Conformity and controversies in the diagnosis, staging and follow-up evaluation of canine nodal lymphoma: a systematic review of the last 15 years of published literature

Diagnostic methods used in the initial and post-treatment evaluation of canine lymphoma are heterogeneous and can vary within countries and institutions. Accurate reporting of clinical stage and response assessment is crucial in determining the treatment efficacy and predicting prognosis. This study comprises a systematic review of all available canine multicentric lymphoma studies published over 15 years. Data concerning diagnosis, clinical stage evaluation and response assessment procedures were extracted and compared. Sixty-three studies met the eligibility criteria. Fifty-five (87.3%) studies were non-randomized prospective or retrospective studies. The survey results also expose variations in diagnostic criteria and treatment response assessment in canine multicentric lymphoma. Variations in staging procedures performed and recorded led to an unquantifiable heterogeneity among patients in and between studies, making it difficult to compare treatment efficacies. Awareness of this inconsistency of procedure and reporting may help in the design of future clinical trials

Faecal microbiota in dogs with multicentric lymphoma

Malignant lymphoma B-cell type is the most common canine haematopoietic malignancy. Changes in intestinal microbiota have been implicated in few types of cancer in humans. The aim of this prospective and case-control study was to determine differences in faecal microbiota between healthy control dogs and dogs with multicentric lymphoma. Twelve dogs affected by multicentric, B-cell, stage III-IV lymphoma, and 21 healthy dogs were enrolled in the study. For each dog, faecal samples were analysed by Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA genes and quantitative PCR (qPCR) for selected bacterial groups. Alpha diversity was significant lower in lymphoma dogs. Principal coordinate analysis plots showed different microbial clustering (P = .001) and linear discriminant analysis effect size revealed 28 differentially abundant bacterial groups in lymphoma and control dogs. The qPCR analysis showed significant lower abundance of Faecalibacterium spp. (q < .001), Fusobacterium spp. (q = .032), and Turicibacter spp. (q = .043) in dogs with lymphoma compared with control dogs. On the contrary, Streptococcus spp. was significantly higher in dogs with lymphoma (q = .041). The dysbiosis index was significantly higher (P < .0001) in dogs with lymphoma. In conclusion, both sequencing and qPCR analyses provided a global overview of faecal microbial communities and showed significant differences in the microbial communities of dogs presenting with multicentric lymphoma compared with healthy control dogs.dog

The utility of diagnostic tests for immune-mediated hemolytic anemia

Background: A definitive diagnosis of immune‐mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) can be difficult to make. However, it is critical to differentiate IMHA from other causes of anemia due to the impact on prognosis and outcome for IMHA patients. Recently published American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine recommendations for the diagnosis of IMHA should be followed to concurrently confirm ongoing anemia, verify in vivo hemolysis, and detect anti‐erythrocyte antibodies. The reliability of immunologic IMHA tests varies depending on which test is used and how it is performed. Objectives: Our aims were to determine which tests are currently used in veterinary medicine to diagnose IMHA and review the utility of assays that have historically been used to diagnose IMHA. Methods: A short survey was designed to see which diagnostic tests for IMHA were currently being used by veterinary practices. The survey was distributed via listserves to veterinarians and veterinary technologists. A literature review was performed to report the utility of diagnostic tests for the diagnosis of IMHA. Results: Survey respondents indicated a variability in test protocols used to diagnose IMHA. Most respondents perform saline agglutination or Coombs’ tests to detect anti‐erythrocyte antibodies. Additional tests that can be used to support a diagnosis of IMHA are discussed in this review. Conclusions: A standardized diagnostic approach should be followed to differentiate IMHA from other causes of anemia. Test methodology can vary from one laboratory to another, and clinicians should be familiar with the procedures used by their laboratory

Failure Analysis in Space: International Space Station (ISS) Starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ) Debris Analysis

This slide presentation reviews the debris analysis of the Starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ), a mechanism that is designed to keep the solar arrays facing the sun. The goal of this was to identify the failure mechanism based on surface morphology and to determine the source of debris through elemental and particle analysis

Boro-nitriding coating on pure iron by powder-pack boriding and nitriding processes

To alleviate spallation and crack difficulties exhibited by a borided metallic surface when it is subjected to a normal, heavy and sliding load under dry conditions, a boron nitride coating was produced on pure iron in two stages: boriding the iron surface at 950 °C for 6 h and then nitriding the pre-borided iron at 550 °C for 6 h. The powder-pack technique was used in both stages. XRD measurements confirmed that the grown layers were nitrides and duplex borides. The produced diffusion of the layers reached 240 µm in depth as measured by SEM images. The measured microhardness across the case favoured the interphase cohesion between the iron nitrides and iron borides layers. Consequently, the multicomponent coating exhibited superior wear resistance to an applied normal load under dry sliding contact conditions in comparison to borided iron

Elevated O-GlcNAc-dependent signaling through inducible mOGT expression selectively triggers apoptosis

O-linked N-acetylglucosamine transferase (OGT) catalyzes O-GlcNAc addition to numerous cellular proteins including transcription and nuclear pore complexes and plays a key role in cellular signaling. One differentially spliced isoform of OGT is normally targeted to mitochondria (mOGT) but is quite cytotoxic when expressed in cells compared with the ncOGT isoform. To understand the basis of this selective cytotoxicity, we constructed a fully functional ecdysone-inducible GFP–OGT. Elevated GFP–OGT expression induced a dramatic increase in intracellular O-GlcNAcylated proteins. Furthermore, enhanced OGT expression efficiently triggered programmed cell death. Apoptosis was dependent upon the unique N-terminus of mOGT, and its catalytic activity. Induction of mOGT expression triggered programmed cell death in every cell type tested including INS-1, an insulin-secreting cell line. These studies suggest that deregulated activity of the mitochondrially targeted mOGT may play a role in triggering the programmed cell death observed with diseases such as diabetes mellitus and neurodegeneration

Selective autophagy maintains centrosome integrity and accurate mitosis by turnover of centriolar satellites

The centrosome is the master orchestrator of mitotic spindle formation and chromosome segregation in animal cells. Centrosome abnormalities are frequently observed in cancer, but little is known of their origin and about pathways affecting centrosome homeostasis. Here we show that autophagy preserves centrosome organization and stability through selective turnover of centriolar satellite components, a process we termed doryphagy. Autophagy targets the satellite organizer PCM1 by interacting with GABARAPs via a C-terminal LIR motif. Accordingly, autophagy deficiency results in accumulation of large abnormal centriolar satellites and a resultant dysregulation of centrosome composition. These alterations have critical impact on centrosome stability and lead to mitotic centrosome fragmentation and unbalanced chromosome segregation. Our findings identify doryphagy as an important centrosome-regulating pathway and bring mechanistic insights to the link between autophagy dysfunction and chromosomal instability. In addition, we highlight the vital role of centriolar satellites in maintaining centrosome integrity

Substrate specificity of the TRAMP nuclear surveillance complexes

During nuclear surveillance in yeast and human cells, the RNA exosome functions together with the TRAMP complexes. Here, the authors defined the protein composition of the TRAMP complexes and identified specific RNA binding sites for the different TRAMP components