Papillomavirus-associated basosquamous carcinoma in an Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus).

A 5-yr-old female Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) had a small raised pigmented mass removed from the lateral canthus of the left eye. Six additional variably sized, raised, smooth to cauliflower-like skin masses were observed randomly distributed throughout the left wing membranes. Four masses were removed and diagnosed microscopically as basosquamous carcinomas and papillomas. Additional masses, removed 6 mo and 1 yr later, showed bony invasion and squamous differentiation. Immunohistochemistry detected positive intranuclear staining for bovine papillomavirus antibody in all samples. Polymerase chain reaction done on DNA extracts from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor tissue amplified a 450 base-pair segment analogous to the L1 region of human papillomavirus types 96 and 5. Basic Local Alignment Search Tool analysis of sequenced amplicons suggests a novel chiropteran papillomavirus. To our knowledge, this is the first report of papillomavirus-associated carcinoma in a chiropteran species.     

Correlation between loss of efficacy of macrocyclic lactone heartworm anthelmintics and P-glycoprotein genotype

Macrocyclic lactone (ML) molecules have been used for heartworm control for more than 25 years. However, in recent years, there have been reports of loss of efficacy of ML heartworm preventatives against Dirofilaria immitis in some locations in the United States. Macrocyclic lactone resistance is a common problem in nematode parasites of livestock, and more recently, evidence of ivermectin resistance has been reported in the human filarial nematode Onchocerca volvulus. In this study, four D. immitis sample groups from the United States with different treatment histories were investigated for evidence of ML-driven genetic selection. DNA from individual adult worms and microfilariae was amplified by polymerase chain reaction to investigate a gene encoding a P-glycoprotein, a protein class known to be involved in ML pharmacology. A significant correlation of a GG-GG genotype with ivermectin response phenotype was found. Moreover, a significant loss of heterozygosity was found in a low responder group; loss of heterozygosity is commonly seen in loci when a population has been under selection. Further studies are required to confirm ML resistance in heartworm populations. However, the genetic changes observed in this study may be useful as a marker to monitor for ML resistance in D. immitis.     

Descriptive spatial epidemiology of subclinical Salmonella infection in finisher pig herds: application of a novel method of spatially adaptive smoothing

We describe the spatial epidemiological features of the 6.8 million meat-juice serological tests that were conducted between 1995 and 2004 as part of the Danish swine Salmonella control programme. We investigated pig and farm density using edge-corrected kernel estimations. Pigs were aggregated at the county level to assess county-level risk, and then we investigated farm-level risk by giving farms a case or non-case label using a cut-off of 40% of pigs positive. Conditional probability surfaces, correcting for the underlying population at risk, were produced for each year of the study period using a novel kernel estimator with a spatially adaptive smoothing bandwidth. This approach improves on previous methods by allowing focussed estimation of risk in areas of high population density while maintaining stable estimates in regions where the data are sparse. Two spatial trends in the conditional probability of a farm being a case were evident: (1) over the whole country, with the highest risk in the west compared to the east; and (2) on the Jutland peninsula with the highest risk in the north and south. At the farm-level a consistent area of risk was the south-west of Jutland. Case farms tended to aggregate indicating spatial dependency in the data. We found no association between pig or farm density and Salmonella risk. We generated hypotheses for this spatial pattern of risk and we conclude that this spatial pattern should be considered in the development of surveillance strategies and as a basis for further, more detailed analyses of the data.     

Long-Term Production and Profitability From Grazing Cattle in the Northern Mixed Grass Prairie

Conventional wisdom among rangeland professionals has been that for long-term sustainability of grazing livestock operations, rangeland should be kept in high good to low excellent range condition. Our objective was to analyze production parameters, costs, returns, and profit using data generated over a 34-yr period (1969–2002) from grazing a Clayey range site in the mixed-grass prairie of western South Dakota with variable stocking rates to maintain pastures in low–fair, good, and excellent range condition classes. Cattle weights were measured at turnout and at the end of the grazing season. Gross income · ha^?1 was the product of gain · ha^?1 and price. Prices were based on historical National Agricultural Statistics Services feeder cattle prices. Annual variable costs were estimated using a yearling cattle budget developed by South Dakota State University agricultural economists. All economic values were adjusted to a constant dollar using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index. Stocking rate, average daily gain, total gain, net profit, gross revenue, and annual costs · ha^?1 varied among range condition classes. Net income for low–fair range condition ($27.61 · ha^?1) and good range condition ($29.43 · ha^?1) were not different, but both were greater than excellent range condition ($23.01 · ha^?1). Over the life of the study, real profit (adjusted for inflation) steadily increased for the low–fair and good treatments, whereas it remained level for the excellent treatment. Neither drought nor wet springs impacted profit differently for the three treatments. These results support generally observed rancher behavior regarding range condition: to maintain their rangeland in lower range condition than would be recommended by rangeland professionals. Ecosystem goods and services of increasing interest to society and associated with high range condition, such as floristic diversity, hydrologic function, and some species of wildlife, come at an opportunity cost to the rancher.