What drives wild boar density and population growth in Mediterranean environments?

Accurate prediction of fluctuations of wildlife local number of individuals is crucial for effective population management to minimise human-wildlife conflicts. Climate, habitat, food availability, and density dependence are among the main factors influencing mammalian population dynamics. In southern Europe, precipitation and temperature, particularly during summer have been suggested as key factors affecting wild boar (Sus scrofa L.). However, there is uncertainty regarding the role of these factors and the mechanisms driving population fluctuations. This study utilized long-term data of wild boar populations from 14 study sites collected for 23 years in Catalonia, Spain, to analyse the factors that drive population density and growth rate. Generalized Additive Mixed Models (GAMM) explained respectively, 94 % and 65 % of the density and growth rate variability. Spring precipitation in both current and previous year, female weight, and forest cover (particularly above 60 %) were directly associated with higher wild boar densities and population growth rates. The interaction between crop cover and total annual precipitation also played a significant role in determining population density. Higher densities were linked to lower population growth in the following year, likely due to a density-dependent process. These results suggest that the expected decrease in rainfall linked with global warming may limit the availability of natural resources and potentially slow wild boar population growth. Nevertheless, wild boar can exploit alternative anthropogenic food sources, potentially leading to an increase of human-wildlife conflicts. Therefore, incorporating management policies aimed at restricting wild boar access to human food sources is key for controlling their reproductive output. Additionally, landscape management strategies targeted at diminishing refuge and resource availability in regions experiencing high wild boar impact are essential for contributing to sustainable coexistence between wild boars and human populations.

Longevity of an immunocontraceptive vaccine effect on fecundity in rats.

•Increases in human-wildlife conflicts alongside cultural shifts against lethal control methods are driving the need for alternative wildlife management tools such as fertility control. Contraceptive formulations suitable for oral delivery would permit broader remote application in wildlife species.•This study evaluated the contraceptive effect and immune response to two novel injectable immunocontraceptive formulations targeting the Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (GnRH): MAF-IMX294 and MAF-IMX294P conjugates, both identified as having potential as oral contraceptives. The study also explored whether in multiparous species immunocontraceptives may either totally prevent reproduction or also affect litter size.•Female rats, chosen as a model species, were given three doses of either MAF-IMX294 or MAF-IMX294P to compare anti-GnRH immune response and reproductive output up to 310 days post-treatment.•Both formulations induced anti-GnRH antibody titres in 100% of rats and significantly impaired fertility compared to control animals. Following treatment with MAF-IMX294 and MAF-IMX294P 0 of 9 and 1 of 10 females respectively produced litters following the first mating challenge 45 days post-treatment, compared to 9 of 9 control animals.•Across the whole 310 day study period 7 of 9 females from the MAF-IMX294 group and 10 of 10 females in the MAF-IMX294P group became fertile, producing at least one litter throughout six mating challenges.•No significant differences were found between the two formulations in antibody titre response or duration of contraceptive effect, with an average time to first pregnancy of 166 days for MAF-IMX294 and 177 days for MAF-IMX294P for all females that became fertile.•Following treatment with MAF-IMX294 and MAF-IMX294P the first litter produced post-infertility in treated females was significantly smaller than in control animals. This indicates treatment with immunocontraceptives may induce an overall suppression of fecundity extending past an initial infertility effect. This increases the potential long-term impact of these immunocontraceptives in multiparous species such as commensal rodents.

Effect of vaccination with a novel GnRH-based immunocontraceptive on immune responses and fertility in rats.

1. As human-wildlife conflicts increase worldwide, novel methods are required for mitigating these conflicts. Fertility control, based on immunocontraceptives, has emerged as an alternative option to lethal methods for managing wildlife. 2. Immunocontraceptives are vaccines that generate an immune response to key components of an animal's reproductive system. Some of these vaccines target the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and have been used successfully as contraceptives for many wildlife species. However, the need to capture animals for treatment limits the field applications of injectable vaccines. The availability of orally delivered immunocontraceptives would increase the breadth of applications of fertility control for wildlife management. 3. This study explored a new approach to developing an oral immunocontraceptive, exploiting the bioadhesive and immunologically active properties of killed Mycobacterium avium cell wall fragments (MAF). The MAF was conjugated to a GnRH recombinant protein called IMX294, used as a GnRH-specific immunogen. 4. An initial trial using the MAF-IMX294 conjugate provided the first evidence that an orally delivered immunocontraceptive vaccine could generate anti-GnRH antibody titres in laboratory rats. 5. Increasing the dose and frequency of vaccine administered to rats, in a second trial, enhanced the immune response, eliciting titres that reduced the proportion of females giving birth. This provided the first evidence of the contraceptive effect of an oral anti-GnRH vaccine. 6. Future work is required to further increase the immunogenic effect of the oral vaccine and to establish a dosing schedule that is effective for practical field applications.

