THE EFFECTS OF PATIENT POSITIONING AND SLICE SELECTION ON CANINE ACETABULAR ANGLE ASSESSMENT WITH COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY

Acetabular angles (AAs) and dorsal acetabular rim angles acquired by computed tomographic (CT) imaging have been used to assess patient response to juvenile pubic symphysiodesis surgery. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of patient positioning and slice selection on these angles, and an attempt was made to devise a repeatable method of measuring these angles that would eliminate positioning effects. We found significant variation in AAs with small differences in pelvic tilt and slice selection. Dorsal acetabular rim angles were not affected. As a result of positioning differences from one CT study to the next, every attempt should be made to standardize pelvic tilt, or eliminate its effect on AAs by standardizing gantry angle in relation to an anatomic landmark that will not change over time. The floor of the sacral vertebral canal may be a reasonable landmark for this purpose and deserves further study.     

Sugar concentration in nectar: a quantitative metric of crop attractiveness for refined pollinator risk assessments

Those involved with pollinator risk assessment know that agricultural crops vary in attractiveness to bees. Intuitively, this means that exposure to agricultural pesticides is likely greatest for attractive plants and lowest for unattractive plants. While crop attractiveness in the risk assessment process has been qualitatively remarked on by some authorities, absent is direction on how to refine the process with quantitative metrics of attractiveness. At a high level, attractiveness of crops to bees appears to depend on several key variables, including but not limited to: floral, olfactory, visual and tactile cues; seasonal availability; physical and behavioral characteristics of the bee; plant and nectar rewards. Notwithstanding the complexities and interactions among these variables, sugar content in nectar stands out as a suitable quantitative metric by which to refine pollinator risk assessments for attractiveness. Provided herein is a proposed way to use sugar nectar concentration to adjust the exposure parameter (with what is called a crop attractiveness factor) in the calculation of risk quotients in order to derive crop‐specific tier I assessments. This Perspective is meant to invite discussion on incorporating such changes in the risk assessment process. © 2016 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.     

The Effects of Feed Form on Consumption Time and Glucose and Insulin Response to a Concentrate Meal in Equine

This study tested the hypothesis that feeding an identically formulated, low sugar and starch concentrate in three forms (5-mm extruded [E], 4-mm pellet [P], and 19-mm oval [O]) would affect consumption rate and glucose or insulin responses, or both. Horses received 1.8 kg treatment feed in a randomized, crossover design, with samples taken every 30 minutes for 6 hours for blood glucose and insulin response. Pearson's correlation compared consumption time, insulin and glucose peak, and time to peak insulin and glucose. The pellet (P) elicited a lower (P = .01) glucose concentration at 2.5 hours than O. The pellet also elicited a lower (P = .03) insulin concentration at 5.5 hours than E and O. There were no differences (P > .05) in area under the curve (AUC) insulin, peak insulin, and time to peak insulin for the three treatments. Average insulin concentration was lower (P = .01) for P versus O. There were no differences (P > .05) in average insulin between P and E, nor between O and E. There were no differences (P > .05) in AUC and peak glucose concentration. Time to peak glucose was longer (P = .04) for P versus E. Average glucose concentration was lower (P = .02) for P versus O. Consumption time was longer (P = .03) for O versus P. There was a positive correlation between consumption time and time to peak insulin (r = 0.46, P = .029). Further research on feeding practices, feed forms, and consumption times that affect glycemic response is necessary.     

Biocultural Diversity of Sarangani Province,Philippines: An Ethno-Ecological Analysis

This paper discussed effects of lowland-associated influences on upland ecology, food security and biocultural diversity in the Sarangani farming communities of the Philippines. In the uplands of Sarangani Province, the conservation of traditional rice varieties, the centrality of rice in tribal life, and the continued observance of planting rituals attest to its cultural significance and convey a common desire for cultural preservation and community solidarity. Economic and socio-political pressures had transformed tribal communities, although vestiges of traditional farming systems are still being practiced in remote sitios(villages). Changing land use patterns had also resulted in shrinking farm sizes and consequently in food insecurity in the Sarangani uplands. Extractive industries(i.e. logging, mining and charcoal making) and swidden farming were observed to cause widespread environmental degradation, while modern agriculture had undermined the capacity of indigenous peoples to survive because of their complete dependence on lands and resources. With the reality that cultural and biological diversities are inextricably linked, trans-disciplinary strategies coupling indigenous knowledge systems with scientific knowledge should, therefore, be instituted to save the Sarangani upland ecosystem, the indigenous peoples and their tribal resources.     

