OBJECTIVE To evaluate radiation exposure of dogs and cats undergoing procedures requiring intraoperative fluoroscopy and for operators performing those procedures. SAMPLE 360 fluoroscopic procedures performed at 2 academic institutions between 2012 and 2015. PROCEDURES Fluoroscopic procedures were classified as vascular, urinary, respiratory, cardiac, gastrointestinal, and orthopedic. Fluoroscopy operators were classified as interventional radiology-trained clinicians, orthopedic surgeons, soft tissue surgeons, internists, and cardiologists. Total radiation exposure in milligrays and total fluoroscopy time in minutes were obtained from dose reports for 4 C-arm units. Kruskal-Wallis equality of populations rank tests and Dunn pairwise comparisons were used to compare differences in time and exposure among procedures and operators. RESULTS Fluoroscopy time (median, 35.80 minutes; range, 0.60 to 84.70 minutes) was significantly greater and radiation exposure (median, 137.00 mGy; range, 3.00 to 617.51 mGy) was significantly higher for vascular procedures than for other procedures. Median total radiation exposure was significantly higher for procedures performed by interventional radiology-trained clinicians (16.10 mGy; range, 0.44 to 617.50 mGy), cardiologists (25.82 mGy; range, 0.33 to 287.45 mGy), and internists (25.24 mGy; range, 3.58 to 185.79 mGy). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Vascular fluoroscopic procedures were associated with significantly longer fluoroscopy time and higher radiation exposure than were other evaluated fluoroscopic procedures. Future studies should focus on quantitative radiation monitoring for patients and operators, importance of operator training, intraoperative safety measures, and protocols for postoperative monitoring of patients.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate use of flunixin meglumine as a treatment to postpone ovulation in mares, mare fertility after flunixin meglumine treatment during estrous cycles, and effects of flunixin meglumine on function of the corpus luteum after ovulation. ANIMALS 13 healthy mares. PROCEDURES A single-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover study was conducted. Flunixin meglumine (1.1 mg/kg, IV, q 24 h) or lactated Ringer solution (placebo treatment) was administered for 2 days to mares with a dominant follicle (≥ 35 mm in diameter) and behavioral signs of estrus. Mares then were bred by artificial insemination. Number of days to ovulation from initial detection of a follicle ≥ 30 mm in diameter, uterine edema score, and pregnancy were determined by ultrasonography; the examiner was unaware of the treatment of each mare. Serum progesterone concentrations were evaluated 5 and 12 days after ovulation by use of radioimmunoassay. RESULTS Data were available for 45 estrus cycles of the 13 mares. Number of days to ovulation from initial detection of a follicle ≥ 30 mm was not significantly affected by administration of flunixin meglumine versus the placebo. Per-cycle pregnancy rate was not significantly different between flunixin meglumine (20/24 [83%] breedings) and the placebo (13/19 [68%] breedings). Flunixin meglumine did not significantly affect behavioral signs of estrus, uterine edema, or serum progesterone concentrations. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Findings did not support the use of flunixin meglumine to postpone ovulation in mares.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether the degree of CT attenuation of muscle would differ between healthy old and young dogs. ANIMALS 10 healthy old (> 8 years old) and 9 healthy young (1 to 5 years old) Labrador Retrievers with a body condition score of 5 or 6 on a 9-point scale. PROCEDURES CT was performed with the dogs mildly sedated. A freehand closed polygon tool was used to define the outer margin of the left epaxial muscles on each transverse image obtained from the cranial to caudal endplates of T13. The CT attenuation values from every voxel from within these regions of interest were exported from DICOM software as a single dataset in an extensible markup language file. From these data, mean CT attenuation values were calculated for each dog and these mean values were compared between age groups. RESULTS Mean CT attenuation values for the epaxial muscles were significantly lower in old dogs than in young dogs. A significant negative correlation (r = –0.74) was identified between mean CT attenuation values and dog age. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE In addition to loss of skeletal muscle mass, low muscle CT attenuation values suggested that the old dogs in this study also had greater muscle fat content than did young dogs. Additional studies are warranted to evaluate qualitative and quantitative muscle changes in old dogs.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the elastic modulus of various ligaments of the forelimbs of cadaveric horses. SAMPLE 408 ligaments from 37 forelimbs of 10 Thoroughbred cadavers and cadavers of 9 other horse breeds. PROCEDURES Collateral ligaments and straight and oblique sesamoid ligaments were harvested from the proximal interphalangeal, metacarpophalangeal, carpal, and elbow joints of both forelimbs of all 19 horses. Ligament dimensions were measured, and the elastic modulus was determined by tensile testing the ligaments with a strain rate of 1 mm•s(-1). RESULTS Elastic modulus of the ligaments differed significantly among joints. Highest mean ± SE elastic modulus was for the medial collateral ligament of the metacarpophalangeal joints of Thoroughbreds (68.3 ± 11.0 MPa), and the lowest was for the lateral collateral ligament of the elbow joints of other breeds (2.8 ± 0.3 MPa). Thoroughbreds had a significantly higher elastic modulus for the collateral ligaments of the proximal interphalangeal and metacarpophalangeal joints, compared with values for the other breeds. There was large variation in elastic modulus. Elastic modulus was negatively affected by age. In the ligaments in the distal aspect of the forelimbs, elastic modulus was negatively affected by height at the highest point of the shoulders (ie, withers). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Cross-sectional area and elastic modulus of collateral ligaments in the forelimbs of equine cadavers differed between breeds and among joints, which may have been reflective of their relative physiologic function under loading during exercise.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the clinicopathologic, hemodynamic, and echocardiographic effects of short-term administration of anti-inflammatory dosages of prednisolone to systemically normal cats. ANIMALS 10 cats with allergic dermatitis and 10 healthy control cats. PROCEDURES Cats with allergic dermatitis were randomly allocated to 2 groups and received 2 dosages of prednisolone (1 and 2 mg/kg/d, PO, for 7 days) in a crossover design followed by 9-day tapering and 14-day washout periods. Each prednisolone-treated cat was matched to a healthy control cat on the basis of sex, neuter status, age (± 1 year), and body weight (± 10%). Control cats received no treatment during the 35-day observation period. Clinicopathologic, echocardiographic, and hemodynamic variables were measured at baseline (day 0) and predetermined times during and after prednisolone administration and compared within and between the 2 treatment groups. RESULTS Prednisolone-treated cats had expected clinicopathologic alterations (mild increases in neutrophil and monocyte counts and serum concentrations of albumin, cholesterol, and triglycerides) but systolic arterial blood pressure; blood glucose, serum potassium, and cardiac biomarker concentrations; urinary sodium excretion; and echocardiographic variables did not differ significantly from baseline at any time. Statistically significant, albeit clinically irrelevant, increases in blood glucose and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide concentrations were observed between baseline and the prednisolone pharmacokinetic steady state (7 days after initiation) only when the 2-mg/kg dosage was administered. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results indicated short-term oral administration of anti-inflammatory dosages of prednisolone did not cause relevant hemodynamic, echocardiographic, or diabetogenic effects in systemically normal cats with allergic dermatitis.

