Chylothorax in a dog with pulmonary lymphangiosarcoma

Lymphangiosarcoma of the pulmonary pleura was found to be the cause of persistent chylothorax in an eight-year-old, intact male golden retriever. After a two-month course of medical management, a lymphangiogram and thoracic duct ligation were performed with the objective of decreasing further effusion. At surgery, gross lung pathology was biopsied and yielded a histopathological diagnosis of pulmonary pleural lymphangiosarcoma. A relatively rare tumor, lymphangiosarcoma of the pulmonary pleura has not previously been documented as a source of chylothorax in the dog.     

Preference by sheep and goats among hay of eight tall fescue cultivars

Grazing ruminants use both visual cues and taste in selecting their diet. Preference during grazing may not be the same when forage is dried for hay and cut into lengths prior to feeding in confinement. Eight cultivars of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.), previously evaluated for preference while grazed, were harvested three times over a period of 2 yr. The hays were air-dried, baled, and passed through a hydraulic bale processor prior to feeding. Five experiments were conducted. All three harvests were evaluated with sheep and the last two also with goats, using six animals each time. During an adaptation phase, hays were offered alone as meals. In the experimental phase, every possible pair of hays (28 pairs) was presented for a meal. Data were analyzed by multidimensional scaling and by traditional analyses. Preference was significant among cultivars in all experiments. Multidimensional scaling showed that selection was based on two criteria with two dimensions being significant. Sheep preferred KENHY followed by KENTUCKY 31 and STARGRAZER but preferenced against BARCEL. HIMAG, MO-96, and C1 were intermediate and MOZARK was variable. Goats were similar to sheep in preferring KENHY followed by STARGRAZER and selected against MOZARK and BARCEL. KENTUCKY 31, HIMAG, MO-96, and C1 were intermediate. In all five experiments, the general association was positive for available carbohydrate fractions and negative for fiber fractions that contribute to cell wall rigidity.     

Comparison of three closure methods and two absorbable suture materials for closure of jejunal enterotomy incisions in healthy dogs

The macroscopic and histological appearance of jejunal antimesenteric incisions approximated with two different absorbable suture materials (monofilament versus multifilament) and three closure techniques (appositional single layer, crushing single layer, and double layer) were compared in healthy dogs at 14 or 28 days, postoperatively. No significant differences between the two suture materials were observed for most of the macroscopic or histological variables. However, the monofilament suture material caused significantly more fibrous tissue reaction in the muscular layer of the jejunum than did the multifilament suture material. Of the three enterotomy closure techniques used in this study, the appositional single-layer method proved to be the best. The double-layer closure method caused a significant decrease in the incisional circumference, the relative circumference, and volume of the jejunum, and a significant increase in jejunal wall thickness. Our findings suggest that canine jejunal enterotomy incisions can be closed using an appositional suture pattern with relatively rapidly absorbable monofilament suture material. The use of double-layer suture patterns for closure of jejunal enterotomy incisions should be avoided because the size of the intestinal lumen may be reduced.     

Effect of maternal immunity on the immune response to oral vaccination against rabies in young foxes.

OBJECTIVE: To determine effect of maternal antibodies on immune response to oral vaccination against rabies in young foxes. ANIMALS: 250 cubs from 48 vixens. PROCEDURE: Sera were obtained from cubs of 36 vaccinated (maternally vaccinated [MV+]) and 12 nonvaccinated (MV-) vixens between 23 and 71 days of age and tested for neutralizing antibodies. Seventy-one MV+ cubs and 33 MV-cubs were vaccinated orally with modified-live virus vaccine SAD B19. Geometric mean titer (GMT) was determined in these cubs approximately 21, 39, and 57 days after vaccination. In a subsequent experiment, 10 vaccinated MV+ cubs, 6 vaccinated MV- cubs, and 6 control cubs were challenge inoculated with virulent rabies virus approximately 100 days after vaccination. RESULTS: Serum GMT of nonvaccinated MV cubs (0.23 U/ml) was significantly greater than that of non-vaccinated MV- cubs (0.15 U/ml). The GMT of vaccinated MV+ cubs 21, 39, and 57 days after vaccination were 2.85, 2.11, and 0.79 U/ml, respectively, and were significantly less than those of vaccinated MV- cubs (12.19, 6.76, and 4.02 U/ml, respectively). All challenge-inoculated cubs with GMT < 0.5 U/ml succumbed to rabies. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Partially impaired immune response in cubs < 8 weeks old from vaccinated vixens causes insufficient protection against rabies. Inhibition of the immune response persists longer than the period during which maternal antibodies are detectable. Thus, oral vaccination campaigns for young foxes in areas where vaccination has been performed need to be reconsidered.     

