Rhabdomyosarcoma (botryoid sarcoma) of the urinary bladder in a Maltese

A urinary bladder tumour was diagnosed in a two-year-old female Maltese with haematuria and pollakiuria on the basis of ultrasonography and pneumocystography findings. The mass was resected, and the bladder was preserved at surgery. Histological and immunohistochemical examination confirmed the tumour to be a rhabdomyosarcoma, which has rarely been reported in small breeds of dog. There was no recurrence of the tumour at the original site in the urinary bladder two months later, when the dog died due to metastasis to the liver. This is believed to be the first report of bladder rhabdomyosarcoma in a Maltese.     

A gross and histopathological study of an ectopic white line development in equine laminitis

In horses with chronic laminitis, an abnormal horny structure called lamellar wedge, is generated between the hoof wall and the laminar epidermis. To be able to manage horses with chronic laminitis correctly, more information about the pathological state of this abnormal horn is required. The aim of this study was to collect and analyze objective morphological data about the abnormal horn in order to understand its morphology and development. In the study, the abnormal horn was grossly visible on the sagittal hoof section from approximately 20 days after the onset of disease. In the histological observations, the structural characteristics of this abnormal horn were similar to the white line tissue, suggesting it is an ectopic white line. Mean value of the cross-sectional area of the abnormal horn against the distal phalanx section area (A/D) was 0.29 cm(2) SD +/- 0.14 and it finally showed an eight-fold increase over the mean value of normal white line section area against the distal phalanx section area. In conclusion, a large amount of the ectopic white line is thought to be finally able to inhibit normal hoof wall growth, so that it should be resected at the optimum time when would be after one month from the onset of the disease.     

Morphology of the oviduct fluke,Prosthogonimus ovatus,isolated from Indonesian native chickens and histopathological observation of the infected chickens

Prosthogonimus ovatus infection was detected in 5 of 130 chickens in the oviduct and 4 chickens in the bursa of Fabricius. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the spines of the P. ovatus were densely distributed on the cuticula of the entire dorsal surface of body, but on the ventral surface, they were densely present to the level of ventral sucker but gradually decreased in density posteriorly, and they could not be seen in the posterior 1/3 area. The spines were finger-shaped and denticulate at the tip. Histopathological examination showed that polypous elevations, degeneration and exfoliation of the mucosal epithelium were detected in the bursa of Fabricius possibly by the suction of flukes, in addition to the stratification of the mucosal epithelium, and interstitial cell infiltration.     

Divergent selection for delayed‐type wattle reaction of domestic fowls to BCG antigen

1. Two‐way selection for delayed‐type hypersensitivity wattle reaction (DWR) competence to BCG antigen was carried out over 4 generations, using a flock of White Leghorn chickens. DWR was measured by intradermal injection of BCG into the wattle of chickens.

2. Selection for DWR was effective. The generation means of average selection differential, selection response and realized heritability were 1–15 mm, 0–77 mm and 0–70 respectively. Correlated responses were found in body weight, egg weight and hatchability. In all of these traits, the L line (selected for low wattle reaction) showed higher values than the H line (high reaction).

3. Specific trends in gene frequencies were observed at the major histocompatibility B and alkaline phosphatase Akp loci.

4. Significant line differences were found in graft‐versus‐host reaction competence and Marek's disease resistance. In both characters, the L line was higher than the H line. No line differences were found in phytohaemagglutinin reponse, phagocytic activity or immune responses.     

Total glutathione and glutathione reductase in bovine erythrocytes and liver biopsy

The goal of the present study was to measure the total glutathione level and glutathione reductase activity in bovine erythrocytes and liver biopsy. Five cows were injected intraperitoneally with DL-ethionine (12.5 mg/kg B.W.), and two control cows were injected with normal saline (0.9% NaCl). Ultrasonography guided liver biopsy, and blood samples were collected at 0, 4, 7 and 10 days after injection. The hepatic total glutathione level was significantly increased on Days 7 (p<0.05) and 10 (p<0.01), and hepatic glutathione reductase activity was significantly increased on Days 4 (p<0.05), 7 (p<0.01) and 10 (p<0.01). There were insignificant changes in the erythrocytic total glutathione level. The present study demonstrated that liver biopsy is a valuable tool for detecting oxidative stress and for diagnosing hepatic dysfunction in cattle from the viewpoint of the status of glutathione and glutathione reductase.     

Comparison of growth response ofAbies andPicea species to climate in Mt. Norikura, Central Japan

Tree-ring chronologies were developed fromAbies mariesii Masters andPicea jezoensis ssp.hondoensis (Mayr) P. Schmidt collected at different altitudes of Mt. Norikura, central Japan. The tree-ring parameters of ring width and maximum density were measured by soft X-ray densitometry. The measurement series were detrended by fitting a 33-year cubic smoothing spline and autoregressive model. The correlation between species and between sites showed different responses of the species to climate in terms of ring width and maximum density. The correlation coefficient between sites within a species was higher than that between species for a site in the ring width, and the coefficient between species for a site was higher in maximum density. The correlation coefficient between tree-ring chronology and monthly climate data set showed different responses of radial growth to climate. The different response was probably explained by the difference in the length of the growing season. High summer temperature increased the maximum density of the two species and the radial growth inAbies mariesii. Summer precipitation correlated negatively to maximum density, but it did not affect the ring width of either species. The climatic signals could be extracted from ring-width and maximum-density chronologies of both species.     

Immunohistochemical characterization of hepatoblastomas in B6C3F1 mice treated with diethylnitrosamine and sodium phenobarbital.

Hepatoblastomas (HBs) were induced in B6C3F1 male mice by diethylnitrosamine (DEN) and sodium phenobarbital (PB). Six-week-old mice received a single intraperitoneal dose of DEN followed by a continuous treatment with PB in diet at a concentration of 0 (group 1) or 500 (group 2) ppm for 50 weeks. HBs were observed in 13 of 21 (62%) group 2 mice, with typical histologic features as reported previously, while no such tumors were observed in group 1. Seven of 13 (54%) HBs were found in and/or adjacent to hepatocellular adenomas (HCAs) or hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs). Immunohistochemically, all HBs were positive for S-100 protein but negative for keratin, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), albumin (ALB) and vimentin, while HCC cells occasionally reacted positively for AFP with a mosaic pattern. HCC and HCA cells were occasionally positive for ALB. Non-neoplastic hepatocytes and normal bile ducts were positively stained for ALB and keratin/S-100 protein, respectively. S-100 protein is known to be expressed in many mesenchymal tissues and neoplasms including neuroectodermal elements but negative in cells of the hepatic lineage. Thus, the present immunohistochemical results suggested that mesenchymal differentiation occurs in mouse HB cells as observed in human HBs, one of the most frequent infant liver tumors in humans. Although the susceptibility of mouse HBs to PB-promotion suggests a hepatocytic histogenesis, the present immunohistochemical results support the hypothesis that the mouse HB is derived from pluripotent endodermal stem-like cells.