Sublingual squamous cell carcinoma in an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus).

A 22-yr-old captive-born Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) presented with a nonhealing sublingual mucosal ulcer that was diagnosed histologically as a squamous cell carcinoma, the first such report in a dolphin. The lesion was excised completely and has not recurred.     

Protein electrophoresis as a diagnostic and prognostic tool in raptor medicine.

Plasma proteins of 139 healthy adult birds of prey from 10 species were separated by electrophoresis to characterize and document normal reference ranges and species-specific electrophoretic patternsand to evaluate the value of this technique for health screening, disease diagnosis, and prognostic indication. Species studied included bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), barn owl (Tyto alba), great horned owl (Bubo virginianus), turkey vulture (Cathartes aura), Harris' hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus), Stellar's sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), barred owl (Strix varia), screech owl (Otus asio), and black vulture (Coragyps atratus). Several clinical cases show the diagnostic/therapeutic value of protein electrophoresis in raptors. This study establishes species-specific reference ranges for several birds of prey and discusses the benefit of electrophoresis as a diagnostic technique in health screens, as a diagnostic aid in conjunction with other tests, and as a prognostic indicator in clinical evaluation of raptors.     

Temporohyoid osteoarthropathy in two young horses

Two cases of temporohyoid osteoarthropathy (THO) in young Australian horses are described. The pathogenesis of THO is yet to be fully elucidated, but current theories include extension of infection from otitis media or interna to the temporohyoid joint or a primary but non‐infectious degenerative condition within the temporohyoid joint. The young age of the horses and the unilateral distribution suggested an infectious aetiology. Both horses partially responded to treatment with broad‐spectrum antimicrobial and anti‐inflammatory drugs with concurrent management of ulcerative keratitis. The management of violent head shaking in one horse included the administration of gabapentin, an anticonvulsant known to have antihyperalgesic effects and reduce neuropathic pain.     

Design of Nonionic Surfactants for Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

Interfacially active block copolymer amphiphiles have been synthesized and their self-assembly into micelles in supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) has been demonstrated with small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). These materials establish the design criteria for molecularly engineered surfactants that can stabilize and disperse otherwise insoluble matter into a CO2 continuous phase. Polystyrene-b-poly(1,1-dihydroperfluorooctyl acrylate) copolymers self-assembled into polydisperse core-shell-type micelles as a result of the disparate solubility characteristics of the different block segments in CO2. These nonionic surfactants for CO2 were shown by SANS to be capable of emulsifying up to 20 percent by weight of a CO2-insoluble hydrocarbon into CO2. This result demonstrates the efficacy of surfactant-modified CO2 in reducing the large volumes of organic and halogenated solvent waste streams released into our environment by solvent-intensive manufacturing and process industries.     

Canine mammary mixed tumours: immunohistochemical expressions of EGFR and HER‐2

Background Benign mixed tumours (BMTs) are frequently found in the mammary glands of female dogs, but the factors determining malignant transformation in these tumours are unknown. Objective To evaluate the expression of the oncoproteins, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER‐2) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), in 46 carcinomas in BMTs (CBMTs) and to verify their possible association with the malignancy of the tumours. Methods Immunohistochemical expression was analysed in benign and malignant components separately, and then compared with 74 cases of BMTs. Results Among the CBMTs, positivity for HER‐2 was found in the benign histological component of 4.3% (2/46), in the malignant epithelial non‐invasive component of 14.8% (4/27) and in the malignant invasive epithelial component of 13.6% (6/44) of cases. Two of the 24 (8.3%) BMTs were positive for HER‐2. There was no relationship between HER‐2 and the tumour components. There was no significant difference between BMTs and CBMTs. Positivity for EGFR was found in the benign component of 17.4% (8/46) of the CBMTs, in the malignant epithelial non‐invasive component of 40.7% (11/27%) and in the invasive epithelial malignant component of 45.4% (20/44). EGFR positivity was significantly associated with the invasive component of CBMTs. Conclusion EGFR may contribute to malignant epithelial transformation of BMTs. In contrast, HER‐2 overexpression may not be associated with the acquisition of a malignant epithelial phenotype.     

