Cross-Sectional Imaging Characteristics of Pituitary Adenomas, Invasive Adenomas and Adenocarcinomas in Dogs: 33 Cases (1988–2006)

Background: Pituitary tumors in dogs can be adenomas, invasive adenomas, or adenocarcinomas. In people, invasive adenomas and pituitary adenocarcinomas carry a worse prognosis than adenomas.
Hypothesis/Objective: To identify differentiating features on cross-sectional imaging in dogs with pituitary adenomas, invasive adenomas, and adenocarcinomas.
Animals: Thirty-three dogs that had computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performed and a necropsy diagnosis of pituitary adenoma ( n = 20), invasive adenoma ( n = 11), or adenocarcinoma ( n = 2).
Methods: Medical records were retrospectively reviewed for signalment, history, and diagnosis. CT and MR images were reviewed for characteristics of pituitary tumors.
Results: Mean (± standard deviation) age for dogs with pituitary adenomas (10.6 ± 2.9 years) was greater than that of those with invasive adenomas (8.3 ± 2.7 years, P = .04). Eighteen out of 20 (90%) dogs with adenomas had contrast-enhancing masses. Thirteen out of 20 (65%) had homogeneous enhancement. Mean adenoma height was 1.2 ± 0.7 cm. Eight out of 20 (40%) adenomas were round and 8/20 (40%) compressed surrounding brain. Eleven out of 11 dogs (100%) with invasive adenomas had contrast-enhancing masses. Seven out of 11 (64%) masses were homogeneous. Mean invasive adenoma height was 1.8 ± 0.7 cm, which was significantly greater than adenomas ( P = .03). Mass shape varied from round to oval to irregular. Six out of 11 (55%) masses compressed surrounding brain. Clinical and imaging features were variable for 2 dogs with adenocarcinomas.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Invasive adenoma should be suspected if a dog with a pituitary tumor is <7.7 years of age and has a mass >1.9 cm in vertical height. Adenocarcinomas are uncommon and metastatic lesions were not seen with imaging.     

实现家禽福利与生产性能之间的平衡

<正>1家禽育种和生产环境与动物福利相适应遗传改良与动物福利之间的平衡问题如同"先有鸡还是先有蛋"之争。近来,环境和管理调整成为满足动物福利需求的方法。满足农场动物的福利需要成为畜禽业生产的主要部分。近50年的遗传选育不仅改善了生长性能,提高了存活率和整体福利状况,同时也使代谢失调、某些疫病敏感性和骨骼问题等增多。     

The action of herbicides on fatty acid biosynthesis and elongation in barley and cucumber

BACKGROUND: Herbicides that affect lipid metabolism have been used commercially for many years. Here, napropamide, diphenamid, dimethachlor and cafenstrole are compared; these have all been classified by the Herbicide Resistance Action Committee (HRAC) as K₃ herbicides and inhibitors of cell division and/or synthesis of very‐long‐chain fatty acids (VLCFAs). In addition, spiro‐decanedione A and pinoxaden dione are compared as inhibitors of lipid synthesis through inhibition of acetyl‐CoA carboxylase (ACCase). RESULTS: Whereas the chloracetamide dimethachlor and the carboxyamide cafenstrole potently inhibited VLCFA synthesis in both barley and cucumber, the acetamides napropamide and diphenamid which are also classified as K₃ herbicides and likewise the unclassified herbicide cinmethylin did not. The graminicide pinoxaden dione inhibited de novo fatty acid synthesis in barley, but not in cucumber, and correspondingly inhibited the plastid form of maize ACCase much more than the cytosolic form (IC₅₀ values of 0.1 and 17 µM ). By contrast, spiro‐decanedione A exhibited herbicidal effects not only on grasses but also on broad leaves, strongly inhibited maize cytosolic ACCase and inhibited synthesis of VLCFAs in cucumber. CONCLUSIONS: The acetamides napropamide and diphenamid, which do not inhibit VLCFA synthesis, should be classified separately from K₃ herbicides that do. Pinoxaden dione and spiro‐decanedione A represent new classes of chemicals acting on plant lipid synthesis. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

A critical evaluation of the role of alternative oxidase in the performance of strobilurin and related fungicides acting at the Qo site of complex III