Early weaning and postweaning nutritional management affect feedlot performance of angus x simmental heifers and the relationship of 12th rib fat and marbling score to feed efficiency

Early-weaned Angus x Simmental heifers were used to evaluate the effects of postweaning nutritional management on feedlot performance, carcass merit, and the relationship of intramuscular and subcutaneous fat deposition to the feed efficiency among heifers fed for a high-quality market. Sixteen heifers were weaned at 73+/-5.5 d of age and grazed on endophyte-infected tall fescue for 18 mo before entering the feedlot (early-weaned-P). Eighty heifers from the following year's calf crop were weaned at 71+/-5.5 d of age and allowed either ad libitum access to a 25% concentrate diet (early-weaned-25C) or limit-fed a 90% concentrate diet (early-weaned-90C) to achieve a similar ADG. Following a 119-d growing period, 16 early-weaned-90C and 16 early-weaned-25C calves were paired based on BW and growth rate and individually fed during the finishing period along with the early-weaned-P heifers. Ultrasound measurements of s.c. and i.m. fat were recorded at approximately 60-d intervals throughout the finishing period. Feed efficiency was regressed against s.c. and i.m. fat, and i.m. fat was regressed on s.c. fat. Despite a similar ADG, early-weaned-90C calves gained more efficiently (P < or = 0.05) in the feedlot than early-weaned-25C calves. Heifers finished as yearlings tended (P < or = 0.10) to gain faster but gained less efficiently (P < or = 0.01) than early-weaned-90C heifers finished as calves. The rate of s.c. and i.m. fat deposition was similar between early-weaned-90C and early-weaned-25C heifer calves. The calves were grouped together for comparison to yearlings. Feed efficiency decreased quadratically (P < or = 0.01) as s.c. fat cover increased. The rate at which feed efficiency decreased relative to increasing s.c. fat cover was similar regardless of age at feedlot entry. However, heifers finished as calves gained more efficiently (P < or = 0.01) than yearlings at any given fat thickness. Feed efficiency decreased linearly (P < or = 0.01) as i.m. fat increased among heifers finished as calves. Additionally, heifers finished as calves deposited i.m. fat at a faster rate relative to s.c. fat (P < or = 0.01) than yearlings. These data suggest that heifers finished as calves produce high-quality carcasses with less s.c. fat cover while gaining more efficiently than heifers finished as yearlings.     

浅谈动物检疫工作中如何加强生产经营者的主体责任

动物及动物产品生产经营者作为动物检疫工作的行政相对人,在防控动物疫病、保障畜产品安全方面具有不可推卸的责任和义务。文章分析了当前动物检疫工作中存在的生产经营者主体责任缺失、经营责任难落实、责任追查难度大等问题,提出了建立行政相对人承诺制度、明确申报检疫主体、强化屠宰企业(场、点)主体责任、加强动物贩运人员管理、加强主体责任宣传告知等一系列建议,重点要强化生产经营者是动物及动物产品安全第一责任人的意识,正确引导其依法经营。     

Clinical, humoral and IFNgamma responses of cattle to infection with Mycoplasma mycoides var. mycoides small colony and attempts to condition the pathogenesis of the infection

Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), caused by Mycoplasma mycoides var. mycoides small colony (MmmSC), is one of the most important diseases of cattle in Africa. The role of innate or acquired cell mediated and humoral immunity in conferring protection against MmmSC infection has not yet been elucidated. On the other hand, the pathological lesions caused by the aetiological agent have been considered indicative of an immunopathological process. In this study ten na?ve cattle were exposed to in-contact infection with animals infected by intubation with a strain of MmmSC. Clinical signs, antibody response, IFNgamma release and pathological changes at necropsy were analysed and compared with the events following in-contact infection of an equal number of animals kept under daily treatment with cyclosporine for the entire observation period of 84 days. Cyclosporine is a suppressor of the immune response related to the T-cell system. Under the conditions of the experiment, cyclosporine appeared to condition the pathogenesis of CBPP by delaying the events that follow infection, bringing further support to the possibility that the immune response may have an impact on the disease outcome.     

The effect of hydration status on the echocardiographic measurements of normal cats

BACKGROUND: Diagnosis of cardiomyopathy of cats is based on 2-dimensional (2D) echocardiography. However, circulating fluid volume largely determines diastolic cardiac chamber dimensions, and reduced diastolic volume in other species results in what has been called "pseudohypertrophy of the ventricular myocardium." HYPOTHESIS: Altered hydration produces changes on 2D echocardiography that may confound the diagnosis or severity assessment of cardiomyopathy of cats. ANIMALS: Ten normal colony-sourced mixed breed cats were included. METHODS: Cats were examined by echocardiography at baseline and at completion of 3 protocols (volume depletion and maintenance-rate and anesthetic-rate IV fluid administration) applied in randomized crossover design with a 6-7 day washout period. RESULTS: Volume depletion increased diastolic left ventricular interventricular septal (IVSd) and free wall diameter (4.5 +/- 0.4 to 5.8 +/- 0.6 mm; P < .001) with wall thickness exceeding 6 mm in 4 cats. Diastolic left ventricular internal diameter (LVIDd) decreased, and reduction in systolic left ventricular internal diameter (LVIDs) produced end-systolic cavity obliteration in 7 cats. Left-atrial-to-aortic-root ratio (LA: Ao, 1.4 +/- 0.2 to 1.2 +/- 0.1, P < .05) and left atrial area in diastole (LAAd) decreased with volume depletion. Maintenance-rate IV fluid administration increased LAAd and fractional shortening (FS%). Anesthetic-rate IV fluid administration increased LVIDd, FS%, LAAd, and LA:Ao ratios (to 1.7 +/- 0.1, P < .01), producing an LA: Ao ratio above normal limits in 6 cats. A systolic heart murmur developed with administration of fluid at maintenance (n = 1) and anesthetic rates (n = 6). CONCLUSIONS: Altered hydration status produces changes in the echocardiographic examination of normal cats that may lead to an erroneous diagnosis of cardiomyopathy or mask its presence. Hydration status should be considered during echocardiographic examination in cats.