Immunization alters body odor.

Infections have been shown to alter body odor. Because immune activation accompanies both infection and immunization, we tested the hypothesis that classical immunization might similarly result in the alteration of body odors detectable by trained biosensor mice. Using a Y-maze, we trained biosensor mice to distinguish between urine odors from rabies-vaccinated (RV) and unvaccinated control mice.

N-butylscopolammonium bromide causes fewer side effects than atropine when assessing bronchoconstriction reversibility in horses with heaves.

Reasons For Performing Study: Bronchospasm results in airway obstruction in horses with heaves. Atropine is the most potent bronchodilator drug currently available for horses, but is associated with side effects that limit its use. Like atropine, N-butylscopolammonium bromide (NBB) is an anticholinergic agent with bronchodilatory properties.

Comparison between palpation and ultrasonography for evaluation of experimentally induced effusion in the distal interphalangeal joint of horses.

Objective: To ultrasonographically quantify experimentally induced effusion of the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint of horses and compare results with those obtained with palpation.

Sample: 8 forelimbs from equine cadavers and forelimbs of 5 mares.

Procedures: Preliminary ex vivo experiments were performed to validate the methods.

Avian influenza infection alters fecal odor in mallards.

Changes in body odor are known to be a consequence of many diseases. Much of the published work on disease-related and body odor changes has involved parasites and certain cancers. Much less studied have been viral diseases, possibly due to an absence of good animal model systems.

Social foragers adopt a riskier foraging mode in the centre of their groups.

Foraging in groups provides many benefits that are not necessarily experienced the same way by all individuals. I explore the possibility that foraging mode, the way individuals exploit resources, varies as a function of spatial position in the group, reflecting commonly occurring spatial differences in predation risk. I show that semipalmated sandpipers (Calidris pusilla), a social foraging avian species, tended to adopt a riskier foraging mode in the central, more protected areas of their groups.

Elevation of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) in non-azotemic dogs with urinary tract infection.

Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is a promising biomarker in humans and dogs with kidney disease. This protein is expressed by many cells including renal tubular cells and neutrophils. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of urinary tract infection (UTI) on urinary NGAL (uNGAL) concentration in dogs.

Changes in volatile compounds of mouse urine as it ages: their interactions with water and urinary proteins.

Mice release a variety of chemical signals, particularly through urine, which mediate social interactions and endocrine function. Studies have been conducted to investigate the stability of urinary chemosignals in mice. Neuroendocrine and behavioral responses of mice to urine samples of male and female conspecifics which have aged for different amounts of time have been examined, demonstrating that the quality and intensity of signaling molecules in urine change over time.

Does high biodiversity reduce the risk of Lyme disease invasion?

Background: It has been suggested that increasing biodiversity, specifically host diversity, reduces pathogen and parasite transmission amongst wildlife (causing a "dilution effect"), whereby transmission amongst efficient reservoir hosts, (e.g. Peromyscus spp.

Performance of a multi-disciplinary emergency department observation protocol for acetaminophen overdose.

The availability of 20-h N-acetylcysteine (NAC) infusion for low-risk acetaminophen (APAP) overdose enabled our center to implement an Emergency Department observation unit (OU) protocol as an alternative to hospitalization. Our objective was to evaluate our early experience with this protocol. This retrospective cohort study included all patients treated for low-risk APAP overdose in our academic hospital between 2006 and 2011.

Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in the study of joint development in the equine pelvic limb.

Osteochondrosis dissecans (OCD) is a focal failure of endochondral ossification of the epiphysis characterized by the presence of cartilage flaps and osteochondral fragments. The objective of this study was to image epiphyseal development in the equine pelvic limb to determine whether there was a variation in site maturation that could be a predisposing factor for OCD. Pelvic limbs (fetuses and foals) were studied post-mortem.

Assessing most practical and effective protocols to sanitize hands of poultry catching crew members.

Catching crew members can heavily contaminate their hands with organic material. They can act as mechanical vector and spread diseases between farms. Hand hygiene is an important issue for the industry as a whole and for human health by reducing contamination risks.

Prevalence of contagious mastitis pathogens in bulk tank milk in Québec.

The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of mycoplasma, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus agalactiae in bulk tank milk (BTM) in Québec dairy herds. BTM was sampled 3 times a month in 117 randomly selected dairy herds. Samples were submitted for S.

Harvested white-tailed deer as sentinel hosts for early establishing Ixodes scapularis populations and risk from vector-borne zoonoses in southeastern Canada.

Due to recent establishment of the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis Say, in southeastern Canada, tick-borne zoonoses (Lyme disease, human granulocytotropic anaplasmosis, and babesiosis) are of growing concern for public health. Using white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) culled in southwestern Quebec during 2007-2008, we investigated whether hunter-killed deer could act as sentinels for early establishing tick populations and for tick-borne pathogens. Accounting for environmental characteristics of culling sites, and age and sex of deer, we investigated whether their tick infestation levels could identify locations of known tick populations detected in active surveillance, presumed tick populations detected by passive surveillance, or both.

