Does small mammal prey guild affect the exposure of predators to anticoagulant rodenticides?

Ireland has a restricted small mammal prey guild but still includes species most likely to consume anticoagulant rodenticide (AR) baits. This may enhance secondary exposure of predators to ARs. We compared liver AR residues in foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Northern Ireland (NI) with those in foxes from Great Britain which has a more diverse prey guild but similar agricultural use of ARs. Liver ARs were detected in 84% of NI foxes, more than in a comparable sample of foxes from Scotland and similar to that of suspected AR poisoned animals from England and Wales. High exposure in NI foxes is probably due to greater predation of commensal rodents and non-target species most likely to take AR baits, and may also partly reflect greater exposure to highly persistent brodifacoum and flocoumafen. High exposure is likely to enhance risk and Ireland may be a sentinel for potential effects on predator populations.

Melanocytic nevus-like hyperplasia and melanoma in transgenic BRAFV600E mice.

BRAF, a cellular oncogene and effector of RAS-mediated signaling, is activated by mutation in approximately 60% of melanomas. Most of these mutations consist of a V600E substitution resulting in constitutive kinase activation. Mutant BRAF thus represents an important therapeutic target in melanoma. In an effort to produce a pre-clinical model of mutant BRAF function in melanoma, we have generated a mouse expressing BRAF V600E targeted to melanocytes. We show that in these transgenic mice, widespread benign melanocytic hyperplasia with histological features of nevi occurs, with biochemical evidence of senescence. Melanocytic hyperplasia progresses to overt melanoma with an incidence dependent on BRAF expression levels. Melanomas show CDKN2A loss, and genetic disruption of the CDKN2A locus greatly enhances melanoma formation, consistent with collaboration between BRAF activation and CDKN2A loss suggested from studies of human melanoma. The development of melanoma also involves activation of the Mapk and Akt signaling pathways and loss of senescence, findings that faithfully recapitulate those seen in human melanomas. This murine model of mutant BRAF-induced melanoma formation thus provides an important tool for identifying further genetic alterations that cooperates with BRAF and that may be useful in enhancing susceptibility to BRAF-targeted therapeutics in melanoma.

Report of Trichinella spiralis in a red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in Northern Ireland.

No systematic studies of the occurrence of Trichinella in wildlife have been carried out in Northern Ireland (NI) in recent years, and the last reports of trichinellosis in livestock and human outbreaks in NI date back to 1979 and 1945, respectively. In this study, covering the period 2003/2004 and 2007/2008, a total of 443 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) were collected throughout the country and screened for trichinellosis using a modified muscle digest method. One examined animal was found to be infected with larvae from Trichinella spiralis, indicating a national prevalence in NI of Trichinella in foxes of 0.2%. This prevalence compares well to the findings reported from the bordering Republic of Ireland [Rafter, P., Marucci, G., Brangan, P., Pozio, E., 2005. Rediscovery of Trichinella spiralis in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Ireland after 30 years of oblivion. J. Infect. 50, 61-65] and could be a further indication for a sylvatic Trichinella life cycle existing independently from the domestic cycle.

Serological evidence for pneumovirus infections in pigs.

A serological survey was carried out on pig sera from herds in Northern Ireland to investigate the incidence of reactivity to bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) antigens. A total of 529 pig sera from 61 herds were tested and 219 (41 per cent) were found to be reactive with BRSV-infected cell cultures in an indirect immunofluorescence test. None of the BRSV-reactive sera immunostained turkey rhinotracheitis virus-infected cell cultures, indicating specificity for BRSV epitopes. The specificity of this reactivity for BRSV antigen was confirmed by double immunolabelling, using monoclonal antibodies to BRSV and two pig sera with different reactivities to BRSV antigens. A longitudinal serological investigation of two litters of pigs indicated that BRSV-serum reactivity developed between six and 11 weeks after birth. The immunofluorescent staining pattern observed with the majority (73 per cent) of the BRSV-reactive pig sera was typical of that observed with known BRSV-reactive bovine sera. The other immunoreactive pig sera stained BRSV-infected cell cultures in an atypical staining pattern. These different reactivity patterns, combined with the results of the serum neutralisation tests, suggest that more than one serotype of a porcine pneumovirus may exist.

The value of routine urine dipstick screening for protein at each prenatal visit.

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to determine whether dipstick urinalysis for protein, when performed as a routine screening test at each prenatal visit, predicts subsequent gestational outcome. STUDY DESIGN: All 3217 low-risk obstetric patients had dipstick urinalysis for protein at each prenatal visit. When there were any objective findings of a possible hypertensive disorder, the urine protein test for that visit was considered an indicated diagnostic test. Otherwise it was considered a routine screening test. Subjects were grouped according to whether those urine tests considered routine screening tests were positive for protein. The groups were then compared with regard to relevant pregnancy outcomes. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the measured pregnancy outcomes between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: In low-risk women with no objective signs of a possible hypertensive disorder, routine dipstick proteinuria screening at each prenatal visit did not provide any clinically important information regarding pregnancy outcome.

Severe acidosis and subsequent neurologic status.

To examine the relationship between severe acidosis at birth and evidence of subsequent neurologic dysfunction, a 4-year review was performed encompassing 15,528 neonates. One hundred forty-two (0.91%) of these neonates had an umbilical cord arterial pH less than or equal to 7.05 with a base deficit greater than or equal to mEq/L. Neurologic assessments found 101 of 110 term neonates (91.8%) and 17 of 32 preterm neonates (53.1%) with severe acidosis to be free of neurologic deficits at the time of hospital discharge. Follow-up developmental evaluation data were available for 7 of 9 term neonates and 8 of 15 preterm neonates with abnormal examinations. Although 5 term and 6 preterm infants demonstrated mild developmental delays or mild tone abnormalities in the first year of life, none exhibited a major motor or cognitive abnormality at 12 to 24 months of age. Consequently, acidosis in umbilical cord blood, even when severe, is a poor predictor of subsequent neurologic dysfunction.

Factors influencing hemostasis after umbilical vein puncture in vitro.

Bleeding from the site of cordocentesis can be detected by ultrasound examination, but significant hemorrhage into the amniotic fluid rarely occurs. To evaluate the relative contribution of amniotic fluid thromboplastins and the quantity of Wharton's jelly in facilitating coagulation at the puncture site, amniotic fluid samples and umbilical cord segments were obtained at cesarean section from 20 patients. After puncture of the umbilical vein, bleeding times were measured in amniotic fluid and 0.9% sodium chloride. The quantity of Wharton's jelly was assessed by measuring umbilical cord circumference. Mean bleeding times were significantly shorter in amniotic fluid compared with saline solution, but there was no consistent relationship between bleeding times and umbilical cord circumference. We conclude that properties of amniotic fluid facilitate coagulation at the site of umbilical vein puncture.