Ovarian Fibrothecoma in Mare – Case Report

A 5-year-old Mangalarga mare was referred to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the Veterinary Medical School in Botucatu with a complaint of a persistent 2-month ovarian follicle which had grown progressively to 20 cm in diameter. Ultrasonography showed a circular, cystic structure in the right ovary, whose wall was thickened and interior was filled with anechoic content. Ovarian neoplasia was suspected, and a unilateral ovariectomy was performed through the paralumbar fossa, using general anesthesia through inhalation. Histopathological evaluation concluded that the ovarian enlargement was caused by a fibrothecoma. The present report describes features of fibrothecoma, which is extremely rare in the equine species.     

Acute Oropharyngeal and Esophageal Stick Injury in Forty‐One Dogs

Objective— To report clinical findings, treatment, and outcome in dogs with acute (<7 days) oropharyngeal or esophageal stick injury. Study Design— Retrospective study. Animals— Dogs (n=41) with acute oropharyngeal or esophageal injury. Methods— Dogs had clinical and radiographic examination, and frequently, cervical surgical exploration. The decision to operate was based on radiographic findings of cervical emphysema. Outcome was determined by owner or veterinarian interview. Results— Of 41 dogs, 27 had oropharyngeal injury and 14 had esophageal injury. Five dogs with esophageal injury died. All dogs with radiographic evidence of cervical emphysema (n=34) had ventral median cervical exploration or necropsy; 11 had wood fragment(s) retrieved. In 7 dogs without radiographic signs of cervical emphysema, wounds involving the pharynx or soft palate were treated by local debridement and lavage using an oral approach. Mean follow‐up time was 36.4 months. All wounds healed without complication; however, 1 dog that was not surgically explored had a piece of wood surgically retrieved 3 months later. Conclusions— Radiographic evidence of cervical emphysema is a frequent finding in dogs with acute penetrating oropharyngeal or esophageal injury and indicates trauma to the deeper cervical tissues. Acute penetrating injury of the oropharyngeal region, when treated appropriately, has a better prognosis than acute esophageal penetration. Clinical Relevance— Ventral median cervical surgical exploration is recommended in dogs with acute penetrating injury of the oropharynx or esophagus if there is radiographic evidence of tissue emphysema.     

Metaflumizone is a novel sodium channel blocker insecticide

Metaflumizone is a novel semicarbazone insecticide, derived chemically from the pyrazoline sodium channel blocker insecticides (SCBIs) discovered at Philips-Duphar in the early 1970s, but with greatly improved mammalian safety. This paper describes studies confirming that the insecticidal action of metaflumizone is due to the state-dependent blockage of sodium channels. Larvae of the moth Spodoptera eridania injected with metaflumizone became paralyzed, concomitant with blockage of all nerve activity. Furthermore, tonic firing of abdominal stretch receptor organs from Spodoptera frugiperda was blocked by metaflumizone applied in the bath, consistent with the block of voltage-dependent sodium channels. Studies on native sodium channels, in primary-cultured neurons isolated from the CNS of the larvae of the moth Manduca sexta and on Para/TipE sodium channels heterologously expressed in Xenopus (African clawed frog) oocytes, confirmed that metaflumizone blocks sodium channels by binding selectively to the slow-inactivated state, which is characteristic of the SCBIs. The results confirm that metaflumizone is a novel sodium channel blocker insecticide.     

Restricting inbreeding while maintaining selection response for weight gain in Mus musculus

An experiment with mice was designed to test the relative efficiency of three selection methods that help to minimize the rate of inbreeding during selection. A common house mice (Mus musculus) population was selected for 17 generations to increase the weight gain between 21 and 42 days. The population was split at random into three lines A, B and C where three selection methods were applied: individual selection and random mating, weighted selection with random mating and individual selection with minimum coancestry mating, respectively. There were three replicates for each line. Cumulated selection response was similar in the three lines, but there were differences in the level of inbreeding attained (in percentage): 31.24 (method A), 24.72 (method B) and 27.88 (method C). As consequence, lines B and C (weighted selection and minimum coancestry) showed a lower value of deterioration of fitness traits (the intrauterine mortality and the mortality at birth) than line A (random mating).     

