Characterization of a novel polyomavirus isolated from a fibroma on the trunk of an African elephant (Loxodonta africana).

Viruses of the family Polyomaviridae infect a wide variety of avian and mammalian hosts with a broad spectrum of outcomes including asymptomatic infection, acute systemic disease, and tumor induction. In this study a novel polyomavirus, the African elephant polyomavirus 1 (AelPyV-1) found in a protruding hyperplastic fibrous lesion on the trunk of an African elephant (Loxodonta africana) was characterized. The AelPyV-1 genome is 5722 bp in size and is one of the largest polyomaviruses characterized to date.

Diagnostic accuracy of the posttraumatic stress disorder checklist-civilian version in a representative military sample.

This study aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C; Weathers, Litz, Herman, Huska, & Keane, 1993) and to establish the most accurate cutoff for prevalence estimation of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a representative military sample compared to a clinical interview. Danish soldiers (N = 415; 94.4% male, mean age 26.

In contrast to many other mammals, cetaceans have relatively small hippocampi that appear to lack adult neurogenesis.

The hippocampus is essential for the formation and retrieval of memories and is a crucial neural structure sub-serving complex cognition. Adult hippocampal neurogenesis, the birth, migration and integration of new neurons, is thought to contribute to hippocampal circuit plasticity to augment function. We evaluated hippocampal volume in relation to brain volume in 375 mammal species and examined 71 mammal species for the presence of adult hippocampal neurogenesis using immunohistochemistry for doublecortin, an endogenous marker of immature neurons that can be used as a proxy marker for the presence of adult neurogenesis.

Mortality in patients with central retinal vein occlusion.

Purpose: To assess mortality in patients with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO).

Design: Registry-based cohort study.

Participants And Controls: Four hundred thirty-nine photographically verified CRVO patients and a control cohort of 2195 unexposed subjects matched by age and gender and alive on the date CRVO was diagnosed in the corresponding case.

Protection against high intravascular pressure in giraffe legs.

The high blood pressure in giraffe leg arteries renders giraffes vulnerable to edema. We investigated in 11 giraffes whether large and small arteries in the legs and the tight fascia protect leg capillaries. Ultrasound imaging of foreleg arteries in anesthetized giraffes and ex vivo examination revealed abrupt thickening of the arterial wall and a reduction of its internal diameter just below the elbow.

Syntheses, biological evaluation and SAR of ingenol mebutate analogues for treatment of actinic keratosis and non-melanoma skin cancer.

Ingenol mebutate is the active ingredient in Picato® a new drug for the treatment of actinic keratosis. A number of derivatives related to ingenol mebutate were prepared by chemical synthesis from ingenol with the purpose of investigating the SAR and potency in assays relating to pro-inflammatory effects (induction of PMN oxidative burst and keratinocyte cytokine release), the potential of cell death induction, as well as the chemical stability. By modifications of the ingenol scaffold several prerequisites for activity were identified.

[New treatments of hereditary blindness].

Ongoing clinical trials are targeting several previously intractable hereditary causes of blindness of congenital, childhood or early adulthood onset, mainly in the optic nerve and retina. The intended stage of initiation of the new therapeutic approaches ranges from neonatal life and a structurally intact retinal tissue to adult life with a complete loss of photoreceptors. It must be assumed that some of the trials will succeed in producing new therapies and action must be taken to refine and accelerate diagnostics and to preserve therapeutic potential in blind people.

Predicting apple (cv. Elshof) postharvest dry matter and soluble solids content with near infrared spectroscopy.

Background: Fruit dry matter (DM) and soluble solids content (SSC) are primarily composed of carbohydrate and are standard parameters for assessing quality. Near infrared spectroscopy provides potential for non-destructive fruit quality analysis but the collinearity between DM and SSC is an issue for prediction. Shorter wavelength spectra have been used for the prediction of fruit DM and SSC, but radiation between 1000 and 2500 nm may be suitable for distinguishing between the two forms of carbohydrate.

Predictors of recovery in first episode psychosis: the OPUS cohort at 10 year follow-up.

Background: Recovery, the optimal goal in treatment, is the attainment of both symptomatic and functional remission over a sustained period of time. Identification of factors that promote recovery can help develop interventions that facilitate good outcomes for people with first episode psychosis.

Aim: To examine long-term outcomes within a cohort of people with first episode psychosis in relation to symptom remission, functioning and recovery, 10 years after diagnosis.

A simple and novel method for retrieval of Pasteurellaceae from swab samples collected in the field.

Traditionally it has been difficult or impossible to collect and preserve bacterial samples of especially fastidious bacteria in mixed primary cultures, unless the samples could be transported to a laboratory within approximately 24 h. Therefore, a simple novel method for preserving swab samples until bacterial isolation can be completed in the laboratory was developed and evaluated. Pasteurellaceae bacteria were used as a representative for fastidious bacteria.

Recalibrating Equus evolution using the genome sequence of an early Middle Pleistocene horse.

The rich fossil record of equids has made them a model for evolutionary processes. Here we present a 1.12-times coverage draft genome from a horse bone recovered from permafrost dated to approximately 560-780 thousand years before present (kyr BP).

Otariodibacter oris and Bisgaardia genomospecies 1 isolated from infections in pinnipeds.

We document the first associations of two recently described species of Pasteurellaceae bacteria with lesions in wild pinnipeds in rehabilitation. Samples were collected from nine lesions in four California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) and two Pacific harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) during necropsy or admission examinations at a rehabilitation facility in northern California. Seven Pasteurellaceae isolates were identified using phenotypic tests and partial rpoB gene sequencing.

Bladder symptoms among polio survivors.

