The three-dimensional morphological effects of captivity.

Many captive animals are fed diets that are drastically different in mechanical properties than their wild diet. Most captive pantherines are fed a nutritionally supplemented diet consisting almost entirely of ground meat. While many zoos supplement this diet with bones, the fact remains that large captive felids are fed diets that require substantially less masticatory effort than those of their wild counterparts.

Multiplex MassTag-PCR for respiratory pathogens in pediatric nasopharyngeal washes negative by conventional diagnostic testing shows a high prevalence of viruses belonging to a newly recognized rhinovirus clade.

Background: Respiratory infections are the most common infectious diseases in humans worldwide and are a leading cause of death in children less than 5 years of age.

Objectives: Identify candidate pathogens in pediatric patients with unexplained respiratory disease.

Study Design: Forty-four nasopharyngeal washes collected during the 2004-2005 winter season from pediatric patients with respiratory illnesses that tested negative for 7 common respiratory pathogens by culture and direct immunofluorescence assays were analyzed by MassTag-PCR.

Global distribution of novel rhinovirus genotype.

Global surveillance for a novel rhinovirus genotype indicated its association with community outbreaks and pediatric respiratory disease in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. Molecular dating indicates that these viruses have been circulating for at least 250 years.

A recently identified rhinovirus genotype is associated with severe respiratory-tract infection in children in Germany.

Acute respiratory infection is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in children worldwide. Accurate identification of causative agents is critical to case management and to prioritization in vaccine development. Sensitive multiplex diagnostics provide us with an opportunity to investigate the relative contributions of individual agents and may also facilitate the discovery of new pathogens.