Comparison of ultrasonographic findings with clinical activity index (CIBDAI) and diagnosis in dogs with chronic enteropathies.

Intestinal wall thickness is neither a specific nor sensitive ultrasound parameter for detecting intestinal inflammation. We hypothesize that mucosal echogenicity, lymphadenomegaly, and secondary findings of the gastrointestinal tract would be more sensitive and specific markers for detecting and differentiating causes of chronic inflammatory bowel disease in dogs. Fifty-six client-owned dogs with chronic diarrhea and 10 control dogs were examined with two-dimensional, gray-scale ultrasound (time 0, 4, and 10 weeks post therapy) and small intestinal mucosal biopsies were performed at the 0- and 4-week time points. The clinical activity was assessed at each time point using the canine inflammatory bowel disease activity index (CIBDAI). Fifty-one dogs had inflammatory infiltration of the duodenal mucosa and were divided into three groups, food-responsive disease, idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease, and protein-losing enteropathy, based on their response to the different treatments and histology. Two different patterns of increased echogenicity of the mucosa were detected: hyperechoic speckles and hyperechoic striations. A normal, hypoechoic bowel mucosa in dogs with chronic diarrhea had a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 81% for the diagnosis of food-responsive disease. Hyperechoic striations had a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 96% for dogs with protein-losing enteropathy. Hyperechoic speckles were non-specific for diagnosing inflammatory bowel disease. There was a significant relationship between ultrasound score and CIBDAI at t0, but not following therapy. Mucosal echogenicity may be a better parameter for detecting inflammatory bowel disease than bowel wall thickness in dogs with chronic diarrhea.     

Observations of Energetic Ions and Electrons in Saturn's Magnetosphere

The passage of Pioneer 11 by Saturn provided a detailed view of a planetary magnetosphere that is intermediate between those of Jupiter and Earth in both scale and the complexity of its dynamic processes. It appears to have at least three distinct regions: (i) an outer magnetosphere, extending from 17 to 7.5 Saturn radii, that resembles that of Earth in many important aspects; (ii) a slot region, between 7.5 and 4 Saturn radii, where a marked decrease in all protons and low-energy electrons is observed; and (iii) an inner region, extending from 4 Saturn radii to the ring edge, that features a sharp increase in the proton flux extending to energies greater than 20 million electron volts. A cutoff of both proton and electron fluxes occurred just beyond the nominal edge of the A ring.     

Feeling the beat: movement influences infant rhythm perception

We hear the melody in music, but we feel the beat. We demonstrate that the perception of musical rhythm is a multisensory experience in infancy. In particular, movement of the body, by bouncing on every second versus every third beat of an ambiguous auditory rhythm pattern, influences whether that auditory rhythm pattern is encoded in duple form (a march) or in triple form (a waltz). Visual information is not necessary for the effect, indicating that it likely reflects a strong, early-developing interaction between auditory and vestibular information in the human nervous system.     

Empirical estimation of dispersal resistance surfaces: a case study with red-cockaded woodpeckers

Persistence of wildlife populations depends on the degree to which landscape features facilitate animal movements between isolated habitat patches. Due to limited data availability, the effect of landscape features on animal dispersal is typically estimated using expert opinion. With sufficient data, however, resistance surfaces can be estimated empirically. After modeling suitable prospecting habitat using an extensive dataset from the federally endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis), we used data from over 800 prospecting events from 34 radio-tagged birds to identify the best relationship between habitat suitability and resistance surfaces. Our results demonstrated that juvenile female P. borealis prospecting for new territories beyond their natal territories preferred to traverse through forests with tall canopy and minimal midstory vegetation. The non-linear relationship between habitat suitability and resistance surfaces was the most biologically relevant transformation, which in turn identified the specific forest composition that promoted and inhibited prospecting and dispersal behavior. These results corresponded with over 60 % of dispersal events from an independent dataset of short-distance dispersal events. This new understanding of P. borealis prospecting behavior will help to identify areas necessary for maintaining habitat connectivity and to implement effective management strategies. Our approach also provides a framework to not only estimate and evaluate resistance surfaces based on species-specific responses to intervening landscape features, but also addresses an often-neglected step, selecting a biologically relevant function to transform habitat suitability model into a resistance surface.     

