Open Intestinal Anastomosis with Surgical Stapling Equipment in 24 Dogs and Cats

Surgical stapling equipment was used to perform open antiperistaltic side-to-side ("functional end-to-end") entero-anastomoses in 20 dogs and 4 cats. Twenty-one anastomoses healed uneventfully. Seven animals with severe bacterial peritonitis required open peritoneal drainage and delayed abdominal closure. There was postoperative leakage at the anastomotic site in two dogs and a localized abscess at the staple line in one cat. No long-term complications occurred in follow-up periods of 3 to 29 months.     

Purification and properties of pyrethroid carboxyesterase in rat liver microsome

Pyrethroid carboxyesterase which hydrolyzes the esters of chrysanthemumic acid was purified from rat liver microsome by cholic acid solubilization, ammonium sulfate fractionation, heat treatment, and DEAE-Sephadex A-50 column chromatography. The 45-fold purified enzyme (38% yield) is likely to consist of single protein, as evidenced by polyacrylamide gel disc electrophoresis and Sephadex G-100 column chromatography, and had a molecular weight of approximately 74,000 and a K_m of 0.21 mM. It is susceptible to inhibition by organophosphates and carbamate insecticides and insensitive to pCMB, mercuric ion, and cupric ion. It is capable of hydrolyzing trans isomers of synthetic pyrethroids much more rapidly (five to ten times) than the cis counterparts. The purified pyrethroid carboxyesterase is apparently identical in nature with malathion carboxyesterase and with p-nitrophenyl acetate carboxyesterase.     

Catalog of Micro-Tom tomato responses to common fungal, bacterial, and viral pathogens

Lycopersicon esculentum cultivar Micro-Tom is a miniature tomato with many advantages for studies of the molecular biology and physiology of plants. To evaluate the suitability of Micro-Tom as a host plant for the study of pathogenesis, Micro-Tom plants were inoculated with 16 well-known fungal, bacterial, and viral pathogens of tomato. Athelia rolfsii, Botryotinia fuckeliana, Oidium sp., Phytophthora infestans, and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum caused typical symptoms and sporulated abundantly on Micro-Tom. Micro-Tom was resistant to Alternaria alternata, Corynespora cassiicola, and Fusarium oxysporum. When Micro-Tom was inoculated with 17 isolates of Ralstonia solanacearum, many isolates induced wilt symptoms. Agrobacterium tumefaciens also was pathogenic, causing crown galls on stem tissue after needle prick inoculation. In Micro-Tom sprayed with Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato, P. s. pv. tabaci, or P. s. pv. glycinea, bacterial populations did not increase, and yellow lesions appeared only on leaves sprayed with P. s. pv. tomato. Tomato mosaic virus, Tomato aspermy virus, and Cucumber mosaic virus systemically infected Micro-Tom, which developed symptoms characteristic of other cultivars of tomato after infection with the respective virus. These results indicated that Micro-Tom was generally susceptible to most of the important tomato pathogens and developed typical symptoms, whereas certain pathogens were restricted by either hypersensitive resistance or nonhost resistance on Micro-Tom. Therefore, an assortment of Micro-Tom–pathogen systems should provide excellent models for studying the mechanism of susceptible and resistant interactions between plants and pathogens.     

Effects of intravenous sodium bicarbonate and sodium acetate on equine acid-base status

Changes in blood gases, pH, and plasma electrolyte concentrations in response to intravenously infused sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃) and sodium acetate (NaCH₃CO₂) solutions (1.34 mEq/mL) in 5 light breed mares were investigated. Jugular venous blood samples were collected before and after completion of the infusions in 20-minute intervals for 200 minutes. Infusion of sodium bicarbonate and sodium acetate caused significant (P < .00l) increases in blood pH and bicarbonate ion concentration that persisted throughout the collection period. The elevation in blood pH and bicarbonate ion concentrations was greater (P < .01) for sodium bicarbonate than for sodium acetate immediately after the completion of the infusions but was not different (P > .05) thereafter. There were significant reductions (P < .01) in plasma-ionized calcium and potassium after infusion of both sodium bicarbonate and sodium acetate. This study found that significant metabolic alkalosis in horses and corresponding shifts in electrolyte concentrations can be induced by intravenous infusion of solutions of either sodium bicarbonate or sodium acetate, and they persist for at least 3 hours. These data show that the short-term elevation in pH and bicarbonate ion concentration is momentarily higher after infusion of sodium bicarbonate. This is likely due to the direct infusion of bicarbonate ions in the sodium bicarbonate treatment, such that further metabolism is not required to be effective. However, the longer-term alkalosis did not differ between isomolar solutions of sodium bicarbonate and sodium acetate.     

How to perform transvenous electrical cardioversion in horses with atrial fibrillation

Electrical cardioversion of atrial fibrillation is a well-established technique for restoration of sinus rhythm in humans. While transthoracic cardioversion is more commonly used, transvenous electrical cardioversion (TVEC) has been reported as having higher efficacy at substantially lower energy levels. In horses, treatment of atrial fibrillation has essentially been limited to the administration of quinidine salts either orally or intravenously. TVEC provides an alternative to quinidine salts, especially for those animals in which quinidine is neither effective nor tolerated. The present report details this technique in horses, discusses possible complications of the procedure, and provides guidance for successful outcome. Still and video images are used to illustrate details with regard to TVEC techniques in horses. Please view supplemental material for the videos.     

MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING FINDINGS OF PRESUMED CEREBELLAR CEREBROVASCULAR ACCIDENT IN TWELVE DOGS

The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of presumed cerebrovascular accident in 12 dogs are described. Fourteen lesions were seen, commonly (11 of 14) within the gray matter of the cerebellar hemispheres or vermis. Thirteen lesions were hyperintense on T2-weighted images (in 11 dogs) and one was hypointense. Eleven of 14 lesions were within the region supplied by the rostral cerebellar artery or one of its main branches and there was no, or minimal, mass effect. Contrast enhancement was only seen in six lesions and was mild in all. Gradient-echo images provided additional information in two dogs. The appearance of infarction in dogs with diffusion-weighted images (DWI) is similar to that in humans, and provided supportive evidence for the diagnosis of infarction in five dogs. The use of gradient-echo and DWI is recommended for the evaluation of suspected cerebrovascular accidents in dogs. Six of the 12 affected animals were spaniels or spaniel crosses, suggesting a possible breed predisposition.