COMPARISON OF COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHIC AND PATHOLOGIC FINDINGS IN 17 DOGS WITH PRIMARY ADRENAL NEOPLASIA

The CT appearance of canine adrenal masses has been reported, but associations between imaging features and pathologic features of these lesions have not been investigated in detail. The purpose of this study was to test associations between different types of adrenal neoplasia and their CT and pathologic features. A retrospective cross‐sectional study was performed and inclusion criteria were histologic diagnosis of primary adrenal neoplasia, contrast‐enhanced CT examination of the abdomen and surgical resection of the mass or necropsy examination. For all included dogs, CT images and histopathologic specimens were reviewed independently by two veterinary radiologists and a veterinary pathologist, respectively. Seventeen dogs met inclusion criteria. Diagnoses were adenocarcinoma in nine (53%) dogs, pheochromocytoma in five (29%) dogs, and adenoma in three (18%) dogs. Pheochromocytoma was associated with CT signs of vascular invasion (likelihood ratio = 4.8, 95% CI = 1.3–18.3, P = 0.03) and macroscopic vascular invasion (likelihood ratio = 9.6, 95% CI = 1.4–65.9, P = 0.02). There was excellent agreement between signs of vascular invasion in CT images and vascular invasion at surgery or necropsy (kappa = 0.86, P = 0.001). A peripheral contrast‐enhancing rim in delayed postcontrast CT images was associated with fibrous encapsulation of the tumor (kappa = 0.53, P = 0.05), and a heterogeneous pattern of contrast distribution in delayed postcontrast CT images was associated with adrenal hemorrhage or infarction on histological examination (kappa = 0.45, P = 0.05). Findings indicated that CT enabled assessment of adrenal neoplasia features that reflected their biological behavior and pathological findings, however overlapping characteristics between tumor types limited the potential for reliably distinguishing them based on CT alone.     

Foliar status and factors affecting foliar and soil chemistry in a natural aleppo pine forest

The foliar status and the factors affecting the foliar chemistry in a natural Aleppo pine forest grown on calcareous soils in Greece were examined. It was found that the Aleppo pine needles had significantly higher calcium (Ca) concentrations, but significantly lower concentrations of magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), phosphorus (P), iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) than the respective average concentrations of natural Aleppo pine forests in Spain. It was also found that only foliar Ca and Mn had a significant correlation with the exchangeable Ca and available Mn in soils, respectively. Principal component analysis showed that the nature of the calcareous parent material, (colluvial rocks and hard limestones) were the main factors affecting both foliar and soil chemistry. This finding is important as colluvial soils always coexist with other soil types in hilly and mountainous regions containing calcareous material.     

Phenological and ecological aspects of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Protopulvinaria pyriformis</Emphasis> (Cockerell) (Hemiptera: Coccidae) in Greece

The ecology of the coccid Protopulvinaria pyriformis infesting the laurel Laurus nobilis was studied from October 2003 to September 2005 in SW Greece. The coccid is parthenogenetic and oviparous, producing increased amounts of honeydew throughout the year. It settles mainly on the lower leaf surface. The scale overwinters as egg, 1st and 2nd instar nymph and adult and completes several overlapping generations every year. The life cycle was estimated to last in nature ~52 days during winter and 29–33 days during summer. Infestation density ranged between 0.3 and 2.8 live scales per cm² of leaf surface. Metaphycus helvolus was the only wasp found to parasitize P. pyriformis. Parasitism rate reached 31.2% during the second year of the study. The scale was able to resist parasitization by encapsulating the parasitoid’s eggs. Maximum encapsulation rate was estimated up to 23% of the adult scales. Encapsulated eggs ranged from 1 to 5 eggs per adult scale. Predation rate reached 7% and it was attributed to the coccinellid Chilocorus bipustulatus. The above information could be important for planning a sustainable control strategy for this new pest in Greece.     

Chronic pancreatitis in dogs: A retrospective study of clinical,clinicopathological, and histopathological findings in 61 cases

The objective of this study was to characterize the clinical, clinicopathological, and histopathological findings of dogs with chronic pancreatitis. The necropsy database at Texas A&M University was searched for reports of dogs with histological evidence of chronic pancreatitis defined as irreversible histologic changes of the pancreas (i.e. fibrosis or atrophy). A reference necropsy population of 100 randomly selected dogs was used for signalment and concurrent disease comparisons. Cases were categorized as clinical or incidental chronic pancreatitis based on the presence of vomiting, decreased appetite, or both vs. neither of these signs. All archived pancreas samples were scored histologically using a published scoring system.Sixty-one dogs with chronic pancreatitis were included. The most frequent clinical signs were lethargy, decreased appetite, vomiting, and diarrhea. Compared to the reference necropsy population, chronic pancreatitis cases were more likely to be older, neutered, of the non-sporting/toy breed group, and to have concurrent endocrine, hepatobiliary, or neurological disease. Clinical cases had significantly higher histological scores for pancreatic necrosis and peripancreatic fat necrosis, and were significantly more likely to have hepatobiliary or endocrine disease as well as increased liver enzyme activities, or elevated cholesterol and bilirubin concentrations. In conclusion, clinical disease resulting from chronic pancreatitis might be related to the presence of pancreatic necrosis and pancreatic fat necrosis. The signalment, presentation, and concurrent diseases of dogs with chronic pancreatitis are similar to those previously reported for dogs with acute pancreatitis.     

Insecticide resistance status of Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) populations from peach and tobacco in mainland Greece

The susceptibility of 88 and 38 field samples of Myzus persicae (Sulzer) to imidacloprid and deltamethrin respectively was examined using the FAO dip test bioassay. The field samples were collected from tobacco and peach from various regions of Greece in the period from 2004 to 2006. In addition, 497, 349 and 370 clones originating from peach and tobacco were screened for the three known resistance mechanisms, elevated esterases, modified acetylcholinesterase (MACE) and knockdown resistance (kdr) respectively, using biochemical and DNA diagnostics. Most of the samples assayed with imidacloprid showed low resistance factors (RFs)-39% below 5 and 21% between 5 and 10. However, 9% of the samples (all from tobacco) showed relatively high RF values (24-73). Differences were found between crops, with higher RF values recorded in samples from tobacco than in those from peach. Bioassays with deltamethrin revealed the development of strong resistance in the populations examined. The RFs were mostly higher than 23, and in 29% of the samples they were extremely high (152-436). Finally, the three known resistance mechanisms were found in high frequencies in the populations examined, although some differences between crops and years were detected. The implications of the study for management schemes against M. persicae are discussed.     

Hydrolyzable tannins with the hexahydroxydiphenoyl unit and the m-depsidic link: HPLC-DAD-MS identification and model synthesis

This study was designed to develop efficient analytical tools for the difficult HPLC-DAD-MS identification of hydrolyzable tannins in natural tissue extracts. Throughout the study of the spectroscopic characteristics of properly synthesized stereodefined standards, it was observed that the UV-vis spectra of compounds with the m-depsidic link showed a characteristic shoulder at 300 nm, consistent with the simple glucogalloyl esters, whereas compounds with the hexahydroxydiphenoyl (HHDP) unit gave a diagnostic fragmentation pattern, caused by a spontaneous lactonization in the mass spectrometer. These observations were confirmed by HPLC-DAD-MS analyses of tannic acid and raspberry extracts, which are rich in hydrolyzable tannins with the m-depsidic link and the HHDP unit, respectively.