Diagnosis and Treatment of Foetal Anasarca in Two English bulldog Puppies

This case report provides the first description of foetal anasarca, from prenatal diagnosis to neonatal treatment, in two English Bulldog puppies. Anasarca affected 2 out of 3 puppies of the same litter. The dam was a 3 year-old primipara and was ultrasonographically monitored during pregnancy. The diagnosis of foetal anasarca was performed on d53. The most severely affected puppy was a female, which showed subcutaneous oedema and fluid in the thoracic and abdominal cavities. The other affected puppy was a male, which showed subcutaneous oedema but no fluid in thoracic and abdominal cavities. At birth, the female puppy did not respond to resuscitation, whereas the male puppy was successfully treated with furosemide after resuscitation and completely recovered within 36 hours. The third puppy was a healthy female. Two weeks after birth, the male puppy was healthy, although it was lighter compared to its sister puppy. In conclusion, ultrasound examination during routine pregnancy monitoring permits an early diagnosis of foetal anasarca, at least in the most severe cases. Prenatal diagnosis can be useful for the planned c-section, in order to apply an adequate treatment as soon as possible at delivery

Penile Foreign Bodies in Dogs: A Retrospective Study

Abstract Hematuria, or preputial hemorrhagic discharge, is an extremely common clinical sign; it can be associated with a wide range of diseases, including, even if only rarely, penile foreign bodies. The aim of this retrospective study was to describe the diagnosis and therapy involving migration from the preputial ostium or penile urethra of a foreign body (awn grass) embedded in the connective tissue surrounding the penis, or in deeper inguinal tissues, in dogs with hematuria or preputial hemorrhagic discharge. In the selected cases, signaling, history, clinical signs, results of laboratory exams, endoscopic and ultrasonographic evaluation, and the technique used for foreign body removal were evaluated. Dogs with hemorrhagic discharge consequent to a penile foreign body represented 2% of the entire population considered. At physical examination, the most common features were the presence of swelling of the glans and hyperemia associated with a penile fistula (4/6 dogs), and pain during penile exteriorization (3/6 dogs). Laboratory results showed mild neutrophilic leukocytosis in 2/3 dogs and reticulocytosis in 1/3 dogs. Endoscopy, performed in 2/6 dogs, did not reveal any alterations associated with passage of the foreign body. Ultrasonography was useful in reaching a definitive diagnosis, identifying the position of the grass awn in 6/6 cases and permitting its removal in all dogs using an ultrasound-guided technique. This case report suggested that penile foreign bodies are a rare, but possible, cause of hematuria or hemorrhagic discharge in male dogs, and that ultrasonography is a useful technique in the making of a differential diagnosis and removal of foreign bodies

Additive Functions in Boolean Models of Gene Regulatory Network Modules

Gene-on-gene regulations are key components of every living organism. Dynamical abstract models of genetic regulatory networks help explain the genome’s evolvability and robustness. These properties can be attributed to the structural topology of the graph formed by genes, as vertices, and regulatory interactions, as edges. Moreover, the actual gene interaction of each gene is believed to play a key role in the stability of the structure. With advances in biology, some effort was deployed to develop update functions in Boolean models that include recent knowledge. We combine real-life gene interaction networks with novel update functions in a Boolean model. We use two sub-networks of biological organisms, the yeast cell-cycle and the mouse embryonic stem cell, as topological support for our system. On these structures, we substitute the original random update functions by a novel threshold-based dynamic function in which the promoting and repressing effect of each interaction is considered. We use a third real-life regulatory network, along with its inferred Boolean update functions to validate the proposed update function. Results of this validation hint to increased biological plausibility of the threshold-based function. To investigate the dynamical behavior of this new model, we visualized the phase transition between order and chaos into the critical regime using Derrida plots. We complement the qualitative nature of Derrida plots with an alternative measure, the criticality distance, that also allows to discriminate between regimes in a quantitative way. Simulation on both real-life genetic regulatory networks show that there exists a set of parameters that allows the systems to operate in the critical region. This new model includes experimentally derived biological information and recent discoveries, which makes it potentially useful to guide experimental research. The update function confers additional realism to the model, while reducing the complexity and solution space, thus making it easier to investigate

Plasma Concentration Rise after the Intramuscular Administration of High Dose Medetomidine (0.13 mg/kg) for Semen Collection in Cats

High dose medetomidine 0.13 mg/kg can be used for semen collection in cats with variable results in terms of quantity and quality. Therefore, a variation in terms of distribution and elimination among patients has been hypothesised. The aim of the study was to characterise the pharmacokinetics of medetomidine (0.13 mg/kg) administered intramuscularly (IM) in healthy male cats. Eighteen male cats undergoing castration were included, and medetomidine (0.13 mg/kg) was administered IM. Venous blood samples were collected at 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 75 and 90 minutes after medetomidine administration. Before orchiectomy, at T20, sperm collection was attempted. Plasma medetomidine concentrations were determined by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis. Semen collection was successful in 15/18 cats. The medetomidine plasma concentration following the IM administration of a bolus was best described using a non-compartment model. Time of maximum concentration was observed at 40 minutes (range 20-90); maximum concentration was 32.8 ng/mL (range 26.8-51.2). The median apparent clearance was 11.9 mL/kg/minute (range 0.7-43.8). In conclusion, medetomidine administered IM at 0.13 mg/kg reached its peak plasma concentration slowly and with variability among patients. In addition, it was characterised by low total body clearance probably due to the cardiovascular alterations associated with medetomidine administration

