Transversus abdominis muscle as a gastric or intestinal on-lay flap in two dogs and one cat.

Historically, omentalisation and serosal patching have been used to augment gastrointestinal wall defects or incisions where gastrointestinal viability is of concern. This report describes the novel use of a transversus abdominis muscle on-lay flap to augment and provide support to compromised intestine in three cases. The muscle flap was used to support: the ileum following reduction of an intussusception in a dog (case 1), the gastric wall following gastric strangulation, dilation and volvulus in a diaphragmatic rupture in a cat (case 2) and the jejunum following enterotomy and full-thickness ulcer resection with primary repair in a dog (case 3). All animals were discharged within 4 days postoperatively with no short- or long-term complications reported by either the referring veterinary surgeons on routine postoperative examination or on telephone follow-up with the owners (case 1: 10 months, case 2: 30 months, case 3: 6 weeks). The creation of a flap of the transversus abdominis muscle may provide a useful alternative or adjunct to previously described techniques for supporting the gastrointestinal tract when gastrointestinal tissue viability is questionable or resection is not feasible. Further prospective clinical evaluation studies would be indicated to determine whether the muscle flap remains viable or compare whether this technique should be recommended over conventional methods.

A novel internal abdominal oblique muscle flap to close a major abdominal wall defect.

This report describes a novel technique for abdominal wall reconstruction using an internal abdominal oblique muscle flap in an Australian kelpie. En bloc resection of a chondrosarcoma and biopsy scar centred on the 13th rib was performed to include full thickness thoracic wall (12th rib, extending caudally) and lateral abdominal wall (including the vascular pedicle of the external abdominal oblique muscle). The diaphragm was advanced to close the thorax. A flap using the caudal internal abdominal oblique muscle with the base dorsally was elevated and rotated 90° to fill the dorsal defect. The ventral defect was closed using the composite ventral abdominal muscles. The skin was closed primarily. The dog developed a self-resolving seroma. Twelve months postoperatively, the dog was able to engage in agility competitions. A viable muscle flap using the internal abdominal oblique muscle provides a useful alternative to previously described techniques for autogenous closure of a large abdominal wall wound.

Urinary incontinence in male dogs under primary veterinary care in England: prevalence and risk factors.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate prevalence and identify demographic risk factors for urinary incontinence in male dogs. METHODS AND METHODS: The study population included all dogs within the VetCompass database from September 1, 2009 to July 7, 2013. Electronic patient records were searched for urinary incontinence cases; demographic and clinical information were extracted and analysed. RESULTS: Of 109,428 male dogs attending 119 clinics in England, there were an estimated 1027 dogs diagnosed with urinary incontinence, giving a prevalence of 0.94% (95% confidence interval: 0.88 to 1.00). Breeds with highest odds of incontinence in male dogs (compared with mixed breed dogs) included the bull mastiff (odds ratio: 17.21, 95% confidence interval: 6.65 to 44.56, case=5, non-case=314, P<0.001), Irish red setter (odds ratio: 12.79, 95% confidence interval: 4.83 to 33.84, case=5, non-case=142, P<0.001), fox terrier (odds ratio: 9.60, 95% confidence interval: 3.68 to 25.05, case=5, non-case=176, P < 0.001), bulldog (odds ratio: 5.72, 95% confidence interval: 2.24 to 14.59, case=5, non-case=929, P<0.001) and boxer (odds ratio: 3.65, 95% confidence interval: 1.84 to 7.25, case=10, non-case=1470, P<0.001). Increased odds of urinary incontinence were associated with greater age (age 9 to 12 years, odds ratio: 10.46, 95% confidence interval: 6.59 to 16.62, n=12,348, P<0.001) and being insured (odds ratio: 1.96, 95% confidence interval: 1.53 to 2.51, n=26,202, P<0.001). There was no association with castration or bodyweight using multi-variable analysis. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The overall prevalence of urinary incontinence in male dogs is approximately 1%, which may be higher than expected given the sparsity of reports describing this problem. In contrast to bitches, neutering and bodyweight were not associated with greater odds of urinary incontinence, which is important when giving neutering advice.

Novel application of internal obturator and semitendinosus muscle flaps for rectal wall repair or reinforcement.

Internal obturator and/or semitendinosus muscle flaps were used to reinforce primary appositional rectal wall repair in three dogs and one cat in this case series. All three dogs incurred rectal wall compromise during surgical excision of anal sac tumours. The cat sustained bite wounds to the perianal region resulting in abscessation and a rectal tear. Our results indicate that application of an internal obturator and/or semitendinosus muscle flap can reduce the risk of rectal wall dehiscence after primary repair, and consequently the risk of pararectal abscess or rectocutaneous fistula formation.

Ultrastable Silicon Cavity in a Continuously Operating Closed-Cycle Cryostat at 4 K.

We report on a laser locked to a silicon cavity operating continuously at 4 K with 1×10^{-16} instability and a median linewidth of 17 mHz at 1542 nm. This is a tenfold improvement in short-term instability, and a 10^{4} improvement in linewidth, over previous sub-10-K systems. Operating at low temperatures reduces the thermal noise floor and, thus, is advantageous toward reaching an instability of 10^{-18}, a long-sought goal of the optical clock community. The performance of this system demonstrates the technical readiness for the development of the next generation of ultrastable lasers that operate with an ultranarrow linewidth and long-term stability without user intervention.

