Coxofemoral Luxation in the Dog and Cat

The medical records from 95 cases of coxofemoral luxation in dogs and cats were reviewed. Unilateral craniodorsal luxation was most common, (78.1% of dogs, 72.7% of cats). Trauma from being struck by an automobile was the most frequent cause (59.0%). Treatment was closed (manual) or open (surgical) reduction. The failure rate following single closed reduction was 64.8%. The surgical reduction procedure included capsular repair (capsulorrhaphy) via a craniolateral approach to the hip or via trochanteric osteotomy or gluteal tenotomy. The success rate following reduction via the craniolateral approach was 82%; no failure was recorded with trochanteric transposition, but reluxa-tion followed the single gluteal tenotomy. The Ehmer sling was the most common external fixation and was kept in place an average of 12.5 days. Thirty-three animals were available for follow-up, and no difference was recorded in limb function between the two groups of animals treated by closed vs surgical reduction. Patients with degenerative joint disease at the time of luxation were less likely to be successfully reduced; 64.3% of these animals were eventually treated by femoral head and neck excision. Thirty-eight patients had associated major injuries. Long-term follow-up results were better in those patients with concomitant orthopedic injuries than in those without other injuries.     

Establishing climate–growth relationships for yelloweye rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus) in the northeast Pacific using a dendrochronological approach

We applied dendrochronology (tree‐ring) methods to develop multidecadal growth chronologies from the increment widths of yelloweye rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus) otoliths. Chronologies were developed for the central California coast, a site just north of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and at Bowie Seamount west of the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. At each site, synchronous growth patterns were matched among otoliths via the process of cross‐dating, ensuring that the correct calendar year was assigned to all increments. Each time series of growth‐increment measurements was divided by the values predicted by a best‐fit negative exponential function, thereby removing age‐related trends. These detrended time series were averaged into a master chronology for each site, and chronologies were correlated with monthly averages of sea surface temperatures, upwelling, the Northern Oscillation Index, and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. The two northern growth chronologies positively correlated with indices of warm ocean conditions, especially from the prior summer through the spring of the current year. During the same period, the California chronology positively correlated with indices of cool ocean conditions, indicating an opposing productivity regime for yelloweye rockfish between the California Current and the Gulf of Alaska. Overall, this study demonstrates how tree‐ring techniques can be applied to quickly develop annually resolved chronologies and establish climate–growth relationships across various temporal and spatial scales.     

CHANGES IN MOLECULAR WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION OF SOIL ORGANIC MATTER DURING SOIL DEVELOPMENT

Ten different topsoils representing members of three soil chronosequences were pre-treated with 0.1 M HC1 and extracted with neutral 0.1 M Na₄P₂O₇ followed by 0.5 M NaOH. Extracts were purified and fractionated into five different nominal molecular weight fractions using gel filtration. With increasing soil development, the proportion of large molecules (>200 000) in the organic matter decreased with an increase in the proportion of intermediate size molecules (200 000 – 10 000). This effect was more evident in the mild Na₄P₂O₇ extracts than in the subsequent NaOH extracts, and in soils of the Manawatu chronosequence than in those of the other two chronosequences and are attributed to changes in the nature and humification of soil organic matter during soil development.     

Sources, survival and transmission of Cladosporium allii and C. allii-cepae, leaf blotch pathogens of leek and onion

Neither Cladosporium allii nor C . allii-cepae was detected in seed samples of 46 commercial cultivars of leek and nine of onion.
In glasshouse tests where flower inflorescences of onions and leeks were dusted with conidia of C. alliicepae and C. allii , respectively, few onion seeds and no leek seeds became contaminated. In field crops of leeks some spathes and inflorescences became diseased and gave 0 002% C. allii contaminated seeds. No infected onion seeds were obtained from naturally-infected plants in the field.
Conidia of both fungi survived for less than 6 weeks in sterile and non-sterile soil (during which time the temperature varied from -8 to +11 C); pseudothecial bodies survived longer.
Both pathogens survived for 3 months in debris of onion or leek on the surface of soil in pots under similar conditions. In debris buried at a depth of 7 cm in sterile or unsterile soil they survived for 2 months. Although C. allii survived only 1 month in debris on the soil surfaces following a leek crop, conidia of the fungus were trapped from the air above the area for at least 6 months and healthy leeks transplanted into this area developed the disease. No leaf blotch developed in leeks grown on land which had not previously borne that crop.     

