Mucopolysaccharidosis IIIA (Sanfilippo syndrome) in a New Zealand Huntaway dog with ataxia

AIM: To investigate the nature of a progressive ataxia in a New Zealand Huntaway dog. METHODS: The affected dog was examined clinically before being humanely killed and necropsied. Selected tissues were submitted to light and electron microscopy and to biochemical analyses. RESULTS: The histological lesions were interpreted as indicative of one of the forms of mucopolysaccharidosis type-III (MPS-III), a lysosomal storage disease. Biochemically there was a deficiency of heparan sulphamidase. All the heparan sulphate chains had non-reducing-end glucosamine-N-sulphate residues. CONCLUSION: The disease is MPS-IIIA (Sanfilippo syndrome). An autosomal recessive mode of inheritance can be provisionally assumed from the nature of this disease in other species.     

Ureteral fibroepithelial polyp in an owl monkey (Aotus nancymae)

Ureteral fibroepithelial polyps are benign mesodermal tumors in humans that occur predominantly in the proximal ureter. During a routine necropsy of a wild-caught, research na?ve, adult, male, Aotus nancymae, the left ureter just distal to the renal pelvis contained a pedunculated, lobulated neoplasm with a narrow stalk at the base projecting into the lumen. The left renal pelvis was found to be mildly dilated. The histologic characteristics of the ureteral mass were consistent with a fibroepithelial polyp. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing a ureteral fibroepithelial polyp in a nonhuman primate.     

Heterogeneous catalysis: effect of an alternating electric field

Oxidation of carbon monoxide was studcied in a static reactor at 123 degrees +/- 1 degrees C, wtith NiO as catalyst. An alternating electric field of about 22,000 volts per centimeter, peak to peak, was applied normal to the catalytic Surfaces. The rate of oxidation was thereby enhanced by a factor of 6 at 100 cycles per second, with maximum enhancement at between 100 and 200 cycles per second.     

Methods and mortality results of a health survey of purebred dogs in the UK

Objectives : To collect information on the cause of death and longevity of dogs owned by members of the numerically largest breed clubs of 169 UK Kennel Club-recognised breeds. Methods : A cross-sectional study was carried out. Approximately 58,363 questionnaires were sent out to breed club members in 2004 (nine clubs failed to report the exact number of questionnaires sent out). Owners reported age at death and cause(s) of death for all dogs that had died within the previous 10 years. Results : A total of 13,741 questionnaires (24% response rate) containing information on 15,881 deaths were included in the analysis. Breed-specific response rates ranged from 64·7 to 4·5%. The median age at death was 11 years and 3 months (minimum=2 months, maximum=23 years and 5 months) and it varied by breed. The most common causes of death were cancer (n=4282, 27%), “old age” (n=2830, 18%) and cardiac conditions (n=1770, 11%). Clinical Significance : This survey shows breed differences in lifespan and causes of death, and the results support previous evidence that smaller breeds tend to have longer lifespan compared with larger breeds. Although many of the breeds in the study may not be representative of the general pedigree dog population in the UK, the results do contribute to the limited information currently available.     

Detection of spinal cord compression in dogs with cervical intervertebral disc disease by magnetic resonance imaging

The medical records and magnetic resonance images of 33 dogs with surgically confirmed Hansen type I cervical intervertebral disc disease were reviewed. Fourteen of the dogs were chondrodystrophic and 19 were not chondrodystrophic. The most common clinical sign was neck pain, which affected 28 of the dogs, and 23 of the dogs were able to walk. Fifteen of the dogs had developed clinical signs acutely, within the previous 24 hours. On cross-sectional images the median area of spinal cord compression was 26 per cent (range 11 to 71 per cent) of the normal spinal cord area. The degree of spinal cord compression was significantly associated with the dogs' presurgical neurological status but not with their postsurgical neurological status. The dogs with an acute onset of clinical signs had more severe neurological dysfunction before surgery, but their condition improved more as a result of surgery.     

Novel bivalent vectored vaccine for control of myxomatosis and rabbit haemorrhagic disease

A novel, recombinant myxoma virus-rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) vaccine has been developed for the prevention of myxomatosis and rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD). A number of laboratory studies are described illustrating the safety and efficacy of the vaccine following subcutaneous administration in laboratory rabbits from four weeks of age onwards. In these studies, both vaccinated and unvaccinated control rabbits were challenged using pathogenic strains of RHD and myxoma viruses, and 100 per cent of the vaccinated rabbits were protected against both myxomatosis and RHD.     

板栗低产树的高接换种

板栗系异花授粉植物,其有性繁殖后代单株间产量和品质悬殊,且种性混杂,良莠不齐,低产树仅产6—8斤,果实成熟期亦不一致,甚至还有仅结刺苞不长栗子的“公树”。实行多头高接换种,接后产量可成倍增加,其高接方法如下: 1.多头高接换种法:采用枝干直径3—4     

Water deficits at anthesis reduce CO(2) assimilation and yield of lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) trees

Ten-year-old 'Tai So' lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) trees growing on a sandy loam soil in subtropical South Africa (latitude 25 degrees S) were watered weekly (well-watered treatment) or droughted from late July until January (drought treatment). After 16 weeks, at which time the trees obtained most of their water from below 150 cm, average soil water content at 0 to 150 cm depth was 14.5 +/- 0.1% in the well-watered treatment and reached a minimum of 7.6% in the drought treatment. At Week 7, minimum leaf water potential (Psi(L)) in the morning and early afternoon declined to -2.6 and -2.8 MPa, respectively, in droughted trees compared with -1.5 and -2.2 MPa, respectively, in well-watered trees. From Week 9, stomatal conductance and net CO(2) assimilation rate ranged from 70 to 300 mmol m(-2) s(-1) and 3 to 13 micro mol CO(2) m(-2) s(-1), respectively, in well-watered trees. The corresponding values for droughted trees were 50 to 180 mmol m(-2) s(-1) and 2 to 6 micro mol CO(2) m(-2) s(-1). Five weeks after rewatering the droughted trees, gas exchange had not recovered to the rate in well-watered trees, although tree water status recovered within a week of rewatering. In the well-watered trees, water use (E(t)) was 26 +/- 1 mm week(-1) with evaporation (E(p)) of 20 to 70 mm week(-1) indicating a crop factor (k(c) = E(t)/E(p)) of 0.4 to 1.2. Before anthesis, tree water status did not affect extension growth of floral panicles or leafy shoots. In contrast, no vegetative shoots were initiated after fruit set in the droughted trees when Psi(L) in the morning declined to -2.5 MPa. Water deficits reduced initial fruit set by 30% and final fruit set by 70% as a result of fruit splitting (41.2 +/- 4.0% versus 10.0 +/- 1.3%). Water deficits did not alter the sigmoidal pattern of fruit growth, but reduced yield from 51.4 +/- 5.5 kg tree(-1) in well-watered trees to 7.4 +/- 3.3 kg tree(-1) in droughted trees.