Congenital branchial apparatus malformation in a Haflinger colt

Objective— To report the diagnosis and treatment of a branchial apparatus anomaly (BAA) associated with a mandibular malformation in a foal.
Design— Clinical report.
Animal— Haflinger foal.
Methods— A 6-day-old foal had a fluctuating cystic mass in the pharyngeal (throatlatch) region, which changed in appearance after ingestion of milk. Upper airway endoscopy and diagnostic imaging (ultrasonography, radiography, computed tomography) permitted identification of the anatomic location of a communicating tract between the lumen of the cystic mass and the pharynx. The mass was surgically removed and communication with the pharynx ligated. Histologic appearance of this mass was consistent with a branchial cyst or sinus. The mandibular malformation was managed conservatively.
Results— Surgical resection of a third branchial sinus resulted in an excellent functional and cosmetic outcome. There was no evidence of any mandibular deformity 2 years later.
Conclusion— BAA may induce secondary mandibular deformation in utero and may cause respiratory compromise postpartum. Careful surgical dissection and removal of BAA resulted in an excellent outcome.
Clinical Relevance— BAAs should be included in the differential diagnosis of a throatlatch region mass in equine neonates. Complete surgical excision is recommended and full recovery of any associated mandibular deformity may be anticipated without additional treatment in very young patients.     

Habitat use of a coastal delphinid population investigated using passive acoustic monitoring

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Indications, management, and outcome of long-term positive-pressure ventilation in dogs and cats: 148 cases (1990-2001)

OBJECTIVE: To determine outcome of positive-pressure ventilation (PPV) for 24 hours or longer and identify factors associated with successful weaning from PPV and survival to hospital discharge in dogs and cats. DESIGN: Retrospective case series. ANIMALS: 124 dogs and 24 cats that received PPV for 24 hours or longer. PROCEDURES: Medical records were reviewed for signalment, primary diagnosis, reason for initiating PPV, measures of oxygenation and ventilation before and during PPV, ventilator settings, complications, duration of PPV, and outcome. Animals were categorized into 1 of 3 groups on the basis of the reason for PPV. RESULTS: Group 1 patients received PPV for inadequate oxygenation (67 dogs and 6 cats), group 2 for inadequate ventilation (46 dogs and 16 cats), and group 3 for inadequate oxygenation and ventilation (11 dogs and 2 cats). Of the group 1 animals, 36% (26/73) were weaned from PPV and 22% (16/73) survived to hospital discharge. In group 2, 50% (31/62) were weaned from PPV and 39% (24/62) survived to hospital discharge. In group 3, 3 of 13 were weaned from PPV and 1 of 13 survived to hospital discharge. Likelihood of successful weaning and survival to hospital discharge were significantly higher for group 2 animals, and cats had a significantly lower likelihood of successful weaning from PPV, compared with dogs. Median duration of PPV was 48 hours (range, 24 to 356 hours) and was not associated with outcome. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggested that long-term PPV is practical and successful in dogs and cats.     

Effects of human activity on the foraging behavior of sanderlings Calidris alba

Urbanization and coastal development has dramatically reduced the beach habitat available for foraging shorebirds worldwide. This study tested the general hypothesis that recreational use of shorebird foraging areas adversely affects the foraging behavior of sanderlings Calidris alba. Observations conducted on two central California beaches from January through May and September through December of 1999 showed that number and activity of people significantly reduced the amount of time sanderlings spent foraging. Although the sample size was low, the most significant negative factor was the presence of free running dogs on the beach. The experimentally determined minimal approach distance did not vary significantly with the type of human activities tested. Based on these results, policy recommendations for minimizing the impact of human beach activities on foraging shorebirds include: (1) people maintain a minimum distance of 30 m from areas where shorebirds concentrate and (2) strict enforcement of leash laws.     

Organic C and N stabilization in a forest soil: Evidence from sequential density fractionation

