Normocalcemic primary hyperparathyroidism: 99mTc SestaMibi SPECT/CT results compare with hypercalcemic hyperparathyroidism.

Context: Normocalcemic primary hyperparathyroidism (nPHPT) is defined by an inappropriately increased serum PTH with normal serum calcium. Information about the diagnostic yield of parathyroid SPECT/CT scan and ultrasonography in nHPPT is limited and not conclusive.

Purpose: To evaluate the positivity rate of Tc-Sestamibi SPECT/CT scan in nPHTP compared with classical hypercalcemic PHPT (cPHPT).

Expected and Unexpected Imaging Findings after Y Transarterial Radioembolization for Liver Tumors.

Transarterial radioembolization (TARE), also called radioembolization or selective internal radiation therapy, is an interventional radiology technique used to treat primary liver tumors and liver metastases. The aim of this therapy is to deliver tumoricidal doses of radiation to liver tumors while selecting a safe radiation dose limit for nontumoral liver and lung tissue. Hence, correct treatment planning is essential to obtaining good results.

The self-esteem of adults diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a systematic review of the literature.

Individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often grow up with negative messages surrounding their abilities and may experience adverse outcomes throughout their lives. Despite this, by adulthood, those with ADHD often find that they are left without adequate support from services. This review explores the relationship between self-esteem and ADHD in adulthood with a view to outlining needs and potential opportunities in terms of service provision.

Evolutionary adaptations of ruminants and their potential relevance for modern production systems.

Comparative physiology applies methods established in domestic animal science to a wider variety of species. This can lead to improved insight into evolutionary adaptations of domestic animals, by putting domestic species into a broader context. Examples include the variety of responses to seasonally fluctuating environments, different adaptations to heat and drought, and in particular adaptations to herbivory and various herbivore niches.

Hindgut plasticity in wallabies fed hay either unchopped or ground and pelleted: fiber is not the only factor.

Phenotypic plasticity of the gastrointestinal tract is crucial for optimal food processing and nutrient balance in many vertebrate species. For mammalian herbivores, gut plasticity is typically correlated with the fiber content of forage; however, we show here that other factors such as ingesta particle size may effect profound phenotypic plasticity of the fermentative hindgut in a medium-sized (10-kg body mass) marsupial herbivore, the red-necked wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus). When dietary fiber contents were comparable, red-necked wallabies that were fed a finely ground, pelleted hay for 60-72 d had hindguts that were some 28% heavier (empty wet mass) than those fed unchopped hay.

The roles of filtration and expression in the processing of digesta with high solid phase content.

The processes of filtration and expression of suspensions of biological solids are reviewed in the context of vertebrate digestion. We show that the digesta of the brushtail possum and sheep form a contiguous matrix of particles from which a fluid phase can be expressed by the application of pressure. These findings are examined in respect of their possible contribution to phase separation and the sorting of particles within the gastrointestinal tracts of vertebrates.

Endogenous nitrogen excretion by red kangaroos (Macropus rufus): effects of animal age and forage quality.

Red kangaroos (Macropus rufus) are large (>20 kg) herbivorous marsupials common to arid and semiarid Australia. The population dynamics of red kangaroos are linked with environmental factors, operating largely through juvenile survival. A crucial period is the young-at-foot (YAF) stage, when juveniles have permanently left the mother's pouch but still take milk from a teat in the pouch.

Physiology of intermittent feeding: integrating responses of vertebrates to nutritional deficit and excess.

Food intakes of wild animals may not match their requirements for nutrients and energy but may vary between periods of nutritional excess (hyperphagia) and nutritional deficit (hypophagia) at timescales that vary from days to months. We present a simple model of feeding patterns and requirements of vertebrates. Frequent fasts and high intakes are typical of endothermic predators and migratory birds, whereas slow cycles and long deficits typify feeding patterns of ectothermic predators and ungulates in seasonal environments.

Nitrogen requirements and urea recycling in an omnivorous marsupial, the northern brown bandicoot Isoodon macrourus.

