Insulin and glucose regulation.

Abnormally high or low blood glucose and insulin concentrations after standardized glucose tolerance tests can reflect disorders such as pituitary dysfunction, polysaccharide storage myopathies, and other clinical disorders. Glucose and insulin responses, however, are modified by the diet to which the animal has adapted, time since it was last fed, and what it was fed. Body fat (obesity), fitness level, physiologic status, and stress also alter glucose and insulin metabolism. Therefore, it is important to consider these factors when evaluating glucose and insulin tests, especially if only one sample it taken. This article describes the factors affecting glucose and insulin metabolism in horses and how they might influence the interpretation of standardized tests of glucose tolerance.     

蛋白质营养的未来是肽营养

优化蛋白质营养不再仅仅是对日粮进行大致的氨基酸平衡。蛋白质的形式对猪的健康和生长会产生长远的影响。　　蛋白质摄入量是生长猪营养中的一个基本要素。要提高瘦肉生长率,就需要平衡良好的氨基酸以供蛋白质合成之用,这些氨基酸需要以一定的形式通过日粮来提供。现在能够对饲料进行精确的分析,并且有来源可靠的合成氨基酸,已经为猪的蛋白质营养提供了坚实的基础。然而,有时候这会导致过量氮的排泄,因为并非提供的所有的蛋白质都会被猪吸收。过量氮的排出,不但会造成浪费,而且还会对环境造成污染。近年来,新的证据表明,单独提供氨基酸可能…     

Analysis of a Secreted Aspartic Peptidase Disruption Mutant of Glomerella cingulata

Peptidases have been implicated in the pathogenicity of fungi that cause disease in plants. Expression of the secreted aspartic peptidase gene (gcsap), of a Glomerella cingulata isolate pathogenic on apples, is induced during appressorium formation. To determine whether the secreted aspartic peptidase (GcSAP) is essential to pathogenicity, gcsap was disrupted using a vector containing a 637 bp fragment of genomic DNA that encodes the sequence spanning the two active site aspartic acid (Asp) residues. To ensure that the truncated gcsap gene products could not have residual peptidase activity the codons for the active site residues Asp¹¹² and Asp²⁹⁷ were both mutated to histidine residues. Both PCR and Southern analysis confirmed disruption of gcsap. Neither gcsap mRNA nor GcSAP activity was detected in the disruption mutant. Pathogenicity tests on fruit from three apple cultivars showed that GcSAP was not required for pathogenicity. The disruption mutant grew on medium containing protein as the sole source of nitrogen because G. cingulata secretes a previously undetected peptidase(s). A serine peptidase that had a pH optimum between pH 7.0 and 8.0 and a K _m of 0.25 mM for the synthetic substrate succinyl-Ala–Ala–Pro–Phe-p-nitroanilide was identified.     

Bovine viral diarrhea virus subgenotype 1b in water buffalos (Bubalus bubalis) from Brazil

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Serological studies have characterized the presence of the bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) infection in water buffalo herds worldwide. However, the...     

Multiloculated solitary (unicameral) bone cyst in a young dog

A 20‐month‐old female spayed Staffordshire Terrier (22.3 kg) presented to the Orthopedic Surgery Service at North Carolina State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital for evaluation of a 6‐week history of toe‐touching to nonweight‐bearing lameness in the right hind limb. Radiographs of the right stifle revealed a multiloculated lytic lesion of the distal femur, with a large open lytic zone centrally, numerous osseous septations peripherally, and focal areas of cortical thinning and loss. An aspirate of the right distal femoral lesion yielded mildly cloudy serosanguineous fluid. Cytologic examination of the fluid revealed a pleomorphic population of discrete cells that exhibited marked anisocytosis and anisokaryosis and a variable nuclear‐to‐cytoplasmic (N:C) ratio, which were interpreted as probable neoplastic cells, with few macrophages, and evidence of hemorrhage. Given the clinical signs of pain, lesion size, and concern for malignant neoplasia, amputation of the right hind limb was performed. Histologically, the lesion had undulating walls 1‐3 mm thick with a continuous outer layer of dense fibrous tissue and an inner layer composed of reactive cancellous bone with no cortical compacta remaining. Remnants of thin fibrous or fibro‐osseous septa projected from the bony wall into the cyst lumen. The final histologic diagnosis was a benign multiloculated solitary (unicameral) bone cyst of the distal right femur. Based on the histopathologic findings, it was speculated that the cells identified on cytology were a mixture of developing osteoclasts, osteoblasts, endothelial, and stromal cells. This is the first report describing the cytologic examination of a solitary bone cyst in veterinary medicine.     

Second round of an interlaboratory comparison of SARS-CoV2 molecular detection assays used by 45 veterinary diagnostic laboratories in the United States

The COVID-19 pandemic presents a continued public health challenge. Veterinary diagnostic laboratories in the United States use RT-rtPCR for animal testing, and many laboratories are certified for testing human samples; hence, ensuring that laboratories have sensitive and specific SARS-CoV2 testing methods is a critical component of the pandemic response. In 2020, the FDA Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network (Vet-LIRN) led an interlaboratory comparison (ILC1) to help laboratories evaluate their existing RT-rtPCR methods for detecting SARS-CoV2. All participating laboratories were able to detect the viral RNA spiked in buffer and PrimeStore molecular transport medium (MTM). With ILC2, Vet-LIRN extended ILC1 by evaluating analytical sensitivity and specificity of the methods used by participating laboratories to detect 3 SARS-CoV2 variants (B.1; B.1.1.7 [Alpha]; B.1.351 [Beta]) at various copy levels. We analyzed 57 sets of results from 45 laboratories qualitatively and quantitatively according to the principles of ISO 16140-2:2016. More than 95% of analysts detected the SARS-CoV2 RNA in MTM at ≥500 copies for all 3 variants. In addition, for nucleocapsid markers N1 and N2, 81% and 92% of the analysts detected ≤20 copies in the assays, respectively. The analytical specificity of the evaluated methods was >99%. Participating laboratories were able to assess their current method performance, identify possible limitations, and recognize method strengths as part of a continuous learning environment to support the critical need for the reliable diagnosis of COVID-19 in potentially infected animals and humans.