Abstract. A total of 340 cases of cutaneous neoplasia were diagnosed in 340 of 3,564 cats that were examined by biopsy or necropsy during a 41-month period from January I , 1986 through May 3 1, 1989. Eighteen types of tumor occurred, but four types comprised 77% of the cases. These were basal cell tum or, 89 cases (26%, mean age 10.3); mast cell tumor, 72 cases (21%, mean age 8.6); squamous cell carcinoma, 52 cases (15%, mean age 11.6); and fibrosarcoma, 50 cases (15%, mean age 10.2). For each of these four types of tumors , peak number of cases occurred in cats older than 10 years. Mast cell tum or was the only tumor diagnosed in cats younger than I year. The head was the most common site for basal cell tumors, mast cell tumors, and squamous cell carcinomas. The legs were the most common location of fi brosarcomas . Siamese cats had approximately three times as many mast cell tumors as statistically expected, but only one-fourth as many squamous cell carcinomas. Breed predilection for other skin tum ors was not apparent. Sex predilection was not detected for any skin tumor.Key words: Basal cell tumor; cat; cutaneous neoplasms; fibrosarcoma; mast cell tumor; squamous cell carcinoma. Resultssectioned, and stained with hemat oxylin and eosin, Other histologic stains (mainly, Giemsa and toluidine blue) were used at the discretion of the case pathologist.The histologic diagnosis, signalment, and sites of the tumors are summarized in Tables I , 2, and 3, Data were evaluated for statistical significance by adjusted chi-square analysis, Follow-up information was not available for these cats, Ski n tumors com prised 9. 6% of feline necr op sy or biopsy accessions during th e 41 -month study . The skin sites accounted for 29 .6% of all neoplasms diagnosed in the cats, m aking it the most common sit e for tumors in our laboratory, Eighteen different types ofcutane o us neoplasms were recognized . Sex di stribution and age ofaffected ca ts are su m marize d for each tumor in Table I. Sign ificant sex pred ilection wa s not apparent for an y skin tumor. Site d istribution of th e tumors is summarized in Table 3.Basal cell tumor, mast cell tumor, squamous cell carcinoma, and fibrosarcoma were the m ost commonly diagnosed tumors, com pris ing 77.1 % ofall skin tumors d iagnosed during th e study period. The in ciden ce of th ese four com m on tumors is su m marize d by breed in T able 2. Materials and MethodsIn most stud ies, skin has been second only to th e lymphoid syste m as the most co m m on site of tumors in th e caL I4.25.31.35 A lthough some ea rly surveys lack diagnoses of mast cell tumor,9,11 ,26 ba sal cell tumor,4.1 4.25.26 or fibrosarcoma," more recent British," German," and Swiss" reports have cited fibrosarcoma , basal cell tumor, squamous cell carcinoma, and mast cell tumor (with variation in order of prevalence) as th e most co m mon feline skin tumors. These fou r tumors had been reported as early as 1953 in a retrospec tive study of 26 feline skin tumors." Reports of breed,13,20,31 ,36 sex,23,31.34 and...

