Cesarian section and long-term outcomes for cownose rays ().

Cownose rays () are schooling rays commonly displayed in large groups in public aquariums. They are long-lived, have an annual reproductive cycle, and readily breed in managed care with most pregnancies culminating with the unaided and successful birth of a single neonate. Occasionally, females are observed to have prolonged pregnancies or suffer dystocia during parturition and intervention via a cesarian section (C-section) is required to deliver the neonate.

Artificial insemination and parthenogenesis in the whitespotted bamboo shark Chiloscyllium plagiosum.

Non-lethal methods for semen collection from elasmobranchs to better understand species reproduction has accompanied the development of artificial insemination. Ejaculates (n = 82) collected from whitespotted bamboo sharks Chiloscyllium plagiosum (n = 19) were assessed and cold-stored raw or extended at 4 °C. Females (n = 20) were inseminated with fresh or 24-48 h cold-stored raw or extended semen and paternity of offspring determined with microsatellite markers.

Active neutrophil responses counteract Candida albicans burn wound infection of ex vivo human skin explants.

Burn wounds are highly susceptible sites for colonization and infection by bacteria and fungi. Large wound surface, impaired local immunity, and broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy support growth of opportunistic fungi such as Candida albicans, which may lead to invasive candidiasis. Currently, it remains unknown whether depressed host defenses or fungal virulence drive the progression of burn wound candidiasis.

Natural environmental conditions and collaborative efforts provide the secret to success for sand tiger shark Carcharias taurus reproduction in aquaria.

Sand tiger sharks are an iconic large shark species held in aquaria worldwide. They rarely reproduce under managed care, with only seven aquaria reporting limited and sporadic success. For the first time in the Americas, a full-term young was born in an aquarium.

REPRODUCTIVE HORMONE PATTERNS IN MALE AND FEMALE COWNOSE RAYS ( RHINOPTERA BONASUS) IN AN AQUARIUM SETTING AND CORRELATION TO ULTRASONOGRAPHIC STAGING.

Reproductive management of cownose rays ( Rhinoptera bonasus) under professional care plays an important role in conservation of the species, but hormone and ultrasonographic analyses of their 12-mo reproductive cycle have not been documented previously. Plasma reproductive hormone concentrations (17B-estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, and androstenedione) were measured monthly via radioimmunoassay for 1 yr in an aquarium-managed population of adult females ( n = 15) and males ( n = 5). Ultrasounds of the uterus were performed each month at the time of sample collection to identify gestation stage (0-5) based on a previously developed in-house staging system.

Pharmacokinetics of cefovecin (Convenia) in white bamboo sharks (Chiloscyllium plagiosum) and Atlantic horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus).

Cefovecin was administered to six healthy adult white bamboo sharks (Chiloscyllium plagiosum) and six healthy adult Atlantic horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) to determine its pharmacokinetics in these species. A single dose of cefovecin at 8 mg/kg was administered subcutaneously in the epaxial region of the bamboo sharks and in the proximal articulation of the lateral leg of the horseshoe crabs. Blood and hemolymph samples were collected at various time points from bamboo sharks and Atlantic horseshoe crabs.

Bioencapsulation of metronidazole in adult brine shrimp (Artemia sp.).

A description of bioencapsulation of metronidazole in adult brine shrimp (Artemia) for 2.5 g/L, 5 g/L, and 10 g/L treatment baths is presented. Metronidazole was detected in adult brine shrimp tissue after enrichment periods of 15 min, 30 min, 1 hr, 2 hr, 4 hr, 8 hr, 12 hr, and 24 hr.

Cereal grains, alpha tocotrienol and cholesterol metabolism in the rat.

The influence of alpha (α)-tocotrienol, the main vitamer of vitamin E in barley and oats, on cholesterol synthesis has been studied in laboratory rats. Both oats and barley lowered plasma cholesterol relative lo wheat, which had no such effect, and the change has been attributed to an inhibitory influence of a -tocotrienol on cholesterol synthesis rate. Vitamin E was stripped from oats and barley by a petroleum ether extraction procedure and the grains compared with their unstripped equivalents.

The influence of linoleate and vitamin E from sunflower seed oil on platelet function and prostaglandin production in the common marmoset monkey.

Vitamin E and linoleate, both of which are found in high concentrations in sunflower seed oil, were examined independently for their influence on general and blood-vascular parameters in vitamin E-deficient common marmosets. A vitamin E-deficient diet (-E, 4 micrograms/g) was supplemented with either 40 micrograms/g vitamin E (+E), vitamin E stripped sunflower oil (+10% SSO-E), or SSO (+10% SSO w/w) in a 2 x 2 factorial designed experiment, and the diets fed for 9 months to 4 even groups of common marmosets. Vitamin E deficiency was associated in marmosets with a loss of skeletal muscle mass and of body weight, enhanced peroxidative haemolysis of erythrocytes, increased white blood cell counts, and in the SSO-E group a relative neutrophilia.

Influence of dietary fats on blood coagulation and prostaglandin production in the common marmoset.

Common marmosets were fed a standard marmoset diet (REF) or diets supplemented with 12% (wt/wt) sunflower seed oil (SSO) or sheep fat (SF) for a period of 90 weeks. The values for coagulation indices, clotting time, and Russel viper venom time were consistent with decreased thrombotic tendency of platelets from animals on the SSO diet relative to the low fat, REF diet animals, while an increased tendency to thrombosis was observed with SF-fed marmosets. The SSO- and SF-supplemented marmosets showed a significantly reduced thromboxane (TXB2) generation from platelets aggregating to collagen (ASC) relative to the REF group, while at 50 micrograms/ml ASC this difference was maintained only by the SSO group.

The influence of dietary fats on plasma lipids, blood pressure and coagulation indices in the rat.

Male Hooded Wistar rats were fed a commercial rat diet supplemented 12% by weight with sheep fat, sunflower seed oil and fish oil (tuna) over a period of 8 months. The influence of these diets on plasma fatty acids, triglycerides and cholesterol, blood pressure, body weight and coagulation indices was assessed. The sheep fat (SF)-fed rats showed a significant increase in body weight over the reference group (C) of 18%, and systolic blood pressure increased by 9.

Experimental oxalate urolith formation in rats.

Urinary calculi composed of calcium oxalate were produced in male hooded Wistar rats fed a vitamin B6 deficient diet over 16 weeks. This basic diet was modified by doubling the phosphate content or loading with vitamin C or D3 in three treatment groups. The number of rats developing oxalate stones was not altered by the addition of vitamin D3 or phosphate, but there was a significant increase in total weight of stone formed and histological evidence of extensive renal damage in rats on the high vitamin D3 diet.