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Biomedical subjects

R J Rose

Publications and source records attributed to R J Rose.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources

The use of electrocardiography in the diagnosis of poor racing performance in the horse.

Electrocardiograms were reocrded from 153 racehorses and 10 Olympic three-day-event horses. The horses were then grouped into those presented for routine examination, those in which there was a complaint of poor performance, those going to the Montreal Olympics, and those with upper respiratory tract abnormalities. When the ECGs of the four groups were compared on the basis of detection of abnormality, it was found that 93.2% of the poor performance group showed abnormalities of various types. The routine examination group showed 21.1% of horses with abnormal ECGs, and over half of these have been followed to the point where it can be said they raced unsuccessfully. In particular, this applied to those horses with T wave abnormalities in 4 or more leads, and to those with intraatrial block. There were significant T wave changes in 50% of the Olympic horses, and 43.7% of horses with laryngeal hemiplegia showed abnormality. While it can be concluded that T wave changes are highly significant findings in an ECG, it is also true that modification of the training programme is a way of helping trainers to get the best out of horses which might otherwise have a serious limitation of their performance potential.

Animals↗

Bilateral luxation of the coffin joints in a horse, as a sequel to palmar neurectomy.

Complications from neurectomy have been well known for many years. A 16-year-old mare suffered bilateral luxation of the coffin joints following palmar neurectomy and was destroyed. Autopsy showed complete rupture of the deep flexor tendons, and the supporting ligaments of the coffin joints. Arthritis of the coffin joints, with erosion of articular cartilage was evident.

Animals↗

Therapeutic effect of vitamin C. A co-twin control study.

Three different dosages of vitamin C, dependent on body weight, were administered to 44 school-aged monozygotic twins for five months using a double-blind, co-twin control study design. The mothers recorded daily observations of cold symptoms, and multiple biochemical, anthropometric, and psychological measurements were made at the beginning and end of the study. Paired comparisons showed no significant overall treatment effect on cold symptoms, but the response was not uniform in all sub-groups. Treated girls in the youngest two groups had significantly shorter and less severe illness episodes, and an effect on severity was also observed in the youngest group of boys. The seven treated twins in the latter group also grew an average of 1.3 cm more than their untreated co-twins during the five-minth period of the study.

Adolescent↗

Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in a racehorse.

A 4-year-old thoroughbred stallion with a history of loss of racing form was studied over a period of approximately 7 months. At the initial examination he showed positive T waves in 1 chest lead and wandering of the pacemaker. This was followed by an episode of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation which disappeared spontaneously and was replaced by significant T wave changes in all the chest leads. During a period when these changes persisted, there was progressive lengthening of the P wave and the P-R interval. Because the last ECG showed evidence of intra-atrial block, first degree A-V block and T wave changes, the owner was advised that a fluctuating myocarditis was affecting the horse's performance and it was retired to stud. This appears to be the first report of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in Australia, and it demonstrates the value of regular follow-up examinations in horses with initial electrocardiographs showing only minor departures from normal. The case also suggests that when sharp reversals of racing form occur, the possibility of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation being the cause should be kept in mind.

Animals↗

Treatment of atrial fibrillation in three racehorses.

Three young Standardbred pacers with atrial fibrillation were treated with quinidine sulphate (QS) by stomach tube. They were given 10g QS every 2 hours until cardioversion was achieved. Total doses varied between 20 and 30 g. No premedication was given nor any follow up treatment after return to sinus rhythm. All horses were given 3 months rest after the treatment, and when electrocardiographed then, and at 6 months, showed normal sinus rhythm. As all 3 horses won races after cardioversion and showed subsequent normal electrocardiograms it seems likely that atrial fibrillation can occur without detectable pathological changes in the heart.

Animals↗

Plasma biochemistry alterations in horses during an endurance ride.

The effects of prolonged strenous exercise on the plasma concentrations of sodium, potassium, calcium, chloride, bicarbonate, phosphate, albumin, cholesterol, glucose, creatinine, bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, creatine phosphokinase, lactic dehydrogenase and asparate amino transferase were studied in a group of 26 horses competing in an endurance ride. There were significant changes in most parameters, when control values were compared with those taken immediately after the ride. There was also a significant correlation between several biochemical parameters and heart rate taken 30 minutes after the ride. When faster and slower horses were compared, significant differences were found only in phosphate and glucose values.

Animals↗

The localization of (3H) thymidine incorporation in the DNA of replicating spinach chloroplasts by electron-microscope autoradiography.

Electron-microscope autoradiography has been used to obtain information on the localization of DNA labelled with [3H]thymidine in chloroplasts known to be replicating and concomitantly synthesizing and segregating DNA, in cultured leaf disks. The studies were made using both Microdol-X developer and a 'compact' developer which gave a smaller grain size. About 80% of the grains were associated with the granal membranes and with presumptive DNA regions (3-nm fibril material in clear areas). Few grains occurred in association with the chloroplast envelope. We suggest that the DNA of chloroplasts is associated with the grana lamellae and extends into the stroma. Some light-microscope autoradiographs of whole chloroplasts show spiral or helical-like labelling patterns. We interpret these patterns as demonstration of the possibility that DNA occurs along the length of a continuous lamellar membrane system. Chloroplast fractionation experiments provided data consistent with the electron-microscope autoradiographic studies as most of the label was associated with chlorophyll-containing lamellae. We consider an association of chloroplast DNA molecules along the length of a continuous lamellar system would ensure an orderly segregation of DNA to daughter chloroplasts, during the binary fission of spinach chloroplasts by constriction division.

Autoradiography↗

Changes in DNA synthesis during cell growth and chloroplast replication in greening spinach leaf disks.

Spinach leaf disks grown initially in the dark, show increased cell expansion and chloroplast replication when transferred to the light. These changes are accompanied by increases in the total amount of DNA and the incorporation of [3H]thymidine (3H-TdR). Autoradiography of EDTA-separated cells dried on to glass slides was used to follow changes in 3H-TdR incorporation in both chloroplasts and nuclei. Specificity of incorporation was confirmed by nuclease studies. DNA synthesis occurs in both the chloroplasts and nuclei, and is highest just prior to, and during the period of most rapid cell growth and chloroplast replication which occurs shortly after the transfer to the light. Light, however, appears to have a greater and more immediate effect on nuclear DNA synthesis. Though nuclear and chloroplast DNA syntheses follow similar patterns during disk growth, in a given cell, chloroplast DNA synthesis can be separate in time from nuclear DNA synthesis. The increased nuclear DNA synthesis is possibly required to support the increased population of chloroplasts, while chloroplast DNA synthesis is associated with chloroplast division. If the disks are not transferred to the light but kept in darkness, chloroplast 3H-TdR incorporation remains high, though chloroplast division is reduced. Epidermal cells in light-grown tissue also show 3H-TdR incorporation but low rates of chloroplast division. It would appear that chloroplast DNA synthesis in mesophyll cells from light-grown tissue shows a general relation to chloroplast division, but there does not appear to be an obligatory close coupling between the 2 processes.

Autoradiography↗