Spindle cell sarcoma in the kidney of a dog

A spindle cell sarcoma involving the left kidney was diagnosed in a 14-year-old male Basenji. Radiography and ultrasonography were used to define the extent and location of the mass. Metastatic disease was not detected. An 8 x 5-cm mass, involving the left kidney, was resected by performing nephroureterectomy. Signs of metastasis were not detected at 3 and 6 months after surgery. Shortly after the 6-month examination, the dog was euthanatized because of perceived signs of pain attributable to cervical disk disease. Postmortem examination was not performed. Histologic examination consisted of use of hematoxylin and eosin, Masson trichrome, and van Gieson stains, and 4 immunoperoxidase techniques. On the basis of the histologic findings, the final diagnosis was spindle cell sarcoma, with the 2 most likely possibilities being leiomyosarcoma and fibrosarcoma.     

Dry cow nutrition. The key to improving fresh cow performance

Evidence supports the concept of the dry period being a critical component to lactation preparation rather than an insignificant rest period between lactations. Required nutrient amounts for the dry cow are the sum of maintenance, pregnancy, and reserve replenishment needs with additional requirements for growth during the first two pregnancies. Maintenance energy requirements can be dramatically increased by level of activity and adverse environmental conditions. A wide variety of feed ingredients can be successfully fed to dry cows as long as rations are appropriately formulated to meet energy, protein, mineral, and vitamin requirements. A early and close-up dry program best matches increasing pregnancy requirements and declining intake capacity with management capabilities. The early dry cow ration is formulated for high fiber/low energy density while the close-up ration contains higher energy density with less fiber. Both rations contain sufficient other nutrients based on determined intake. This two-group system provides maximal flexibility in managing for optimum body condition at calving. Environmental stresses and dramatic dietary changes should be minimized during the transition period from late gestation to lactation. A sound dry cow program results from integration of quality nutrition and cow management practices as described. A dry cow program that enacts these guidelines should result in reduced incidence of clinical mastitis, successfully complete pregnancy with a viable calf, maximize genetic potential for milk production, minimize incidence of health disorders, and allows cows to breed back within an economically optimum time interval. Overall, a sound dry cow program is a critical key to improved fresh cow performance.     

Effect of colostrum intake on hepatic gluconeogenesis and fatty acid oxidation in the neonatal pig

A total of 24 newborn pigs were used to determine 1) the relationship between the quantity of colostrum consumed and the capacity for gluconeogenesis and fatty acid oxidation and 2) whether fatty acid oxidation limits gluconeogenesis in isolated hepatocytes. Neonatal pigs were obtained prior to nursing and allotted to one of three treatment groups; fed (ad libitum), limit-fed (25% of fed group), or fasted. Hepatocytes were isolated when pigs were 24 h old. Colostrum intake altered the metabolic status of neonates such that the capacity for glucose synthesis and oxidation of octanoate increased with intake. Glucose synthesis with lactate as the substrate was greater (P less than .01) for fed pigs (10.79 mumol glucose.h-1.mg DNA-1) than for either limit-fed (6.56) or fasted counterparts (4.78), which were similar (P greater than .10). Colostrum intake failed to stimulate synthesis from alanine. The oxidation rate for octanoate was similar for fed and limit-fed pigs (.62 and .61 nmol CO2.h-1.mg DNA-1, respectively) but greater (P less than .05) than that observed for fasted counterparts (.36). Oxidation of octanoate (2 mM) was approximately 30-fold greater than for oleate (1 mM); oxidation of the latter was not affected by either colostrum intake or the addition of carnitine (1 mM). The increase in octanoate oxidation, however, did not elicit an increase in glucose synthesis by fasting pigs with either lactate or alanine as precursors. Thus, we conclude that gluconeogenesis is a function of colostrum intake and that reducing equivalents and(or) ATP may not be primary factors limiting glucose synthesis in pigs fasted from birth.     

