Interrelationship of soil moisture and temperature to sylvatic plague cycle among prairie dogs in the Western United States

Plague, caused by Yersinia pestis, is a flea-borne disease that is endemic in areas throughout the world due to its successful maintenance in a sylvatic cycle, mainly in areas with temperate climates. Burrowing rodents are thought to play a key role in the enzootic maintenance as well as epizootic outbreaks of plague. In the United States, prairie dogs (Cynomys), rodents (Muridae), and ground squirrels (Spermophilus) are susceptible to infection and are parasitized by fleas that transmit plague. In particular, prairie dogs can experience outbreaks that rapidly spread, which can lead to extirpation of colonies. A number of ecological parameters, including climate, are associated with these epizootics. In this study, we asked whether soil parameters, primarily moisture and temperature, are associated with outbreaks of plague in black-tailed prairie dogs and Gunnison's prairie dogs in the Western United States, and at what depth these associations were apparent. We collected publicly available county-level information on the occurrence of population declines or colony extirpation, while historical soil data was collected from SCAN and USCRN stations in counties and states where prairie dogs have been located. The analysis suggests that soil moisture at lower depths correlates with colony die-offs, in addition to temperature near the surface, with key differences within the landscape ecology that impact the occurrence of plague. Overall, the model suggests that the burrow environment may play a significant role in the epizootic spread of disease amongst black-tailed and Gunnison's prairie dogs.     

An investigation of the effects of ketoprofen following rumen fistulation surgery in lactating dairy cows

Post-operative pain management following rumen surgery is not common practice. We examined the effect of providing the pain medication ketoprofen to dairy cattle following the first stage of a rumen cannulation surgery, which involves an incision in the body wall and exteriorizing and clamping the rumen. The results of this study provide clear evidence that the first stage of the surgery was painful and ketoprofen at the time of and 24 h following surgery, alleviated some, but not all, of the post-surgical pain. Pain mitigation should be included when performing flank surgery in cattle.     

Evaluation of a single subcutaneous infusion of carboplatin as adjuvant chemotherapy for dogs with osteosarcoma: 17 cases (2006-2010)

Objective-To evaluate adverse effects and survival times in dogs with osteosarcoma that received a single SC infusion of carboplatin as adjunctive chemotherapeutic treatment following limb amputation or limb-sparing surgery. Design-Retrospective case series. Animals-17 client-owned dogs with spontaneously occurring osteosarcoma. Procedures-Medical records of dogs that underwent limb amputation or limb-sparing surgery followed by a single continuous SC infusion of carboplatin (total dose, 300 mg/m(2) infused over 3, 5, or 7 days) were evaluated. Signalment, tumor location, type of surgery (amputation or limb-sparing), duration of carboplatin infusion, results of hematologic and serum biochemical analyses, and adverse effects were recorded. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed. Results-Median survival time for all dogs was 365 days. Nine dogs had adverse bone marrow-related (hematologic) effects, 1 had adverse gastrointestinal effects, and 7 had infections at the surgical site. No significant differences were detected in survival times of dogs grouped according to tumor location, type of surgery, duration of carboplatin infusion, or development of postoperative infection. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Median survival time and adverse effects in dogs with osteosarcoma that received a single SC infusion of carboplatin over a 3-, 5-, or 7-day period as adjunctive treatment following limb amputation or limb-sparing surgery were comparable to those of previously reported chemotherapy protocols requiring IV drug administration over several weeks. Further investigation is needed to evaluate the efficacy of this protocol as adjunctive treatment for osteosarcoma and other tumors in dogs.     

Growth and maturation of three commercially important coral reef species from American Samoa

Fisheries Science - This study presents age-based life history information on three small-bodied species targeted in the American Samoan fishery: Chlorurus japanensis palecheek...     

