Fifteen dogs with pituitary tumors were treated with a weekly schedule of hypofractionated three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT). The median total dose was 48 Gy (range: 35-52 Gy), with a median irradiation dose/fraction of 7 Gy (5-8 Gy). The median follow-up time was 298 days. Twelve dogs were alive at the time of analysis. One dog died before completing the course of radiation therapy. Two died at 372 and 479 days after 3D-CRT. Although six of the 13 dogs with pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism had improvement of clinical signs, none were able to stop receiving trilostane. Of the 13 dogs with neurologic signs, 10 had complete resolution and three had partial resolution. None of the dogs developed acute or late adverse effects due to 3D-CRT. Our preliminary results suggest that hypofractionated 3D-CRT was feasible in dogs with pituitary tumors.

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Of 105 bile samples of cattle tested, 57 (54.3%) were found positive for C. jejuni. In 42.9% (45/105) of the samples, the measurement of C. jejuni in the bile exceeded 10³ cfu/ml. The contamination level of C. jejuni in the bile of beef cattle was 1,000-10,000 times higher than that　found in fresh chicken meat. Although 30% (12/40) of isolates were untypable, 35% (14/40) and 12.5% (5/40) of the isolates were serotyped as the Penner D and Penner B group, respectively. Forty bile isolates examined possessed seven virulence genes: flaA, cdtA, cdtB, cdtC, cmeA, cmeB and cmeC. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis was also performed to determine the genotypic relatedness of isolates. All isolates from cattle bile showed high similarity to those from human patients and some showed identical band patterns to those from humans, using four different restriction enzymes. These data indicate that bile of beef cattle could be an important source of C. jejuni food poisoning for humans.

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Microbiological test data collected from fiscal years 2009-2011 were analyzed to determine if data are utilized to verify the sanitation standard operating procedures (SSOP) and hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) implemented by JA Hida Meat, which was ISO 22000 certified in beef slaughtering and meat-cutting processes, and to evaluate the effects of termination of live animal and final carcass wash with 100 ppm sodium hypochlorite solution in the microbiological status of the carcasses and final products. To verify the microbiological control system in the establishment, it was indicated that trend analysis of total aerobic bacteria counts could be useful. Results found that the improvement in microbiological data of block meats in 2011 could be attributed to human factors; e.g., improved hygiene education. It was also considered that total aerobic bacteria counts on carcasses without sodium hypochlorite wash of live animals and final carcasses are lower than those in 2006, when sodium hypochlorite wash was performed, suggesting implementation of the SSOP and HACCP system was effective.

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Extracts from Sarcocystis cysts (S. fayeri, S. cruzi, S. miescheriana, S. arieticanis, S. sybillensis and S. sp.) were subcutaneously injected into rabbits to detect the toxicity. The main clinical signs of the rabbits were depression and intermittent diarrhea. Histopathological changes were exclusively found in the intestines and lungs. Regarding the intestines, most of the epithelial cells showed morphological changes characteristic of apoptosis and were detached from atrophic and flattened villi. Some thrombi were observed in the small vessels of the lungs. The extracts from Sarcocystis cysts were all positive in the rabbits' intestinal loop test. These results suggest that extracts from Sarcocystis cysts with canine final host possessed enterotoxicity.

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