The role of açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart. 1824) as a chemoprotective agent in the evaluation of antioxidant defence,oxidative damage and histology of juvenile shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei (BOONE, 1931) exposed to ammonia

This study investigated the effects of the use of the inclusion of açaí on the diet of shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei on antioxidant and histopathological responses after exposure to ammonia. The shrimps were fed two experimental diets: control and with 10% of açaí inclusion (W/W), for 35 days. Afterwards, the organisms were exposed at four concentrations of ammonia (0.01‐control; 0.26; 0.48 and 0.91 mg NH₃‐N L^?1) for 96 hr. The total antioxidant capacity (ACAP) of the gills decreased significantly in both diets when exposed to ammonia, whereas in the muscle, the açaí promoted an increase in ACAP. Concomitantly, lipid peroxidation levels increased in the gills and decreased in muscle. After exposure to ammonia, glutathione‐S‐transferase activity increased in hepatopancreas in shrimps fed with açaí facilitating the detoxification of lipid peroxidation by‐products, and the concentration of protein sulfhydryl groups decreased in the gills and muscle of the shrimp of the control diet, evidencing protein damage, an unobserved response in shrimps that received the açaí diet. Histopathological changes decreased in açaí‐fed shrimps about the control diet after exposure to ammonia. It is concluded that açaí mitigated ammonia‐induced histopathological changes, improved the antioxidant defence system (gills and muscle) and attenuated the lipid damage in the muscle.     

Beyond participation! Social innovations facilitating movement from authoritative state to participatory forest governance in Ukraine

Tuning participatory processes is often insufficient to achieve transition from authoritative state to democratic and participatory forest governance due to institutional inertia and unwillingness to truly decentralize decision-making power. Social innovations as reconfigurations of relationships between state, market actors, civil society and science can help to meet concerns of local people about forest Ecosystem Services (ES). In Ukraine, the Swiss-Ukrainian Forest Development (FORZA) pilot project initiated a social innovation process complementing regional forest planning with local participatory community development plans in Transcarpathia. This paper examines what kind of changes need to accompany the succession of participatory practices in transition processes from authoritative state to democratic forest governance, and what are the lessons learned for social innovations based on the Ukrainian case study. This paper synthesizes knowledge on the FORZA case analyzed by inductive content analysis, and integrates these local level results with a national survey (N?=?244) on Ukrainian forest governance. Transition processes need to go “beyond participation” by (i) legal reforms to better acknowledge ES important for local people, (ii) a change from an exclusive focus on timber to acknowledging multiple ES, (iii) changed spatial and temporal rationales of state-based governance, and (iv) recognition of local people as credible experts. Social innovations can detect key barriers to the transition during the policy experiments, and need to pay significant attention on how the novel practices can be sustained after the pilot, replicated elsewhere and up-scaled. Without such considerations, social innovation projects may only remain as a marginal curiosity.

     

Outcome and complication rate of nasal planectomy reconstructed with direct mucocutaneous apposition

Nasal planectomy is recommended in cases of squamous cell carcinoma of the nasal planum in dogs and can be curative if excision is complete. Due to the noticeable alteration in appearance inherent in nasal planectomy, several techniques are described for reconstruction. The goal of this study is to report the complication rate and owner satisfaction following nasal planectomy with repair by direct mucocutaneous apposition compared to other reported reconstruction techniques meant to be more cosmetic. Eleven dogs were identified that underwent nasal planectomy with reconstruction via mucocutaneous apposition. Complications were noted in 8/11 dogs: all minor. All dogs underwent CT preoperatively for surgical planning. Complete excision was noted in 10/11 cases. Results suggest that direct mucocutaneous apposition is a viable surgical option for reconstruction following nasal planectomy with favorable major complication rates and owner satisfaction. In addition, direct mucocutaneous apposition for closure following nasal planectomy should be considered, especially in cases in which bone is not resected, because of low complication rates and reasonable cosmetic outcome.     

Muscular and collagenous cerebellar choristoma in a dog

This report aims to describe the first case of muscular and collagenous choristoma in a dog. A 10-yr-old female mixed-breed dog presented with lateral recumbence, vocalization, positional vertical nystagmus, divergent strabismus, anisocoria, and status epilepticus. The clinical condition evolved to stupor and ultimately, death. Necropsy revealed a white mass causing an irregular increase in the volume of the cerebellar vermis. In histological analysis, a well circumscribed, unencapsulated mass was observed in the cerebellum, consisting of fibers of striated skeletal muscle and collagen fibers, mostly mineralized. Based on the histopathological and histochemical findings, a diagnosis of muscular and collagenous cerebellar choristoma was made.     

