Exploring and Mitigating Plague for One Health Purposes.

Purpose Of Review: In 2020, the Appropriations Committee for the U.S. House of Representatives directed the CDC to develop a national One Health framework to combat zoonotic diseases, including sylvatic plague, which is caused by the flea-borne bacterium .

An investigation into the potential for wind turbines to cause barotrauma in bats.

The high rates of bat mortality caused by operating wind turbines is a concern for wind energy and wildlife stakeholders. One theory that explains the mortality is that bats are not only killed by impact trauma, but also by barotrauma that results from exposure to the pressure variations caused by rotating turbine blades. To date, no published research has calculated the pressure changes that bats may be exposed to when flying near wind turbines and then used these data to estimate the likelihood that turbines cause barotrauma in bats.

Assessment of a mouse xenograft model of primary colorectal cancer with special reference to perfluorooctane sulfonate.

Colorectal cancer ranks third among the most commonly diagnosed cancers in the United States. Current therapies have a range of side effects, and the development of a reliable animal model to speed the discovery of safe effective preventative therapies would be of great value. A cross-sectional study in a large Appalachian population recently showed an association between low circulating levels of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and a reduced prevalence of colorectal cancer.

Longitudinal analysis of raccoon rabies in West Virginia, 2000-2015: a preliminary investigation.

Animal borne rabies virus is a source of infection in humans, and raccoons ( are the primary terrestrial reservoir in West Virginia (WV). To assess the behavior and status of raccoon variant rabies virus (RRV) cases in WV, a longitudinal analysis for the period 2000-2015 was performed, using data provided by the state Bureau of Public Health. The analytic approach used was negative binomial regression, with exclusion of those counties that had not experienced RRV cases in the study period, and with further examination of those counties where oral rabies vaccine (ORV) baits had been distributed as compared with non-ORV counties.

The prevalence and effect of burnout on graduate healthcare students.

Burnout is a growing epidemic among professional healthcare students. Unaddressed burnout has been shown to have psychological and performance related detriments. The purpose of this scoping literature review was to investigate the prevalence of burnout and its effects on the psychological, professional, empathetic ability, and academic acuity of graduate healthcare students.

Oral perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) lessens tumor development in the APC mouse model of spontaneous familial adenomatous polyposis.

Background: Colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths for both men and women, and the third most common cause of cancer in the U.S. Toxicity of current chemotherapeutic agents for colorectal cancer, and emergence of drug resistance underscore the need to develop new, potentially less toxic alternatives.

Mitochondrial Impairment in Cerebrovascular Endothelial Cells is Involved in the Correlation between Body Temperature and Stroke Severity.

Stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide. The prognostic influence of body temperature on acute stroke in patients has been recently reported; however, hypothermia has confounded experimental results in animal stroke models. This work aimed to investigate how body temperature could prognose stroke severity as well as reveal a possible mitochondrial mechanism in the association of body temperature and stroke severity.

Long-term effects of castration on the skeleton of male rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).

While osteopenia (OPE) and osteoporosis (OPO) have been studied in various species of aging nonhuman primates and extensively in ovariectomized rhesus and cynomolgus macaques, there is virtually no information on the effects of castration on the skeleton of male nonhuman primates. Most information on castrated male primates comes from a few studies on the skeletons of eunuchs. This report used a subset of the Caribbean Primate Research Center's (CPRC) Cayo Santiago (CS) rhesus macaque skeletal collection to qualitatively and quantitatively compare the bone mineral density (BMD) of castrated and age-matched intact males and, thereby, determine the long-term effects of castration (orchidectomy) on bone.

Detection of pathogenic Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis using water filtration, animal and bait testing.

The pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) can be challenging to detect at endangered amphibian reintroduction sites. Pre-release Bd detection can be confounded by imperfect animal sampling and the absence of animals. In Study 1, we used historical Bd-positive sites, to concurrently evaluate water filtrates and mouth bar (tadpoles) or skin swab (caudates) samples for Bd using molecular beacon realtime PCR.

Aging alters contractile properties and fiber morphology in pigeon skeletal muscle.

In this study, we tested the hypothesis that skeletal muscle from pigeons would display age-related alterations in isometric force and contractile parameters as well as a shift of the single muscle fiber cross-sectional area (CSA) distribution toward smaller fiber sizes. Maximal force output, twitch contraction durations and the force-frequency relationship were determined in tensor propatagialis pars biceps muscle from young 3-year-old pigeons, middle-aged 18-year-old pigeons, and aged 30-year-old pigeons. The fiber CSA distribution was determined by planimetry from muscle sections stained with hematoxylin and eosin.

