Anatomical, histological and morphometric data on the urethral muscle (musculus urethralis) of the male calf

The gross and microscopic anatomy and the morphometry of the Musculus urethralis in the male calf Parts of the male urethra were examined topographically and microscopically in the male calf. The thickness and the straight course of the fibres of the urethral muscle could best be analyzed in the ventromedian region of the urethra. The results produced data on the surface area and the distribution of the two primary metabolic fibre types. This showed that the m. urethralis is capable of contracting quickly with predominantly anaerobic metabolism. The different relationships between type I and type II fibres could be determined also in relation to the position of the disseminate part of the prostate.     

étude Histomorphométrique des Variations Morphologiques du Follicule Thyroïdien chez le Rat en Fonction de l''âge et du Sexe

The thyroid glands of male and female rats (Sprague Dawley) 10 to 60 weeks of age were examined histomorphometrically. The results show a clear sex dimorphism. The thyroid follicles in the male animals show a greater functional activity than in the female animals. But while the morphology of the follicles in the females was constant throughout the period of observation, in the males the activity gradually diminished.     

Performance of Larix sibirica and L. gmelinii in north-central North Dakota

Siberian larch (Larix sibirica Ledeb.) is a potential alternative tall-tree species for use in shelterbelt plantings in the northern Great Plains. Information from a 26-year-old study containing six Larix seed sources indicates that L. sibirica generally outperformed L. gmelinii and putative L. sibirica × L. gmelinii hybrids in block plantings at a single site in north-central North Dakota. These results suggest that L. sibirica merits further study as a possible species for use in shelterbelt plantings.     

Efficiency of working dogs undergoing a new Human Familiarization and Training Program

The study of human-dog interaction has increased over the past several years. It has been demonstrated that dogs can use a number of human social cues to successfully accomplish a task, and that they do so better than apes. Many authors agree that these abilities are a result of 10,000 years of domestication by humans. Domestication may have genetically predisposed dogs to accurately recognize human communication signals. However, only a few authors have studied the performance of working dogs, implying recognition of human communication signals. Haverbeke et al. (2008) found that military working dogs do not always perform as they are expected to. To investigate this finding, we studied the performance of obedience and protection work exercises between 2 groups of dog-handler teams: a control group (CG), trained using the current training method used by the Belgian Defense, and an experimental group (EG) that underwent a new human familiarization and training program. During obedience and protection work exercises, EG teams obtained better results than CG teams and EG dogs exhibited a higher body posture than CG dogs. The results suggest that even if dogs are genetically predisposed toward the recognition of human communication signals, this aptitude alone does not explain the dogs' performance and their interactions with humans in this study. Regular training combined with positive dog-handler interaction is also required to increase the dog-handler (DH) team's performances.