Reaction of reindeer to obstructions and disturbances.

In Scandinavia, highways and railroads have not generally created obstructions to the movement of domesticated reindeer, although thousands of animals are killed each year in accidents. Some disruption in the movements of wild reindeer in Norway has been associated with the construction of a railroad and highway through an alpine plateau south of Trondheim. Hydroelectric projects have had the greatest detrimental effects on reindeer by flooding rangelands and obstructing migration routes. Special problems are created by the fluctuating water levels in reservoirs and rivers; efforts to mitigate the effects of these fluctuations have been only partially successful. Reindeer have strong traditions for migrating along specific routes, and realignment of these routes is extremely difficult. Conflicts of interest exist between reindeer herders and foresters. During their winter feeding, the deer damage young trees. The cutting of forests usually results in a deterioration of the area as a rangeland for reindeer. Herbicides used in forestry have been implicated in the death of some reindeer in Sweden, and research is now under way to determine the effects of herbicides on reindeer. The increased use of fences in reindeer husbandry in Scandinavia has emphasized the fact that reindeer behavior and characteristics of the terrain must be considered if fences are to be successful in directing or controlling the movements of reindeer. Herders now use snowmobiles instead of reindeer for transportation and herding, but the machines disturb the reindeer and must be used with discretion. Recent evidence indicates that large amounts of industrial waste in the atmosphere are carried from the British Isles and central Europe to Scandinavia, where they fall out in rain and snow. This has raised concern about the influence of the wastes on lichens, the main winter food supply of reindeer. Studies are now under way in Finland, Sweden, and Norway, through the International Biological Program, to determine the growth rates of the several lichen species that are important to reindeer.

Probing magnetism in 2D van der Waals crystalline insulators via electron tunneling.

Magnetic insulators are a key resource for next-generation spintronic and topological devices. The family of layered metal halides promises varied magnetic states, including ultrathin insulating multiferroics, spin liquids, and ferromagnets, but device-oriented characterization methods are needed to unlock their potential. Here, we report tunneling through the layered magnetic insulator CrI3 as a function of temperature and applied magnetic field. We electrically detect the magnetic ground state and interlayer coupling and observe a field-induced metamagnetic transition. The metamagnetic transition results in magnetoresistances of 95, 300, and 550% for bilayer, trilayer, and tetralayer CrI3 barriers, respectively. We further measure inelastic tunneling spectra for our junctions, unveiling a rich spectrum consistent with collective magnetic excitations (magnons) in CrI3.

Resource partitioning by mammalian herbivores in the high Arctic.

Willow (Salix arctica) and sedges (Carex stans and Eriophorum triste) were the dominant plants available as forage for herbivores in the high Arctic of Greenland. Willow leaves were of high quality as forage in early stages, of phenology, but crude protein and digestibility declined markedly by late stages whereas sedges, remained high in forage quality throughout the growing season. Densities of fecal pellets indicated that muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) made heaviest use of sedge-dominated vegetation types in both winter and summer, although increased use of willow communities was observed in early summer. Hares (Lepus arcticus) favored willow-dominated communities in both winter and summer. Evidence of collared lemming (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus) winter use was mainly in willow-dominated communities where snow had accumulated, whereas in summer they were present in drier habitas dominated by willows, but with greater plant diversity. Analyses of plant tissues in feces indicated that graminoids composed over 60% of the diet of muskoxen in winter and over 40% in summer. Willows were of nearly equal importance in the muskox diet in summer, and forbs, Dryas integrifolia, and moss collectively composed over 20% of the diet in both summer and winter. Grass accounted for nearly 50% of the diet of hares in both summer and winter, with willows, forbs, and moss accounting for most of the remainder. Willows and graminoids dominated the diet of lemmings, with willows being somewhat more important in summer and graminoids in winter. Moss was a noteworthy dietary component of lemmings. Differences in body and digestive-tract morphology among the three mammalian herbivores account for differences in locomotive efficiency, predator avoidance, and foraging efficiency which interact with vegetation quality, density, and patchiness. The resulting patterns of use of the landscape result in minimal overlap in use of forage resources and help to explain the distribution and co-existence of high Arctic herbivores.

