IMAGING DIAGNOSIS—ECTOPIC SPLEEN MIMICKING HEPATIC TUMOR WITH INTRA‐ABDOMINAL METASTASES INVESTIGATED VIA TRIPLE‐PHASE HELICAL COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY IN A DOG

A 10‐year‐old castrated male miniature dachshund was presented with an abdominal mass. The dog had a history of splenectomy. Triple‐phase helical computed tomography was utilized, revealing a hepatic mass and multiple intra‐abdominal solid masses. In triple‐phase helical computed tomography the images, hepatic mass and two of four intra‐abdominal masses were heterogenous in all phases. Therefore, we diagnosed a malignant hepatic tumor and presumed intra‐abdominal metastases. The masses were surgically removed and were histologically composed of normal spleen tissues, findings which were consistent with ectopic spleen.     

Molecular epidemiology of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudomonas syringae</Emphasis> pv. <Emphasis Type="Italic">syringae</Emphasis> strains isolated from barley and wheat infected with bacterial black node

A repetitive sequence-based (rep)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR)-PCR were used to molecular type Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae (PSS) strains isolated from barley and wheat plants with bacterial black node symptoms grown in 22 different locations and six different seed-production districts in Japan. Eighteen genomic fingerprinting (GF) genotypes were obtained from the combined results of BOX-, REP-, and GTG₅-PCR, indicating that the PSS population in Japan has high genetic diversity. The result based on logistic regression indicated that the population of GF genotype A was significantly related to a seed-producing district and that the epidemic of PSS strains in fields originated mainly from seed infection. This study will be applicable to future studies of the molecular epidemiology of bacterial plant diseases that have multiple infection routes.     

Structural weakening of intramuscular connective tissue during postmortem aging of pork

We studied structural changes in the endomysium and perimysium during postmortem aging of pork using the cell‐maceration/scanning electron microscope method. Immediately post mortem, endomysia sheaths that house individual muscle fibers displayed a honeycomb‐like structure. The sheaths of the endomysium consisted of tightly arranged collagen fibrils in a random network. The perimysium comprised several layers of wavy sheets made up of tightly bundled collagen fibers. While the structure of the intramuscular connective tissues remained almost unchanged up to five days post mortem, the endomysium had resolved into individual collagen fibrils, and the thick sheets of the perimysium had separated into collagen fibers and fibrils at 8 days post mortem. These results provide direct evidence for structural weakening of the endomysium and perimysium during postmortem aging of pork. The shear‐force value of raw pork decreased rapidly within six days post mortem and then decreased slowly until 14 days post mortem. Since the rapid increase in tenderness is mainly due to structural weakening of myofibrils, we conclude that the disintegration of the endomysium and perimysium contributes to tenderization of pork during extended postmortem aging.