Helminth communities of the autochthonous mustelids Mustela lutreola and M. putorius and the introduced Mustela vison in south-western France.

This study presents the first comprehensive helminthological data on three sympatric riparian mustelids (the European mink Mustela lutreola, the polecat M. putorius and the American mink M. vison) in south-western France. One hundred and twenty-four specimens (45 M. lutreola, 37 M. putorius and 42 M. vison) from eight French departments were analysed. Globally, 15 helminth species were detected: Troglotrema acutum, Pseudamphistomum truncatum, Euryhelmis squamula, Euparyphium melis and Ascocotyle sp. (Trematoda), Taenia tenuicollis (Cestoda), Eucoleus aerophilus, Pearsonema plica, Aonchotheca putorii, Strongyloides mustelorum, Molineus patens, Crenosoma melesi, Filaroides martis and Skrjabingylus nasicola (Nematoda) and larval stages of Centrorhynchus species (Acanthocephala). The autochthonous European mink harboured the highest species richness (13 species) followed by the polecat with 11 species. The introduced American mink presented the most depauperate helminth community (nine species). The prevalence and worm burden of most of the helminths found in M. putorius and M. lutreola were also higher than those of M. vison. Some characteristics of their helminth communities were compared to relatively nearby populations (Spain) and other very distant populations (Belarus). This comparison emphasized M. patens as the most frequent parasite in all of the analysed mustelid populations. It was possible to conclude that the invasive M. vison contributes to the maintenance of the life cycle of the pathogenic T. acutum and S. nasicola helminths, with possible implications for the conservation of the endangered European mink.

Transabdominal Intrapericardial Approach in Liver Transplantation for Unresectable Primary Hepatic Functioning Paraganglioma With Invasion Into Hepatic Veins and Suprahepatic Vena Cava: A Surgical and Anesthesia Management Challenge.

Primary hepatic functional paraganglioma is a rare form of extra-adrenal catecholamine-secreting tumor. Definitive treatment of functioning paraganglioma is challenging because of the critical location of the tumor frequently in close proximity to vital structures and risk of excessive catecholamine release during operative manipulation. We report the multidisciplinary management approach for a case of unresectable primary hepatic functional paraganglioma with invasion into the hepatic veins and suprahepatic vena cava. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing that orthotopic liver transplantation is curative for patients with unresectable primary hepatic paraganglioma. For locally advanced unresectable hepatic paraganglioma that involves the intrapericardial vena cava, a meticulous pre- and intraoperative medical management and transabdominal intrapericardial vascular control of the suprahepatic vena cava during orthotopic liver transplantation allows for complete extirpation of the tumor and achieves optimal outcome.

Acupressure wrist bands to relieve nausea and vomiting in hospice patients: do they work?

This study assessed the effects of acupressure wrist bands on the nausea and vomiting of terminally ill patients. Using a single subject experimental design, six hospice patients were exposed to three conditions: An acupressure wrist band; A placebo wrist band; A no wrist band condition. Patients and their caregivers rated nausea and vomiting during the treatment. Despite some difficulty obtaining complete data, the results of this preliminary test indicate that acupressure wrist bands were not effective in reducing nausea and vomiting in this small sample of hospice patients.

Physiological responses of insular wild black rat (Rattus rattus) to natural infection by the digenean trematode Fasciola hepatica.

Wild black rat Rattus rattus is regularly infected by the liver fluke Fasciola hepatica on Corsica. This report constitutes the only example of a murid rodent that plays an important epidemiological role for the Fasciolosis. We investigated the influence of such unusual parasite infection on black rat physiology by measuring its oxygen consumption at different ambient temperatures. Black rat energy requirements are influenced by body mass, temperature of the experiment and parasite infestation. The influence of the presence of F. hepatica was more pronounced for cold temperatures. The mean increase of 56% in oxygen requirements for infected rats is extremely high, indeed unexpected, according to previous knowledge. These high physiological constraints may be explained by the recent confrontation of the digenean and the rodent.

Capillary supply of heart and skeletal muscle of small bats and non-flying mammals.

Capillary density (CD), fiber cross-section area, capillary-to-fiber ratio and intercapillary distance of papillary and a calf muscle were evaluated in four species of bats (body weight 23-150 g) and six non-flying mammalian species (2.5-170 g). In bats the pectoralis muscle was studied additionally. In both groups CD increased in papillary as well as in calf muscle with decreasing body weight. The papillary muscles showed the highest CD in the 2.5 g shrew Suncus etruscus (7287 cap./mm2) and the 23 g bat Myotis myotis (6748 cap./mm2). The flight muscle of the 38 g bat Molossus ater showed the highest CD (4992 cap./mm2) of all skeletal muscles investigated. The slopes of regressions of CD versus body weight for papillary (calf) muscles were -0.42 (-0.70) for bats and -0.15 (-0.26) for non-flying mammals, indicating that bats have a higher increase of weight-specific metabolic rate with decreasing body weight. This holds for species with a body weight below 30 g.

