Two small-breed dogs and two cats, with an average body weight of 4.88 kg (range: 4.3-5.5 kg), suffered hindlimb lameness due to luxation with or without fractures of the tarsocrural joint. These patients underwent tarsocrural arthrodesis with epoxy putty external skeletal fixator. The animals' skins were incised minimally, and the articular cartilage of the tarsocrural joint was removed, followed by autogenous cancellous bone grafting. Epoxy putty and positive Centerface®, pins with diameters 1.2 mm and 2.0 mm, were used for connecting bar and as a full pin fixation, respectively. All the patients regained the ability to bear weight on the affected limb within 3-7 days and resumed a normal gait within 9-15 weeks. The external skeletal fixator frame was removed within 13-17 weeks without major complications. Tarsocrural arthrodesis using epoxy putty external skeletal fixator resulted in excellent outcomes without severe postoperative complications in this study. Epoxy putty external skeletal fixator can be a valuable surgical option for tarsocrural arthrodesis in patients weighing less than 5.5 kg.

Feline calicivirus (FCV) infection results in a common upper respiratory disease associated with oral ulceration in cats. Although FCV infection has been reported in cats worldwide, the biologic and genetic features of South Korean FCV are unclear. We aimed to investigate the biological and genetic features of South Korean FCV isolates. Crandell-Rees feline kidney (CRFK) cells were used to isolate FCV from 58 organ homogenate samples. The FCV isolates were confirmed by cytopathic effects, immunofluorescence, electron microscopy, and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assays. Viral genetic analysis was carried out with VP2 gene and complete genomes of FCVs. Five viruses propagated in CRFK cells were confirmed to be FCVs. The FCV17D283 isolate showed the highest viral titer of 107.2 TCID50/mL at 36 h post-inoculation. Korean FCV isolates did not grow well in Vero, BHK-21, A72, or Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. The FCV17D03 and FCV17D283 isolates had the highest genetic similarity (80.1% and 86.9%) with the UTCVM-H1 and 14Q315 strains, which were isolated in the United States and South Korea in 1995 and 2014, respectively. We isolated five FCVs from cats and detected important genetic differences among them. FCV isolates did not show any virulent effects in mice.

This study presents neuronal migration pattern of dopamine (DA) neurons generated in separate regions occupying the ventral mesencephalic territory. A single pulse 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) was administered at embryonic day (E)10-E15. Distribution of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) positive cells was determined at E13-postnatal day 0 (P0) by immunohistochemistry. BrdU positive cells labeled at E10 were spread out uniformly in the mesencephalon from E13 to E15, migrating through dorsal and ventral routes at E17 and P0. TH expression labeled at E10 was observed at E13 in the ventromedial region and clearly formed in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) at E15. At E17, TH expression in the substantia nigra (SN) was observed in the ventrolateral region, spreading more outward of the mesencephalon at P0. Generation of TH-positive cells labeled at E13 was also observed in VTA and SN of the mesencephalon at E17 and P0. The expression of these cells labeled after E15 was markedly decreased. These results demonstrated that an almost complete primary structure of DA neuron was formed at the early embryonic stage in the ventral mesencephalon, showing the most active neuronal migration was occurred at E13-E17.

This study examined the residue of dl-methylephedrine hydrochloride (MEP) on the muscle of pigs administered orally with MEP 12 g/ton feed for seven consecutive days. Twenty healthy cross swine were administered MEP. Four treated animals were selected arbitrarily to be sacrificed at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 days after treatment. MEP residue concentrations in the muscle were determined by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. The drug was extracted from muscle samples using 10 mM ammonium formate in acetonitrile followed by clean-up with n-hexane. The analyte was separated on an XBridgeTM hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography column using 10 mM ammonium formate in deionized distilled water and acetonitrile. The correlation coefficient (R2) of the calibration curve was 0.9974, and the limits of detection and quantification were 0.05 and 0.15 ㎍/kg, respectively. The recoveries at three spiking levels were 94.5-101.2%, and the relative Standard Deviations was less than 4.06%. In the MEP-treated group, MEP residues on one day post-treatment were below the maximum residue limit in the muscle. The developed method is sensitive and reliable for the detection of MEP in porcine muscle tissues. Furthermore, it exhibits low quantification limits for animal-derived food products destined for human consumption.

