Osteochondral fragments involving the dorsomedial aspect of the proximal interphalangeal joint in young horses: 6 cases (1997-2006)

OBJECTIVE: To determine clinical and diagnostic imaging findings in young horses with osteochondral fragments involving the dorsomedial aspect of the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint. DESIGN: Retrospective case series. ANIMALS: 6 horses. PROCEDURES: Medical records were reviewed. Follow-up information was obtained through telephone conversations with owners or trainers or by examining race records. RESULTS: Horses were between 1 and 4 years old. Three had bilateral osteochondral fragments in the forelimbs (n = 2 horses) or hind limbs (1). Radiographically, all but 1 fragment seemed to originate from the dorsomedial aspect of the distal end of the first phalanx. Fragment size ranged from 6 x 9 mm to 11 x 21 mm. Three horses had lameness referable to the region of the affected joint; the other 3 horses did not have clinical signs referable to affected PIP joints. Two horses were euthanized shortly after diagnosis at the owners' request because of concerns that the horses would be unsuited for their intended athletic use. Two of the 3 horses in which fragments were incidental findings were able to race successfully, although 1 received intra-articular corticosteroid treatments; the third was retired because of unrelated orthopedic problems. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggested that osteochondral fragments involving the dorsomedial aspect of the PIP joint may be an incidental finding in young horses. Given the absence of clinical signs in 5 of 9 affected joints and the fact that 3 of 6 horses were affected bilaterally, a developmental origin of the fragments was suspected.     

Antioxidant status and biomarkers of oxidative stress in bovine leukemia virus-infected dairy cows

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is among the most widespread livestock pathogens in many countries. Despite advances in understanding the pathogenesis of this disease, little is known about the involvement of oxidative stress. Therefore, this study examined the antioxidant status and the markers of oxidative stress in BLV-infected dairy cows. BLV infection was associated with an increase in triacylglycerol levels, a decrease in glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity and a tendency toward lower superoxide dismutase activity in the infected animals. No significant difference was observed in other markers of oxidative stress (i.e., conjugated dienes, hydroperoxides and malondialdehyde) in the infected animals compared to controls. A novel method for the analysis of oxidative stress, Z-scan based on the measurement of the mean-value of θ in low density lipoprotein indicated that the infected animals had low-density lipoprotein particles that were slightly less modified than those from the healthy group. Thus, we conclude that BLV infection is associated with a selective decrease in GSH-Px activity without any alteration in the common plasma markers of oxidative stress.     

A NEW TYPE OF RADIOGRAPHIC BONE REMODELING IN THE DISTAL RADIAL AND ULNAR METAPHYSIS IN 54 NEWFOUNDLAND DOGS

In this longitudinal observational study, 118 growing Newfoundland dogs were followed with sequential radiographic examination of the right front limb, which were scheduled at ages 3, 4, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months to record evidence of skeletal changes. All affected dogs had evidence of changes at 6 months and dogs included in this study had radiographic examination at 6 months and at least two other scheduled examinations that included either 4 or 12 months. The dogs were privately owned and had individualized nutrition and environment with no maintenance protocol required by the project leaders. Irregularities in bone remodeling in the distal radius and ulna were seen in radiographs of 54 of 118 (45.8%) dogs. These irregularities differ from changes previously described in the Newfoundland dog. The reported irregularities were seen as islands of reduced opacity outlined by thickened, radiopaque osseous trabeculae, which were aligned with the axis of stress. All the 54 dogs with irregularities during some phase of development consistently had changes at 6 months of age. Reorganization of the changes in the bone was slow, and residual changes were visible at 18-24 months of age in many cases. The significance of these findings may lie in their potential for misinterpretation if they had been discovered in the presence of clinical signs such as any lameness or growth arrest. Radiographic appearance indicates disturbances in the bone maturation. The etiopathogenesis is unclear. Nutritional, environmental and genetic factors have to be studied.     