Nutritional encephalomalacia in turkeys: diagnosis and growth performance.

An outbreak of neurological disease in 2 1/2-to-3 1/2-week-old male turkey poults was diagnosed morphologically as nutritional encephalomalacia. About 20 to 30% of the flock of 6360 showed clinical signs, which included going down with legs extended or hock-sitting and inability to get up, incoordination, weakness, staggering, trembling, torticollis, and opisthotonus. The most important gross postmortem changes were found in the brain, which consisted of an enlarged and swollen cerebellum with focal and/or diffuse hemorrhages. Major histopathological alterations included congestion, hemorrhages, necrosis, and malacia associated with hyaline capillary thrombi affecting the cerebellar cortex and adjacent white matter. Except for a slightly higher mortality, flock performance compared favorably with performance of other flocks grown in the same farm as well as with the national average for market tom turkeys.

Laryngeal edema as a complication of chemical peel.

Laryngeal edema is a rare complication in patients undergoing chemical face peels. Symptoms of stridor, hoarseness, and tachypnea developed within 24 hours after peeling and subsided within another 24 hours after inhalation therapy with heated aerosol mist was begun. All patients who developed this complication were heavy smokers. A possible mechanism by which this complication was produced is discussed and experience with a drug regimen to prevent its occurrence is presented.

Comparison of complications between in-hospital patients and out patients for aesthetic surgical procedures: a ten-year study.

On the basis of the clinical evidence and the statistical analysis of the 10-year survey, this study would confirm our hypothesis that in the surgical procedures performed-rhytidectomy and augmentation mammaplasty-there is no significant difference in the rate of serious complications between the inpatient group and the outpatient group. It would seem appropriate that further studies should be undertaken to evaluate other procedures and other ;complications. If we are to embark further on the course of out patient aesthetic surgery, we must strive for greater statistical knowledge in the area of complications and risk factors to evaluate our results better, keeping in mind our ultimate goal of continually improving our art.

Effect of using redberry juniper (Juniperus pinchotii) to reduce Haemonchus contortus in vitro motility and increase ivermectin efficacy.

A modified larval migration inhibition assay was used to determine if redberry juniper (Juniperus pinchotii Sudw.) can reduce Haemonchus contortus in vitro motility and increase ivermectin (IVM) efficacy. Ruminal fluid was mixed with buffer solution and either no material (CNTL) or Tifton 85 Bermudagrass hay (T85), dried juniper (DRY), fresh juniper (FRE), or distilled juniper terpenoid oil (OIL) to make treatment solutions and anaerobically incubated for 16 h. For Trial 1, larvae were incubated in CNTL, T85, DRY, or IVM. During Trial 2, larvae were incubated in CNTL, DRY, FRE, or OIL for 4h. Trials 3 (CNTL or OIL) and 4 (CNTL, DRY or FRE) evaluated larvae after incubation in treatment solution for 2h, then incubated an additional 2h in various IVM doses (0, 0.1, 1, 3, and 6 µg/mL IVM) and placed onto a screen. Larvae that passed through the 20-µm screen within a 96-well plate were considered motile. Larvae incubated in CNTL or T85 had similar (P=0.12) motility, but larvae incubated in DRY were less (P<0.02) motile than larvae incubated in CNTL or T85 (Trial 1). During Trial 2, adding DRY, FRE, or OIL reduced (P<0.001) larval motility as compared to CNTL. A treatment×IVM dose interaction (P=0.02) was observed during Trial 3, due to OIL unexpectedly decreasing IMV efficacy at IVM concentrations of 1 (P=0.07), 3, and 6 (P<0.002)µg/mL. No treatment×IVM dose interaction (P=0.57) was observed during Trial 4, but larvae incubated in DRY had less (P<0.004) total motility than larvae incubated in CNTL or FRE. Juniper forage material reduced in vitro H. contortus larval motility, but IVM efficacy was increased only by initially incubating larvae in DRY.

