Dermanyssus gallinae and chicken egg production: impact, management, and a predicted compatibility matrix for integrated approaches.

The poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae, is a worldwide threat to egg production and animal and human welfare. This mite is also a potential vector for several significant diseases. EU regulation that forbids the use of conventional cages for egg-laying hens may favour the growth of D. gallinae, a species known to thrive in more complex housing systems. Current control measures emphasize the use of chemical acaricides, which may have limited efficacy on D. gallinae considering its temporary blood-feeding behaviour. In integrated pest management (IPM), two or more compatible measures targeting physical, environmental, and/or biological aspects could be judiciously combined to enhance the effectiveness against D. gallinae infestation. To inform current and future IPM for D. gallinae, a compatibility matrix is proposed to guide the selection of control measures for field application.

The Poultry Red Mite, Dermanyssus gallinae, travels far but not frequently, and takes up permanent residence on farms.

Management of Dermanyssus gallinae, a cosmopolitan hematophagous mite responsible for damage in layer poultry farming, is hampered by a lack of knowledge of its spatio-temporal population dynamics. Previous studies have shown that the circulation of this pest between farms is of strictly anthropogenic origin, that a mitochondrial haplogroup has been expanding on European farms since the beginning of the 21st century and that its local population growth may be particularly rapid. To refine our understanding of how D. gallinae spreads within and among farms, we characterized the genetic structure of mite populations at different spatial scales and sought to identify the main factors interrupting gene flow between poultry houses and between mitochondrial haplogroups. To this end, we selected and validated the first set of nuclear microsatellite markers for D. gallinae and sequenced a region of the CO1-encoding mitochondrial gene in a subsample of microsatellite-genotyped mites. We also tested certain conditions required for effective contamination of a poultry house through field experimentation, and conducted a survey of practices during poultry transfers. Our results confirm the role of poultry transport in the dissemination of mite populations, but the frequency of effective contamination after the introduction of contaminated material into poultry houses seems lower than expected. The high persistence of mites on farms, even during periods when poultry houses are empty and cleaned, and the very large number of nodes in the logistic network (large number of companies supplying pullets or transporting animals) undoubtedly explain the very high prevalence on farms. Substantial genetic diversity was measured in farm populations, probably as a result of the mite's known haplodiploid mode of sexual reproduction, coupled with the dense logistic network. The possibility of the occasional occurrence of asexual reproduction in this sexually reproducing mite was also revealed in our analyses, which could explain the extreme aggressiveness of its demographic dynamics under certain conditions.

Measuring behaviour in hens using an ethogram to assess analgesia during further refinement of a high welfare, on-hen, poultry red mite feeding device.

Background: To refine an on-hen mite feeding device, an ethogram was employed to measure the reactions of hens during a routine experimental procedure (feather plucking) and to assess effects of analgesic cream on those reactions. Methods: Three experimental groups were used; one treated with EMLA 5% before plucking ("EMLA group"); one with aqueous cream ("placebo group") and a "no treatment" group. Behaviours were measured and compared on three days: 'dummy handling day' i.e. no plucking; 'plucking day', plucking the left thigh; and 'treatment day' i.e with right thighs plucked post-treatment. Poultry red mite feeding assays were performed to examine effect of creams on mite feeding rates, mortality and fecundity. All data were analysed using generalised linear (mixed) modelling approaches. Results: Use of the ethogram demonstrated no significant difference in hen behaviours in the EMLA group between dummy handling day and treatment day (p = 0.949) alongside a significant reduction in measured behaviours between plucking day and treatment day in the same group (p = 0.028). There was a statistically significant increase in measured behaviours from the dummy handling day to the plucking day in both placebo (p = 0.011) and no treatment group (p < 0.001). Effect sizes and directions were similar between dummy handling and treatment days in the 'placebo' and 'no treatment' groups, though not statistically significant (placebo, p = 0.064; no treatment p = 0.069). Mite feeding in the EMLA group was significantly lower than in the no treatment group in feeding assay 1 (p = 0.029) only. Mite mortality and fertility were unaffected. Conclusions: The ethogram successfully measured changes in observed behaviours between the dummy handling session and procedures. No adverse effects of EMLA cream on hens were demonstrated at 3mg/kg in hens. Use of analgesia for this routine procedure improves hens' experiences during experimental trials.