Early life history connectivity of Antarctic silverfish (Pleuragramma antarctica) in the Ross Sea

A recent population hypothesis for Antarctic silverfish (Pleuragramma antarctica), a critical forage species, argued that interactions between life history and circulation associated with glacial trough systems drive circumpolar distributions over the continental shelf. In the Ross Sea, aggregations of eggs and larvae occur under fast ice in Terra Nova Bay, and the hypothesis predicted that dispersing larvae encounter outflow along the western side of Drygalski Trough. The outflow advects larvae towards the shelf‐break, and mixing with trough inflow facilitates return toward the inner shelf. To examine the hypothesis, we compared samples of P. antarctica collected near Coulman Island in the outflow, along Crary Bank in the inflow, and a third set taken over the rest of the Ross Sea. We ruled out misidentification using an innovative genetic validation. Silverfish larvae comprised 99.5% of the catch, and the highest population densities were found in Drygalski Trough. The results provided no evidence to reject the population hypothesis. Abundance indices, back‐calculated hatching dates, length distributions and growth were congruent with a unified early life history in the western Ross Sea, constrained by cryopelagic early stages in Terra Nova Bay. By contrast, a sample in the Bay of Whales revealed much smaller larvae, suggesting either a geographically separate population in the eastern Ross Sea, or westward connectivity with larvae spawned nearby by fish sourced from troughs upstream in the Amundsen Sea. These results illustrate how hypotheses that integrate population structure with life history can provide precise spatial predictions for subsequent testing.     

Wheat grain quality under increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations in a semi-arid cropping system

We investigated wheat (Triticum aestivum) grain quality under Free Air CO₂ Enrichment (FACE) of 550 ± 10% CO₂ μmol mol⁻¹. In each of two full growing seasons (2008 and 2009), two times of sowing were compared, with late sowing designed to mimic high temperature during grain filling. Grain samples were subjected to a range of physical, nutritional and rheological quality assessments. Elevated CO₂ increased thousand grain weight (8%) and grain diameter (5%). Flour protein concentration was reduced by 11% at e[CO₂], with the highest reduction being observed at the late time of sowing in 2009, (15%). Most of the grain mineral concentrations decreased under e[CO₂] - Ca (11%), Mg (7%), P (11%) and S (7%), Fe (10%), Zn (17%), Na (19%), while total uptake of these nutrients per unit ground area increased. Rheological properties of the flour were altered by e[CO₂] and bread volume reduced by 7%. Phytate concentration in grains tended to decrease (17%) at e[CO₂] while grain fructan concentration remained unchanged. The data suggest that rising atmospheric [CO₂] will reduce the nutritional and rheological quality of wheat grain, but at high temperature, e[CO₂] effects may be moderated. Reduced phytate concentrations at e[CO₂] may improve bioavailability of Fe and Zn in wheat grain.     

Effects of Brans from Specialty Sorghum Varieties on In Vitro Starch Digestibility of Soft and Hard Sorghum Endosperm Porridges

Brans of specialty sorghum varieties (high tannin, black, and black with tannin) were used to investigate the effects of sorghum phenolic compounds on starch digestibility of soft and hard sorghum endosperm porridges. Endosperms of varieties with the highest and lowest grain hardness index were mixed with brans of specialty sorghum varieties in the ratio of 85:15 and cooked into porridges with distilled water using a Rapid Visco Analyzer. Brans of condensed tannin containing sorghum varieties (high‐tannin and black with tannin sorghums) significantly (P < 0.05) decreased starch digestibility and estimated glycemic index (EGI) and increased resistant starch (RS) content of endosperm porridges. However, the addition of phenolic‐rich tannin‐free (mostly anthocyanins) black sorghum bran significantly (P < 0.05) increased starch digestibility and EGI but did not affect RS content of endosperm porridges. The disparate effects with black bran may, in part, result from its larger particle size and different bran structure compared with other sorghum varieties evaluated. Thus, our study showed that not only presence of phenolic compounds in the brans but also structural differences of specialty sorghum brans can have significant effects on starch digestibility.