Dermatophytic pseudomycetomas in four cats

The aim of this retrospective study was to describe the clinical characteristics and treatment of four cats with dermatophytic pseudomycetoma. Four Persian cats, one female and three males, with age ranging from 1.4 to 5 years, were diagnosed with dermatophytic pseudomycetoma by histological examination and fungal culture. Wood's lamp examination revealed positive fluorescence of hairs in all four cats. Characteristic skin lesions consisted of multifocal, raised, firm and nodular to dome-shaped lesions varying in size from 1 to 8 cm in diameter, with ulcers or fistulas in some of the lesions. One cat was treated and cured with 3 months of oral itraconazole; lesions completely regressed, and at the time of writing there has been no recurrence. One cat was treated with surgical excision alone, and recurrence of lesions occurred after a disease-free interval of 15 months. Two cats were treated with surgical excision and systemic itraconazole therapy. Itraconazole therapy was started 1-2 months before surgery and continued for 3 months after surgery. Surgical margins were wide in both cats, and underlying adipose tissue and/or deeper fascia was removed. One cat relapsed, but had a disease-free interval of 18 months. The other cat has been disease free for 32 months. This case series suggests that aggressive, wide surgical excision and concurrent oral itraconazole are highly beneficial in treating dermatophytic pseudomycetoma in cats.     

Adrenocorticotropic hormone stimulation tests in healthy foals from birth to 12 weeks of age

The purpose of this study was to investigate total baseline plasma cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) concentrations, and ACTH-stimulated cortisol concentrations in foals from birth to 12 wk of age. Plasma (baseline) cortisol and ACTH concentrations were measured in 13 healthy foals at birth and at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 14, 21, 28, 42, 56, and 84 d of age. Each foal received cosyntropin (0.1 μg/kg) intravenously. Plasma cortisol concentrations were measured before (baseline), and 30, and 60 min after cosyntropin administration at birth and at 3, 5, 7, 10, 14, 21, 28, 42, 56, and 84 d of age. Compared with baseline, cortisol concentration increased significantly 30 min after administration of cosyntropin on all days. Cortisol concentration was highest at birth, measured at 30 and 60 min after cosyntropin administration, compared with all other days. With the exception of birth measurements, cortisol concentration was significantly higher on day 84, measured at 30 and 60 min after cosyntropin administration, when compared with all other days. Baseline plasma ACTH was lowest at birth when compared with concentrations on days 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 14, 42, 56, and 84. Administration of 0.1 μg/kg of cosyntropin, IV, reliably induces cortisol secretion in healthy foals. Differences in the magnitude of response to cosyntropin are observed depending on the age of the foal. These data should serve as a reference for the ACTH stimulation test in foals and should be useful in subsequent studies to evaluate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in healthy and critically ill foals.     

马铃薯晚疫病菌在水及土壤中存活期限和状态的初步观察

初步试验和观察结果表示马铃薯晚疫病菌在无定形的原生质团状态下能相当长时期地在水和土壤中保存其生活力。将病薯上的病菌接种于薯块切面上,大量繁殖后作如下处理:(1)用针将孢子囊挑入冷开水或普通自来水中,保存于20℃的温箱内。(2)将孢子囊冲洗到普通自来水中,稀释为每低倍镜视野含有60个孢子囊的悬浮液,倒入花盆内的轻松     

Effect of yohimbine on xylazine-induced immobilization in white-tailed deer

Two groups of white-tailed deer were given IM injections of xylazine with a projectile syringe. Deer in one of the groups served as controls and did not receive any treatments other than xylazine. Deer in the other group were given yohimbine IV at various times (15 to 171 minutes) to evaluate its effect on xylazine-induced immobilization. In 5 control deer given 3.7 +/- 1.2 mg of xylazine/kg (mean +/- SD), onset of recumbency was 13 +/- 2 minutes and time to standing was 268 +/- 76 minutes. In 20 principal deer given 2.8 +/- 1.0 mg of xylazine/kg, onset of recumbency was 8 +/- 7 minutes, time to sitting after giving yohimbine was 3 +/- 4 minutes in 18 of the deer, and time to standing after giving yohimbine was 4 +/- 5 minutes in 19 of the deer. Most of these deer were still moderately sedated 30 minutes after injection of yohimbine, but none of them became reimmobilized or as deeply sedated as before the injection of yohimbine. Yohimbine also reversed the bradycardia and respiratory depression induced by xylazine.     

