Variability in the performance of juvenile Chinook salmon is explained primarily by when and where they resided in estuarine habitats

Estuarine habitats provide rearing opportunities for the juvenile life stage of anadromous fishes. Because survival is positively correlated with juvenile performance, these estuarine habitats play an important role in population abundance and productivity. To provide information for the recovery of several depressed stocks of Chinook salmon in the Columbia River Basin, we sought to identify the factors that explain variability in performance. Using otolith‐derived estimates of juvenile somatic growth rate as an index of recent performance, we observed a negative nonlinear relationship between growth rate and day of year, and a decreasing and increasing trend of growth rate over the 8 years of this study and distance from the river mouth respectively. Using a generalised linear modelling approach, we found that variability in juvenile somatic growth rate was best explained by where and when individuals were collected, their body size, contaminant loads, stock of origin, and whether a fish was hatchery produced or unmarked. Lastly, we argue that a considerable improvement to the growth rate of juveniles in estuarine habitats is physiologically possible. The results of this 8‐year study provide a baseline of the performance of juvenile Chinook salmon to evaluate habitat restoration programs and to compare against future anthropogenic conditions.     

Equol,a Blood–Brain Barrier Permeable Gut Microbial Metabolite of Dietary Isoflavone Daidzein,Exhibits Neuroprotective Effects against Neurotoxins Induced Toxicity in Human Neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y Cells and Caenorhabditis elegans

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - Emerging data support that plant food based isoflavones have ameliorating effects on a variety of neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s disease...     

Effects of two different anesthetic protocols on 64‐MDCT coronary angiography in dogs

Heart rate is a major factor influencing diagnostic image quality in computed tomographic coronary artery angiography (MDCT‐CA), with an ideal heart rate of 60–65 beats/min in humans. The purpose of this prospective study was to compare effects of two different clinically applicable anesthetic protocols on cardiovascular parameters and 64‐MDCT‐CA quality in 10 healthy dogs. Scan protocols and bolus volumes were standardized. Image evaluations were performed in random order by a board‐certified veterinary radiologist who was unaware of anesthetic protocols used. Heart rate during image acquisition did not differ between protocols (P = 1), with 80.6 ± 7.5 bpm for protocol A and 79.2 ± 14.2 bpm for protocol B. Mean blood pressure was significantly higher (P > 0.05) using protocol B (protocol A 62.9 ± 9.1 vs. protocol B 72.4 ± 15.9 mmHg). The R‐R intervals allowing for best depiction of individual coronary artery segments were found in the end diastolic period and varied between the 70% and 95% interval. Diagnostic quality was rated excellent, good, and moderate in the majority of the segments evaluated, with higher scores given for more proximal segments and lower for more distal segments, respectively. Blur was the most commonly observed artifact and mainly affected the distal segments. No significant differences were identified between the two protocols for optimal reconstruction interval, diagnostic quality and measured length individual segments, or proximal diameter of the coronary arteries (P = 1). Findings indicated that, when used with a standardized bolus volume, both of these anesthetic protocols yielded diagnostic quality coronary 64‐MDCT‐CA exams in healthy dogs.     

ASSESSMENT OF RESPIRATION‐INDUCED DISPLACEMENT OF CANINE ABDOMINAL ORGANS IN DORSAL AND VENTRAL RECUMBENCY USING MULTISLICE COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY

Respiratory‐induced organ displacement during image acquisition can produce motion artifacts and variation in spatial localization of an organ in diagnostic computed tomography (CT) examinations. The purpose of this prospective study was to quantify respiratory‐induced abdominal organ displacement in dorsal and ventral recumbency using five normal dogs. All dogs underwent CT examinations using 64 multidetector row CT (64‐MDCT). A “3‐dimensional (3D) apneic CT exam” of the abdomen was acquired followed by a “4‐dimensional (4D) ventilated CT exam.” The liver, pancreas, both kidneys, both medial iliac lymph nodes, and urinary bladder were delineated on the 3D‐apneic examination and the organ outlines were compared to the maximum alteration in organ position in the 4D‐ventilated examination. Displacement was measured in dorsal‐to‐ventral (DV), right‐to‐left (RL), and cranial‐to‐caudal (CC) directions. Respiratory‐induced displacement of canine abdominal organs was not predictable and showed large variability in the three directions evaluated. For most canine abdominal organs, dorsal recumbency provided overall the least amount of displacement among all directions evaluated except for liver and urinary bladder. For liver, a large variability was found for all directions and a statistically significant difference was found only in the RL direction with ventral recumbency exhibiting less displacement (P = 0.0099). For the urinary bladder, ventral recumbency also provided less displacement but this was statistically significant only in the RL direction (P < 0.0001). Findings from this study indicated that dorsal recumbency may be preferred for minimizing respiratory motion artifacts in whole abdomen studies, but ventral recumbency may be preferred for liver and urinary bladder studies when respiration cannot be controlled.     

A KCNJ10 mutation previously identified in the Russell group of terriers also occurs in Smooth-Haired Fox Terriers with hereditary ataxia and in related breeds

Background

Hereditary ataxias with similar phenotypes were reported in the Smooth-Haired Fox Terrier, the Jack Russell Terrier and the Parson Russell Terrier. However, segregation analyses showed differing inheritance modes in these breeds. Recently, molecular genetic studies on the Russell group of terriers found independent mutations in KCNJ10 and CAPN1, each associated with a specific clinical subtype of inherited ataxia. The aim of this study was to clarify whether or not Smooth-Haired Fox Terriers with hereditary ataxia and dogs of other related breeds harbor either of the same mutations. A sub goal was to update the results of KCNJ10 genotyping in Russell group terriers.

Findings

Three Smooth-Haired Fox Terriers with hereditary ataxia and two Toy Fox Terriers with a similar phenotype were all homozygous for the KCNJ10 mutation. The same mutation was also found in a heterozygous state in clinically unaffected Tenterfield Terriers (n = 5) and, in agreement with previous studies, in Jack Russell Terriers, Parson Russell Terriers, and Russell Terriers.

Conclusions

A KCNJ10 mutation, previously associated with an autosomal recessive spinocerebellar ataxia in Jack Russell Terriers, Parson Russell Terriers, and Russell Terriers segregates in at least three more breeds descended from British hunting terriers. Ataxic members of two of these breeds, the Smooth-Haired Fox Terrier and the Toy Fox Terrier, were homozygous for the mutation, strengthening the likelihood that this genetic defect is indeed the causative mutation for the disease known as “hereditary ataxia” in Fox Terriers and “spinocerebellar ataxia with myokymia, seizures or both” in the Russell group of terriers.     

Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic analysis comparing diverse effects of detomidine,medetomidine, and dexmedetomidine in the horse: a population analysis

The present study characterizes the pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) relationships of the α₂‐adrenergic receptor agonists detomidine (DET), medetomidine (MED) and dexmedetomidine (DEX) in parallel groups of horses from in vivo data after single bolus doses. Head height (HH), heart rate (HR), and blood glucose concentrations were measured over 6 h. Compartmental PK and minimal physiologically based PK (mPBPK) models were applied and incorporated into basic and extended indirect response models (IRM). Population PK/PD analysis was conducted using the Monolix software implementing the stochastic approximation expectation maximization algorithm. Marked reductions in HH and HR were found. The drug concentrations required to obtain inhibition at half‐maximal effect (IC₅₀) were approximately four times larger for DET than MED and DEX for both HH and HR. These effects were not gender dependent. Medetomidine had a greater influence on the increase in glucose concentration than DEX. The developed models demonstrate the use of mechanistic and mPBPK/PD models for the analysis of clinically obtainable in vivo data.