Dynamic right ventricular outflow tract (infundibular) stenosis and pectus excavatum in a dog

This is the first published report of a dog with dynamic right ventricular outflow tract (infundibular) stenosis, right ventricular hypertrophy, and pectus excavatum. A juvenile dog presented with a grade V/VI left base systolic heart murmur, tachycardia, and pectus excavatum. Diagnosis of the aforementioned conditions was based on radiography, electrocardiography, and echocardiography. At 9 1/2 wk of age the heart murmur was no longer audible and the right ventricular stenosis and hypertrophy had dissipated and regressed, respectively. Resolution may be associated with growth of the dog. A good prognosis is foreseen.     

Septic pericardial effusion associated with pulmonary and pericardial botryomycosis in a dog

The authors report a case of septic pericardial effusion resulting in cardiac tamponade associated with intrathoracic botryomycosis in a dog. Septic pericarditis and a pulmonary mass were diagnosed, and subtotal pericardiectomy and lobectomy of the affected pulmonary areas were carried out. Histopathology of the excised tissue showed changes supportive of botryomycosis--namely a pyogranulomatous inflammation with neutrophils centred around amorphous homogeneous eosinophilic material and club-like bodies containing Gram-positive bacterial cocci present in the centre. The patient recovered well following surgery and antibiotic therapy. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of pulmonary botryomycosis in the dog and the first report of this condition presented with pericardial involvement and cardiac tamponade in any species.     

Bovine Staphylococcus aureus: association of virulence genes, genotypes and clinical outcome

Based on our clinical experience on bovine mastitis, we hypothesized that subtypes of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) exist which differ in their contagious and pathogenic properties. In order to investigate this hypothesis, we analyzed strains of S. aureus isolated from spontaneous intramammary infection (IMI) with their virulence gene patterns and genotypes obtained by PCR amplification of the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer (RS-PCR). The genotypes were then associated with epidemiological and clinical data including 26 herds. The results demonstrated a high association between genotypes and virulence gene patterns as well as between epidemiological and pathogenic properties of S. aureus. In particular, genotype B was related to high contagiosity and increased pathogenicity whereas the other types (C, OG) were found with infection of single cows. Because of the high clinical relevance, our results indicate the need to subtype the IMI-associated strains of S. aureus in the future.     

Histopathologic, immunohistochemical, and cytologic analysis of feline myeloma-related disorders: further evidence for primary extramedullary development in the cat

Feline myeloma-related disorders (MRD) are rare neoplasms of plasma cells. The multistep transformation model of myeloma in humans is based on the premise that plasma cells undergo neoplastic transformation primarily within the intramedullary compartment and that over time they become poorly differentiated and metastasize to extramedullary locations. Historically, diagnostic criteria used for human multiple myeloma have been applied to the cat, with the assumption that feline MRD commonly arises in the intramedullary compartment. Our objectives were to describe the features of feline MRD confirmed by cytology, histopathology, histochemistry, and immunohistochemistry and to categorize these tumors. A priori hypotheses were 1) tumor category predicts survival and 2) cats with well-differentiated tumors commonly have extramedullary involvement in contrast to human myeloma patients. This multicenter, retrospective study identified 26 MRD cases. There was good agreement between histopathologic and cytologic tumor categorization. Histochemistry and immunohistochemistry were shown to be valuable adjunct tests in the diagnosis of MRD. Cats with well-differentiated tumors had increased median survival relative to those with poorly differentiated tumors (254 versus 14 days). We have reported that marked extramedullary involvement at initial clinical presentation is significantly more common in the cat than in human MRD patients. In this study, we demonstrate that cats with well-differentiated tumors more commonly have extramedullary involvement than human myeloma patients with well-differentiated tumors (90% versus 20%, P < 0.0002). These results contrast strongly with the human myeloma model of primary intramedullary neoplastic transformation and suggest that primary extramedullary neoplastic transformation may be more common in feline MRD.     

