IN THIS ISSUE – June 2010

Surveillance for West Nile virus in Australia: role of the little raven · Fertility in mares after surgical correction of rectovaginal fistula · Development of method for serial blood sampling from conscious dogs · Specificity of a commercial snake venom detection kit in dog and cat urine · Femoral component failure in canine cemented total hip replacement · Hepatic myelolipoma incarcerated in a peritoneopericardial diaphragmatic hernia in a cat · Diclofenac sodium and flunixin meglumine with antibacterial treatment of respiratory disease of calves · Lead-free petrol reduces risk of acute lead poisoning in Australian cattle     

Reconstruction of Current Flow and Imaging of Current-Limiting Defects in Polycrystalline Superconducting Films

Magneto-optical imaging was used to visualize the inhomogeneous penetration of magnetic flux into polycrystalline TlBa2Ca2Cu3Ox films with high critical current densities, to reconstruct the local two-dimensional supercurrent flow patterns and to correlate inhomogeneities in this flow with the local crystallographic misorientation. The films have almost perfect c-axis alignment and considerable local a- and b-axis texture because the grains tend to form colonies with only slightly misaligned a and b axes. Current flows freely over these low-angle grain boundaries but is strongly reduced at intermittent colony boundaries of high misorientation. The local (<10-micrometer scale) critical current density Jc varies widely, being up to 10 times as great as the transport Jc (scale of approximately 1 millimeter), which itself varies by a factor of about 5 in different sections of the film. The combined experiments show that the magnitude of the transport Jc is largely determined by a few high-angle boundaries.     

In this issue – August 2011

History of veterinary education in Australia · Neurological diseases following bacterial and protozoal infections · Lameness model in sheep · Effects of barefoot trimming · EGFR and HER‐2 as prognostic makers in mammary tumours · Bacteria in semen fractions in dogs     

The Prevalence of Malignant Neoplasia in Feline Renal-Transplant Recipients

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of malignant neoplasia in a group of feline renal-transplant recipients (FRTR). STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective clinical study. ANIMALS: Ninety-five consecutive client-owned FRTR treated at the University of California, Davis, between 1987 and 1997. METHODS: Medical records of the 95 cats were examined. The time to occurrence and type of malignant neoplasia, if present, was determined. RESULTS: Nine of 95 cats (9.5%) developed apparently de novo malignant neoplasia after receiving renal allografts. The predominant type of neoplasm was lymphoma. The median time to diagnosis of neoplasia in these 9 patients was 9.0 months after transplantation, whereas the median survival time was 14.0 months after transplantation. This compares with a median survival time of 22 months after transplantation for cats that died for reasons other than development of malignant neoplasia. CONCLUSIONS: Although these transplant recipients were not compared with a control population, it would appear that, as in humans, malignant neoplasia is encountered with greater-than-expected frequency after renal transplantation and immunosuppression in cats. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The apparent propensity to develop malignant neoplasia after renal transplantation and immunosuppression in cats is a fatal complication of which owners and clinicians should be aware.     

Visceral mast cell tumour with eosinophilia and eosinophilic peritoneal and pleural effusions in a cat

Summary A cat with weight loss, pyrexia and recurrent lethargy and depression was found to have pleural and peritoneal eosinophilic effusions, peripheral eosinophilia, eosinophilic lymphadenitis and a massively enlarged mesenteric lymph node. Visceral mast cell neoplasia was diagnosed after histopathological examination of a biopsy of the mass. Palliative chemotherapy was attempted unsuccessfully and the cat was euthanased.     

Surgical management of left-divisional intrahepatic portosystemic shunts: outcome after partial ligation of, or ameroid ring constrictor placement on, the left hepatic vein in twenty-eight dogs (1995-2005)

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate outcome in dogs with left divisional intrahepatic portosystemic shunts (PSS) treated by partial ligation (PL) or ameroid ring constrictor (ARC) placement on the left hepatic vein. DESIGN: Retrospective study. ANIMALS: Dogs (n=28) with left divisional intrahepatic PSS. METHODS: Retrieved data from medical records of dogs with left divisional intrahepatic PSS that had PL (n=17) or ARC (n=11) were signalment, history, clinical signs, preoperative blood work, portal pressure measurements, ARC size, complications and postoperative technetium scintigraphy. Outcome assessed by owner interview 6 months-10 years after surgery was classified as excellent, good or poor. Differences were tested by exact chi2 test. RESULTS: Major complications occurred in 3 dogs: coagulopathy (1 PL dog died), ascites (1 PL dog survived) and seizures (1 ARC dog died). Eight PL dogs had technetium portal scintigraphy; 1 dog was negative and 7 dogs positive for persistent shunting. Seven ARC dogs had scintigraphy; 4 dogs were negative and 3 positive for persistent shunting. In PL dogs, long-term clinical outcome was excellent (92%) or good (8%) whereas, in ARC dogs it was excellent (20%), good (50%) or poor (30%). This outcome difference between treatment groups was significant (P=.0012). CONCLUSION: Dogs treated by PL had significantly better long-term outcome compared with ARC treated dogs. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Based on these data, ARC placement on the left hepatic vein in dogs with left-divisional intrahepatic PSS cannot be recommended.