The impact of surgical correction of cranial cruciate ligament-deficient stifles (CCDS) on the 3-dimensional (3D) kinematics of the canine stifle has been sparsely evaluated. Tightrope (TR) cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) has been proposed to restore baseline 3D kinematics in CCDS by using isometric points. We hypothesized that TR would restore baseline 3D kinematics of the stifle in our model. Ten pelvic limbs were used with a previously validated apparatus. Three experimental conditions were evaluated: i) intact stifle, ii) cranial cruciate ligament transection (CCLt), and iii) CCLt stabilized with TR; kinematic data was recorded. Tightrope CCL in CCDS did not limit sagittal flexion. Tightrope CCL neutralized internal rotation without restoring baseline curves, but it did not restore abduction, nor did it neutralize or restore cranial translation, but it did restore latero-medial and proximo-distal translations. In our model, TR without pre-conditioning of the FiberTape strands did not restore baseline stifle 3D kinematics and residual cranial translation could result in frequent meniscal tears.

OBJECTIVE To determine usefulness of skin turgor and capillary refill time (CRT) for predicting changes in hydration status of working dogs after a 15-minute exercise period. ANIMALS 9 exercise-conditioned working dogs between 8 and 108 months of age. PROCEDURES Skin tent time (SkTT; time for tented skin on the forehead to return to an anatomically normal position) and CRT (time for occluded mucous membrane capillary vessels to return to the color visible before occlusion) were measured on dogs in a field setting and by video review. Body weight (BW), SkTT, CRT, and core body temperature were measured before and after a 15-minute exercise period. Exercise challenge was performed on days 1 and 8. RESULTS Time (day 1 vs day 8) did not significantly affect results; therefore, data were pooled for the 2 trial days. Mean ± SE BW decreased (but not significantly) by 0.83 ± 0.27% after exercise. The SkTT increased significantly (both field setting and video review) after exercise. Correlation between SkTT results for the field setting and video review (r = 0.68) was significant. The CRT decreased (but not significantly) after exercise. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Dogs became mildly dehydrated (mean BW loss, 0.83%) during a 15-minute exercise period, and the mild dehydration was evident as a visually detectable change in skin turgor. Monitoring the SkTT appeared to be a useful strategy for predicting small shifts in hydration status of dogs during exercise. The CRT decreased and was not a significant predictor of a change in hydration status.