Semiarid land rehabilitation by direct drilling in the South Island,New Zealand—plant species and establishment technology

Large areas of the east coast and inland basins of the South Island, New Zealand, are affected by periodic drought and/or semiarid climatic conditions, particularly during cyclic El Niño climatic events. The severity of these environmental conditions places great stress on introduced and native pasture species and frequently results in poor establishment of new pastures using standard drilling techniques. The objective of this study was to determine effective, practical means of rehabilitating semiarid land (about 470 mm annual rainfall) on a site in Central Otago. A comparison of two direct drilling methods, a novel strip‐seeder drill and a standard hoe‐coulter drill, was conducted in a trial initiated during spring 1998. Five drought‐tolerant forage species were established: wheatgrass (Thinopyron intermedium), tall oat grass (Arrhenatherum elatius), birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), hairy dorycnium (Dorycnium hirsutum) and bluebush (Kochia prostrata). For the 2000/2001 growing season, species established with the strip‐seeder drill had an overall mean herbage biomass of 235 g m ⁻² , three‐times that for the hoe‐coulter drill (77 g m ⁻² , P < 0·001). Differences in herbage biomass between species were observed, with hairy dorycnium (mean 328 g m ⁻² ) producing significantly (P < 0·001) more herbage biomass than the other species. After the third spring, the percentage ground cover recorded from transects across the strip‐seeder drill plots (cf. the hoe‐coulter drill) was: wheatgrass—41 per cent (10 per cent); tall oat grass—44 per cent (25 per cent); birdsfoot trefoil—25 per cent (5 per cent); hairy dorycnium—50 per cent (19 per cent); and bluebush—4 per cent (0 per cent). The native plant content of the resident vegetation was reduced as a result of the drilling treatments and also when fertilizer was added to undistrubed pasture. The strip‐seeder drill is capable of providing superior plant growth on dryland sites even during adverse drought conditions. It produces a furrow approximately 16 cm wider than the hoe‐coulter drill, exerts a greater shattering effect on the soil structure and places fertilizer at depth. It is suggested that this assists plant establishment by providing good seedling protection from wind and sun, and subsequent plant growth by allowing easier root penetration to the subsoil where nutrients and moisture are available. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

注射用头孢呋辛钠的安全性试验研究

通过试验研究对注射用头孢呋辛钠的安全性进行评价。采用豚鼠和家兔分别进行本品的全身用药过敏性、血管和肌肉局部刺激性及家兔红细胞体外溶血性试验研究。结果显示本品对豚鼠无明显全身过敏性、静脉注射对家兔耳缘静脉无明显局部刺激性、对家兔肌肉注射给药无明显局部刺激性、对家兔红细胞无明显体外溶血性。表明本品的各项安全性均良好,为实际应用提供了有力依据。     

Energetic charged particles in the uranian magnetosphere

During the encounter with Uranus, the cosmic ray system on Voyager 2 measured significant fluxes of energetic electrons and protons in the regions of the planets magnetosphere where these particles could be stably trapped. The radial distribution of electrons with energies of megaelectron volts is strongly modulated by the sweeping effects ofthe three major inner satellites Miranda, Ariel, and Umbriel. The phase space density gradient of these electrons indicates that they are diffusing radially inward from a source in the outer magnetosphere or magnetotail. Differences in the energy spectra of protons having energies of approximately 1 to 8 megaelectron volts from two different directions indicate a strong dependence on pitch angle. From the locations of the absorption signatures observed in the electron flux, a centered dipole model for the magnetic field of Uranus with a tilt of 60.1 degrees has been derived, and a rotation period of the planet of 17.4 hours has also been calculated. This model provides independent confirmaton of more precise determinations made by other Voyager experiments.     

Diet influences rates of carbon and nitrogen mineralization from decomposing grasshopper frass and cadavers

Insect herbivory can produce a pulse of mineral nitrogen (N) in soil from the decomposition of frass and cadavers. In this study, we examined how diet quality affects rates of N and carbon (C) mineralization from grasshopper frass and cadavers. Frass was collected from grasshoppers fed with natural or meridic diets which varied in N content. Frass was also collected from naturally foraging grasshoppers. Nitrogen concentration of frass was directly proportional to diet N, but N content of cadavers was not affected by diet. Incubations of soil plus frass were performed at constant soil moisture and temperature (15°C) for 28 days, after which levels of mineral N (KCl extract) were determined. About 44 % of C and N from the cadavers were mineralized after the 28-day incubation. Carbon mineralization of frass was not affected by diet or frass N but varied considerably among different food treatments: from 15 to 46 % of the C in frass was released as carbon dioxide. Generally, frass with C/N ratio greater than 20 resulted in net immobilization of N. Results suggest that much of the N in grasshopper frass and cadavers is labile and rapidly available for plants, depending on the quality of food consumed by the grasshoppers.     

Windrow Cocomposting of Municipal Biosolids and Yard Waste

A total of four windrows with yard waste:biosolids ratios ranging from 5.0:1 to 1.2:1 by wet weight were operated over a six month period. The windrows were monitored for temperature, oxygen content, bulk density, particle size, compost characteristics (including metals, nutrients, pesticides, volatile solids, and moisture content), runoff characteristics, and odor potential. Based on study results, cocomposting should be employed at a yard waste:biosolids ratio greater than or equal to 3:1 in order to minimize odor and improve compost characteristics. Leaching of several metals was observed; however, only lead was observed in the runoff at concentrations above maximum contaminant levels.