Mitochondrial respiration conserves energy by linking NADH oxidation and electron-coupled proton translocation with ATP synthesis, through a core pathway involving three large protein complexes. Strobilurin fungicides block electron flow through one of these complexes (III), and disrupt energy supply. Despite an essential need for ATP throughout fungal disease development, strobilurins are largely preventative; indeed some diseases are not controlled at all, and several pathogens have quickly developed resistance. Target-site variation is not the only cause of these performance difficulties. Alternative oxidase (AOX) is a strobilurin-insensitive terminal oxidase that allows electrons from ubiquinol to bypass Complex III. Its synthesis is constitutive in some fungi but in many others is induced by inhibition of the main pathway. AOX provides a strobilurin-insensitive pathway for oxidation of NADH. Protons are pumped as electrons flow through Complex I, but energy conservation is less efficient than for the full respiratory chain. Salicylhydroxamic acid (SHAM) is a characteristic inhibitor of AOX, and several studies have explored the potentiation of strobilurin activity by SHAM. We present a kinetic-based model which relates changes in the extent of potentiation during different phases of disease development to a changing importance of energy efficiency. The model provides a framework for understanding the varying efficacy of strobilurin fungicides. In many cases, AOX can limit strobilurin effectiveness once an infection is established, but is unable to interfere significantly with strobilurin action during germination. A less stringent demand for energy efficiency during early disease development could lead to insensitivity towards this class of fungicides. This is discussed in relation to Botrytis cinerea, which is often poorly controlled by strobilurins. Mutations with a similar effect may explain evidence implicating AOX in resistance development in normally well-controlled plant pathogens, such as Venturia inaequalis.     

The Clinical and Pathologic Heterogeneity of Feline Alpha-Mannosidosis

Three Domestic Long-haired cats from a litter of five afflicted with alpha-mannosidosis (alpha-mannosidosis) were studied clinically and pathologically. Many of these findings contrasted with those made previously in kittens with deficiency of alpha-mannosidase. In these cats, the clinical signs were generally milder, more slowly progressive, and did not include the prominent skeletal deformities, ocular abnormalities, or hepatomegaly that were reported in prior studies of Persian and Domestic Short-haired kittens. While the Domestic Long-haired cats were spared the central nervous system (CNS) myelin deficiency, which was severe in the Persian but mild in the Domestic Short-haired cats, the extensive loss of Purkinje cells in their cerebellar cortices was without precedent. Additionally, ultrastructural study of the neuronal cytosomes showed a diversity not recorded in the earlier cases. The observed phenotypic heterogeneity was sufficient enough to consider separating feline alpha-mannosidosis into severe, acute and milder, chronic forms in a manner analogous to the Type I and Type II distinctions made in infants and juveniles.     

Clinical and pathologic features of ceroid lipofuscinosis in two Australian cattle dogs

A lysosomal storage disease was diagnosed in 2 Australian Cattle Dog siblings, using light and electron microscopic evaluation. Both dogs developed clinical signs of disease at about 1 year of age. Vision and motor function deteriorated over several months; by 2 years of age, the dogs were blind and had progressive ataxia. Cytoplasmic inclusions with ultrastructural patterns characteristic of ceroid lipofuscin were observed in most neurons examined and in the cells of several other parenchymatous tissues. Biochemical studies, including determination of lysosomal enzyme activities, excluded several other lysosomal storage diseases. In these dogs, the clinical and pathologic features of the disease were similar to those of the juvenile subtype of ceroid lipofuscinosis (Batten disease) in human beings.     

Ultrasonographic-anatomic correlation and an imaging protocol of the normal canine kidney

Ultrasonographic or anatomic observations or both were made of the kidneys of 26 dogs. The anatomic studies established precise correlations between the gross anatomic features of the organ and its ultrasonographic images obtained in transverse, sagittal, dorsal, and 2 oblique planes. Uniformly mottled echogenicity of the renal cortex could be clearly differentiated from the less echogenic renal medulla. In the mid-dorsal plane, the papillae of the renal pyramids were directed towards the renal sinus. The bases of the pyramids were almost circular in outline in the midsagittal images and the renal crest was seen as an echogenic line. Although the renal sinus was highly echogenic, neither the renal pelvis nor its recesses were detected. The walls of each of the interlobar arteries provided echogenic parallel lines, passing in the renal recesses between the renal pyramids. Arcuate arteries were demonstrated at the corticomedullary junction and interlobular arteries were detected within the renal cortex. For the right kidney, transverse images were obtained with the ultrasonographic transducer at the last 2 intercostal spaces; images in the dorsal, sagittal, and oblique planes were obtained with the transducer placed over the caudal extremity of the kidney. In the left kidney, transverse images were made with the transducers at, and caudal to, the last intercostal space; images in the dorsal, sagittal, and oblique planes were obtained with the transducer placed over the lateral border of the kidney. The use of such a protocol ensures that the entire organ is inspected and a diagnosis of either a normal or pathologic kidney is made.