Exophthalmos due to a wooden foreign body in a dog

An 8-year-old Golden Retriever dog was presented with a 10-month history of right-sided exophthalmos. Radiographs and CT demonstrated a linear density, suggestive of a foreign body, in the region of the ramus of the right mandible. A 7 cm stick, located medial to the right zygomatic arch, was removed during exploratory surgery. The dog recovered with the aid of antibiotics, however was left with a residual facial nerve paralysis.     

Competitive and allelopathic interference between soybean crop and annual wormwood (Artemisia annua L.) under field conditions

Annual wormwood interference on soybean crop growth and yield may result from competition and allelopathy, which are modulated by crop management. Allelochemicals released by annual wormwood (e.g. artemisinin) may affect the crop directly or indirectly through the effect on the nitrogen fixing symbiont, Bradyrhizobium japonicum. The objectives were (i) to quantify the crop response (i.e. biomass production, nodulation and yield) to weed interference and (ii) to determinate the relative change of competition and allelopathy interferences, when a sublethal dose of herbicide is applied. Two split plot field experiments with three replications were used. The experiment involved a factorial combination of five weed–crop density (soybean/annual wormwood, plants m^?2) levels: D1, pure soybean, 40/0 plants m^?2; D2, 40/2 plants m^?2; D3, 40/4 plants m^?2 and D4, 40/8 plants m^?2, and D5, pure annual wormwood, 0/8 plants m^?2, two activated carbon (allelopathy) levels: C?, with activated carbon (reduced allelopathy) and C+, non activated carbon applied (with allelopathy) and two herbicide levels: H?, untreated and H+, treated with a sub-lethal dose of glyphosate. Activated carbon to adsorb allelochemicals (with and without activated carbon) and glyphosate application (with and no herbicide) were assigned to sub-plots. Increasing weed density did not affect crop biomass at flowering, but changed nodule number and soybean yield with a different pattern depending on carbon and herbicide treatment. Relative crop yield decreased with increasing relative weed biomass. This decrease was particularly drastic when allelopathy was reduced by activated carbon and without herbicide application. The maximum yield losses of 33% in 2006 and 17% in 2007 were observed with the highest weed density (8 plants m^?2). In contrast, without carbon (high allelopathy level), soybean yield remained stable within the explored range of annual wormwood biomass, despite the fact that weed biomass at high densities (D4) was high enough to generate competition. The lack of response to increasing weed density could be related to the indirect effect of allelochemicals interacting with soil microorganisms (i.e. B. japonicum) that positively affected the nodulation (e.g. larger nodules in 2006 and increased nodules biomass due to higher number of roots in 2007 at high densities). With herbicide application, soybean yield of both carbon treatments remained stable when biomass of annual wormwood increased. This research provided strong evidence in support of the existence of positive effect of allelopathic and competitive interactions between annual wormwood and soybean crop under field conditions that may be overridden under herbicide application.     

Effect of separating bull semen into X and Y chromosome-bearing fractions on the sex ratio of resulting embryos.

Seventy-six, day 12 to day 15 bovine embryos, collected from 14 donors which had been inseminated with either X or Y chromosome-bearing spermatozoa fractions of semen separated by a thermal convection counterstreaming sedimentation and forced convection galvanization process, were processed for sexing by chromosomal analysis. Fifty-seven embryos were sexed; 20 from Y chromosome-bearing and 37 from X chromosome-bearing fractions of semen. Statistical analysis of the sexing data indicated that there was no significant difference in the male: female ratio for donors receiving male fractions compared to those receiving female fractions. The Y chromosome-bearing fractions produced a male: female ratio that was indistinguishable from the expected 1:1 ratio. However, the X chromosome-bearing fractions of semen produced a highly significant deviation from the expected 1:1 ratio towards the male.     