Isolation of culturable microorganisms from free-ranging bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from the southeastern United States

Reports of diseases in marine mammals are increasing worldwide, however our understanding of the microorganisms associated with marine mammals is still limited. In this study, we cultured bacteria and fungi isolated from the upper respiratory tract (blowhole), gastric fluid and anus of 180 wild bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from two estuarine locations along the southeastern Atlantic Coast of the United States. A total of 339 and 491 isolates from Charleston, SC (CHS) and Indian River Lagoon, FL (IRL) dolphins, respectively, were cultured from gastric (70 CHS/82 IRL), fecal (141 CHS/184 IRL), and blowhole (128 CHS/225 IRL) swabs on selective media used for routine clinical microorganisms of human concern. The most frequently cultured Gram-negative bacteria from all sample and study types were Plesiomonas shigelloides, Aeromonas hydrophila, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas fluorescens. Among the Gram-positive bacteria, Clostridium perfringens, Bacillus sp., and Staphylococcus Coag. Neg were the predominant organisms. For fungi, the most abundant species were Candida glabrata, budding yeasts, and Candida tropicalis. Of concern, the MRSA strain of Staphylococcus aureus was detected in the blowhole and gastric swabs from CHS dolphins. In general, a greater prevalence of bacteria and fungi (four-fold increase) were cultured from IRL than CHS animals. Together, these culture-dependent studies, coupled to on-going culture-independent approaches, should help establish a baseline of microorganisms associated with bottlenose dolphins and aid in the identification of organisms responsible for infectious diseases(s) in these animals.     

Effects of posture and accumulated airway secretions on tracheal mucociliary transport in the horse

Tracheal mucociliary clearance was determined in horses by measuring the rostrad transport of the radiopharmaceutical ^99mtechnetium-sulphur colloid following deposition on the tracheal epithelium by intratracheal injection. The effects of head position (head elevated to normal standing position vs head lowered) and of accumulated purulent secretions on tracheal mucociliary clearance were evaluated for the first time in the horse. In normal horses tracheal mucociliary clearance was greatly accelerated by lowering the head so that the cranial trachea was lower than the caudal trachea. Horses confined with their heads elevated for 24 hours developed an accumulation of purulent airway secretions (and associated increased numbers of bacteria) in the lower respiratory tract and showed a decrease in tracheal mucociliary clearance when compared with their previously measured rate when the lower airway contained only normal secretions. These findings have implications for management practices where horses are prevented from lowering their heads, such as transportation and cross-tying, which may therefore contribute to lower respiratory tract disease in horses.     

Past temperatures directly from the greenland ice sheet

A Monte Carlo inverse method has been used on the temperature profiles measured down through the Greenland Ice Core Project (GRIP) borehole, at the summit of the Greenland Ice Sheet, and the Dye 3 borehole 865 kilometers farther south. The result is a 50, 000-year-long temperature history at GRIP and a 7000-year history at Dye 3. The Last Glacial Maximum, the Climatic Optimum, the Medieval Warmth, the Little Ice Age, and a warm period at 1930 A.D. are resolved from the GRIP reconstruction with the amplitudes -23 kelvin, +2.5 kelvin, +1 kelvin, -1 kelvin, and +0.5 kelvin, respectively. The Dye 3 temperature is similar to the GRIP history but has an amplitude 1.5 times larger, indicating higher climatic variability there. The calculated terrestrial heat flow density from the GRIP inversion is 51.3 milliwatts per square meter.     

Hierarchically ordered oxides

Porous silica, niobia, and titania with three-dimensional structures patterned over multiple length scales were prepared by combining micromolding, polystyrene sphere templating, and cooperative assembly of inorganic sol-gel species with amphiphilic triblock copolymers. The resulting materials show hierarchical ordering over several discrete and tunable length scales ranging from 10 nanometers to several micrometers. The respective ordered structures can be independently modified by choosing different mold patterns, latex spheres, and block copolymers. The examples presented demonstrate the compositional and structural diversities that are possible with this simple approach.     

Thoracoscopic-assisted lung lobectomy in the dog: report of two cases

The benefits and application of thoracoscopy with selective ventilation, as an adjunct to thoracotomy, in facilitating pleural exploration and lung lobectomy in two dogs are presented. Similar thoracoscopic-assisted procedures are commonly used in human patients because there is better exposure and they are technically less demanding than thoracoscopy alone, while causing less postoperative morbidity than conventional thoracotomy. There are no previous reports of thoracoscopic-assisted surgery in the veterinary literature. In the cases described, thoracoscopic-assisted mini-thoracotomy was an effective, minimally-invasive approach for ipsilateral hemithorax exploration and lung lobectomy.