The research was conducted in Sumber Harapan Village, Tinggi Raja District, Asahan Regency, North Sumatra Province, in 2016, using field survey methods, questionnaires and interviews. Secondary data was obtained from the local Livestock Service Office, primary data sourced from respondents by purposive random sampling, as many as 15 of goat farmer in scale of 3-5 heads / farmers and 10 cocoa farmers. Each farmer has a land area of around 1000 m2 and has 100 cocoa trees, producing around 5.7 to 6.5 kg/tree/ week. Data were analyzed descriptively, quantitatively and economic feasibility analysis of B/C ratio. The purpose of this study was to analyze the economic feasibility of goat and cocoa farming businesses. The results showed that, almost all of the land belonged by farmers. The farmer business continue to run well, the worker of the goats business and cocoa is quite different. For the goats business as much as 160.56 days/year and for cocoa businesses 262.28 days/year. The profit of goat as much 5.392.060 IDR/year B/C 1.8. The capital of expenditure was 1.714.200 IDR/year. So that the profits obtained 3.677.860 IDR/year. The advantage of cocoa farmers is 67.507.200 IDR/ year B/C 2.7, The capital of expenditure of 7.2142.00 IDR/year. So that the cocoa profits obtained of 60.293.000 IDR/year. It is concluded that the goat and cacao business can be profitable for farmers. Then the business as financially economically feasible to develop further.

In poultry, feeding diets including high concentrations of non-starch polysaccharides limits growth rate and feed conversion ratio, and causes problems in health and welfare because of the production of wet droppings. This problem is becoming more important as pressure builds to reduce costs by using alternative sources of dietary protein, such as lupin grain, rather than fish- or soybean-meal. We therefore tested whether enzymes that break down non-starch polysaccharides can overcome the problems with a lupin-based diet fed to Japanese quail. Chicks (18 days old) were allocated among 8 treatments, each replicated 3 times, with 12 chicks per replicate (ie, 36 birds per treatment). Chicks were fed diets formulated to contain 24% crude protein and 12 MJ/kg apparent metabolisable energy (AME). The diets included 10% or 20% lupin meal and, for each level of lupin, they were formulated in one of four ways: 1) no enzyme; 2) pectinase (1.4 U/g polygalacturonase and 0.2 U/g pectinesterase); 3) xylanase (1,4 endo-xylanase; 0.38 U/g); 4) combination of the above pectinase and xylanase treatments. The results indicated that, from age 28 days of age, both lupin content and enzyme treatment significantly (P 0.05) affected chick performance. Compared with the no-enzyme control, enzyme treatments improved growth at 35 days by 45-50% (P 0.05) and feed conversion ratio by 20-30% (P 0.05) for both levels of lupin content. In addition, dry matter digestibility and apparent metabolizable energy were significantly improved by the combined enzyme treatment for both levels of lupin inclusion. We conclude that pectinase and xylanase can overcome the negative effects of the non-starch polysaccharides in lupin meal, improving the growth of quail chicks fed lupin-based diets, and that the enzymes work best when combined.

Infection that occurs in Indonesia has increased more significantly than before, compared to the increasing bacterial multidrug resistance (MDR) as the cause of infection. A study conducted in 5 hospitals in Indonesia in 2013 showed that the prevalence rate of extended-spectrum -lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacteria reached 32-68%. The objective of this study is to detect the prevalence and resistence pattern of ESBL-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae in Dr. Zainoel Abidin General Hospital, Banda Aceh. This study was conducted from 1 September 2016 to 31 December 2016. Specimen types included in this study were blood, sputum, urine, pus, mucosal swab, and another body fluids sample. The sampling method in this study was total sampling that is all clinical specimen examined in Clinical Microbiology Laboratory. Isolation and identification ESBL-producing bacteria was performed by VITEK-2 machine (Biomerieux). The result of this study is that a total 122 E. coli and K. pneumoniae were isolated. That consisted of 48 (39%) E. coli isolates and 74 (61%) K. pneumoniae isolates. From 48 E. coli isolates it was found out that 41 (85%) had ESBL phenotypes and from 74 K. pneumoniae isolates it was found out that 59 (80%) had ESBL phenotypes. In total, 100 (82%) isolates from 122 isolates had ESBL phenotypes. Distribution of ESBL-producing E. coli and K. pneumoniae based on sample was 24 (89%) isolates from the total of 27 urine isolates, 18 (95%) isolates from the total of 19 blood isolates, 28 (78%) isolates from the total of 36 sputum isolates, and 30 (75%) isolates from the total of 40 pus isolates. Antibiotic sensitivity pattern of the E. coli and K. pneumoniae isolates had high sensitivity to amycasin dan meropenem which was above 89%. Meanwhile, it also had sensitivity to Fosfomycin and Piperacyclin-Tazobactam by 80% and 77% respectively. Another antibiotic was less effective