Lipomatous infiltration of the canine salivary gland

Benign connective tumours of the canine salivary glands are rare. This report describes lipomatous infiltration of parotid or submandibular salivary glands in seven dogs in which the glands were enlarged as a result of infiltration by fat cells; they appeared to have been successfully treated by local excision. The precise cause of the lipomatous infiltration in the dogs is unclear but different causes of similar lesions in humans are discussed.     

Corneal concentrations and preliminary toxicological evaluation of an itraconazole/dimethyl sulphoxide ophthalmic ointment

The objectives of this study were to determine the concentration of itraconazole achieved in corneal tissue and aqueous humour after topical application of a 1% itraconazole ointment; to determine the effect of including dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) in the ointment on achievable ocular tissue itraconazole concentrations; and to assess if any gross or histopathologic ocular toxicity results from the topical application of 1% itraconazole with or without the addition of DMSO.
The experimental trial consisted of 6 horses considered to have normal eyes. Each horse had one eye treated with 0.3 mL of 1% ultra-micronized itraconazole ointment and the fellow eye with 0.3 mL of 1% itraconazole/30% DMSO ointment. The ointment was applied every 6 h for a total of 28 treatments. Both ointments were well tolerated and no gross or histopathologic abnormalities developed during the trial.
Corneal tissue and aqueous humour concentrations of itraconazole were determined using high performance liquid chromatography. Corneal tissue concentration averaged 1.1 (± 0.4) μg/g in horses treated with the 1% ultra-micronized itraconazole ointment and 7.9 (± 3.3) μg/g for those treated with the 1% itraconazole/30% DMSO ointment; there was a statistically significant difference between ointments ( P = 0.005) No itraconazole could be detected in the aqueous humour in either treatment group.     

Differential responses in anterior pituitary luteinizing hormone (LH) content and LHβ- and α-subunit MRNA, and plasma concentrations of LH and testosterone, in bulls treated with the LH-releasing hormone agonist deslorelin

Anterior pituitary gland contents of LH and LHß- and α-subunit mRNAs, and circulating concentrations of LH and testosterone, were determined in bulls treated with the LH-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonist deslorelin. Brahman (Bos indicus) bulls (14-month-old) were allocated to two groups and received the following: Control (n = 5), no treatment; Deslorelin (n = 4), four deslorelin implants (approximately 200 μg total deslorelin/day) for 36 d. Plasma concentrations of LH were higher in bulls treated with deslorelin on Day 1, had returned to typical levels by Day 8, and did not differ for control bulls and bulls treated with deslorelin from Day 8 to Day 29. Pituitary content of LH on Day 36 was reduced (P < 0.001) in bulls treated with deslorelin (33 ± 4 ng/mg) compared with control bulls (553 ± 142 ng/mg). Relative pituitary content of LHß-subunit mRNA was also reduced on Day 36 in bulls treated with deslorelin (Control, 0.65 ± 0.10; Deslorelin, 0.22 ± 0.04; P = 0.003). However, α-subunit mRNA relative content did not differ (Control, 0.73 ± 0.15; Deslorelin, 1.06 ± 0.12; P > 0.05). Plasma concentrations of testosterone were increased over the period of the experiment in the bulls treated with deslorelin compared with control bulls. This is the first demonstration of reduced pituitary content of LHß-subunit mRNA and LH, and unaltered content of α-subunit mRNA, in bulls treated with LHRH agonist. This was associated with apparently typical plasma concentrations of LH and elevated plasma testosterone. The anterior pituitary in bulls treated with LHRH agonist, therefore, undergoes classical desensitization and downregulation, but plasma LH and testosterone are not suppressed.     

