Histologic examination of canned beef dog food: what does it really contain?

This study provides a histologic examination of twelve cans of beef dog food and assesses the contents of each brand. Two random samples from each of twelve cans of beef dog food were formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded, sectioned at 4 microns, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. The percentage of meat content (defined as skeletal muscle content) was estimated by superimposing a grid over photomicrographs (n = 7 each sample); the number of grid line intersections overlying skeletal muscle tissue (meat) was recorded and used to determine an estimate of the meat content. The percentage of meat content ranged from 0.2 to 13.6% (median 1.3%). There was no correlation between meat content and the calculated cost per ounce of food (range $0.04–$0.47; median $0.15). In the brands examined, a relatively small portion of the contents of canned beef dog food comprised meat, despite the labeling which advertised ‘beef’ on each can. There was no correlation between cost and the estimated meat content. A variety of other tissue types were variably identified in the sampled food, including connective tissue, blood vessels, bone, cartilage, lung, peripheral nerve, skin, adipose tissue, and rarely other solid organs such as kidney and pancreas.     

Co-infection of mallards with low-virulence Newcastle disease virus and low-pathogenic avian influenza virus

Waterfowl are considered the natural reservoir of low-virulence Newcastle disease viruses (loNDVs) and low-pathogenic avian influenza viruses (LPAIVs). The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of co-infections with loNDV and LPAIV on the infectivity and excretion of these viruses in mallards. One-month-old mallards were inoculated intranasally with 10⁶ median embryo infectious doses of a wild-bird-origin loNDV and A/Mallard/MN/199106/99 (H3N8) LPAIV on the same day or received the LPAIV 2 or 5 days after loNDV inoculation. All mallards became infected with both viruses based on detection of seroconversion and viral shedding. Co-infection resulted in a higher number of cloacal swabs detected positive for LPAIV and a lower number of cloacal swabs detected positive for loNDV in some groups, although differences between groups were not statistically significant. Co-infection did not affect replication of LPAIV in epithelial cells of the lower intestine and bursa of Fabricius. In summary, the results of this study indicate that co-infection with LPAIV and loNDV does not affect the ability of mallards to be infected with either virus although it may have minimal effects on patterns (source and timing) of viral shedding.     

Lentivirus-induced lymphoproliferative disease. Comparative pathogenicity of phenotypically distinct ovine lentivirus strains.

For investigation of the pathogenicity of lentivirus strains, which have distinctly different cytopathic phenotypes in synovial membrane cell culture, plaque-purified, lytic, and nonlytic ovine lentivirus (OvLV) isolates were inoculated intratracheally into two groups of neonatal lambs. Twelve lambs were inoculated with a lytic OvLV isolate and 3 lambs each with two nonlytic OvLV isolates. Five control lambs were inoculated with either virus-free medium or were left uninoculated. In 8 of 12 lambs inoculated with a lytic OvLV isolate mild to severe lesions of lymphoid interstitial pneumonia (LIP) and pulmonary lymphoid hyperplasia developed, 6 of 12 lambs had lesions of pulmonary lymph node follicular hyperplasia, 3 of 9 female lambs had lesions of lymphoproliferative mastitis, 3 of 10 lambs had lesions of lymphocytic/plasmacytic synovitis, and 3 lambs had no lesions. In 3 of 6 lambs inoculated with nonlytic OvLV isolates only mild LIP lesions developed, without concurrent mammary gland or joint lesions. Bronchoalveolar lavage samples from OvLV-diseased lambs contained on average 1.5-fold more numbers of total leukocytes, and 4-fold more numbers of lymphocytes, compared with bronchoalveolar lavage samples of normal lambs. Monoclonal antibodies to ovine lymphocyte surface markers showed that the SBU-T8+ lymphocyte (CD 8 equivalent) was the predominant lymphocyte subset (mean of 65% of total lavaged lymphocytes) in bronchoalveolar lavage samples of 3 diseased lambs. Ovine lentivirus was reisolated from multiple tissues of both groups of OvLV-inoculated lambs, but the percentage of individual tissues infected was greater in lambs inoculated with the lytic viral isolate. Control lambs had no lesions and failed to produce OvLV-specific antibodies or yield OvLV from tissues. All OvLV-inoculated lambs produced either low or undetectable serum virus neutralizing antibodies. In contrast, lambs inoculated with either lytic or nonlytic OvLV produced precipitating antibodies to OvLV glycoprotein and group-specific protein. However, initial detection of precipitating antibodies to OvLV glycoprotein was earlier (mean, 5.8 weeks after inoculation) in OvLV-infected lambs in which severe lymphoproliferative disease developed and delayed (mean, 10.2 weeks after inoculation) in OvLV-infected lambs with mild or no lesions. Together, these results suggest that lentivirus isolates produced disease in a virus strain-dependent manner and suggest that humoral immune responses against OvLV failed to prevent lesion development in lentivirus-infected lambs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

