

A quick and effective method for the maceration of vertebrates]

This study describes a method which uses enzymatic additions of detergents (household washing products) to macerate small vertebrates or their heads, respectively, in a rapid, most effective, careful, rather odorless way and without any pollution of the environment. The maceration solution produced excellent results when applied to fresh or deep-frozen specimens as well as to ethanol-fixed material, while the results with formalin-fixed specimens were unsatisfying.     

Versuche zur Übertragung von Kartoffel-M-Virus und verwandten Isolaten und der serologische Nachweis des M-Virus in Tomaten

Potato Research - Tomatenpflanzen wurden durchMyzus persicae und durch Saftbeimpfung mit mehreren Isolaten des Kartoffel-M-Virus infiziert und die Viruskonzentration in den einzelnen Blättern...     

Snake neurotoxins: effect of disulfide reduction on interaction with electroplax

Reduction of disulfide bonds of cobra neurotoxin by dithiothreitol results in decreased activity on the electroplax preparation. Activity is restored completely after reoxidation by 3,3'-dithiobis[6-nitrobenzoic acid]. Reduction of the disulfide bonds in the vicinity of the receptor does not decrease the effect of cobrotoxin.     

Prevalence of Coxiella burnetii infection in Dutch dairy herds based on testing bulk tank milk and individual samples by PCR and ELISA

A study using an ELISA and a real-time PCR assay based on the detection of the repetitive transposon-like gene of Coxiella burnetii revealed that infection with the bacterium was widespread among Dutch dairy herds, with antibodies detected in bulk tank milk (BTM) from 268 of 341 herds (78.6 per cent) and bacterial DNA detected in 193 of 341 herds (56.6 per cent). The BTM samples were taken in November and December 2007. Serological and molecular studies in young and adult cattle selected from 100 herds showed that antibodies were present in the blood of 470 of 2936 (16.0 per cent) lactating cows but only in 19 of 1831 (1.0 per cent) young animals. Bacterial DNA was detected in the milk of 254 of 2925 (8.7 per cent) lactating cows; bacterial DNA was not detected in any of the faecal samples obtained from youngstock. The blood and milk samples were taken from the cattle in the period January to April 2008.     

Quartärgeomorphologische untersuchungen im Nordteil der “Tunesischen dorsale”

Seven Quaternary profiles from the Mediterranean region of northern Tunisia are described and their geomorphological significance assessed. Fifteen radiocarbon datings permit the field observations to be arranged in a chronosequence.The results indicate that the Late Pleistocene period witnessed the production and displacement of coarse debris, a process extending down to low altitudes. Until now, however, the only evidence for this has been found in the vicinity of steep slopes or rock walls. The coarse sediments partly overlie slope deposits derived from reddish soils; to some extent they contain fine reddish pedogenic material, and in part they are covered by it.In the Holocene, the displacement of fine alluvial sediments alternated several times with the formation of humic horizons. Anthropogenic influences on landscape evolution must be admitted as a possibility as from at least three thousand years ago.The aeolian sands of the Late Pleistocene and Middle Holocene are correlated with regressions of high sea levels.