Chemotherapy‐induced diarrhoea in dogs and its management with smectite: Results of a monocentric open‐label randomized clinical trial

Chemotherapy‐induced diarrhoea (CID) is a frequent chemotherapy adverse event in dogs. Yet, there is currently no consensus regarding its management. Smectite is a natural medical clay, widely used in the treatment of acute diarrhoea in humans. The objectives of this study were to assess the efficacy of smectite in the management of CID in dogs, and to collect epidemiological data on CID. For each episode of diarrhoea, dogs were randomized into two management groups: Smectite group, receiving smectite at 0.5 g/kg PO per day divided in two to three doses initiated at the start of CID; control group, without initial medication. In both groups, rescue metronidazole was prescribed if CID progressed or was not improved within 48 hours. Sixty dogs were recruited and received 426 chemotherapy administrations between June 2017 and March 2019. The incidence rate of CID was 110/426 (25.8%, 95% CI: 21.7%‐30.2%), and significantly differed between the chemotherapeutic drugs administered (P < .001). Metronidazole was administered in 5/54 events (9.3%, 95% CI: 3.1%‐20.3%) in the smectite group and in 40/56 events (71.4%, 95% CI: 57.5%‐82.3%) in the control group (P < .001). The time to resolution of diarrhoea was shorter (P < .001) in the smectite group (median: 19.5 hours, interquartile range [IQR]: 13.5‐32 hours) compared with the control group (median: 53 hours, IQR: 31.5‐113.5 hours). The results of this study support the administration of smectite in the first‐line management of CID in dogs.     

The use of terrestrial LiDAR technology in forest science: application fields,benefits and challenges

• Introduction  

The use of terrestrial LiDAR (light detection and ranging) scanners in forest environments is being studied extensively at present due to the high potential of this technology to acquire three-dimensional data on standing trees rapidly and accurately. This article aims to establish the state-of-the-art in this emerging area.     

Toxicologie humaine des pesticides

The large number of publications on pesticides and the diversity of published views is matched only by a few scientific documents containing toxicological conclusions applicable to man; an assesment of the dangers becomes a very controversial affair. Experimental results should, at least be made available to the medical experts and those responsible for Public Health. Presently there are about 400 chemical pesticides in use. Some are only slowly broken down and residue analysis in a tissue at a given moment is not enough to allow the specification of the hazards to the human species if one omits the quantity of pesticide consumed and the effects of the slow breakdown. The accuracy of our analytical methods, the determination of chemical compounds in the nanogram region exaggerate fears of omnipresence of toxic materials without contributing to a better understanding of the toxicological dangers. Thus the discovery that certain pesticides accumulate in fatty tissue results in their rejection though their dangers have been known for about 30 years and they are being replaced by less persistent ones with appreciably enhanced toxicity. Of no less importance is the observation that mutagenic, carcinogenic and allergenic properties of pesticides and their metabolites still resist a strict scientific investigation as results in these experimental areas are least translatable to man from the animal. Only a momentous effort of coordination and systematisation of worldwide medical observations can lead to significant statistical results. There is a danger that the situation becomes unresolvable as so many plant protection chemicals have been given official sanction in the last 10 years, multiplying potential toxic factors and resulting in great confusion. New chemical developments should — rather than force themselves upon us — concentrate upon the potential dangers, prove their innocuousness or low toxicity, at least, for the clearly specifiedarea of application, according to chronic toxicological, allergenic and carcinogenic criteria. These may possibly not have been known when the production and sale of certain pesticides were initiated. In this difficult field medical experts, analysts, and biologists should coordinate their experience in joint investigations.     

Proteins Associated With the Early Intrauterine Equine Conceptus

A critical period of early gestation in the mare involves the immobilization (fixation) of the encapsulated conceptus at around days 16–17. We compared the major proteins in the normal equine embryonic capsule and endometrial secretions around the period of fixation with those from pregnancies in the process of termination induced by administration of an analogue of prostaglandin F_2α (PGF_2α). Uterocalin and β₂-microglobulin (β₂M) associated with the embryonic capsule were proteolytically converted to smaller forms during the fixation period. These conversions were similar in conceptuses from control and treated mares. A 17 kDa cationic protein identified as a secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) type IIA was detected bound to normal capsules but increased substantially in response to PGF_2α. Two forms of uteroglobin were distinguished by partial amino acid sequences of ∼6 kDa bands in flush fluids from normal pregnant uteri. After administration of PGF_2α one immunoreactive form of uteroglobin was preferentially increased. These studies demonstrate that failure of pregnancy in this model is associated with an increase in secretory phospholipase in the capsule and a change in the forms of uteroglobin in the uterine secretions.