Condition-dependent transcriptome reveals high-level regulatory architecture in Bacillus subtilis     

Nicolas P  Mäder U  Dervyn E  Rochat T  Leduc A  Pigeonneau N  Bidnenko E  Marchadier E  Hoebeke M  Aymerich S  Becher D  Bisicchia P  Botella E  Delumeau O  Doherty G  Denham EL  Fogg MJ  Fromion V  Goelzer A  Hansen A  Härtig E  Harwood CR  Homuth G  Jarmer H  Jules M  Klipp E  Le Chat L  Lecointe F  Lewis P  Liebermeister W  March A  Mars RA  Nannapaneni P  Noone D  Pohl S  Rinn B  Rügheimer F  Sappa PK  Samson F  Schaffer M  Schwikowski B  Steil L  Stülke J  Wiegert T  Devine KM  Wilkinson AJ  van Dijl JM  Hecker M  Völker U  Bessières P 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2012,335(6072):1103-1106

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Agricultural intensification exacerbates female-biased primary brood sex-ratio in tree swallows     

Renaud Baeta  Marc Bélisle  Dany Garant 《Landscape Ecology》2012,27(10):1395-1405

Impacts of agriculture practices are documented at every ecosystem level from landscape structure to biodiversity. Birds are especially affected by agricultural modifications as shown by the decline of farmland species in Europe and North America. Few studies have assessed the effects of such modifications on individual characteristics directly influencing population dynamics. Several bird studies showed that sex-ratio may be adaptive and that mother condition affects the production of sons and daughters. However, little is known about the connections between environmental and individual characteristics on sex allocation. Here we quantified the variation in primary sex-ratio in tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) nesting in contrasted environments associated with agricultural intensification in southern Québec, Canada. We found that intensive agricultural practices affected female sex-ratio allocation in this area, resulting in more biased sex-ratio towards daughters throughout most of the hatching period. Yet, this bias towards daughters was reduced as the season progressed in the most intensively cultivated areas, suggesting that tree swallows have problems foreseeing the difficult growth and postfledging conditions that their nestlings will experience in such environments. Our results thereby support the hypothesis that intensive agricultural areas act as an ecological trap in our study system. We also found that effects of agricultural intensification on sex allocation differed among years and affected the relationships between sex-ratio allocation and hatching date. Our results suggest that agricultural intensification modifies female sex allocation in tree swallows, but the importance of the effects might vary among years and depend on timing of breeding.  相似文献   

The use of vacuum-assisted closure in the management of septic peritonitis in six dogs     

Buote NJ  Havig ME 《Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association》2012,48(3):164-171

The purpose of this study was to describe the appropriate surgical technique, postoperative monitoring, and complications encountered with use of vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) in six dogs with confirmed septic peritonitis. Initial diagnosis of septic peritonitis was performed by measuring either the blood-to-fluid lactate ratio and glucose concentration differences or cytologic verification of intracellular bacteria. After appropriate surgical procedures were performed to manage the primary cause of peritoneal sepsis, a VAC was performed. Serum and abdominal fluid protein levels were measured, and all complications were noted during the postoperative period. Three of the six dogs (50%) survived to the secondary closure and were subsequent discharged, which is similar to previous studies where the abdomen was either closed primarily or treated with open abdominal drainage. No major complications occurred with bandage management during hospitalization. The results of this study support VAC as a feasible technique for managing septic peritonitis.  相似文献   

Failure of antimicrobial therapy to accelerate spontaneous healing of subclinical pulmonary abscesses on a farm with endemic infections caused by Rhodococcus equi     

Venner M  Rödiger A  Laemmer M  Giguère S 《Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)》2012,192(3):293-298