Influence of type of enclosure on exercise fitness of dogs

The effect of various confinement conditions on physical fitness in dogs was evaluated. Eighteen 9.5- to 10-month-old female purpose-bred Beagles were maintained individually for 3 months at a time in 1 of 6 confinement conditions: Condition A--an outdoor housing area with a conventional dog house and free access to a 6.1 x 9.1-m pen; condition B--outdoor kennel with a conventional dog house and free access to a 1.8 x 6.1-m run; condition C--indoor environmentally controlled 1.2 x 3.66-m run; condition D-0.9 x 1.2 x 0.84-m conventional laboratory cage in an indoor environmentally controlled room; condition E--0.9 x 1.2 x 0.84-m conventional laboratory cage in an indoor environmentally controlled room with treadmill exercise (7 km/h at a 10% grade) for 30 min/d, 5 d/wk; condition F--0.71 x 0.86 x 0.69-m conventional laboratory cage in an indoor environmentally controlled room. During the final week of each 3-month interval, muscle succinate dehydrogenase enzyme activities and submaximal exercise heart rates (during treadmill exercise) were determined to estimate physical fitness. Also, 5 days after being moved into a different housing condition, blood samples were collected for plasma cortisol determination. The type of confinement condition for dogs had little effect on muscle succinate dehydrogenase activity, but had a modest effect on submaximal exercise heart rates of dogs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

ENLARGING BILATERAL FEMORAL CONDYLAR BONE CYSTS WITHOUT SCINTIGRAPHIC UPTAKE IN A YEARLING FOAL

Bilateral subchondral bone cysts of the femoral condyles were diagnosed by conventional radiography in a 14 month old Appaloosa colt. Surgical debridement was performed, and over the next 18 months the appearance of the cysts was evaluated with radiography and bone scintigraphy. On the preoperative scintigrams, increased radiopharmaceutical uptake was associated with the cysts. Despite continued radiographic enlargement, the cysts did not demonstrate increased radiopharmaceutical uptake post-operatively.     

Hypoplasia of the trachea in dogs: 103 cases (1974-1990).

A multi-institutional retrospective study of 103 dogs in which hypoplasia of the trachea was diagnosed was conducted. Bulldogs (55%) and Boston Terriers (15%) were most commonly affected. Age at diagnosis ranged from 2 days to 12 years, with a median of 5 months. Hypoplasia of the trachea was diagnosed more frequently in males (66%) than females (34%). Congenital anomalies in dogs with hypoplasia of the trachea included elongated soft palate (n = 44), stenotic nares (n = 23), cardiac defects (n = 12), and megaesophagus (n = 10). Ratios between tracheal lumen diameter and depth of the thoracic inlet or width of the third rib did not correlate with dyspnea. Of 42 dogs reexamined greater than 6 months after diagnosis, 25 (60%) were clinically normal. The remaining 17 were dyspneic and 15 (88%) had concurrent respiratory or cardiovascular disease that could account for their clinical signs. Hypoplasia of the trachea appears to be tolerated well in the absence of concurrent respiratory or cardiovascular disease.     

Behaviour and hormone concentrationsin nest deprived and renesting hens

1. Nest and egg deprivation is a procedure traditionally used to disrupt incubation behaviour expression in commercial flocks. The aim of this study was to establish how nest deprivation affects the subsequent changes in behaviour and hormone secretion and whether readiness to renest is related to hormone concentration before and during nest deprivation. 2. Incubating broiler breeder hens were deprived of their nest either in their familiar environment, by blocking the nest entrance in the home cage or in an unfamiliar environment, by transfer in a different cage. After 3 days of nest deprivation, next access was allowed and readiness to incubate tested. 3. Both methods of nest deprivation resulted in the expression of similar behaviours associated with the disruption of incubation, and similar increases in plasma LH and oestradiol and decreases in plasma prolactin. The percentage (70%) of hens which renested after either method of nest deprivation did not differ significantly. 4. Readiness to renest was not related to the concentrations of plasma prolactin measured before or during the 3 days of nest deprivation. However, hens which would later renest could be identified by using behavioural criteria. They emitted more avoidance trills before, and sat on the wire floor for longer periods during, the nest deprivation period than the others.     

