Computed Tomographic Angiography of the Pancreas in Cats with Chronic Diabetes Mellitus Compared to Normal Cats

Background

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common endocrinopathy in cats. No known diagnostic test or patient characteristic at the time of diagnosis can predict likely disease course, unlike in people in whom computed tomographic angiography (CTA) is used. No published data exist regarding the CTA appearance of the pancreas in cats with DM, and thus, it is unknown what if any CTA variables should be further assessed for associations with pancreatic endocrine function.

Hypothesis/Objectives

A significant difference in pancreatic attenuation, volume, and size will be identified between normal cats and those with chronic DM on CTA.

Animals

Ten healthy control cats and 15 cats with naturally occurring DM present for >12 months.

Methods

Prospective cross‐sectional study comparing pancreatic attenuation, enhancement pattern, size, volume, pancreatic volume‐to‐body weight ratio (V:BW), pancreatic arterial: portal phase ratio (A:P), time‐to‐arterial enhancement, and time‐to‐peak portal enhancement on CTA between sedated healthy control cats and those with chronic DM.

Results

The pancreas in cats with chronic DM was significantly larger, had higher volume, higher V:BW, and shorter time‐to‐peak portal enhancement on CTA when compared to normal cats.

Conclusions and Clinical Importance

Peak portal enhancement time, pancreatic size, pancreatic volume, and V:BW can be used to differentiate normal sedated cats from those with chronic DM by CTA. These variables warrant further investigation to identify possible associations with endocrine function.     

The Alleviating Effect of Elevated CO2 on Heat Stress Susceptibility of Two Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Cultivars

This study analysed the alleviating effect of elevated CO₂ on stress‐induced decreases in photosynthesis and changes in carbohydrate metabolism in two wheat cultivars (Triticum aestivum L.) of different origin. The plants were grown in ambient (400 μl l^?1) and elevated (800 μl l^?1) CO₂ with a day/night temperature of 15/10 °C. At the growth stages of tillering, booting and anthesis, the plants were subjected to heat stress of 40 °C for three continuous days. Photosynthetic parameters, maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry (F_v/F_m) and contents of pigments and carbohydrates in leaves were analysed before and during the stress treatments as well as after 1 day of recovery. Heat stress reduced P_N and F_v/F_m in both wheat cultivars, but plants grown in elevated CO₂ maintained higher P_N and F_v/F_m in comparison with plants grown in ambient CO₂. Heat stress reduced leaf chlorophyll contents and increased leaf sucrose contents in both cultivars grown at ambient and elevated CO₂. The content of hexoses in the leaves increased mainly in the tolerant cultivar in response to the combination of elevated CO₂ and heat stress. The results show that heat stress tolerance in wheat is related to cultivar origin, the phenological stage of the plants and can be alleviated by elevated CO₂. This confirms the complex interrelation between environmental factors and genotypic traits that influence crop performance under various climatic stresses.     

Spatial Distribution of Surface Soil Acidity,Electrical Conductivity,Soil Organic Carbon Content and Exchangeable Potassium,Calcium and Magnesium in Some Cropped Acid Soils of India

Land degradation is a global problem. Best management of degraded land can be done by evaluating the spatial variability of soil properties including chemical properties of degraded land and mapping such variations. Since, a significant portion of arable land in India is chemically degraded due to soil acidity; the present study was conducted to study the spatial variability of soil acidity (pH), electrical conductivity (EC), soil organic carbon (OC) content, exchangeable potassium (K⁺), calcium (Ca²⁺) and magnesium (Mg²⁺) contents in some cropped acid soils of India. A total of four hundred (one hundred from each series) representative surface (0–0.15 m depth) soil samples were collected from arable soils representing four soil series namely Hariharapur, Debatoli, Rajpora and Neeleswaram situated in Orissa, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala states of India, respectively, and were analyzed. Soil acidity (pH between 3.90 and 6.45) showed a low variability, in contrast to other soil properties, which showed moderate variability. The coefficients of variation varied from 32.4 to 74.3, 31.2 to 50.9, 45.6 to 100, 71.9 to 93.0 and 59.0 to 79.8% for EC (mean between 0.05 and 0.09 dS m⁻¹), OC (mean between 0.29 to 1.86%), exchangeable K⁺ (mean between 39.1 and 77.7 mg kg⁻¹), Ca²⁺ (mean between 148 and 293 mg kg⁻¹) and Mg²⁺ (mean between 111 and 191 mg kg⁻¹), respectively. Soil pH and OC content were positively and significantly correlated with exchangeable K⁺, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ content. Geostatistical analysis revealed that the best fit models were gaussian, exponential and spherical for different soil properties with moderate to strong spatial dependency. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

THORACIC RADIOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF CANINE INFLUENZA VIRUS IN SIX DOGS

Canine influenza virus is an emerging, highly contagious, respiratory pathogen that has not previously been radiographically described. In this retrospective case series study, we describe the thoracic radiographic appearance of confirmed canine influenza virus in six dogs. Radiographic findings varied, but included abnormal unstructured interstitial (one) and unstructured interstitial and alveolar (five) pulmonary patterns, which were distributed cranioventral (four), diffuse (one), and caudodorsal (one). The right middle (five), left cranial (five), and right cranial (four) lung lobes were most commonly affected. Additionally, mild pleural effusion was present in one dog. Intrathoracic lymphadenopathy and cranial mediastinal widening/fluid accumulation were not detected in any dog. Canine influenza virus should be considered as a differential diagnosis for canine patients with respiratory signs and a cranioventral unstructured interstitial to alveolar pulmonary pattern.