The ratting of North America: A 350-year retrospective on Rattus species compositions and competition.

While the impacts of black (Rattus rattus) and brown (Rattus norvegicus) rats on human society are well documented-including the spread of disease, broad-scale environmental destruction, and billions spent annually on animal control-little is known about their ecology and behavior in urban areas due to the challenges of studying animals in city environments. We use isotopic and ZooMS analysis of archaeological (1550s-1900 CE) rat remains from eastern North America to provide a large-scale framework for species arrival, interspecific competition, and dietary ecology. Brown rats arrived earlier than expected and rapidly outcompeted black rats in coastal urban areas. This replacement happened despite evidence that the two species occupy different trophic positions. Findings include the earliest molecularly confirmed brown rat in the Americas and show a deep ecological structure to how rats exploit human-structured areas, with implications for understanding urban zoonosis, rat management, and ecosystem planning as well as broader themes of rat dispersal, phylogeny, evolutionary ecology, and climate impacts.

Acute glaucoma secondary to angle obstruction by triamcinolone crystals.

PURPOSE: To present a case of acute glaucoma secondary to massive transit of triamcinolone acetonide into the anterior chamber in a pseudophakic, vitrectomized eye following intravitreal injection for treatment of cystoid macular edema. SETTING: Manchester Royal Eye Hospital. METHOD: Case study. CONCLUSION: In vitrectomized eyes with open posterior capsule receiving high dose intravitreal triamcinolone, it is prudent to perform pressure check within a week of injection.

Good functional recovery following intervention for delayed suprachoroidal haemorrhage post bleb needling: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: Bleb needling is a recognised procedure in the management of patients with failing trabeculectomies. Suprachoroidal haemorrhage can occur as an unusual complication. We report a pseudophakic man who had early surgical intervention for this complication. This intervention may have contributed to the good recovery of his visual acuity and the minimum changes to his visual fields. CASE PRESENTATION: A 79-year-old pseudophakic man with chronic open angle glaucoma presented with further deterioration of his right visual field despite maximum medical therapy and a previous trabeculectomy. The right visual acuity was 6/9 with an intraocular pressure (IOP) of 16 mmHg. Bleb needling with 5-fluouracil was performed in a standard manner. His postoperative IOP was 6 mmHg. Thirty-six hours later the visual acuity was reduced to hand movements and two large choroidal detachments where observed clinically, which progressed to suprachoroidal haemorrhages. Five days after the initial needling, the patient had complex surgery involving anterior chamber reformation, a bleb compression suture and drainage of the haemorrhagic suprachoroidal detachments. Subsequently, the patient had a right vitrectomy with endolaser following a vitreous haemorrhage. The final visual acuity was 6/9 with an intraocular pressure of 8 mmHg on travoprost and brinzolamide. The final visual field showed little change when compared with the pre-suprachoroidal haemorrhage visual field. CONCLUSION: It is important to consider the possibility of delayed suprachoroidal haemorrhage as a complication in bleb needling, and early surgical intervention may be beneficial.

Internet dependence in the collegiate population: the role of shyness.

Low sensation seeking and loneliness have been associated with collegiate Internet dependence. In an attempt to further explicate the factors associated with collegiate Internet dependence, interpersonal shyness (both online and in face-to-face [FTF] interactions) was explored. An online questionnaire was used to assess Internet dependency and shyness. The results demonstrated the predicted interaction such that shyness level for nondependents did not differ online or in FTF interactions. However, dependents' shyness was greater in FTF interactions relative to online interpersonal exchanges. The results were discussed in terms of how various Internet resources (e.g., e-mail, chat rooms, and instant messages) can be used to ameliorate shyness and how such negatively reinforced behavior could foster dependence.