The maintenance nitrogen (N) requirement of the northern brown bandicoot, Isoodon macrourus, was determined by giving captive animals diets based on a commercial small carnivore mix and shredded sweet potato, with 20% sand included in the moist diet to simulate the soil ingested by bandicoots during natural foraging. Linear regression of N balance on N intake yielded maintenance N requirements of 438 mg kg(-0.75) d(-1) on a dietary basis and 413 mg kg(-0.

Ecophysiology and nutritional niche of the bilby (Macrotis lagotis), an omnivorous marsupial from inland Australia: a review.

The bilby (Macrotis lagotis) is a small omnivorous marsupial that was once widespread but is now restricted to the most arid margins of its former range. It feeds on a mixture of invertebrates (mainly ants and termites) and plant material (mainly seeds and bulbs), most of which is below ground. Measurements of the energy and water requirements of free-living bilbies and of the maintenance nitrogen requirements of captive animals provided the basis for an explanation for its continued survival in the Australian arid zone.

Nitrogen requirement of the omnivorous greater bilby, Macrotis lagotis (Marsupialia: Peramelidae).

Mainly due to their utilisation of relatively low-fiber diets compared to herbivorous mammals, omnivores are expected to have correspondingly low maintenance nitrogen requirements (MNRs). The limited studies examining nitrogen requirements of omnivorous mammals to date have shown this to be the case. In this article, we determine the dietary MNR of greater bilbies (Macrotis lagotis), arid-zone omnivorous marsupials, by feeding them varying proportions of mixed seeds and dried currants (sun-dried grapes).

Selective digesta retention and coprophagy in Brandt's vole (Microtus brandti).

Digestive performance, gut morphology and rate of digesta passage were measured in Brandt's voles (Microtus brandti) offered pelleted diets of low (25% neutral-detergent fibre) and high (38%) fibre content. Digestion coefficients of dry matter, crude fat, crude protein, energy and fibre were all significantly lower on the higher fibre diet. Although not significantly higher, dry matter intakes were more than maintained when extra cellulose was included in the diet, so that intakes of digestible energy were only 22% lower on the higher fibre diet.

Effects of dietary fibre on digesta passage, nutrient digestibility, and gastrointestinal tract morphology in the granivorous Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus).

To investigate digestive tract performance in Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus), food intake and digestibility, digesta passage rate, and gastrointestinal tract morphology were measured in captive animals fed low- or high-fibre diets. We used two markers (Co-ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid for solutes and Cr-mordanted cell walls for particles) to measure differential passage rates of digesta fractions in order to test for the presence of a colonic separation mechanism (CSM). Although dry-matter intakes on the high-fibre diet did not differ from those on the low-fibre diet, digestibilities of dry matter, neutral-detergent fibre, acid-detergent fibre, crude protein, and crude fat were all significantly lower on the high-fibre diet.

The maintenance nitrogen requirement of the zebra finch Taeniopygia guttata.

A procedure is described for the accurate determination of the maintenance nitrogen requirement (MNR) of small granivorous birds. When used with the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), it yielded a MNR of 403 mg kgW(-0.75) d(-1).

Digestive performance and digesta passage in the omnivorous greater bilby, Macrotis lagotis (Marsupialia: Peramelidae).

Omnivores such as the greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis) consume a variety of dietary items and often are faced with large changes in the nutrient composition of their food. This paper explores the basis for the dietary flexibility of the bilby by comparing digestive performance and digesta retention patterns of captive bilbies fed either an insect diet (mealworm larvae) or a plant diet (mixed seeds). Mean retention times (MRTs) of particle and solute markers in the gastrointestinal tract did not differ significantly between the two diets, but MRT of the particle marker was significantly longer than that of the solute marker on both the mealworm (particle: 23.

Responses of the digestive tract of the omnivorous northern brown bandicoot, Isoodon macrourus (Marsupialia: Peramelidae), to plant- and insect-containing diets.

