Use of 64Copper Measurements to Diagnose Canine Copper Toxicosis

Inherited canine copper toxicosis is a serious problem in Bedlington terriers and West Highland White terriers, and may also be a problem in other less-studied breeds. Affected dogs become ill at midlife with progressive and ultimately fatal liver disease. Treatments for removal of copper and prevention of copper accumulation are available, but are most effective if begun before the dog becomes ill. Until recently diagnosis has not been available until the dog is 1 year of age, and then only by an invasive liver biopsy with determination of liver copper concentration. The authors studied the use of 64copper for early diagnosis of canine copper toxicosis. Two procedures were evaluated. The first involved measuring the concentration of 64copper in blood 24 hours after oral administration of the radioisotope. At this time, 64copper was associated primarily with ceruloplasmin secreted into the blood by the liver. This procedure is useful in the diagnosis of the human counterpart, Wilson's disease. However, the authors found it to be nondiscriminatory between affected and unaffected dogs. In contrast, the second procedure, which involved measuring 64copper excreted in stool during 48 hours after an intravenous dose of radioisotope, yielded results that differentiated most affected and unaffected dogs.     

Characteristics of Salmonella isolated from an outbreak of equine salmonellosis in a veterinary teaching hospital

During an outbreak of equine salmonellosis in a veterinary teaching hospital 20 Salmonella isolates were cultured from sick horses (13 isolates) or from the hospital environment (7 isolates). Three serotypes were isolated from the environment including: S. give, S. newportand S. agona. The serotypes isolated from horses included: S. give, S. newport and S. anatum. Examination of antibiotic profiles, presence of plasmids, production of bacteriocins and hemagglutination of erythrocytes implied a common origin for the equine and environmental isolates.     

Accuracy of the thermodilution method in estimating high flow - an in vitro study

The accuracy of thermodilution for measuring flow rates of 10–40 L/min was evaluated using a commercially available thermodilution cardiac output computer in an in vitro model. Water (36.5–37.5°C) was directed through a mixing chamber via a constant flow pump. Thermodilution estimates of flow using four different volumes (10, 20, 30, 40 ml) of iced water injectate were compared to simultaneous measurements of timed samples of effluent from the mixing chamber. Injectate volume had a significant impact on the accuracy of thermodilution estimation (p < 0.05). Thermodilution overestimated measured flow when 10 and 20 ml of injectate were used to determine flow rates < 20 L/min but underestimated flow when injectate volumes of 30 and 40 ml were used, or when measured flow was > 25 L/min. The discrepancy between thermodilution flow and measured flow increased as rate of fluid flow increased.     

PERINATAL FOAL MORTALITY ASSOCIATED WITH A HERPESVIRUS

An outbreak of perinatal foal mortality associated with a herpesvirus is described. Twenty two foals either were still-born, or died soon after birth, or were weak and soon developed severe respiratory signs, or were normal at birth and developed respiratory symptoms 18 to 24 hours later. Elevated temperatures, heart and respiratory rates were constant features. The animals were severely leucopaenic, and showed an absolute neutropaenia. At autopsy the lungs were enlarged, and showed varying degrees of aeration and moderate to severe oedema and congestion. Histopathology showed an acute focal necrotising bronchiolitis with the presence of intranuclear eosinophilic inclusion bodies. Herpesvirus was recovered from 9 foals in cell culture and identified by electron microscopy.     

不同非洲猪瘟病毒株j5R基因及其编码蛋白的比较

根据非洲猪瘟病毒ＭａｌａｗｉＬＩＬ２０／１株ｊ５Ｒ阅读框Ｃ端抗原决定簇序列制备的合成肽能被不同毒株感染康复猪的免疫血清识别。多聚酶链反应研究表明,９个不同毒株的ｊ５Ｒ基因长度略有差异;蛋白转印杂交试验证明,这种基因长度的差异导致相应蛋白多肽的长度多样性。这些结果进一步证明,长度多样性是非洲猪瘟病毒基因及其编码蛋白较为普遍的特点。     

Achromatopsia in three sibling Labrador Retrievers in the UK

Achromatopsia was identified in three Labrador Retriever littermates. The dogs demonstrated day blindness, negotiating obstacles under low‐light conditions, but apparently blind when outdoors. One of the dogs presented with immature bilateral diffuse posterior cortical cataracts and clinical signs of day blindness became apparent following cataract extraction surgery. Electroretinography demonstrated an absence of a cone photoreceptor response to a bright stimulus and a flicker response of 30 Hz in all three dogs. No fundic lesions have been apparent ophthalmoscopically in any of the dogs as the initial presentation of each case. No abnormalities were detected with DNA screening for known mutations of the CNGB3 gene in any of the dogs.