Necrotizing fasciitis is a rapidly spreading, bacterial, soft-tissue infection reported in both humans and dogs. A review of the pathophysiology, clinical findings, diagnosis, and treatment of necrotizing fasciitis is presented, with the goal of familiarizing veterinarians with this uncommon but potentially fatal condition. A case report highlighting the fulminant course of this disease is also included.

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Background: Cardiac disease has the potential to alter platelet function in dogs. Evaluation of platelet function using the PFA-100 analyzer in dogs of multiple breeds and with a broad range of cardiac conditions would help clarify the effect of cardiac disease on platelets. Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess differences in closure time (CT) in dogs with cardiac disease associated with murmurs, when compared with that of healthy dogs. Methods: Thirty-nine dogs with cardiac murmurs and turbulent blood flow as determined echocardiographically were included in the study. The dogs represented 23 different breeds. Dogs with murmurs were further divided into those with atrioventricular valvular insufficiency (n = 23) and subaortic stenosis (n = 9). Fifty-eight clinically healthy dogs were used as controls. CTs were determined in duplicate on a PFA-100 analyzer using collagen/ ADP cartridges. Results: Compared with CTs in the control group (mean AE SD, 57.6 AE 5.9 seconds; median, 56.5 seconds; reference interval, 48.0-77.0 seconds), dogs with valvular insufficiency (mean AE SD, 81.9 AE 26.3 seconds; median, 78.0 seconds; range, 52.5-187 seconds), subaortic stenosis (71.4 AE 16.5 seconds; median, 66.0 seconds; range, 51.5-95.0 seconds), and all dogs with murmurs combined (79.6 AE 24.1 seconds; median, 74.0 seconds; range, 48.0-187 seconds) had significantly prolonged CTs (P o.01). Conclusions: The PFA-100 analyzer is useful in detecting platelet function defects in dogs with cardiac murmurs, most notably those caused by mitral and/or tricuspid valvular insufficiency or subaortic stenosis. The form of turbulent blood flow does not appear to be an important factor in platelet hypofunction in these forms of cardiac disease.

In urbanised coastal environments, where shoreline migration is impeded by hard structures, sea-level rise is expected to impact decomposition processes by changing the patterns of tidal inundation. We assessed how tidal elevation directly (by determining the decomposition environment) and indirectly (by determining leaf traits) influences the decay of the south-east Australian seagrass Zostera muelleri. First, we assessed how the standing biomass and quality of Z. muelleri leaves varied across a tidal elevation gradient. Second, we used a litter-bag experiment to assess how the effects of tidal elevation on leaf traits and the decompositional environment interact to influence the decomposition rate. Surveys of 3 estuaries revealed that the size and stiffness of seagrass blades increased with depth, and the carbon and fibre content of blades was greater at subtidal and low intertidal zones than at high intertidal elevations. The differences in leaf traits among tidal elevations were, however, less important than the differences in aerial exposure for controlling the decomposition rate. The litter bags incubated at subtidal and low intertidal elevations had a faster rate of decomposition than those incubated in the high intertidal, irrespective of litter quality. Across elevations, the decay rates of the intertidal seagrass and the stiffer subtidal Zostera were similar. These results suggest that sea-level rise will influence decay processes by changing the decompositional environment rather than by changing tissue quality. Studies investigating differences in litter production among tidal elevations and the capacity of hydrodynamic processes to transport excess litter are now required to facilitate ecosystem-level predictions of the effects of sea-level rise.KEY WORDS: Climate change · Intertidal · Seagrass · Litter bag · Litter quality · Sea-level rise Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherMar Ecol Prog Ser 456: [53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62] 2012 2008). Climate can influence decomposition rates directly by modifying the environment for decomposition and indirectly by modifying the physicochemical traits of leaves (Swift et al. 1979). Many of the biochemical reactions involved in decomposition are temperature-dependent, resulting in a tendency of decomposition rates to decrease with increasing latitude (Zhang et al. 2008). Additionally, moisture can accelerate the decompositional process by facilitating the loss of soluble compounds and influencing the activity of decomposers (Swift et al. 1979, Dick & Osunkoya 2000, possibly explaining the observed general pattern of higher decomposition rates in aquatic systems (Cebrián & Lartigue 2004).By influencing the decompositional environment and litter traits, human-induced climatic change is predicted to have major impacts on decompositional processes (Davidson & Janssens 2006). Researchers have begun to consider how warming might accelerate decomposition and how the resulting release of carbon may feedba...

In this retrospective observational clinical study, 167 children, aged 3 to 7 years, of both sexes, with a clinical history of recurrent respiratory infections, administered with bacterial extracts of first and second generation or Sinerga a nutritional product containing palmitoylethanolamide, bovine colostrum, phenylethylamine and the new generation of probiotic kluyveromyces FM B0399, were observed. The goal of the study was to compare the supplementation with Sinerga with the supplementation with bacterial extracts, for the effect on the frequency of episodes of respiratory infection that had resulted in a prescription for antibiotics. The study focused retrospectively on the months from March 2013 to November 2012. The results showed a greater reduction in the frequency of respiratory infections with antibiotic therapy in the group of children supplemented with Sinerga than in the group treated with bacterial extracts. In particular, it was observed that 49.3% of the children supplemented with Sinerga, against 5% of those supplemented with extracts, had no infectious episodes requiring the administration of an antibiotic. 100% of subjects supplemented with Sinerga have had no more than two episodes of respiratory infection, while this condition, in the cohort treated with bacterial extracts, was observed in only 51% of cases.