Multiple splenic infarctions in a dog with immune-mediated hemolytic anemia: therapeutic implications.

BACKGROUND: Splenic infarction (SI) is a rare clinical entity seldom encountered in veterinary medicine. Its most frequent causes include thromboembolic status, splenomegaly, and cardiac disease. Although thrombotic elements from the circulation provide the most common context for thromboembolic SIs, immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) has not been reported as an underlying disease in canine SI. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 2-year-old, female spayed Dachshund, was referred with vomiting, hematochezia, and brown colored urine over the preceding 4 days. Physical examination revealed abnormalities including generalized weakness, jaundice, and splenomegaly; blood work showed pancytopenia and hyperbilirubinemia. Erythrocyte agglutination, polychromasia, and spherocytes on a peripheral blood smear were observed and IMHA concurrent with thrombocytopenia was diagnosed. FINDINGS/TREATMENT AND OUTCOME: Although erythrocyte agglutination and leukopenia disappeared after treatment, anemia and thrombocytopenia were unresponsive to oral immunosuppressive drugs and repeated transfusions. Further abdominal ultrasound identified an occlusive splenic vein thrombus. Splenic histopathology found marked multifocal to coalescing necrosis, and hemorrhage consistent with multiple SI. Symptoms resolved following splenectomy combined with 1 month of immunosuppressive medication, and the dog was healthy on follow-up evaluation after 2 years. CONCLUSION: Immune-mediated hemolytic anemia is an incompletely characterized cause of SI. This report establishes a potential and novel causal role for IMHA in canine SI. We believe it to be the first case report of SI in a dog with refractory IMHA and thrombocytopenia, successfully managed by splenectomy combined with short-term immunosuppressive therapy.

Advanced remediation of uranium-contaminated soil.

The existing decontamination method using electrokinetic equipment after acidic washing for uranium-contaminated soil requires a long decontamination time and a significant amount of electric power. However, after soil washing, with a sulfuric acid solution and an oxidant at 65 °C, the removal of the muddy solution using a 100 mesh sieve can decrease the radioactivity of the remaining coarse soil to the clearance level. Therefore, only a small amount of fine soil collected from the muddy solution requires the electrokinetic process for its decontamination. Furthermore, it is found that the selective removal of uranium from the sulfuric washing solution is not obtained using an anion exchanger but rather using a cation exchanger, unexpectedly. More than 90% of the uranium in the soil washing solutions is adsorbed on the S-950 resin, and 87% of the uranium adsorbed on S-950 is desorbed by washing with a 0.5 M Na2CO3 solution at 60 °C.

Constraints on new gravitylike forces in the nanometer range.

We report on a new constraint on gravitylike short-range forces, in which the interaction charge is mass, obtained by measuring the angular distribution of 5 Å neutrons scattering off atomic xenon gas. Around 10^{7} scattering events were collected at the 40 m small angle neutron scattering beam line located at the HANARO research reactor of the Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute. The extracted coupling strengths of new forces in the Yukawa-type parametrization are g[over ^]^{2}=(0.2±6.8±2.0)×10^{-15} GeV^{-2} and g[over ^]^{2}=(-5.3±9.0_{-2.8}^{+2.7})×10^{-17} GeV^{-2} for interaction ranges of 0.1 and 1.0 nm, respectively. These strengths correspond to 95% confidence level limits of g^{2}<(1.4±0.2)×10^{-14} GeV^{-2} and g^{2}<(1.3±0.2)×10^{-16} GeV^{-2}, improving the current limits for interaction ranges between 4 and 0.04 nm by a factor of up to 10.

[Investigation of the content of carcinogenic compounds in commercial smoked fish].

The authors performed investigations of the content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) (n = 17) and their nitro derivatives (n = 5) in commercial cold and hot smoked herrings and greenlings. The level of benz(a)pyrene in all fish samples was found to be well below the current sanitary and hygienic limits. The concentration of N-nitrosoamines in cold smoked fish was slightly below that in hot smoked one. The content of nitro derivatives of PAH in fish is indicative of the low significance of these compounds in the total negative potential of smoked fish.

Investigations of the (nat)Ti(p,x)(43,44m,44g,46,47,48)Sc,(48)V nuclear processes up to 40MeV.

Independent and cumulative production cross-sections for the (nat)Ti(p,x)(48)V, (43,44m,44g,46,47,48)Sc nuclear processes are reported here, for the energy region of 4-38MeV by using a stacked-foil activation technique. Measured data were critically compared with the earlier reported values, and also with the theoretical data from the TALYS and ALICE-IPPE codes. The measured (nat)Ti(p,x)(48)V reaction is important for charged particle beam monitoring purposes, whereas the (43,44,47)Sc radionuclide have various practical applications in nuclear medicine.

Experimental determination of proton-induced cross-sections on natural zirconium.

We measured cross-sections for the formation of (86g,87m,87g)Y, (88,89g)Zr, and (90,92m)Nb radionuclides for proton-induced reactions on natural zirconium by using a conventional stacked-foil activation technique in the energy range between 1 and 40MeV at the MC-50 cyclotron of the Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Science. We compared the measured data with the available literature data and the theoretical calculation by the model codes TALYS and ALICE-IPPE. We also deduced the integral yields for thick targets from the measured cross-sections of the produced radionuclides. The optimum production possibility of the medically important (89g)Zr and (86)Y radionuclides were discussed elaborately.

[Content of N-nitrosamines in smoked fish and canned food]. / Soderzhanie N-nitrozaminov v kopchenoi rybe i konservakh.

