Cardiac assessments of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Northern Gulf of Mexico following exposure to Deepwater Horizon oil.

The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill profoundly impacted the health of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Barataria Bay, LA (BB). To comprehensively assess the cardiac health of dolphins living within the DWH oil spill footprint, techniques for in-water cardiac evaluation were refined with dolphins cared for by the U.S.

Standardization of Dolphin Cardiac Auscultation and Characterization of Heart Murmurs in Managed and Free-Ranging Bottlenose Dolphins ().

Cardiac auscultation is an important, albeit underutilized tool in aquatic animal medicine due to the many challenges associated with in-water examinations. The aims of this prospective study were to (1) establish an efficient and repeatable in-water cardiac auscultation technique in bottlenose dolphins (), (2) describe the presence and characterization of heart murmurs detected in free-ranging and managed dolphins, and (3) characterize heart murmur etiology through echocardiography in free-ranging dolphins. For technique development, 65 dolphins cared for by the Navy Marine Mammal Program (Navy) were auscultated.

Reference genome and demographic history of the most endangered marine mammal, the vaquita.

The vaquita is the most critically endangered marine mammal, with fewer than 19 remaining in the wild. First described in 1958, the vaquita has been in rapid decline for more than 20 years resulting from inadvertent deaths due to the increasing use of large-mesh gillnets. To understand the evolutionary and demographic history of the vaquita, we used combined long-read sequencing and long-range scaffolding methods with long- and short-read RNA sequencing to generate a near error-free annotated reference genome assembly from cell lines derived from a female individual.

Ultrasonographic findings associated with normal pregnancy and fetal well-being in the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus).

Reproductive success is vital in sustaining free-ranging and managed bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) populations. Ultrasonography is an invaluable, non-invasive tool in assessing the fetomaternal unit in humans and animals, including dolphins and horses. The purpose of this prospective longitudinal cohort study was to develop a protocol for fetomaternal ultrasonographic monitoring in dolphins and to report normal measurements and descriptive findings correlated with a positive outcome.

Disproportionate emission of bubble streams with killer whale biphonic calls: perspectives on production and function.

Stereotyped pulsed calls were attributed to 11 killer whales (Orcinus orca) with and without synchronous bubble streams in three datasets collected from two facilities from 1993 to 2012. Calls with and without synchronous bubble streams and divergent overlapping high frequency components ("biphonic" vs "monophonic") were compared. Subjects produced bubbles significantly more often when calls had divergent high frequency components.

Differences in acoustic features of vocalizations produced by killer whales cross-socialized with bottlenose dolphins.

Limited previous evidence suggests that killer whales (Orcinus orca) are capable of vocal production learning. However, vocal contextual learning has not been studied, nor the factors promoting learning. Vocalizations were collected from three killer whales with a history of exposure to bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and compared with data from seven killer whales held with conspecifics and nine bottlenose dolphins.

Distal myasthenia gravis with a decrement, an increment, and denervation.

We present two patients with distal myasthenia gravis poorly responsive to immunomodulatory therapy. In addition to a typical decrement on slow repetitive nerve stimulation, both had borderline to low compound muscle action potential (CMAP) amplitudes, a large increment in CMAP amplitude and area after exercise, and active denervation in distal muscles. Both had elevated acetylcholine receptor antibody (AChR Ab) levels, but normal voltage-gated calcium channel antibody levels.

Clozapine as a treatment for psychosis in Parkinson's disease: a review.

Psychotic symptoms such as visual hallucinations and delusions are a relatively common clinical problem in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). A dilemma arises in the treatment of psychosis in these patients because traditional antipsychotics are dopaminergic antagonists that worsen the motor symptoms of PD. Clozapine, an atypical antipsychotic, has been successfully used in the treatment of psychosis in PD patients.

Amphotericin B potentiation of rifampicin as an antifungal agent against the yeast phase of Histoplasma capsulatum.

Rifampicin, at high concentrations, inhibited growth and RNA synthesis in the yeast phase of Histoplasma capsulatum. These effects were potentiated by low concentrations of amphotericin B. The combination of the two agents was fungicidal, whereas each alone, at much higher concentrations, was only fungistatic.