Laryngeal rhabdomyoma in a dog

A 3‐year‐old, female spayed Australian Shepherd dog was presented to Veterinary Healthcare Associates in Winter Haven, FL with a history of respiratory stridor, difficulty swallowing, and a change in bark for approximately 3 months. Radiographs revealed a soft tissue mass caudal to the epiglottis. Oral and computerized tomographic (CT) examinations were performed under general anesthesia and revealed a small firm mass in the caudal larynx on the right side. Cytologic evaluation of a fine‐needle aspirate of the mass revealed cells consistent with a rhabdomyoma, oncocytoma, or granular cell tumor. Histopathologic interpretation was rhabdomyoma or oncocytoma. Histochemical staining with periodic acid‐Schiff was mostly negative with a low number of weakly positive cells and with phosphotungstic acid‐hematoxylin was strongly positive with visible cross striations. Tumor cells did not express pancytokeratin AE1/AE3, were strongly immunoreactive for myoglobin and muscle‐specific actin, and did not express vimentin except for a low number of weakly immunoreactive cells. These findings confirmed a diagnosis of rhabdomyoma. Primary neoplasia of the larynx is rare, and widely varying types of neoplasms have been documented in this location. Due to the cytologic and histologic similarities between rhabdomyoma, oncocytoma, and granular cell tumor, these neoplasms should be differentiated using histochemical staining and immunohistochemical analysis.     

Evaluation of dicyclanil (CLiKZiN®) treatment for the early-season protection of ewes against blowfly strike

Protecting sheep against early season myiasis (strike) is a significant problem in northern temperate farming systems, where fully-fleeced ewes and early-season lambs approaching market weight, are at high initial risk. Here, the prevention of early-season blowfly strike in ewes was examined on matched commercial sheep farms in south west England, using a new formulation of dicyclanil (CLiKZiN(?) pour on) with a short withdrawal period of 7 days. The ewes on seven farms received a prophylactic treatment with dicyclanil (CLiKZiN 1.25% pour-on suspension) in April 2011; ewes on three control farms received no treatment. The lambs at all farms remained untreated. No adverse reactions to treatment were recorded. On the treatment farms no ewe strikes were recorded between April and June (10 weeks). On control farms, there were 16 strike cases in ewes over the same period, giving a cumulative incidence of 31 cases per 1000 ewes. On the treatment farms only one lamb was struck whereas at the control farms 10 lamb strikes were recorded. The data demonstrate that CLiKZiN was highly effective at protecting ewes against early season strike-challenge.     

Surgical management of a subepiglottic thyroglossal duct cyst in a dog

A 2 yr old dog presented for dysphagia and coughing secondary to a 4 cm × 4 cm turgid subepiglottic mass. Cervical radiographs, an esophagram, and computed tomography confirmed the presence of a cystic mass that was not intimately associated with any surrounding structures. An incisional biopsy confirmed the cystic nature of the mass and helped to rule out a malignancy. A marginal surgical excision was performed via a ventral approach. Histopathology of the mass was consistent with a thyroglossal duct cyst. This is the first report of a thyroglossal duct cyst in this location in a dog. There was no recurrence of clinical signs 14 mo after surgery.     

Osteosarcoma of the tibia 6 years after tibial plateau leveling osteotomy

A 7 yr old spayed female mastiff presented for examination of a left pelvic limb lameness of 3 mo duration. Six years previously, the dog had undergone tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) surgery of the left pelvic limb for the treatment of cranial cruciate disease. On presentation, the dog had a painful and swollen proximal tibia. Following investigation, a diagnosis of osteosarcoma of the proximal left tibia at the site of the previous TPLO surgery was made. This is the first reported case of osteosarcoma following TPLO using an implant other than the Slocum plate.     

