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Temperature/Salinity profiles collected between 1994 and 2003 with profiling floats in the North Atlantic sub polar gyre were analyzed to investigate the hydrographic conditions in winter in the Irminger Sea. The float data show that in the Irminger Sea the thermal energy of the water column reaches the lowest values south and the southwest of Cape Farewell.

Two months after initiation of chemotherapy, a totally implantable vascular access system was used for the continuing administration of chemotherapeutic agents to a ferret with multicentric lymphoma. The subcutaneously located injection port minimized the need for restraint and facilitated repeated IV administration of drugs. Treatment with a combination of L-asparaginase, vincristine sulfate, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, chlorambucil, and prednisone failed to induce complete remission. Survival time (interval from histologic diagnosis to euthanasia) was 10 months. The vascular access system remained patent and did not cause infection in the surrounding subcutaneous tissues during the 5-month period that it was in position.

Assays were validated for the measurement of urinary concentrations of cortisol and creatinine in domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo). Urinary concentrations of cortisol and creatinine and the calculated urinary cortisol:creatinine ratio (UCCR) values were determined for 29 clinically normal female ferrets, 22 clinically normal male ferrets, and 12 ferrets with adrenal gland tumors. The UCCR values for the 51 clinically normal ferrets ranged from 0.04 x 10(-6) to 1.66 x 10(-6), with a median value of 0.22 x 10(-6). The UCCR values were significantly (P < or = 0.01) higher in the 12 ferrets with adrenal tumors, with a range of 0.5 x 10(-6) to 60.13 x 10(-6) and a median of 5.98 x 10(-6). We concluded that determination of UCCR values was useful in the diagnosis of hyperadrenocorticism associated with adrenal neoplasia in domestic ferrets.

The evaluation and treatment of patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis have evolved as improvements in objective measurements of phonatory function and new modalities for treatment have developed. A thorough history, physical examination, subjective voice evaluation, objective voice analysis, and electromyography are used to make a diagnosis, determine the cause, and plan treatment. The goal of treatment of the patient with a unilateral vocal fold paralysis is to restore normal phonatory function without aspiration. Multiple modalities have developed to allow for restoration of nearly normal phonatory function, and these include voice therapy alone or in combination with injection medialization, laryngoplastic phonosurgery, or laryngeal reinnervation. Otolaryngologists should be familiar with the incidence, cause, evaluation, and state-of-the-art treatment of unilateral vocal fold paralysis of optimize patient care and avoid suboptimal results often seen with antiquated or inappropriate treatment.

A 13-year-old male domestic shorthair cat was found to have normocytic hypochromic regenerative anemia, lymphopenia, eosinopenia, thrombocytopenia, hyperglycemia, hyperbilirubinemia, and a prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time. Transfusions of packed RBC failed to maintain the PCV above 13% for > 8 hours. The cat was euthanatized. At necropsy, the spleen liver, lymph nodes, and bone marrow were infiltrated with malignant histiocytes undergoing erythrophagocytosis.

Adrenocortical tumors were diagnosed in 5 adult spayed ferrets. Four ferrets had bilaterally symmetrical alopecia of the caudal femoral region, abdomen, and tail, and 1 had alopecia of the distal limbs and feet. All 5 ferrets had vulvar swelling. During abdominal ultrasonography, irregular masses, believed to involve the adrenal glands, were seen in all 5 ferrets. Unilateral adrenalectomy was performed successfully in each ferret by use of ventral midline celiotomy. On histologic examination of biopsy samples, 4 ferrets were found to have adrenocortical adenomas, and 1 ferret was found to have an adrenocortical adenocarcinoma. All clinical signs resolved after adrenalectomy, suggesting that the adrenocortical tumors had been secreting adrenocortical hormones.

An 8-month-old Labrador Retriever was examined because of a 1-month history of productive coughing unresponsive to ampicillin treatment. Larvae of Crenosoma vulpis were found in fecal samples examined by zinc sulfate centrifugation and Baermann technique. Physical examination abnormalities or larvae in fecal samples were not detected 6 weeks after treatment with prednisone (1 mg/kg, PO, q 24 h, for 7 days, then 0.5 mg/kg, PO, q 48 h, for 8 days) and fenbendazole granules (50 mg/kg, PO, q 24 h, for 3 days). This report suggests that fenbendazole may be effective for treating Crenosoma vulpis infection in dogs.

Ingested scutes caused an intestinal obstruction in an 18-year-old turtle. An enterotomy, performed through a flank approach to the celiac cavity, successfully relieved the obstruction. The scutes were ingested during a period of neglect by the owner.

Two eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) were treated for myiasis caused by Sarcophaga cistudinis. The tortoises were examined because of swellings of the proximal cervical regions. Both fully recovered following surgical removal of multiple larvae.

Forceful manual compression of the thyroid and cricoid cartilages modifies the position, shape, and tension of the vocal folds. This is the basis of the four laryngeal manual compression tests, adjunctive examinations used as a means of preoperative assessment of patients for medialization laryngoplasty, ie, Isshiki thyroplasty types I and IV and arytenoid adduction. The laryngeal manual compression tests are simple to perform and noninvasive. Each of the four examinations yields valuable information on the effects on the voice of changes in vocal cord characteristics produced by manual compression. In this report, one of the four tests, lateral manual compression, is evaluated objectively with well-attested methods of videostroboscopic, aerodynamic, and acoustic analysis. The technique of performing lateral manual compression is described, and advantages and disadvantages are noted and compared in 10 patients. Preliminary findings in 4 patients in this group indicate that medialization laryngoplasty should be considered when test results are conclusive of effective glottic closure. Data derived in this preliminary study will be augmented as patients are added to the series.

The harmonic components in hoarse voice were separated from the noise components by using a small laboratory computer. The ratio of harmonics to noise or S/N ratio, was calculated and compared with the auditory impression for 58 subjects. The calculated results showed a definite correlation to the auditory impression, and it is suggested that this would be a useful method for the quantitative evaluation of hoarseness.