ACVIM small animal consensus statement on safe use of cytotoxic chemotherapeutics in veterinary practice

The purpose of this report is to offer a consensus opinion of ACVIM oncology diplomates and technicians on the safe use of cytotoxic chemotherapeutics in veterinary practice. The focus is on minimizing harm to the personnel exposed to the drugs: veterinary practitioners, veterinary technicians, veterinary staff, and pet owners. The safety of the patient receiving these drugs is also of paramount importance, but is not addressed in this statement. Much of the information presented is based on national recommendations by Occupational Safety and Health Administration, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, United States Pharmacopeia, and other published regulations. These directives reflect an abundance of caution to minimize exposure to medical personnel, but large‐scale studies about the consequences of long‐term occupational exposure are not available in veterinary medicine. Challenges in the delivery of optimal treatment safely and economically to veterinary patients in general practice without access to a veterinary oncologist or other specialist, because of costs or proximity, remain.     

Experimental infection of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., with infectious salmon anaemia virus: a histopathological study

Recent reports of the isolation of infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) from Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., affected by haemorrhagic kidney syndrome (HKS) suggest that ISAV can cause severe renal haemorrhage and necrosis in addition to well-known pathognomonic hepatocellular necrosis and haemorrhage. The prevalence of ISAV-induced pathognomonic renal HKS lesions and their correlation to pathognomonic hepatic lesions of infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) is not known. The present experimental infection of Atlantic salmon with a Canadian isolate of ISAV found that pathognomonic hepatic ISA lesions were present in 90.6% and pathognomonic renal HKS lesions in 78.1% of fish which died after the experimental challenge. Both pathognomonic hepatic ISA lesions and pathognomonic renal HKS lesions were found together in 65.6% of fish which died after ISAV challenge. The present study clearly demonstrates that ISAV can cause a very high prevalence of both HKS and ISA pathognomonic lesions.     

Unusual Ether Lipids and Branched Chain Fatty Acids in Sea Cucumber (Cucumaria frondosa) Viscera and Their Seasonal Variation

The sea cucumber, Cucumaria frondosa, is harvested primarily for its muscular bands and body wall. Development of a nutraceutical product based on lipid recovered from its viscera would give commercial value to the entire organism; however, such development requires knowledge of the lipid and fatty acid (FA) profiles of the viscera. Here, we describe the lipid and FA composition of viscera recovered from C. frondosa harvested in coastal waters in the northwest Atlantic, taking into account variation due to harvest season. We found highest lipid content at ~29% in winter, with diacylglyceryl ethers (DAGE) comprising ~55% of the total lipid mass and triacylglycerols (TAG), phospholipids (PL) and monoacylglycerol ethers (MAGE) at 5–25% each. The branched chain FA, 12-methyltetradecanoic acid (12-MTA), represented 42% of total FA mass in DAGE. In summer, lipid content was lower at 24% and TAG was the dominate lipid, with proportions more than double that found in winter (45% vs. 20%); DAGE in summer dropped to ~30% of total lipids. In TAG, 12-MTA was much lower than found in DAGE in winter, at only 10% but eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) content was ~20%, which brought the total EPA% to 28% of total FA—the highest among all three seasons. There was little effect of season on MAGE or PL proportions. These data can help harvesters maximize catch efforts in terms of lipid yield and profile.     

Urban forest values in Canada: Views of citizens in Calgary and Halifax

A significant component of the urban ecosystem is the urban forest. It is also the quintessential meeting point of culture and nature, so it is critical to incorporate values-based approaches to managing them. The values that really count are those of urban citizens. A novel qualitative method was used to determine what qualities of the urban forest are valued by citizens of Calgary, Alberta, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. These values were compared with those reported in the literature to reveal that citizens value the urban forests mostly for their non-material benefits. Specifically, urban forests contribute to human emotional, intellectual, and moral fulfilment.     

A pathological study of an enzootic paradontal disease of mature sheep

Extract

Paradontal disease is a general name applied to disease processes involving the tissues which surround teeth. Anatomically, these tissues (see Fig. 1) ; comprise the gum margin, the gingival crevice or sulcus, and the epithelial attachment and subgingival epithelium. Diseases of these tissues are .termed marginal gingivitis. Next is the bony alveolus lined by the periodontal membrane which serves both as periostium to the alveolus and cement layer of the tooth, and, by virtue of fibrous bands, as an anchor for the tooth in the alveolus. Disease processes in this membrane are termed periodontitis or paradenitis. When the alveolar hone is involved, the appropriate name, is given—e.g., alveolar ostitis, which is commonly, rarefying (alveolar atrophy), or osteomyelitis. For all practical purposes, these paradontal tissues may be considered as a single unit, as a disease process originating in any one of these tissues invariably involves the others, either, simultaneously or consecutively, resulting in general involvement of all the paradontal tissues in the condition often called alveolar pyorrhoea.     

Biomimetic extraction of Bacillus thuringiensis insecticidal crystal proteins from soil based on invertebrate gut fluid chemistry

Quantitative monitoring of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) insecticidal crystal proteins in soil has been hampered by the lack of efficient extraction/detection methods. A novel approach for simple and effective Bt protein extraction was explored by evaluating extraction solutions from invertebrate gut fluids. Marine worm gut fluids were identified as promising for extracting Bt protein from soil. An artificial gut fluid based on these marine worm gut fluids was developed using commercially available chemicals and was evaluated for its ability to extract Bt proteins from soil. On the basis of experiments with Cry1 proteins, the artificial gut fluid in combination with ELISA was highly effective for protein extraction and analysis in a variety of soil types and was well-correlated with bioassay results. Coupling of immunoassay with this extraction method provides, for the first time, an efficient, accurate, and quantitative assay for routine measurement of Bt protein residues in soil.