Cytology of the cerebrospinal fluid in dogs with brain tumors and spinal cord compression. Part 4]

The results of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytology of 9 dogs with brain tumors and 50 dogs with spinal cord compression are discussed. Of the 50 dogs with spinal cord compression, disc protrusion was diagnosed in 31, myelomalacia in 7, discospondylitis in 3 and spinal cord tumors in 9 dogs. In 4 of 9 dogs with brain tumors, tumor cells could be found by the sedimentation apparatus of K?lmel. Pleocytosis existed in 6 patients. In about 70% (29 of 41) of cases with disc protrusion, more than 200 cells could be evaluated in the CSF sediment, consisting mostly of transformed lymphocytes and activated monocytes. As the neurologic deficits increased, the amount of cells and especially cell complexes increased. This was especially evident in cases with myelomalacia of the spinal cord. Only in cases with discospondylitis or spinal cord neoplasia was the CSF cytology unchanged.     

Effects of predator-induced visual and olfactory cues on 0+ perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) foraging behaviour

Abstract –  Foraging juvenile fish with relatively high food demands are usually vulnerable to various aquatic and avian predators. To compromise between foraging and antipredator activity, they need exact and reliable information about current predation risk. Among direct predator-induced cues, visual and olfactory signals are considered to be most important. Food intake rates and prey-size selectivity of laboratory-reared, naive young-of-the-year (YOY) perch, Perca fluviatilis , were studied in experiments with Daphnia magna of two size classes: 2.8 and 1.3 mm as prey and northern pike, Esox lucius , as predator. Neither total intake rate nor prey-size selectivity was modified by predator kairomones alone (water from an aquarium with a pike was pumped into the test aquaria) under daylight conditions. Visual presentation of pike reduced total food intake by perch. This effect was significantly more pronounced (synergistic) when visual and olfactory cues were presented simultaneously to foraging perch. Moreover, the combination of cues caused a significant shift in prey-size selection, expressed as a reduced proportion of large prey in the diet. Our observations demonstrate that predator-induced olfactory cues alone are less important modifiers of the feeding behaviour of naive YOY perch than visual cues under daylight conditions. However, pike odour acts as a modulatory stimulus enhancing the effects of visual cues, which trigger an innate response in perch.     

Leishmaniasis phytotherapy. Nature's leadership against an ancient disease.

The use of phytotherapy to treat human diseases has its roots in pre-historical times. Despite the modern advances achieved in the field of synthetic chemistry, the most efficient drugs available have their genesis directly or indirectly related with the vegetal kingdom. Indigenous communities have long used plant extracts to treat illnesses. Many of these extracts have shown effective action, with new bioactive compounds being extracted and screened every year. These extracts have also proven to be good sources of therapeutic agents to the treatment of Leishmaniasis. This work highlights some of these agents, while trying to emphasize the importance of plants as a source of new and powerful drugs against this widespread disease.     

Evaluation of Corn Gluten Feed as a Dietary Ingredient for Pond-Raised Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus

Abstract.— This study was conducted to evaluate corn gluten feed as an alternative feedstuff in the diet of pond-raised channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus . Three 32%-protein diets containing 0%, 25%, or 50% corn gluten feed were tested. Channel catfish fingerlings (average weight: 57 g/fish) were stocked into 15 0.04-ha ponds at a rate of 18,530 fish/ha. Five ponds were used for each dietary treatment. Fish were fed to satiation once daily for a 147-d growing period. No differences were observed in feed consumption, weight gain, feed conversion ratio, survival, or fillet protein concentration among fish fed the test diets. Fish fed diets containing 25% and 50% corn gluten feed exhibited a lower level of visceral fat and a higher carcass yield than fish fed the control diet without corn gluten feed. The diet containing 50% corn gluten feed resulted in a lower level of fillet fat and a higher level of moisture than the control diet. There were no visible differences in the coloration of skin or fillet of channel catfish fed diets with and without corn gluten feed. Results from this study indicated that channel catfish can efficiently utilize corn gluten feed at levels up to 50%n without adverse effect on feed palatability, weight gain, or feed efficiency. Corn gluten feed may be beneficial in reducing fattiness of channel catfish and improving carcass yield by reducing the digestible energy to protein ratio of the diet.     

Vaccination of the brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) against Mycobacterium bovis infection with bacille Calmette-Guérin: the response to multiple doses.