Adenohypophyseal function in bitches treated with medroxyprogesterone acetate

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of treatment with medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) on canine adenohypophyseal function. Five Beagle bitches were treated with MPA (10mg/kg, every 4 weeks) and their adenohypophyseal function was assessed in a combined adenohypophyseal function test. Four hypophysiotropic hormones (CRH, GHRH, GnRH, and TRH) were administered before and 2, 5, 8, and 11 months after the start of MPA treatment, and blood samples for determination of the plasma concentrations of ACTH, cortisol, GH, IGF-1, LH, FSH, prolactin, alpha-MSH, and TSH were collected at -15, 0, 5, 10, 20, 30, and 45 min after suprapituitary stimulation. MPA successfully prevented the occurrence of estrus, ovulation, and a subsequent luteal phase. MPA treatment did not affect basal and GnRH-induced plasma LH concentrations. The basal plasma FSH concentration was significantly higher at 2 months after the start of MPA treatment than before or at 5, 8, and 11 months after the start of treatment. The maximal FSH increment and the AUC for FSH after suprapituitary stimulation were significantly higher before treatment than at 5, 8, and 11 months of MPA treatment. Differences in mean basal plasma GH concentrations before and during treatment were not significant, but MPA treatment resulted in significantly elevated basal plasma IGF-1 concentrations at 8 and 11 months. MPA treatment did not affect basal and stimulated plasma ACTH concentrations, with the exception of a decreased AUC for ACTH at 11 months. In contrast, the maximal cortisol increment and the AUC for cortisol after suprapituitary stimulation were significantly lower during MPA treatment than prior to treatment. MPA treatment did not affect basal plasma concentrations of prolactin, TSH, and alpha-MSH, with the exception of slightly increased basal plasma TSH concentrations at 8 months of treatment. MPA treatment did not affect TRH-induced plasma concentrations of prolactin and TSH. In conclusion, the effects of chronic MPA treatment on adenohypophyseal function included increased FSH secretion, unaffected LH secretion, activation of the mammary GH-induced IGF-I secretion, slightly activated TSH secretion, suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis, and unaffected secretion of prolactin and alpha-MSH.     

Multiplication of attenuated and virulent porcine parvoviruses in colostrum-deprived, neonatal pigs

Colostrum-deprived, neonatal, 2 days old pigs were inoculated with the attenuated HT-/SK or the virulent 90HS strain of porcine parvovirus (PPV) by the oral or subcutaneous route and sacrificed 2, 4 or 6 days after inoculation. Then, comparison was made on viral multiplication in pigs between the two strains. Pigs inoculated with the HT-/SK strain showed no detectable viremia or HI antibody responses against PPV within 6 days after inoculation. Only in pigs inoculated by the subcutaneous route, a small amount of virus was recovered from the spleen, liver, or mesenteric lymph nodes. These viruses were distinguished from the parental virulent 90HS strain, as examined for rct maker in vitro. When pigs were inoculated with the virulent 90HS strain, viremia appeared in all of them 1 day after inoculation and continued for up to the sacrificed day. Moreover, a considerable amount of virus was also detected from all tissues, including brain, lung, liver, spleen, pancreas, small intestine, and lymph node tissues, in all pigs tested. HI antibodies were first detected 6 days after inoculation.     

Effect of resistant starch on the intestinal health of old dogs: fermentation products and histological features of the intestinal mucosa

The effects of resistant starch (RS) intake on nutrient digestibility, microbial fermentation products, faecal IgA, faecal pH, and histological features of the intestinal mucosa of old dogs were evaluated. The same formulation was extruded in two different conditions: one to obtain elevated starch cooking degree with low RS content (0.21%) and the other lower starch cooking with high RS content (1.46%). Eight geriatric Beagles (11.5 ± 0.38 years old) were fed each diet for 61 days in a crossover design. Food intake, nutrient digestibility, fermentation products, faecal pH, and faecal IgA were examined via variance analysis. Histological results of intestinal biopsies were assessed via Wilcoxon test for paired data. The morphometric characteristics of large intestine crypts were evaluated via paired t tests (p < .05). Protein, fat, and energy digestibilities were higher for the low‐RS diet (p < .05). Dogs receiving the high‐RS diet had lower faecal pH and higher values for propionate, butyrate, total volatile fatty acids, and lactate (p < .05). No differences between diets were found in the histological parameters of the gut mucosa, and only a tendency for deeper crypts in the descending colon was observed for dogs fed the high‐RS diet (p = .083). The intake of a corn‐based kibble diet manufactured with coarse ground raw material and low starch gelatinization to obtain 1.4% of RS affected microbial fermentation products and faecal pH and tended to increase crypt depth in the descending colon of old dogs.     

Spastic paresis in a Poll Hereford heifer

A case of unilateral spastic paresis in a Poll Hereford heifer is described. The heifer could not actively flex the right stifle or hock and the toe just contacted the ground. There was cranial distortion and collapse of the distal tibial epiphysis and remodelling of the articular surfaces within the stifle and hock. There was moderately severe muscle atrophy, but a primary peripheral or central neuropathological lesion could not be found.     

Eosinophilic leukaemoid reaction in a dog

A haematological disorder in a dog characterised by a massive leucocytosis, mainly composed of eosinophils and their precursors is reported here. The normal composition of cells in the bone marrow was displaced in favour of the eosinophils and their precursors. No apparent cause for the pronounced eosinophilia could be determined by clinical, haematological, clinical-chemical, radiological or pathological examinations. A diagnosis of eosinophilic leukaemoid reaction was suggested as the criteria for the diagnosis of eosinophilic leukaemia in the dog but this was not firmly established.