Suspected Tension Pneumomediastinum In A Dog: A Case Report

Successful resuscitation of a trauma-induced, suspected tension pneumomediastinum in a dog is presented. The cause was a caudal cervical penetration wound which acted as a one-way valve allowing air to enter, but not exit, the cranial mediastium. Early in the course of hospitalization, respiratory and cardiovascular collapse occurred; an emergent parasternotomy allowed decompression of the mediastinum, and the cradiovascular system immediately responded. The dog made a complete recovery following surgical exploration and removal of contaminated mediastinal tissue. Nine days of intensive care included 24-hour monitoring, oxygen therapy, intravenous crystalloids and colloids, continuous pleural suctioning, nutritional support, antibiotics, and pain control.     

Callus induction and plant regeneration from cotyledonary explants of ash gourd (Benincasa hispida L.)

A protocol for the production of complete plantlets through multiple shoots from the cotyledon-derived calli of ash gourd (Benincasa hispida L.) is described. The embryos were excised from mature seeds and cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurin (BAP, 1–5 μM). After 10 days the well-developed green cotyledons from the growing embryos were isolated and cultured on MS medium fortified with 2,4-D (1–6 μM). The cultured cotyledons gave rise to luxuriantly growing calli after 6 weeks. These calli were subcultured on MS medium supplemented with various concentrations of BAP (1–6 μM) alone or in combination with naphthalene acetic acid (NAA, 0.2 and 0.5 μM) for regeneration. The regenerated shoots were multiplied and rooted on quarter strength MS medium supplemented with indole-3-butyric acid or NAA (1–5 μM). The rooted shoots were transplanted to soil with 90% success.     

Seasonal effects on the aerobic bacterial and fungal conjunctival flora of normal thoroughbred brood mares in Florida

Objective To evaluate seasonal effects on the presence or absence of fungal and aerobic bacterial flora of the conjunctival fornix of normal Florida Thoroughbred horses. Sample population Both eyes of 100 horses. Procedure Horses with normal anterior segment ophthalmic examinations from three farms in north central Florida were included. Each animal had the ventral conjunctival fornix of each eye swabbed with sterile culturettes. Samples were taken in October, January, April, and July (1999–2000). Aerobic and fungal cultures were plated. Bacterial cultures were reviewed at 24 and 48 h. Fungal cultures were reviewed weekly for 4 weeks. Logistic regression analysis with season as a factor and age of the horse as a covariate was performed. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.01. Results Horses ranged from 3 to 24 years of age, with a median age of 9 years. Twenty‐four genera of bacteria and 35 genera of fungi were recovered. Corynebacterium sp., Staphylococcus sp., Bacillus sp. and Moraxella sp. were the bacteria most frequently isolated. Mold species, dematiaceous mold species, Chrysosporium sp., Cladosporium sp., and Aspergillus sp. were the most frequently recovered fungi. Season did not have a significant effect on the presence of microorganisms isolated for individual horses adjusted for age. Younger horses had an increased incidence of gram‐negative rods and fungal isolates. The number of bacteria and fungi isolated are not uniform across seasons. Conclusion There were no significant differences between the number or type of organisms cultured during the sampling seasons in normal Florida horses. A large range of normal bacterial and fungal flora were isolated from these horses. The number of bacteria and fungi isolated are not uniform across seasons. The likelihood of detecting an organism depends on the horses’ age.     

Risk based culling for highly infectious diseases of livestock

ABSTRACT: The control of highly infectious diseases of livestock such as classical swine fever, foot-and-mouth disease, and avian influenza is fraught with ethical, economic, and public health dilemmas. Attempts to control outbreaks of these pathogens rely on massive culling of infected farms, and farms deemed to be at risk of infection. Conventional approaches usually involve the preventive culling of all farms within a certain radius of an infected farm. Here we propose a novel culling strategy that is based on the idea that farms that have the highest expected number of secondary infections should be culled first. We show that, in comparison with conventional approaches (ring culling), our new method of risk based culling can reduce the total number of farms that need to be culled, the number of culled infected farms (and thus the expected number of human infections in case of a zoonosis), and the duration of the epidemic. Our novel risk based culling strategy requires three pieces of information, viz. the location of all farms in the area at risk, the moments when infected farms are detected, and an estimate of the distance-dependent probability of transmission.     