The composition and contents of major N-nitrosoamines (NA) in the edible part of herrings and rock trouts exposed to hot and cold smoking and in the Smoked fish in oil type cans were studied. Among NA, only N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) were detected in all samples. In the cold-smoked fish, the levels of NDMA and NDEA were higher than in the hot smoked fish and cans. Of all the samples, only those of cold smoked herrings and rock trouts had standardized NDMA concentration that was greater than the standard limitation and equal to 3.48 and 3.74 mukg/kg.

[Hygienic assessment of components of smoking fume]. / Gigienicheskaia otsenka komponentov koptil'nogo dyma.

Analyzing the chemical composition of smoking fume has indicated that maximum allowable concentrations (MACs) have been established for 50 of 400 well-known compounds, working area MACs were standardized for 42 of the 50 compounds, the maximum single and daily average concentrations were standardized for 34 and 30 compounds, respectively. All standards were established for 25 compounds. Despite the fact that there a large list of MACs, it is difficult to calculate the objective hygienic risk of smoking smoke since 32 compounds are contained in traces. Hygienic assessment of fume discharges from the smoking chamber by taking into account their mass and MACs demonstrated that phenols, carbonyl compounds, acids, and benz(a)pyrene which should be used to work out the unified hygienic standard are of the greatest importance.

[Hygienic assessment of aerosol air pollution by smokehouse waste]. / Gigienicheskaia otsenka aérozol'nogo zagriazneniia vozdukha vybrosami koptil'nykh kamer.

The disperse phase of waste fumes forming during cold and hot fish smoking was studied by distributing the particles into 6 fractions, by determining phenols, acids, carbonyl compounds, and benz(a)pyrene (BP) in them, and by calculating the hazard index. In the waste fumes of cold smokers, the proportions of phenols, carbonyl compounds, and acid in the formation of the hazard index were shown to be 72.1 +/- 1.5, 19.6 +/- 1.3, and 5.9 +/- 0.3%, respectively. In the waste fumes of hot smokers, these figures were 67.3 +/- 1.1, 20.4 +/- 1.2, and 5.8 +/- 0.3%, i.e. the proportion of phenols in the formation of the hazard index was also prevalent. The hazard index for BP in the waste fumes of cold and hot smokers was 120.9 +/- 1.7 and 230.8 +/- 8.1, respectively, which amounts to 2.4 +/- 0.2 and 6.5 +/- 0.4% of the total hazard of smoke particles.

[Study of carcinogenic hazards of smoking kiln waste fumes]. / Issledovanie kantserogennoi opasnosti dymovykh vybrosov koptil'nykh kamer.

The disperse phase of waste fumes forming during cold and hot fish smoking was studied by distributing the particles into 6 fractions and determining benz(a)pyrene (BP) in them. The level of BP in less than 2.5 mu was shown to be 85% whether smoking was hot or cold. The levels of 17 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were measured in three-dimensional fractions of fume particles. In all the fractions, phenanthrene and fluoranthene were of priority in weight. The proportion of BP in the total levels of PAH in waste fumes of cold and hot smokers was 0.69 and 0.74%, respectively and the carcinogenic activity was 46.42 and 49.0%. The investigations demonstrated that the waste fumes of smokers did not contain the particles that are PAH carriers.

[Characterization of the content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the cold- and hot-smoked fish]. / Kharakteristika soderzhaniia politsiklicheskikh aromaticheskikh uglevodorodov v rybe kholodnogo i goriachego kopcheniia.

The carcinogenic danger of the commercial smoked herring was assessed. The edible part of the smoked herring contains 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons whose bulk consists of phenanthrene, pyrene, floranthene, and benzo(b)fluoranthene. The content of benzo(a)pyrene (BP) in the cold and hot smoked herring are 189 and 291 ng/kg, respectively. It is lower than the present standard values. The proportion of carcinogenic danger of BP is 32% for cold smoked herring and 34% for hot smoked herring.

[Carcinogenic effects of the curing smoke]. / O kantserogennom vozdeistvii koptil'nogo dyma.

A list of the carcinogenic substances contained in the fume used in the production of smoked fish and its products is presented. The level of benz(a)pyrene in the smoked foods generally corresponds to the international standards, but it is hundreds times higher in hot-smoked small fish. The cancer risk of smoked products may be reduced in the production of slightly smoked foods or when liquid-smoke devices are used.

Extraction of extracellular L-asparaginase from Candida utilis.

L-Asparaginase was extracted from Candida utilis cells using various reducing agents, 2-mercaptoethanol, dithiothreitol, or cysteine. The extraction of the enzyme depended upon the kind and concentration of reducing agents, temperature, time of incubation, and pH of buffer used. The enzyme was typically extracted by incubating the cells at 50 degrees C for 4 h in extraction solution containing 20 mM 2-mercaptoethanol in 20 mM potassium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0). The enzyme can be extracted from either cell precipitate or cell culture broth. The yeast cells were viable after extraction of L-asparaginase.

[Characteristics of work schedules of miners exposed to vibration in placer and ore mines in the North-West]. / Osobennosti postroeniia rezhimov truda gornorabochikh vibroopasnykh professii rossypnykh i rudnykh shakht Severo-Vostoka.

The contributors review the peculiarities of modelling the labour regimen for the vibration-affected professions in the North-West, based on the dosage-related approach, inasmuch as the existing techniques of ore deposits elaboration (chamber-long face and magnification of ore), and the organization of pit works on cyclogrammes, did not allow a practical application of the labour regimen recommendations proposed by the USSR Ministry of Health.