A modified in vitro larvae migration inhibition assay using rumen fluid to evaluate Haemonchus contortus viability.

Anthelmintic effects of plant secondary compounds may be occurring in the rumen, but in vitro larvae migration inhibition (LMI) methods using rumen fluid and forage material have not been widely used. Forage material added to an in vitro system can affect rumen pH, ammonia N, and volatile fatty acids, which may affect larvae viability (LV). Validating a LMI assay using rumen fluid and a known anthelmintic drug (Ivermectin) and a known anthelmintic plant extract (Quebracho tannins; QT) is important. Rumen fluid was collected and pooled from 3 goats, mixed with buffer solution and a treatment (1 jar/treatment), and placed into an anaerobic incubator for 16h. Ensheathed larvae (<3 months old) were then anaerobically incubated with treatment rumen fluid for 2, 4, or 16h depending on the trial. Larvae (n=15-45) were then transferred onto a screen (n=4-6 wells/treatment) within a multi-screen 96-well plate that contained treatment rumen fluid. Larvae were incubated overnight and those that passed through the 20-µm screen were considered viable. Adding dry or fresh juniper material reduced (P<0.05) pH, ammonia N, and isobutyric, butyric, isovaleric, and valeric acids, and increased (P<0.001) acetic, propionic, and total VFA. Including 4.5% (w/v) polyethylene glycol (PEG) in rumen fluid mixture with or without forage material reduced (P<0.01) LV. However, LV was similar at all PEG concentrations tested (0-2%, w/v; 89.4, 78.9, 76.5, 75.5, and 77.5% viable). Q. tannin concentrations from 0 to 1.2% (w/v) quadratically reduced (P<0.001) LV; 89.4, 65.5, 22.8, and 9.2%. Ivermectin concentrations from 0 to 15µg/mL quadratically reduced (P<0.001) LV; 90.2, 82.6, 73.6, 66.3, 51.9, 56.5, 43.5, 41.9, 29.3, and 19.9% viable, respectively. Effects of altering in vitro rumen fluid pH, ammonia N, and VFA and using PEG when evaluating LV need to be further investigated. In vitro rumen fluid assays using QT and Ivermectin resulted in decreased LV, validating the efficacy of this technique for measuring Haemonchus contortus larval viability.

Bioimpedance as a Non-Invasive Method to Evaluate Eggs and Poultry

The need to comply with animal welfare has motivated the research for non-invasive methods that allow the evaluation of poultry and eggs to be painless while providing accurate measurements. In this scenario, bioelectrical impedance was tested as a minimally invasive tool for sexing day-old chicks of two different chicken strains and for evaluating the quality of eggs submitted to different days of storage relative to their hatchability. The resistance and phase angle measured allowed the differentiation between chicken strains, but not between sexes. Eggs stored for seven days showed higher resistance and lower phase angle those stored for only one day. Although the bioimpedance method seems to be a promising method to evaluate egg and chick quality, the results of the present study suggest that further studies are needed to validate its utilization, particularly in terms of electrode type and positioning, as well as for the determination of which electrodes and equipment are best suited for different evaluation purposes.

Bioimpedance as a Non-Invasive Method to Evaluate Eggs and Poultry

The need to comply with animal welfare has motivated the research for non-invasive methods that allow the evaluation of poultry and eggs to be painless while providing accurate measurements. In this scenario, bioelectrical impedance was tested as a minimally invasive tool for sexing day-old chicks of two different chicken strains and for evaluating the quality of eggs submitted to different days of storage relative to their hatchability. The resistance and phase angle measured allowed the differentiation between chicken strains, but not between sexes. Eggs stored for seven days showed higher resistance and lower phase angle those stored for only one day. Although the bioimpedance method seems to be a promising method to evaluate egg and chick quality, the results of the present study suggest that further studies are needed to validate its utilization, particularly in terms of electrode type and positioning, as well as for the determination of which electrodes and equipment are best suited for different evaluation purposes. (AU)

The use of the carbon dioxide laser in plastic surgery.