In mineral soil, organic matter (OM) accumulates mainly on and around surfaces of silt- and clay-size particles. When fractionated according to particle density, C and N concentration (per g fraction) and C/N of these soil organo-mineral particles decrease with increasing particle density across soils of widely divergent texture, mineralogy, location, and management. The variation in particle density is explained potentially by two factors: (1) a decrease in the mass ratio of organic to mineral phase of these particles, and (2) variations in density of the mineral phase. The first explanation implies that the thickness of the organic accumulations decreases with increasing particle density. The decrease in C/N can be explained at least partially by especially stable sorption of nitrogenous N-containing compounds (amine, amide, and pyrrole) directly to mineral surfaces, a phenomenon well documented both empirically and theoretically. These peptidic compounds, along with ligand-exchanged carboxylic compounds, could then form a stable inner organic layer onto which other organics could sorb more readily than onto the unconditioned mineral surfaces (“onion” layering model).To explore mechanisms underlying this trend in C concentration and C/N with particle density, we sequentially density fractionated an Oregon andic soil at 1.65, 1.85, 2.00, 2.28, and 2.55 g cm⁻³ and analyzed the six fractions for measures of organic matter and mineral phase properties.All measures of OM composition showed either: (1) a monotonic change with density, or (2) a monotonic change across the lightest fractions, then little change over the heaviest fractions. Total C, N, and lignin phenol concentration all decreased monotonically with increasing density, and ¹⁴C mean residence time (MRT) increased with particle density from ca. 150 years to >980 years in the four organo-mineral fractions. In contrast, C/N, ¹³C and ¹⁵N concentration all showed the second pattern. All these data are consistent with a general pattern of an increase in extent of microbial processing with increasing organo-mineral particle density, and also with an “onion” layering model.X-ray diffraction before and after separation of magnetic materials showed that the sequential density fractionation (SDF) isolated pools of differing mineralogy, with layer-silicate clays dominating in two of the intermediate fractions and primary minerals in the heaviest two fractions. There was no indication that these differences in mineralogy controlled the differences in density of the organo-mineral particles in this soil. Thus, our data are consistent with the hypothesis that variation in particle density reflects variation in thickness of the organic accumulations and with an “onion” layering model for organic matter accumulation on mineral surfaces. However, the mineralogy differences among fractions made it difficult to test either the layer-thickness or “onion” layering models with this soil. Although SDF isolated pools of distinct mineralogy and organic-matter composition, more work will be needed to understand mechanisms relating the two factors.     

Crystal structure of Cd,Zn metallothionein

The anomalous scattering data from five Cd in the native protein were used to determine the crystal structure of cadmium, zinc (Cd,Zn) metallothionein isoform II from rat liver. The structure of a 4-Cd cluster was solved by direct methods. A 2.3 A resolution electron density map was calculated by iterative single-wavelength anomalous scattering. The structure is folded into two domains. The amino terminal domain (beta) of residues 1 to 29 enfolds a three-metal cluster of one Cd and two Zn atoms coordinated by six terminal cysteine thiolate ligands and three bridging cysteine thiolates. The carboxyl terminal domain (alpha) of residues 30 to 61 enfolds a 4-Cd cluster coordinated by six terminal and five bridging cysteine thiolates. All seven metal sites have tetrahedral coordination geometry. The domains are roughly spherical, and the diameter is 15 to 20 A; there is limited contact between domains. The folding of alpha and beta is topologically similar but with opposite chirality. Redundant, short cysteine-containing sequences have similar roles in cluster formation in both alpha and beta.     

A RAPID STAINING METHOD FOR RICKETTSIA ORIENTALIS

A rapid method for staining R. orientalis is described. Smears of infected tissues are defatted and stained in a dilute aqueous solution of methylene blue and basic fuchsin. Smears thus stained show R. orientalis as blue organisms on a pinkish-purple background.     

Microbial community composition and carbon cycling within soil microenvironments of conventional, low-input, and organic cropping systems

This study coupled stable isotope probing with phospholipid fatty acid analysis (¹³C-PLFA) to describe the role of microbial community composition in the short-term processing (i.e., C incorporation into microbial biomass and/or deposition or respiration of C) of root- versus residue-C and, ultimately, in long-term C sequestration in conventional (annual synthetic fertilizer applications), low-input (synthetic fertilizer and cover crop applied in alternating years), and organic (annual composted manure and cover crop additions) maize-tomato (Zea mays - Lycopersicum esculentum) cropping systems. During the maize growing season, we traced ¹³C-labeled hairy vetch (Vicia dasycarpa) roots and residues into PLFAs extracted from soil microaggregates (53-250 μm) and silt-and-clay (<53 μm) particles. Total PLFA biomass was greatest in the organic (41.4 nmol g⁻¹ soil) and similar between the conventional and low-input systems (31.0 and 30.1 nmol g⁻¹ soil, respectively), with Gram-positive bacterial PLFA dominating the microbial communities in all systems. Although total PLFA-C derived from roots was over four times greater than from residues, relative distributions (mol%) of root- and residue-derived C into the microbial communities were not different among the three cropping systems. Additionally, neither the PLFA profiles nor the amount of root- and residue-C incorporation into the PLFAs of the microaggregates were consistently different when compared with the silt-and-clay particles. More fungal PLFA-C was measured, however, in microaggregates compared with silt-and-clay. The lack of differences between the mol% within the microbial communities of the cropping systems and between the PLFA-C in the microaggregates and the silt-and-clay may have been due to (i) insufficient differences in quality between roots and residues and/or (ii) the high N availability in these N-fertilized cropping systems that augmented the abilities of the microbial communities to process a wide range of substrate qualities. The main implications of this study are that (i) the greater short-term microbial processing of root- than residue-C can be a mechanistic explanation for the higher relative retention of root- over residue-C, but microbial community composition did not influence long-term C sequestration trends in the three cropping systems and (ii) in spite of the similarity between the microbial community profiles of the microaggregates and the silt-and-clay, more C was processed in the microaggregates by fungi, suggesting that the microaggregate is a relatively unique microenvironment for fungal activity.