White striping is a condition in broiler chickens characterized grossly by the occurrence of white striations, seen parallel to the direction of muscle fibers, on broiler breast fillets and thighs. Based on visual evaluation of the intensity of white striping, breast fillets can be categorized into normal (NORM), moderate (MOD), and severe (SEV) categories. This study was undertaken to evaluate the details of changes in histology as well as proximate composition occurring in the fillets with respect to the 3 degrees of white striping. In experiment 1, representative breast fillets for each degree of white striping (n = 20) were collected from 45-d-old broilers, approximately 2 h postmortem. From each fillet, 2 skeletal muscle samples were obtained and fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin. To identify and differentiate the histological changes, slides were prepared and stained using hematoxylin and eosin, Masson's Trichrome, and Oil Red O stains. In experiment 2, samples with 3 degrees of white striping were collected from 57-d-old birds for conducting proximate analysis. Major histopathological changes observed in the MOD and SEV samples consisted of loss of cross striations, variability in fiber size, floccular/vacuolar degeneration and lysis of fibers, mild mineralization, occasional regeneration (nuclear rowing and multinucleated cells), mononuclear cell infiltration, lipidosis, and interstitial inflammation and fibrosis. Microscopic lesions were visually scored for degeneration and necrosis, fibrosis, and lipidosis. The scale used to score the samples ranged from 0 (normal) to 3 (severe). There was an increase (P < 0.05) in mean scores for degenerative or necrotic lesions, fibrosis, and lipidosis as the degree of white striping increased from NORM to SEV. The results from the histopathological study were supported by the findings from proximate analysis confirming that the fat and protein contents of muscle increased (P < 0.05) and decreased (P < 0.05), respectively, as the degree of white striping increased. In conclusion, the histopathological changes occurring in white striping indicate a degenerative myopathy that could be associated with increased growth rate in birds.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of two adsorbents, a raw bentonite clay (RC) and a concentrated bentonite clay (CC), in ameliorating the toxic effects of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). Results of the in vitro study (pH 3.0) indicated the CC adsorbed more AFB1 than RC (93.39 mg/g vs. 79.30 mg/g) suggesting that CC may be more effective than RC in reducing the toxic effects of AFB1. One hundred and eighty day-old straight run broiler chicks were assigned to 6 replicate pens of 5 chicks each and assigned to 6 dietary treatments from hatch to day 21. Dietary treatments included: 1) basal diet (BD) containing no AFB1 or adsorbents; 2) BD plus 0.50% RC; 3) BD plus 0.50% CC; 4) BD plus 2.0 mg AFB1/kg; 5) BD plus 2.0 mg AFB1/kg plus 0.50% RC; and 6) BD plus 2.0 mg AFB1/kg plus 0.50% CC. Dietary AFB1 concentrations were confirmed by analysis and diets were screened for other mycotoxins prior to the start of the experiment. The addition of AFB1 to the feed reduced (P < 0.05) growth performance and increased (P < 0.05) relative liver weight (RLW) and kidney weight (RKW) of chicks fed AFB1 compared to control chicks on day 21. These changes were ameliorated (P < 0.05) by the addition of RC and CC to the AFB1 diet. Mild to moderate lesions of aflatoxicosis (2.25) were observed in chicks fed AFB1 alone on day 21. The addition of both RC and CC to the AFB1 diet decreased (P < 0.05) but did not prevent liver lesions (0.92 and 1.42, respectively). Results indicate that both RC and CC were effective in reducing the toxic effects of AFB1, however the cost of processing of CC would make the RC a more economical product for reducing the effects of AFB1 in young broiler chicks.

Aflatoxins, especially aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), can be greater in dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) because it can be concentrated during the ethanol production process. Increased use of DDGS in swine diets could potentially lead to an increased incidence of aflatoxicosis, a disease associated with decreased feed intake, reduced BW gain, and impaired liver function. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of AFB1 on the health, performance, and serum profile of growing barrows. Ninety Duroc × Yorkshire crossbred barrows were purchased (age = 35 ± 5 d; BW = 14.2 ± 3.0 kg), allocated to 9 pens with 10 pigs per pen, and randomly assigned to receive diets containing 0 µg/kg of AFB1 (CON), 250 µg/kg of AFB1 (LO), or 500 µg/kg of AFB1 (HI) for 7, 28, or 70 d in a 3 × 3 factorial arrangement of treatments. Feed intake was measured daily, and pigs were weighed and blood samples collected weekly. Serum was analyzed for concentrations of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), total bilirubin (BILI), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN). Both ADFI and ADG were negatively affected (P ≤ 0.001) by AFB1 treatment. Average daily feed intake was less (P < 0.05) in HI barrows than in CON barrows from wk 5 to 10 and was less (P < 0.05) in LO barrows than in CON barrows in wk 5 and again from wk 8 to 10. Also, ADFI was less (P = 0.022) in HI barrows than LO barrows in wk 10. Decreased ADG (P < 0.05) was observed in HI barrows than in CON barrows in wk 8 and 10; no differences (P ≥ 0.665) in ADG were noted between CON and LO barrows. There was no effect (P ≥ 0.080) of AFB1 treatment on ALT or BILI concentrations. However, both AST and BUN were affected (P < 0.05) by AFB1 treatment. Serum AST was greater (P = 0.010) in LO barrows than CON barrows in wk 5, and serum BUN was greater (P = 0.004) in CON barrows than LO barrows in wk 3. Results from this study demonstrate that the performance and health of young growing barrows were affected by consumption of an AFB1-contaminated diet, especially when fed for a more extended period.