Multiple congenital ocular anomalies in three related litters of Jack Russell Terrier puppies.

OBJECTIVE: To describe multiple congenital ocular anomalies in three litters of Jack Russell Terrier puppies. ANIMALS STUDIED: Seven purebred Jack Russell Terrier puppies from three related litters and their four parents. PROCEDURES: Medical records of the puppies and their parents were evaluated. All dogs underwent a complete ophthalmic examination, followed by bilateral ocular ultrasonography in two of the puppies with complete corneal opacity. One eye from an affected puppy was subjected to histopathology. A complete database of pedigrees was built, and individual inbreeding was evaluated. RESULTS: The most commonly diagnosed ocular anomalies in the puppies were: various anomalies of the fundus (12/14 eyes); microphthalmia (10/14 eyes); sclerocornea (8/14 eyes); and persistent pupillary membranes (7/14 eyes). Six out of seven puppies had at least two ocular abnormalities, and only one puppy was normal. Four out of seven puppies had sclerocornea, a particular corneal opacity to date described only in Spanish Podenco dogs. No ocular abnormalities were found in the parents examined (4/4). Analysis of the pedigrees showed that all the puppies and two parents were inbred, and the individual values of the inbreeding puppies were greater than 6.25% in two litters. CONCLUSIONS: Inbreeding with closely related Jack Russell Terriers may result in severe congenital eye abnormalities in puppies.

Two radiographic methods for assessing left atrial enlargement and cardiac remodeling in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease.

INTRODUCTION: Two radiographic measures of the left atrial (LA) size, the vertebral left atrial size (VLAS) and the radiographic left atrial dimension (RLAD), have been described in dogs. The aim of this study was to determine their feasibility and diagnostic value in the prediction of LA enlargement and clinical stage in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD). ANIMALS: 111 client-owned dogs affected by MMVD. METHODS: Retrospective study. In each dog, VLAS, RLAD, vertebral heart score (VHS), and left atrium-to-aorta-ratio (LA/Ao) were measured. The correlation between VLAS, RLAD, and LA/Ao was evaluated. The diagnostic accuracy of VLAS and RLAD was assessed for the detection of LA enlargement and clinical staging using the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. RESULTS: A positive correlation was observed between VLAS, RLAS, and LA/Ao (r = 0.816 and r = 0.855, respectively; p<0.0001). Both VLAS (area under the curve [AUC], 0.93; p<0.0001) and RLAD (AUC, 0.98; p<0.0001) showed high diagnostic accuracy in the detection of LA enlargement. In the stage B, the RLAD (AUC, 0.99; cutoff, ≥1.8; sensitivity, 100%; specificity 93%) performed better than VLAS (AUC, 0.90; cutoff, ≥2.4; sensitivity, 66%; specificity 100%) and VHS (AUC, 0.89; cutoff, ≥10.7; sensitivity, 88%; specificity 83%) in the detection of dogs fulfilling the echocardiographic criteria for stage B2. CONCLUSIONS: VLAS and RLAD represent useful radiological tools for the detection of LA enlargement in dogs with MMVD. In asymptomatic dogs, the RLAD performs better than VLAS and VHS in the prediction of those fulfilling the echocardiographic criteria for stage B2.

Diatoms in drowning cases in forensic veterinary context: a preliminary study.

In this preliminary study, a digestive method used in forensic context to extract diatoms has been applied in organs taken from ten wildlife animals belonging three species of mammals (a deer, a roe and five otters) and one species of birds (two magpies). Only four carcasses were recovered from aquatic environments (bath trough for animals, bathtub irrigation, river) and only in three cases out of ten that the cause of death was ruled out as drowning. In seven cases, the death was due to other causes: gunshot injuries for one otter, blunt trauma for a magpie, and traumatic injuries followed by motor vehicle collision in other four otters and a roe. Post-mortem examination was performed in all carcasses. The diatom test protocol was performed according to the Italian guidelines for analysis of benthic diatoms for ecological status assessment of inland waters. Five grams of lung, liver, and kidney was taken from all the animal carcasses. In some cases, additional tissue samples were also available among which brain, heart, spleen, and bone marrow. In all four cases found in water, the drowning medium was also available. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) digestion was performed, and identification of 21 genera of diatoms was obtained. The method proved to be suitable for the identification of diatoms in the organs of the animals drowned supporting the final diagnosis of drowning. Only in otters, all died for causes other than drowning, diatoms did not prove to be suitable for the diagnosis of drowning since their presence in the internal organs was mainly related to their main diet based on fishmeal. The authors believe that this first trial is very promising, and the results suggest that diatom test can be easily applied in forensic veterinary context.

Least Disturbed Condition for European Mediterranean rivers.

The present report describes a three-step approach that was used to characterize and define thresholds for the Least Disturbed Condition in Mediterranean streams of four different types, regarding organic pollution and nutrients, hydrological and morphological alterations, and land use. For this purpose, a common database composed of national reference sites (929 records) from seven countries, sampled for invertebrates, diatoms and macrophytes was used. The analyses of reference sites showed that small (catchment <100 km(2)) siliceous and non-siliceous streams were mainly affected by channelization, bank alteration and hydropeaking. Medium-sized siliceous rivers were the most affected by stressors: 25-43% of the samples showed at least slight alterations regarding channelization, connectivity, upstream dam influence, hydropeaking and degradation of riparian vegetation. Temporary streams were the least affected by hydromorphological changes, but they were nevertheless affected by alterations in riparian vegetation. There were no major differences between all permanent stream types regarding water quality, but temporary streams showed lower values for oxygenation (DO) and wider ranges for other variables, such as nitrates. A lower threshold value for DO (60%) was determined for this stream type and can be attributed to the streams' natural characteristics. For all other river types, common limits were found for the remaining variables (ammonium, nitrate, phosphate, total P, % of artificial areas, % of intensive and extensive agriculture, % of semi-natural areas in the catchment). These values were then used to select the list of reference sites. The biological communities were characterized, revealing the existence of nine groups of Mediterranean invertebrate communities, six for diatoms and five for macrophytes: each group was characterized by specific indicator taxa that highlighted the differences between groups.