Elevated serum gamma-glutamyltransferase activity and immunohistochemistry in two dogs with renal carcinoma.

During a 3-year time period, a 15-year-old male castrated Terrier mix (dog 1) and a 6-year-old female spayed Labrador Retriever (dog 2) presented to the North Carolina State Veterinary Hospital with similar blood work abnormalities and no significant physical examination findings. A CBC, chemistry panel, and urinalysis performed on both dogs were relatively unremarkable, other than a marked increase in serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) activity. Through imaging, both patients were diagnosed with a renal mass, and histopathology of both masses revealed a carcinoma.

Short-term fluctuating and long-term divergent selection on sympatric Monkeyflowers: insights from decade-spanning reciprocal transplants.

Sympatric species are often locally adapted to distinct microhabitats. However, temporal variation may cause local maladaptation and species boundary breakdown, especially during extreme climatic events leading to episodic selection. Repeated reciprocal transplants can reveal the interplay between short and long-term patterns of natural selection.

Fluctuating selection in a Monkeyflower hybrid zone.

While hybridization was viewed as a hindrance to adaptation and speciation by early evolutionary biologists, recent studies have demonstrated the importance of hybridization in facilitating evolutionary processes. However, it is still not well-known what role spatial and temporal variation in natural selection play in the maintenance of naturally occurring hybrid zones. To identify whether hybridization is adaptive between two closely related monkeyflower species, and , we performed repeated reciprocal transplants between natural hybrid and pure species' populations.

Outdoor air pollution and near-fatal/fatal asthma attacks in children: A systematic review.

Background: Globally, observational studies have demonstrated an association between high levels of air pollution and asthma attacks in children. It remains unclear whether and to what extent exposure may be associated with increased near-fatal/fatal attacks.

Objective: To systematically review the evidence for an association between ambient outdoor air pollution and fatal and/or near-fatal asthma (NFA).