Comparison of Postfire Soil Water Repellency Amelioration Strategies on Bluebunch Wheatgrass and Cheatgrass Survival

Soil water repellency can limit postfire reseeding efforts and thus increase the susceptibility of a site to weed invasion. We evaluated the effectiveness of wetting agents and simulated anchor chaining for improving seedling growth and survival in water-repellent soil, for the native perennial bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata) and invasive annual cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum). Research was performed in a glasshouse, on 20-cm-diameter soil cores that were excavated from underneath burned Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) trees. The experiment was arranged as a randomized split-plot design, with the two grass species sown separately under four soil treatments: 1) no treatment (control), 2) simulated anchor chaining (hereafter referred to as “till”), 3) wetting agent, and 4) till plus wetting agent. Soil water content was highest in the wetting agent treatment, lower for till, and lowest in the control. Overall, the response of bluebunch wheatgrass and cheatgrass was similar among treatments. At the conclusion of the study, wetting agent cores had twice as many seedlings as the control, while the till and control were similar. Despite a lower number of seedlings, tilling in general resulted in the same level of biomass as the wetting agent treatment. Overall, biomass in the till and wetting agent treatments was at least twofold higher than the control. No benefit was found in applying both till and wetting agent treatments together in comparison to just applying wetting agent. Because of a lack of correlation between glasshouse and field settings the results of this study need to be interpreted with caution. Our data may indicate that if cheatgrass is not already present on the site, anchor chaining or treating the soil with wetting agent can increase establishment of seeded species.     

Docosahexaenoic Acid Is Naturally Concentrated at the sn-2 Position in Triacylglycerols of the Australian Thraustochytrid Aurantiochytrium sp. Strain TC 20

The Labyrinthulomycetes or Labyrinthulea are a class of protists that produce a network of filaments that enable the cells to glide along and absorb nutrients. One of the main two Labyrinthulea groups is the thraustochytrids, which are becoming an increasingly recognised and commercially used alternate source of long-chain (LC, ≥C₂₀) omega-3 containing oils. This study demonstrates, to our knowledge for the first time, the regiospecificity of the triacylglycerol (TAG) fraction derived from Australian thraustochytrid Aurantiochytrium sp. strain TC 20 obtained using ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹³C NMR) analysis. The DHA present in the TC 20 TAG fraction was determined to be concentrated in the sn-2 position, with TAG (16:0/22:6/16:0) identified as the main species present. The sn-2 preference is similar to that found in salmon and tuna oil, and differs to seal oil containing largely sn-1,3 LC-PUFA. A higher concentration of sn-2 DHA occurred in the thraustochytrid TC 20 oil compared to that of tuna oil.     

Rehydration fluid temperature affects voluntary drinking in horses dehydrated by furosemide administration and endurance exercise

To determine whether temperature of rehydration fluid influences voluntary rehydration by horses, six 2-3-year-old horses were dehydrated (4-5% body weight loss) by a combination of furosemide administration and 30 km of treadmill exercise. For the initial 5 min following exercise, horses were offered a 0.9% NaCl solution at 10, 20, or 30 degrees C. Subsequently, after washing and cooling out, voluntary intake of water at 10, 20, or 30 degrees C from 20 to 60 min after exercise was measured. Fluid intake (FI) during the first 5 min of recovery was 9.8+/-2.5,12.3+/-2.1 and 9.7+/-2.0L (p>0.05) for saline at 10, 20, and 30 degrees C, respectively. Although not a significant finding, horses offered 0.9% NaCl at 20 degrees C tended to take fewer (p=0.07), longer drinks than when saline at either 10 or 30 degrees C was offered. Between 20 and 60 min of recovery, intake of water at 20 degrees C (7.7+/-0.8L) and 30 degrees C (6.6+/-1.2L) was greater (p<0.05) than that at 10 degrees C (4.9+/-0.5L). Thus, total FI was 14.7+/-2.5,19.9+/-2.5, and 16.3+/-2.4L for rehydration fluids at 10, 20, and 30 degrees C, respectively (p<0.05, value for 20 degrees C water greater than that for 10 degrees C water). Although the amount of metabolic heat transferred to the initial saline drink was correlated with the decrease in core temperature during the initial 5 min of recovery, heat transfer to ingested fluid was most likely responsible for the dissipation of, at most, 5% of the heat generated during endurance exercise. In conclusion, following exercise these dehydrated-normothermic horses voluntary drank the greatest amount of fluid at near ambient (20 degrees C) temperature. Although not determined in this study, greater satiation of thirst by oropharyngeal cooling may have contributed to lesser intake of colder (10 degrees C) fluid.