A modified full-thickness labial/buccal rotational flap reconstruction technique following bilateral rostral maxillectomy and nasal planectomy for resection of maxillary tumors: Technique and results in two dogs.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a naso-facial reconstruction technique following bilateral rostral maxillectomy and its functional and cosmetic outcomes. ANIMALS: Two dogs. STUDY DESIGN: Clinical case series. METHODS: Two dogs were presented with a right rostral maxillary mass. Preoperative biopsy and staging revealed a biologically high-grade and histologically low-grade fibrosarcoma (Hi-Lo FSA). A combined nasal planectomy and radical bilateral rostral maxillectomy was performed sparing the labial/buccal mucocutaneous flaps bilaterally. Surgery resulted in asymmetry of the width of the flaps; the narrower flap was rotated medially to reconstruct the lip and create an oral vestibule. The wider flap was rotated medially to cover the remaining dorsolateral opening of the nasal conchae. The flaps overlapped in a parallel manner, discretely concealing the nasal passages, and separating them from the oral cavity. Hemorrhage occurred in both dogs, with one dog requiring a blood transfusion postoperatively. RESULTS: Oral Hi-Lo FSA with tumor-free margins was confirmed in both dogs. Both dogs recovered uneventfully within 4 weeks. Owners reported being very satisfied with the functional (return to normal exercise/activities and uncompromised respiration) and cosmetic outcomes. Based on the owners' telephone follow up, no tumor recurrence was noted at 15 (Dog 1) and 6 (Dog 2) months postoperatively. CONCLUSION: The full-thickness bilateral labial/buccal rotational flaps were used successfully to reconstruct the rostral maxilla, external nose and facial defects involving the nasal cavity. The technique resulted in acceptable functional and cosmetic outcomes and can be considered for naso-facial reconstruction in selected cases.

Occurrence and zoonotic potential of endoparasites in cats of Cyprus and a new distribution area for Troglostrongylus brevior.

The present study investigated for the first time the occurrence of pulmonary and intestinal parasites of cats in Cyprus. Cats from five districts of Cyprus (Lefkosia, Lemesos, Larnaka, Pafos and Ammochostos) were examined by classical parasitological methods and the identity of lungworm larvae, whenever present, was confirmed by PCR-coupled sequencing. A total of 185 cats, 48 living exclusively indoors and 137 with outdoor access, were included in the study. Parasites were found in 66 (35.7%) of the examined cats, i.e. Toxocara cati (12%), Cystoisospora rivolta (12%), Joyeuxiella/Diplopylidium spp. (7%), Giardia spp. (6.5%), Troglostrongylus brevior (5%), Cystoisospora felis (2.5%), Aelurostrongylus abstrusus (2%), Taenia spp. (0.5%) and Dipylidium caninum (0.5%). Mixed infections were recorded in 18 cats. Cats that lived exclusively indoors or had received an antiparasitic treatment in the last 6 months were less likely to be infected (p < 0.05). Moreover, cats younger than 1 year old were more likely to shed first-stage larvae of T. brevior (p = 0.04). The present study shows that cats in Cyprus are infected at a high percentage by a variety of parasites that potentially affect their health and also, in some cases (i.e. T. cati, D. caninum, Giardia spp.), may have an impact on human health. Moreover, it was revealed that T. brevior, a lungworm of emerging significance, is present on the island, rendering Cyprus the easternmost distribution border of this parasite in Europe to date.

Filarial infections in dogs in Cyprus, an apparently heartworm free island.

The current study investigated for the first time the occurrence of filarial infections in dogs in Cyprus. Blood samples of dogs from five districts of Cyprus (Lefkosia, Lemessos, Larnaka, Pafos and Ammochostos) were examined by the modified Knott's method and by serology, and the morphological classification of microfilariae was confirmed by molecular methods. A total of 200 dogs, 153 living in shelters and 47 owned dogs, were included in the study. Acanthocheilonema reconditum microfilariae were found in 9 (4.5%) samples and one (0.5%) sample was seropositive for D. immitis. No statistical significance was observed between microfilaraemic samples and the evaluated variables apart from the district (p = .005). The present study showed that dogs in Cyprus can be infected with blood circulating microfilariae and for the first time A. reconditum was reported as autochthonous infection in dogs in the country. No microfilariae of Dirofilaria spp. were detected. However, veterinarians should remain vigilant regarding Dirofilaria infections and should consider preventive protection to the animals, at least in case of travel in enzootic areas.

Event Detection in Twitter Microblogging.

The millions of tweets submitted daily overwhelm users who find it difficult to identify content of interest revealing the need for event detection algorithms in Twitter. Such algorithms are proposed in this paper covering both short (identifying what is currently happening) and long term periods (reviewing the most salient recently submitted events). For both scenarios, we propose fuzzy represented and timely evolved tweet-based theoretic information metrics to model Twitter dynamics. The Riemannian distance is also exploited with respect to words' signatures to minimize temporal effects due to submission delays. Events are detected through a multiassignment graph partitioning algorithm that: 1) optimally retains maximum coherence within a cluster and 2) while allowing a word to belong to several clusters (events). Experimental results on real-life data demonstrate that our approach outperforms other methods.