The influence of rapid growth on sodium salicylate pharmacokinetics in male turkeys

The aim of this study was to assess the influence of growth on the pharmacokinetics of sodium salicylate (SS) in male turkeys. SS was administered intravenously at a dose of 50 mg/kg. Plasma drug concentrations were assessed by high‐performance liquid chromatography, and pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by noncompartmental analysis. As the age increased from 6 to 13 weeks (body weight increase from 2.35 to 9.43 kg), median body clearance decreased from 1.34 to 0.87 ml/min/kg. This caused a significant increase in the median mean residence time from 3.42 to 4.44 hr. Elimination phase proved to be biphasic and two elimination half‐lives (T_1/2el) were distinguished. Whereas T_1/2el1 was found to increase with age by 128%, T_1/2el2 represented a later but faster and less age‐dependent phase of elimination (increase by 56% in the respective groups). Volume of distribution decreased with age. These effects may lead to different therapeutic response to SS in turkeys of different age and body weights.     

Response of Thawed Epidi dymal Red Deer Spermatozoa to Increasing Concentrations of Hydrogen Peroxide,and Importance of Individual Male Variability

Oxidative stress represents a challenge during sperm manipulation. We have tested the effect of increasing hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) levels on red deer spermatozoa after cryopreservation, and the role of male‐to‐male variation in that response. In a first experiment, eight thawed samples were submitted to 0, 25, 50, 100 and 200 μm H₂O₂ for 2 h at 37°C. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (H₂DCFDA‐CM) increased with H₂O₂ concentration, but we only detected a decrease in sperm function (motility by CASA and chromatin damage by sperm chromatin structure assay) with 200 μm . Lipoperoxidation assessed by the thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) method increased slightly with 50 μm H₂O₂ and above. In a second experiment, samples from seven males were submitted to 0 and 200 μm H₂O₂ for 2 h, triplicating the experiment within each male. Males differed at thawing and regarding their response to incubation and H₂O₂ presence. We found that the kinematic parameters reflected male‐to‐male variability, whereas the response of the different males was similar for lipid peroxidation and viability. A multiparametric analysis showed that males grouped differently if samples were assessed after thawing, after incubation without H₂O₂ or after incubation with H₂O₂. Red deer spermatozoa are relatively resilient to H₂O₂ after thawing, but it seems to be a great male‐to‐male variability regarding the response to oxidative stress. The acknowledgement of this individual variability might improve the development of optimized sperm work protocols.     

COMPARISON OF SONOGRAPHIC FEATURES OF BENIGN AND NEOPLASTIC DEEP LYMPH NODES IN DOGS

The differentiation of benign vs. neoplastic lymph nodes impacts patient management. Specific sonographic features are typically considered when assessing lymph nodes in dogs. However, the usefulness of these criteria in distinguishing benign vs. malignant lymph nodes remains largely unknown, especially for deep lymph nodes. Our aim was to compare sonographic features in benign and neoplastic deep lymph nodes with the hope of identifying predictive criteria. Thirty‐one deep lymph nodes (16 mesenteric, 10 medial iliac, three hepatic, one sternal, and one cranial mediastinal) in 31 dogs were examined prospectively with B‐mode and Color flow Doppler. Lymph nodes were aspirated using ultrasound‐guidance and final diagnosis were established based on cytologic and/or histopathologic interpretation. Prevalence of each sonographic feature and combinations of two features was calculated for each group and compared using a χ²‐test or Student's t‐test for unequal variances. Ten lymph nodes were benign (hyperplastic and/or inflammatory) and 21 were neoplastic. All were hypoechoic, except for one neoplastic lymph node. Maximal short‐axis diameter (P=0.0006) and long‐axis diameter (P=0.01), and SA/LA ratio (P=0.008) were increased significantly for neoplastic (2.8, 5.5 cm, and 0.50, respectively) vs. benign (1.2, 3.8 cm, and 0.34, respectively) lymph nodes. The prevalence of other features was similar between groups. Doppler evaluation was possible in 77% of lymph nodes, but there was no significant difference between groups. When any two ultrasound features were combined, the only difference between benign and neoplastic lymph nodes was for the combination of contour regularity and appearance of the perinodal fat (P=0.03).     