Urinary incontinence in bitches under primary veterinary care in England: prevalence and risk factors.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate prevalence and demographic risk factors for urinary incontinence in bitches under primary veterinary care in England. METHODS: The study population included all bitches within the VetCompass database from September 1, 2009 to July 7, 2013. Electronic patient records were searched for urinary incontinence cases and additional demographic and clinical information was extracted. RESULTS: Of 100,397 bitches attending 119 clinics in England, an estimated 3108 were diagnosed with urinary incontinence. The prevalence of urinary incontinence was 3·14% (95% confidence intervals: 2·97 to 3·33). Medical therapy was prescribed to 45·6% cases. Predisposed breeds included the Irish setter (odds ratio: 8·09; 95% confidence intervals: 3·15 to 20·80; P< 0·001) and Dobermann (odds ratio: 7·98; 95% confidence intervals: 4·38 to 14·54; P< 0·001). Increased odds of a diagnosis of urinary incontinence were associated with: (1) weight at or above the mean adult bodyweight for the breed (odds ratio: 1·31; 95% confidence intervals: 1·12 to 1·54; P< 0·001), (2) age 9 to 12 years (odds ratio: 3·86; 95% confidence intervals: 2·86 to 5·20, P< 0·001), (3) neuter status (odds ratio: 2·23; 95% confidence intervals: 1·52 to 3·25, P< 0·001) and (4) being insured (odds ratio: 1·59; 95% confidence intervals: 1·34 to 1·88, P< 0·001). CLINICAL IMPACT: Clinical Impact: Urinary incontinence affects just over 3% of bitches overall but affects more than 15% of bitches in high-risk breeds including the Irish setter, Dobermann, bearded collie, rough collie and Dalmatian. These results provide an evidence base for clinicians to enhance clinical recommendations on neutering and weight control, especially in high-risk breeds.

Rodentolepis straminea (Cestoda: Hymenolepididae) in an urban population of Apodemus sylvaticus in the UK.

The presence of the cyclophyllidean cestode Rodentolepis straminea (Cestoda: Hymenolepididae), was confirmed by molecular DNA analysis from a wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) population inhabiting urban woodland in Salford, Greater Manchester (UK) with a prevalence of 27.8%. It would appear that the only previously published record of this species in A. sylvaticus in the British Isles is that from south-west Ireland, where 24% of the wood mice examined were infected with R. straminea. This species has been recorded in studies on A. sylvaticus in continental Europe. The current report represents a new record for R. straminea on mainland Britain and a first study of helminth parasites in an urban wood mouse population.

Reduction of residual amplitude modulation to 1 × 10⁻6 for frequency modulation and laser stabilization.

Active control and cancellation of residual amplitude modulation (RAM) in phase modulation of an optical carrier is one of the key technologies for achieving the ultimate stability of a laser locked to an ultrastable optical cavity. Furthermore, such techniques are versatile tools in various frequency modulation-based spectroscopy applications. In this Letter we report a simple and robust approach to actively stabilize RAM in an optical phase modulation process. We employ a waveguide-based electro-optic modulator (EOM) to provide phase modulation and implement an active servo with both DC electric field and temperature feedback onto the EOM to cancel both the in-phase and quadrature components of the RAM. This technique allows RAM control on the parts-per-million level where RAM-induced frequency instability is comparable to or lower than the fundamental thermal noise limit of the best available optical cavities.

Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of canine urinary tract pathogens.

This study aims to describe the incidence and risk factors for positive urinary tract culture, the prevalence of urinary tract pathogens in single organism and mixed cultures and changes in their antimicrobial resistance over 10 years. A retrospective review of computer records detailing canine urine samples submitted between August 1999 and September 2009 for culture and sensitivity in a UK tertiary referral hospital is described. 17.5 per cent of 5923 samples (670 of 4530 dogs) were positive cultures. 85.3 per cent of cultures yielded a single isolate. The prevalence of bacterial species differed between mixed and single isolate cultures. Entire and neutered female dogs were more likely to return positive cultures than male dogs (OR=2.5 and 1.5, respectively). Escherichia coli was most commonly isolated (53.9 per cent) and affected female dogs, older dogs and neutered dogs more. There was an increase in the antimicrobial resistance of Enterococcus faecalis and Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, and a decrease in the effectiveness of enrofloxacin, cephalexin and oxytetracycline. The prevalence of urinary bacterial isolates is described for a large group of dogs. Monitoring changes in antimicrobial efficacy and microbial resistance guides the empirical use of antimicrobials for the treatment of urinary tract infection and helps formulate strategic plans to limit drug resistance.

Expression analysis of loci associated with type 2 diabetes in human tissues.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Genetic mapping has identified over 20 loci contributing to genetic risk of type 2 diabetes. The next step is to identify the genes and mechanisms regulating the contributions of genetic risk to disease. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of age, height, weight and risk alleles on expression of candidate genes in diabetes-associated regions in three relevant human tissues. METHODS: We measured transcript abundance for WFS1, KCNJ11, TCF2 (also known as HNF1B), PPARG, HHEX, IDE, CDKAL1, CDKN2A, CDKN2B, IGF2BP2, SLC30A8 and TCF7L2 by quantitative RT-PCR in human pancreas (n = 50), colon (n = 195) and liver (n = 50). Tissue samples were genotyped for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with type 2 diabetes. The effects of age, height, weight, tissue and SNP on RNA expression were tested by linear modelling. RESULTS: Expression of all genes exhibited tissue bias. Immunohistochemistry confirmed the findings for HHEX, IDE and SLC30A8, which showed strongest tissue-specific mRNA expression bias. Neither age, height nor weight were associated with gene expression. We found no evidence that type 2 diabetes-associated SNPs affect neighbouring gene expression (cis-expression quantitative trait loci) in colon, pancreas and liver. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: This study provides new evidence that tissue-type, but not age, height, weight or SNPs in or near candidate genes associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes are strong contributors to differential gene expression in the genes and tissues examined.