Comparative aspects of lipid metabolism in two shrews (Suncus etruscus and Crocidura russula).

1. The amounts of tissue lipids were higher in S. etruscus than in C. russula. 2. The level of liver phospholipids was specially low in C. russula, 2650 mg/100 g as opposed to 3725 g in S. etruscus. 3. This is in good agreement with a reduced rate of the labelled acetate incorporation into the lipids of C. russula. 4. The proportion of unsaturated fatty acids was greater in the liver of S. etruscus; however, the percentage of arachidonic acid was higher in C. russula--15% as opposed to 8%.

Heart and respiratory rates and their significance for convective oxygen transport rates in the smallest mammal, the Etruscan shrew Suncus etruscus.

Heart and respiratory rates of the smallest mammal (mean adult body mass 2g), the Etruscan shrew Suncus etruscus, were determined at rest and under stress conditions. Heart rate was obtained from electrocardiograms (ECGs), recorded via foot electrodes. The mean +/- S.D. heart rate of resting animals (ambient temperature 22 degrees C) was 835 +/- 107 min-1, the mean maximal rate amounted to 1093 +/- 235 min-1. The highest single value recorded was 1511 min-1, which is the highest heart rate reported so far for an endotherm. The respiratory rate was also obtained from ECG recordings, which showed the electrical activity of the breathing muscles during inhalation, and additionally by recording the movements of the thoracic wall with a laser autofocus system. The mean resting respiratory rate was 661 +/- 93 min-1, the mean maximal rate was 758 +/- 109 min-1 and the highest single value recorded was 894 min-1. At 22 degrees C, the specific oxygen consumption rate is 67 times higher in resting S. etruscus than in resting humans. Under these conditions, the respiratory rate of the shrew is 47 times higher but the heart rate only 12 times higher than in man. Therefore, to achieve an adequate circulatory oxygen transport rate, the product of relative stroke volume and arterio-venous O2 difference has to be 5.6 times higher in the shrew than in man, whereas for an appropriate ventilatory oxygen transport rate the product of relative tidal volume and oxygen extraction has to be only 1.4 times higher in this small insectivore than in man. The maximal possible oxygen transport rates of the ventilatory and the circulatory system have been estimated and compared with the diffusional transport capacity of the lung. These rates amount to approximately 1000 ml O2 kg-1 min-1. According to our results and data in the literature, an aerobic scope of 7-10 seems to be realistic for the Etruscan shrew.

Rates of rewarming, heart and respiratory rates and their significance for oxygen transport during arousal from torpor in the smallest mammal, the Etruscan shrew Suncus etruscus.

We investigated the process of rewarming from torpor with respect to respiratory and circulatory oxygen transport properties in the smallest mammal, the Etruscan shrew Suncus etruscus. In seven adult Etruscan shrews with a mean body mass of 2.4g, torpor was induced by deprivation of food and a cold environment. During arousal from torpor at an ambient temperature of 22 degrees C, the shrews actively rewarmed from the lowest mean (+/- S.D.) body temperature (Tb) of 12.1 +/- 1.2 degrees C to 20 degrees C at a rate of 0.43 +/- 0.14 degree C min-1, from 20 to 24 degrees C at a rate of 0.8 degree C min-1, and from 24 to 36 degrees C at a rate of 1.1 +/- 0.1 degrees C min-1. The mean rate from 12 degrees C to normothermia amounted to 0.83 degree C min-1, which is among the highest values recorded in mammals. During rewarming, the heart rate increased exponentially (Q10 = 2.2) from 100 to 800-1200 min-1, whereas the respiratory rate increased linearly from 50 to 600-800 min-1. These rates are higher than the heart and respiratory rates reported for other small mammals at the same Tb. The fraction of brown adipose tissue (BAT) was 9.2 +/- 1.6% of body mass, which is higher than in any other mammal. Up to a body temperature of approximately 17 degrees C, the heat for rewarming was mainly produced in the BAT; above this value, considerable activity of the skeletal muscles enhanced thermogenesis. Estimation of the mixed venous oxygen partial pressure showed that, at the tissue level, the rewarming process corresponds to heavy work conditions. The ventilatory system is adapted such that during rewarming, in addition to the appropriate oxygen transport capacity, there is also a capacity for hyperventilation.

[Description of Hymenolepis cerberensis n. sp. (Cestoda: Hymenolepididae) and first general considerations on the fauna of cestode parasites of the pygmy shrew Suncus etruscus (Savi, 1822) (Insectivora: Soricidae)]. / Description de Hymenolepis cerberensis n. sp. (Cestoda: Hymenolepididae) et premières considérations générales sur la faune de Cestodes parasites de la Pachyure étrusque, Suncus etruscus (Savi, 1822) (Insectivora: Soricidae).

