335 research outputs found
Maximizing the diagnostic utility of endoscopic biopsy in dogs and cats with gastrointestinal disease
Effect of light Sr doping on the spin-state transition in LaCoO_3
We present an inelastic neutron scattering study of the low energy
crystal-field excitations in the lightly doped cobalt perovskite
La_0.998Sr_0.002CoO_3. In contrast to the parent compound LaCoO_3 an inelastic
peak at energy transfer ~0.75 meV was found at temperatures below 30 K. This
excitation apparently corresponds to a transition between a ground state
orbital singlet and a higher excited orbital doublet, originating from a
high-spin triplet split by a small trigonal crystal field. Another inelastic
peak at an energy transfer ~0.6 meV was found at intermediate temperatures
starting from T > 30 K. This confirms the presence of a thermally induced
spin-state transition from the low-spin Co^3+ to a magnetic high-spin state in
the non-disturbed LaCoO_3 matrix. We suggest that hole doping of LaCoO_3 leads
to the creation of a magnetic polaron and hence to the low-to-high spin state
transition on the relevant Co sites.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; based on a talk given at ICM'06, Kyoto; to appear
in JMM
Urinary and faecal N-methylhistamine concentrations do not serve as markers for mast cell activation or clinical disease activity in dogs with chronic enteropathies
This study sought to correlate faecal and urinary N-methylhistamine (NMH) concentrations with resting versus degranulated duodenal mast cell numbers in dogs with chronic enteropathies (CE), and investigate correlations between intestinal mast cell activation and clinical severity of disease as assessed by canine chronic enteropathy clinical activity index (CCECAI), and between urinary and faecal NMH concentrations, mast cell numbers, and histopathological scores. Twenty-eight dogs with CE were included. Duodenal biopsies were stained with haematoxylin and eosin (H&E), toluidine blue, and by immunohistochemical labelling for tryptase. Duodenal biopsies were assigned a histopathological severity score, and duodenal mast cell numbers were counted in five high-power fields after metachromatic and immunohistochemical staining. Faecal and urinary NMH concentrations were measured by gas chromatographyâmass spectrometry
Magnetic domain walls in constrained geometries
Magnetic domain walls have been studied in micrometer-sized Fe20Ni80 elements
containing geometrical constrictions by spin-polarized scanning electron
microscopy and numerical simulations. By controlling the constriction
dimensions, the wall width can be tailored and the wall type modified. In
particular, the width of a 180 degree Neel wall can be strongly reduced or
increased by the constriction geometry compared with the wall in unconstrained
systems.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure
Use of a Granulocyte Immunofluorescence Assay Designed for Humans for Detection of Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibodies in Dogs with Chronic Enteropathies
Perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (pANCA) previously have been shown to be serum markers in dogs with chronic enteropathies, with dogs that have foodâresponsive disease (FRD) having higher frequencies of seropositivity than dogs with steroidâresponsive disease (SRD). The indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) assay used in previous publications is timeâconsuming to perform, with low interobserver agreement. Fortyâfour dogs with FRD, 20 dogs with SRD, 20 control dogs, and 38 softâcoated wheaten terrier (SCWT) or SCWTâcross dogs
Bacterial Cholangitis, Cholecystitis, or both in Dogs
BACKGROUND: Bacterial cholangitis and cholecystitis are rarely reported, poorly characterized diseases in the dog. OBJECTIVES: To characterize the clinical features of these conditions. ANIMALS: Twentyâseven clientâowned dogs with bacterial cholangitis, cholecystitis, or both. METHODS: Multicenter, retrospective cases series of dogs with bacterial cholangitis, cholecystitis, or both, presenting January 2000 to June 2011 to 4 Veterinary Schools in Ireland/United Kingdom. Interrogation of hospital databases identified all cases with the inclusion criteria; histopathologically confirmed cholangitis or cholecystitis and bile culture/cytology results supporting a bacterial etiology. RESULTS: Twentyâseven dogs met the inclusion criteria with approximately 460 hepatitis cases documented over the same study period. Typical clinical pathology findings were increases in liver enzyme activities (25/26), hyperbilirubinemia (20/26), and an inflammatory leukogram (21/24). Ultrasound findings, although nonspecific, aided decisionâmaking in 25/26 cases. The most frequent hepatobiliary bacterial isolates were Escherichia coli (n = 17; 16 cases), Enterococcus spp. (n = 8; 6 cases), and Clostridium spp. (n = 5; 5 cases). Antimicrobial resistance was an important feature of aerobic isolates; 10/16 E. coli isolates resistant to 3 or more antimicrobial classes. Biliary tract rupture complicated nearly one third of cases, associated with significant mortality (4/8). Discharged dogs had a guarded to fair prognosis; 17/18 alive at 2 months, although 5/10 reâevaluated had persistent liver enzyme elevation 2â12 months later. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Bacterial cholangitis and cholecystitis occur more frequently than suggested by current literature and should be considered in dogs presenting with jaundice and fever, abdominal pain, or an inflammatory leukogram or with ultrasonographic evidence of gallbladder abnormalities
TLR5 Risk-Associated Haplotype for Canine Inflammatory Bowel Disease Confers Hyper-Responsiveness to Flagellin
Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the TLR5 gene have been associated with human inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and animal models of this disease. We recently demonstrated a significant association between three non-synonymous SNPs in the canine TLR5 gene and IBD in German shepherd dogs (GSDs). However, so far, no direct link between these SNPs and a disturbance in TLR5 function was shown. In the present study, we determined the functional significance of the canine TLR5 SNPs by transfecting the identified risk-protective and risk-associated haplotype into human embryonic kidney cells (HEK) and assessed nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-ÎșB) activation and CXCL8 production after stimulation. In addition, a whole blood assay for TLR5 activation was developed using blood derived from carrier dogs of either haplotype. There was a significant increase in NF-kB activity when cells transfected with the risk-associated TLR5 haplotype were stimulated with flagellin compared to the cells expressing the risk-protective TLR5 haplotype. This difference in NFkB activation correlated with CXCL8 expression in the supernatant measured by ELISA. Furthermore, whole blood taken from carrier dogs of the risk-associated TLR5 haplotype produced significantly more TNF after stimulation with flagellin compared to that taken from carriers of the risk-protective haplotype. Thus, we show for the first time a direct functional impact of the canine IBD risk-associated TLR5 haplotype, which results in hyper-responsiveness to flagellin compared to the IBD risk-protective TLR5 haplotype. Our data potentially suggest that similarly to human IBD and experimental models, TLR5 may also play a role in canine IBD. Blocking the hyper-responsive receptor found in susceptible dogs with IBD may alleviate the inappropriate inflammation seen in this disease
- âŠ