Shell use: an adaptation for emigration from the sea by the coconut crab

The coconut crab. Birgus latro (L.) emigrates from the sea during the postlarval glaucothoe stage. Glaucothoes show ancestral hermit crab behavior of living in empty gastropod shells which protect them during this vulnerable time.     

Atmospheric Lead Deposition from 12,400 to ca. 2,000 yrs BP in a Peat Bog Profile,Jura Mountains,Switzerland

The bog at Etang de la Gruère (Jura Mountains, Switzerland) consists of 420 cm of Sphagnum-dominated bog peat overlying 230 cm of Carex-dominated fen peat. One hundred cm below the bog surface, there is a pronounced peak in lead (Pb) concentration (approx. 10 µg/g) which has been dated at 2110 ± 30 BP and can be attributed to Roman Pb mining and smelting. Lead concentrations in peats from deeper, much older layers were measured using ICP-MS and found to be low and relatively constant (0.28 ± 0.04 µg/g, n = 17) from 405 cm to 235 cm which corresponds to the period from approx. 8,000 and 5,500 years before present (BP). In this same interval, scandium (Sc) concentrations (measured using INAA) were 0.07 ± 0.02 µg/g, yielding an average Pb/Sc ratio of 4.1 ± 1.2. These values are assumed to represent the true "background" Pb and Sc concentrations and Pb/Sc ratios of pre-anthropogenic aerosols. At 205 cm the Pb concentrations began to increase by 2 to 3 times, but these are proportional to the increases in aluminum (Al), titanium (Ti), silicon (Si), and Sc, and reflect an increase in Pb deposition supplied by silicate-derived soil dust. This depth, dated at 5,230 BP, coincides with the development of agriculture and indicates the impact of soil cultivation on metal fluxes to the air. At 115 cm, however, the Pb concentrations increase out of proportion with Sc; this point was dated at 3,000 BP and reflects the beginning of Pb contamination by mining and metallurgy in Europe and the Middle East. There are two pronounced peaks in Pb concentrations centered at 435 cm and 555 cm, corresponding with local maxima in ash and ash-forming major elements at the same depths. These samples have been dated at 8,230 BP and 10,590 BP, respectively, indicating the Vasset/Killian volcanic events (Massif Central, France) and Younger-Dryas cold phase as the most likely explanations.     

Relationship of lactation energy intake and occurrence of postweaning estrus to body and backfat composition in sows

Forty-five crossbred primiparous sows were used to determine the relationship of lactation energy intake and the occurrence of postweaning estrus to (1) body fat (percentage), (2) lean body mass (LBM) and (3) qualitative and quantitative characteristics of adipose tissue. Sows received 8 (Lo) or 16 (Hi) Mcal of metabolizable energy (ME)/d during lactation and 5.4 Mcal of ME/d postweaning. Serum samples were obtained 1 d before weaning (d 0) and analyzed for creatinine and urea-N (indices of muscle and amino acid catabolism, respectively). Subcutaneous adipose tissue samples were obtained and analyzed for total lipid and myristic, palmitic, palmitoleic, stearic, oleic and linoleic acids. Last rib backfat thickness determined at weaning was used to estimate body fat (percentage). Lean body mass was estimated from 48-h creatinine excretion rates determined on d 15 and 16 postweaning. Sows fed the Lo diet that returned (Lo-R) and did not return (Lo-NR) to estrus by d 14 postweaning lost more (P less than .01) weight during lactation, gained more (P less than .01) weight postweaning, had higher (P less than .07) body fat (percentage) and a slight trend toward lower creatinine excretion rate than sows fed the Hi diet that returned to estrus (Hi-R). Adipose tissue from sows in the Lo-R and Lo-NR groups had less (P less than .05) lipid than that from sows in the Hi-R group. Concentrations of oleic and stearic acids were lower and higher (P less than .01), respectively, in adipose tissue from sows in the Lo-R and Lo-NR vs Hi-R groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

ULTRASONOGRAPHIC IMAGING OF THE VAGOSYMPATHETIC TRUNK IN THE DOG

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the applicability of ultrasonographic imaging of the vagosympathetic trunk in the dog. Cervical ultrasound was performed in 30 healthy dogs. In all 30 dogs the vagosympathetic trunk was detected as a hypoechoic structure in the carotid sheath, adhering the dorsomedial surface of the common carotid artery. The echotexture of the nerve was heterogeneous with anechoic areas separated by hypoechoic bands. A scanner equipped with a 5 to 8 MHz linear array probe was used for imaging and measurements. The diameter of the vagosympathetic trunk ranged from 0.59 to 2.48 mm varying in correlation to the body weight. In summary, ultrasonography is a helpful noninvasive method to image and evaluate the cervical vagosympathetic trunk in the dog.     

Topography, Structure and Function of the Patella and the Patelloid in Marsupials

The patella is a sesamoid bone that is found in most mammals and is regularly located in the insertion tendon of the quadriceps femoris muscle. Up to now, only a little has been known about the topography, structure and function of the patella in marsupials. Therefore the stifles of 61 marsupials of 30 different species were studied by radiography, necropsy and light microscopy. It was found that only the family of bandicoots (Peramelidae) possessed a typical patella. The other species revealed a patelloid consisting of fibrocartilage. The structure of the patelloid revealed common characteristic features in the following families of marsupials: (1) Dasyuridae, Phalangeridae. Pseudocheriidae, and Potoroidae; (2) Burramyidae; (3) Phascolarctidae, Vombatidae, and Dendrolagus; and (4) Superfamily Macropodoidea (except Dendrolagus and Potoroidae). Our results imply that the degree of differentiation in the fibrocartilage of the patelloid was strongly correlated to the mechanical forces acting on the patelloid which are a result of the specific kind of locomotion and the way of life. Generally the bony patella does not belong to the phylogenetic programme of the marsupials--with the exception of the bandicoots which are very closely related to the subclass of placental mammals (Eutheria).     

Stray voltage on Michigan dairy farms

Stray voltage investigations were performed on 59 Michigan dairy farms at the request of dairymen, veterinarians, and county extension agents. On 32 farms, sources of stray voltage were detected. When the voltage exceeded 1 volt alternating current, there were increased numbers of dairy cows that had abnormal behavior in the milking facility and increased prevalence of clinical mastitis. Recovery from the stray voltage-induced abnormalities was related to the type of abnormality and the magnitude of the exposure voltage.