3D X-ray microscopic analysys on a prosthetically loaded implant with platform-switching and conical connection: a case report.

The histological and histomorphometrical examination were the gold standard in the qualitative and quantitative analyses of the peri-implant tissue around the implant. In recent years, the field of microscopy has witnessed a considerable enhancement of the performance of microscopes that have very high resolution performance and allowing very sophisticated analysis even larger than traditional preparations. The possibility to have an affordable analyses of whole implant with the surrounding different tissues (soft and hard tissues) without the traditional pre-treatment necessary for the histological analysis may represent a goal to describe material properties and behaviors or simply to visualize structural details. The aim of the present study were to evaluate a 3D X-ray microscopic analysis of peri-implant tissue compared to a traditional histological and histomorphometrical analysis of the peri-implant tissues around an implant with a conical connection associated with platform-switching in order to assess the validity of the new analysis technique.

Free-Roaming Dogs in Nepal: Demographics, Health and Public Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices.

In Nepal, most dogs are free to roam and may transmit diseases to humans and animals. These dogs often suffer from malnutrition and lack basic health care. Minimal information is available about their demographics and about public attitudes concerning dogs and diseases. We carried out a study in Chitwan District (central Nepal), to collect baseline data on free-roaming owned dog demographics, assess knowledge, attitudes and practices of dog owners concerning dogs and rabies, evaluate rabies vaccination coverage and anthelmintic treatment of dogs, measure dogs' response to rabies vaccination and assess dog health through body condition scores and parasites. We conducted household interviews with owners of free-roaming female dogs (n = 60) and administered dogs with rabies vaccination and anthelmintics. Dog owners regularly fed free-roaming dogs but provided minimal health care; 42% of respondents did not claim ownership of the dog for which they provided care. We collected skin, faecal and blood samples for parasite identification and for measuring rabies virus-specific antibodies. Ninety-two per cent of dog owners were aware of the routes of rabies virus transmission, but only 35% described the correct post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) following a dog bite. Twenty-seven per cent of the dogs had measurable rabies virus-specific antibody titres and 14% had received anthelmintics in the previous year. Following rabies vaccination, 97% of dogs maintained an adequate antibody titre for ≥6 months. Most dogs appeared healthy, although haemoprotozoans, endoparasites and ectoparasites were identified in 12%, 73% and 40% of the dogs, respectively. Poor skin condition and parasite load were associated. Seventy-four per cent of the females had litters in 1 year (mean litter size = 4.5). Births occurred between September and February; we estimated 60% mortality in puppies. We concluded that vaccination coverage, PEP awareness and anthelmintic treatment should be emphasized in educational programmes focussed on animal welfare, veterinary and public health.

Monitoring wild pig populations: a review of methods.

Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are widespread across many landscapes throughout the world and are considered to be an invasive pest to agriculture and the environment, or conversely a native or desired game species and resource for hunting. Wild pig population monitoring is often required for a variety of management or research objectives, and many methods and analyses for monitoring abundance are available. Here, we describe monitoring methods that have proven or potential applications to wild pig management. We describe the advantages and disadvantages of methods so that potential users can efficiently consider and identify the option(s) best suited to their combination of objectives, circumstances, and resources. This paper offers guidance to wildlife managers, researchers, and stakeholders considering population monitoring of wild pigs and will help ensure that they can fulfill their monitoring objectives while optimizing their use of resources.

Bone production by human maxillary sinus mucosa cells.

The Schneider membrane is the mucosa that covers the inner part of the maxillary sinus cavities. The free surface is a ciliated pseudostratified epithelium, while the deeper portion is a highly vascularized connective tissue. The stromal fraction, bordering the bony wall of the sinus, after tooth loss can exhibit increased osteoclastic activity resulting in resorption of the bone in the posterior maxilla. Goal of our study was to isolate and characterize mesenchymal progenitors in the Schneider's membrane connective net and to evaluate their self ability to differentiate toward osteoblastic lineage, in absence of osteoinductive factors and osteoconductive biomaterials of support. This should indicate that maxillary sinus membrane represents an useful an approachable source of MSCs for bone tissue engineering and cell therapy and owns the intrinsic capacity to restore maxillary bone after tooth loss without the needing of biomaterials.

Sinus augmentation procedure of the jaw sinus in patients with mucocele.

The sinus augmentation procedure of the jaw sinus (SAP) is a surgical technique which permits the prosthetic rehabilitation of the edentulous saddles by the insertion of dental implants where unfavourable conditions exist for their application. Nevertheless, apart from malignant tumors, benign pathologies exist, such as mucocele or radicular cysts, which can complicate the SAP, causing sinusal disturbances. In this study we describe our experience of SAP in patients with mucocele of the jaw sinus, and describe our surgical technique without the preventive emptying of the mucocele. Based on our experience, the SAP operation can be carried out without complications if the distance between the top of the mucocele with SAP and the osteomeatal complex (OMC) is 22 mm, or for mucocele no larger than 18 mm. In fact, these parameters guarantee that, because of the lifting of the sinusal membrane, the antral drainage (AD) duct does not alter or become obstructed.