SCINTIGRAPHIC EVALUATION OF THE STIFLE IN NORMAL HORSES AND HORSES WITH FORELIMB LAMENESS

We tested the hypotheses that mature horses without lameness have a repeatable radiopharmaceutical uptake pattern in the stifle, which is bilaterally symmetric; immature horses have a different radiopharmaceutical uptake pattern; and forelimb lameness alters the radiopharmaceutical uptake pattern in the stifle. The objectives of the study were to describe the normal radiopharmaceutical uptake patterns using region of interest (ROI) analysis; to compare uptake patterns between left and right stifles of the same horse and between mature and immature horses; to compare radiopharmaceutical uptake in mature normal horses with those with forelimb lameness. Lateral scintigraphic images of the stifle from 51 horses aged 2-16 years were evaluated using seven ROIs and a reference site (midfemur). After subtraction of a background count, ratios between the mean counts per pixel for each ROI to the reference site were calculated. There was a repeatable radiopharmaceutical uptake pattern in mature normal horses that was bilaterally symmetrical. The caudoproximal aspect of the tibia and the patella had the highest ratios. Radiopharmaceutical uptake patterns in horses with forelimb lameness were not significantly different. Immature normal horses had a different symmetric pattern, with greatest radiopharmaceutical uptake ratios in the caudoproximal aspect of the tibia and the tibial crest. It was concluded that there are symmetric, repeatable radiopharmaceutical uptake patterns in both immature and mature horses, which are not altered by forelimb lameness.     

Plasma Concentrations and Cardiovascular Influence of Lidocaine Infusions During Isoflurane Anesthesia in Healthy Dogs and Dogs With Subaortic Stenosis

Objective—To determine the plasma concentrations and cardiovascular changes that occur in healthy dogs and dogs with aortic stenosis that are given an infusion of lidocaine during isoflurane anesthesia. Study Design—Phase 1, controlled randomized cross-over trial; Phase 2, before and after trial Animals—Phase 1, 6 healthy dogs (4 female, 2 male) weighing 23.8 ± 7.4 kg; Phase 2, 7 dogs (4 female, 3 male) with moderate to severe subaortic stenosis (confirmed by Doppler echocardiography) weighing 31.1 ± 14.5 kg. Methods—After mask induction, intubation, and institution of positive pressure ventilation, instrumentation was performed to measure hemodynamic variables. After baseline, measurement at an end-tidal isoflurane concentration of 1.9% (phase 1) or 1.85% (phase 2), a loading dose infusion of lidocaine at 400 μg/kg/min was given. Phase 1: Maintenance doses of lidocaine were administered consecutively (40, 120, and 200 μg/kg/min) after the loading dose (given for 10, 10, and 5 minutes, respectively) in advance of each maintenance concentrations. Measurements were taken at the end of each loading dose and at 25 and 35 minutes during each maintenance level. The same animals on a different day were given dextrose 5% and acted as the control. Phase 2: Dogs were studied on a single occasion during an infusion of lidocaine at 120 μg/kg/ min given after the loading dose (10 minutes). Measurements occurred after the loading dose and at 25 and 35 minutes. A blood sample for lidocaine concentration was taken at 70 minutes. Data were compared using a one-way ANOVA for phase 1, and between phase 1 and 2. Statistical analysis for phase 2 was performed using a paired r-test with a Bonferroni correction. A P value ± .05 was considered significant. Results—Phase 1: Plasma lidocaine concentrations achieved with 40, 120, and 200 μg of lidocaine/kg/min were 2.70, 5.27, and 7.17 μg/mL, respectively. A significant increase in heart rate (HR) (all concentrations), central venous pressure (CVP), mean pulmonary areterial pressure (PAP), and a decrease in stroke index (SI) (200 μg/kg/min) were observed. An increase in systemic vascular resistance (SVR) and mean PAP, and a decrease in SI also followed the loading dose given before the 200 μg/kg/min infusion. No other significant differences from the control measurements, during dextrose 5% infusion alone, were detected. Phase 2: Plasma lidocaine concentrations achieved were 5.35, 4.23, 4.23, and 5.60 μg/mL at 10, 25, 35, and 70 minutes, respectively. They were not significantly different from concentrations found in our healthy dogs at the same infusions. A significant but small increase in CVP compared with baseline was noted after the loading dose. There were no significant differences from baseline shown in all other cardiovascular data. There were no statistically significant differences in any measurements taken during the lidocaine infusion between the dogs in phase 1 and phase 2. Dogs with aortic stenosis tended to have a lower cardiac index than healthy dogs at baseline (88 v 121 mL/kg/min) and during lidocaine infusion (81 v 111 mL/kg/min). A small, statistically significant difference in systolic PAP was present at baseline. Conclusions—There does not appear to be any detrimental cardiovascular effects related to an infusion of lidocaine at 120 μg/kg/min during isoflurane anesthesia in healthy dogs or dogs with aortic stenosis. The technique used in this study resulted in therapeutic plasma concentrations of lidocaine. Clinical Relevance—Methods shown in the study can be used in clinical cases to achieve therapeutic lidocaine levels without significant cardiovascular depression during isoflurane anesthesia.     

