Radiographic evaluation of positional atelectasis in sedated dogs breathing room air versus 100% oxygen

This study documents the degree of positional atelectasis in sedated dogs receiving 100% oxygen (O₂) versus room air. Initial lateral recumbency was determined by an orthopedic study and initial treatment (O₂ or room air) was randomized. Each dog was maintained in lateral recumbency for 15 min, at which time ventrodorsal (VD) and opposite lateral thoracic radiographs were obtained. Each dog was then maintained in the opposite lateral recumbency and received the other treatment for 15 min, followed by a VD and opposite lateral radiograph. Radiographs were scored for severity of pulmonary pattern and mediastinal shift by 3 radiologists. Dogs breathing O₂ had significantly higher scores than dogs breathing room air. If radiographically detectable dependent atelectasis is present, repeat thoracic images following manual positive ventilation and/or position change to the opposite lateral recumbency should be made to rule out the effect of O₂ positional atelectasis and avoid misdiagnosis.     

Immune characterization of long pentraxin 3 in pigs infected with influenza virus

Long pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is a conserved pattern-recognition secreted protein and a host-defence-related component of the humoral innate immune system. The aim of the present study was to characterize swine PTX3 (SwPTX3) protein expression in influenza virus infected pigs. First, we performed in silico studies to evaluate the cross-reactivity of PTX3 human antibodies against SwPTX3. Secondly, we used in vitro analysis to detect SwPTX3 presence in swine bone marrow dendritic cells (SwBMDC) upon stimulation with different agents by Western blot and immunofluorescence. Finally, the levels of SwPTX3 were assessed in experimental infection of pigs with different strains of influenza virus. This is a novel study where the expression of SwPTX3 was evaluated in the context of a pathogen infection. The initial characterization of SwPTX3 in influenza virus infected pigs contributes to understand the role of PTX proteins in the immune response.     

Hyoscine‐N‐butylbromide premedication on cardiovascular variables of horses sedated with medetomidine

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effects of intravenous (IV) or intramuscular (IM) hyoscine premedication on physiologic variables following IV administration of medetomidine in horses.Study designRandomized, crossover experimental study.AnimalsEight healthy crossbred horses weighing 330 ± 39 kg and aged 7 ± 4 years.MethodsBaseline measurements of heart rate (HR), cardiac index (CI), respiratory rate, systemic vascular resistance (SVR), percentage of patients with second degree atrioventricular (2^oAV) block, mean arterial pressure (MAP), pH, and arterial partial pressures of carbon dioxide (PaCO₂) and oxygen (PaO₂) were obtained 5 minutes before administration of IV hyoscine (0.14 mg kg^?1; group HIV), IM hyoscine (0.3 mg kg^?1; group HIM), or an equal volume of physiologic saline IV (group C). Five minutes later, medetomidine (7.5 μg kg^?1) was administered IV and measurements were recorded at various time points for 130 minutes.ResultsMedetomidine induced bradycardia, 2^oAV blocks and increased SVR immediately after administration, without significant changes in CI or MAP in C. Hyoscine administration induced tachycardia and hypertension, and decreased the percentage of 2^oAV blocks induced by medetomidine. Peak HR and MAP were higher in HIV than HIM at 88 ± 18 beats minute^?1 and 241 ± 37 mmHg versus 65 ± 16 beats minute^?1 and 192 ± 38 mmHg, respectively. CI was increased significantly in HIV (p ≤ 0.05). Respiratory rate decreased significantly in all groups during the recording period. pH, PaCO₂ and PaO₂ were not significantly changed by administration of medetomidine with or without hyoscine.Conclusion and clinical relevanceHyoscine administered IV or IM before medetomidine in horses resulted in tachycardia and hypertension under the conditions of this study. The significance of these changes, and responses to other dose rates, requires further investigation.     

Helminth parasites of freshwater fishes from Cuatro Ciénegas,Coahuila, in the Chihuahuan Desert of Mexico: inventory and biogeographical implications

As part of an ongoing inventory of the helminth parasites of freshwater fishes in Mexico, 570 individual fish were collected between Apr 2008 and Oct 2011 in 26 localities along the Cuatro Ciénegas region in Coahuila State, northern Mexico. Seventeen species of hosts, mostly corresponding to Nearctic freshwater elements, were studied. A total of 8324 individual worms were collected during this survey, representing 25 species of helminths, of which 9 were digeneans, 3 monogeneans, 3 acanthocephalans, 9 nematodes and 1 cestode. Most of the records in this checklist represent new host or locality records. The information provided in this checklist may be helpful for our understanding of the biodiversity and historical biogeography of this host–parasite system, because in the Cuatro Ciénegas region occur a Nearctic freshwater fish fauna, along with Neotropical and endemic elements, and from a biogeographical point of view, this may represent a transitional area.     