Variables associated with Besnoitia tarandi prevalence and cyst density in barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus) populations.

Besnoitia tarandi has been documented in free-ranging reindeer and caribou (Rangifer tarandus spp.) since 1922 throughout their arctic and subarctic ranges; however, very little is known about its epidemiology. We evaluated variables associated with B.

Sodium in the food supply: challenges and opportunities.

This article is based on proceedings from the Symposium on Sodium in the Food Supply: Challenges and Opportunities, sponsored by the North American Branch of the International Life Sciences Institute, at Experimental Biology 2010 in Anaheim, California. The symposium aimed to address the issue of dietary sodium and its consequences for public health. Presenters spoke on a variety of key topics, including salt taste reception mechanisms and preferences, methods and measures to assess sodium in the US food supply, and considerations regarding the reduction of sodium in processed foods.

Outcome after arthroscopic treatment of lateral femoral trochlear ridge osteochondrosis in sport horses. A retrospective study of 37 horses.

Objectives: To determine the short- and long-term outcome for sport horses after arthroscopic treatment of osteochondrosis of the lateral trochlear ridge of the femur.

Methods: A retrospective study was performed using the medical records of horses intended for use as English sport horses. Outcome was obtained through telephone questionnaire.

Clinician practices and attitudes regarding early antiretroviral therapy in the United States.

Background: Use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) to prevent HIV transmission has received substantial attention after a recent trial demonstrating efficacy of ART to reduce HIV transmission in HIV-discordant couples.

Objective: To assess practices and attitudes of HIV clinicians regarding early initiation of ART for treatment and prevention of HIV at sites participating in the HIV Prevention Trials Network 065 study.

Design: Cross-sectional internet-based survey.

Use of HIV case surveillance system to design and evaluate site-randomized interventions in an HIV prevention study: HPTN 065.

Introduction: Modeling studies suggest intensified HIV testing, linkage-to-care and antiretroviral treatment to achieve viral suppression may reduce HIV transmission and lead to control of the epidemic. To study implementation of strategy, population-level data are needed to monitor outcomes of these interventions. US HIV surveillance systems are a potential source of these data.

T2R38 taste receptor polymorphisms underlie susceptibility to upper respiratory infection.

Innate and adaptive defense mechanisms protect the respiratory system from attack by microbes. Here, we present evidence that the bitter taste receptor T2R38 regulates the mucosal innate defense of the human upper airway. Utilizing immunofluorescent and live cell imaging techniques in polarized primary human sinonasal cells, we demonstrate that T2R38 is expressed in human upper respiratory epithelium and is activated in response to acyl-homoserine lactone quorum-sensing molecules secreted by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and other gram-negative bacteria.

Neutrophils are not less sensitive than other blood leukocytes to the genomic effects of glucocorticoids.

Background: Neutrophils are generally considered less responsive to glucocorticoids compared to other inflammatory cells. The reported increase in human neutrophil survival mediated by these drugs partly supports this assertion. However, it was recently shown that dexamethasone exerts potent anti-inflammatory effects in equine peripheral blood neutrophils.

In vivo effects of a single intra-articular injection of 2% lidocaine or 0.5% bupivacaine on articular cartilage of normal horses.

Objective: To assess the effects of an intra-articular (IA) lidocaine or bupivacaine injection on synovial fluid (SF) biomarkers of cartilage metabolism.

Study Design: Experimental.

Animals: Horses (n = 6).

Comparison of gross visual and microscopic assessment of four anatomic sites to monitor Besnoitia tarandi in barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus).

The objective of this study was to establish a standardized protocol to monitor Besnoitia tarandi prevalence and intensity in barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus) herds by: 1) calculating the relative sensitivity and specificity of the gross visual assessment of four anatomical sites compared with microscopic evaluation, and 2) determining which of four anatomical sampling sites was the most sensitive for detecting B. tarandi cysts by microscopy. Sampled tissues consisted of the conjunctiva of the left eye and skin sections from the rostrum, metatarsus, and thigh from 312 harvested caribou.

Differential binding between volatile ligands and major urinary proteins due to genetic variation in mice.

Two different structural classes of chemical signals in mouse urine, i.e., volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the major urinary proteins (MUPs), interact closely because MUPs sequester VOCs.

Corticosteroids and antigen avoidance decrease airway smooth muscle mass in an equine asthma model.

Recent studies suggest that airway smooth muscle remodeling is an early event in the course of asthma. Little is known of the effects of long-term antigen avoidance and inhaled corticosteroids on chronically established airway remodeling. We sought to measure the effects of inhaled corticosteroids and antigen avoidance on airway remodeling in the peripheral airways of horses with heaves, a naturally occurring asthma-like disease.