Description and differentiation of the adult stage of Hymenolepis cerberensis n. sp. (Cestoda: Hymenolepididae), an intestinal parasite of the Pygmy white-toothed shrew, Suncus etruscus (Savi, 1822) (Insectivora: Soricidae: Crocidurinae) in the region of Banyuls-sur-Mer and Cerbère (Oriental Pyrenees, France). The new species is characterized by the size of the gravid specimens and by the presence of 18-21 rostellar hooks of 18.5-20 micron and of filaments around the embryophore. The general composition of the fauna of Cyclophyllidea parasitizing S. etruscus is analysed. There are three less specialised Hymenolepis species with a scolex of the same type and one Pseudhymenolepis species, with the absence of unarmed species lacking a rostrum. The oioxenous character of the Cestodes parasitizing Suncus species sustains the validity of the genus Suncus. The resemblance of the Cestodefaunas suggests a narrow phyletic relationship between the genera Suncus and Crocidura.

Fasciola hepatica development in the experimentally infected black rat Rattus rattus.

The finding of natural infection of Rattus rattus by Fasciola hepatica on Corsica has stimulated further research into the role of the black rat in the epidemiology of fascioliasis. Corsican black rats were experimentally individually infected with 20 metacercariae from cattle and murine isolates obtained from naturally infected bovines and black rats. The following results were obtained: (a) in R. rattus infected with the cattle isolate, normal adult fluke development took place and infection persisted for a long period, with emission of eggs showing embryogenic capacity; (b) the development of F. hepatica adults paralleled the ontogenetic trajectories observed in other rodent-F. hepatica models; and (c) fluke adults obtained in R. rattus infected with the murine isolate exhibited a similar pattern. These findings strongly suggest that the black rat may be one of the wild reservoirs of F. hepatica and may have contributed to the large geographical extent of the disease on Corsica.

[Respiratory function of blood and relative weight of certain organs in two species of shrew: Crocidura russula and Suncus etruscus (Soricidae mammals)]. / La fonction respiratoire du sang et poids relatif de certains organes chez deux espèces de Musaraignes : Crocidura russula et Suncus etruscus.

A high oxygen capacity combined with a low oxygen affinity and a large Bohr effect achieve a high oxygen transport capacity in small shrews. The high metabolic rate (Suncus estruscus: 100 to 350 ml O2/kg. min) can be explained by the combination of the favorable blood parameters with a high relative heart weight (1,2% of body weight) and heart frequencies of 1,000 to 1,350 per minute.

Blood oxygen transport and organ weights of two shrew species (S. etruscus and C. russula).

Blood parameters concerning oxygen transport and relative organ weights of 11 Suncus etruscus and 13 Crocidura russula under light halothane anesthesia were investigated. Mean body weight of S. etruscus was 2.5 g and for C. russula was 9 g, hemoglobin concentration was 17.4 and 15.6 g/100 ml blood, hematocrit was 50 and 44%, red blood cells were 18 and 11 X 10(6)/microliter, respectively. Mean corpuscular volume was calculated to be 26 and 41 micron3, mean diameter 5.5 and 7 micron, and mean thickness 1.2 and 1.1 micron, respectively. Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration was in the normal range of mammalian red blood cells. A blood oxygen half-saturation pressure of 35 and 34 Torr at pH 7.4, 37 degrees C and a Bohr factor deltalog P50/deltapH of -0.61 and -0.66 was measured. Experiments with stripped hemoglobin showed that 2,3-diphosphoglycerate is the main oxygen affinity reducing allosteric factor. Relative weights of heart, kidney, and liver are remarkably high in S. etruscus. The maximal oxygen transport of 400 ml . kg-1 . min-1 of S. etruscus is feasible by an enormous heart rate, a large relative stroke volume, a high hemoglobin concentration combined with a low oxygen affinity, and a large Bohr effect.

Biogeography and taxonomy of Apodemus sylvaticus (the woodmouse) in the Tyrrhenian region: enzymatic variations and mitochondrial DNA restriction pattern analysis.

