What attracts elk onto cattle pasture? Implications for inter-species disease transmission.

In Southwest Alberta, beef cattle and wild elk (Cervus elaphus) have similar habitat preferences. Understanding their inter-species contact structure is important for assessing the risk of pathogen transmission between them. These spatio-temporal patterns of interactions are shaped, in part, by range management and environmental factors affecting elk distribution. In this study, resource selection modeling was used to identify factors influencing elk presence on cattle pasture and elk selection of foraging patches; furthermore, consequences for inter-species disease transmission were discussed. Data on pasture management practices and observations of elk were collected from 15 ranchers during interviews. Pasture use by elk was defined based on telemetry data (from GPS collars deployed on 168 elk in 7 herds) and rancher observations. At the patch scale, foraging patches used by elk were identified by spatio-temporal cluster analysis of telemetry data, whereas available patches were randomly generated outside the area delimited by used patches. For pastures and patches, landscape and human-managed features were characterized using remote sensing data and interviews, respectively. Attributes of available and used pastures (or patches) were compared using resource selection functions, on annual and seasonal (or annual and monthly) time scales. Additionally, intensity of pasture use was modeled using negative binomial regression. Cultivated hay land and mineral supplements were associated with elk presence on cattle pastures, whereas pastures with manure fertilization and higher traffic-weighted road densities were less likely to be used by elk. The effects of landscape (elevation, aspect, water access) and vegetation (forest cover, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) characteristics on patch selection were consistent with typical elk habitat requirements. The presence of cattle and the traffic-weighted road density were negatively associated with patch selection. The apparent avoidance of cattle by elk reduced the risk of direct transmission of pathogens, except during winter months. However, human-managed features attracting elk to cattle pastures (e.g. hay land and mineral supplements) may increase inter-species pathogen transmission through indirect contacts.

Modified malis bayonet forceps aids application of the cyberonics vagus nerve stimulator electrode: technical note.

OBJECTIVE: To notify neurosurgeons about a modified bayonet forceps that aids application of the vagus nerve stimulating electrode. METHODS: The manufacturer (Codman & Shurtleff, Inc., Raynham, MA) extended the tips of an upward-angled Malis bayonet forceps from 2 mm to 6 mm. RESULTS: The modified bayonet tips, when placed under the vagus nerve, extend well beyond the edge of the usual vagus nerve to easily accept the electrode lead. CONCLUSION: The modified bayonet forceps and depicted wrapping sequence shorten electrode wrapping time.

Trace mineral and vitamin concentrations in the liver and serum of wild muskoxen from Victoria Island.

Selected trace minerals and vitamins were assayed in the liver and serum of 25 wild muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) from Victoria Island, (Nunavut, Canada) in November, 1995. Mean +/- SE liver concentrations in micromol/kg wet weight were 260+/-16 for copper; 1.04+/-0.06 for selenium; 11.5+/-0.7 for molybdenum and 62.8+/-3.3 for vitamin E. Mean +/- SE serum concentrations in micromol/L were 14.2+/-0.3 for copper; 0.75+/-0.04 for selenium, 1.53+/-0.07 for vitamin A and 5.80+/-0.55 for vitamin E. Comparison of liver and serum concentrations of copper, selenium and vitamin E showed that the concentration in one tissue was a relatively poor indicator of the concentration in the other. The copper-molybdenum interaction often seen in domestic species was not observed. In general, the concentrations of metals and vitamins found in muskoxen were comparable to those in other ungulates although serum vitamin E concentrations were about one-fourth of those expected.

Psychotherapeutic aspects of the martial arts.

Formerly understood by Western thought as only a set of fighting skills, the Martial Arts (MAs) have come to be seen, in the psychological literature about the MAs, as a comprehensive approach to both physical and mental health. The MAs enhance self-esteem through the provision of physical activity and group experience, and the teaching of relaxation, concentration, assertiveness, and directiveness and honesty in communication. Thus, they are understood to be a legitimate form of therapy, for both "neurotic" and some chronically mentally ill patients. It is proposed in this paper, that the MAs can also be a useful supplement to verbal psychotherapy, as they foster and expose feelings through a physical modality, which can then be observed and analyzed in the modality of verbal psychotherapy. A case report illustrates how the MAs produce feelings and reveal problems, which are brought into the psychotherapy arena and analyzed.

Immune mechanisms in byssinosis.

The pathogenesis of byssinosis has been attributed to several different immunopathologic mechanisms, including a type III (immune complex) pulmonary injury. To further examine this type III theory, sera (Monday preshift) from 59 cotton textile workers were examined by gel diffusion and counterimmunoelectrophoresis for precipitating antibodies to aqueous extracts of cotton bract, carpels, stems, leaves, immature cotton bract, carpels, stems, leaves, immature cotton lint, and cardroom cotton dust. Sera were also collected from 35 nonexposed normal volunteers and examined similarly. No true precipitating antibodies to these extracts could be detected in any of the control or worker serum samples. The aqueous extracts of cardroom cotton dust and cotton stems were found to contain naturally occurring components that precipitated (in agarose gel) beta-lipoprotein and gamma-globulins (mostly IgG) in a nonimmunologic manner. Sera from normal human controls and cotton textile workers all produced identical patterns of reaction with these two extracts. Treatment of these extracts with polyvinylpolypyrrolidone, a specific insoluble adsorbent for polyphenolic tannins, eliminated this pseudoimmune reaction. Although the role this pseudoimmune reaction may play in the pathogenesis of byssinosis is still unknown, it demonstrates the problems associated with laboratory-based investigations of the immunologic aspects of byssinosis.