Histological observations on aural fibrosarcoma in a Holstein cow.

Fibrosarcomas occur as a mesenchymal tumour of malignant fibroblasts in a collagen background and are usually found in the female genital organs and rarely involve the skin. A 5-year-old female Holstein cow with a raised mass at the base of right ear was referred. On gross examination, the mass was approximately 13.00 × 10.00 × 7.00 cm in size. Finally, complete surgical removal was selected. The mass was encapsulated and the dermis was expanded by spindle-shaped to polygonal neoplastic cells. These cells were arranged in interwoven pattern. Mitotic figures were infrequent. Masson's trichrome demonstrated the positive and blue staining of collagen. Immunohistochemically, the sections were uniformly positive for Vimentin and negative for Desmin, SMA and GFAP. A well-differentiated fibrosarcoma was diagnosed based on histopathological features. Surgical excision is the treatment of choice for this neoplasm. In the present case, surgery was also performed successfully and no new growth of the mass was observed 4 months following the surgical procedures. To our knowledge, this is the first report of well-differentiated fibrosarcoma in a Holstein cow.

Saving zone of stasis in burn wounds by nanoliposomal Mg-ATP.

ATP is a crucial molecule for every energy-dependent process in cells. In ischemic tissues, ATP production declines, and it finally results in cell death. One of the most common strategies in burn wound management is saving the zone of ischemia. In the current study, Mg-ATP-containing nanoliposomes were formulated and studied in vitro and in vivo. The particle size of the vesicles was between 50 and 100 nm and the mean zeta potential was -4.05 ± 0.52 mV as evaluated by dynamic light scattering and Zeta sizer instrument, respectively. The encapsulation efficiency of ATP in the nanoliposomes was found to be 9.3%. The morphology and size of nanoliposomes were further studied by transmission electron microscopy. The standard MTT assay revealed no cytotoxicity of the nanoliposomes when tested on the rat fibroblast cells. Forty rats were randomly divided into four groups (N = 10 each). Burn wounds were created by burn comb model on the back of the rats and the zone of stasis in each group was treated every 12 h for 3 days by injecting them with the Mg-ATP-nanoliposomes. Control samples included empty nanoliposomes, unencapsulated Mg-ATP and the Krebs-Henseleit buffer. Laser Doppler flowmetry results revealed that blood perfusion in the zone of ischemia in rats treated with Mg-ATP-nanoliposomes was more than in the other groups (p < 0.05). Histopathology revealed saving zone of stasis by Mg-ATP-nanoliposomes. Findings obtained in this study demonstrated that the formulated Mg-ATP-nanoliposome has the potential to save the stasis zone in burn wounds.

Effects of carbomer 940 hydrogel on burn wounds: an in vitro and in vivo study.

PURPOSE: This study was designed to investigate the applicability of carbomer 940 hydrogel on skin-burn wounds by focusing on its effects on the zone of stasis. METHOD: Fibroblast cells were used to assess the cytotoxicity of carbomer 940. Wound healing was monitored by laser Doppler flowmetry and histopathological analysis. Twenty adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups (N = 10 each). After shaving their dorsum, a 'burn comb' was contacted bilaterally on each side of the spine. Carbomer 940 hydrogel and TegaDerm were used as topical dressing, in the experimental group, while normal saline and TegaDerm were used as the control. The dressing was changed daily and the blood flow was measured until the animals were euthanized. The wound samples were collected at days 3 and 21 for histopathological studies. Cell viability study showed that the hydrogel was non-cytotoxic. RESULT: Our results revealed that skin blood perfusion in the zone of stasis was elevated at 24 hour post-burning, in the experimental group but not in the control group (p < .05) and this trend continued until the animals were euthanized. Histopathologically, there was statistically more epithelial tissue in the zone of stasis in the experimental group than in the control group, and the sebaceous glands and hair follicles remained viable in the group treated by hydrogel on day 3. There was significantly more collagen deposition and fibroplasia in the ischemic zones of the experimental group than in the control group at day 21. CONCLUSION: Our study has shown that carbomer 940 hydrogel is a nontoxic biomaterial, which improved tissue perfusion and decreased the area of necrotic tissue in burn wounds. Application of this biomaterial in treatment of burn injuries deserves further studies.

The sensitivities and specificities of total plasma protein and plasma fibrinogen for the diagnosis of traumatic reticuloperitonitis in cattle.

We performed a prospective clinical study to select cut-off points for total plasma protein (TPP) and plasma fibrinogen (PF) to differentiate between traumatic reticuloperitonitis (TRP) and other gastrointestinal diseases with similar clinical signs, and to estimate the dependence and accuracy of TPP and PF when used in series or in parallel. TPP and PF were estimated preoperatively by refractometry in 93 cattle with TRP and 65 cattle with gastrointestinal diseases such as vagus indigestion (n = 16), liver abscesses (n = 17), omasal impaction (n = 19) and Johne's disease (n = 13). Three different cut-off points were selected by two-graph receiver-operating characteristic (TG-ROC) analysis for TPP and PF. Conditional covariances were calculated as a measure of dependence between sensitivities and specificities of TPP and PF. The cut-off points of 7.22, 7.78 and 8.82g/dl for TPP and 622, 691 and 766mg/dl for PF were suggested by TG-ROC based on different requirements of test performances. There was moderate negative dependence between sensitivities of TPP and PF at the 8.82g/dl and 766mg/dl cut-off points, and mild negative dependence between their specificities at the 7.78g/dl and 691mg/dl cut-off points, respectively. Acceptable accuracy (98 or 86% specificity with 62 or 88% sensitivity, respectively) was obtained with serial interpretation of the tests.