Treatment of a maxillary fibrosarcoma in an adult alpaca.

CASE DESCRIPTION: An approximately 5-year-old sexually intact male alpaca was evaluated because of a right-sided maxillary mass that had recurred after previous surgical debulking. CLINICAL FINDINGS: Clinical, radiographic, and CT examination revealed an approximately 1.5-cm-diameter soft tissue mass associated with expansile osteolysis of the maxillary alveolar bone, beginning at the level of the right maxillary third premolar tooth extending caudally to the level of the rostral roots of the second molar tooth. TREATMENT AND OUTCOME: Right partial maxillectomy was performed, and histologic examination revealed an incompletely excised fibrosarcoma with osseous metaplasia. External beam radiation therapy to the tumor bed was initiated 1 month after surgery. Computerized planning was performed, and a total radiation dose of 48 Gy was prescribed in eleven 4.4-Gy fractions. Follow-up CT evaluations 6 and 58 weeks after radiation therapy was completed revealed no evidence of tumor recurrence. No clinical evidence of tumor recurrence was detected through 110 weeks after radiation therapy. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The oral fibrosarcoma in the alpaca described here was successfully treated with surgical excision and adjuvant radiation therapy, resulting in excellent quality of life of the treated animal.

Real-world comparison of probe vehicle emissions and fuel consumption using diesel and 5% biodiesel (B5) blend.

An instrumented EURO I Ford Mondeo was used to perform a real-world comparison of vehicle exhaust (carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen) emissions and fuel consumption for diesel and 5% biodiesel in diesel blend (B5) fuels. Data were collected on multiple replicates of three standardised on-road journeys: (1) a simple urban route; (2) a combined urban/inter-urban route; and, (3) an urban route subject to significant traffic management. At the total journey measurement level, data collected here indicate that replacing diesel with a B5 substitute could result in significant increases in both NO(x) emissions (8-13%) and fuel consumption (7-8%). However, statistical analysis of probe vehicle data demonstrated the limitations of comparisons based on such total journey measurements, i.e., methods analogous to those used in conventional dynamometer/drive cycle fuel comparison studies. Here, methods based on the comparison of speed/acceleration emissions and fuel consumption maps are presented. Significant variations across the speed/acceleration surface indicated that direct emission and fuel consumption impacts were highly dependent on the journey/drive cycle employed. The emission and fuel consumption maps were used both as descriptive tools to characterise impacts and predictive tools to estimate journey-specific emission and fuel consumption effects.