IMAGING DIAGNOSIS —ANTEMORTEM DETECTION OF OLIGODENDROGLIOMA “CEREBROSPINAL FLUID DROP METASTASES” IN A DOG BY SERIAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING

An English Bulldog underwent radiation therapy of an intracranial, left lateral ventricle mass. Following resolution of the primary mass, an intraventricular fourth ventricle lesion developed. Subsequently, multiple lesions developed from the cervical central canal and leptomeninges. Serial magnetic resonance imaging documented the propagation of lesions along the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pathways, known as “CSF drop metastasis.” Histopathology confirmed multifocal intraventricular and leptomeningeal oligodendroglioma. Oligodendroglioma should be included in the differential diagnosis for an intraventricular tumor exhibiting apparent CSF drop metastasis.     

Immobilization of free-ranging maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) with tiletamine and zolazepam in central Brazil.

A tiletamine hydrochloride-zolazepam hydrochloride combination was used successfully to immobilize 27 free-ranging maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus) at a mean dose of 2.77+/-0.56 (mean+/-SD) mg/kg. The induction time ranged from 3-15 min. Animals remained immobilized for periods of 48.56 +/-12.65 min. Compulsive licking, excessive salivation, muscle twitching, muscle tremors, tachypnea, and bradycardia were observed associated with the induction of the anesthesia in 13 of 27 maned wolves. Muscle twitching, pedal withdrawal reflex, muscle tremors, and ataxia were observed during recovery in three (11%) maned wolves. There were no significant differences in heart rates (P = 0.44), respiratory rates (P = 0.82), and rectal temperatures (P = 0.54) recorded at 5, 15, and 25 min after induction at these dosages. The tiletamine hydrochloride-zolazepam hydrochloride combination was shown to be an effective and safe immobilizing agent for free-ranging maned wolves.     

Rickettsia lusitaniae sp. nov. isolated from the soft tick Ornithodoros erraticus (Acarina: Argasidae)

In this study a novel Rickettsia from the spotted fever group, isolated from Ornithodoros erraticus soft ticks collected from pigpens in the south of Portugal, is described. After initial screening revealed Rickettsia-positive ticks, isolation attempts were then performed. Successful isolates were achieved by shell-vial technique using Vero E6 cells at 28 °C. Molecular characterization of the isolate was performed based on analysis of five rickettsial genes gltA, ompA, ompB, sca1 and htr with their subsequent concatenation along with other rickettsial species resulting in a clustering of the new isolate with Rickettsia felis and Rickettsia hoogstraalii. The degree of nucleotide sequence similarity with other rickettsiae fulfills the criteria for classification of our isolate as a novel species. The name Rickettsia lusitaniae sp. nov. (= CEVDI PoTiRo) is proposed for this new species found in O. erraticus.     

Assessment of qualitative and quantitative parameters of healthy thyroid gland in adult horses by magnetic resonance imaging

In humans and pets, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides important adjunctive anatomic information about the thyroid and its adjacent structures. To the best of our knowledge, however, no studies have been reported regarding the use of MRI for thyroid evaluation in horses. The aim of this study was to obtain qualitative and quantitative parameters of healthy thyroid gland in adult horses by MRI. Eleven horses were submitted to thyroid MRI evaluation. The healthy thyroid of these animals was ensured by normal examinations performed before (free thyroxine and ultrasound) and after (cytology) to MRI. It was concluded that the dorsal spin-echo T1-weighted, fast spin-echo T2-weighted, sagittal STIR and a three-dimensional T1-weighted gradient echo were the sequences that best characterized the thyroid lobes. Qualitatively, there was a significant variation in the elliptical format of some lobes considering the sagittal plane, which oscillated between rounded and flattened conformation. Excellent reproducibility of the quantitative thyroid parameters obtained was verified. The thyroid gland total volume mean of observers was 14.31 cm³ (±0.69). In relation with comparisons between quantitative parameters of left and right lobes, only differences regarding their respective lengths were observed. Thus, we can infer that the difference in some thyroid lobes format can be explained by the significant variation identified between left and right lobes lengths.