DNA methylation networks underlying mammalian traits.

Using DNA methylation profiles ( = 15,456) from 348 mammalian species, we constructed phyloepigenetic trees that bear marked similarities to traditional phylogenetic ones. Using unsupervised clustering across all samples, we identified 55 distinct cytosine modules, of which 30 are related to traits such as maximum life span, adult weight, age, sex, and human mortality risk. Maximum life span is associated with methylation levels in subclass homeobox genes and developmental processes and is potentially regulated by pluripotency transcription factors.

Evaluating Changes in Family Medicine Applicant Characteristics Following the Onset of Virtual Interviewing.

Background And Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic obliged the field of graduate medical education to pivot from in-person to virtual residency interviews in 2020. The decreased travel and financial barriers of this format could potentially lead to greater diversity and equity in the primary care workforce. We aimed to evaluate changes in applicant pools from in-person to virtual interviewing cycles.

Sex-dependent host-microbiome dynamics in zebrafish: Implications for toxicology and gastrointestinal physiology.

The physiology of males and females can be vastly different, complicating interpretation of toxicological and physiological data. The objectives of this study were to elucidate the sex differences in the microbiome-gastrointestinal (GI) transcriptome of adult zebrafish. We compared microbial composition and diversity in both males and females fed the same diet and housed in the same environment.

Microbiome analysis and predicted relative metabolomic turnover suggest bacterial heme and selenium metabolism are altered in the gastrointestinal system of zebrafish (Danio rerio) exposed to the organochlorine dieldrin.

Dietary exposure to chemicals alters the diversity of microbiome communities and can lead to pathophysiological changes in the gastrointestinal system. The organochlorine pesticide dieldrin is a persistent environmental contaminant that bioaccumulates in fatty tissue of aquatic organisms. The objectives of this study were to determine whether environmentally-relevant doses of dieldrin altered gastrointestinal morphology and the microbiome of zebrafish.

Evaluation of Microbiome-Host Relationships in the Zebrafish Gastrointestinal System Reveals Adaptive Immunity Is a Target of Bis(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP) Exposure.

To improve physical characteristics of plastics such as flexibility and durability, producers enrich materials with phthalates such as di-2-(ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP). DEHP is a high production volume chemical associated with metabolic and immune disruption in animals and humans. To reveal mechanisms implicated in phthalate-related disruption in the gastrointestinal system, male and female zebrafish were fed DEHP (3 ppm) daily for two months.

Dermatitis caused by autochthonous Cercopithifilaria bainae from a dog in Florida, USA: clinical, histological and parasitological diagnosis and treatment.

Background: Cercopithifilaria bainae is a tick-vectored filarioid nematode associated with erythematous dermatitis in dogs. It has not been reported previously in the United States.

Hypothesis/objective: To describe clinical, histological and parasitological diagnosis and treatment of C.

Urinary Catheter Colonization by Multidrug-Resistant in Patient with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia.

, a member of the family, has only been identified as a human pathogen in a few previous clinical cases, thus complicating assessment of this organism's pathogenicity and medical relevance. Documented infections attributed to primarily involved bacteremia in severely immunocompromised patients. We report a rare case of urinary catheter colonization by a multidrug-resistant strain in a patient of advanced age with benign prostatic hyperplasia and other chronic comorbidities.

Rhabdomyosarcoma associated with the lead wire of a pacemaker generator implant.

An 11-year-old female spayed Labrador Retriever was presented for a draining, painful subcutaneous mass palpated over a previously implanted pacemaker generator. Infection was suspected and the mass was removed surgically. On cut surface, the mass was friable and mottled tan to brown with firm pale tan nodules, surrounding the pacemaker lead wire adjacent to the pacemaker generator.

Laryngeal rhabdomyoma in a dog.

A 3-year-old, female spayed Australian Shepherd dog was presented to Veterinary Healthcare Associates in Winter Haven, FL with a history of respiratory stridor, difficulty swallowing, and a change in bark for approximately 3 months. Radiographs revealed a soft tissue mass caudal to the epiglottis. Oral and computerized tomographic (CT) examinations were performed under general anesthesia and revealed a small firm mass in the caudal larynx on the right side.

Germinated grains--sources of bioactive compounds.

Germination of seven selected commercially important grains was studied to establish its effects on the nutritional and chemical composition. The changes in the concentration of the nutrients, bioactive compounds and the inhibitory effect of extracts on α-glucosidase and α-amylase activities were investigated. These were measured through proximate analysis, inhibition assays and HPLC.

Serum amyloid A (SAA) as a biomarker of chronic infection due to boat strike trauma in a free-ranging Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) with incidental polycystic kidneys.

Watercraft-related trauma is the predominant cause of human-induced mortality in manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris), a federal- and state-listed endangered species. Pyothorax (documented in this case report) and other secondary infections are common sequelae of inhalation of water and the open wounds caused by boat propellers. These secondary infections can lead to the demise of the animal weeks to months after the traumatic incident when external wounds have healed.

Implementing radical curriculum change in a family medicine residency: the majors and masteries program.