The effects of forward chaining and contingent social interaction on the acquisition of complex sharing responses by children with autism

Children with autism have deficits in social interaction, including the failure to engage in sharing responses. Four children with autism were taught a sharing response chain. The treatment package (manual guidance, auditory prompts, and contingent access to toy play and social interaction with the recipient instructor) was introduced successively across participants in a multiple-baseline design. None of the participants engaged in the sharing response chain during baseline. Systematic increases in responding occurred for all four participants in the presence of training stimuli. In addition, there were systematic increases in responding to non-trained probe stimuli. Also, during pre- and post-test measures, the participants demonstrated sharing in the presence of peers in a non-training classroom containing non-trained toys. Furthermore, social validity measures indicated that judges scored more post-treatment responses than baseline responses as “sharing.”     

Vitreous phenotype: a key diagnostic sign in Stickler syndrome types 1 and 2 complicated by double heterozygosity

We describe the clinical findings in two patients with double heterozygosity, both involving Stickler syndrome. In case 1, the proposita had Albright hereditary osteodystrophy which was inherited from her mother and type 1 Stickler syndrome which was a new mutation. The combination of manifestations from the two syndromes had resulted in initial diagnostic confusion. Diagnosis of the latter syndrome was made only following ophthalmic examination which documented the presence of a membranous vitreous anomaly characteristic of type 1 Stickler syndrome. Subsequent confirmation was achieved by mutation analysis of the COL2A1 gene. The propositus in case 2 inherited Treacher Collins syndrome paternally and type 2 Stickler syndrome maternally. The overlap of facial anomalies may have resulted in a more severe phenotype for the patient. The diagnosis of Stickler syndrome in the propositus was confirmed initially by vitreous assessment and later by demonstration of mutation in the COL11A1 gene. These two patients highlight the key role of vitreous examination and vitreoretinal phenotyping in the differential diagnosis of Stickler syndrome and its subtypes in cases where the clinical picture is complicated by double heterozygosity.     

Limb flexion-induced axial compression and bending in human femoropopliteal artery segments

Background

High failure rates of femoropopliteal artery (FPA) interventions are often attributed in part to severe mechanical deformations that occur with limb movement. Axial compression and bending of the FPA likely play significant roles in FPA disease development and reconstruction failure, but these deformations are poorly characterized. The goal of this study was to quantify axial compression and bending of human FPAs that are placed in positions commonly assumed during the normal course of daily activities.

Argon laser therapy of endometriosis: a review of 92 consecutive patients

The conception rate, relief of pain, and safety of argon laser photocoagulation of endometriosis were evaluated in 92 patients. All patients were treated at the time of diagnosis with the argon laser delivered through a flexible quartz fiber passed through the operating channel of a standard and unmodified laparoscope. The uncorrected pregnancy rate was 34% (19 of 56), with 64% of the pregnancies occurring within 6 months of therapy. The conception rate was slightly greater in women with infertility of 24 months or less and in women without other fertility factors. Ninety-two percent of 50 women with pelvic pain reported a reduction of their pain after treatment. The argon laser is an effective, simple, and safe alternative for the treatment of mild or moderate endometriosis.