Canine Sterile Nodular Panniculitis: A Retrospective Study of 14 Cases

Background: Sterile nodular panniculitis (SNP) is an uncommon inflammatory condition of subcutaneous fat that can be idiopathic, but has also been associated with underlying conditions such as pancreatic disease or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The pathogenesis and clinical course of the condition are not well understood. Objectives: To retrospectively review cases of SNP associated with systemic signs, concurrent disease, or both and characterize the clinical, laboratory, imaging, and histopathologic findings, treatment, and response to treatment. Animals: Fourteen dogs with histologically confirmed SNP diagnosed between 1996 and 2008. Methods: Retrospective study. Results: Skin lesions were ulcerated or draining nodules in 9 dogs and nonulcerative subcutaneous nodules in 5. Most dogs had systemic signs, such as fever, inappetence, lethargy, and multiple lesions. Common clinicopathologic findings included neutrophilia with or without left shift, increased alkaline phosphatase activity, mild hypoglycemia, hypoalbuminemia, and proteinuria. Concurrent diseases included pancreatic disease, SLE, rheumatoid arthritis, polyarthritis, lymphoplasmacytic colitis, and hepatic disease. Dogs responded to immunosuppressive doses of corticosteroids when administered. Prognosis for recovery was related to the underlying disease process. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: SNP is not a single disease. Rather, it is a cutaneous marker of systemic disease in many cases. After thorough evaluation for concurrent disease and infectious causes, immunosuppressive treatment is often effective.     

Sportfisheries,conservation and sustainable livelihoods: a multidisciplinary guide to developing best practice

Ecotourism ventures in developing countries are often among the few alternatives for enhancing sustainable livelihoods without altering traditional ways of life. The best way forward is to continually develop and implement best practice guidelines and, in particular, to flexibly develop them to suit individual cases. We conduct a multidisciplinary assessment of best practice guidelines required to develop and sustain sportfishing tourism in developing countries, while enhancing local livelihoods and promoting environmental stewardship. In general, best practice guidelines should be developed around a sustainable livelihood framework that includes short‐term coping mechanisms and longer‐term capacity building. Sportfishing development that conforms to ecological and socially orientated criteria, founded on site‐specific research that captures local environmental and social complexities, has the potential to provide mutual benefits to tourists and local people, fuelling community development and enhancing the cultural experience of tourists. Best practice guidelines for sportfishing that do not address these dimensions are unlikely to result in a viable industry. Given the current interest and growth of sportfishing in developing countries, the proposed guidelines can help a range of end users manage, conserve and maximize livelihood benefits from their fishery.     

Characterisation of midgut digestive proteases from the maize stem borer Busseola fusca

BACKGROUND: Insect damage is a major constraint on maize production. Control of Busseola fusca (Fuller) in sub‐Saharan Africa is relatively ineffective; the major larval digestive enzymes were characterised with a view to developing future control strategies. RESULTS: Using BODIPY‐FL Casein, maximal activity was at pH 9.5, with six protease forms visualised by gelatin‐PAGE. Synthetic substrates and diagnostic inhibitors demonstrated the presence of serine proteases. Chymostatin was a potent inhibitor of general proteolysis (90%), providing strong evidence for the presence of chymotrypsin; it also caused significant inhibition (>95%) with SA₂PFpNA as substrate. The I₅₀ values for chymostatin with casein and SA₂PFpNA were 0.0075 µM and 0.06 µM respectively. Z‐Phe‐Arg‐pNA activity was inhibited by chymostatin and TLCK (50 and 30% respectively), suggesting the presence of trypsin‐like activity. BApNA hydrolysis was also strongly inhibited by chymostatin and TLCK (92 and 75%), suggesting trypsin activity, while SBBI, PMSF, pepstatin and E‐64 had no significant effect. Interestingly, SBBI (I₅₀ = 0.39 µM ) and SBTI both inhibited general proteolysis by approximately 70%, suggesting that SBBI's dual inhibitory role makes this inhibitor a potentially useful candidate for expression in maize for control of B. fusca. CONCLUSION: These results provide a basis for the rational design of insect‐resistant transgenic maize expressing protease inhibitors. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Recasting shortfalls of marine protected areas as opportunities through adaptive management

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Dietary influence on growth and development of flat oyster,Ostrea angasi (Sowerby, 1871), larvae

The influence of algal diet on survival, growth and development of hatchery reared flat oyster, Ostrea angasi, larvae was investigated in a series of uni, binary and ternary algal diet trials. Early stage larvae (140–230 μm shell length) generally grew faster than late‐stage larvae (230–340 μm shell length) when fed unialgal diets. Of the 24 algal diets evaluated, larvae fed unialgal diets of Isochrysis sp. (T. Iso), Nannochloropsis oculata, Tetraselmis chuii or Pavlova lutheri; a binary diet of T. chuii+T. Iso; or ternary diets of T. chuii+T. Iso combined with P. lutheri or N. oculata had the greatest larval growth, survival, development and metamorphosis, in the respective trials. The correlation between growth rate and spat produced in late‐stage larvae was stronger when fed unialgal diets (r = 0.75) than when larvae were fed either binary or ternary diets (r = 0.44 and r = 0.45 respectively). Marked differences in proportion of spat produced (24 h post metamorphosis) were evident among diets producing similar growth rates. For hatchery production of O. angasi larvae, ternary diets of T. chuii+T. Iso combined with either P. lutheri or N. oculata were the best diets to maximize larval growth rate, development and survival 24 h post metamorphosis.     

Dilated ureters, renal dysplasia, and chronic renal failure in an African elephant (Loxodonta africana)

An ultrasonographic reproductive health examination of a 26-yr-old female African elephant (Loxodonta africana) revealed bilateral ureteral wall thickening and dilatation. On ultrasonographic examination, the bladder and both ureters were normal near the trigone; however, the cranial-most aspect of each ureter was dilated and thickened for a length of 30-50 cm. The same month, elevated blood creatinine (3.0 mg/dl), and urine protein-creatinine ratio (4.0) were observed. Chronic renal failure was diagnosed based on these abnormalities, and the persistent ureteral dilatation was seen on subsequent ultrasound examinations. Complete blood cell counts, serum chemistries, and urinalyses remained relatively unchanged until 24 mo after diagnosis, at which time azotemia, hypophosphatemia, and hypercalcemia (including elevated ionized calcium) developed. Hydronephrosis of both kidneys and prominent sacculation of the left ureter were noted on ultrasonographic examination. Lethargy, ventral edema, and oral mucosal ulceration acutely developed 30 mo after diagnosis. Although blood urea nitrogen remained elevated, creatinine, total calcium, and ionized calcium returned to within reference ranges at that time. Due to rapid clinical decline and grave prognosis, humane euthanasia was elected. Bilateral ureteral dilatation, dysplasia of the right kidney, and chronic nephritis of the left kidney were identified postmortem.     

Land use vs. fragment size and isolation as determinants of small mammal composition and richness in Atlantic Forest remnants

The remaining Atlantic Forest fragments are structurally isolated by a matrix of pastures, plantations, or urban areas, and most remnants are small (<100 ha). Island biogeography theory has been used to predict the effects of such fragmentation in the remaining fragments, but human activities and land use around fragments may be equally important. A related question is which aspects of land use have a strong effect on biodiversity. We compare the relative importance of fragment size and isolation vs. land use around fragments as determinants of composition and richness of small mammals in Atlantic Forest fragments. We also compare two aspects of land use around fragments, economic activity (peri-urban, agriculture, cattle), and property ownership (peri-urban, low income rural producers, affluent rural producers). Small mammals were surveyed in 21 fragments varying from 12 to 250 ha, and in two sites of continuous forest in the Macacu River watershed, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 1999 to 2007. The effects of land use, fragment size and isolation were formulated as eleven candidate models, compared by Akaike Information Criteria. In the models selected, species composition was associated more strongly with fragment size, followed by isolation, with a smaller effect of property ownership. Species richness was determined mostly by fragment isolation, but also by a negative effect of agriculture when it was the dominant economic activity. Regardless of the critics to island biogeography theory, fragment isolation and size were by far the most important determinants of species composition. Economic activity and property ownership allowed the detection of subtle but important effects of land use on species composition and richness.