Effects of extracorporeal shock wave therapy on bone

Extracorporeal shock waves have been used for 30 years to fragment uroliths for nonsurgical treatment for urolithiasis in humans. Applied to bone, shock waves delivered at the appropriate energy and pulse number, can stimulate osteogenesis. In Europe, shock waves are routinely used to treat nonunions in humans despite poor understanding of the mechanism of action. Shock wave therapy has also been used clinically in horses. Preliminary experimental studies indicate that shock wave therapy does not damage soft tissue in the distal aspect of the equine limb and can stimulate osteogenesis throughout the depth of the near cortex of the metacarpus and metatarsus.     

Hierarchical Bayes multiple-breed inference with an application to genetic evaluation of a Nelore-Hereford population

The primary objective of this study was to demonstrate the utility of a hierarchical Bayes implementation of a multiple-breed animal model (MBAM) to estimate breed composition means and additive genetic variances as well as on variances due to the segregation between breeds. The MBAM and a conventional animal model (AM) were both applied to five simulated data sets derived from each of two different populations. Population I consisted of crosses between two breeds having a twofold difference in genetic variance and a nonzero segregation variance. Population II had the same population structure as Population I, except that the two breeds had the same genetic variance with no segregation variance; that is, Population II was essentially single breed in its genetic architecture. For Population I, posterior means of all variance components obtained by MBAM were unbiased, with 95% posterior probability intervals (PPI) having the expected coverage based on five replicates. The MBAM showed a slightly superior performance over the AM for genetic predictions in Population I, although there was no evidence that the use of the MBAM translated into greater genetic gains relative to the use of the AM. Nevertheless, the MBAM was clearly demonstrated to have superior fit to the data using pseudo-Bayes factors (PBF) as the basis for model choice. As expected, the MBAM and AM performed equally well in Population II. A data set consisting of 22,717 postweaning gain (PWG) records of a Nelore-Hereford population (40,082 animals in the pedigree) also was analyzed. The MBAM inference on Nelore and Hereford additive heritabilities (h2A) substantially differed. Herefords had a posterior mean h2A of 0.20 with a 95% PPI of 0.15 to 0.25, whereas the corresponding values for the Nelores were 0.07 and 0.04 to 0.11, respectively. The posterior mean genetic variance due to the segregation between these breeds was 8.4 kg2, with a 95% PPI of 2.3 to 24.8 kg2, and represented 35.4% of the Nelore but only 9.9% of the Hereford posterior mean genetic variance. The posterior mean h2A using the AM was 0.15, presumed common across the two breeds, with a 95% PPI of 0.11 to 0.19. The PBF heavily favored the MBAM over the AM for the PWG data. Accordingly, the MBAM represents a viable alternative to AM for multiple-breed genetic evaluations, providing the necessary flexibility in modeling heteroskedastic genetic variances of breed composition groups.     

DOES MEASUREMENT OF SMALL INTESTINAL DIAMETER INCREASE DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY OF RADIOGRAPHY IN DOGS WITH SUSPECTED INTESTINAL OBSTRUCTION?

The ratio between maximal small intestinal (SI) diameter and the height of the body of the fifth lumbar vertebra (L5) in radiographs has been reported as a diagnostic test in dogs with suspected intestinal obstruction. In order to assess the effect of the SI/L5 ratio on the accuracy of radiographic diagnosis of intestinal obstruction, lateral abdominal radiographs of 37 dogs with small intestinal obstruction and 48 nonobstructed dogs were mixed and examined independently by six observers who were unaware of the final diagnosis and who represented a range of experience. Observers first examined radiographs subjectively and stated the likelihood of obstruction (definitely not, probably not, equivocal, probably, definitely). Observers subsequently reexamined the radiographs, determined the SI/L5 ratio, and again stated the likelihood of obstruction. The most frequent cause of obstruction was foreign body (29/37, 78%). Dogs with SI obstruction had a significantly larger median SI/L5 ratio than nonobstructed dogs (P = 0.0002). Using an SI/L5 ratio of 1.7 for diagnosis of intestinal obstruction, sensitivity and specificity were 66%. Use of the SI/L5 ratio was not associated with increased accuracy of diagnosis for any observer, regardless of experience, hence this test may have no diagnostic impact.