For centuries, surgical technics have included sharp metal instruments for incisions and dissections together with time-consuming clamping and tying of vessels with associated blood loss. The CO2 laser presents the first major change in these basic technics. Our brief experience with the Sharplan 791 indicates consistently marked reduced blood loss, less postoperative edema, and less postoperative pain with no increased risk to the patient and no compromise in the end results. Admittedly, much more investigation is necessary to determine its full potential, and perhaps its contraindications. However, it would appear at this time that the proper use of this new modality should be incorporated into our armamentarium of tools for plastic surgical advantages consistent with sound surgical judgment.

Nucleotide sequence of the cDNA encoding the precursor of the beta subunit of rat lutropin.

We have determined the nucleotide sequences of cDNAs encoding the precursor of the beta subunit of rat lutropin, a polypeptide hormone that regulates gonadal function, including the development of gametes and the production of steroid sex hormones. The cDNAs were prepared from poly(A)+ RNA derived from the pituitary glands of rats 4 weeks after ovariectomy and were cloned in bacterial plasmids. Bacterial colonies containing transfected plasmids were screened by hybridization with a 32P-labeled cDNA encoding the beta subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin, a protein that is related in structure to lutropin. Several recombinant plasmids were detected that by nucleotide sequence analyses contained coding sequences for the precursor of the beta subunit of lutropin. Complete determination of the nucleotide sequences of these cDNAs, as well as of cDNA reverse-transcribed from pituitary poly(A)+ RNA by using a synthetic pentadecanucleotide as a primer of RNA, provided the entire 141-codon sequence of the precursor of the beta subunit of rat lutropin. The precursor consists of a 20 amino acid leader (signal) peptide and an apoprotein of 121 amino acids. The amino acid sequence of the rat lutropin beta subunit shows similarity to the beta subunits of the ovine/bovine, porcine, and human lutropins (81, 86, and 74% of amino acids identical, respectively). Blot hybridization of pituitary RNAs separated by electrophoresis on agarose gels showed that the mRNA encoding the lutropin beta subunit consists of approximately 700 bases. The availability of cDNAs for both the alpha and beta subunits of lutropin will facilitate studies of the regulation of lutropin expression.

Cytochrome b phylogeny of North American hares and jackrabbits (Lepus, lagomorpha) and the effects of saturation in outgroup taxa.

Jackrabbits and hares, members of the genus Lepus, comprise over half of the species within the family Leporidae (Lagomorpha). Despite their ecological importance, potential economic impact, and worldwide distribution, the evolution of hares and jackrabbits has been poorly studied. We provide an initial phylogenetic framework for jackrabbits and hares so that explicit hypotheses about their evolution can be developed and tested. To this end, we have collected DNA sequence data from a 702-bp region of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and reconstructed the evolutionary history (via parsimony, neighbor joining, and maximum likelihood) of 11 species of Lepus, focusing on North American taxa. Due to problems of saturation, induced by multiple substitutions, at synonymous coding positions between the ingroup taxa and the outgroups (Oryctolagus and Sylvilagus), both rooted and unrooted trees were examined. Variation in tree topologies generated by different reconstruction methods was observed in analyses including the outgroups, but not in the analyses of unrooted ingroup networks. Apparently, substitutional saturation hindered the analyses when outgroups were considered. The trees based on the cytochrome b data indicate that the taxonomic status of some species needs to be reassessed and that species of Lepus within North America do not form a monophyletic entity.