Regional distribution and integrity of equine ovarian pre‐antral follicles

The goal of this study was to determine the distribution of pre‐antral follicles in the ovarian parenchyma of mares. For Experiment 1, each ovary was cut longitudinally at the greater curvature, performing two hemiovaries. After that, six fragments from each hemiovary were obtained, resulting in 12 fragments, which were divided into the innermost region of the parenchyma, the middle region and the outermost region. All the three obtained sections were cut transversally to obtain two fragments from each one. For Experiment 2, each ovary also submitted to a longitudinal cut on the greater curvature, forming two hemiovaries. Each hemiovary was sectioned into four symmetrical fragments, resulting in eight fragments per ovary. The fragments were related as being near to or far from the ovulatory fossa. The fragments of both experiments were immediately fixed in Carnoy for 12 hr and kept in 70% ethanol for 24 hr. Follicles were classified according to the stages of development and for morphological integrity according to oocyte morphology and granulosa cells. After the histological assessment, a total of 1,130 follicles were visualized from Experiment 1, being 1,054 (93.3%) primordial follicles and 76 (4.7%) follicles in development. The innermost region had the highest percentage of pre‐antral follicles compared to the other regions (p < .05). The middle and outermost regions showed higher percentages of intact primordial and developing follicles than the innermost region (p < .05). Considering Experiment 2, 938 follicles were found, being 894 (95.3%) primordial and 44 (4.7%) follicles in development. The region near the ovulatory fossa presented higher (58.7%; 551 of 938) follicular concentration compared to the region far from the ovulatory fossa (41.3%; 387 of 938; p < .05). As a conclusion, distribution of pre‐antral follicles in the equine ovary has a specific pattern through the parenchyma. Also, the follicular integrity differed in the studied ovarian areas.     

Characterization and mode of inheritance of a paroxysmal dyskinesia in Chinook dogs

Background: Paroxysmal dyskinesias are episodes of abnormal, involuntary movement or muscle tone, distinguished from seizures by the character of the episode and lack of seizure activity on ictal EEG. Hypothesis: Paroxysmal dyskinesia is an inherited, autosomal recessive disorder in Chinook dogs. Animals: Families of Chinook dogs with paroxysmal dyskinesia. Methods: Pedigrees and medical histories were reviewed for 299 Chinook dogs. A family of 51 dogs was used for analysis. Episodes were classified as seizures, paroxysmal dyskinesia, or unknown, and segregation analysis was performed. Results: Paroxysmal dyskinesia was identified in 16 of 51 dogs and characterized by an inability to stand or ambulate, head tremors, and involuntary flexion of 1 or multiple limbs, without autonomic signs or loss of consciousness. Episode duration varied from minutes to an hour. Inter‐ictal EEGs recorded on 2 dogs with dyskinesia were normal. Three dogs with dyskinesia also had generalized tonic‐clonic seizures. One of 51 dogs had episodes of undetermined type. Phenotype was unknown for 6 of 51 dogs, and 28 dogs were unaffected. Segregation was consistent with an autosomal recessive trait. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: This movement disorder is prevalent in the Chinook breed, and consistent with a partially penetrant autosomal recessive or polygenic trait. Insufficient evidence exists for definitive localization; episodes may be of basal nuclear origin, but atypical seizures and muscle membrane disorders remain possible etiologies. The generalized seizures may be a variant phenotype of the same mutation that results in dyskinesia, or the 2 syndromes may be independent.     

Multiple striate keratotomy: a treatment for corneal erosions caused by epithelial basement membrane disease

Objective To study the efficacy of multiple striate keratotomy for the treatment of persistent corneal erosions suspected to be caused by primary corneal epithelial basement membrane disease.
Design A retrospective study.
Animals 16 dogs, three cats and one Australian dingo.
Procedure A technique called multiple striate keratotomy was used to treat twenty animals suffering from persistent corneal erosions.
Results All persistent corneal erosions healed with only one treatment. Most cases healed within 2 weeks. One case developed a second erosion in the same eye but in a different position to the original erosion.
Conclusions Multiple striate keratotomy is a safe, effective and well tolerated technique for the treatment of persistent corneal erosions thought to be caused by corneal epithelial basement membrane disease.     

Studies on the incorporation of 14 C-labelled amino acids into egg proteins

The incorporation of ¹⁴C‐labelled amino acids into egg white and yolk proteins has been studied. When the labelled amino acids were given intravenously as a hydrolysate of [U‐¹⁴C]‐protein from Chlorella, 10 per cent and 7 per cent of the ¹⁴G were recovered in the whites and yolks respectively of the first nine eggs laid. Differences in the specific activities of the conalbumin, the ovalbumins, ovomucoid, “postalbumins “ and lysozyme, isolated from the first active egg, were related to differences in amino acid composition. The specific activity of each amino acid prepared from the proteins was similar between different proteins, although within each protein specific activities of different amino acids varied widely. The proportionate rate of decrease of specific activity in the plasma of amino acids essential for egg production (except glycine) was constant or almost so, but it rapidly decreased for the non‐essential ones (except serine and proline). The specific activities of the amino acids, excepting aspartic and glutamic acids, in each protein were proportional to their mean specific activities in the plasma throughout the 24‐h period in which the egg white proteins were synthesised. It is concluded that these different proteins are synthesised from a shared amino acid pool, derived from plasma, at a rate which probably remains constant throughout the egg‐laying cycle and which is proportional to their content in the albumen.     

Finding the appropriate level of complexity for a simulation model: An example with a forest growth model

The topic of model complexity is fundamental to model developers and model users. In this study, we investigate how over- and under-fitting of a driving function in a simulation model influences the predictive ability of the model. Secondly, we investigate whether model selection approaches succeed in selecting driving functions with the best predictive ability. We address these issues through an example with the forest simulator SORTIE-ND. Utilizing maximum likelihood methods and individual tree growth data we parameterize five growth functions of increasing complexity. We then incorporate each growth function into the simulation model SORTIE-ND and test predicted growth against independent data. Compared to the independent data, the simplest and the most complex growth functions had the poorest predictive ability while functions of intermediate complexity had the best predictive ability. The poor predictive ability of the simplest model is caused by poor approximation of the system while the poor predictive ability of the most complex model is caused by biased parameter estimates. A growth function of intermediate complexity was the most parsimonious model where error due to approximation and error due to estimation were simultaneously minimized. The model selection criteria AIC and BIC were found to select complex functions that were over-fitted according to the independent data comparison. BIC was closer to choosing the model that minimized prediction error than AIC. In this example, BIC is the more appropriate model selection criterion. It is important that both model developers and models users remember that more complex models do not always result in better predictive models.     

Diversity and extinction of tropical american mollusks and emergence of the isthmus of panama

The gradual closure of the Panamanian seaway and the resulting environmental change stimulated an increase in Caribbean molluscan diversity rather than the mass extinction hypothesized previously on the basis of inadequate data. Upheaval of molluscan faunas did occur suddenly throughout tropical America at the end of the Pliocene as a result of more subtle, unknown causes. There is no necessary correlation between the magnitude of regional shifts in abiotic conditions and the subsequent biological response.