Mass antimicrobial treatment of foals with small ultrasonographic pulmonary lesions is common on farms with endemic disease caused by Rhodococcus equi. The objectives of this study were to compare the relative efficacy of three antimicrobial protocols for the treatment of pulmonary abscesses on a farm with endemic infections caused by R. equi and to determine the frequency of spontaneous resolution of subclinical pulmonary lesions. Foals with ultrasonographic evidence of pulmonary abscesses ≥ 1.0 cm in diameter (n=128) were randomly allocated to one of four equal treatment groups. Animals with respiratory distress or severe pulmonary lesions were excluded from the study. Treatment groups consisted of: (1) tulathromycin intramuscularly; (2) azithromycin monotherapy orally; (3) azithromycin in combination with rifampin orally; and (4) glucose orally as a placebo. Physical examination, thoracic ultrasonography and white blood cell (WBC) counts were performed weekly by individuals unaware of treatment group assignment. Foals that worsened were removed from the study and treated with azithromycin and rifampin. Overall, 14/32 (43.8%) foals in the placebo group recovered without the need for therapy. The proportion of foals that responded to the initial therapy, the duration of therapy, the kinetics of ultrasonographic lesion resolution, the proportion of foals that had to be removed from the study and the number of days to removal from the study did not differ significantly between treatment groups. The study showed that many foals with pulmonary abscesses recover without antimicrobial therapy. Moreover, treatment of sub-clinically affected foals with antimicrobial agents did not significantly hasten recovery.  相似文献   

Relationships between young stallions’ temperament and their behavioral reactions during standardized veterinary examinations     

Marie Peeters  Denis Verwilghen  Didier Serteyn  Marc Vandenheede 《Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research》2012,7(5):311-321

Horse handling and veterinary examination can induce hazardous stress reactions. Such reactions occur especially in young and less-trained horses, particularly stallions, and make their handling a risk for breeders, grooms, and medical staff. Moreover, these stressful situations will affect the animal’s health and welfare. Because stress reactivity is thought to be partly determined by genetic factors, scientists, veterinarians, and breeders are likely to be interested in adding temperament assessments to stallion selection schemes, as it is already done in some countries. This study assesses young stallions’ temperament and its comparison with their stress reactions during a standardized veterinary examination for studbook admission. The assessment consists of a general examination, a lameness examination including flexion tests, an endoscopy of the upper airway, and a standardized radiological examination. During the years 2008 and 2009, 93 stallions were evaluated. Stallions were observed from the moment they were unloaded from the trailer at the clinic until the end of veterinary examinations. In addition to the behavioral observations made by the experimenter, each staff member in charge of the examination filled in a short questionnaire about the horse’s temperament and the “easiness of manipulation” for the performed examinations. Breeders were asked to complete a longer questionnaire about their horse’s temperament. The assessments of “aggressiveness,” “sociability,” and “learning level” temperament traits were the most consistent, as shown by the significant Spearman correlations between judges’ assessments. Undesirable behaviors during veterinary examinations leading to handling difficulties were associated with a low “easiness of manipulation” score assessed by the clinical staff. These low “easiness of manipulation” scores were positively correlated to temperament traits such as “anxiousness” and “aggressiveness” and negatively correlated to others such as “sociability” or “learning level.” Temperament assessment and behavioral observations can therefore be used to anticipate behaviors that make a horse difficult to handle during veterinary examinations. Thus, it may be important to include temperament assessment as a feature in the selection of breeding stallions—as already practiced for some breeds in some countries. Such evaluations may promote the welfare of horses and ease of handling as well as safety for the handler.  相似文献   

Predicting the growth and yield of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus radiata</Emphasis> in Bolivia     

Gustavo Guzmán  Timo Pukkala  Marc Palahí  Sergio de-Miguel 《Annals of Forest Science》2012,69(3):335-343

Context   

Pinus radiata D. Don is the most widely planted conifer in the Inter-Andean Valleys of Bolivia. However, Bolivia lacks knowledge on stand dynamics and yield prediction of radiata pine, and the particular Bolivian conditions prevent a straightforward application of equations developed elsewhere.  相似文献   

Endoscopic transcervical intrauterine artificial insemination in Labrador Retriever bitches     

Macedo SP  Malm C  Henry MR  Telles LF  Figueiredo MS  Fukushima FB  Neves MM  Cavalcanti GA  Chaves MS  Mascarenhas RM  Lagares Mde A  Gheller VA 《Research in veterinary science》2012,92(3):494-500

Besides post-thawing reduced semen quality, there are some difficulties in the execution of the endoscopic transcervical intrauterine artificial insemination (AI) with frozen-thawed semen in bitches. Therefore, the aims of the present study were to evaluate behavioral and reproductive parameters (i.e., vaginal cytology and serum progesterone level) to determine time of insemination and to investigate the particularities and difficulties of this technique in bitches using fresh semen. Ten Labrador Retriever bitches were submitted to three endoscopic transcervical intrauterine AIs (with 48 h intervals). Oestrus and ovulation period were established by behaviour evaluation, progesterone assays and vaginal cytology, enabling optimal timing for AI during oestrus. During AI, the following aspects were evaluated: cervical os catheterization difficulty, semen deposition resistance, occurrence of semen backflow, and time required to perform the AI. In this study, it was possible to catheterize the cervical os in all bitches, with different degrees of difficulty, by manipulating the equipment to allow cervical visualization and catheter introduction in the cervical canal. Serial serum progesterone assays enabled estimation of LH surge day, and thus of ovulation. The pregnancy rate was 90%, with a litter size of 5.0 ± 2.6 puppies per bitch. It was concluded that the difficulties in the execution of the endoscopic transcervical intrauterine AI technique in Labrador Retriever bitches were minimized by the equipment manipulation and practical experience.  相似文献   

Bioavailability of a novel midazolam gel after intranasal administration in dogs     

Eagleson JS  Platt SR  Strong DL  Kent M  Freeman AC  Nghiem PP  Zheng B  White CA 《American journal of veterinary research》2012,73(4):539-545

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The advantages of using a combination of LDL and glutamine in comparison with TRIS egg yolk and Equex® STAMP extenders in the cryopreservation of canine semen     

Bencharif D  Amirat-Briand L  Garand A  Anton M  Schmitt E  Desherces S  Delhomme G  Langlois ML  Barrière P  Destrumelle S  Vera-Munoz O  Tainturier D 《Research in veterinary science》2012,93(1):440-447

Twenty semen samples taken from 5 dogs were frozen in liquid nitrogen at ?196 °C in four different extenders: one control extender based on 20% egg yolk, 6% LDL alone (low density lipoproteins: the active cryoprotective principle in chicken egg yolk), 6% LDL combined with 20 mmol glutamine, and Equex® (a reference extender that we wish to compare with the LDL-glutamine combination). After thawing, spermatozoal motility was evaluated using a HAMILTON THORNE CERROS 12 image analyzer; the percentage of motile spermatozoa was 27.7% in the egg yolk extender (p < 0.05), 49.9% with 6% LDL alone (p > 0.05), 54.7% in the 6% LDL + 20 mmol glutamine extender, and 47.9% with Equex® (p > 0.05). The motility parameters (VAP, VCL, VSL and ALH) were also superior in the 6% LDL + 20 mmol glutamine extender in comparison with the other extenders.Finally, the spermatozoa were generally better protected during freezing with the 6% LDL + 20 mmol glutamine association than with the egg yolk, 6% LDL, or Equex extenders in terms of the flagellar plasma membrane (HOS test), DNA (Acridine orange test), and acrosome integrity (Spermac® test: no significant difference). The Equex® extender obtained the best results for the acrosome, followed by 6% LDL + 20 mmol glutamine (FITC-PSA test: p < 0.05 between each extender).  相似文献   

TonB is essential for virulence in avian pathogenic Escherichia coli     

Holden KM  Browning GF  Noormohammadi AH  Markham PF  Marenda MS 《Comparative immunology, microbiology and infectious diseases》2012,35(2):129-138

Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) strains have multiple iron-uptake systems that facilitate adaptation to iron-restricted environments and are believed to assist in colonisation of the host. These systems include several TonB-dependent transporters of ferri-siderophores encoded by the chromosome and the large virulence plasmid common to APECs. The tonB gene of the virulent APEC strain E956 was replaced with a selectable antibiotic resistance marker using Lambda Red recombinase mutagenesis. The phenotype of the ΔtonB E956 mutant was compared to the parent strain under various culture conditions and in chickens experimentally infected via the respiratory route. The mutant was resistant to streptonigrin, impaired in its ability to adapt to growth in iron-depleted medium and had greater tolerance of oxidative stress than the parental strain. The mutant was avirulent in chickens, did not affect the growth of chicks and colonisation was mostly limited to the trachea. This study has demonstrated that TonB is essential for virulence in APEC.  相似文献