Caecal intussusceptions in horses: a New Zealand perspective

Objective To establish the prevalence of intussusceptions involving the caecum in a population of horses admitted to a university hospital for colic. Design Retrospective clinical study Methods Medical records of all horses admitted to the Massey University Veterinary Teaching Hospital between 1991 and 2004 were examined for information of those horses diagnosed with an intussusception involving the caecum. Results A total of 135 horses were admitted for colic surgery during the study period and 61 horses had a diagnosis of ileocaecal (37), caecocaecal (5) or caecocolic intussusception (19) made either at surgery or necropsy. Of the horses with ileocaecal intussusception, 32 had an incomplete hand-sewn ileocaecostomy without reduction and 29 survived to discharge. All the horses with caecocaecal intussusceptions were diagnosed preoperatively via rectal examination and/or transabdominal ultrasound: 2 were euthanased at surgery and 3 survived to discharge. In the 19 horses with caecocolic intussusceptions, manually reduction at surgery was performed in 6 and 5 of them survived to discharge. A typhlectomy was performed via a colotomy in 6 horses, 3 of which survived to discharge. Conclusions The high prevalence of intussusceptions involving the caecum seen at this referral centre may indicate a higher prevalence in New Zealand than is reported elsewhere in the world. Clinical relevance Intussusceptions involving the caecum should be considered as a differential diagnosis in horses presenting with chronic low-grade colic. Transabdominal ultrasound is useful for identifying caecocaecal and caecocolic intussusceptions. Hand-sewn side-to-side incomplete ileocaecostomy is a quick, effective and safe method of surgical treatment of ileocaecal intussusceptions.     

A long-snouted predatory dinosaur from africa and the evolution of spinosaurids

Fossils discovered in Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) rocks in the Tenere Desert of central Niger provide new information about spinosaurids, a peculiar group of piscivorous theropod dinosaurs. The remains, which represent a new genus and species, reveal the extreme elongation and transverse compression of the spinosaurid snout. The postcranial bones include blade-shaped vertebral spines that form a low sail over the hips. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that the enlarged thumb claw and robust forelimb evolved during the Jurassic, before the elongated snout and other fish-eating adaptations in the skull. The close phylogenetic relationship between the new African spinosaurid and Baryonyx from Europe provides evidence of dispersal across the Tethys seaway during the Early Cretaceous.     

Predatory Dinosaurs from the Sahara and Late Cretaceous Faunal Differentiation

Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) fossils discovered in the Kem Kem region of Morocco include large predatory dinosaurs that inhabited Africa as it drifted into geographic isolation. One, represented by a skull approximately 1.6 meters in length, is an advanced allosauroid referable to the African genus Carcharodontosaurus. Another, represented by a partial skeleton with slender proportions, is a new basal coelurosaur closely resembling the Egyptian genus Bahariasaurus. Comparisons with Cretaceous theropods from other continents reveal a previously unrecognized global radiation of carcharodontosaurid predators. Substantial geographic differentiation of dinosaurian faunas in response to continental drift appears to have arisen abruptly at the beginning of the Late Cretaceous.     

Complex interplay between intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of long-term survival trends in southern elephant seals

Background  

Determining the relative contribution of intrinsic and extrinsic factors to fluctuations in population size, trends and demographic composition is analytically complex. It is often only possible to examine the combined effects of these factors through measurements made over long periods, spanning an array of population densities or levels of food availability. Using age-structured mark-recapture models and datasets spanning five decades (1950–1999), and two periods of differing relative population density, we estimated age-specific probabilities of survival and examined the combined effects of population density and environmental conditions on juvenile survival of southern elephant seals at Macquarie Island.     

A monolithic photovoltaic-photoelectrochemical device for hydrogen production via water splitting

Direct water electrolysis was achieved with a novel, integrated, monolithic photoelectrochemical-photovoltaic design. This photoelectrochemical cell, which is voltage biased with an integrated photovoltaic device, splits water directly upon illumination; light is the only energy input. The hydrogen production efficiency of this system, based on the short-circuit current and the lower heating value of hydrogen, is 12.4 percent.     

Spectroscopic Observation of the Formyl Cation in a Condensed Phase

The formyl cation, HCO+, has long been believed to be an important intermediate in the chemistry of carbon monoxide (CO) in acidic environments, but its spectroscopic observation in solution has been elusive. This species was generated by the reaction of CO with the liquid superacid hydrofluoric acid-antimony pentafluoride (HF-SbF5) under pressure and was observed by nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared spectroscopy. Equilibria between CO in the gas phase, CO dissolved in HF-SbF5, the SbF5 adduct of formyl fluoride, and HCO+ associated with several equilibrating anions of the type [SbxF5x+1]- are proposed to describe the system.