Evaluation of an improved sustained-release buprenorphine formulation for use in mice.

Objective: To evaluate analgesic effects of an improved sustained-release buprenorphine (BUP-SR) formulation administered to mice.

Animals: 36 male Swiss-Webster mice.

Procedures: Mice were assigned to each of 3 treatment groups (n = 12 mice/group).

Inverse association of colorectal cancer prevalence to serum levels of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) in a large Appalachian population.

Background: Perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) are persistent environmental contaminants that affect metabolic regulation, inflammation, and other factors implicated in the development and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the link between these compounds and CRC remains unknown. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated the association of CRC diagnosis to PFOA and PFOS blood levels in a large Appalachian population.

Multicystic bone disease (Gorham-Stout syndrome) in a spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi ).

Background: In April 2000, a 2.5-year-old pet female Geoffroyi's spider monkey presented for reduced activity, a subdued demeanor, and boney enlargement involving both radii.

Methods: On further examination, polyostotic bone cysts were identified involving many of the tubular bones and were identified radiographically.

Assessment of novel avian renal disease markers for the detection of experimental nephrotoxicosis in pigeons (Columba livia).

Renal disease is a major cause of illness in captive and wild avian species. Current renal disease markers (e.g.

A review of plague persistence with special emphasis on fleas.

Sylvatic plague is highly prevalent during infrequent epizootics that ravage the landscape of western North America. During these periods, plague dissemination is very efficient. Epizootics end when rodent and flea populations are decimated and vectored transmission declines.

Long-term and per rectum disposition of Clarithromycin in the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii).

The macrolide antibiotic clarithromycin (CLARI) has a wide spectrum of activity and efficacy for Mycoplasma species. In addition, CLARI accumulates during re-dosing of Mojave desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii). Here, we characterized plasma concentrations after a single dose, after 3.

Sampling blood from big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) in the field with and without anesthesia: impacts on survival.

Blood was collected from wild big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) with and without anesthesia in Fort Collins, Colorado in 2004 to assess the impacts of these procedures on short-term survival and 1-yr return rates. Short-term survival and 1-yr return rates after release were passively monitored using PIT tag detection hoops placed at selected buildings. Comparison of 14-day maximum likelihood survival estimates from bats not bled (142 adult females, 62 volant juveniles), and bats sampled for blood with anesthesia (96 adult females, 23 volant juveniles) and without anesthesia (112 adult females, 22 volant juveniles) indicated no adverse effects of either treatment (juveniles: chi(2) = 53.

A novel mycoplasma detected in association with upper respiratory disease syndrome in free-ranging eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) in Virginia.

Clinical signs of upper respiratory tract disease-like syndrome (URTD-LS) were observed in free-ranging eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) from Virginia, USA (May 2001-August 2003), some of which also had aural abscesses. After a Mycoplasma sp. was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a study was undertaken to better define the range of clinical signs of disease and to distinguish mycoplasma-associated URTD-LS from other suspected causes of URTD-LS and aural abscessation in box turtles.

Phylogenetic classification of the frog pathogen Amphibiothecum (Dermosporidium) penneri based on small ribosomal subunit sequencing.

We determined 1,600 base pairs of DNA sequence in the 18S small ribosomal subunit from two geographically distinct isolates of Dermosporidium penneri. Maximum likelihood and parsimony analysis of these sequences place D. penneri in the order Dermocystida of the class Mesomycetozoea.

Anesthesia and blood sampling of wild big brown bats (eptesicus fuscus) with an assessment of impacts on survival.

We anesthetized and blood sampled wild big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) in Fort Collins, Colorado (USA) in 2001 and 2002 and assessed effects on survival. Inhalant anesthesia was delivered into a specially designed restraint and inhalation capsule that minimized handling and bite exposures. Bats were immobilized an average of 9.

Evaluation of oral and subcutaneous delivery of an experimental canarypox recombinant canine distemper vaccine in the Siberian polecat (Mustela eversmanni).

We assessed the safety and efficacy of an experimental canarypox-vectored recombinant canine distemper virus (CDV) subunit vaccine in the Siberian polecat (Mustela eversmanni), a close relative of the black-footed ferret, (M. nigripes), an endangered species that is highly susceptible to the virus. Siberian polecats were randomized into six treatment groups.

Pyometra in a Siberian Polecat (Mustela eversmanni).

A 2-year-old Siberian polecat (Mustela eversmanni) from a breeding colony presented for ultrasound evaluation for pregnancy. It was paired with a male for 2.75 months and had remained absent of pregnancy signs when it was anesthetized and clinically evaluated.