Immunological analysis of serum for buckwheat fed celiac patients

Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum, Moench), a herbaceous plant of the Polygonaceae family, does not have any affinity for the Gramineae family. It is commercially rated as a cereal, which has led to some misunderstanding concerning its use in gluten induced enteropathy or celiac disease. The effect of buckwheat flour ingestion by celiac patients was evaluated through the indirect immunofluorescence technique. Samples of serum were collected 30 days after the flour ingestion. Cryostat performed cuts of wheat and buckwheat grains were accomplished in order to compare the reactivity of their proteins and serum of celiac and normal patients. The assay revealed that the buckwheat flour presents no toxicity for the celiac patient and no anti-protein antibodies formation in the grain was observed for serum dilutions of 1:2 up to 1:32 with 0.15 M NaCl solution in 0.01 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.2 throughout the 30 day assay period. The results of the immunological assays showed that the buckwheat flour does not present toxic prolamines to celiac disease patients.     

Transgenic wheat plants: a powerful breeding source

Plant breeders are always interested in new genetic resources. In thepast, the sources have been limited to existing germplasm. Geneticengineering now provides the opportunity for almost unlimited strategies tocreate novel resources. As a first stage, the Applied Biotechnology Center(ABC) at CIMMYT developed a method for the mass production of fertiletransgenic wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) that yields plants ready fortransfer to soil in 13–14 weeks after the initiation of cultures, and, over thecourse of a year, an average production of 5–6 transgenic plants per day.CIMMYT elite cultivars are co-bombarded with marker gene and a gene ofinterest with co-transformation efficiencies around 25–30%. The reliabilityof this method opens the possibility for the routine introduction of novelgenes that may induce resistance to diseases and abiotic stresses, allow themodification of dough quality, and increase the levels of micronutrientssuch as iron, zinc, and vitamins. The first group of genes being evaluatedby the ABC are the pathogenesis related (PR) proteins, such as thethaumatin-like protein (TLP) from barley, chitinase, and 1–3-glucanase. Stable integration of the genes in the genome andinheritance in the progeny were determined by phenotypical analyses thatchallenged the plants against a wide range of pathogens. Using these genes,we have recovered more than 1200 independent events (confirmed byPCR and Southern blot analyses) that show responses to the pathogens thatrange from tolerance to hypersensitive reactions. The quantity andanti-fungal activity of the endogenous thaumatin-like proteins were analyzedin T₁ and T₂ progeny plants. Western blot analyses showeddifferent protein patterns of the wheat endogenous TLPs. Preliminary resultsindicated that some patterns increased the resistance of transgenic wheatplants to Alternaria triticina. This relationship is being furtherinvestigated.     

Ozone and Nitrogen Dioxide Levels Monitored in an Urban Area (Ciudad Real) in central-southern Spain

This work describes the evolution of NO₂ and O₃ levels from January to December of 2007, covering the four seasonal periods in the urban air of Ciudad Real in the central-southern Spain. The measurements were carried out by means of passive samplers (Radiello® samplers). Eleven samples were collected weekly, placed at different monitoring site locations. The data indicate that the mean levels obtained during this period for O₃ and NO₂ were 38.5?±?3.5 and 20.8?±?3.8 μg/m³, respectively. These measurements were compared with other studies in Ciudad Real. Meteorological conditions (temperature, pressure, humidity relative, wind speed and direction) were also investigated.     

Protein Localization of Epidermal Growth Factor in Sheep Ovaries and Improvement of Follicle Survival and Antrum Formation In Vitro

The aims of this study were to characterize EGF protein expression in ovine ovaries and to verify the effect of EGF on the in vitro development of isolated pre‐antral follicles. After collection, ovarian tissue was fixed for immunohistochemical analysis. Additional pairs of ovaries were collected, and secondary follicles were cultured for 18 days in α‐MEM⁺ (control) alone or supplemented with EGF (1, 10 or 50 ng/ml). The immunostaining for EGF was observed in oocytes from pre‐antral and antral follicles, in granulosa cells of primary and secondary follicles, as well as in cumulus and mural cells of antral follicles. After 18 days, the results showed that treatment with 50 ng/ml EGF significantly increased the percentage of morphologically normal follicles compared with the control group (α‐MEM⁺) and significantly reduced the precocious extrusion of oocytes and increased the percentage of antral follicles compared with the control and 1 ng/ml EGF. All the treatments induced a progressive and significant increase of the follicular diameter throughout the period of culture. However, there were no significant differences in follicular diameter or in the daily growth rate among treatments. In conclusion, this study demonstrated the presence of EGF in ovine ovaries. Moreover, 50 ng/ml EGF increased the percentage of normal follicles and improved antrum formation in isolated ovine follicles after 18 days of in vitro culture.