Cranial tibial fascia autograft for wound closure following hemipelvectomy in a cat.

A 13-year-old cat underwent an extensive caudal external hemipelvectomy to excise a soft tissue sarcoma affecting the left proximal thigh. The cranial tibial fascia was harvested from the ipsilateral limb following amputation and used as a free graft in the reconstruction of the resultant pelvic and abdominal wall defect. Wound healing was uncomplicated, and 6 months following surgery there was no evidence of tumor recurrence or loss of integrity of the abdominal wall or lateral rectal support.

Outcome of two variations of a surgical technique performed for canine unilateral arytenoid lateralisation.

The purpose of this study is to compare the rate of aspiration pneumonia and survival time of dogs undergoing two unilateral arytenoid lateralisation (UAL) techniques. Eighty dogs diagnosed with laryngeal paralysis were treated by one of two UAL techniques: (1) a standard technique (ST) and (2) an anatomic preservation technique (APT). Outcome was assessed by in clinic re-examination and an owner follow-up questionnaire.

Prevalence and disease associations in feline thrombocytopenia: a retrospective study of 194 cases.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of thrombocytopenia in a referral population of cats in the UK, to identify disease processes associated with thrombocytopenia and to assess the proportion of thrombocytopenic cats that tested positive for feline leukaemia virus or feline immunodeficiency virus.

Materials And Methods: Retrospective analysis of medical records at a UK referral hospital. Cats were grouped by mechanism of thrombocytopenia and disease process (where known).

Surgical management of impalement injuries to the trunk of dogs: a multicentre retrospective study.

Objectives: To review a large series of dogs referred for treatment of traumatic impalement injuries to the thorax and/or abdomen and to report aetiologies, injury characteristics, management and long-term outcomes.

Materials And Methods: Previously collected data on dogs that were surgically treated for impalement injuries to the trunk at six veterinary specialist referral institutions in the UK over an 11-year period were reviewed. Data included patient signalment, physiological variables, injury-specific variables, diagnostic imaging reports, surgical procedures undertaken, duration of hospitalisation, antibiotic use, complications and outcomes.

Effect of peritoneal lavage solution temperature on body temperature in anaesthetised cats and small dogs.

A prospective, randomised, non-blinded, clinical study to assess the effect of peritoneal lavage using warmed fluid on body temperature in anesthetised cats and dogs of less than 10 kg body mass undergoing coeliotomy. A standardised anaesthetic protocol was used. Oesophageal and rectal temperatures were measured at various time points.

Surgical management of primary, metastatic and recurrent anal sac adenocarcinoma in the dog: 52 cases.

Objectives: To report the outcomes and complications of a cohort of dogs with primary and recurrent anal sac adenocarcinoma managed with surgery as the first-line treatment. To report the use of lymph node cytology for identification of metastatic disease.

Methods: Retrospective review of case records of a single referral centre population of dogs diagnosed with anal sac adenocarcinoma.

Modified tube gastropexy using a mushroom-tipped silicone catheter for management of gastric dilatation-volvulus in dogs.

Objectives: To report the short- and long-term complications and clinical outcomes of a cohort of dogs managed for gastric dilatation-volvulus using a modified right-sided tube gastropexy technique.

Materials And Methods: Retrospective case series.

Results: Of 31 dogs treated, 29 (93·5%) had an excellent short-term outcome, and gastric dilatation-volvulus did not recur in any dog.

Short-term outcome and complications of TPLO using anatomically contoured locking compression plates in small/medium-breed dogs with "excessive" tibial plateau angle.

Objectives: To report short-term radiographic and clinical outcome and complications following tibial plateau levelling osteotomy for the treatment of cranial cruciate ligament insufficiency in dogs less than 18·1 kg with tibial plateau angle greater than 35° using anatomically contoured six-hole locking compression plates.

Methods: Retrospective data were collected on: preoperative, postoperative and follow-up tibial plateau angles, plateau segment rotation, tibial tuberosity width and length of the cranial aspect of tibial tuberosity segment from the patellar tendon insertion and rotation of the tibial plateau below the level of the insertion of the patellar ligament.