Isolation and characterisation of equine influenza viruses (H3N8) from Europe and North America from 2008 to 2009

Like other influenza A viruses, equine influenza virus undergoes antigenic drift. It is therefore essential that surveillance is carried out to ensure that recommended strains for inclusion in vaccines are kept up to date. Here we report antigenic and genetic characterisation carried out on equine influenza virus strains isolated in North America and Europe over a 2-year period from 2008 to 2009. Nasopharyngeal swabs were taken from equines showing acute clinical signs and submitted to diagnostic laboratories for testing and virus isolation in eggs. The sequence of the HA1 portion of the viral haemagglutinin was determined for each strain. Where possible, sequence was determined directly from swab material as well as from virus isolated in eggs. In Europe, 20 viruses were isolated from 15 sporadic outbreaks and 5 viruses were isolated from North America. All of the European and North American viruses were characterised as members of the Florida sublineage, with similarity to A/eq/Lincolnshire/1/07 (clade 1) or A/eq/Richmond/1/07 (clade 2). Antigenic characterisation by haemagglutination inhibition assay indicated that the two clades could be readily distinguished and there were also at least seven amino acid differences between them. The selection of vaccine strains for 2010 by the expert surveillance panel have taken these differences into account and it is now recommended that representatives of both Florida clade 1 and clade 2 are included in vaccines.     

A Simple and Rapid PCR‐Based Method for Ostrich Sexing Using Micro Amounts of DNA

The aim of the present study is to identify ostrich sex by using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on micro amounts of DNA from blood, bloodstain and feathers. Sixteen male and 18 female ostriches were used as test individuals. Genomic DNA as a template was extracted by the Chelex method. Ostrsex‐P1 and P2 primers were designed to perform PCR amplification on the template. PCR products were checked using agarose gel electrophoresis with ethidium bromide staining and ostrich sex was determined directly by the bands shown on the gel. The results demonstrate that ostrich sex can be determined by the extraction of DNA from as little as 0.0125 μl blood using Chelex, whereby the use of large amounts of organic solvents such as phenol and chloroform are unnecessary. In addition, it is possible to identify ostrich sex using micro amounts of DNA extracted from bloodstains and/or feathers. The use of feathers particularly avoids unwanted sampling problems such as the difficulty of collecting ostrich blood, the stress to the ostrich caused by bleeding, and the demand for a lot of manpower for ostrich restraint.     

Recovery of horses from general anesthesia in a darkened or illuminated recovery stall

ObjectiveTo assess whether recovery from general anesthesia, in an illuminated or a darkened stall, has an effect on time to first movement, time to standing, and recovery score.Study designProspective randomized clinical study.AnimalsTwenty-nine healthy, 2- to 5-year-old horses undergoing surgical correction of dorsal displacement of the soft palate.MethodsEach horse was assigned randomly to recover in either an illuminated (n = 15) or a darkened stall (n = 14). For pre-anesthetic medication, all horses received intravenous (IV) xylazine (0.4 mg kg⁻¹) and butorphanol (0.02 mg kg⁻¹). Anesthesia was induced with midazolam (0.1 mg kg⁻¹) and ketamine (2.2 mg kg⁻¹) IV and maintained on isoflurane in oxygen. Vital parameters, end-tidal CO₂ and isoflurane were recorded at 5-minute intervals. At the conclusion of anesthesia, horses were placed in either an illuminated or a darkened stall and xylazine (0.2 mg kg⁻¹) IV was administered at extubation. Video cameras were used to record the horses while they were allowed to recover undisturbed. Video recordings were later viewed and recoveries were evaluated on a 100-point scale by three graders.ResultsHorses in illuminated and darkened recovery stalls were evaluated on total anesthesia time, minimum alveolar concentration hours of isoflurane, time to first movement, time to standing, and total recovery score. There were no significant differences between the two groups in any of the measured parameters.ConclusionRecovering horses in a darkened versus an illuminated recovery stall may provide no benefit.Clinical relevanceDarkening the recovery stalls for horses recovering from general anesthesia may be unnecessary.     

Serum biomarker profiling in cancer studies: a question of standardisation?

Companion animals are exposed to similar environmental conditions and carcinogens as humans. In some animal cancers, there also appears to be the same genetic changes associated as in humans. However, little work has been carried out in cancer biomarker identification in animals. The recent dramatic advances in molecular medicine, genomics, proteomics and translational research will allow biomarker identification, which may provide the best strategies for veterinarians and clinicians to combat disease by early diagnosis and administration of effective treatments. Proteomics may have important applications in cancer diagnosis, prognosis and predictive clinical outcome that could directly change clinical practice by affecting critical elemen‐ts of care and management. This review summarizes the advances in proteomics that has propelled us to this exciting age of clinical proteomics, and highlights the future work that is required for this to become a reality. In this review, we will discuss the available proteomic technologies and their limitations, and highlight the key areas of research and how they have been used to discover cancer biomarkers. The principles described here are equally applicable to human and animal disease, but implementation of ‘omic’ technologies requires stringent guidelines for collection of clinical material, the application of analytical techniques and interpretation of the data.