Thirty-eight tracheobronchial aspirates (TBA) were collected from twenty 1 to 6-month-old foals, which were free of clinical signs of respiratory tract or other infectious disease. We collected TBA from 9 of the foals 3 times when they were approximately 8, 16, and 24 weeks old. Aspirates were examined cytologically after staining with modified Wright-Giemsa, Gram, toluidine blue, and prussian blue stains. Aerobic bacterial culturing was performed on all aspirates. Of the 20 initial TBA, 4 (20%) were normal cytologically on the basis of previously defined criteria for TBA from clinically normal horses, 6 (30%) had a high percentage of eosinophils (> 5%), 8 (40%) were classified as indicative of subacute inflammation, and 2 (10%) were classified as indicative of acute inflammation. Nine (45%) were positive for mast cells and none were positive for hemosiderin-laden macrophages (hemosiderophages). Of the 9 foals from which samples were collected at 16 and 24 weeks of age, results were similar, except for an increase in the number of TBA classified as indicative of chronic inflammation (33% and 22% respectively) and the number positive for hemosiderophages (33% and 88%, respectively). One TBA was considered nondiagnostic because of pharyngeal contamination. Culturing of 12 of the 37 aspirates (32%) yielded a potential microbial pathogen. Only 2 were positive cultures from the same foal. The following organisms were isolated: beta-hemolytic Streptococci spp (4), Actinobacillus/Pasteurella spp (4), Rhodococcus equi (2), unidentified nonenteric Gram-negative rod (1), and Escherichia coli (1). Thirty-four of the 37 aspirates (92%) yielded light growth of various organisms considered to be nonpathogenic and normal inhabitants of the upper respiratory tract. It was concluded that the presence of inflammatory cells, eosinophils, and mast cells in the tracheobronchial aspirates from clinically normal foals is a common finding. These cytologic findings were consistent in the samples collected from foals at 8, 16, and 24 weeks of age. It was also concluded that bacteria with recognized pathogenicity can be isolated from TBA from clinically normal foals and were most frequently isolated from 1- to 2-month-old foals or those with cytologic evidence of inflammation, even in the absence of clinical signs of respiratory tract disease.

Cytologic examination of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), including phenotypic analysis of lymphocytes, was performed on 32 Standardbreds with poor race performance and endoscopic examination findings characteristic of inflammatory airway disease (IAD). Nucleated cell counts in BALF from IAD-affected horses were higher than those in control horses; the cytologic profile of BALF in affected horses included mixed inflammation, characterized by mild neutrophilia, lymphocytosis, and monocytosis. Eosinophil and mast cell counts were not higher in the IAD-affected group, compared with those in the control group; however, 4 IAD-affected horses had marked eosinophilia (24.7 +/- 4.8% SEM) in BALF. Phenotypic analysis of lymphocytes in BALF obtained from IAD-affected horses revealed a low proportion of CD4-positive cells and B cells, compared with those in the control group; these findings may have been representative of a greater proportion of non-B, non-T cells (null cells) in horses with IAD. The cytologic profile of BALF obtained from horses with IAD differed from that in horses affected with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, suggesting that the pathogenesis of inflammation in horses with IAD may differ from that of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Alpha toxin of S aureus has cytolytic activity respectively. This antigen has been received the most attention since it is a major virulence factor in pathogenesis of staphylococcal mastitis. Thus, alpha toxin has been focused as potential candidate ofvaccine tominimize mastitis in cows. the purpose of this study was to develop a simple, efficient production and purification methods of sufficient amount of alpha toxin antigen from S aureus. Alpha toxin production measured by hemolytic activity was the highest at 18 hrs postinoculation in yeast extract culture medium supplemented with thiamine, nicotinic acid and casamino acid. Alpha toxin was purifed by ammonium sulfate precipitation (65%) and ultrafiltration. Molecular weight of the toxin was 33 kDa in the analysis with SDS-PAGE. Conclusionally, when alpha toxin was included in the vaccine, the optimal harvest time of alpha toxin was at 18 hrs after inoculation in yeast extract medium supplemented with thiamine and nicotinic acid.

An eighteen months old, female, Great Dane dog which had shown signs of severe cachexia, dehydration, hematuria, vomiting and the palpable cervical mass during three weeks was examined clinically and necropsied after death. Diagnosis of this tumor case was made by gross pathology, cytology of the aspirate, radiography of the abdomen and the tumor tissue as multicentric, histiocytic lymphosarcoma. Cytologic findings of the needle aspirate of the cervical lesion were typical of macrophage origin cell. The tumor was encountered predominantly in the lymph nodes, tonsils and spleen. The predominant cell type of these tumor masses manifested characteristics of histiocytic cells

Foram realizadas avaliações clínicas, colpo-citológicas e endocrinológicas de duas fêmeas de cachorro-do-mato (Cerdocyon thous) pertencentes à Fundação RIOZOO, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, durante um período de 10 meses. As fêmeas, consideradas clinicamente saudáveis, foram alojadas em recintos diferentes, cada uma com dois machos. Os recintos, de substrato arenoso distavam cerca de 500 m um do outro. A técnica colpo-citológica utilizada nas fêmeas de cachorro-do-mato segue os mesmos métodos para cachorros domésticos. É interessante ressaltar que não foi observado nenhum eritrócito nos esfregaços vaginais analisados, em qualquer fase do ciclo estral, em ambas as fêmeas. A diferenciação dos tipos celulares vaginais durante as diferentes fases do ciclo estral segue os mesmos padrões demonstrados por cadelas domésticas. Os níveis de estradiol e progesterona seguiram os mesmos padrões que ocorre nas fêmeas de cachorros domésticos. A progesterona atingiu níveis máximos (46 ng/ml) por volta do décimo dia de gestação. A variação do estradiol demonstrou que, ainda que as fêmeas possam apresentar picos deste hormônio, durante o ano, tão altos como durante a época reprodutiva, a reprodução ocorre, realmente, no final do inverno e primavera. É impossível inferir, neste trabalho, se a presença do macho próximo à fêmea durante o ano todo poderia induzir a produção de estradiol, redundando no que seria considerado um artifício de cativeiro. | Serial clinical, colpo-cytological and endocrinological examinations of two five-year-old females of the crab-eating dog (Cerdocyon thous), from the RIOZOO Foundation in the State of Rio de Janeiro - Brazil, were carried out over a 10-month period. Clinically healthy animals were kept in sand substratum enclosures, located 500m apart from each other. They were each housed with two males. The colpo-cytological technique employed for Cerdocyon thous used methods similar to those developed for domestic bitches. Unlike domestic dogs, blood cells were absent in all phases of the estrus cycle, including the pro-estrus phase. Differentiation of each type of vaginal cells during the estrus cycle phases in this species follows the same patterns shown by domestic bitches. The estradiol and progesterone levels were similar to those occurring in domestic bitches. The progesterone levels reach their maximum (46 ng/ml) around the 10th day of pregnancy. The estradiol analysis demonstrated that, although levels of this hormone could be high at various times throughout the year, mating actually occurs in late winter and in spring. It was impossible to evaluate whether males and females kept in close proximity throughout the entire year would stimulate the production of estradiol, resulting in what would be considered a captivity artifice.