Continuous lumbar hemilaminectomy for intervertebral disc disease in an Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica)

A 13-yr-old Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) was presented for an acute onset of paraplegia. Spinal imaging that included plain radiographs, myelography, and computed tomography performed under general anesthesia revealed lateralized spinal cord compression at the intervertebral disc space L4-5 caused by intervertebral disc extrusion. This extrusion was accompanied by an extensive epidural hemorrhage from L3 to L6. Therefore, a continuous hemilaminectomy from L3 to L6 was performed, resulting in complete decompression of the spinal cord. The tiger was ambulatory again 10 days after the surgery. This case suggests that the potential benefit of complete spinal cord decompression may outweigh the risk of causing clinically significant spinal instability after extensive decompression.     

In vitro adherence of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius to canine corneocytes is influenced by colonization status of corneocyte donors

The current knowledge of in vitro adherence of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius to canine corneocytes is limited to comparative analyses between strains, staphylococcal species or corneocytes collected from different breeds, body sites and hosts. However, the role played by colonization status of corneocyte donors remains unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the adherence properties of commensal S. pseudintermedius strains to corneocytes collected from dogs with different colonization status. For this purpose, corneocytes were collected from five dogs that were classified as persistently colonized (D1 and D2), intermittently colonized (D3 and D4) or non-colonized (D5) on the basis of the results of a previous longitudinal study. Adherence to corneocytes originating from each of the five dogs was assessed by an in vitro adhesion assay using four genetically unrelated strains isolated from the colonized dogs (S1 to S4). Irrespective of their host of origin, all strains adhered significantly better to corneocytes from D1 and D2 than to corneocytes from D3, D4 and D5 (P < 0.0001). The mean count of cells adhering to corneocytes from persistently colonized dogs was on average three times higher than the mean count using corneocytes from the other dogs. A significant difference between strains was only observed for one strain-corneocyte combination (S2-D4), indicating that S. pseudintermedius adherence to corneocytes is driven by host factors and only marginally influenced by strain factors. This finding has important implications for understanding and preventing S. pseudintermedius skin colonization and infection.     

Regional and local scale variations in soil organic carbon stocks in West Greenland

The soil organic carbon (SOC) pool of the Northern Hemisphere contains about half of the global SOC stored in soils. As the Arctic is exceptionally sensitive to global warming, temperature rise and prolonged summer lead to deeper thawing of permafrost‐affected soils and might contribute to increasing greenhouse gas emissions progressively. To assess the overall feedback of soil organic carbon stocks (SOCS) to global warming in permafrost‐affected regions the spatial variation in SOCS at different environmental scales is of great interest. However, sparse and unequally distributed soil data sets at various scales in such regions result in highly uncertain estimations of SOCS of the Northern Hemisphere and here particularly in Greenland. The objectives of this study are to compare and evaluate three controlling factors for SOCS distribution (vegetation, landscape, aspect) at two different scales (local, regional). The regional scale reflects the different environmental conditions between the two study areas at the coast and the ice margin. On the local scale, characteristics of each controlling factor in form of defined units (vegetation units, landscape units, aspect units) are used to describe the variation in the SOCS over short distances within each study area, where the variation in SOCS is high. On a regional scale, we investigate the variation in SOCS by comparing the same units between the study areas. The results show for both study areas that SOCS are with 8 kg m^?2 in the uppermost 25 cm and 16 kg m^?2 in the first 100 cm of the soil, i.e., 3 to 6 kg m^?2 (37.5%) higher than existing large scale estimations of SOCS in West Greenland. Our approach allows to rank the scale‐dependent importance of the controlling factors within and between the study areas. However, vegetation and aspect better explain variations in SOCS than landscape units. Therefore, we recommend vegetation and aspect for determining the variation in SOCS in West Greenland on both scales.     

