MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING APPEARANCE OF SUSPECTED ISCHEMIC MYELOPATHY IN DOGS

Ischemia and infarction of the spinal cord is a known cause of acute spinal injury in dogs. Currently, the diagnosis of spinal cord infarction in small animals is based on history, clinical signs, and the exclusion of other differentials with radiography and myelography. It is a diagnosis only confirmed through necropsy examination of the spinal cord. The aim of this paper is to describe the Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of the spinal cord of dogs with suspected spinal cord infarcts to utilize this technology for antemortem support of this diagnosis. This retrospective study evaluated the spinal MR examinations of 11 dogs with acute onset of asymmetric nonpainful myelopathies. All patients except one (imaged at 2 months) were imaged within 1 week of clinical signs and managed conservatively with minimal medical and no surgical intervention. They were followed clinically for a minimum of 4 months after discharge. MR findings in all dogs were characterized by focal, intramedullary, hyperintense lesions on T2-weighted images with variable contrast enhancement similar to what is reported in humans. Though it could not be used to diagnose spinal cord infarction definitively, MRI was useful in excluding extramedullary spinal lesions and supporting intramedullary infarction as a cause of the acute neurologic signs. Together with the history and clinical examination findings, MRI is supportive of a diagnosis of spinal cord infarction.     

Aneurysmal dilatation of the right auricle in two dogs

An 8-year-old sexually intact male Golden Retriever with a history of collapse during exercise underwent an examination during which tachydysrhythmia was identified. At another institution, a 12.5-year-old spayed female Lhasa Apso was referred because of a cough and for evaluation of a heart murmur. In the Golden Retriever, radiographic examination revealed bulging of the craniodorsal aspect of the cardiac silhouette and echocardiography revealed right atrial dilatation. In the Lhasa Apso, a cranial mediastinal mass was suspected on the basis of radiographic findings, but no abnormalities were detected echocardiographically. In both dogs, nonselective angiography and contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed a markedly enlarged, thin-walled right auricle. Exploratory thoracotomy in the Golden Retriever revealed a defect in the pericardium through which the right auricle and part of the atrium had herniated. In dogs, a right auricular aneurysm should be considered in differential diagnoses of a cranial mediastinal mass (detected radiographically) adjacent to the cardiac silhouette.     

Outcomes of cellophane banding for congenital portosystemic shunts in 106 dogs and 5 cats

OBJECTIVE : To report outcomes after cellophane banding of single congenital portosystemic shunts in dogs and cats. STUDY DESIGN : Retrospective study of sequential cases. ANIMALS : One hundred and six dogs and five cats. METHODS : Medical records were reviewed for breed, sex, age at surgery, shunt anatomy, results of pre- and postoperative biochemical analysis, development of postligation neurologic dysfunction, portal hypertension or other serious complications, and the owners' perception of their animal's response to surgery. RESULTS : Ninety-five dogs and all 5 cats had extrahepatic shunts. Eleven dogs had intrahepatic shunts. Six dogs (5.5%) died as a result of surgery from portal hypertension (2 dogs), postligation neurologic dysfunction (2), splenic hemorrhage (1) and suspected narcotic overdose (1). Serious complications were more common in dogs with intrahepatic shunts than those with extrahepatic shunts (P=.002). Postligation neurologic dysfunction necessitated treatment in 10 dogs and 1 cat; 8 dogs and the cat survived. Clinical signs attributed to portosystemic shunting resolved or were substantially attenuated in all survivors. Postoperative serum bile acid concentrations or results of ammonia tolerance testing were available for 88 animals; 74 (84%) were normal and 14 (16%) were abnormal. Multiple acquired shunts were documented in two animals. CONCLUSIONS : Cellophane banding is a safe and effective alternative to other methods of attenuation. CLINICAL RELEVANCE : Slow occlusion of portosystemic shunts using a variety of methods is being evaluated world wide. Cellophane banding is a relatively simple procedure with comparable safety and efficacy to previously reported techniques.     

HT-2 and T-2 toxins in Norwegian oat grains related to weather conditions at different growth stages

High concentrations of the mycotoxins HT-2 and T-2 (HT2?+?T2), primarily produced by Fusarium langsethiae, have occasionally been detected in Norwegian oat grains. In this study, we identified weather variables influencing accumulation of HT2?+?T2 in Norwegian oat grains. Oat grain samples from farmers’ fields were collected together with weather data (2004–2013). Spearman rank correlation coefficients were calculated between the HT2?+?T2 contamination in oats at harvest and a range of weather summarisations within estimated phenological windows of growth stages in oats (tillering, flowering etc.). Furthermore, we developed a mathematical model to predict the risk of HT2?+?T2 in oat grains. Our data show that adequate predictions of the risk of HT2?+?T2 in oat grains at harvest can be achieved, based upon weather data observed during the growing season. Humid and cool conditions, in addition to moderate temperatures during booting, were associated with increased HT2?+?T2 accumulation in harvested oat grains, whereas warm and humid weather during stem elongation and inflorescence emergence, or cool weather and absence of rain during booting reduced the risk of HT2?+?T2 accumulation. Warm and humid weather immediately after flowering increased the risk, while moderate to warm temperatures and absence of rain during dough development, reduced the risk of HT2?+?T2 accumulation in oat grains. Our data indicated that HT2?+?T2 contamination in oats is influenced by weather conditions both pre- and post-flowering. These findings are in contrast with a previous study examining the risk of deoxynivalenol contamination in oat reporting that toxin accumulation was mostly influenced by weather conditions from flowering onwards.     

Exploring drivers of the usage of anticoagulant rodenticides on UK farms

Anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) are considered inhumane, show increasingly limited efficacy due to acquired resistance, and carry environmental consequences associated with non-target species uptake. In a questionnaire study of 499 UK farms that all deployed chemical rodenticide we found a high mean reliance (79%), on second generation ARs with just over half of the respondents using no other rodent control methods. Additional methods where deployed, alone or in combination, included predation (41%), kill-trap deployment (16%) and shooting (1%). Nearly 40% of all respondents deployed rodenticides year-round. There was no evidence to suggest that “tidy-farm” measures, such as clearing food spills and minimising on-farm rodent harbourage sites aimed at minimising rodent-associated problems, were associated with a lower likelihood of year-round deployment; in fact trends in our analyses suggested the opposite. We therefore encourage operators to fully evaluate the true necessity of rodenticide deployment before AR use.     

Tank performance and multiple uses in Tamil Nadu,South India–comparison of 2 time periods (1996–97 and 2009–10)

Irrigation tanks in India are common property resources. Tanks provide not only for irrigation, but also forestry, fishing, domestic water supply, livestock, and other uses. Using empirical results from a study of tank performance from 80 tanks in Tamil Nadu, South India in two time period: 1996-97 and 2009-10, this paper evaluates tank irrigation system performance in terms of economic output and revenue generation forirrigation and other uses. The results indicate that irrigation and other productive uses put together raised the total value of output at tank level by 12 % in 1996-97 and just 6 % in 2009-10. This may suggest that tank multiple use values are small and getting smaller, and therefore not worth consideration. However, it was also found that, while declining in absolute terms, non-irrigation uses provided the majority of tax revenues and still more than cover government's operation and maintenance expenditure (O&M) budget. This finding provides another reason to consider multiple use values and their linkage with overall system viability.