Acellular Urinary Bladder Matrix in a Collagenase Model of Superficial Digital Flexor Tendonitis in Horses

The objective of the present study was to determine the efficacy of urinary bladder matrix (UBM) in collagenase-induced superficial digital flexor (SDF) tendonitis by using clinical, ultrasonographic, and histologic data. A total of eight healthy adult horses were used in this study. Bilateral forelimb SDF tendonitis was created in the horses by injecting collagenase. After 14 days, one randomly selected forelimb SDF tendon was blindly treated with UBM and the opposite tendon was treated with a control (saline). Clinical and ultrasonographic parameters including lameness, lesion size, ultrasonographic fiber pattern, and echogenicity were measured throughout the study. After 84 days, horses were euthanized and SDF tendon lesions from the two groups were compared statistically using an analysis of variance with significance set at P ≤ .05.Results showed that there were no significant differences between the treated and control tendons for any of the clinical, ultrasonographic, gross, or histologic variables. UBM does not appear to be an effective treatment for collagenase-induced SDF tendonitis. However, there may be differences in clinical tendonitis that might render the treatment more effective in the clinical setting.     

IMAGING DIAGNOSIS—URINARY BLADDER DUPLICATION IN A CAT

A female kitten presented for chronic, intermittent, antibiotic‐responsive urinary incontinence and chronic kidney disease. Abdominal ultrasound identified bilateral pelvic/ureteral dilation and three closely apposed thin‐walled fluid‐filled structures in the caudal abdomen, extending toward the pelvic inlet. Excretory urography and negative contrast cystography identified contrast medium accumulation from the dilated ureters into two tubular soft tissue masses of the caudal abdomen, with subsequent gradual filling of a more cranially located urinary bladder. A retrograde vaginocystourethrogram identified a normal uterus, normal vagina, and a single urethra continuous with the cranially located urinary bladder. Antemortem diagnosis was suspicious for bilateral ectopic ureteroceles. Postmortem diagnosis, 35 months following initial presentation, determined the fluid‐filled masses to have abundant smooth muscle in the wall, including a muscularis mucosa connected by a common ostium, consistent with urinary bladder duplication. Urinary bladder duplication should be included as a differential diagnosis in cats with these clinical and imaging characteristics. In this case, differentiation of ectopic ureterocele from urinary bladder duplication required histological confirmation.     

海鳗鱼鳔营养成分分析及鱼鳔营养液的研制

以海鳗鱼鳔为原料,对其营养成分进行分析,并利用其制备鱼鳔营养液。实验结果表明：海鳗鱼鳔的粗蛋白含量高达24．63％,呈味氨基酸（谷氨酸、甘氨酸、天门冬氨酸、丙氨酸）占氨基酸总量的52．5％,其中甘氨酸含量占氨基酸总量的23．4％;维生素E含量高达1．52mg／100g,Ca含量为13．25mg／100g,Fe、Zn也较丰富;鱼鳔经65℃低温浸提制得鱼鳔胶,通过正交试验确定海鳗鱼鳔营养液的最适配方,即每100g鱼鳔胶添加75g中药提取液、4mL黄酒及15g冰糖,以此制得的营养液中粗蛋白含量高达5．87％,色泽、风味、口感较好。     

Evaluation of Abdominal Fluid: Peripheral Blood Creatinine and Potassium Ratios for Diagnosis of Uroperitoneum in Dogs

Objective: To determine the clinical efficacy of abdominal fluid to peripheral blood ratios of creatinine and potassium concentrations to diagnose uroperitoneum in dogs.
Design: Records of 13 dogs with confirmed uroabdomen were retrospectively analyzed. Prospective evaluation of 8 dogs with nonrenal ascites provided data for a control population.
Setting: Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.
Animals: Client owned dogs.
Interventions: None
Measurements and Main Results: Abdominal fluid potassium (mEq/L) and creatinine concentrations (mg/dl) were recorded. Peripheral blood potassium and creatinine concentrations were also recorded. Ratios were calculated based on these values. An abdominal fluid creatinine concentration to peripheral blood creatinine concentration ratio of > 2:1 was predictive of uroabdomen in dogs (specificity 100%, sensitivity 86%). An abdominal fluid potassium concentration to peripheral blood potassium concentration of > 1.4:1 is also predictive of uroabdomen in dogs (specificity 100%, sensitivity 100%). All dogs with uroabdomen had an abdominal fluid creatinine concentration that was at least 4 times normal peripheral blood levels.
Conclusion: Abdominal fluid to peripheral blood potassium and creatinine ratios provide a means to diagnose uroperitoneum in dogs without elevated peripheral blood creatinine.     