Results: In 26 small dogs (29 stifles in total), mean preoperative, postoperative and follow-up tibial plateau angles were 38·2°, 4·8°, and 4·4°, respectively.

Indirect assessment of stifle angle for improved accuracy of preoperative planning of tibial osteotomy procedures in dogs.

To assess reliability of the mechanical axes stifle angle in dogs positioned for radiography with a neutral stifle (neutral stifle angle (nSA)). To investigate radiographic landmarks for assessment of nSA from a collimated radiographic view. One hundred radiographs were taken of normal stifles belonging to 55 skeletally mature medium and large breed dogs, positioned using a repeatable protocol.

Sleep and olfactory cortical plasticity.

In many systems, sleep plays a vital role in memory consolidation and synaptic homeostasis. These processes together help store information of biological significance and reset synaptic circuits to facilitate acquisition of information in the future. In this review, we describe recent evidence of sleep-dependent changes in olfactory system structure and function which contribute to odor memory and perception.

Cortical odor processing in health and disease.

The olfactory system has a rich cortical representation, including a large archicortical component present in most vertebrates, and in mammals neocortical components including the entorhinal and orbitofrontal cortices. Together, these cortical components contribute to normal odor perception and memory. They help transform the physicochemical features of volatile molecules inhaled or exhaled through the nose into the perception of odor objects with rich associative and hedonic aspects.

Slow-wave sleep-imposed replay modulates both strength and precision of memory.

Odor perception is hypothesized to be an experience-dependent process involving the encoding of odor objects by distributed olfactory cortical ensembles. Olfactory cortical neurons coactivated by a specific pattern of odorant evoked input become linked through association fiber synaptic plasticity, creating a template of the familiar odor. In this way, experience and memory play an important role in odor perception and discrimination.

Complications of lateral plate fixation compared with tension band wiring and pin or lag screw fixation for calcaneoquartal arthrodesis. Treatment of proximal intertarsal subluxation occurring secondary to non-traumatic plantar tarsal ligament disruption in dogs.

Objective: To compare complication rates and the outcomes of these complications after lateral plate fixation with figure-of-eight tension-band-wire and pin or lag screw fixation for arthrodesis of the calcaneoquartal joint, following non-traumatic disruption of the plantar tarsal ligament in dogs.

Methods: Data were collected retrospectively from five UK referral centres. Diplomate specialists and their residents performed all procedures.

A novel use for myocardial perfusion scans: diagnosis of bile duct injury.

A 69-year-old woman was admitted to a tertiary care centre after suffering from an iatrogenic bile duct injury, diagnosed by the unexpected leakage of bile during laparotomy for a colectomy. On initial assessment the patient was clinically stable, although she remained intubated after her surgery. In order to diagnose whether or not she sustained a complete or partial bile duct injury, a finding that would determine if she underwent conservative management or surgical repair, a technetium-99m-hepatobiliary scan was requested.

Subtotal colectomy by rectal pull-through for treatment of idiopathic megacolon in 2 cats.

Surgical management of idiopathic megacolon is described in 2 cats by a rectal pull-through with subtotal colectomy performed outside of the abdomen. This newly described technique facilitates access to the rectum for suturing an anastamosis without the need for pubic osteotomy and with minimal risk of abdominal contamination.

Generalized vs. stimulus-specific learned fear differentially modifies stimulus encoding in primary sensory cortex of awake rats.

Experience shapes both central olfactory system function and odor perception. In piriform cortex, odor experience appears critical for synthetic processing of odor mixtures, which contributes to perceptual learning and perceptual acuity, as well as contributing to memory for events and/or rewards associated with odors. Here, we examined the effect of odor fear conditioning on piriform cortical single-unit responses to the learned aversive odor, as well as its effects on similar (overlapping mixtures) in freely moving rats.

