Effects of Nylon and Polyglactin 910 Suture Material on Perilimbal Corneal Wound Healing in the Dog

The effects of fine suture materials on corneal wound healing in the dog were studied. In 20 dogs, standardized perforating perilimbal clear corneal wounds were made and closed with either monofilament Polyglactin 910 or nylon. Five dogs each were euthanized 8,12,16, and 21 days postoperatively. Results of gross, biomicroscopic, and histologic examinations at 8,12,16, and 21 days showed nylon and Polyglactin 910 to cause similar inflammatory responses. Epithelialization and suppuration around the suture tracts were observed more frequently when Polyglactin 910 was used. Both materials were associated with a foreign body (granulomatous) response. There was no loss of wound integrity with either material. Strengths of the incised corneal tissues with and without the sutures intact were determined. At day 16 postsurgery, there was a statistically significant difference in tissue strengths between cases in which sutures were and were not intact. This difference was not apparent at 21 days postsurgery, which suggested that the suture dependent phase ends between the 16th and 21st postsurgical days. In addition, at day 16 there was no statistical difference between the tissue strength of wounds sutured with nylon or Polyglactin 910. Corneal suture materials studied should remain in place for at least 16 days, and absorbable material is only appropriate if it retains tensile strength for 16 days.     

Cadmium and zinc availability in soil irrigated with sludge containing a cationic conditioner

Tomato plants (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill, ‘Red Cherry Small’), grown in 15 cm diameter plastic pots with a standard greenhouse medium (1:1:1, by volume, soil:peat:sand) were irrigated for 15 weeks with liquid sewage sludge containing a liquid cationic conditioner (Petroset SB, Phillips Petroleum Company, Bartlesville, Oklahoma) to determine the effect of the conditioner on Cd and Zn availability. Half of the plants received 50 ml week^?1 liquid digested sludge with no conditioner and half of the plants received 50 ml week^?1 sludge containing 0.25 ml conditioner (200:1, by volume, sludge:conditioner). Plant height was measured weekly. Plants were harvested 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 weeks after sludge treatments began and separated into roots, shoots, and fruits for dry weight determination and Cd and Zn analyses. Soil and sludge crusts were sampled at the same times and analyzed for extractable concentrations of Cd and Zn. Dry weights of plants grown with conditioned sludge were similar to those grown with nonconditioned sludge. Plants with conditioner flowered and fruited one and two weeks earlier, respectively, than plants without conditioned. Six weeks after treatments began, when the plants had grown to their greatest height, Cd concentrations in sludge crusts, soil, and roots receiving conditioner were 2.0, 1.5, and 2.1 times greater, respectively, than crusts, soil and roots not receiving conditioner. After the six weeks sampling time, Cd concentrations in crusts, soil, and roots receiving conditioned sludge were similar to those in crusts, soil, and roots receiving nonconditioned sludge. At the third-week sampling time, shoots of plants grown with conditioner had 2.6 times more Cd than shoots of plants grown without conditioner. Cadmium concentrations in shoots from both treatments were similar at later sampling dates. Cadmium content of fruits was the same for both treatments all sampling times. Zinc content of roots, shoots, fruits soil, and sludge crusts was no affected by the conditioner. Results showed that a cationic conditioner, added to sludge, increased the availability of Cd, but not of zn, for tomato plants until maximum height was reached.     

Development of the immunofluorescent antibody test for detection of feline leukemia virus infection in cats.

Studies of the immunodetection of various microorganisms by various assay systems indicated that the most specific and sensitive assays are immunofluorescence, radioimmunoassay, and immunoblot analysis (western blot), followed by sensitive but less specific ELISA and agglutination assays and, finally, by even less sensitive but very specific virus isolation and double immunodiffusion techniques. The first test for the clinical detection of FeLV infection in pet cats was the immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) test, which was introduced in 1972. The FeLV test is used for detection for FeLV infection and not as a test for leukemia or any other feline disease. The IFA test was compared with an immunodiffusion (ID) test and with tissue culture isolation (TCI) of the virus in 26 cats to establish a standard for FeLV tests. Excellent correlation was observed between the IFA and the ID tests (100%).     

Ten-year study comparing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with the immunofluorescent antibody test for detection of feline leukemia virus infection in cats.

Immunodetection tests for feline retroviruses are powerful tools used in modern veterinary practice. Veterinarians must fully understand the characteristics--strengths and weaknesses--of the FeLV tests so that the information gained from them can be used properly. Any FeLV ELISA or immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) test is a method for detection of FeLV infection (the virus) and is not a diagnostic test for leukemia or other feline disease. From previous studies, it was determined that the most accurate test for detection of persistent FeLV infection is the IFA test, which detects FeLV antigens in cytoplasm of leukocytes in the blood of infected cats. In the study reported here, 1,142,600 FeLV IFA tests were performed between June 1972 and December 1990. During this period 19.8% of the IFA test results were positive and 78% were negative. Evaluation was not possible for the remaining 2.2% of the tests because of lack of enough leukocytes in the smears to evaluate, or nonspecific staining reactions. In 1979, 7 years after introduction of the IFA test, in-hospital FeLV ELISA were introduced, which enabled veterinarians to test for FeLV in their hospitals. Ever since that time, continual discrepancies have been reported between results of FeLV ELISA and IFA tests, particularly between positive ELISA results and their IFA test confirmation. A 10-year comparison was made between practitioner-performed in-hospital FeLV ELISA (n = 20, 240 tests) results and FeLV IFA test performed by a commercial laboratory. All samples tested by ELISA were submitted (for confirmation of results) by veterinarians from the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan, and Australia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)