Exophthalmia in wild‐caught cod (Gadus morhua L.): development of a secondary barotrauma effect in captivity

Capture‐based aquaculture (CBA) of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) has become increasingly important in recent years, and increased attention is being paid to animal welfare issues linked to these activities. Earlier studies showed that some cod develop secondary exophthalmia in captivity. This study investigated the development of secondary exophthalmia in two groups of wild‐caught cod, one of which was exposed to rapid decompression causing acute barotrauma (treatment group) while the other was not (control group). Photographs and radiographs before and up to 33 days after barotrauma revealed a significant increase in overall eye protrusion caused by an accumulation of gas in the orbita in the treatment group, first observed on day 9 after decompression, while no protrusions were observed in the control group. Barotrauma was thus identified as an important trigger for the development of secondary uni‐ or bilateral exophthalmia of wild‐caught cod. Two underlying mechanisms are suggested, where the more likely is residual swim bladder gas taking the route of least resistance, while the less likely is the exsolution of gas from the blood. Our results have implications for a wide range of contexts in which cod are rapidly brought to the surface from great depth.     

Early detection of urinary bladder carcinogens in rats by immunohistochemistry for γ-H2AX: a review from analyses of 100 chemicals

In safety evaluations of chemicals, there is an urgent need to develop short-term methods to replace long-term carcinogenicity tests. We have reported that immunohistochemistry for γ-H2AX, a well-established biomarker of DNA damage, can detect bladder carcinogens at an early stage using histopathological specimens from 28-day repeated-dose oral toxicity studies in rats. Given the markedly low level of γ-H2AX formation in the bladder urothelium of untreated rats, an increase in γ-H2AX-positive cells following chemical exposure can be relatively easy to identify. Among the 100 compounds examined to date, bladder carcinogens can be detected with high sensitivity (33/39; 84.6%) and specificity (58/61; 95.1%). As expected, γ-H2AX formation levels tended to be high following exposure to genotoxic bladder carcinogens, whereas nongenotoxic bladder carcinogens also increased the number of γ-H2AX-positive cells, probably through secondary DNA damage associated with sustained proliferative stimulation. γ-H2AX formation in the bladder urothelium reflects species differences in susceptibility to bladder carcinogenesis between rats and mice and shows a clear dose-dependency associated with the intensity of tumor development as well as high reproducibility. Some of the bladder carcinogens that showed false-negative results in the evaluation of γ-H2AX alone could be detected by combined evaluation with immunostaining for bladder stem cell markers, including aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A1. This method may be useful for the early detection of bladder carcinogens, as it can be performed by simple addition of conventional immunostaining using formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues from 28-day repeated-dose toxicity studies in rodents, which are commonly used in safety evaluations of chemical substances.     

EFFECTS OF BLADDER DISTENTION ON CANINE AND FELINE RETROGRADE URETHROGRAPHY

Retrograde urethrography with viscous contrast medium was performed in male and female dogs and cats before and after bladder distention. The viscosity of commercially prepared contrast medium was increased by addition of an aqueous lubricant. The diameter of the proximal urethra of female dogs (regions 1 and 2) was larger during urethrography (p<0.05) following bladder distention. The diameter of regions 1 and 2 of the proximal uretha of female cats in lateral recumbency was larger during urethrography (p<0.05) following bladder distention. The diameter of the distal urethra of female dogs and cats was not significantly different before or after bladder distention. The diameter of the prostatic urethra of male dogs was larger (p<0.003) following bladder distention. The diameter of the membranous and penile urethra of male dogs was not significantly different before or after urinary bladder distention. Similarly, the diameter of the urethral lumen in male cats was not significantly different before or after bladder distention. The increased viscosity of the contrast medium due to the aqueous lubricant failed to distend all areas of the male and female canine and feline urethra maximally during urethrography when the bladder was not distended. On the basis of the results of this study, the authors recommend urinary bladder distention with a lubricant-free positive contrast medium to generate intravesical hydrostatic pressure sufficient to induce urethral distention. The degree of bladder distention should be determined by digital palpation.