Ventricular pneumocephalus and septic meningoencephalitis secondary to dorsal rhinotomy and nasal polypectomy in a dog

CASE DESCRIPTION: A 4-year-old sexually intact female French Bulldog was evaluated because of lethargy, anorexia, and chronic rhinitis-sinusitis. The dog had nasal discharge of 18 months' duration; dorsal rhinotomies were performed 3 months and 2 weeks prior to referral. CLINICAL FINDINGS: On initial evaluation, intraventricular pneumocephalus and sinusitis were diagnosed; CSF analysis revealed high total protein concentration and mononuclear pleocytosis. The dog's condition improved with treatment. Two weeks after discharge, it was treated by a local veterinarian because of upper airway obstruction; 3 days later, the dog was referred because of seizures. Computed tomography revealed a large fluid-filled, left lateral ventricle and a soft tissue mass protruding through a cribriform plate defect. The mass was histologically consistent with brain tissue. Findings of clinicopathologic analyses were unremarkable. Results of cytologic examination of a CSF sample were indicative of septic, suppurative inflammation, and bacteriologic culture of CSF yielded Escherichia coli. TREATMENT AND OUTCOME: Amputation of the herniated olfactory bulb and antimicrobial treatment resolved the septic meningoencephalitis, but neurologic deficits recurred 6 weeks later. Definitive correction of the cribriform plate defect with bone and fascial grafts was attempted. Postoperative rotation of the bone graft resulted in cerebral laceration and hemorrhage, and the dog was euthanized. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Findings suggest that following dorsal rhinotomy and nasal polypectomy surgery, the dog developed herniation of the left olfactory bulb, intra-ventricular pneumocephalus, and septic meningo-encephalitis because of a cribriform plate defect. Care must be taken to prevent rotation of bone grafts used in cribriform defect repair.     

Critical period for grain number establishment of near isogenic lines of two- and six-rowed barley

In barley no studies have attempted to pinpoint the critical period for grain number determination, and it is frequently stated that the critical period is similar to that of wheat. However, there are important differences between the species and among barley genotypes (i.e. two- and six-rowed types) suggesting that this assumption requires testing. The objectives of this paper were (i) to determine the critical period for grain number determination in two- and six-rowed barleys, and (ii) to identify which yield components were more sensitive to changes in incident radiation during that period.

Two field experiments were conducted using two pairs of near isogenic lines differing only in the spike type. Shading was imposed at different periods throughout the crop cycle (from 60 days before heading to 15 days after) to reduce incident solar radiation approximately 70%.

The critical period for grain number determination tended to be slightly earlier in two- (ca. between 40 and 10 days before heading) than in six-rowed barleys (ca. between 30 days before heading until that stage). In terms of the external phenology, the beginning of the critical period for setting grains was 10 days after the beginning of stem elongation, and 10 days before flag leaf appearance in two- and six-rowed lines, respectively. Changes in the number of grains per unit area were correlated with crop growth rate during the critical period for yield determination.     

Taking food and agriculture studies to the streets: community engagement, working across disciplines, and community change

One of the most attractive aspects of food and agricultural studies for scholars is the level of public interest in the subjects of our research. Such interest means that food and agriculture scholars often become public scholars, asked to comment on issues of great interest to the public. In addition, food and agriculture scholars often have the opportunity to partner more directly with community organizations to perform community-based research. Such studies take many forms, but community members often take a lead role, helping plan the study as well as participate in data collection and analysis. Community based research may be very rewarding, but scholars involved in such research need to deal with a lack of control that inevitably goes along with it. This article gives examples of such research and discusses the public role of food and agriculture studies in general, in particular highlighting what can be learned from public responses to a 2009 shortage of Eggo waffles.     

Modeling the formation of some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons during the roasting of Arabica coffee samples

Roasting is a critical process in coffee production, as it enables the development of flavor and aroma. At the same time, roasting may lead to the formation of nondesirable compounds, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In this study, Arabica green coffee beans from Cuba were roasted under controlled conditions to monitor PAH formation during the roasting process. Roasting was performed in a pilot-spouted bed roaster, with the inlet air temperature varying from 180 to 260 degrees C, for roasting conditions ranging from 5 to 20 min. Several PAHs were determined in both roasted coffee samples and green coffee samples. Different models were tested, with more or less assumptions on the chemical phenomena, with a view to predict the system global behavior. Two kinds of models were used and compared: kinetic models (based on Arrhenius law) and statistical models (neural networks). The numbers of parameters to adjust differed for the tested models, varying from three to nine for the kinetic models and from five to 13 for the neural networks. Interesting results are presented, with satisfactory correlations between experimental and predicted concentrations for some PAHs, such as pyrene, benz[a]anthracene, chrysene, and anthracene.     

