Periodontal disease. Etiology and pathogenesis

Periodontal disease is the number-one cause of the early loss of teeth in dogs and cats. Some of the factors in the adult animal that play a major role in the development of periodontal diseases are discussed in this article, including overcrowding, malocclusions, diet, developmental defects, and metabolic and systemic disease.     

Crystalluria. Observations, interpretations, and misinterpretations

Crystalluria results from oversaturation of urine with crystallogenic substance. However, oversaturation may occur as a result of in vitro as well as in vivo events. The microscopic appearance of crystals only represents a tentative identification of their composition because variable conditions associated with their formation, growth, and dissolution may alter their appearance. Definitive identification is dependent on physical methods such as optical crystallography, x-ray diffraction, and electron microscopic analysis.     

Les insectes nuisibles aux eucalyptus en Italie: importance des dégats et méthodes de lutte1

Des informations sur la biologie et la diffusion des principaux insectes nuisibles aux eucalyptus en Italie sont données, ainsi que sur l'importance de leurs dégats et sur les méthodes de lutte les plus couramment employées. En plus des quelques espèces polyphages, qui peuvent causer des dégats sporadiques, les phytophages vivant exclusivement aux dépens d'Eucalyptus spp. en Italie sont Phoracantha semipunctata, Gonipterus scutellatus et Ctenarytaina eucalypti. La première espèce est nuisible aux eucalyptus cultivès pour la production du bois et est répandue en Italie centrale et méridionale, en Sicile et en Sardaigne, alors que les deux autres espèces endommagent surtout les eucalyptus destinés aux marchés de fleurs (fleurs et rameaux) et ne sont prèsentes qu'en Ligurie occidentale. La lutte contre P. semipunctata est conduite par des interventions d'ordre sylvicultural, consistant essentiellement è recéper des peuplements sérieusement attaqués; le parasite oophage Patasson nitens, importé d'Afrique du Sud, permet de controler G. scutellatus alors que les larves de plusieurs syrphes prédatrices agissent efficacement contre C. eucalypti.     

Arthroscopic Study of Cranial Cruciate Ligament and Medial Meniscal Lesions in the Dog

Twenty stifles (10 dogs) were studied for a period of 1 year after various lesions of the cranial cruciate ligament and medial meniscus were produced surgicaoy. Through serial arthroscopic evaluations, degenerative processes In stifles with a "torn" cranial cruciate ligament were documented. Intra-articular changes were minimal after partial meniscectomy and were severe after total meniscectomy. Multiple arthroscopies caused no demonstrable changes.     

Acid-induced autoagglutination found in chicken pathogenic Escherichia coli strain.

Chicken pathogenic Escherichia coli strains were found to autoagglutinate in a static culture of trypticase soy broth (TSB). One strain, designated PDI-386, was further studied for its autoagglutinating property. Acidity in the cultured medium caused by glucose degradation induced the autoagglutination. The bacterial cells grown in a glucose-free L-broth could be aggregated by adding acid, which suggests a potentiality of autoagglutination of the strain grown in the L-broth. The autoagglutinating parent (Agg) formed small colonies with irregular edges like rough colonies on the TS agar, whereas its non-autoagglutinating variant (Nag) formed larger smooth colonies with a perfectly round edge. The Nag colony was easily generated from the Agg colony on the TS agar. The autoagglutinating property was very unstable when the bacteria was passed in the TSB, but rather stable in the L-broth. Under electron microscope, the Agg were found to possess pili of more than 20 microns in length. However, the phenotypic expression of autoagglutination did not correlate with that of mannose-sensitive hemagglutination against guinea pig erythrocytes. Incubation of the Nag in the L-broth at room temperature for more than 10 days provoked the reversion of the autoagglutination. There was no difference between the Agg and the Nag in terms of surface hydrophobicity, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) patterns of membrane proteins and LPS, and plasmid profiles. The virulence of the Agg was higher than that of the Nag. The autoagglutination property is, however, so unstable that the pathogenicity of E. coli isolates from chickens should be carefully evaluated.     

Inherited hyperchylomicro-naemia in the cat: Lipoprotein lipase function and gene structure

Hyperchylomicronaemia was identified in a four-week-old Siamese kitten with lethargy, in-appetence, hindlimb ataxia and profound anaemia. The kitten was euthanased and at necropsy a thrombus was found occluding the caudal aorta. Two littermates later presented with lethargy, inappetence and hypertriglyceri-daemia which resolved after being weaned on to a low fat diet. A similar condition was subsequently diagnosed in a kitten born to the same sire but a different queen. The expression of hyperchylomicronaemia in two related litters was suggestive of an inherited, familial defect in the function of lipoprotein lipase (LPL). The activity of this enzyme was reduced in all three parents, the two recovered cases and two related, but apparently unaffected kittens, compared with a control group of unrelated cats belonging to the breeder. This reduction in activity was not attributable to defective activation of LPL by its serum cofactor apolipoprotein C-II or the presence in plasma of a factor that inhibited LPL. The gene that codes for LPL was examined by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis using a human LPL cDNA probe. The results showed that the cat has a similar, but not identical, LPL gene to man. However, there were no differences in the restriction fragment patterns obtained from affected, unaffected and control animals.