Bacterial Isolates From Plaque and From Blood During and After Routine Dental Procedures in Dogs

Objective — This study evaluates the association between dental procedures and bacteremia in dogs, including a comparison of bacteria isolated from plaque and blood, severity of the bacteremia versus the severity of dental disease, and the longevity of bacteremia.
Study Design — Bacteria cultured from the blood over time were compared with those isolated from the plaque and crevicular fluid and in relation to severity of dental disease.
Animals or Sample Population — Twenty adult greyhounds.
Methods — Blood samples were collected for culture before induction of general anesthesia, immediately after intubation, 20 minutes after initiation of the dental procedure, and at 10-minute intervals until 10 minutes after the dental procedure was completed. Samples of plaque were taken for microbiological culture.
Results — Sixty to ninety percent of the bacterial genera isolated from the plaque were present in the blood. Dogs classified according to severity of dental disease showed no difference in the total number of different species or number of different Gram-negative, Gram-positive, or anaerobic bacteria isolated from plaque or blood (P <.05). Bacteremia was present in all of the dogs studied, within 40 minutes from the initiation of the dental procedure, regardless of the severity of oral disease.
Conclusions — Gram-negative, Gram-positive, and anaerobic bacteria are present in blood during dental procedures; the bacteremia can persist beyond the dental procedure, and is not associated with the severity of dental disease.
Clinical Relevance — The nature and extent of bacteremia occuring during routine dental procedures is important in understanding a potential risk to dogs.     

A seasonal analysis of the diet and feeding dynamics of brown trout, Salmo trutta L., in a small nursery stream

Abstract. The diet of brown trout, Salmo trutta L., in the Owendoher Stream, a tributary of the River Dodder, was examined at monthly intervals from June 1981 to May 1982. The diets of the three main age groups, 0+, 1 + and 2+/3+ fish, have been separately described and compared. Ephemeropteran nymphs, larval and adult chironomids as well as a variety of other adult insects were the most frequently consumed foods. While 0+ trout largely concentrated on aquatic organisms, adult insects, in particular those of terrestrial origin, became progressively more important in the diet with increasing age of the fish. Daily ration calculations indicated that food intake was highest during the summer and early autumn months when it was well in excess of maintenance requirements. This corresponded to a period of good growth. For the remainder of the year food intake was not much higher than maintenance requirements. In fact, 1+ and older (2+/3+) fish probably experienced an energy deficit on occasions during the winter which was reflected in their poor condition and weight loss. The relationship between growth and production in the system are further discussed.     

The ontogenetic development of the reticulo-endothelial system in the rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri Richardson

Abstract The phagocytosis of colloidal carbon in the adults and fry of Salmo gairdneri Richardson was investigated. Adult fish accumulated trapped carbon in the spleen, kidney and heart. Fry, as early as 4 days post-hatch, had an efficient phagocytic system, the carbon being engulfed by free macrophages which accumulated in the connective tissue, under the skin, in the gut and in the gills. By 18 days post-hatch, the situation was similar to that found in the adult. The trapping of carbon in the gills of young fry is discussed, and it is suggested that it acts as a special mechanism to protect the thymus from undesirable, and possible tolerigizing antigen exposure before immunocompetence is attained.     

The ontogenetic development of the reticulo-endothelial system in the rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri Richardson

Abstract. The phagocytosis of colloidal carbon in the adults and fry of Salmo gairdneri Richardson was investigated. Adult fish accumulated trapped carbon in the spleen, kidney and heart. Fry, as early as 4 days post-hatch, had an efficient phagocytic system, the carbon being engulfed by free macrophages which accumulated in the connective tissue, under the skin, in the gut and in the gills. By 18 days post-hatch the situation was similar to that found in the adult. The trapping of carbon in the gills of young fry is discussed, and it is suggested that it acts as a special mechanism to protect the thymus from undesirable, and possible tolerigizing antigen exposure, before immunocompetence is attained.