Effect of spiramycin and tulathromycin on abomasal emptying rate in milk-fed calves

Impaired abomasal motility is common in cattle with abomasal disorders. The macrolide erythromycin has been demonstrated to be an effective prokinetic agent in healthy calves and in adult cattle with abomasal volvulus or left displaced abomasum. We hypothesized that 2 structurally related macrolides, spiramycin and tulathromycin, would also be effective prokinetic agents in cattle. Six milk-fed, male, Holstein-Friesian calves were administered each of the following 4 treatments: spiramycin, 75 000 IU/kg BW, IM, this dose approximates 25 mg/kg BW, IM; tulathromycin, 2.5 mg/kg BW, SC; 2 mL of 0.9% NaCl (negative control); and erythromycin, 8.8 mg/kg BW, IM (positive control). Calves were fed 2 L of cow’s milk containing acetaminophen (50 mg/kg body weight) 30 min after each treatment was administered and jugular venous blood samples were obtained periodically after the start of sucking. Abomasal emptying rate was assessed by the time to maximal plasma acetaminophen concentration. Spiramycin, tulathromycin, and the positive control erythromycin increased abomasal emptying rate compared to the negative control. We conclude that the labeled antimicrobial dose of spiramycin and tulathromycin increases the abomasal emptying rate in healthy milk-fed calves. Additional studies investigating whether spiramycin and tulathromycin exert a prokinetic effect in adult cattle with abomasal hypomotility appear indicated.     

The genetic organisation of the capsule biosynthesis region of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotypes 1, 6, 7, and 12

The aim of the present study was to investigate the organisation of the genes (cps) involved in biosynthesis the capsular polysaccharide (CPS) of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotypes 6, 7, and 12 and to compare these to the corresponding genes previously described in other A. pleuropneumoniae serotypes. In serotypes 6 and 7 the sequenced DNA regions comprised five and four open reading frames, respectively, designated cps6ABCDE and cps7ABCD, whereas the sequenced DNA region in serotype 12 comprised only two open reading frames designated cps12AB. At the amino acid level, CpsA, CpsB, and CpsC of A. pleuropneumoniae serotypes 2, 6, 7, and 8 contained a high degree of homology. At the amino acid level Cps6D revealed a high degree of homology to Cps8D, whereas Cps7D contained a high degree of homology to the Cps2D. The deduced gene product of the partially sequenced cps6E gene showed no homology to any deduced gene products of any cps genes of A. pleuropneumoniae investigated so far. None of the deduced gene products of the cps genes involved in encapsulation of A. pleuropneumoniae serotypes 2, 6, 7, and 8 revealed homology to the deduced gene products of the cps genes of serotypes 1, 5A, and 12. For some genes, a local homology was found to genes probably involved in teichoic acid synthesis in other bacteria. The results obtained revealed a high degree of homology among the genes involved in CPS biosynthesis for serotypes 2, 6, 7, and 8 and a different group of homologous cps genes for serotypes 1 and 12. In some serotype 7 strains, including the serotype 7 reference strain, WF83, the cps genes were not located adjacent to the genes responsible for CPS export (cpx), probably due to genetic rearrangements.     

Origins of the Poor Filtration Characteristics of Wheat Starch Hydrolysates

The effects of wheat starch components on the filtration characteristics of wheat starch hydrolysates were investigated with a model-based approach. The filtration rate was not affected by the removal of the pentosans or by altering the conformation of the protein. On the other hand, the filtration rate increased when a hydrolysate was defatted with chloroform or butanol. Some commercially available enzymes also increased the filtration rate. The filtration rate of potato starch hydrolysates decreased when gluten, pentosans, solubles, or propanol extract from defatted wheat starch were added. The latter had by far the largest effect. The composition of this extract was 65% lipid and 11% protein. The main lipid in wheat starch is lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC). This single-chain lipid forms micelles above a concentration of 0.025 g/kg. The filtration rate decreased when LPC was added to potato starch hydrolysates or glucose solutions at concentrations above the critical micelle concentration. This effect of LPC on glucose solutions proves that the filtration characteristics are not related to the formation of amylose-lipid complexes. Therefore, micelle formation must be responsible for the effect of LPC on the filtration rate. The critical micelle concentration is only 2.5% of the amount of lysophospholipids in wheat starch hydrolysates. Thus, almost all of these lipids have to be removed from wheat starch hydrolysates to increase the filtration rate.