A multivariable prognostic model for equine colic patients

A survey of 1965 equine colic cases was conducted from August 1985 to July 1986 ten equine referral hospitals located througout the U.S.A. Two-thirds of the cases were randomly selected for model development (1336), while the remaining cases (629) were used only for subsequent validation of the model. The following outcomes were defined: (1) died or killed prior to discharge from the hospital; or (2) alive at the time of discharge. Only variables which were significant (P<0.05) in an initial bivariate screening procedure and for which there were less than 400 missing values were considered in the multivariable modelling. A multivariable logistic regression model was constructed using a stepwise algorithm. The model used 666 cases and included the following variables: peripheral pulse (normal or weak), pulse rate, surgical or medical treatment, packed cell volume, self-inflicted trauma (absent or present) and capillary refill time. For each horse in the validation data set which had the appropriate variables recorded (n=335), the estimated expected probability of death (expected value) was calculated using the logistic regression equation. Using Bayes theorem, the post-test probability was calculated from the expected value (an estimate of the test odds) and the present probability (the case-fatality rate at each institution). Nomograms of predictive values for different case-fatality rates and expected values were constructed. Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit statistics indicated that the model fitted the model data set well but the validation set poorly. However, when the observed case-fatality rates were compared with the average post-test probabilities for 0.10 increments of post-test probability, qualitatively, the model's performance was better.     

Intraruminal administration of milk in the calf as a model for ruminal drinking: Morphological and enzymatical changes in the jejunal mucosa

In order to develop a calf model for studying the syndrome of ruminal drinking (RD) in veal calves, three dual-fistulated calves were used to test the effect of intraruminal administration of milk replacer on the jejunal mucosa. Biopsies of the proximal jejunal mucosa were taken through a jejunal fistula and the mucosal morphology and the activities of two brush border enzymes, lactase and alkaline phosphatase, were determined.Means of villus length and brush border enzyme activities decreased during the period of intraruminal administration of milk. The hyperplastic villus atrophy in this model was similar to that found in chronic RD patients in previous studies. This could not be associated with isolation of pathogenic micro-organisms from the faeces and is probably the consequence of the intraruminal milk feeding procedure itself.Clinical recovery from the signs of RD occurred rapidly after intraruminal administration of milk ceased and was followed by restoration of villus length and brush border enzyme activities 3–4 weeks later.     

Airway hypersensitivity induced by Ascaris suum extract in New Zealand Romney sheep

Sheep from local farms with and without previous exposure to pigs were tested for their skin and airway responses to a commercial Ascaris suum antigen. There was an immediate reaction to intradermal injection of the antigen in 90% of 101 sheep. A bronchial provocation test by aerosol of the same antigen was undertaken on 43 of the sheep with a positive skin reaction. About 70% of sheep showed an immediate airway response to the antigen as an aerosol, reflected as a significant increase in airway resistance and/or decrease of dynamic lung compliance. The mean peak airway resistance and mean lowest dynamic lung compliance were 165% above and 61% below their baselines, respectively. No significant changes were recorded when the same animals were given an aerosol of phosphate buffered saline. Similarly, no correlation was found between the degree of skin reaction and the magnitude of bronchoconstriction (p>0.05). The sheep with previous exposure to pigs showed no significant differences in airway responses to antigen challenge, although they showed significantly greater skin reactions than those without exposure to pigs. These results indicate that the majority of Romney sheep in the Manawatu have a natural skin and airway sensitivity to A. suum antigen and may therefore be used as an animal model to study human airway hypersensitivity. The origin of this sensitivity has yet to be determined.     

Interstitial lung disease in feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infected cats

Postmortem bronchoalveolar lavage of feline immunodeficiency virus-infected cats indicated an alveolitis process, and histological examination of their lungs confirmed the occurrence of alveolitis, parenchymatous lymphoplasmocytic infiltration and myomatosis. Similar lymphoid interstitial pneumonitis has been described in human and animal lentiviral diseases: lymphocytic interstitial pneumonitis in hiv-1-infected human beings, and maedi in sheep infected by the maedi-visna virus. Such lymphoid interstitial pneumonitis may thus be a common feature of lentiviral infections.     