Cellulase Supplementation Does Not Improve the Digestibility of a High-Forage Diet in Horses

Six mature Arabian geldings were used in a two-period crossover study to investigate the effects of cellulase supplementation on fiber digestion. Horses were randomly assigned to either a control (CO; n = 3) or a cellulase (CE; n = 3) treatment for the first period and then treatments were switched for period 2. Each period consisted of a 10-day diet adaptation followed by a 3-day total fecal collection. The enzyme mixture contained 40,000 cellulase units/g and was fed at a rate of 3 g/day split evenly between two feedings. During the diet adaptation period, horses had ad libitum access to timothy hay and were also fed 165 g whole oats as a carrier for the supplement. When eating the CO treatment, horses consumed 16% more hay than when on the CE treatment (P = .004). Fecal output also tended to be greater when horses consumed the CO treatment as compared with CE treatment (P = .07). No differences were found between treatments for fecal percent dry matter (DM%), fecal neutral detergent fiber (NDF), fecal acid detergent fiber (ADF), fecal nitrogen (N), or fecal gross energy (GE). There was a trend for horses consuming the CO treatment to digest more NDF than when consuming the CE treatment (34.6% ± 1.5 vs 31% ± 1.5; P = .07). Horses also digested a greater %ADF, %N, and Mcal of energy when consuming the CO treatment than when consuming the CE treatment (P < .05). Cellulase addition to a hay-based horse diet decreased digestion of fiber components.     

Comparison of High Performance Liquid Chromatography and Immunoassay Methods for Measurement of Cyclosporine A Blood Concentrations After Feline Kidney Transplantation

Objective —To compare two methods of whole blood cyclosporine A (CsA) measurement in cats.
Study Design —Whole blood samples were analyzed for CsA concentrations with use of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and monoclonal immunoassay methods.
Animals —Blood (n = 36 samples) was obtained from six cats after renal transplantation.
Methods —Results were compared by linear regression analysis using both pooled and individual patient data. Eight samples were off-scale on the immunoassay and were excluded.
Results —There was significant correlation between CsA measured using HPLC and immunoassay methods ( P < .001; r = .942; r²= .887). However, individuals varied nonrandomly from the mean pooled patient data. Correlation between the assay methods was higher for individual patients using data only from that specific individual (mean r value = .976; r²= .955). Clinical utility of the immunoassay (ie, results would prompt an appropriate CsA dosage adjustment) was good when based on individually derived conversion factors (27 of 28 [96.5%] of decision events).
Conclusion—HPLC is superior for measurement of blood CsA concentrations in cats after kidney transplantation. However, an immunoassay may provide reliable information for CsA management if a comparative database (HPLC v immunoassay) has been previously determined in a specific patient.
Clinical Relevance —Locally available monitoring of CsA by immunoassay in cats may provide significant advantages when shipping of blood samples to distant locations is required to obtain analysis by HPLC. These advantages may include cost and timeliness of results in circumstances where daily blood CsA concentrations may be desired, such as when managing an acute rejection reaction.     

Limb Salvage Surgery for Osteosarcoma of the Proximal Humerus: Outcome in 17 Dogs

Objective —To describe function and identify factors that affect outcome in dogs undergoing limb salvage surgery for osteosarcoma (OS) of the proximal humerus.
Study Design —A retrospective study of dogs in which OS of the proximal humerus was treated with limb salvage surgery.
Animals —17 client-owned dogs.
Methods: Records were analyzed for functional outcome, recurrence, metastasis, and survival.
Results —Outcome was good to excellent in 12% of dogs. Recurrence, metastasis, and survival were significantly affected by completeness of surgical margins. Double plating of the distal allograft-host junction significantly reduced frequency of biomechanical failure.
Conclusions —Limb salvage surgery for OS of the proximal humerus did not result in acceptable function and was fraught with postoperative complications. Outcome was significantly affected by completeness of surgical margins.
Clinical Relevance —Limb salvage surgery for OS of the proximal humerus in dogs cannot be recommended until improvement in functional outcome and reduction in postoperative complications can be achieved. The dependence of outcome on completeness of surgical margins supports aggressive en bloc resection and marking and evaluating surgical margins.     

QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF SURGICALLY INDUCED MITRAL REGURGITATION USING RADIONUCLIDE VENTRICULOGRAPHY AND FIRST PASS RADIONUCLIDE ANGIOGRAPHY

Radionuclide ventriculography has been used in humans to evaluate valvular incompetency. The stroke volume ratio, derived from the radionuclide ventriculogram, is used to quantify the severity of mitral regurgitation (MR). Previous studies conducted in humans have shown that left to right stroke volume ratio increases as the severity of MR increases. In this study, we evaluated radionuclide ventriculography as a noninvasive method to detect MR in dogs with surgically created mitral insufficiency. Six male and three female adult, conditioned mongrel dogs were used. Scintigraphic studies were performed prior to and 4 weeks after surgically created MR. Because of the overlap of the left and right ventricles when viewed from a left lateral position, we combined data from a first-pass radionuclide angiocardiogram with the radionuclide ventriculogram to obtain a corrected stroke volume ratio. Blood flow transit parameters were also derived from the first-pass radionuclide angiocardiogram. Standard left ventricular functional indices were also measured from the radionuclide ventriculogram. On the left lateral view of the heart, 25 to 30% of the right ventricular volume overlaps the left ventricle. After correcting for the overlap, the stroke volume ratio of normal dogs was 1.17±0.178 (mean±SD), which increased to 2.06±0.41 (mean±SD) (p<.001) 4 weeks after creation of MR. The was no significant change in left ventricular ejection fraction or peak rate of ejection following MR. The transit times of blood through the left ventricle were measured from the first-pass radionuclide angiocardiogram and were expressed as half-time clearance, peak clearance rate, and time to peak clearance rate. The baseline half-time clearance was 2.07±0.71 s (mean±SD), which increased to 6.70±4.89 s (mean±SD) (p=.02) after creation of MR. The baseline peak clearance rate was 49.75±8.96 cts/s (mean±SD), which decreased to 23.12±6.84 cts/s (mean±SD) (p<.001) after creation of MR. Stroke volume ratios significantly increased following creation of MR. Blood flow transit through the left ventricle slowed following creation of MR. The variability of these parameters were small in the baseline studies, suggesting these techniques may be clinically useful to gauge the severity of MR in dogs.     

COMPARISON BETWEEN THE SCINTIGRAPHIC UPTAKE AND PLASMA CLEARANCE OF 99mTc-DIETHYLENETRIAMINEPENTACETIC ACID (DTPA) FOR THE EVALUATION OF THE GLOMERULAR FILTRATION RATE IN DOGS

The scintigraphically measured percentage dose uptake of ^99mTc-DTPA by the kidneys and the plasma clearance of ^99mTc-DTPA have been reported to correlate well with inulin clearance. These two parameters were evaluated in seven dogs with known or suspected naturally occurring renal disease and compared to simultaneously measured renal inulin clearance. Correlation between inulin clearance and the ^99mTc-DTPA plasma clearance was better ( p =.0016) than the correlation between the percentage DTPA uptake by the kidney. It was concluded that measurement of ^99mTc-DTPA plasma clearance is a more accurate method to estimate global glomerular filtration rate (GFR) than the percentage kidney uptake.     

Localization of Oestrogen Receptors in the Epididymis During Sexual Maturation of the Domestic Cat

Oestrogens are involved in regulation of spermatogenesis and sperm maturation and are essential for male fertility. To study the role of oestrogens on epididymal function in the domestic cat, we analyzed the localization patterns of oestrogen receptors (ERs) within the epididymis of juvenile, pubertal and adults using immunohistochemistry. Cat epididymal tissues obtained during routine castrations were fixed in chilled Bouin's solution and processed for immunohistochemistry with ER-specific antibodies. For a certain receptor type, ER localization was influenced by donor age. In the juvenile epididymis, ERα was localized in the nuclei of epithelial cells of efferent ducts and undifferentiated epithelium of the ductus epididymis. During puberty, ERα localization in the undifferentiated epithelium of the epididymis shifted from the nuclei to the cytoplasm and plasma membrane. Oestrogen receptor-α level was highest in the pubertal and adult epididymis, especially within the cytoplasm and in plasma membranes of caput epithelial cells. This finding was suggestive of a role in fluid reabsorption within the efferent ducts and the epididymis. In corpus and cauda regions, ERα was less abundant, suggesting a minor role for oestrogens in sperm storage areas. Interestingly, localization of ERβ was neither influenced by age nor location within the epididymis and was ubiquitous throughout. Results demonstrate that oestrogen actions within the epididymis may be predominantly mediated through ERα during sexual maturation in the domestic cat.