SONOGRAPHIC AND RADIOGRAPHIC CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH SPLENIC TORSION IN THE DOG

The clinical, radiographic, and sonographic signs in three dogs with splenic torsion are presented. AH dogs exhibited weight loss, anorexia, and lethargy. Splenomegaly was consistent radiographic finding in two dogs and large ill-defined midabdominal mass was seen in one dog. The spleen was easily imaged sonographically in all dogs. Splenic sonography in two dogs showed diffuse, hypoechoic pattern consistent with splenic congestion. Hilar splenic vessels were enlarged on the sonograms of two dogs.     

ULTRASONOGRAPHIC ASSESSMENT OF SINCALIDE-INDUCED CANINE GALLBLADDER EMPTYING: AN AID TO THE DIAGNOSIS OF BILIARY OBSTRUCTION WINNER OF THE 1991 RESIDENT-AUTHORED PAPER AWARD SPONSORED BY THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF VETERINARY RADIOLOGY

Gallbladder emptying studies using ultrasonography were performed on ten normal dogs, one normal control dog, three dogs with biliary obstruction and three dogs with nonobstructive hepatobiliary disease. An intravenous bolus of a synthetic cholecystokinin was used to induce emptying. The normal canine gallbladder emptied at least 40% of its volume within one hour of synthetic cholecystokinin (0.04 μg/kg) administration. Maximum response was seen within 5 to 20 minutes. The gallbladder in icteric dogs with nonobstructive hepatobiliary disease (1 cholecystitis, 1 cholangitis, 1 cholangiohepatitis) also emptied at least 40% of its volume within one hour. The obstructed gallbladder (1 chronic pancreatitis, 1 acute pancreatitis, 1 pancreatic mass) emptied less than 20% within one hour. A significant difference (p>0.05) in the maximum percent gallbladder emptying was found between the dogs with biliary obstruction and nonobstructed, icteric dogs. No side effects to the synthetic cholecystokinin were observed.     

Humic substances alter the uptake and toxicity of nanodiamonds in wheat seedlings

Purpose

Detonation synthesis nanodiamonds (ND) are among the most widely applied nanoparticles due to their low cost of production and broad scope of applications. However, the fate and behavior of NDs in the environment are largely unknown. The behavior of NDs is greatly affected by humic substances (HSs), which comprise 50 to 80 % of natural organic matter in water and soil ecosystems. The uptake of detonation NDs by wheat seedlings and its toxicity were evaluated in the presence of seven HSs of different origins, including humic acids (HA, HS fraction soluble in alkali and insoluble in acid) and fulvic acids (FA, soluble in both alkali and acid).

Materials and methods

To monitor the uptake of NDs by plants, tritium-labeled NDs were produced. Liquid scintillation spectrometry and autoradiography were used to determine the amount of NDs absorbed by plants. The photosynthetic activity of the plants was measured using light response curves.

Results and discussion

After a 24-h exposure period, the ND content in the plant roots was 1720 μg g^?1. The introduction of HSs decreased the ND contents in the plant roots to 680–1570 μg g^?1 (except for peat FA, for which the ND content did not differ from the blank value). The observed phenomenon was probably related mainly to the influence of HSs on the zeta potential of the NDs, which shifted from positive to negative. Based on chlorophyll fluorescence evaluation, the toxicity of NDs did not inhibit photosynthesis during illumination in the physiological range. However, NDs were slightly toxic to wheat plants under excessive light, likely due to the inhibition of electron transport between Q _A and Q _B and the disruption of the formation of a thylakoid transmembrane potential.

Conclusions

The introduction of HA in a suspension of NDs obviously reduced the inhibiting effect of the NDs; however, the mitigating activities of FA were not so apparent. Our results demonstrate the urgent need for further studies of the influences of NDs on plant growth and development.

     

The development of microflora and production of short-chain fatty acids in the digestive tract of suckled piglets and replacer-fed piglets

The objective of this study was to obtain knowledge about the postnatal development of microflora and the production of short-chain fatty acids in 24 piglets suckled by sows and 26 piglets fed on milk replacement. On day 14 piglets which had received no colostrum had higher counts of Enterobacteriaceae (p < 0.001) and coliform bacteria (p <0.001) in the jejunum contents than piglets suckled by their mother sow. Depending on age, concentrations of both lactic and acetic acid were higher in the contents of the small intestine of piglets suckled by sows compared to milk replacer-fed piglets. Replacement of maternal milk by artificial feeding adversely affected the postnatal development of the piglets. This resulted in higher morbidity and mortality in those piglets.     

Multifunctionality of floodplain landscapes: relating management options to ecosystem services

The concept of green infrastructure has been recently taken up by the European Commission for ensuring the provision of ecosystem services (ESS). It aims at the supply of multiple ESS in a given landscape, however, the effects of a full suite of management options on multiple ESS and landscape multifunctionality have rarely been assessed. In this paper we use European floodplain landscapes as example to develop an expert based qualitative conceptual model for the assessment of impacts of landscape scale interventions on multifunctionality. European floodplain landscapes are particularly useful for such approach as they originally provided a high variety and quantity of ESS that has declined due to the strong human impact these landscapes have experienced. We provide an overview of the effects of floodplain management options on landscape multifunctionality by assessing the effects of 38 floodplain management interventions on 21 relevant ESS, as well as on overall ESS supply. We found that restoration and rehabilitation consistently increased the multifunctionality of the landscape by enhancing supply of provisioning, regulation/maintenance, and cultural services. In contrast, conventional technical regulation measures and interventions related to extraction, infrastructure and intensive land use cause decrease in multifunctionality and negative effects for the supply of all three aspects of ESS. The overview of the effects of interventions shall provide guidance for decision makers at multiple governance levels. The presented conceptual model could be effectively applied for other landscapes that have potential for a supply of a high diversity of ESS.     

Carbon pools and temporal dynamics along a rotation period in Quercus dominated high forest and coppice with standards stands

Carbon pools in two Quercus petraea (sessile oak) dominated chronosequences under different forest management (high forest and coppice with standards) were investigated. The objective was to study temporal carbon dynamics, in particular carbon sequestration in the soil and woody biomass production, in common forest management systems in eastern Austria along with stand development. The chronosequence approach was used to substitute time-for-space to enable coverage of a full rotation period in each system. Carbon content was determined in the following compartments: aboveground biomass, litter, soil to a depth of 50 cm, living root biomass and decomposing residues in the mineral soil horizons. Biomass carbon pools, except fine roots and residues, were estimated using species-specific allometric functions. Total carbon pools were on average 143 Mg ha⁻¹ in the high forest stand (HF) and 213 Mg ha⁻¹ in the coppice with standards stand (CS). The mean share of the total organic carbon pool (TOC) which is soil organic carbon (SOC) differs only marginally between HF (43.4%) and CS (42.1%), indicating the dominance of site factors, particularly climate, in controlling this ratio. While there was no significant change in O-layer and SOC stores over stand development, we found clear relationships between living biomass (aboveground and belowground) pools and C:N ratio in topsoil horizons with stand age. SOC pools seem to be very stable and an impact of silvicultural interventions was not detected with the applied method. Rapid decomposition and mineralization of litter, indicated by low O-horizon pools with wide C:N ratios of residual woody debris at the end of the vegetation period, suggests high rates of turnover in this fraction. CS, in contrast to HF benefits from rapid resprouting after coppicing and hence seems less vulnerable to conditions of low rainfall and drying topsoil.