Interaction between δ opioid receptors and benzodiazepines in CO₂-induced respiratory responses in mice.

The false-suffocation hypothesis of panic disorder (Klein, 1993) suggested δ-opioid receptors as a possible source of the respiratory dysfunction manifested in panic attacks occurring in panic disorder (Preter and Klein, 2008). This study sought to determine if a lack of δ-opioid receptors in a mouse model affects respiratory response to elevated CO₂, and whether the response is modulated by benzodiazepines, which are widely used to treat panic disorder. In a whole-body plethysmograph, respiratory responses to 5% CO₂ were compared between δ-opioid receptor knockout mice and wild-type mice after saline, diazepam (1mg/kg), and alprazolam (0.

Odor fear conditioning modifies piriform cortex local field potentials both during conditioning and during post-conditioning sleep.

Background: Sleep plays an active role in memory consolidation. Sleep structure (REM/Slow wave activity [SWS]) can be modified after learning, and in some cortical circuits, sleep is associated with replay of the learned experience. While the majority of this work has focused on neocortical and hippocampal circuits, the olfactory system may offer unique advantages as a model system for exploring sleep and memory, given the short, non-thalamic pathway from nose to primary olfactory (piriform cortex), and rapid cortex-dependent odor learning.

Computerized tomographic pulmonary angiography versus ventilation perfusion lung scanning for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism.

Purpose Of Review: The purpose of this review is to focus on recent research that has addressed the relative merits of computed tomographic pulmonary angiography (CTPA) and ventilation perfusion (V/Q) scanning for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism.

Recent Findings: Computed tomographic pulmonary angiography is the most sensitive test for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism and its use has been associated with a rising incidence of the condition. Diagnostic algorithms using either CTPA or V/Q scanning have proven to be comparably safe to exclude the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism.

Olfactory perceptual stability and discrimination.

No two roses smell exactly alike, but our brain accurately bundles these variations into a single percept 'rose'. We found that ensembles of rat olfactory bulb neurons decorrelate complex mixtures that vary by as little as a single missing component, whereas olfactory (piriform) cortical neural ensembles perform pattern completion in response to an absent component, essentially filling in the missing information and allowing perceptual stability. This piriform cortical ensemble activity predicts olfactory perception.

Serum creatinine in patients with advanced liver disease is of limited value for identification of moderate renal dysfunction: are the equations for estimating renal function better?

Background: The Cockcroft-Gault formula (CGF) is used to estimate the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) based on serum creatinine (Cr) levels, age and sex. A new formula developed by the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) Study Group, based on the patient's Cr levels, age, sex, race and serum urea nitrogen and serum albumin levels, has shown to be more accurate. However, the best formula to identify patients with advanced liver disease (ALD) and moderate renal dysfunction (GFR 60 mL/min/1.

Pharmacologic interventions in nuclear medicine assessment of cardiac perfusion.

Drugs that are currently used for therapeutic purposes can also be used in diagnostic tests. This paper will review the use of such pharmacological interventions in cardiac assessment in Nuclear Medicine. To fully comprehend the effect of these drugs, a small review of diagnostic nuclear medicine as currently used to assess cardiac perfusion is included.

Destabilization of the m = 1 diocotron mode in non-neutral plasmas.

The theory for a Penning-Malmberg trap predicts m = 1 diocotron stability. However, experiments with hollow profiles show robust exponential growth. We propose a new mechanism of destabilization of this mode, involving parallel compression due to end curvature.

Early recognition of sacroiliitis by magnetic resonance imaging and single photon emission computed tomography.

Objective: To evaluate the role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in the detection of sacroiliitis in patients with clinical features of inflammatory back disease but without conventional radiographic changes.

Methods: Twenty-four patients with inflammatory low back pain (ILBP) and normal or suspicious changes of sacroiliitis (New York criteria: 0-1) on conventional radiography, in addition to 12 control subjects were studied. MRI, bone and SPECT scans of the sacroiliac (SI) joints were obtained and interpreted without knowledge of patient identification.