A method for astral microtubule tracking in fluorescence images of cells doped with taxol and nocodazole

In this paper we describe an algorithm that performs automatic detection and tracking of astral microtubules in fluorescence confocal images. This sub-population of microtubules only exists during and immediately before mitosis and aids in the spindle orientation by connecting it to the cell cortex. Anomalies in their dynamic behaviour play a causal role in many diseases, such as development disorders and cancer. The main novelty of the proposed algorithm lies in the fact it provides a fully automated estimation of parameters related to microtubule dynamic instability (growth velocity, track length and track lifetime), and helps in understanding the effects of intermediate drug concentrations. Its performance has been objectively assessed using publicly available synthetic data and largely employed metrics. Moreover, we present experiments addressing cell cultures doped with different concentrations of taxol and nocodazole. Such drugs are known to suppress the microtubule dynamic instability, but their effects at intermediate concentrations are not completely assessed. The algorithm been compared with other stateof- the-art approaches, tested on consistent real datasets. The results are encouraging in terms of performance, robustness and simplicity of use, and the algorithm is now routinely employed in our Department of Molecular Biotechnology

Sex-sorted canine sperm cryopreservation: Limits and procedural considerations

The aim of this study was to define a protocol to store dog sperm before and after sorting to obtain an insemination dose sufficient to allow the conception by artificial insemination. Experiment 1 and 2 were performed to evaluate the more appropriate extender for preserving at room temperature dog sperm before and after sorting. Four extenders were tested: (1) Tris-fructose-citrate (TFC), (2) Tris-glucose-citrate (TGC), (3) modified Tyrode\u2019s albumin lactate pyruvate medium (mTALP), and (4) third fraction of the ejaculate (after centrifugation at 5000 g for 10 minutes; III FRAC). Experiment 3 and 4 were performed to evaluate the ability of dog semen to withstand sex sorting and freezing/thawing. Modified Tyrode\u2019s albumin lactate pyruvate medium was the best extender for canine sperm storage at room temperature (20 C\u201325 C) before (total motility: TFC, 8.3 1.7; TGC, 50.0 11.5; mTALP, 70.0 0.1; III FRAC, 25.0 1 0.4; P < 0.05) and after sorting (total motility: TFC, 7.3 1.5; TGC, 10.3 1.5; mTALP, 33.3 6.7; III FRAC, 8.7 5.8; P < 0.05), even if at 24- hour sorted sperm quality was impaired in all extenders tested herein. Sperm quality decreased after sorting (total motility: control, 92.5 0.9; sorted, 52.9 6.0; P < 0.05) and, especially, after freezing/thawing (total motility: frozen control, 25.7 4.1; frozen sorted, 2.4 1.2; P < 0.05). In conclusion, mTALP is an appropriate medium for canine sperm storage before and soon after sorting (hours), but a long storage period of sexed sperm at room temperature is not adequate. Cryopreservation greatly impaired sperm quality, and further studies are needed to optimize the freezing protocol for sexed dog sperm

ZIKA virus elicits P53 activation and genotoxic stress in human neural progenitors similar to mutations involved in severe forms of genetic microcephaly

International audienc

Parkinson's Disease DJ-1 L166P Alters rRNA Biogenesis by Exclusion of TTRAP from the Nucleolus and Sequestration into Cytoplasmic Aggregates via TRAF6

Mutations in PARK7/DJ-1 gene are associated to autosomal recessive early onset forms of Parkinson's disease (PD). Although large gene deletions have been linked to a loss-of-function phenotype, the pathogenic mechanism of missense mutations is less clear. The L166P mutation causes misfolding of DJ-1 protein and its degradation. L166P protein may also accumulate into insoluble cytoplasmic aggregates with a mechanism facilitated by the E3 ligase TNF receptor associated factor 6 (TRAF6). Upon proteasome impairment L166P activates the JNK/p38 MAPK apoptotic pathway by its interaction with TRAF and TNF Receptor Associated Protein (TTRAP). When proteasome activity is blocked in the presence of wild-type DJ-1, TTRAP forms aggregates that are localized to the cytoplasm or associated to nucleolar cavities, where it is required for a correct rRNA biogenesis. In this study we show that in post-mortem brains of sporadic PD patients TTRAP is associated to the nucleolus and to Lewy Bodies, cytoplasmic aggregates considered the hallmark of the disease. In SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells, misfolded mutant DJ-1 L166P alters rRNA biogenesis inhibiting TTRAP localization to the nucleolus and enhancing its recruitment into cytoplasmic aggregates with a mechanism that depends in part on TRAF6 activity. This work suggests that TTRAP plays a role in the molecular mechanisms of both sporadic and familial PD. Furthermore, it unveils the existence of an interplay between cytoplasmic and nucleolar aggregates that impacts rRNA biogenesis and involves TRAF6

American College of Rheumatology Provisional Criteria for Clinically Relevant Improvement in Children and Adolescents With Childhood-Onset Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

10.1002/acr.23834ARTHRITIS CARE & RESEARCH715579-59