Background And Objectives: There have been dramatic changes in the specialty of family medicine and the American health care system in the more than 40 years since the formation of the specialty. As a result, there is urgent need for experimentation and innovation in residency training to better prepare family physicians.

Methods: Waukesha Family Medicine Residency used a strategic planning process to identify four guiding concepts for a new model of residency education: intentional diversification; options for advanced training in a fourth year of residency; longitudinal, competency-based training; and strong fundamental background in family medicine skills.

Proposal of a 2-tier histologic grading system for canine cutaneous mast cell tumors to more accurately predict biological behavior.

Currently, prognostic and therapeutic determinations for canine cutaneous mast cell tumors (MCTs) are primarily based on histologic grade. However, the use of different grading systems by veterinary pathologists and institutional modifications make the prognostic value of histologic grading highly questionable. To evaluate the consistency of microscopic grading among veterinary pathologists and the prognostic significance of the Patnaik grading system, 95 cutaneous MCTs from 95 dogs were graded in a blinded study by 28 veterinary pathologists from 16 institutions.

Using a simulated practice to improve practice management learning.

Background And Objectives: Practice management education is required in family medicine residencies, and requirements have recently been expanded. Surveys show that graduates feel unprepared to address practice management after graduation, so it is an aspect of training in need of improvement.

Methods: We substituted a "simulated practice" for part of an established didactic program in practice management.

B-cell lymphoma with Mott cell differentiation in two young adult dogs.

Two young adult dogs with gastrointestinal signs were each found to have an intra-abdominal mass based on physical examination and diagnostic imaging. On exploratory laparotomy, small intestinal masses and mesenteric lymphadenopathy were found in both dogs; a liver mass was also found in dog 1. Cytologic and histologic examination of intestinal and liver masses and mesenteric lymph nodes revealed 2 distinct lymphoid cell populations: lymphoblasts and atypical Mott cells.

Endobronchial polyp derived from a myxosarcoma in the lung of a dog.

An endobronchial polyp was visible radiographically and bronchoscopically in an 11-year-old, mixed-breed dog with a persistent cough. The polyp was removed by traction. Initial histological examination suggested it was a myxomatous fibroma.

West Nile virus infection in farmed American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) in Florida.

In September and October 2002, an epizootic of neurologic disease occurred at an alligator farm in Florida (USA). Three affected American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) were euthanatized and necropsied, and results confirmed infection with West Nile virus (WNV). The most significant microscopic lesions were a moderate heterophilic to lymphoplasmacytic meningoencephalomyelitis, necrotizing hepatitis and splenitis, pancreatic necrosis, myocardial degeneration with necrosis, mild interstitial pneumonia, heterophilic necrotizing stomatitis, and glossitis.

Evaluation of a percutaneously controlled hydraulic occluder in a rat model of gradual venous occlusion.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a percutaneously controlled hydraulic occluder (HO) in a rat model of gradual venous occlusion.

Study Design: Experimental study.

Animals: Ten male Sprague-Dawley rats.

Intrapelvic granuloma formation six years after total hip arthroplasty in a dog.

A 9-year-old Golden Retriever that had undergone left total hip arthroplasty 6 years previously was evaluated because of constipation and tenesmus. Abdominal radiography and ultrasonography revealed a large intrapelvic mass that was contiguous with a mass of polymethyl methacrylate that had been extruded through a defect in the medial wall of the acetabulum at the time of total hip arthroplasty. Clinical signs resolved following resection of the mass and associated polymethyl methacrylate from the pelvic canal.

Effect of a single dose of ponazuril on neural infection and clinical disease in Sarcocystis neurona-challenged interferon-gamma knockout mice.

Interferon gamma-knockout mice were challenged with 5000 Sarcocystis neurona sporocysts acquired from a naturally infected opossum. Ponazuril was administered once, by gavage, at day 1, 3, 7, 10, or 14 post-infection (pi). Ponazuril was given at either 20 or 200mg/kg.

Dermal malignant melanoma in a horse with multifocal pancytokeratin expression.

The current report describes a malignant melanoma in the dermis of a 13-year-old bay Thoroughbred mare. Microscopic examination revealed that tumor cells were arranged in cords and packets within an abundant collagenous stroma containing scattered myxomatous foci. Tumor cells stained positively for S-100, neuron-specific enolase, and vimentin and some contained melanin granules.

Neurologic disease in gamma-interferon gene knockout mice caused by Sarcocystis neurona sporocysts collected from opossums fed armadillo muscle.

Fifteen gamma-interferon gene knockout mice were each orally inoculated with 5 x 10(3) Sarcocystis sporocysts derived from Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana) fed nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) muscle containing sarcocysts. Three mice were inoculated with similarly obtained homogenates, but in which no sporocysts were detected. Mouse M8 was pregnant when inoculated and gave birth during the trial.

T-cell-rich B-cell lymphoma in a ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta).

A 13-yr-old ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) was evaluated for depression, anorexia, polyuria, and polydipsia. The lemur was in poor body condition and was anemic, hypoalbuminemic, and hyponatremic. Cytologic examination of aspirates of the spleen, liver, and bone marrow and histopathologic examination of liver and bone marrow biopsies revealed a disseminated round cell tumor.