In the western Mediterranean area, the taxonomic status of the various forms of Apodemus sylvaticus is quite unclear. Moreover, though anthropogenic, the origins of the island populations remain unknown in geographical terms. In order to examine the level of genetic relatedness of insular and continental woodmice, 258 animals were caught in 24 localities distributed in Belgium, France, mainland Italy, Sardinia, Corsica and Elba. Electrophoresis of 33 allozymes and mtDNA restriction fragments were performed and a UPGMA dendrogram built from the indices of genetic divergence. The dendrogram based on restriction patterns shows two main groups: 'Tyrrhenian', comprising all the Italian and Corsican animals and 'North-western', corresponding to all the other mice trapped from the Pyrenees to Belgium. Since all the Tyrrhenian mice are similar and well isolated from their relatives living on the western edge of the Alpine chain, they must share a common origin. The insular populations are consequently derived from peninsular Italian ones. From a taxonomic point of view and taking the priority rules into account, we have to invalidate A. s. clanceyi Harrison, 1948 and to consider the Tyrrhenian woodmice as belonging to A. s. milleri de Beaux, 1926, whereas the North-western ones must be referred to as the nominal supspecies. As far as the Elban woodmouse is concerned, at the moment we prefer to keep its present subspecific status because we only studied one animal.

Contraction parameters, myosin composition and metabolic enzymes of the skeletal muscles of the etruscan shrew Suncus etruscus and of the common European white-toothed shrew Crocidura russula (Insectivora: soricidae).

In the Etruscan shrew, the isometric twitch contraction times of extensor digitorum longus (EDL) and soleus muscles are shorter than in any other mammal, allowing these muscles to contract at outstandingly high contraction frequencies. This species has the highest mass-specific metabolic rate of all mammals and requires fast skeletal muscles not only for locomotion but also for effective heat production and for an extremely high ventilation rate. No differences could be detected in the fibre type pattern, the myosin heavy and light chain composition, or in the activity of the metabolic enzymes lactate dehydrogenase and citrate synthase of the two limb muscles, the EDL and the soleus, which in larger mammalian species exhibit distinct differences in contractile proteins and metabolic enzymes. All properties determined in EDL and soleus muscles of Suncus etruscus, as well as in the larger Crocidura russula, are typical for fast-oxidative fibres, and the same holds for several other skeletal muscles including the diaphragm muscle of S. etruscus. Nevertheless, the EDL and soleus muscles showed different mechanical properties in the two shrew species. Relaxation times and, in C. russula, time to peak force are shorter in the EDL than in the soleus muscle. This is in accordance with the time course of the Ca(2+) transients in these muscles. Such a result could be due to different parvalbumin concentrations, to a different volume fraction of the sarcoplasmic reticulum in the two muscles or to different Ca(2+)-ATPase activities. Alternatively, the lower content of cytosolic creatine kinase (CK) in the soleus compared with the EDL muscle could indicate that the observed difference in contraction times between these shrew muscles is due to the CK-controlled activity of their sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase.

Helminth parasites of the Eurasian otter Lutra lutra in southwest Europe.

The helminth fauna in 109 Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra L.) from France, Portugal and Spain was analysed, together with 56 faecal samples collected in Portugal and 23 fresh stools from otters included in a reintroduction programme. Seven helminth species were found in L. lutra in southwest Europe: Phagicola sp. (Trematoda), Aonchotheca putorii, Eucoleus schvalovoj, Strongyloides lutrae, Anisakis (third stage larvae) and Dirofilaria immitis (Nematoda), and Gigantorhynchus sp. (Acanthocephala). Eucoleus schvalovoj was the dominant species throughout southwest Europe. Strongyloides lutrae was significantly more prevalent in the Iberian Peninsula than in France. Apart from these two dominant nematodes and A. putorii, the other helminth species were incidental parasites of L. lutra in southwest Europe. The helminth fauna of L. lutra in southwest Europe is, in general, poorer than that reported in eastern Europe and in all other aquatic mustelids in southwest Europe. Phagicola specimens are reported for the first time in a non-marine wild carnivore in Europe. The prevalences of E. schvalovoj and S. lutrae obtained by necropsy were higher than those observed by coprological analysis using a formalin-ether concentration method (Ritchie). Nevertheless, the culture of fresh faeces appears to be the best method to study infection of L. lutra by Strongyloides.

First epidemiological data on pathogenic leptospires isolated on the Azorean islands.

Insectivores (Erinaceus europaeus) and rodents (Rattus rattus, R. norvegicus and Mus musculus) from different islands of the Azores Archipelago were found to carry three distinct Leptospira interrogans s.l. serovars (copenhageni, icterohaemorrhagiae and ballum) which have never been previously investigated there. The house mouse and the black rat were the major Leptospira reservoirs showing isolation rates ranging from 0% for both species (in Graciosa) to 88% and 33%, respectively (in Sãao Miguel). This study also showed that the majority of the animals with positive kidney cultures exhibited specific agglutinins against the isolated strains of Leptospira. The observed isolation rates in the different islands, with a very interesting island variation in prevalence, suggest that small mammals, serving as sylvatic reservoirs of pathogenic leptospires, may represent an important risk to the health of humans and livestock, particularly in the islands of Terceira and Sãao Miguel.