Association of increased serum acute‐phase protein concentrations with reproductive performance in dairy cows with postpartum metritis

Background: It is known that quantification of bovine acute‐phase proteins could routinely provide early diagnostic and prognostic information for monitoring herd health status. Objective: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that haptoglobin (Hp) and serum amyloid A (SAA) have the potential for indicating uterine infection, mainly due to subclinical endometritis, which can seriously influence the reproductive performance in dairy cows. Methods: A total of 264 serum samples were collected from 24 Holstein dairy cows at defined intervals from 1 week prepartum to 6 months postpartum. Clinically healthy animals (Group 1, n=6) were compared with 24 animals having acute puerperal metritis (Group 2, n=18) and with concentrations obtained from healthy heifers (baseline values, n=10). The concentrations of serum Hp and SAA were measured using a hemoglobin‐binding assay and Western blot analysis, respectively. Reproductive performance was assessed as the number of days open and the conception rate at the end of the study. Results: Upper cut‐off values for Hp and SAA concentrations in heifers were 130.9 μg/L and 51.9 μg/mL, respectively. Hp concentrations in Group 2 were significantly higher than those in Group 1 at all time points (P<.001). Additionally, among the successfully pregnant animals, the number of days open was significantly higher in 6 cows with Hp >130.9 μg/mL (median=316 days) than in 11 cows with Hp ≤130.9 μg/mL (median=120 days) (P=.0024). Conclusions: Serum Hp and SAA concentrations can be used to recognize uterine infection in postpartum cows. The association between elevated Hp values and number of days open suggests Hp may also be a useful indicator of poor prognosis for reproductive performance.     

Induction of apoptosis by shikonin through coordinative modulation of the Bcl-2 family, p27, and p53, release of cytochrome c, and sequential activation of caspases in human colorectal carcinoma cells

Shikonin is a main constituent of the roots of Lithospermum erythrorhizon that has antimutagenic activity. However, its other biological activities are not well-known. Shikonin displayed a strong inhibitory effect against human colorectal carcinoma COLO 205 cells and human leukemia HL-60 cells, with estimated IC(50) values of 3.12 and 5.5 microM, respectively, but were less effective against human colorectal carcinoma HT-29 cells, with an estimated IC(50) value of 14.8 microM. Induce apoptosis was confirmed in COLO 205 cells by DNA fragmentation and the appearance of a sub-G1 DNA peak, which were preceded by loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, cytochrome c release, and subsequent induction of pro-caspase-9 and -3 processing. Cleavages of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and DNA fragmentation factor (DFF-45) were accompanied by activation of caspase-9 and -3 triggered by shikonin in COLO 205 cells. Here, we found that shikonin-induced apoptotic cell death was accompanied by upregulation of p27, p53, and Bad and down-regulation of Bcl-2 and Bcl-X(L), while shikonin had little effect on the levels of Bax protein. Taken together, we suggested that shikonin-induced apoptosis is triggered by the release of cytochrome c into cytosol, procaspase-9 processing, activation of caspase-3, degradation of PARP, and DNA fragmentation caused by the caspase-activated deoxyribonuclease through the digestion of DFF-45. The induction of apoptosis by shikonin may provide a pivotal mechanism for its cancer chemopreventive action.     

Diagnosis of feline polycystic kidney disease by a combination of ultrasonographic examination and PKD1 gene analysis

Persian-related and non-Persian-related cats were examined by ultrasonography and/or molecular testing to determine the prevalence of feline polycystic kidney disease (PKD) and the presence of a PKD1 gene mutation. PCR was used to amplify exon 29 of the PKD1 gene using genomic DNA extracted from blood samples, and the PCR products were analysed by direct DNA sequencing. Among the 111 cats included in the study, 54 were examined by both ultrasonography and gene testing for a point mutation in exon 29 of the PKD1 gene. The prevalence of PKD diagnosed by ultrasonography was 25.9 per cent in all the cats and 24.2 per cent in Persian-related cats. The prevalence of the transversion mutation in exon 29 of the PKD1 gene was 13.5 per cent in all cats and 15.7 per cent in Persian-related cats. Three cats that were diagnosed with PKD by ultrasonography did not have the mutation within exon 29. Nucleotide analysis of exon 29 indicated that male cats had a higher point mutation rate than female cats.     

15N2–DNA–stable isotope probing of diazotrophic methanotrophs in soil

Nucleic acid stable isotope probing (SIP) is a powerful tool that can identify and characterize the microorganisms that mediate specific soil processes and explore the flow of C and N through functional groups in the soil food web. While ¹³C–SIP has been used successfully in a range of applications, methodological constraints have limited the applicability of ¹⁵N-labelled compounds in nucleic acid SIP. However, ¹⁵N–DNA–SIP can now be achieved and this method when used with ¹⁵N₂ provides a powerful new tool for characterizing free-living diazotrophs in natural ecosystems. A diverse array of non-cultivated diazotrophs have been observed in soil and yet the characteristics of these organisms and their environmental significance remain almost completely unknown. ¹⁵N₂–DNA–SIP can identify those diazotrophs that are active in situ while providing access to gene sequences and genome fragments that can yield insights on their evolutionary history and functional capacities. Further insights on the ecology of free-living diazotrophs in soil can be provided by performing ¹⁵N₂–DNA–SIP on microcosms in which the response of the diazotrophic community is determined in relation to experimental manipulation. We describe the use of ¹⁵N₂–DNA–SIP to explore linkages between different C sources and N-fixation by specific diazotroph populations in soil. Methane addition to soil was observed to stimulate N-fixation and the organisms that were found to be responsible for this activity were Type II methanotrophs most closely related to the genus Methylocystis. This report provides insights on the use of nucleic acid SIP to identify and characterize microorganisms that mediate specific soil processes and represents the first time that a specific group of methanotrophs has been shown to mediate N-fixation while in the soil environment.