An immunofluorescent antibody test for Neospora caninum was applied to 41 sera from Japanese Black beef cattle and to 39 sera from Holstein cattle in Kagoshima. The possible presence of neosporosis was suspected in both groups. The results of the tests showed that none of the Japanese-Black sera was Neospora-positive and that 28.2% of sera from Holstein cattle were Neospora-positive. A follow-up study was conducted on 225 sera from Holstein cattle on farm A and 58 sera from cattle on farm B. Sera from both farms were found to be Neospora-positive. Neosporosis-prevalence rate on farm A was 23.6%; the corresponding rate for farm B was 29.3%. In dam-daughter analysis on farm A, 65.2% of daughters from Neospora-positive dams were strongly suspected of vertical transmission, although the possibility of horizontal transmission was not excluded. Investigation showed 54.5% of the dams of 22 aborted calves to be Neospora-positive. Sera from 9 dogs on 3 farms, including farms A and B, were all Neospora-negative. Histopathological examinations of 2 aborted fetuses from farm A showed no Neospora-related lesions.

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Subcutaneous abscesses are a frequent problem in large animals. To minimize the use of antibiotics in such cases, we made performed lavages with superoxidized water. In five animals (two with actinomycosis and three others), the therapy curtailed pypoiesis. In two animals, it eliminated actinomycosis, leaving only granular tissue. Abscesses were almost entirely removed in the three other animals. In three out of five cases, practical application of superoxidized water healed the abscesses without drug administration.

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A conjoined heart observed in a two-headed stillborn female Japanese Black calf consisted of three atria, three ventricles, and three great vessels. The right-side morphological right atrium connected with right and left cerebral veins and one posterior cerebral vein. The median morphological right atrium was attached to no vein; the left-positioned anatomical left atrium connected with the pulmonary veins. Each atrium connected with its corresponding ventricle through an atrioventricular ostium. The right-side morphological right ventricle gave rise to a common arterial trunk of the bicarotid trunk of the right pulmonary artery and the right side of the head. The anteriorly positioned anatomic right ventricle had a pulmonary trunk; the left posteriorly positioned morphologic left ventricle gave rise to the aorta.

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Vertebral malformation and bilateral flexure of fore and hind limbs were observed in a live-bom Holstein female calf (body weight 34kg) that was unable to stand. Necropsy and osteological examinations revealed two vertebral synostoses, three hemivertebras among the corpus vertebra, one carpus vertebral defect, three synotoses of the spinous processes, and symmetric torsion of both metatarsal bones. DNA-marker diagnosis revealed complex vertebral malformation genes to be recessive homozygous. On the basis of these findings, the case was diagnosed as complex vertebral malformation.

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Leflunomide, a new anti-rheumatic drug, was used to treat a canine case of refractory immune-mediated thrombocytopenia that was unresponsive to conventional immunosuppressive therapy. It effectively induced remission of the thrombocytopenia and maintained a normal platelet count without adverse effects and is therefore considered an effective and safe drug for treating refractory immune-mediated hematological diseases in veterinary medicine.

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Blood examinations (leukocyte count and differential leukocyte count in percentages) and chromosome examinations (culture method and direct-preparation method) were conducted on whole blood (living blood and/or post-slaughter remainder blood) of the multi-centric type (16), the alimentary type (8), and the thymic type (1), all of which had been diagnosed as porcine lymphosarcoma. Blood examinations revealed atypical lymphocytes in 8 cases. Chromosome examinations revealed chromosome abnormalities in 11 cases (9 of the multi-centric type and 2 of the alimentary type). The multi-centric types were classified as non-clonal abnormalities (2) or clonal abnormalities (7). The alimentary types were classified as non-clonal (1) and clonal (1). In the case of clonal abnormalities, when both numerous lymphosarcoma cells flow in from physiologically broken tumor tissues and cells flow out from unbroken tumor tissues, a precise diagnosis of leukemia is possible.

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