Electrocardiographic,echocardiographic, and left atrial strain imaging features of a dog with atrial flutter and third-degree atrioventricular block

A 14-year-old American Staffordshire terrier was presented for episodes of exercise-induced syncope. At admission, atrial flutter coupled to third-degree atrioventricular block was diagnosed electrocardiographically. On the second day of hospitalization, surface electrocardiogram revealed spontaneous conversion to sinus rhythm with persistence of atrioventricular block. Complete transthoracic echocardiograms were performed after each electrocardiographic examination. The combined use of conventional echocardiography with tissue Doppler imaging-based modalities allowed to investigate the atrial electromechanical correlation and function during typical atrial flutter and after its resolution.     

抗重金属植物根际细菌的植物促生长特征以及它们对黑芥种子萌发的影响

Phytoremediation is an emerging technology that uses plants and their associated microbes to clean up pollutants from the soil, water, and air. In order to select the plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria(PGPR) for phytoremediation of heavy metal contamination, 60 bacterial strains were isolated from the rhizosphere of two endemic plants, Prosopis laevigata and Spharealcea angustifolia, in a heavy metal-contaminated zone in Mexico. These rhizobacterial strains were characterized for the growth at different pH and salinity, extracellular enzyme production, solubilization of phosphate, heavy metal resistance, and plant growth-promoting(PGP) traits, including production of siderophores and indol-3-acetic acid(IAA). Overall, the obtained rhizobacteria presented multiple PGP traits. These rhizobacteria were also resistant to high levels of heavy metals(including As as a metalloid)(up to 480 mmol L(-1)As(V), 24 mmol L(-1)Pb(Ⅱ), 21 mmol L(-1)Cu(Ⅱ), and 4.5 mmol L(-1)Zn(Ⅱ)). Seven rhizobacterial strains with the best PGP traits were identified as members of Alcaligenes, Bacillus, Curtobacterium, and Microbacterium, and were selected for further bioassay.The inoculation of Brassica nigra seeds with Microbacterium sp. CE3R2, Microbacterium sp. NE1R5, Curtobacterium sp. NM1R1,and Microbacterium sp. NM3E9 facilitated the root development; they significantly improved the B. nigra seed germination and root growth in the presence of heavy metals such as 2.2 mmol L(-1)Zn(Ⅱ). The rhizobacterial strains isolated in the present study had the potential to be used as efficient bioinoculants in phytorremediation of soils contaminated with multiple heavy metals.     

Evidence that active transmission of porcine cysticercosis occurs in Venezuela

There is a paucity of quantitative data on the status of porcine cysticercosis in Venezuela, information which is essential for understanding the level of disease transmission. This study was, therefore, conducted in a typical small rural community in Yaracuy State, Venezuela, where previous cases of human Taenia solium taeniasis/cysticercosis had been reported and where the free-ranging pig management practices and the lack of rudimentary sanitary facilities indicated an obvious risk for transmission of the disease. Serum samples from 52 village pigs were screened by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for anti-cysticercal antibodies (Ab-ELISA), using T. solium cyst fluid as the antigen and the HP10, monoclonal antibody-based, antigen trapping ELISA for parasite antigen (HP10 Ag-ELISA). Significantly, a high proportion of the animals (65.4% for the Ab-ELISA and 42.3% for the HP10 Ag-ELISA) were sero-positive. Five of the pigs, which were selected on that basis of positive tongue palpation, were killed for autopsy, and large numbers of viable cysticerci were found in the carcases. This unequivocal documentation of porcine cysticercosis in Venezuelan pigs presents clear evidence that T. solium is actively transmitted in Venezuela. Further detailed studies and implementation of appropriate control measures are therefore indicated.     

Multilobular tumor of bone in the mandible of a dog

An 8-year-old Siberian husky dog was presented for a mass involving the rostral mandible. Intraoral radiographs demonstrated diffusely irregular bone and displacement of all mandibular incisor teeth. The mass was diagnosed as a grade I multilobular tumor of bone based on incisional biopsy. A bilateral rostral mandibulectomy was performed with tumor negative margins. Oral examination at 14-months following surgery indicated normal healing with minimal side effects and no evidence of tumor recurrence.     

N-acyl-homoserine lactones from Enterobacter sakazakii (Cronobacter spp.) and their degradation by Bacillus cereus enzymes

A chemical study of acyl-homoserine lactones (acyl-HSLs) produced by Enterobacter sakazakii resulted in the identification of three molecules: (S)-N-heptanoyl-HSL, (S)-N-dodecanoyl-HSL and (S)-N-tetradecanoyl-HSL. Mixed cultures of E. sakazakii and Bacillus cereus depleted E. sakazakii acyl-HSLs, suggesting acyl-HSL degradation by B. cereus hydrolases (hydrolysis of the lactone or amide moiety). The expression of B. cereus acyl-HSL lactonase and acyl-homoserine acylase was confirmed by monitoring the biotransformation of (S)-N-dodecanoyl-HSL into (S)-N-dodecanoyl-homoserine, dodecanoic acid and homoserine in the presence of B. cereus whole cells, using electrospray-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS).     

Aged Garlic Extract Attenuates Cerebral Damage and Cyclooxygenase-2 Induction after Ischemia and Reperfusion in Rats

Different garlic products reduce the cerebral ischemic damage due to their antioxidant properties. In this work, we investigated the effect of aged garlic extract (AGE) on cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) protein levels and activity, and its role as a possible mechanism of neuroprotection in a cerebral ischemia model. Animals were subjected to 1 h of ischemia plus 24 h of reperfusion. AGE (1.2 ml/kg weight, i.p.) was administered at onset of reperfusion. To evaluate the damage induced by cerebral ischemia, the neurological deficit, the infarct area, and the histological alterations were measured. As an oxidative stress marker to deoxyribonucleic acid, 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) levels were determined. Finally, as inflammatory markers, TNFα levels and COX-2 protein levels and activity were measured. AGE treatment diminished the neurological alterations (61.6%), the infarct area (54.8%) and the histological damage (37.7%) induced by cerebral ischemia. AGE administration attenuated the increase in 8-OHdG levels (77.8%), in TNFα levels (76.6%), and in COX-2 protein levels (73.6%) and activity (30.7%) induced after 1 h of ischemia plus 24 h of reperfusion. These data suggest that the neuroprotective effect of AGE is associated not only to its antioxidant properties, but also with its capacity to diminish the increase in TNFα levels and COX-2 protein expression and activity. AGE may have the potential to attenuate the cerebral ischemia-induced inflammation.