Treatment of a Periarticular Tibial Fracture in a Foal with a Hybrid External Fixator

Objective— To report repair of a right proximal tibial Salter-Harris type II fracture in a foal with a hybrid external fixator (HEF).
Study Design— Case report.
Animals— A 5-month-old male foal.
Methods— After open surgical reduction, an HEF built with wires, 2 half-rings, 3 half-threaded connecting rods, and Schanz pins was used to stabilize the fracture.
Results— Immediately after surgery, the foal had relatively good weight bearing. The HEF was removed at 60 days after radiographic confirmation of healing.
Conclusions— HEF can be used to stabilize a proximal tibial Salter-Harris type II fracture in a 5-month-old foal.
Clinical Relevance— HEF should be considered as another option for repair of proximal tibial Salter-Harris type II fractures in foals.     

QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE THYROID IMAGING IN FELINE HYPERTHYROIDISM USING TECHNETIUM-99M AS PERTECHNETATE

Thyroid imaging using technetium-99m as pertechnetate (^99mTcO₄) was carried out in five healthy, euthyroid and 37 hyperthyroid cats using both pinhole and parallel-hole collimators. Images of greater resolution, necessary to distinguish bilateral lobe involvement, were obtained using the pinhole collimator. Per cent thyriod ^99mTcO₄ - uptake was calculated in each cat and was significanly (P < 0.001) higher in hyperthyroid compared with euthyroid cats. In the hyperthyroid cats, per cent thyroid uptake was significantly correlated with serum total thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) Concentrations. Per cent thyroid ^99mTcO₄ - uptake is increased in feline hyperthyrodism and may be calculated using a pinhole collimator alone at the time of qalitative assessment of the extent of thyroid tissue involvement.     

A prospective study of vesicular stomatitis in cattle in an enzootic region of Mexico

A prospective study of vesicular stomatitis was conducted in two bovine herds in southeastern Mexico. In July 1987, an initial serological screening showed that 64% and 87% of the 654 cattle tested negatively to vesicular stomatitis New Jersey and Indiana antibodies, respectively, using the plaque-reduction serum neutralization test. Most seropositive animals were at least 24 months of age. Based on the initial serological screening, cohorts of seronegative and seropositive cattle were monitered (January–December 1988) for the prevalence of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) antibodies using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The serological results, using ELISA, indicated that no VSV activity occured in the two study herds. The seronegative cohort of cattle did not yield a positive seroconversion pattern to either VSV Indiana or New Jersey. The seropositive cohort showed a variable antibody response pattern against the VSV. There were no clinical cases of vesicular stomatitis (VS) in the two herds. The data from the national surveillance program for vesicular diseases suggested that 1988 was a year of low VSV infection incidence in southeastern Mexico.     

Long-term clinical observations on feline immunodeficiency virus infected asymptomatic carriers.

Eleven feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infected asymptomatic carrier (AC) cats were observed for 2 years for development of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Four of the 11 (36.4%) showed progression of the clinical stage. Persistent generalized lymphadenopathy was noted in three cats as the first sign of illness after the AC phase, while the other showed lymphadenopathy with signs of AIDS-related complex. In all four cats the AIDS-related complex stage lasted for 10 months or longer, and two showed progression of the disease into AIDS. The two cats showing AIDS illnesses died within approximately 1 year after they had developed persistent generalized lymphadenopathy. Pathology confirmed the diagnosis of AIDS characterized by the presence of depletion lesions in the lymphoid organs, and of severe infections of an opportunistic nature. The overall mortality of FIV infected AC cats during a 2 year period was two out of 11 (18.2%). These cats showed decreased concanavalin A mitogen response of peripheral blood mononuclear cells as the disease progressed.     

Clodronate treatment significantly depletes macrophages in chickens

Macrophages function as phagocytes and antigen-presenting cells in the body. As has been demonstrated in mammals, administration of clodronate [dichloromethylene bisphosphonate (Cl₂MBP)] encapsulated liposomes results in depletion of macrophages. Although this compound has been used in chickens, its effectiveness in depleting macrophages has yet to be fully determined. Here, we show that a single administration of clodronate liposomes to chickens results in a significant depletion of macrophages within the spleen and lungs of chickens up to 4 d post-treatment. This finding suggests that, in order to obtain depletion of macrophages in chickens for greater than 5 d, it is necessary to administer clodronate liposomes 4 d apart. The study also showed that 2 treatments of clodronate liposomes at 4-day intervals resulted in the depletion of macrophages for up to 10 d. The findings of the present study will encourage more precise studies to be done on the potential roles of macrophages in immune responses and in the pathogenesis of microbial infections in chickens.     

Admixture analysis in relation to pedigree studies of introgression in a minority British cattle breed: the Lincoln Red

Investigation of historic population processes using molecular data has been facilitated by the use of approximate Bayesian computation (ABC), which enables the consideration of multiple alternative demographic scenarios. The Lincoln Red cattle breed provides a relatively simple example of two well‐documented admixture events. Using molecular data for this breed, we found that structure did not resolve very low (<5% levels) of introgression, possibly due to sampling limitations. We evaluated the performance of two ABC approaches (2BAD and DIYABC) against those of two earlier methodologies, ADMIX and LEADMIX, by comparing their interpretations with the conclusions drawn from herdbook analysis. The ABC methods gave credible values for the proportions of the Lincoln Red genotype that are attributable to Aberdeen Angus and Limousin, although estimates of effective population size and event timing were not realistic. We suggest ABC methods are a valuable supplement to pedigree‐based studies but that the accuracy of admixture determination is likely to diminish with increasing complexity of the admixture scenario.     

Supplementation of the maternal diet with tomato powder and marigold extract: effects on the antioxidant system of the developing quail

The effects of natural dietary carotenoid supplementation of the maternal diet (tomato powder and marigold extract) on transfer to the egg yolk and on the development of the antioxidant system of the young quail liver in early postnatal life were investigated. Sixty Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) were allocated to four treatment groups, each with three replicates consisting of four females and one male each. The quail were fed on one of four different diets for 23 d, each of them based on a low carotenoid, wheat/barley-based control diet. Tomato powder and marigold extract were added at rates of 20 and 2 g/kg to treatments 2 and 3, respectively. Marigold extract and tomato powder were also used in combination in treatment 4 at 2 g marigold + 20 g tomato powder/kg of diet. At 20 weeks of age, 60 eggs from each treatment were collected and placed in an incubator. After hatching, d-old quail from each group were reared (under standard commercial conditions) up to 14 d of age. They were fed on a low-carotenoid commercial diet. After hatch, at 1, 7 and 14 d, the livers of five young quail from each treatment were assessed for total carotenoid concentration and carotenoid profile. Results indicated that lycopene is transferred from the feed to the egg yolk and further to the liver of the developing embryo. Elevated carotenoid concentration in the egg yolk and correspondingly in the liver of newly hatched quail remains significant during first week posthatch. Lutein and lycopene did not affect vitamin E concentration in the egg yolk or liver of the newly hatched quail. A combination of increased concentrations of lycopene and lutein in the egg yolk results in elevated concentrations of coenzyme Q in the liver of the newly hatched quail.