Pre- and postnatal development of the catecholamine innervation of the hypoglossal nucleus in the rat: an immunocytochemical study.

The pre- and postnatal development of the catecholamine (CA) innervation to the hypoglossal nucleus (nXII) in the rat was investigated immunocytochemically with antisera to tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). Immunoreactive profiles positive for TH were first identified in nXII on gestational day (GD) 16. By GD 18, the adult-like distribution pattern was evident, characterized by the preferential targeting of the ventromedial region of nXII, but this pattern was not consistently found in all fetuses until GD 19. From GD 19 to postnatal day (PD) 180, the overall density of TH immunoreactivity, particularly in the ventromedial region, increased with further growth and maturation of nXII. These results establish the early prenatal CA innervation of nXII and support the hypothesis that CA are important in regulating motor tongue behavior in the newborn. Moreover, because the ventral compartment of nXII contains motoneurons that innervate protrusor muscles of the tongue, and tongue protrusor mechanisms play an essential role in suckling, deglutition, and respiratory (maintaining a patent upper airway) behaviors, it is further proposed that the CA innervation of nXII is critical to the survival of the newborn.

Food and nutrition services in bone marrow transplant centers.

Nutrition care for bone marrow transplant recipients is recognized as vital for a successful transplant, yet little research has been done to determine the most effective foodservice methods. Many decisions regarding methods for the oral feeding of bone marrow transplant patients are based on tradition and/or individual judgments. This study surveyed marrow transplant centers to identify existing food and nutrition services that could be used as a basis for developing a foodservice protocol. A survey instrument was developed and sent to all chief dietitians (no. = 35) affiliated with transplantation centers in the United States. Four of the 30 respondents reported changing from the traditional sterile diet to either a low-bacteria or a modified house diet. Problems of limited availability of single-serve sterile foods, lack of standardization of recipes, and low patient acceptance of autoclaved sterile foods were reported as reasons for the move toward less stringent dietary procedures. The responses clearly indicate the need for additional research before a foodservice model can be established.

The effects of a volatile anaesthetic on the excitability of human corticospinal axons.

The recovery of excitability following a conditioning volley and the strength-duration properties of corticospinal axons were measured in 10 neurologically normal patients in whom corticospinal function was being monitored during scoliosis surgery. Corticospinal volleys were produced using transcranial electrical stimulation of the motor cortex, and recorded from the spinal cord using epidural leads. Administration of a volatile anaesthetic, sevoflurane 2%, increased the threshold current required to produce a submaximal test volley by 35.8% (P = 0.0005), indicating that the anaesthetic depressed the excitability of the site at which the transcranial stimulus activated the corticospinal system. Following a strong transcranial stimulus, axons were relatively refractory for conditioning-test intervals up to approximately 2.5 ms, and then superexcitable for intervals of >10 ms. In two patients, the time course and extent of refractoriness and superexcitability did not differ when receiving sevoflurane 2% and after its withdrawal. Strength-duration properties were determined by measuring the stimulus current required to produce a submaximal corticospinal volley of fixed amplitude using test stimuli of different duration, from 50 micros to 1 ms. Strength-duration curves were well described by a hyperbolic function, with which there is a linear relationship between stimulus charge and stimulus duration. In the absence of sevoflurane, the strength-duration time constant (tau(SD)) was 432.2 +/- 70.5 micros. When sevoflurane 2% was administered to 6 patients, tau(SD) decreased to 203.7 +/- 93.8 micros, a change that was significant (P = 0.04). The decrease in tau(SD) was accompanied by an increase in rheobase. These findings imply that the lowest-threshold component of the corticospinal volley produced by transcranial electrical stimulation probably arises from nodes of Ranvier of corticospinal axons, where it would not be affected by changes in the excitability of cortical neurons. It is suggested that the increase in threshold produced by sevoflurane is due to depression of Na(+) currents at the nodes of Ranvier of corticospinal axons.