Maxillary sinus elevation: the effect of macrolacerations and microlacerations of the sinus membrane as determined by endoscopy.

The authors evaluated the health of the maxillary sinus in a group of 18 patients who had undergone sinus lift surgery for implantation purposes, using computed tomography and endoscopic imaging as a means of diagnosis. The study was performed after a mean interval of 31 months. All sinus lift operations were carried out using the lateral flap technique. The authors evaluated graft characteristics and intraoperative and postoperative complications and compared the results with computed tomography and endoscopic images. Endoscopy of a maxillary sinus that underwent microlaceration of the mucosa during sinus lifting showed a situation compatible with healthy conditions. In cases complicated by macrolaceration, the endoscopic picture was typical of sinusitis, even where clinical conditions of this type were not present. In the absence of intraoperative complications, the endoscopic appearance of sinus mucosa appears to improve when autologous graft material is used.

Disarmed by domestication? Induced responses to browsing in wild and cultivated olive.

Some theories of plant allocation to defence predict that chemical or structural defences against herbivores should be maximised when browsing is most likely to occur. However, plants are constrained by a trade-off between growth and defence such that slow-growing plants usually have higher levels of secondary compounds, such as phenolics and tannins, than faster-growing ones. Thus, it is possible that the selection for increased yield and growth rate that occurs when plants are domesticated, may cause a reduction in allocation to these compounds. We tested this hypothesis using wild (Olea europaea L. var. sylvestris Brot.) and cultivated (O. europaea L. var. europaea) olive growing in an area with high densities of ungulates. In our study, olives outside fences excluding ungulates were heavily browsed. However, browsing induced an increase in the phenolic content of olives of both varieties in winter but not in spring. In spring, new leaves of both varieties had generally higher levels of phenolics and nitrogen than old leaves, but new leaves in both varieties exposed to browsing had a lower nitrogen content compared to controls. Browsing in both olive varieties caused leaf and shoot density to increase and leaf and shoot length to decrease, but in wild olives browsed shoots lost their leaves and became similar to spines. Structural responses to browsing occurred in spring during regrowth, whilst chemical changes were more obvious in winter, in both varieties. We suggest that olive may exhibit both morphological and chemical responses to browsing, depending on the different resource allocation priorities at different times of year. In spring, independently of browsing, cultivated olive had generally longer shoots and lower levels of phenolics than wild olive. We speculate that domestication may have selected for faster growth, at the expense of allocation to secondary compounds.

[Auto-transplantation of tooth germs. Discussion and presentation of 3 treated cases]. / Gli autotrapianti di germi dentari. Considerazioni ed esposizione di 3 casi trattati.

The authors examine the theoretical possibilities of human dental transplants: autologous, homologous and heterologous. They, then discuss-with reference to autologous transplants-an autotransplant as an alternative to prosthodontic treatment. This would apply both to traditional prosthodontic treatment and on implants or orthodontic treatment aiming at filling dental gaps. They show both general and local counterindications against this operational method the knowledge of which is necessary for an adequate selection of patients. They stress the determining factors for a successful autotransplant: 1) particular care with the choice of the germ to be transplanted taking into account its morphology and the stage of root development; 2) adequate surgical preparation of the receiving site in relation to the size of the germ to be transplanted; 3) suitable surgical technique entailing a particular care in the manipulation of soft and hard tissues and of the germ and appropriate conditions of sterilization; 4) use of appropriate retention means to ensure stability of the transplanted germ so as to favour cellular proliferation and reduce osteoclastic activity; 5) reduction of occlusal pressure on the transplanted germ. The authors describe for example's sake 3 out of 32 cases treated with the documentation of the achieved long-term success. They also analyse the possible causes of failure of such operational method (careless manipulation of the germ, incorrect surgical technique, removal of the germ in a too early stage of its development, too long exposure of the germ outside the oral cavity, poor oral hygiene, caries, periodontal disease, occlusal trauma.

Long-term histopathologic findings in tooth germs autotransplantation. Analysis of a series.

Tooth germ autotransplantation, a surgical technique based upon extraction of a germ followed by reimplantation in the same individual, is indicated in tooth agenesis or loss as an alternative to traditional methods of treatment. The success of autotransplantation relies on several factors, and clinical studies indicate that results are excellent if correct surgery is carried out. This work offers a morphological contribution to the understanding of post-transplantation changes of the pulp, periodontal ligament and root cementum.