Intracavitary Cisplatin Chemotherapy Experience with Six Dogs

Six dogs with a median age of 7 years (range = 5-14 years) were presented for signs referable to thoracic or abdominal effusion associated with neoplasia of the body cavities. Intracavitary cisplatin was administered at 50 mg/m2 every 4 weeks for a median of 2.5 treatments (mean = 3, range = 1-6). Three dogs with pleural mesothelioma had complete resolution of effusion for 289, 129, and greater than 306 days without evidence of tumor growth. Resolution of effusion occurred after one treatment in two dogs and after two treatments in one dog. In three dogs with carcinomatosis of unknown origin, complete responses was seen in two dogs after one treatment for 255 and greater than 807 days, respectively. Intracavitary chemotherapy with cisplatin was associated with palliation and control of malignant pleural and/or abdominal effusion in five of six dogs. Toxicity was minimal, and this method of therapy should be further explored in dogs with similar malignancies.     

Validation of a human immunoturbidimetric assay to measure canine albumin in urine and cerebrospinal fluid.

The aim of this study was to validate an automated immunoturbidimetric assay used to quantify human albumin in urine and to accurately measure canine albumin concentrations in both urine and cerebrospinal fluid. The partial homology existing between human and canine albumin limited the accuracy of the human assays in measuring canine albumin without method modifications. Thus, the assay was modified by calibrating the analyzer with calibrators made in the laboratory containing known concentrations of canine albumin. To prepare the set of calibrators, the albumin concentration of pooled sera of healthy dogs was assessed in 5 replicates using the BromocresolGreen assay. Pooled samples were aliquoted and serially diluted to obtain the expected concentrations of albumin (0.5, 1, 5, 13, and 30 mg/dl) for establishing the canine calibration curve. Thereafter, the performance was assessed by analyzing canine urine and CSF The modified assay accurately quantified canine albumin in both specimens, as indicated by the following. Intra- and interassay variability was 0.92% and 2.74%, respectively; recovery was 99.66% and 99.07% in urine and 105.02% in CSF No interference was detected when hemolysate and glucose were added to urine. The test was linear within the verified range (0-225 mg/dl). These results demonstrate that the modified human albumin immunoturbidimetric assay can be a useful tool in the veterinary diagnostic laboratory. It is accurate and tends itself to automatization on chemistry analyzers.     

Culture of Differentiated Adult Rabbit Auricular Chondrocytes

Chondrocytes dedifferentiate to a fibroblast‐like phenotype on plastic surfaces. Dedifferentiation is reversible if these cells are then cultured embedded in gels as alginate, agarose or collagen. Chondrocytes cultured in suspension on a non‐adherent surface are also known to form aggregates of differentiated cells. The knowledge of chondrocyte behavior in culture is relevant for tissue engineering purposes. In this report we describe a simple method to culture differentiated or redifferentiated rabbit auricular chondrocytes on plastic surfaces with a stable phenotype. When chondrocyte aggregates formed in suspension are next seeded on plastic surfaces, most of them attach to the plastic as round or polygonal cells, and this morphological differentiation, confirmed by the presence of type II collagen, is stable for long culture periods. We also report that the addition of aggregates to monolayer cultures of dedifferentiated chondrocytes results in their redifferentiation, as is shown by their morphological changes and the synthesis of type II collagen. Therefore, this simple method can be useful for the study of chondrocyte behavior on plastic surfaces and for redifferentiating previously proliferated chondrocytes in tissue engineering techniques. Furthermore, these results demonstrate that, in addition to culture conditions such as cell isolation method or cell‐density, chondrocyte behavior on plastic depends on the presence or absence of aggregates resulting from the dissociation process.     

Bayesian comparison of test-day models under different assumptions of heterogeneity for the residual variance: the change point technique versus arbitrary intervals

Test‐day milk yields from Spanish Holstein cows were analysed with two random regression models based on Legendre polynomials under two different assumptions of heterogeneity of residual variance which aim to describe the variability of temporary measurement errors along days in milk with a reduced number of parameters, such as (i) the change point identification technique with two unknown change points and (ii) using 10 arbitrary intervals of residual variance. Both implementations were based on a previous study where the trajectory of the residual variance was estimated using 30 intervals. The change point technique has been previously implemented in the analysis of the heterogeneity of the residual variance in the Spanish population, yet no comparisons with other methods have been reported so far. This study aims to compare the change point technique identification versus the use of arbitrary intervals as two possible techniques to deal with the characterization of the residual variance in random regression test‐day models. The Bayes factor and the cross‐validation predictive densities were employed for the model assessment. The two model‐selecting tools revealed a strong consistency between them. Both specifications for the residual variance were close to each other. The 10 intervals modelling showed a slightly better performance probably because the change point function overestimates the residual variance values at the very early lactation.     

Resistance to Botrytis cinerea in Solanum lycopersicoides is Dominant in Hybrids with Tomato, and Involves induced Hyphal Death

Botrytis cinerea causes gray mold disease and affects hundreds of plant species, including tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum). The wild nightshade, Solanum lycopersicoides, is cross compatible with tomato and is more resistant to B. cinerea, thus representing a potential source for crop improvement. Tests involving droplet inoculation of detached leaves and spray inoculation of entire seedlings demonstrated that resistance to B. cinerea varies among S. lycopersicoides accessions, with S. lycopersicoides LA2951 being the most resistant accession tested. Expression of resistance in the intergeneric hybrid (L. esculentum cv. 'VF36' × S. lycopersicoides LA2951) suggested that resistance is at least partially dominant in tomato. A green fluorescent protein-tagged B. cinerea strain was used for confocal microscopic comparison of infection in leaves of S. lycopersicoides and tomato. Even though S. lycopersicoides supported spore germination, there was evidence for hyphal lysis and death 3 days after inoculation, at a time when lesions were expanding on susceptible tomato plants. The reduced frequency of B. cinerea lesion spread on S. lycopersicoides explains why this fungus produced fewer spores in this wild nightshade than in tomato.     

Evaluation of Olive Cultivars for Resistance to Verticillium dahliae

Resistance of 23 important olive cultivars to Verticillium dahliae has been evaluated in four experiments under controlled conditions. Nine-month-old nursery olive plants were inoculated with a cotton non-defoliating (ND) (V4) or a cotton defoliating (D) (V117) isolate of V. dahliae. Resistance was evaluated by assessing symptom severity using a 0–4 rating scale and estimating the area under disease progress curves. The percentage of plants killed and of those which recovered from the disease were used as additional parameters for including a particular cultivar into a defined category. Most of the evaluated cultivars were susceptible, although at different levels, to both isolates of V. dahliae. All cultivars were more susceptible to the D pathotype than to the ND one. A group of 11 cultivars, including several important Spanish cultivars, were susceptible or extremely susceptible to both pathotypes of V. dahliae. A second group showed differences of resistance depending on the pathotype used. They were susceptible or extremely susceptible to the D pathotype but resistant or moderately susceptible to the ND one. Finally, 'Frantoio', 'Oblonga' and 'Empeltre' were moderately susceptible to the D isolate of V. dahliae and resistant to the ND one. The resistance of 'Empeltre' was evident by the plant ability to recover from infection with either isolates. 'Empeltre' is considered to be a valuable cultivar for inclusion in breeding programmes for resistance to Verticillium wilt.     

Caprine toxoplasmosis in Southern Brazil: a comparative seroepidemiological study between the indirect immunofluorescence assay,the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay,and the modified agglutination test

Tropical Animal Health and Production - This study investigated the prevalence of caprine toxoplasmosis in goat herds from Southern Brazil by the indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA), and...