CLINICAL AND MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING FEATURES OF INFLAMMATORY VERSUS NEOPLASTIC MEDIAL RETROPHARYNGEAL LYMPH NODE MASS LESIONS IN DOGS AND CATS

Medial retropharyngeal lymph node (MRLN) mass lesions are a common cause of cranial cervical masses in dogs and cats, and are predominantly due to metastatic neoplasia, primary neoplasia, or inflammatory lymphadenitis. The purpose of this retrospective cross‐sectional study was to test the hypothesis that clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics for dogs and cats with MRLN mass lesions would differ for inflammatory vs. neoplastic etiologies. Dogs and cats with MRLN mass lesions that had undergone MRI and had a confirmed cytological or histopathological diagnosis were recruited from medical record archives. Clinical findings were recorded by one observer and MRI characteristics were recorded by two other observers who were unaware of clinical findings. A total of 31 patients were sampled, with 15 in the inflammatory lymphadenitis group and 16 in the neoplasia group. Patients with inflammatory lymphadenitis were more likely to be younger and present with lethargy (P = 0.001), pyrexia (P = 0.000), and neck pain (P = 0.006). Patients with inflammatory lymphadenitis were also more likely to have a leukocystosis (P = 0.02) and segmental neutrophilia (P = 0.001). Inflammatory masses were more likely to have moderate or marked MRI perinodal contrast enhancement (P = 0.021) and local muscle contrast enhancement (P = 0.03) whereas the neoplastic masses were more likely to have greater MRI width (P = 0.002) and height (P = 0.009). In conclusion, findings indicated that some clinical and MRI characteristics differed for dogs and cats with inflammatory vs. neoplastic medial retropharyngeal lymph node masses. Although histopathological or cytological diagnosis remains necessary for confirmation, these findings may help with the ranking of differential diagnoses of future cases.     

Disseminated Aspergillus flavus infection in broiler breeder pullets

Increased morbidity and mortality occurred in a 5-wk-old broiler breeder replacement pullet flock. The affected broiler pullet flock was housed on the first floor of a two-story confinement building. Mortality increased to 0.1%/day compared to the flock on the second floor, which had mortality levels of less than 0.01%/day. Clinical signs in the affected chickens included inactivity, decreased response to stimuli, and anorexia. No respiratory or neurologic signs were observed. On necropsy, affected pullets were dehydrated and emaciated and had disseminated variably sized single or multiple heterophilic granulomas that contained intralesional septate and branching fungal hyphae. Lesions were extensive around the base of the heart in the thoracic inlet and in the kidneys. Other affected organs included eyelid, muscle, proventriculus, ventriculus, intestine, liver, spleen, lung, and heart. Aspergillus flavus was cultured from the visceral granulomas. The source of flock exposure to the organism was not determined.     

Evaluating the Impact of Irrigation and Drainage Policies on Agricultural Sustainability

Farmers in the Broadview Water District in central Californiahave been improving irrigation practices in response to risingirrigation water prices and reductions in water supply since1989, when incentive policies were first implemented to reducethe volume of subsurface drain water generated in theDistrict. The average salinity of water deliveries hasincreased, over time, as the District has recycled largeamounts of drainage water to achieve regional restrictions ondrainage water discharge. We review irrigation and drainageactivities in Broadview since 1986 with an emphasis on thesustainability of crop production when drainage discharge islimited. Average cotton yields in Broadview have declined inrecent years, both nominally and in comparison with averageyields reported for the large county in which Broadview islocated. Average tomato yields in Broadview have increased inrecent years, but county-wide yields have exceeded Broadviewyields with greater frequency than in the late 1980s. Theseobservations suggest that average crop yields in Broadview maybe starting to reflect the increasing salinity of soil andwater resources, which may be due in part to persistentrestrictions on drainage water discharge.     

植物角质蜡质代谢及抗病机制研究

角质蜡质是植物在长期的生态适应过程中进化形成的一类次生代谢产物,广泛参与了植物抗逆、抵御病虫害侵染等诸多抗性生理过程。角质蜡质在植物-病原互作中发挥了重要作用,是植物抗病机制的重要组成部分。随着分子生物学的发展,人们对植物角质蜡质代谢及其抗病机理的认知不断深入。本研究综述了植物角质蜡质生物合成与其抗病机理的最新研究进展并对未来研究提出展望。目前,植物角质蜡质的抗性机理研究主要集中于组成型抗性和诱导型抗性2类。角质蜡质作为角质层主要成分,一方面可作为组成型抗性成分发挥物理抗性(物理屏障)和化学抗性(抑菌)作用;另一方面,也可作为诱导型抗性成分发挥作用,诱导产生的角质蜡质单体除了作为角质层主要成分发挥物理抗性外,也可作为信号分子或者诱导子激活下游的抗性反应进而发挥其化学抗性功能。未来可侧重于对角质蜡质诱导抗性机理的深入阐释,进一步丰富植物化学生态学研究理论体系。此外,基于角质蜡质的诱导抗性作用,可开发角质蜡质类生物农药(植物免疫诱导剂),为植物病害防控提供新思路。图1参71