Vertical movements of bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) associated with islands, buoys, and seamounts near the main Hawaiian Islands from archival tagging data

To learn more about the movement patterns of bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus), we deployed archival tags on 87 fish ranging in fork length from 50 to 154 cm. Thirteen fish were recaptured, from which 11 archival tags were returned, representing in aggregate 943 days‐at‐liberty. We successfully retrieved data from 10 tags, representing 474 days in aggregate. The largest fish recaptured was 44.5 kg [131 cm fork length (FL)] and the smallest 2.8 kg (52 cm). The deepest descent recorded was 817 m, the coldest temperature visited 4.7°C, and minimum oxygen level reached ～1 mL L^?1. Fish spent little time at depths where water temperatures were below 7°C and oxygen levels less than ～2 mL L^?1. Five fish were recaptured near the offshore weather buoy where they were tagged. Based on vertical movement patterns, it appeared that all stayed immediately associated with the buoy for up to 34 days. During this time they remained primarily in the uniform temperature surface layer (i.e. above 100 m). In contrast, fish not associated with a floating object showed the W‐shaped vertical movement patterns during the day characteristic of bigeye tuna (i.e. descending to ～300–500 m and then returning regularly to the surface layer). Four fish were tagged and subsequently recaptured near Cross Seamount up to 76 days later. These fish exhibited vertical movement patterns similar to, but less regular than, those of fish not associated with any structure. Bigeye tuna appear to follow the diel vertical movements of the deep sound scattering layer (SSL) organisms and thus to exploit them effectively as a prey resource. Average night‐time depth was correlated with lunar illumination, a behaviour which mimics movements of the SSL.     

The behavioural dynamics of fishers: management implications

In pursuing their livelihood, fishers develop strategies when faced with changes in regulations and other fishery conditions. Changes involve each individual in a decision‐making process governed by his/her own goals or constraints. Despite this reality, the complex dynamics of fishing has usually been ignored in designing management initiatives, which has contributed to management failures in many parts of the world. Fishers have generally been treated as fixed elements, with no consideration of individual attitudes based on their operating scales (geographical, ecological, social and economic) and personal goals. We review existing research on the social, economic and behavioural dynamics of fishing to provide insight into fisher behaviour and its implications for fisheries management. Emphasis is placed on fisher perception, and how fishers develop dynamic fishing tactics and strategies as an adaptive response to changes in resource abundance, environmental conditions and market or regulatory constraints. We conclude that knowledge of these dynamics is essential for effective management, and we discuss how such information can be collected, analysed and integrated into fisheries assessment and management. Particular emphasis is placed on small‐scale fisheries, but some examples from industrial fleets are provided to highlight similar issues in different types of fisheries.     

Rain forest recovery from dieback,Queensland, Australia

We present a detailed account of a dieback episode in tropical rain forest. The dieback episode took place from 1977 to 1989 within a 0.5 ha long-term demography plot monitored for stem growth and mortality from 1975 to 2005. In total 770 m² of rain forest was affected causing 13 trees >10 cm diameter at breast height (dbh) to die, and others to sicken. The dead trees came from four families, though 14 families were represented in the area. Trees of the family Elaeocarpaceae suffered significantly higher mortality. Larger trees were significantly more likely to die than small trees, but smaller trees were more likely to recover. Recruitment to >10 cm dbh size class after dieback was greater in areas that had been affected, and in 2005 stem density and basal area were higher than in 1977, before the dieback episode started. There were no significant trends in biodiversity change between affected and non-affected parts of the plot. Dieback may have dramatic effects at onset but over the medium term its impact appears to be less serious. Longer term monitoring will permit re-evaluation of this observation in the future.     

The relative importance of dispersal limitation and habitat preference in shaping spatial distribution of saplings in a tropical moist forest: a case study along a combination of hydromorphic and canopy disturbance gradients

• Introduction   

Various processes contribute to shaping the local assemblage of species in hyperdiverse tropical forest. The relative contribution of environmental factors and dispersal limitation in determining the spatial distribution of saplings at local scale is unclear.