A model to explain the formation of catarina scallop, Argopecten circularis (Sowerby, 1835), beds, in Magdalena Bay, Mexico

Abstract. During the years of 1989 and 1990, the yield of the commercial fishery for the catarina scallop, Argopecten circularis (Sowerby, 1835), in Magdalena Bay, was 750 million organisms (5186t of muscles), which were gathered by diving at 12–30m depth. This production is the largest registered to date and accounted for 53% of the total Mexican scallop production since 1981. The formation of large beds in that area is a sporadic phenomenon which needs to be studied. In the present paper, a model to explain the formation of such beds is drawn, in which the bentho-pelagic red crab, Pleuroncodes planipes (Stimpson, 1860), plays a role as primary substrate for the recruitment of the spat and simultaneously is the active transporter of juveniles into the Bay during the winter months of cold years. Apparently exploitable beds are formed only when temperatures of 16°C or lower, are registered deep inside the Bay for at least 2 months. Relating these findings with short and long-term temperature fluctuations, it seems possible to predict future exploitable stocks in the area.     

Water quality affects SDH activity, protein content and RNA:DNA ratios in fish (Catla catla, Labeo rohita and Oreochromis mossambicus) raised in ponds of a sewage-fed fish farm

The spatial and seasonal variability of the respiratory enzyme succinate dehydrogenase and the protein content were examined in different tissues of fish cultured in three ponds along the effluent gradient of a sewage-fed fish farm. Indian major carp Catla catla (150-230 g) and Labeo rohita (60-190 g) cultured in both the middle and last points of the sewage effluent (stocking pond 1) and (stocking pond 4) and Oreochromis mossambicus (50-160 g), a naturally growing fish of the inlet (facultative pond) and the out let of the sewage effluent (stocking pond 4) were procured every month during the period of January-December, 2005 and were subjected to determination of succinate dehydrogenase activity, total protein, DNA and RNA contents from gill, liver and muscle tissue respectively. The SDH activity of all three test fishes (Catla catla, Labeo rohita and Oreochromis mossambicus) was reduced significantly (ANOVA; P < 0.05) when cultured in SP-4 compared to SP-1 in the case of Catla catla and Labeo rohita and in facultative pond in the case of Oreochromis mossambicus.Conspicuous differences in the SDH activity of fish between the last and first stocking pond or the facultative pond were clearly due to the result of the differences in water quality. There was a direct relationship between SDH activity in gill tissue of any of the fish investigated and ammonia-N concentration of water or water pH. This shows that the respiratory activity of these fishes was strongly affected by the ammonia and pH of water. In other words, this suggests that as the distance from the point source increases, there was a substantial improvement of water quality in the ponds located along the sewage effluent gradient. Evidently, there is a progressive pattern of growth, survival and physiological health of fish and abundance of favorable diversity of food organisms with rich biodiversity.     

Species distribution models applied to plant species selection in forest restoration: are model predictions comparable to expert opinion?

An expert on local flora usually is the best option for plant species selection in most ecological restoration projects; although species selection often needs to be dealt with swiftly as well as on a limited budget, and obtaining the opinion of a local expert may not always be an economically viable alternative. In such cases, species distribution models (SDM) may offer a faster and more cost effective alternative. We asked six experts to rank native tree species according to their suitability at 24 forest sites. The predictive performance of the suitability rankings was evaluated by assessing their ability to discriminate present from absent species in the observed tree assemblages at each evaluation site. We used the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve to calculate the probability that the estimated suitability for a species present at a particular evaluation site is greater than the estimate for an absent species (both picked at random). Suitability rankings were also obtained from the predictions of SDM and the same procedure was used to estimate the predictive performance of the set of models at each site. The experts offered concordant suitability rankings at almost every evaluation site. There were no significant differences in the predictive performance of the SDM and four of the experts, although the SDM performed slightly better than the other two experts. Our results point to the suitability of the proposed species distribution modeling approach to obtain fast and cost effective recommendations for species selection in forest restoration projects.     

地中海山地土壤中团聚体的形成和有机质的储存

Soil aggregation and organic matter of soils from the pre-Pyrenean range in Catalonia (NE Spain) were studied, in order to assess their quality as carbon sinks and also to select the best soil management practices to preserve their quality. Aggregate stability, organic carbon and micromorphology were investigated. The highest amount of organic carbon was found in alluvial, deep soils (228 Mg C ha^-1), and the lowest was in a shallow, stony soil with a low plant cover (78 Mg C ha^-1). Subsurface horizons of degraded soils under pastures were the ones with smaller and less-stable aggregates. Fresh residues of organic matter (OM) were found mostly in interaggregate spaces. Within the aggregates there were some organic remains that were beginning to decompose, and also impregnative nodules of amorphous OM. Although OM was evenly distributed among the aggregate fractions, the larger blocky peds had more specific surface, contained less decomposed OM and had a lower organic/mineral interphase than smaller crumb aggregates, which were also more stable. Soil carbon storage was affected primarily by the OM inputs in the surface horizons. In order to store organic carbon over the mid-and long-term periods, the mechanisms favouring structuration through biological activity and creating small aggregates with intrapedal stable microporosities seemed to be the most effective.     

Glomerulonephritis Associated with Simultaneous Canine Adenovirus‐1 and Dirofilaria immitis Infection in a Dog

This article describes a case of glomerulonephritis and immunocomplex (IgM, IgG and C3c) deposition in the mesangium and basement membranes of a 2‐year‐old dog with canine viral hepatitis and dirofilariasis. The deposits observed in the mesangium were in the vicinity of cells with viral replication. However, no clear relationship was found between viral replication and the deposition of immunocomplexes in the glomerular capillary basement membranes, which may be the reason why these deposits have only been tentatively related to the concomitant infestation by Dirofilaria immitis.