Pacemaker implantation in a ferret (Mustela putorius furo) with third-degree atrioventricular block.

A 7.5-year-old castrated male ferret (Mustela putorius furo) was diagnosed with third-degree atrioventricular (AV) block. A monopolar epicardial pacemaker system was implanted, resulting in a regular, paced cardiac rhythm with third-degree AV block at 140 beats per minute. Over the next 2 months, the ferret developed anorexia, interstitial pneumonia, intermittent diarrhea, and hind-limb weakness and had a slow and progressive recovery. The ferret developed clinical signs of congestive heart failure 4 months after the surgery, resulting in its death 3 weeks later. Necropsy results attributed the death to cardiac failure due to extensive myocardial mineralization. To the authors' knowledge this is the first published report of surgical report of surgical pacemaker implantation in a ferret.     

Abdominal aortic aneurysm associated with systemic fungal infection in a German shepherd dog

A 2 yr old spayed female German shepherd presented with a chief complaint of acute onset paraparesis and weight loss. At presentation, the dog was pyrexic, nonambulatory, and had generalized muscle wasting. Neurolocalization was consistent with a thoracolumbar spinal cord lesion. An abdominal ultrasound was performed and revealed a focal dilation (4 cm) of the terminal aorta with evidence of blood stasis consistent with an aortic aneurysm. The dog was euthanized shortly after admission to the hospital and a post mortem examination was performed. Fungal organisms were identified in the aortic aneurysm as well as from the thoracic vertebrae, mesenteric lymph nodes, axillary lymph nodes, spleen, kidneys, liver, lungs, and heart. Although the morphology was consistent with Candida spp., immunohistochemistry and PCR could not definitively identify the causative organism. Mycotic aortic aneurysms are a rare finding in humans and have not been previously reported in the dog. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first known report of an aortic aneurysm associated with systemic fungal infection in a dog.     

Work quality and veneer value recovery of mechanised and manual log-making in Italian poplar plantations

In Italy, poplar plantations represent an important source of wood products, and especially of high-quality veneer logs. These plantations offer favourable conditions to the introduction of forest mechanisation, and especially easy access and industrial management. However, owners fear that mechanised log-making may cause value losses, due to poor length measurement, log surface damage and improper grading. This study compared the performance of manual and mechanised log-making on ten commercial operations, in order to determine the occurrence and the severity of possible value losses due to product degrade. The study found that length measurement errors are smaller for mechanised processing, while the frequency and severity of log surface damage are the same for both treatments. In three cases out of five, mechanised log-making extracted the same value from the stems as manual log-making: in the remaining two, differences were very small and went opposite directions. Significant differences were found between operators, stressing the importance of operator skills and motivation. In fact, the log-making specifications and the pricing structure applied to poplar processing are relatively simple and are unlikely to challenge the ability of personnel and equipment. At present, most Italian poplar growers are unaware of the potential offered by modern technology, whose intelligent use would boost value recovery and decrease harvesting cost. Significant benefits may derive from the introduction of optimised bucking, which may help shifting to a more articulated and rewarding product strategy.     

A Survey of Logging Contract Rates in the Southern European Alps

A survey of harvesting contracts was conducted in the Alpine regions of France and Italy. The main goal was to produce a benchmark for the harvesting contract rates in the area that may guide forest owners and logging contractors when making their harvesting decisions. The sample included 443 contracts, evenly distributed between France and Italy. The mean tract size was 9.17 ha, while the mean lot size was slightly larger than 500 m³ under bark (ub). Mean removal intensity varied from 70 to 120 m³ ub ha^?1, depending on country and harvesting technique (i.e. ground-based or cable-yarder based). Mean contract rate was 35€ m^?3 ub, but individual contract rates varied significantly between countries and for different harvest techniques. Regression analysis showed that contract rate was strongly affected by tree size, extraction distance and harvest technique. Contrary to expectation, neither tract size nor lot size had any effect on contract rate. This may be explained by the widespread use of mobile operations that are specifically designed for handling small lots and incur minimum relocation cost. The technical factors explored in the study could only explain 40 % of the variability in the dataset, and therefore at least part of the variability must derive from non-technical factors such as local market dynamics and national economics. The study did find significant differences between countries. In particular, ground-based operations were more cost efficient in France, and cable yarder-based operations in Italy.     

Assessment of cable tensile forces in active winch-assist harvesting using an anchor machine configuration

European Journal of Forest Research - The growing interest in accessing steep terrain is pushing the expansion of the operating range of ground-based machines through winch-assist technology....     

Exploring the silvicultural and economic viability of gap cutting in Mediterranean softwood plantations

Gap cutting consists of the removal of all trees growing on a small surface,varying in size from 200 to 600 m 2.In Italy,gap cutting has been successfully tested for introducing the natural regeneration of native species into softwood plantations,thus accelerating the transition towards climax hardwood stands.Depending on plantation types and conditions,gap cutting should be started at an age between 70 and 80 years and the system should include at least 12 to 15 gaps,in order to produce enough wood to cover costs.Generally,natural regeneration is firmly established within 5-7 years from treatment.Gap cutting also offers superior results to selection thinning,the latter producing about 35% less value and incurring 25% to 30% more costs.As for all regeneration cuts,the success of gap cutting depends on wildlife control in order to prevent extensive damage to the regeneration.     

Screening RAPD primers for molecular taxonomy and cultivar fingerprinting in the genus Actinidia

Summary Eighty ten-base long arbitrary primers were tested for PCR-based DNA amplification of three species of the genus Actinidia (A. deliciosa the kiwifruit, A. chinensis, and A. kolomikta), with the aim of screening species-specific and genotype-specific markers.Of the 80 primers tested, 30 gave an average of 3.5 bands which were monomorphic within one or two species and absent in the remaining one(s), thus resulting in useful markers for taxonomic and phylogenetic purposes. None of the primers tested produced bands linked to sex. Twenty primers out of the twenty-five selected from a preliminary screening showed high levels of polymorphism, producing two to eleven patterns each from the 13 kiwifruit cultivars examined.We found the Stoffel fragment and the Taq polymerase were both suitable for RAPD analysis, the most noticeable difference being the smaller size of fragments (0.4–1.2 kb) produced by the former in comparison to the latter (1.0–3.4 kb). We tested also three different annealing temperatures (35, 37, and 39° C) and found the intermediate one best for number of amplified bands and reproducibility of results.Abbreviations 2-BE 2-butoxyethanol - CTAB hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide - MAS Marker-Assisted-Selection - PCR Polymerase Chain Reaction - RAPD Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA - RFLPs Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms