bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Unrelated facultative endosymbionts protect aphids against a fungal pathogen
Authors: Łukasik Piotr , van Asch Margriet , Guo Huifang , Ferrari Julia , Charles J. Godfray H. 
Published: November 2012

AbstractThe importance of microbial facultative endosymbionts to insects is increasingly being recognized, but our understanding of how the fitness effects of infection are distributed across symbiont taxa is limited. In the pea aphid, some of the seven known species of facultative symbionts influence their host's resistance to natural enemies, including parasitoid wasps and a pathogenic fungus. Here we show that protection against this entomopathogen, Pandora neoaphidis, can be conferred by strains of four distantly related symbionts (in the genera Regiella, Rickettsia, Rickettsiella and Spiroplasma). They reduce mortality and also decrease fungal sporulation on dead aphids which may help protect nearby genetically identical insects. Pea aphids thus obtain protection from natural enemies through association with a wider range of microbial associates than has previously been thought. Providing resistance against natural enemies appears to be a particularly common way for facultative endosymbionts to increase in frequency within host populations.
How securely is the testicular artery occluded in the spermatic cord by using a ligature?
Authors: Rijkenhuizen A. B. M. , Sommerauer S. , Fasching M. , Velde K. , Peham C. 
Published: November 2012

SummaryReasons for performing studyThere are no studies on the ideal ligature technique for the spermatic cord.ObjectivesTo compare the maximal resistance pressure in the testicular artery and the maximal tensile forces to produce failure of 2 different ligature techniques used for ligation of the equine spermatic cord.MethodsThe capabilities of 2 types of ligatures, single knot loop and double knot loop, were assessed using a pressure‐resistance test in testicular arteries and with an in vitro mechanical evaluation of the tensile strength by single cycle‐to‐failure testing.ResultsIn the pressure‐resistance test, the mean ± s.d. peak force at failure of the single knot loop was 354.4 ± 91.7 mmHg and for the double knot loop 303.2 ± 62.0 mmHg. There was no significant difference between the maximal load to failure of the single knot loop and double knot loop technique. The pressure needed for rupture was significantly higher (P = 0.001) than for leakage. The maximal tensile force at failure of the single knot loop was significantly higher than the double knot loop (P = 0.028). There was no significant difference in load elongation properties to failure between the single knot loop and double knot loop.ConclusionsAlthough no significant differences were obtained in the pressure‐resistance test, the single knot loop sustained significantly greater load to failure than the double knot loop in single cycle‐to‐failure testing. Based on these findings, it would appear that the performance of the single knot loop should be superior to the double knot loop.Potential relevanceBoth ligature techniques are able to withstand the normal physiological intravascular pressure. The single knot loop has the greater breaking strength of the 2 ligatures tested and is less time consuming to perform and may therefore have advantages during equine castration.
Potential effects of the invasive ‘killer shrimp’ (Dikerogammarus villosus) on macroinvertebrate assemblages and biomonitoring indices
Authors: MACNEIL CALUM , BOETS PIETER , LOCK KOEN , GOETHALS PETER L. M. 
Published: November 2012

Summary1. Water quality monitoring data from 10 watercourses and laboratory mesocosm studies were used to assess the potential impacts of the crustacean amphipod invader Dikerogammarus villosus on resident macroinvertebrate assemblage structure in Central European fresh waters.2. The presence of D. villosus was associated with a decline in the prevalence of many native species, pollution sensitive as well as pollution tolerant, and changes in biotic indices, despite the trends of improved water quality coinciding with the invasion period. A general increase in the prevalence of other invaders was also noted. The potential impacts of D. villosus were substratum dependent, differing between stone, concrete and sand‐dominated sites.3. Mean Multimetric Macroinvertebrate Index Flanders (MMIF) values were marginally lower when D. villosus was present (P < 0.06), as opposed to when other amphipod species or no amphipods were present, despite the improved water quality. Mesocosm studies showed that several macroinvertebrate taxa were completely eliminated in treatments with D. villosus, oligochaete worms, Caenidae mayfly, chironomids and tipulids being particularly vulnerable to D. villosus predation. Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP) scores were lower in mesocosms with D. villosus as opposed to the native Gammarus pulex or no amphipods at all.4. We predict that resident macroinvertebrate assemblages in both Central Europe and Britain will come under increasing pressure as D. villosus invasions progress. Consequently, macroinvertebrate biotic indices, such as the MMIF or BMWP, may need to be revised to account for changes in taxa sensitivities to water quality as well as increased predation and competition.
Impact of clinical pharmacy services on stress ulcer prophylaxis prescribing and related cost in patients with renal insufficiency
Authors: Mousavi Maryam , Dashti-Khavidaki Simin , Khalili Hossein , Farshchi Amir , Gatmiri Mansoor 
Published: November 2012

Abstract

Objectives
Compared to the general population, chronic kidney disease patients are more vulnerable to gastrointestinal haemorrhage and its morbidity and mortality. Due to the fear of gastrointestinal bleeding consequences in these patients on the one hand, and the perception of general safety of acid suppressive medications on the other hand, inappropriate stress ulcer prophylaxis (SUP) seems to be encountered in nephrology wards. The objectives of this study were to evaluate appropriateness of acid suppression therapy in kidney disease patients and to assess the role of clinical pharmacists to decrease inappropriate SUP prescribing and related costs for these patients.

Methods
All inpatients at nephrology wards of a teaching hospital were assessed regarding appropriate SUP prescribing during a 6-month pre-intervention phase of the study without any clinical pharmacists' involvement in patients' management. Thereafter, during a 6-month post-intervention phase clinical pharmacists provided local SUP protocol and educational classes for physicians regarding appropriate SUP prescribing and participated actively in the patient-care team.

Main findings
The results showed significant relative reduction in inappropriate SUP prescribing and related cost in patients with renal insufficiency by about 44% and 67% respectively.

Conclusion
This study showed that implementing institutional guidelines, and active involvement of clinical pharmacists in the nephrology healthcare team, could reduce inappropriate SUP prescribing and related costs for these patients.
Assessing electric fishing sampling effort to estimate stream fish assemblage attributes
Authors: Vehanen T. , Sutela T. , Jounela P. , Huusko A. , Mäki‐Petäys A. 
Published: November 2012

AbstractTheEU WaterFrameworkDirective (WFD) obligates authorities to assess the ecological status of rivers. The sampling of the fish assemblage must be based on a reliable and cost‐effective monitoring programme, and it should be optimised to measure the ecological quality cost‐effectively. The efficiency of single‐pass versus three‐pass backpack electric fishing was measured to assess ecological status. The data included 295 electric fishing samplings from 137 rivers inFinland and a 5‐year data series from six small forest streams in mid‐easternFinland. Compared with three‐pass electric fishing, single‐pass electric fishing in the same area increased the risk of missing rare fish species and species with low catchability. The concordance of the calculated fish metrics (e.g. proportion of tolerant and intolerant species) between one‐ and three‐pass measurements was, however, high, suggesting that single‐pass electric fishing was a suitable sampling procedure to evaluate ecological status. Increasing the area sampled by single‐pass removals stabilised the variances in the fish metrics and similarity indexes. It was concluded that in small streams electric fishing an area 24–27 times the stream width and in general a minimum of 300 m2, but preferably more than 450 m2, was adequate to estimate fish assemblage attributes reliably in boreal streams.
Arctic ground squirrels Urocitellus parryii as drivers and indicators of change in northern ecosystems
Authors: Wheeler Helen C. , Hik David S. 
Published: November 2012

Abstract
Global warming and increasing human activity are altering northern ecosystems. In these strongly seasonal environments, small herbivorous mammals may have a significant role in determining the trajectory of ecosystem transitions from one state to another.
Arctic ground squirrels Urocitellus parryii are a key component of northern terrestrial food webs and are considered ecosystem engineers, exerting a large impact on their habitat through bioturbation.
We review and synthesize diverse information about current and past distribution and density of arctic ground squirrels, their physiology and ecological interactions with other species.
Factors that appear to affect the distribution and abundance of arctic ground squirrels include increasing temperatures, changes in flooding probability, permafrost thaw, shifting phenology, habitat change, new predators and invasive diseases. Increases in the distribution and density of arctic ground squirrels in northern latitudes and high altitudes could accelerate ecosystem change through facilitation of disturbance‐tolerant species, while decreases in southern and milder climates could remove an important agent of disturbance and prey item.
Despite their pervasive ecological influence throughout most of their range, arctic ground squirrels are underrepresented in ecological research, based on a comparison of the number of publications about arctic ground squirrels with the number about other species of the same genus, and about other arctic herbivores.
The widespread distribution of arctic ground squirrels, along with their potential to exacerbate and alter trajectories of ecosystem change under global warming, makes them a valuable indicator of ecosystem change and therefore a candidate for increased monitoring.
Dermatophagoides farinae house dust mite allergen challenges reduce stratum corneum ceramides in an experimental dog model of acute atopic dermatitis
Authors: Stahl Jessica , Paps Judy , Bäumer Wolfgang , Olivry Thierry 
Published: November 2012

Background –  Ceramides are essential stratum corneum (SC) lipids and they play a pivotal role in maintaining effective cutaneous barrier function.Objectives –  The present study aimed at determining the effect of a Dermatophagoides farinae house dust mite (Df‐HDM) allergen challenge on SC ceramides of atopic dogs experimentally sensitized to these allergens.Animals –  Six Df‐HDM‐sensitized atopic Maltese–beagle dogs were used.Methods –  Prechallenge SC was obtained by cyanoacrylate stripping. One week later, the dogs were challenged topically with Df‐HDM allergens, which resulted in mild to moderate inflammation 24 h later. Two weeks after challenge, SC of lesional and nonlesional skin was obtained. Finally, SC was collected from challenge sites 2 months after lesion resolution. The different SC lipids were quantified blindly by thin‐layer chromatography.Results –  Significantly lower amounts of ceramides [AH], [AP], [AS], [NP], [EOP], [NS] and [EOS] were observed in lesional SC compared with prechallenge samples, while no significant effect was found on the amount of other lipids, including cholesterol and free fatty acids. The ceramide profile of nonlesional skin generally showed the same postchallenge reduction pattern. Ceramide amounts returned to normal within 2 months after lesion remission.Conclusion and clinical importance –  These findings suggest that the allergic reactions caused by Df‐HDM allergens lead to a selective reduction of SC ceramides, not only at sites of inflammation but also at sites away from those of allergen application. There is normalization of ceramide amounts after inflammation subsides. These observations suggest that the deficiency of ceramides observed in canine atopic skin occurs, at least in part, secondary to inflammation.
A case of apparent canine erysipeloid associated with Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae bacteraemia
Authors: Foster Jonathan D. , Hartmann Faye A. , Moriello Karen A. 
Published: November 2012

Background –  Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae is a Gram‐positive facultative anaerobe found worldwide and is most commonly associated with skin disease in swine, while anecdotal reports of cases in dogs have been associated with endocarditis.Hypothesis/Objectives –  Clinicians should consider systemic infectious diseases as a potential cause of erythematous skin lesions.Animals –  A 5‐year‐old female spayed Labrador retriever presented with lethargy, anorexia and erythematous skin lesions while receiving immunosuppressive therapy for immune‐mediated haemolytic anaemia. Four days prior to presentation, the dog had chewed on a raw turkey carcase.Methods –  Complete blood count, serum chemistry profile, urinalysis and blood cultures.Results –  Blood cultures yielded a pure growth of E. rhusiopathiae serotype 1b. Amoxicillin 22 mg/kg orally twice daily for 2 weeks and discontinuation of azathioprine resulted in remission of fever and skin lesions.Conclusions and clinical importance –  This report is the first documentation, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, of Erysipelothrix infection, a known zoonosis, in an immunosuppressed dog, highlighting the need for infectious disease monitoring in patients receiving such therapy. This information may also help educate veterinarians to include Erysipelothrix infection as a differential diagnosis in dogs with fever and skin lesions, as well as the role of blood cultures in diagnosing this disease.
Characterization of the inflammatory infiltrate and cytokine expression in the skin of horses with recurrent urticaria
Authors: Hinden Sandro , Klukowska‐Rötzler Jolanta , Janda Jozef , Marti Eliane I. , Gerber Vinzenz , Roosje Petra J. 
Published: November 2012

Background –  Recurrent urticaria (RU) is a common skin disease of horses, but little is known about its pathogenesis.Hypothesis/Objective –  The aim of this study was to characterize the inflammatory cell infiltrate and cytokine expression pattern in the skin of horses with RU.Animals –  Biopsies of lesional and nonlesional skin of horses with RU (n = 8) and of skin from healthy control horses (n = 8) were evaluated.Methods –  The inflammatory cell infiltrate was analysed by routine histology. Immunohistochemistry was used to identify T cells (CD3), B cells (CD79), macrophages (MAC387) and mast cells (tryptase). Expression of T‐helper 2 cytokines (interleukins IL‐4, IL‐5 and IL‐13), a T‐helper 1 cytokine (interferon‐γ), IL‐4 receptor α and thymic stromal lymphopoietin was assessed by quantitative RT‐PCR.Results –  In subepidermal lesional skin of RU‐affected horses, increased numbers of eosinophils (P ≤ 0.01), CD79‐positive (P ≤ 0.01), MAC387‐positive (P ≤ 0.01) and tryptase‐positive cells (P ≤ 0.05) were found compared with healthy horses. Subepidermal lesional skin of RU‐affected horses contained more eosinophils (P ≤ 0.05) and tryptase‐positive cells (P ≤ 0.05) compared with nonlesional skin. There was no significant difference in infiltrating cells between nonlesional skin and skin of healthy horses. Expression of IL‐4 (P ≤ 0.01), IL‐13 (P ≤ 0.05), thymic stromal lymphopoietin (P ≤ 0.05) and IL‐4 receptor α (P ≤ 0.05) was increased in lesional skin of RU‐affected horses compared with control horses. Expression of IL‐4 was higher (P ≤ 0.05) in lesional compared with nonlesional RU skin.Conclusions and clinical importance –  Analysis of cytokine expression and inflammatory infiltrate suggests that T‐helper 2 cytokines, eosinophils, mast cells and presumptive macrophages play a role in the pathogenesis of equine RU.
Case clusters of leproid granulomas in foxhounds in New Zealand and Australia
Authors: Smits Bronwyn , Willis Richard , Malik Richard , Studdert Virginia , Collins Desmond M. , Kawakami Pamela , Graham Duncan , Fyfe Janet A. 
Published: November 2012

Background –  Canine leproid granuloma (CLG) characteristically presents as single to multiple circumscribed dermal to subcutaneous nodules in haired skin. An unidentified mycobacterium is considered be the aetiological agent of this entity.Animals –  Several cases of canine leproid granulomas occurred in dogs in New Zealand during 2010 and 2011. Cases appeared in clusters, affecting multiple closely related foxhounds domiciled in the same kennels. All affected hounds recovered after topical and/or systemic antimicrobial therapy. Two similar outbreaks that occurred in foxhounds near Melbourne, Australia are also reported.Methods –  Cases were investigated using cytological, histological, microbiological and several molecular techniques. An environmental epidemiological study was also performed.Results –  A diagnosis of CLG was established in 11 dogs. Molecular identification of the causative agent confirmed that it was a mycobacterial species with 100% sequence homology within the amplified regions of the 16S rRNA gene and internal transcribed spacer (ITS1) with that found in association with similar infections from the USA, Brazil and Australia.Conclusion and clinical importance –  This report details the first occurrence of multiple cases of CLG occurring in in‐contact dogs and the first proven case of CLG in dogs in New Zealand.
Ciclosporin therapy is associated with minimal changes in calcium metabolism in dogs with atopic dermatitis
Authors: Kovalik Marcel , Mellanby Richard J. , Evans Helen , Berry Jacqueline , van den Broek Adri H. M. , Thoday Keith L. 
Published: November 2012

