Comparing growth of pork- and venison-reared Phormia regina (Diptera: Calliphoridae) for the application of forensic entomology to wildlife poaching.

Laboratory rearing of Phormia regina Meigen larvae on pork and venison was conducted as part of a study to determine whether forensic entomology approaches can be used in wildlife poaching investigations. Larvae were reared at 30 degrees C, 75% relative humidity, and a photoperiod of 14:10 (L:D) h on pork or venison diets, and samples were collected every 8 h until >90% of the maggots reached the third-instar wandering or prepupal stage. Significant differences were found in the distribution of lengths of the third instar and combined instars for maggots reared on the two different meat sources. Maggots reared on venison reached the prepupal wandering stage significantly faster (approximately 6 h) compared with maggots on the pork diet. Mean adult weight and wing length of venison-reared flies were significantly greater than for flies reared on pork. The lower crude fat content of venison appears to make this meat source a more suitable medium than pork for larvae of P. regina. The difference in growth rate could introduce error into PMImin estimations from third-instar maggots in deer poaching cases if estimates are based on data from studies in which maggots were reared on pork.

Surveillance of parapoxvirus among ruminants in Virginia and Connecticut.

In 2008, two deer hunters in Virginia and Connecticut were infected with a unique strain of pseudocowpox virus, a parapoxvirus. To estimate the prevalence of this virus, and in an attempt to define the reservoir, Parapoxvirus surveillance was undertaken between November 2009 and January 2010. 125 samples from four ruminant species (cows, goat, sheep and white-tailed deer) were collected in Virginia, and nine samples from white-tailed deer were collected in Connecticut. We found no evidence that the parapoxvirus species that infected the deer hunters is circulating among domesticated ruminants or white-tailed deer. However, parapoxvirus DNA of a different parapoxvirus species, bovine papular stomatitis virus (BPSV), was detected in 31 samples obtained from asymptomatic cattle in Virginia. Parapoxvirus DNA-positive cattle originated from the same counties indicating probable transmission among animals. Molecular analysis identified BPSV as the parapoxvirus affecting animals. Asymptomatic parapoxvirus infections in livestock, particularly young animals, may be common, and further investigation will inform our knowledge of virus transmission.

Effect of tannins on galliform cecal partitioning.

Winter diets of ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) and other galliformes are high in tannins. We fed quebracho, a condensed tannin, to ruffed grouse and found no effect on dry matter intake or body mass at levels up to 6% of the diet. However, a high-fiber diet with 8% quebracho resulted in reduced dry matter intake and body mass loss. Grouse could not tolerate a diet with 8% tannic acid, a hydrolyzable tannin, which caused a large reduction in dry matter intake and body mass. Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) and ruffed grouse responded to dietary quebracho tannin by increasing the proportion of digesta that was excreted from the ceca. In the northern bobwhite, 59%-76% of the tannin recovered from the feces was in cecal feces. There was no difference in average passage rates of liquid and fiber digesta, although variation was high in tannin-fed birds. The role of the ceca in handling tannin requires further investigation.

Improvement of memory in rodents by the selective CB1 cannabinoid receptor antagonist, SR 141716.

Social short-term memory in rodents is based on the recognition of a juvenile by an adult conspecific when the juvenile is presented on two successive occasions. Cannabimimetics are claimed to induce memory deficits in both humans and animals. In the brain, they mainly bind to CB1 receptors for which anandamide is a purported endogenous ligand. SR 141716, a specific antagonist of CB1 receptors, dose-dependently reverses biochemical and pharmacological effects of cannabimimetics. More particularly, it antagonizes the inhibition of hippocampal long-term potentiation induced by WIN 55,212-2 and anandamide, and it increases arousal when given alone. The present experiments study the ability of SR 141716 (from 0.03 to 3 mg/kg SC) to facilitate short-term olfactory memory in the social recognition test in rodents. SR 141716 improved social recognition in a long intertrial paradigm with a threshold dose of 0.1 mg/kg SC. At 1 mg/kg, it antagonized the memory disturbance elicited by retroactive inhibition. Scopolamine (0.06 mg/kg IP) partially reversed its memory-enhancing effect. Moreover, SR 141716 reduced memory deficit in aged rats (0.03-0.1 mg/kg) and mice (0.3-1 mg/kg). As SR 141716 is not known to exhibit any pharmacological activity which is not mediated by CB1 receptors, the results strongly support the concept that blockade of CB1 receptors plays an important role in consolidation of short-term memory in rodents and suggest there may be a role for an endogenous cannabinoid agonist tone (anandaminergic) in forgetting.