To assess the effect of vitamin E administration on Japanese Black calves after weaning, 16 calves received 500 IU vitamin E weekly by intramuscular injection from 12 to 18 weeks of age (VE group), and 16 calves did not receive vitamin E injection (control group). All calves were vaccinated with live bovine respiratory syncytial (RS) virus at 14 weeks of age. The serum α-tocopherol concentrations in the VE group were significantly higher than those in the control group at 14, 16, and 18 weeks of age (P＜0.05). The serum derivatives of reactive oxygen metabolites (d-ROMs) in the VE group were significantly lower than those in the control group at 18 weeks of age (P＜0.05). In the VE group, the oxidative stress index (OSI), which is calculated from the serum d-ROMs and biological antioxidant potential (BAP), was significantly lower than that in the control group at 18 weeks of age (P＜0.05). The antibody titers against bovine RS virus decreased gradually from 12 to 18 weeks of age in both groups. These results suggest that vitamin E administration might decrease oxidative stress in calves. However, vitamin E administration did not affect the antibody response to vaccination of live bovine RS virus, perhaps due to the presence of the maternal antibody.

A single cyst with a circumscribed circular structure that contained body hairs was observed in the tongue of a slaughtered Japanese Black cow. The diameter of the cyst was approximately 22 mm, and it was located within the muscle layer in the midline of the tongue and connected to the dorsal surface of the tongue by a small pore. Histopathological examination revealed that the cyst wall was composed of stratified squamous epithelium with many hair follicles. Some parts of the cyst wall were thin and ruptured, and there was chronic inflammation in the neighboring structures. Based on these findings, it was diagnosed as a dermoid cyst. This is the first report of a lingual dermoid cyst in cattle.

A case of a four-year-old spayed female Maltese presented with an acute cough. In a variety of examinations, traumatic diaphragmatic hernia was suspected, and surgery was performed. During surgery, visual inspection of the diaphragm confirmed intact with normal-sized vena caval foramen and a herniation of the entire right medial liver robe through the vena caval foramen into the right thoracic cavity. The diagnosis was a caval foramen hernia. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) revealed a herniation of the entire right medial liver lobe with normal branches of hepatic veins and portal veins, and surgical repair of the hernia was attempted. After successful surgical repair, the biopsied specimen from the right medial liver lobe was revealed to be histologically normal. Contrast-enhanced CT is considered as a useful diagnostic modality for determining treatment in dogs.

Enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL) is caused by bovine leukemia virus (BLV). To detect BLV, we investigated a simple rapid inspection method using PCR with heat-extracted DNA from the tissues collected by disposable loops (loop method). In the genetic analysis, the PCR products showed a homology of 99.55% with the known BLV gene, confirming the accuracy of the loop method as a BLV detection system. The comparative analysis of BLV detection between nested PCR and the loop method in EBL cases, sporadic bovine leukemia cases, and negative control cattle, showed almost perfect agreement with a kappa value of 0.82. These results indicate that the loop method would be useful as a BLV detection method.