Background –  Ciclosporin is widely used in the management of canine atopic dermatitis. In humans, ciclosporin therapy has been linked to disturbances in calcium metabolism and resultant skeletal disorders.Objectives –  The objective of this study was to assess calcium homeostasis in dogs before and after a 6 week course of once daily oral ciclosporin at the licensed dose (5 mg/kg).Animals –  Sixteen client‐owned dogs with spontaneous atopic dermatitis.Methods –  Serum concentrations of calcium, phosphate, creatinine, 25‐hydroxyvitamin D, 1,25‐dihyroxyvitamin D and plasma concentrations of ionized calcium and parathyroid hormone (PTH) were measured, together with the urinary fractional excretion of calcium and phosphate. The extent of skin lesions was scored using the Canine Atopic Dermatitis Extent and Severity Index (CADESI)‐03 and the degree of pruritus by the Edinburgh Pruritus Scale prior to and at the end of the study.Results –  The CADESI‐03 and the Edinburgh Pruritus Scale scores decreased satisfactorily in all dogs by the end of the study. Plasma PTH concentrations were significantly increased (P = 0.02) following ciclosporin treatment, whereas all other biochemical parameters were not significantly different from their starting values. The increase in PTH was mild in most cases and the proportion of dogs that had a PTH concentration above the reference range was not significantly different following treatment.Conclusions and clinical importance –  This study indicates that ciclosporin has minimal impact on calcium metabolism in dogs with atopic dermatitis when used at the licensed and clinically effective dosage for 6 weeks.
Descriptive anatomic study of the great vessels of the heart in the capuchin monkey Cebus apella (Linnaeus, 1758)
Authors: Rosa L. , Silva Z. , Pereira M. , Santos L. , Mitri F. , Carvalho‐Barros R. , Silva D. 
Published: November 2012

SummaryThe aim of this study was to describe the anatomy of the great vessels of the heart in capuchin monkey (Cebus apella) and to compare with those of other primates, including humans. The hearts were prepared through fixation in 10% formalin and subsequently dissected using standard techniques and instruments. The arterial and venous systems were perfused with colored latex solution via the femoral vessels. An ascending cylindrical branch with relatively great caliber was identified in the aorta artery, in addition to an aortic arch, from which three great arteries were originated, the brachiocephalic trunk, the left common carotid artery and the left subclavian artery. After a course of variable extension, the pulmonary trunk divided into right and left pulmonary arteries. The caudal vena cava was morphologically similar to that of humans, except for its association with the cardiac lobe of the right lung, whereas the cranial vena cava was formed by the two braquiocephalic veins and received the azygos vein close to right atrium. The pulmonary veins, in number of six, ended at the posterior face of the left atrium, differently from both humans and other primates. In conclusion, the morphology of the great vessels of the heart in Cebus apella was similar to that of humans and other primates, although some differences are evidenced with regards to topography and number of anatomic structures, particularly the relationship of the caudal vena cava with the cardiac lobe of the right lung and the presence of six pulmonary veins in Cebus apella.
A Smooth Ride? From Industrial to Creative Urbanism in Oshawa, Ontario
Authors: Siemiatycki Elliot 
Published: November 2012

AbstractIn mainstream media, policy circles and academic scholarship, economic discourses have highlighted the importance of knowledge, creativity and innovation for generating economic growth. This has been translated into an urban planning and policy agenda which favours the establishment of research parks, innovation clusters, and especially universities along with amenities to attract creative‐class workers. In much of this literature universities are invested with an almost magical power to spur economic growth, and the benign language of ‘transition’ is used suggesting a rather seamless progression from one urban economic engine to another. Through analysis of policy documents and key informant interviews related to the establishment of a new university in Oshawa, Ontario, this case study seeks to challenge the straightforward relationship that is assumed to exist between universities and local economic development. Like other lagging regions across the OECD attempting to repair their economies through creative and knowledge urbanism, Oshawa's recent achievements are tempered by growing concerns about poverty, homelessness and inequality. Planners and policymakers that mistake the complexities of economic restructuring for a smooth ‘urban transition’ put their cities and citizens at risk of creating new problems out of efforts to improve local conditions.
The Current Account Sustainability of European Transition Economies
Authors: Cuestas Juan Carlos 
Published: November 2012

AbstractThis article presents an analysis of the sustainability of the current accounts of a group of central and eastern European countries. Given the link between national savings (public and private) and investment, the current account may yield instabilities in fundamental macroeconomic variables. Hence, this analysis is of paramount importance given the 2008–11 debt crises faced by many European economies, and the addition of new countries to the economic and monetary union. By means of unit root tests and fractional integration it is shown that, in general, the ratio of the current account to gross domestic product is a stationary and mean reverting process. However, in some cases, shocks tend to have long‐lasting effects, implying that there is no evidence of a potential debt default in this group of countries.