Radiographic Abnormalities in Barrel Racing Horses with Lameness Referable to the Metacarpophalangeal Joint

Barrel racing is one of the most popular uses of the American Quarter horse in North and South America. Although injury to the metacarpophalangeal joint frequently occurs in this sport, there is limited information describing the nature of these injuries. The aim of this study was to determine the most common radiographic abnormalities in barrel racing horses with lameness referable to the metacarpophalangeal joint. lameness examinations were performed on 63 barrel racing horses. Those found to be lame were subjected to radiographic examination. Lameness at trot was scored on a scale of 0-5 (0 = sound; 5 = inability to move). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis. of horses examined, 30 (47.6%) were lame with scores ranging from 1 to 4. Half of the lame horses (15 of 30) had grade 2 lameness of the right forelimb. Abnormal radiographic findings were more often present on the left forelimb and included signs of sesamoiditis (70%), villonodular synovitis (56.6%), osteoarthritis (36.6%), osteochondritis dissecans (13.3%), capsulitis (13.3%), and soft-tissue swelling (6.6%). Radiographic abnormalities indicated that sesamoiditis, villonodular synovitis, and osteoarthritis may be associated to mild-to-moderate lameness in barrel racing horses. Complementary sonographic evaluation is recommended to better characterize soft-tissue abnormalities. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Experimental infection of pregnant queens with two major Brazilian clonal lineages of Toxoplasma gondii

Toxoplasma gondii isolates from Brazil are biologically and genetically different from European and North America isolates. Recently, four genotypes were considered the common clonal lineages in Brazil and were designated as types BrI, BrII, BrIII, and BrIV. The pathogenicity of two major Brazilian lineages was investigated after oral inoculation of queens in the middle third of their pregnancies with T. gondii cysts. Twelve pregnant queens without T. gondii antibodies were distributed in group A (infected with a type BrI isolate); group 2 (infected with type BrIII isolate), and group 3 (non-infected control). Infection with type BrI isolate caused toxoplasmosis manifestations and abortion from one litter. Toxoplasmosis manifestations besides premature stillbirth of one litter were observed in queens infected with type BrIII isolate. Indirect fluorescence antibody test showed T. gondii antibodies in all eight infected queens at 30 days after inoculation. In two 10-day-old kittens of the same litter (group 1), titers of 16 and 64 were detected. At the same time, titers of 16, 32, and 32 were detected in three kittens from the same litter (group 2). Experimental infection with tissue cysts from a type BrI and type BrIII isolates of T. gondii developed similar reproductive disturbance in primary infected pregnant queens.

High incidences of DNA ploidy abnormalities in tongue squamous cell carcinoma of young patients: an international collaborative study

Aims: This multi-centre analysis assessed the DNA content of TSCC in 37 young patients (<40 years) and 28 old patients (>50 years) and determined the correlation of DNA ploidy findings with clinicopathological data.Methods and results: Image cytometry was carried out using an automated cellular imaging system on Feulgen-stained histological sections to obtain high-fidelity DNA histograms. Among young patients, 37.8% were females compared to 18.7% in the older group (P = 0.002). In total, 48.6% patients were non-smokers and 40.5% were non-drinkers compared to 10.7% non-smokers and non-drinkers in the older group (P < 0.0001). TNM, clinical stage of disease and histological grade of differentiation did not differ between groups. Tumour aneuploidy was detected in 86.5% and tetraploidy in 24.3% young patients; this was significantly greater than in the older group where 64.3% were aneuploid (P < 0.0001) and 7.2% tetraploid (P < 0.0001). The mean values of DNA index (DI) and DNA heterogeneity index as well as the percentage of cells with DI exceeding 5N were higher in young patients (P < 0.0001).Conclusions: Young patients with TSCC represent a distinct clinical entity. The high incidence of DNA ploidy abnormalities suggest that they may have increased genomic instability and indicates underlying genetic differences between TSCC in young and older patients.

Classical and molecular cytogenetic analysis in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Interspecific chromosomal divergences in the genus Characidium (Teleostei: Characiformes: Crenuchidae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Chromosomal features of nucleolar dominance in hybrids between the Neotropical fish Leporinus macrocephalus and Leporinus elongatus (Characiformes, Anostomidae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

5S rDNA chromosomal mapping and COI sequence analysis reveal differentiation among distinct populations of a characid fish Serrapinnus notomelas

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Chromosomal Variability among Allopatric Populations of Erythrinidae Fish Hoplias malabaricus: Mapping of Three Classes of Repetitive DNAs

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Variability of 18S rDNA locus among Symphysodon fishes: chromosomal rearrangements

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Chromosomal diversification in populations of Characidium cf. gomesi (Teleostei, Crenuchidae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Evolutionary dynamics of heterochromatin in the genome of Dichotomius beetles based on chromosomal analysis

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Cytogenetic Mapping of the Retroelements Rex1, Rex3 and Rex6 among Cichlid Fish: New Insights on the Chromosomal Distribution of Transposable Elements

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Comparative Cytogenetic Analysis of the Genus Symphysodon (Discus Fishes, Cichlidae): Chromosomal Characteristics of Retrotransposons and Minor Ribosomal DNA

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)