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The effect of exponential decay pulsed electric fields on peach (var. Miraflores) polyphenoloxidase (PPO) was evaluated. Electric field intensities ranged from 2.18 to 24.30 kV/cm. Pulses of 0.02 and 0.08 ms width were applied in mono-and bipolar mode. A 70% maximum reduction in enzymatic activity was achieved after 5 ms using 0.02 ms width pulses in bipolar mode at 24.30 kV/cm. Peach PPO activity decreased following an exponential decay kinetic model. Rate constants ranged from 9.0 to 138 ms -1 in monopolar mode, and from 8.7 to 235 ms -1 in bipolar mode. An exponential decay model may describe the relationship between residual PPO and input electric energy.

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Congenital vertebral malformations (CVM) are common in brachycephalic 'screw-tailed' dogs; they can be associated with neurological deficits and a genetic predisposition has been suggested. The purpose of this study was to evaluate radiography as a screening method for congenital thoracic vertebral malformations in brachycephalic 'screw-tailed' dogs by comparing it with CT. Forty-nine dogs that had both radiographic and CT evaluations of the thoracic vertebral column were included. Three observers retrospectively reviewed the images independently to detect CVMs. When identified, they were classified according to a previously published radiographic classification scheme. A CT consensus was then reached. All observers identified significantly more affected vertebrae when evaluating orthogonal radiographic views compared with lateral views alone; and more affected vertebrae with the CT consensus compared with orthogonal radiographic views. Given the high number of CVMs per dog, the number of dogs classified as being CVM free was not significantly different between CT and radiography. Significantly more midline closure defects were also identified with CT compared with radiography. Malformations classified as symmetrical or ventral hypoplasias on radiography were frequently classified as ventral and medial aplasias on CT images. Our results support that CT is better than radiography for the classification of CVMs and this will be important when further evidence of which are the most clinically relevant CVMs is identified. These findings are of particular importance for designing screening schemes of CVMs that could help selective breeding programmes based on phenotype and future studies.

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The aims of this retrospective study were to assess the prevalence of primary genotypic resistance to antiretroviral drugs in untreated HIV patients in Spain using the line probe assay and to determine its possible relationship to several epidemiological variables. The global prevalence of primary resistance was 12.5%. Primary mutations in the reverse transcriptase gene were found in two (2.2%) samples: M41L, K70R and M184 V were found in one sample and K70R in another. Primary mutations in the protease gene were detected in 12% of cases; V82A was the mutation most frequently detected (11/12, 91.6%). No statistical significance was found for any of the epidemiological variables studied. In conclusion, the prevalence of primary resistance detected is similar to that found by other authors.