Sasa (S.) quelpaertensis Nakai (Korean name, Jeju-Joritdae), which has anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities, is a type of bamboo grass distributed widely in Jeju Island, Korea. S. quelpaertensis leaves are used for therapeutic purposes in traditional Korean medicine. This study examined the hepatoprotective effects of the S. quelpaertensis ethyl acetate fraction (SQEA) in a mouse model to mimic alcoholic liver damage. The mice were administered orally with 30% alcohol (5 g/kg) once per day with or without SQEA treatments (100 and 200 mg/kg) for 14 days consecutively. Alcohol consumption increased the serum alcohol content and histopathological changes but reduced the liver weight. Moreover, the livers of the alcohol group exhibited the accumulation of malondialdehyde and cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1), and lipid droplet coating protein perilipin-2. On the other hand, SQEA dose-dependently attenuated the alcohol-induced serum ethanol content and liver histopathological changes but increased the liver weight. Moreover, SQEA attenuated the level of CYP2E1 and inhibited alcohol-induced lipogenesis in the liver via decreased perilipin-2 expression. These results suggest that SQEA can provide a potent way to reduce the liver damage caused by alcohol consumption.

Apx toxins are a virulent factor of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (App). At least four genes, apxC, apxA, apxB, and apxD, are involved in the release of Apx toxins from App. apxA encodes Apx toxins, whereas apxB and apxD encode exporters. Some serotypes of App such as serotype 2 retain apxIBD, apxIICA, and apxIIICABD. Although the specificity of the ApxIB/ApxID exporter to ApxII has been established in those serotypes, that to ApxIII is under-studied. We constructed an apxIB- and apxID-lacking mutant strain of the App serotype 2 to study whether the ApxIB/ApxID exporter is capable of secreting both ApxII and ApxIII toxins.

A 15-year-old, spayed, female American shorthair cat presented with recurrent corneal sequestrum in the right eye. The cat had undergone superficial keratectomy twice for corneal sequestrum treatment 5 and 11 months previously. Two layers of porcine small intestinal submucosa (SIS; Vetrix BioSIS®) were applied to the surgical corneal defect after keratectomy. Thereafter, clinical signs, such as lacrimation, blepharospasm, and corneal ulcer, disappeared 50 days postoperatively. Moreover, the application of SIS with keratectomy prevented recurrence until 651 days after surgery. SIS could be applied as an additional bioscaffold for surgical repair of corneal sequestrum recurring after superficial keratectomy alone in cats.

A five-year-old spayed female Labrador retriever presented with right forelimb lameness one day earlier. Radiographs and computed tomography of the right shoulder joint revealed conspicuous enthesophytes, bone cyst, and bone fragment at the intertubercular groove. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a loss of continuity of the biceps tendon and inhomogeneous hyperintense signal of the surrounding soft tissue and moderate synovial fluid on T2- and proton density-weighted images with contrast enhancement on the postcontrast T1-weighted images. The dog was diagnosed with tenosynovitis and biceps tendon rupture with osteoarthritis based on a comprehensive evaluation of the computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging features.

This is the report of sacroiliac luxation in a Holstein-Friesian cow, describing the progression of the sacroiliac luxation from the onset of its development with changes in estradiol (E2) and serum chemistry. The high estrogen concentration was assumed to be a predisposing factor of the disease that relaxed the pelvic muscles and a secondary slippery finally caused the sacroiliac luxation. The E2 was present at levels four times higher in the cow with sacroiliac luxation (167 pg/mL) than in normal cows. Above normal levels of creatinine kinase, aspartate aminotransferase, and lactate dehydrogenase were also observed in cow with sacroiliac luxation.

Three neonatal pigs from the same litter in a domestic farm were born with skin lesions. Grossly, multiple well-circumscribed, round papules distributed over the skin of the three piglets. Two piglets were submitted for a diagnosis of skin disease. Microscopically, epidermal hyperplasia with ballooning degeneration of stratum spinosum keratinocytes was observed. Some keratinocytes contained eosinophilic intracytoplasmic inclusions and a central nuclear vacuole and chromatin margination. Swinepox (SWP) virus was detected by polymerase chain reaction and nucleotide sequencing, and Staphylococcus hyicus was isolated in skin lesions. Based on the gross findings and laboratory results, these piglets were diagnosed with congenital SWP with a secondary staphylococcal infection.