Assessment of parental genomic proportions in crossbred chickens by DNA fingerprints

SUMMARY: Starting with the second crossbred generation, parental genomic-proportion lines in individuals deviate considerably from expectation. These individual variations offer the potential to increase the efficiency of crossbreeding programmes. DNA fingerprinting was established as an approach, to quantify the genomic contribution of the parental lines in individuals of two crossbred generations. For this purpose, line-specific bands were identified in representative banding patterns of pooled DNA from purebreds. The representative banding patterns obtained with eight combinations of restriction enzymes HinfI and AluI, and oligonucleotide probes [CA]8, [CAC]5, [GGAT]4, and [GACA]4, contained between nine and 14 line-specific bands. The estimation of the proportion was based on the relative proportion of line-specific bands of one parental line in banding patterns of crossbreds. This was first done in F1 individuals with a definite 50% genomic proportion of each parental line, to determine the accuracy of the approach. The mean value, 51.0 ± 0.34%, observed in 45 F1s using all eight combinations of enzymes and probes, of genomic contribution of one parental line, was close to the theoretical value of 50%. In 24 animals of the BC1, considerable shifting of the parental genomic proportion was observed. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: Sch?tzung der Genomanteile bei Hühnern verschiedener Kreuzungsstufen durch DNA-Fingerprinting Von der ersten Rückkreuzungsgeneration an treten erhebliche, individuelle Verscheibungen in der Verteilung der Genomanteile der parentalen Ausganslinien vom Durchschnitt auf. Diese individuelle Variation stellt ein Potential zur Steigerung der Effektivit?t von Kreuzungszuchtprogrammen dar. Mit der vorliegenden Arbeit wird eine Untersuchungsmethode zur direkten Quantifizierung der Genombeitr?ge der parentalen Ausganslinien bei Individuen verschiedener Kreuzungsstufen durch DNA fingerprints vor gestellt. Dazu wurden in für die Ausgangslinien repr?sentativen Bandenmustern aus DNA-Gemischen linienspezifische Banden identifiziert. Die repr?sentativen Bandenmuster wurden mit den Restriktionsenzymen HinfI and AluI sowie den Oligonukleotidsonen [CA](8) , [CAC](5) , [GGAT](4) , und [GACA](4) erzeugt und enthielten 9-14 linienspezifische Banden. Die Bestimmung der parentalen Genomanteile beruhte auf der Identifizierung linienspezifischer Banden in den Bandmustern von Kreuzungsindividuen und der anschlie?enden Berechnung des relativen Anteils an für eine parentale Linie spezifischen Banden. Um die Genauigkeit der Untersuchungsmethode zu evaluieren, wurde sie zun?chst bei F(1) Tieren angewandt, die einen Anteil von jeweils 50% der elterlichen Linien aufweisen müssen. Der Durchschnittswert berechnet über alle 45 F(1) Individuen und alle acht Kombinationen von Enzymen und Sonden betrug 51,0 ± 0,34% Genomanteil der einen parentalen Linie und lag somit nahe dem theoretischen Wert von 50%. Bei 24 Tieren der R1 konnte eine beachtliche Verschiebung der Genombeitr?ge der parentalen Ausgangslinien gezeigt werden.     

Effect on canine oral health of adding chlorhexidine to a dental hygiene chew

A study to compare the effect of a dental hygiene chew with or without 0.2% chlorhexidine on the development of gingivitis and the accumulation of dental deposits was performed using 11 small dogs. Confirming previous data, the daily addition of a standard chew to a dry diet resulted in significantly less gingivitis and calculus after 3 weeks compared with feeding the dry diet alone. Addition of chlorhexidine to the chew made no difference to the degree of gingivitis or the amount of calculus that accumulated, but did result in significantly less plaque accumulation after 3 weeks. The abrasiveness of the chew, rather than the antibacterial activity of chlorhexidine, is likely to have contributed the most to the maintenance of oral health in dogs with mild gingivitis.