Objective: To describe bladder symptoms among polio survivors and the inconvenience they cause.

Design: A survey using the validated Danish Prostatic Symptom Score questionnaire concerning bladder symptoms.

Subjects: A random age- and gender-stratified sample of polio survivors drawn from members of the Danish Society of Polio and Accident Victims.

Assessment of the effects of intramuscular administration of alfaxalone with and without medetomidine in Horsfield's tortoises (Agrionemys horsfieldii).

Objective: To characterise four different intramuscular (IM) anaesthetic protocols, two with alfaxalone and two with alfaxalone in combination with medetomidine in terrestrial tortoises.

Study Design: Blinded, randomized, cross-over experimental study.

Animals: Nine healthy adult male Horsfield's tortoises (Agrionemys horsfieldii).

Prevalence and diagnostic spectrum of generalized retinal dystrophy in Danish children.

Purpose: The aim of the present population-based cross-sectional study was to examine the prevalence and diagnostic spectrum of generalized retinal dystrophy in Danish children.

Methods: The Danish Registry for the Blind and Partially Sighted Children comprises all visually impaired children residing in Denmark aged 0-17 years. Among registered children, the primary diagnosis of generalized retinal dystrophy was assessed by chart review, including fundus photographs and electroretinograms.

Change in cannabis use, clinical symptoms and social functioning among patients with first-episode psychosis: a 5-year follow-up study of patients in the OPUS trial.

Background: Several studies indicate that cannabis use among patients with psychotic disorders is associated with worse outcome, but only a few studies have controlled for baseline condition and medication.

Method: At 5-year follow-up, interviews were carried out with 314 first-episode psychosis patients included in the OPUS trial. The patients included were in the age range of 18 to 45 years old and 59% were male.

Sensorimotor responsiveness and resolution in the giraffe.

The ability of an animal to detect and respond to changes in the environment is crucial to its survival. However, two elements of sensorimotor control - the time required to respond to a stimulus (responsiveness) and the precision of stimulus detection and response production (resolution) - are inherently limited by a competition for space in peripheral nerves and muscles. These limitations only become more acute as animal size increases.

Left ventricular morphology of the giraffe heart examined by stereological methods.

The giraffe heart has a relative mass similar to other mammals, but generates twice the blood pressure to overcome the gravitational challenge of perfusing the cerebral circulation. To provide insight as to how the giraffe left ventricle (LV) is structurally adapted to tackle such a high afterload, we performed a quantitative structural study of the LV myocardium in young and adult giraffe hearts. Tissue samples were collected from young and adult giraffe LV.

Gender differences in first-episode psychosis at 5-year follow-up--two different courses of disease? Results from the OPUS study at 5-year follow-up.

Objective: Gender differences in psychosis have been investigated, and the results have contributed to a better understanding of the disease, but many questions are unanswered. In clinical terms, women and men with psychosis differ in terms of access to social support, tendency of substance abuse, level of functioning and symptom patterns. We aimed to investigate how gender differences at onset of psychosis develop during the first 5years of treatment.

Preservation of primordial follicles from lions by slow freezing and xenotransplantation of ovarian cortex into an immunodeficient mouse.

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) is considered an important tool in the conservation of endangered species, but often the most limiting factor of ART is the availability of mature oocytes. The aim of the present study was to investigate the feasibility of preserving female germ cells from ovaries of female lions (Panthera leo). Good quality cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were isolated and subjected to in vitro maturation (IVM).

Footstrike patterns among novice runners wearing a conventional, neutral running shoe.

Introduction: It has been suggested that striking on the midfoot or forefoot, rather than the rearfoot, may lessen injury risk in the feet and lower limb. In previous studies, a disparity in distribution in footstrike patterns was found among elite-, sub-elite, and recreational runners.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the footstrike patterns among novice runners.

Occurrence of Pasteurellaceae bacteria in the oral cavity of selected marine mammal species.

The occurrence of bacteria belonging to Pasteurellaceae in the oral cavity of captive marine mammals was investigated using culture and subsequent geno- and phenotypic characterization and phylogenetic analyses. A total of 89 bacterial isolates from pinnipeds tentatively classified with the family Pasteurellaceae were further characterized by phylogenetic analysis of rpoB gene sequences, which showed that the isolates investigated formed five distinct groups. Four strains from California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) made up group I, which was classified with Pasteurella canis.

Risk factors for development of foot lesions in captive flamingos (Phoenicopteridae).

Foot lesions are highly prevalent in captive flamingos (Phoenicopterus spp.); however, the etiology of these lesions remains mainly speculative. The objectives of this study were to identify climatic factors (latitude, temperature, and housing) and surface factors influencing the risk of four different types of foot lesions (hyperkeratosis, nodular lesions, papillomatous growths, and fissures) in captive flamingos.

Pasteurella multocida carriage in red-necked wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus).

The isolation of Pasteurella multocida from several red-necked wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus) with purulent to necrotizing gingivitis, mandibular osteomyelitis, and conjunctivitis in a private zoological park prompted a cross-sectional prevalence study in two zoological collections. The study demonstrated a high prevalence of P. multocida carriage in clinically healthy red-necked wallabies.

Comorbidity in patients with branch retinal vein occlusion: case-control study.

Objectives: To evaluate comorbidity before and after the diagnosis of branch retinal vein occlusion to determine whether it is a consequence of arterial thickening and therefore could serve as a diagnostic marker for other comorbidities and to evaluate the risk factors for the development of such occlusion.

Design: Case-control study with prospective follow-up data from Danish national registries.

Setting: Four secondary referral centres covering about 80% of the Danish population (4.