In New Zealand, the brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) is the principal wildlife vector of bovine tuberculosis. Control of infected possum populations contributes to the control of tuberculosis in domestic livestock. Vaccination is potentially a complementary strategy to population control, but to be cost-effective, administration of the vaccine to possums would need to be from an appropriately designed automatic vaccinator. Possums themselves would activate the vaccinator so that it would deliver an aerosol spray of vaccine. There would be no direct way to prevent possums receiving multiple doses of vaccine. This study examined the effect on protective immunity of repeated vaccination. Captive possums were vaccinated with BCG strain pasteur 1173P2 either 12 times at weekly intervals, twice at 6-weekly intervals, or once. Vaccination was by a combination of intranasal aerosol and conjunctival instillation. Eight weeks after the last dose of vaccine, all possums were challenged intratracheally with Mycobacterium bovis strain 83/6235. Vaccination induced a significant immune response as measured by the lymphocyte proliferation assay (LPA). A significant level of protection, as measured by the response to challenge, developed in all the vaccinated possum groups, but protection was greatest in the group vaccinated 12 times. It was concluded that protection would be enhanced if vaccinations were repeated at short intervals (weekly), but no benefit or detriment resulted from revaccination after longer intervals (1-2 months).     

Laboratory parameters for the control of the course of therapy of canine Cushing's syndrome]

We compared the results of the ACTH stimulation tests with measurements of alkaline phosphatase and serum cholesterol during Lysodren therapy in 23 dogs with pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism. The ACTH stimulation test proved to be a very sensitive parameter, by which the extent of Lysodren under- or overdosage could be reliably estimated. On the other hand, regulation of the individual Lysodren requirement was not possible by measuring AP and serum cholesterol only. However, it is highly probable that those two parameters can be used to evaluate the general state of metabolism, and they appear to be of prognostic value when greatly elevated.     

Skeletal muscle characteristics in young trained and untrained standardbred trotters.

Muscle biopsies were taken from the middle gluteal muscle of 28 Standardbred trotters, 3-4 years of age. The 13 horses in Group T were trained consistently from 18 months of age, whereas the 15 horses in Group UT were not exposed to any systematic training before 3 years of age. Group T horses had a lower percentage of Type IIB fibres (31%) than did Group UT horses (39%). Citrate synthase (CS) activity, representing oxidative capacity, was higher in Group T (72 mmol kg-1 min-1) than in Group UT (47 mmol kg-1 min-1). Biopsies were taken from 4 horses in each group when they were foals and then annually until 3-4 years of age. Results from this study indicate that regular training of Standardbreds from 18 months of age resulted in increased CS activity and a decrease in the percentage of Type IIB fibres. This study shows that training, not growth, is the main factor that induces a high oxidative capacity and a high Type IIA/IIB fibre ratio in muscle of Standardbred trotters.     

Insulin-like growth factor I receptor analysis of satellite cell-derived myotube membranes established from two lines of Targhee rams selected for growth rate

Ovine-derived fibroblasts were used to validate an insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) membrane-receptor binding assay system. Competitive binding using fibroblasts revealed that half-maximal inhibition of 125I-IGF-I binding by IGF-I was 2.3 nM. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of specific protein-associated 125I-IGF-I was consistent with the migration of 125I-IGF-I-labeled Type I IGF receptor alpha-subunits at Mr 133,000 daltons. Further, the efficiency of two cell solubilization methods was examined and time-dependent binding equilibrium was determined for the membrane assay system. Satellite cell-derived myotubes were subsequently isolated from primary satellite cell cultures established from the semimembranosus muscles of high and low efficiency-of-gain (EOG) Targhee rams, and IGF-I receptor dynamics were measured. A membrane competitive binding study revealed that half-maximal inhibition of 125I-IGF-I binding was achieved by 1-ng IGF-I for low, and 10-ng IGF-I for high, EOG myotube membrane preparations. Kd values were similar between the high EOG (4.78 nM) and low EOG (2.95 nM) groups; however, receptor concentrations (Bmax) appeared to differ between groups. High EOG membrane receptor Bmax was 3.88 pmole/micrograms protein (19.87 pmole/micrograms DNA), whereas low EOG membrane receptor Bmax was 1.22 pmole/micrograms protein (9.28 pmole/micrograms DNA). These preliminary findings support the hypothesis that genetic selection for EOG results in altered satellite cell responsiveness to IGF-I.     

Oral fowlpox vaccination in chickens.

Chickens were given various fowlpox vaccines on food pellets--a commercial vaccine (strain M), and the same strain after a single passage on chorio-allantoic membrane or in chicken embryo fibroblasts. All three oral vaccines induced antibodies at levels similar to those induced by commercial strain M administered to the wingweb. The oral vaccine derived from chorio-allantoic membrane gave protection similar to that obtained with vaccine administered by the wingweb, but this required a thousandfold more virus.