IMAGING DIAGNOSIS—MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING FEATURES OF CRANIOMANDIBULAR OSTEOPATHY IN AN AIREDALE TERRIER

An Airedale Terrier was presented for evaluation of depression and reluctance to be touched on the head. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the head was performed. The images revealed bone lesions affecting the calvarium at the level of the coronal suture and left mandibular ramus, with focal cortical destruction, expansion, and reactive new bone formation. Skull lesions were hypointense on T1‐weighted sequences, hyperintense on T2‐weighted sequences, and showed an intense and homogeneous enhancement after gadolinium administration. Reactive new bone formation and periosteal proliferation were confirmed histopathologically. The clinical signs, imaging findings, and histopathological examination were consistent with craniomandibular osteopathy.     

Impacts of anthropogenic N additions on nitrogen mineralization from plant litter in exotic annual grasslands

Urban regions of southern California receive up to 45 kg N ha^-1 y^-1 from nitrogen (N) deposition. A field decomposition study was done using ¹⁵N-labelled litter of the widespread exotic annual grass Bromus diandrus to determine whether elevated soil N is strictly from N deposition or whether N mineralization rates from litter are also increased under N deposition. Tissue N and lignin concentrations, which are inversely related in field sites with high and low N deposition, determine the rate at which N moves from plant litter to soil and becomes available to plants. The effect of soil N on N movement from litter to soil was tested by placing litter on high and low N soil in a factorial experiment with two levels of litter N and two levels of soil N. The litter quality changes associated with N deposition resulted in faster rates of N cycling from litter to soil. Concentrations of litter-derived N in total N, NH₄⁺, NO₃⁻, microbial N and organic N were all higher from high N/low lignin litter than from low N/high lignin litter. Litter contributed more N to soil NH₄⁺ and microbial N in high N than low N soil. At the end of the study, N mineralized from high N litter on high N soil accounted for 46% of soil NH₄⁺ and 11% of soil NO₃⁻, compared to 35% of soil NH₄⁺ and 6% of soil NO₃⁻ from low N litter on low N soil. The study showed that in high N deposition areas, elevated inorganic soil N concentrations at the end of the summer N deposition season are a result of N mineralized from plant litter as well as from N deposition.     

Use of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) to study the dissociation and polysaccharide binding of casein micelles and caseins

Tests were made to determine whether surface plasmon resonance (SPR) could be used as a technique to study the dissociation properties of bovine casein micelles or of sodium caseinate and the interactions between these protein particles and different polysaccharides. Surfaces of bound micelles or caseinate were made, and the changes in refractive index of these layers were used to define changes in the structures of the chemisorbed material. The technique appears to have some potential for studying details of the dissociation of casein micelles and of the binding of different polysaccharides to caseins.     

A conserved checkpoint monitors meiotic chromosome synapsis in Caenorhabditis elegans

We report the discovery of a checkpoint that monitors synapsis between homologous chromosomes to ensure accurate meiotic segregation. Oocytes containing unsynapsed chromosomes selectively undergo apoptosis even if a germline DNA damage checkpoint is inactivated. This culling mechanism is specifically activated by unsynapsed pairing centers, cis-acting chromosome sites that are also required to promote synapsis in Caenorhabditis elegans. Apoptosis due to synaptic failure also requires the C. elegans homolog of PCH2, a budding yeast pachytene checkpoint gene, which suggests that this surveillance mechanism is widely conserved.     

Against the neoliberal steamroller? The Biosafety Protocol and the social regulation of agricultural biotechnologies

Through a discursive and organizational analysis we seek to understand the Biosafety Protocol and the place of socioeconomic regulation of agricultural biotechnology in it. The literature on the Protocol has been fairly extensive, but little of it has explored debates over socioeconomic regulation during the negotiation process or the regulatory requirements specified in the final document. This case is especially important at a time when the spread of neoliberalism is increasingly associated with deregulation, because it sheds light on the conditions under which circumvention of the market is deemed legitimate and socio-economic regulation of agricultural technology is possible. Daniel Lee Kleinman is a professor in the Department of Rural Sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he is also affiliated with the Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies and the Integrated Liberal Studies Program. He is the author and editor of a number of books, including Impure Cultures: University Biology and the World of Commerce (2003). Abby J. Kinchy is a PhD candidate in the Departments of Sociology and Rural Sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her current research examines the controversies surrounding the genetic “contamination” of Mexican maize and Canadian canola.     

Cardiac disease in the geriatric horse.

Almost all equine cardiac diseases may affect the geriatric horse. This article focuses on those cardiac diseases that are most common in the older horse, including degenerative valve disease, aortocardiac fistula, and congestive heart failure. Other cardiac diseases, such as bacterial endocarditis, pericarditis, and arrhythmias, are seen in all age groups of horses and are beyond the scope of this article.     

Use of a particulate extracellular matrix bioscaffold for treatment of acquired urinary incontinence in dogs

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate use of a particulate bioscaffold consisting of the extracellular matrix (ECM) of the urinary bladder from pigs for treatment of acquired urinary incontinence in dogs resistant to medical treatment. DESIGN: Case series. ANIMALS: 9 female dogs with acquired urinary incontinence. PROCEDURE: In 6 dogs, 30 mg of particulate ECM in 1.0 mL of a carrier consisting of glycerin and saline 10.9% NaCI) solution was injected into each of 3 equally spaced sites around the circumference of the internal urethral sphincter via an endoscopic technique. In the remaining 3 dogs (control dogs), 1.0 mL of the carrier alone was injected in 3 equally spaced sites around the circumference of the internal urethral sphincter in a similar manner. RESULTS: For dogs treated with the ECM, median duration of urinary continence following treatment was 168 days (range, 84 to 616 days), whereas for the control dogs, median duration of urinary continence following the procedure was 14 days (range, 7 to 31 days). Two of the 3 control dogs were treated with the ECM at the end of the study and were continent for 119 and 252 days. No adverse effects were observed in any dog. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggest that endoscopically guided injection of particulate ECM into the internal urethral sphincter may be useful for the treatment of acquired urinary incontinence in female dogs.