Threshold and weighted-distance methods: a combined multiscale approach improves explanatory power of forest carabid beetle abundance in agricultural landscape

Landscape Ecology - To analyze the scales at which landscape structure influences ecological processes, two approaches with different underlying ecological assumptions exist; the usual threshold...     

BILOBED GALLBLADDER IN A CAT: ULTRASONOGRAPHIC APPEARANCE

A five-month-old male domestic shorthair cat presented with a history of vomiting for 4 days. An ultrasound examination of the abdomen was performed as part of the diagnostic workup. The gallbladder appeared to be bilobate. The cat died the following day from renal failure. At necropsy, a bilobed gallbladder was confirmed and considered to be a congenital anomaly unrelated to the cat's death.     

Distribution of Salmonella serovars and phage types on 80 Ontario swine farms in 2004

The objective of this study was to describe the distribution of Salmonella spp. on Ontario grower-finisher pig farms. Eighty swine farms were visited from January through July 2004. On each farm, fecal samples were collected from 5 pens, 2 rectal samples and 1 pooled sample from fresh manure on the floor per pen. Salmonella was isolated from 91 (11%) of the 800 rectal samples and 73 (18%) of the 397 pooled samples. Overall, Salmonella was recovered from 37 (46%) of the 80 farms. On each positive farm, Salmonella was cultured from 1 to 7 pigs or 1 to 5 pens. Of the 37 farms, 18, 13, 5, and 1 yielded 1, 2, 3, and 4 serovars, respectively. The most common serovars were S. Typhimurium var. Copenhagen, S. Infantis, S. Typhimurium, S. Derby, S. Agona, S. Havana, and S. enterica subsp. I:Rough-O. The 3 most frequent phage types were PT 104, PT 104a, and PT 104b. There was a statistically fair agreement between samples collected directly from pigs and pooled pen samples in determining the Salmonella status at the pen and farm level (kappa = 0.6, P < 0.0001). However, in 62 pens, Salmonella status, serovars, or phage types differed between the pig and pooled pen samples. The distribution of Salmonella on the swine farms in this study indicates that, in developing an intervention strategy, priority should be given to farms positive for S. Typhimurium var. Copenhagen. Also, the variation in Salmonella status between pig and pooled pen samples deserves consideration in a sampling strategy.     

Assessing the impacts of domesticated versus wild ungulates on terrestrial small mammal assemblages at Telperion Nature Reserve,South Africa

Grazing by large mammals alters vegetation physiognomy, consequently changing habitat suitability for small mammal communities. We investigated the response of terrestrial small mammals to grazing by wild and domesticated ungulates at the boundary of a protected area (Telperion Nature Reserve) and surrounding cattle ranches in Mpumalanga, South Africa over two seasons. Fifteen paired grids were set on either side of the boundary fence at which small mammals were trapped in Sherman live traps placed flat on the ground. A total of 11 760 trap nights resulted in the capture of 187 animals belonging to 14 species (11 rodents, two shrews and one elephant shrew). The small mammal communities in grasslands grazed by domesticated or wild ungulates were similar in abundance, species richness, diversity and demographic parameters, likely due to the fact that vegetation structure of the two grazing systems was also similar. We used generalised linear models to show that rock and grass cover were plausible predictors of small mammal abundance in this system. Rock cover showed a positive relationship with small mammal abundance whilst grass cover showed a negative relationship. Our observations suggest that at the scale of our study and with the current stocking densities, wild and domesticated ungulates have similar impacts on the small mammal community.     

Salmonella enterica serovar Kentucky recovered from human clinical cases in Maryland,USA (2011–2015)

Salmonella Kentucky is among the most frequently isolated S. enterica serovars from food animals in the United States. Recent research on isolates recovered from these animals suggests there may be geographic and host specificity signatures associated with S. Kentucky strains. However, the sources and genomic features of human clinical S. Kentucky isolated in the United States remain poorly described. To investigate the characteristics of clinical S. Kentucky and the possible sources of these infections, the genomes of all S. Kentucky isolates recovered from human clinical cases in the State of Maryland between 2011 and 2015 (n = 12) were sequenced and compared to a database of 525 previously sequenced S. Kentucky genomes representing 12 sequence types (ST) collected from multiple sources on several continents. Of the 12 human clinical S. Kentucky isolates from Maryland, nine were ST198, two were ST152, and one was ST314. Forty‐one per cent of isolates were recovered from patients reporting recent international travel and 58% of isolates encoded genomic characteristics similar to those originating outside of the United States. Of the five isolates not associated with international travel, three encoded antibiotic resistance genes conferring resistance to tetracycline or aminoglycosides, while two others only encoded the cryptic aac(6′)‐Iaa gene. Five isolates recovered from individuals with international travel histories (ST198) and two for which travel was not recorded (ST198) encoded genes conferring resistance to between 4 and 7 classes of antibiotics. Seven ST198 genomes encoded the Salmonella Genomic Island 1 and substitutions in the gyrA and parC genes known to confer resistance to ciprofloxacin. Case report data on food consumption and travel were, for the most part, consistent with the inferred S. Kentucky phylogeny. Results of this study indicate that the majority of S. Kentucky infections in Maryland are caused by ST198 which may originate outside of North America.