The gastrointestinal tract of omnivores such as bandicoots (Marsupialia: Peramelidae) must be able to process foods as different as invertebrates, fungi and plant material. We studied the mechanisms involved in the utilisation by captive northern brown bandicoots (Isoodon macrourus) of insect larvae and milled lucerne (Medicago sativa) hay incorporated into a basal diet of a commercial small carnivore mix. Animals on the plant-basal mix digested less dry matter, energy, lipid, fibre and total nitrogen, but consumed 79% more dry matter than those on the insect-basal mix.

The diet and digestive energetics of an Australian short-necked turtle, Emydura macquarii.

We described the diet of Emydura macquarii, an omnivorous turtle from south-eastern Australia, compared its digestive performance on diets of fish or plants at two temperatures, and related how both diet and temperature affect its food selection in nature. Filamentous algae constituted 61% of the stomach content of E. macquarii.

Contributions of microbes in vertebrate gastrointestinal tract to production and conservation of nutrients.

The vertebrate gastrointestinal tract is populated by bacteria and, in some species, protozoa and fungi that can convert dietary and endogenous substrates into absorbable nutrients. Because of a neutral pH and longer digesta retention time, the largest bacterial populations are found in the hindgut or large intestine of mammals, birds, reptiles, and adult amphibians and in the foregut of a few mammals and at least one species of bird. Bacteria ferment carbohydrates into short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), convert dietary and endogenous nitrogenous compounds into ammonia and microbial protein, and synthesize B vitamins.

Production of milk and nutrition of the dependent young of free-ranging koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus).

The production of milk by lactating females, and energy expenditure and foliage intake of their dependent young, were investigated in free-ranging koalas. Koalas had the lowest mass-specific daily milk-energy production at peak lactation so far recorded in a mammal, but the duration of reproduction was 58% longer than the combined marsupial and eutherian average. As a consequence, the total energy input to reproduction in koalas was similar to that in other mammals.

The digestive strategy of the common marmoset, Callithrix jacchus.

Digestive tract morphology and function were studied in the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), a small (350 g) exudivore with a well-developed caecum. Transit times (times of first appearance of the markers in the faeces following a pulse dose in the food) were similar for Co-EDTA, which marks the fluid phase of the digesta, and Cr-mordanted cell walls, which marked the large (600-1200 microns) particulate phase of the digesta. However, mean retention time (the average time taken for the markers to transverse the whole digestive tract) for Co-EDTA was significantly longer than for Cr-cell walls, indicating selective retention of fluid digesta relative to large particles, probably in the caecum.

Selective retention of fluid digesta in the hindgut of bandicoots and other marsupial caecum fermenters.

Many small hindgut fermenters have a mechanism in the proximal colon that separates fluid and/or bacteria from large particles, and excretes the large particles relatively rapidly. The fluid and/or bacteria are retained in the caecum, which concentrates digestive effort in that region of the hindgut and improves overall digestive efficiency. Previously observed among marsupials only in arboreal marsupials, selective retention of fluid digesta has recently been reported also in bandicoots, small terrestrial omnivores.

Digestive performance and selective digesta retention in the long-nosed bandicoot, Perameles nasuta, a small omnivorous marsupial.

Bandicoots are opportunistic omnivores that feed on invertebrates, fungi and both epigeal and hypogeal plant parts. We examined the performance of the digestive tract of the long-nosed bandicoot (Perameles nasuta) in terms of intake and total digestibility, patterns of excretion of inert digesta markers, and likely sites of digesta retention, on two diets designed to mimic part of their natural plant and insect diets. On the insect diet (mealworm larvae), bandicoots virtually maintained body mass at a digestible energy intake of 511 kJ.

Acetate, butyrate and proline uptake in the caecum and colon of prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster).

We have measured unidirectional uptake (not transmural flux) of acetate, butyrate and proline by everted sleeves of intact tissue from the jejunum, caecum, proximal colon and distal colon of prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). There was active (i.e.

Effects of water restriction on digestive function in two macropodid marsupials from divergent habitats and the feral goat.

The effects of water restriction on digestive function in the euro (Macropus robustus erubescens) found in the arid zone of inland Australia, the eastern wallaroo (M.r.robustus) from more mesic regions of eastern Australia, and the feral goat (Capra hircus) found throughout the range of M.