Efficacy of famotidine for the prevention of exercise-induced gastritis in racing Alaskan sled dogs

BACKGROUND: Omeprazole reduces the severity of exercise-induced gastritis but not the prevalence of gastric lesions in sled dogs. The frequent feeding of sled dogs during competition likely results in decreased absorption of omeprazole and, thereby, decreased efficacy. HYPOTHESIS: Famotidine, a histamine-2 blocker with good bioavailability in the presence of food, would reduce the incidence and severity of exercise-induced gastric disease in sled dogs. ANIMALS: Sixteen fit Alaskan sled dogs (4 female, 12 male, all intact, age 2-6 years). METHODS: Dogs were randomly assigned to treatment (22 mg famotidine PO q24h) or control groups (n = 8 per group). Famotidine was administered with a meal to the treatment group once daily for 7 days before a challenge and once during exercise. Control dogs were fed an identical diet as the principal group. The 16 dog team completed a 100-mile exercise challenge in 18 hours. A gastroscopy was performed 24 hours after the challenge. The appearance of the mucosa was scored by an individual by using a scoring system. RESULTS: Treatment with famotidine significantly reduced the severity score compared with control (P = .0004). No adverse effects of treatment were reported. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Famotidine is effective in reducing the severity of exercise-induced gastric disease in racing Alaskan sled dogs, with minimal to no adverse effects, and may be recommended for prophylactic use in short distance races.     

Diagnosing appendicular osteosarcoma with ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration: 36 cases

OBJECTIVES: To determine the ability to obtain diagnostic cytology samples from appendicular bone lesions using ultrasound-guided needle aspirations. Secondary objectives were to compare cytological evaluations with histopathological results and to determine the utility of staining malignant mesenchymal cells for the presence of alkaline phosphatase. METHODS: Aspirations from 36 aggressive appendicular bone lesions with histological diagnoses were included in the study. Ultrasound was used to guide the needle to the medullary cavity or the adjacent soft tissue mass. The smears stained with Wright-Giemsa and nitroblue tetrazolium chloride/5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indoyl phosphate toluidine salt (NBT/BCIP) were examined. RESULTS: A diagnostic sample was obtained in 32 of the 36 cases. Of the 32 diagnostic samples, cytology indicated sarcoma, with a sensitivity of 97 per cent (confidence interval: 83 to 100 per cent) and a specificity of 100 per cent (confidence interval: 16 to 100 per cent). When a diagnosis of sarcoma was made on cytology, alkaline phosphatase staining indicated osteosarcoma, with a sensitivity of 100 per cent (confidence interval: 87 to 100 per cent). CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The results of this study indicate that ultrasound-guided needle aspiration of aggressive bone lesions is a viable technique for identifying malignant mesenchymal cells and for diagnosing sarcomas. It is cost-effective and minimally invasive. Furthermore, identifying alkaline-phosphatase-negative malignant mesenchymal cells from a bone aspiration may rule out osteosarcoma, whereas alkaline-phosphatase-positive malignant mesenchymal cells are suggestive of osteosarcoma.     

An experimental test of the habitat amount hypothesis reveals little effect of habitat area but transient or indirect effects of fragmentation on local species richness

Landscape Ecology - The habitat amount hypothesis (HAH) posits that local species richness is driven more by the amount of habitat in the surrounding landscape than by local patch size or habitat...     

Habitat suitability and connectivity modeling reveal priority areas for Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) conservation in a complex habitat mosaic

Context

Conservation for the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), a federally endangered species in the United States of America, is typically focused on local maternity sites; however, the species is a regional migrant, interacting with the environment at multiple spatial scales. Hierarchical levels of management may be necessary, but we have limited knowledge of landscape-level ecology, distribution, and connectivity of suitable areas in complex landscapes.

Objectives

We sought to (1) identify factors influencing M. sodalis maternity colony distribution in a mosaic landscape, (2) map suitable maternity habitat, and (3) quantify connectivity importance of patches to direct conservation action.

Methods

Using 3 decades of occurrence data, we tested a priori, hypothesis-driven habitat suitability models. We mapped suitable areas and quantified connectivity importance of habitat patches with probabilistic habitat availability metrics.

Results

Factors improving landscape-scale suitability included limited agriculture, more forest cover, forest edge, proximity to medium-sized water bodies, lower elevations, and limited urban development. Areas closer to hibernacula and rivers were suitable. Binary maps showed that 30% of the study area was suitable for M. sodalis and 29% was important for connectivity. Most suitable patches were important for intra-patch connectivity and far fewer contributed to inter-patch connectivity.

Conclusions

While simple models may be effective for small, homogenous landscapes, complex models are needed to explain habitat suitability in large, mixed landscapes. Suitability modeling identified factors that made sites attractive as maternity areas. Connectivity analysis improved our understanding of important areas for bats and prioritized areas to target for restoration.

     

Grassland fragmentation affects declining tallgrass prairie birds most where large amounts of grassland remain

Landscape Ecology - Habitat fragmentation can exacerbate the negative effects of habitat loss for some species. Mitigating fragmentation is difficult, however, because population responses depend...     

Use of Dried Fermented Biomass as a Fish Meal Replacement in Practical Diets of Florida Pompano,Trachinotus carolinus

Substitution of fish meal (FM) as a protein source in aquaculture diets is required to reduce cost and promote a sustainable industry. Potential protein sources include a range of traditional products from agricultural production such as plant or animal proteins. However, there are also a number of manufacturing coproducts, including bacterial dried fermented biomass (DFB,) for which there is an increased interest. Hence, the objective of this study was to evaluate DFB as a replacement for FM in practical diets for Florida pompano, Trachinotus carolinus. Four diets were prepared in which different levels of FM (15%, 10%, 5%, and 0% of the diet) were replaced with DFB (0%, 4.27%, 8.54%, and 12.82%) on an iso-nitrogenous and iso-lipidic basis, to contain 40% crude protein and 10% lipid. A 10-week growth trial was conducted in a recirculating system consisting of 12 indoor 1.0 m³ tanks, stocked with 20 juvenile pompano (mean initial weight 8.1 g) per tank. There were no significant differences in final weight (64.5 g?79.5 g), survival (81.7%–96.7%), percent weight gain (711.6%–879.0%), FCR (2.1–2.0), or thermal-unit growth coefficient (0.1013?0.1149), regardless of the levels of dietary FM or DFB tested. Based on these results, it is recommended that DFB can be included up to 12.8% in practical diets for Florida pompano without significantly reducing growth performance. The response to higher levels of DFB inclusion should be evaluated.     

Optimal chemical triploid induction in geoduck clams, Panopea abrupta, by 6-dimethylaminopurine

The development of geoduck culture techniques coupled with increased market demand during the past decade led to cultured intertidal geoduck beds, over which concerns have arisen regarding the potential genetic risk posed by the reproductive contribution of hatchery outplants to wild stocks. Although an ongoing study to determine the genetic stock structure of Puget Sound geoducks has yet to yield definitive results, sterile triploids would enable geoduck culture to proceed irrespective of any genetic differences found, and may increase rate of growth. At 15 °C and salinity of 30‰, we evaluated the suitability of cytochalasin B (CB) and 6-dimethylaminopurine (6-DMAP) for triploid induction in geoducks. Parallel tests of induction agent, start time, duration, and concentration were conducted on the same gamete pool. We found optimal triploid induction (92%) and suitable survivorship (30%) resulted from a 600 μM 6-DMAP treatment. This work enables the future examination of the efficacy of triploid induction for conferring sterility and increasing growth rate in this commercially valuable species.