An atypical Bacillus anthracis infection in a bull—A potential occupational health hazard

Bacillus anthracis infecting cattle is usually identified based on the typical symptom: sudden death. Bacillus anthracis causing atypical symptoms may remain undiagnosed and represent a potential occupational health hazard for, that is veterinarians and producers, butchers and tanners. In the year 2004, one case of sudden death in a dairy farm in southern Finland was diagnosed as bovine anthrax. Four years later 2008, an atypical case of anthrax was diagnosed in the same holding. The bull was taken to the Production Animal Hospital of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki because of fever, loss of appetite and a symmetrically swollen scrotal sac. Penicillin treatment cured the fever but not the swollen scrotum. Before the intended therapeutic castration, a punctuate consisting of 10 ml fluid collected into a syringe from the scrotal sac was cultivated on blood agar at 37°C. After 24 hr, an almost pure culture of a completely non‐hemolytic Bacillus cereus‐like bacteria was obtained. The strain was identified as B. anthracis using Ba‐specific primers by the Finnish Food Safety Authority (RUOKAVIRASTO). After the diagnosis, the bull was euthanized and destroyed, the personnel were treated with prophylactic antibiotics and the clinic was disinfected. In this particular case, treatment with water, Virkon S and lime seemed to be effective to eliminate endospores and vegetative cells since no relapses of anthrax have occurred in 10 years. This case is the last reported anthrax case in Finland.     

Effects of Cultivar and Temperature During Grain Filling on Wheat Protein Content,Composition, and Dough Mixing Properties

Three wheat cultivars, Bastian, Polkka, and Tjalve, were grown in growth chambers at 9, 12, 15, 18, and 21°C during grain filling in 1994, 1995, and 1996. The wheat samples were analyzed for protein content and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) sedimentation volume. The mixing properties of sifted flours were determined by mixograph, and the flour protein composition was determined by size-exclusion fast protein liquid chromatography (SE-FPLC). The protein content, sedimentation volume, and mixogram parameters were affected by the temperature during grain filling. The protein content increased as the temperature increased. The sedimentation volumes and the mixograph data showed temperature effects that could not be explained by variation in protein content. The proportion of the polymeric flour proteins increased with increasing temperature. Positive correlations were found between the proportion of polymeric proteins and SDS sedimentation volume and, within each year, between the proportion of polymeric proteins and mixograph peak time. Negative correlations were found between the proportion of low molecular weight flour proteins (proportion of fraction IV) and sedimentation volume. The differences in these quality parameters among cultivars exceeded the effect of temperature during grain filling.     

A new LC/MS-method for the quantitation of acrylamide based on a stable isotope dilution assay and derivatization with 2-mercaptobenzoic acid. Comparison with two GC/MS methods

Acrylamide (AA) was found to form a stable thioether in reasonable yields (45-50%) when reacted with 2-mercaptobenzoic acid at 20 degrees C for 3 h. On the basis of this finding and using [(13)C(3)]-acrylamide as the internal standard, a sensitive and selective new stable isotope dilution analysis for AA quantitation in food samples was developed based on single stage LC/MS. Comparison of the quantitative results obtained by applying the new method to potato chips, crispbread or butter cookies with data obtained by two stable isotope dilution analysis, using direct measurement of AA by GC/MS, but differing in the workup procedure, revealed detection limits in the same order of magnitude (6.6 microg/kg). Quantitative data obtained by application of the three methods on the same samples of potato chips or cookies, respectively, were also in very good agreement. Quantitation of AA in crispbreads treated with an amylase/protease mixture did not show increased AA levels, thereby indicating that inclusion of AA in starch/protein gels is not very probable during breadmaking.     

Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Barettin

In this paper, we present novel bioactivity for barettin isolated from the marine sponge Geodia barretti. We found that barettin showed strong antioxidant activity in biochemical assays as well as in a lipid peroxidation cell assay. A de-brominated synthetic analogue of barettin did not show the same activity in the antioxidant cell assay, indicating that bromine is important for cellular activity. Barettin was also able to inhibit the secretion of the inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and TNFα from LPS-stimulated THP-1 cells. This combination of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities could indicate that barettin has an atheroprotective effect and may therefore be an interesting product to prevent development of atherosclerosis.     

Chemical and genetic engineering of selective ion channel-ligand interactions

Ionic flux mediates essential physiological and behavioral functions in defined cell populations. Cell type-specific activators of diverse ionic conductances are needed for probing these effects. We combined chemistry and protein engineering to enable the systematic creation of a toolbox of ligand-gated ion channels (LGICs) with orthogonal pharmacologic selectivity and divergent functional properties. The LGICs and their small-molecule effectors were able to activate a range of ionic conductances in genetically specified cell types. LGICs constructed for neuronal perturbation could be used to selectively manipulate neuron activity in mammalian brains in vivo. The diversity of ion channel tools accessible from this approach will be useful for examining the relationship between neuronal activity and animal behavior, as well as for cell biological and physiological applications requiring chemical control of ion conductance.