Effect of nesting material on body weights of mice infected with Toxoplasma gondii.

Toxoplasmosis, a disease caused by the parasitic protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, can cause a number of clinical signs in mice, including weight loss. This weight loss likely is related to the host immune response and is important to monitor in Toxoplasma studies. Several studies have demonstrated that nesting material can affect body weights of mice.

Effective and safe anesthesia for Yorkshire and Yucatan swine with and without cardiovascular injury and intervention.

The goal of this study was to identify an injectable anesthetic protocol that provides sedation sufficient for peripheral vascular catheterization, intubation, and transport while minimizing cardiovascular changes in Yorkshire and Yucatan pigs with and without cardiovascular injury and intervention (CI). Phase 1 examined the safety and efficacy of acepromazine-ketamine, diazepam-ketamine, midazolam-ketamine, and medetomidine-ketamine in 5 healthy Yorkshire pigs. For each drug combination, we obtained multiple measurements of heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, temperature, sedation score, ability to catheterize and intubate, and recovery score.

Evaluation of the role of constitutive isocitrate lyase activity in Yersinia pestis infection of the flea vector and mammalian host.

Yersinia pestis, unlike the closely related Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, constitutively produces isocitrate lyase (ICL). Here we show that the Y. pestis aceA homologue encodes ICL and is required for growth on acetate but not for flea infection or virulence in mice.