A Novel Method for Detecting Wild Boar Presence

Populations of wild boar and feral pigs (Sus scrofa) are increasing in numbers and distribution worldwide, in parallel with their significant environmental and economic impact. Reliable methods to detect the presence of this species are needed for monitoring its natural range expansion and its occurrence in areas where animals have been deliberately or accidentally introduced. The main aim of this study, carried out in English woodlands recently colonized by wild boar, was to assess the effectiveness of a birch wood tar-based compound, to detect the presence of this species in presence/absence surveys. A pilot trial in woodlands where wild boar had been established for circa 20 years found that wild boar sniffed and rubbed their bodies against stakes treated with this compound significantly more than against control stakes treated with water, thus confirming that the birch wood tar attracted wild boar to stakes. A second trial, carried out by applying the birch wood tar to trees in 8 woodlands surrounding the core range of wild boar, found that these animals left consistently more activity signs such as rubbing, tusk marks, and rooting on or around trees treated with this compound than on or around control trees treated with water. These results suggest that birch wood tar can be used as a method to confirm presence of wild boar in an area. Possible applications of this compound include its use to increase trapping efficiency or its deployment to confirm the success of a local eradication

Utilisation of an operative difficulty grading scale for laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background A reliable system for grading operative difficulty of laparoscopic cholecystectomy would standardise description of findings and reporting of outcomes. The aim of this study was to validate a difficulty grading system (Nassar scale), testing its applicability and consistency in two large prospective datasets. Methods Patient and disease-related variables and 30-day outcomes were identified in two prospective cholecystectomy databases: the multi-centre prospective cohort of 8820 patients from the recent CholeS Study and the single-surgeon series containing 4089 patients. Operative data and patient outcomes were correlated with Nassar operative difficultly scale, using Kendall’s tau for dichotomous variables, or Jonckheere–Terpstra tests for continuous variables. A ROC curve analysis was performed, to quantify the predictive accuracy of the scale for each outcome, with continuous outcomes dichotomised, prior to analysis. Results A higher operative difficulty grade was consistently associated with worse outcomes for the patients in both the reference and CholeS cohorts. The median length of stay increased from 0 to 4 days, and the 30-day complication rate from 7.6 to 24.4% as the difficulty grade increased from 1 to 4/5 (both p < 0.001). In the CholeS cohort, a higher difficulty grade was found to be most strongly associated with conversion to open and 30-day mortality (AUROC = 0.903, 0.822, respectively). On multivariable analysis, the Nassar operative difficultly scale was found to be a significant independent predictor of operative duration, conversion to open surgery, 30-day complications and 30-day reintervention (all p < 0.001). Conclusion We have shown that an operative difficulty scale can standardise the description of operative findings by multiple grades of surgeons to facilitate audit, training assessment and research. It provides a tool for reporting operative findings, disease severity and technical difficulty and can be utilised in future research to reliably compare outcomes according to case mix and intra-operative difficulty

Population‐based cohort study of outcomes following cholecystectomy for benign gallbladder diseases

Background The aim was to describe the management of benign gallbladder disease and identify characteristics associated with all‐cause 30‐day readmissions and complications in a prospective population‐based cohort. Methods Data were collected on consecutive patients undergoing cholecystectomy in acute UK and Irish hospitals between 1 March and 1 May 2014. Potential explanatory variables influencing all‐cause 30‐day readmissions and complications were analysed by means of multilevel, multivariable logistic regression modelling using a two‐level hierarchical structure with patients (level 1) nested within hospitals (level 2). Results Data were collected on 8909 patients undergoing cholecystectomy from 167 hospitals. Some 1451 cholecystectomies (16·3 per cent) were performed as an emergency, 4165 (46·8 per cent) as elective operations, and 3293 patients (37·0 per cent) had had at least one previous emergency admission, but had surgery on a delayed basis. The readmission and complication rates at 30 days were 7·1 per cent (633 of 8909) and 10·8 per cent (962 of 8909) respectively. Both readmissions and complications were independently associated with increasing ASA fitness grade, duration of surgery, and increasing numbers of emergency admissions with gallbladder disease before cholecystectomy. No identifiable hospital characteristics were linked to readmissions and complications. Conclusion Readmissions and complications following cholecystectomy are common and associated with patient and disease characteristics

The development and validation of a scoring tool to predict the operative duration of elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background: The ability to accurately predict operative duration has the potential to optimise theatre efficiency and utilisation, thus reducing costs and increasing staff and patient satisfaction. With laparoscopic cholecystectomy being one of the most commonly performed procedures worldwide, a tool to predict operative duration could be extremely beneficial to healthcare organisations. Methods: Data collected from the CholeS study on patients undergoing cholecystectomy in UK and Irish hospitals between 04/2014 and 05/2014 were used to study operative duration. A multivariable binary logistic regression model was produced in order to identify significant independent predictors of long (> 90 min) operations. The resulting model was converted to a risk score, which was subsequently validated on second cohort of patients using ROC curves. Results: After exclusions, data were available for 7227 patients in the derivation (CholeS) cohort. The median operative duration was 60 min (interquartile range 45–85), with 17.7% of operations lasting longer than 90 min. Ten factors were found to be significant independent predictors of operative durations > 90 min, including ASA, age, previous surgical admissions, BMI, gallbladder wall thickness and CBD diameter. A risk score was then produced from these factors, and applied to a cohort of 2405 patients from a tertiary centre for external validation. This returned an area under the ROC curve of 0.708 (SE = 0.013, p  90 min increasing more than eightfold from 5.1 to 41.8% in the extremes of the score. Conclusion: The scoring tool produced in this study was found to be significantly predictive of long operative durations on validation in an external cohort. As such, the tool may have the potential to enable organisations to better organise theatre lists and deliver greater efficiencies in care

The Cholecystectomy As A Day Case (CAAD) Score: A Validated Score of Preoperative Predictors of Successful Day-Case Cholecystectomy Using the CholeS Data Set

Background Day-case surgery is associated with significant patient and cost benefits. However, only 43% of cholecystectomy patients are discharged home the same day. One hypothesis is day-case cholecystectomy rates, defined as patients discharged the same day as their operation, may be improved by better assessment of patients using standard preoperative variables. Methods Data were extracted from a prospectively collected data set of cholecystectomy patients from 166 UK and Irish hospitals (CholeS). Cholecystectomies performed as elective procedures were divided into main (75%) and validation (25%) data sets. Preoperative predictors were identified, and a risk score of failed day case was devised using multivariate logistic regression. Receiver operating curve analysis was used to validate the score in the validation data set. Results Of the 7426 elective cholecystectomies performed, 49% of these were discharged home the same day. Same-day discharge following cholecystectomy was less likely with older patients (OR 0.18, 95% CI 0.15–0.23), higher ASA scores (OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.15–0.23), complicated cholelithiasis (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.31 to 0.48), male gender (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.58–0.74), previous acute gallstone-related admissions (OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.48–0.60) and preoperative endoscopic intervention (OR 0.40, 95% CI 0.34–0.47). The CAAD score was developed using these variables. When applied to the validation subgroup, a CAAD score of ≤5 was associated with 80.8% successful day-case cholecystectomy compared with 19.2% associated with a CAAD score >5 (p < 0.001). Conclusions The CAAD score which utilises data readily available from clinic letters and electronic sources can predict same-day discharges following cholecystectomy

Short Communication: Noninvasive Detection of Electrical Events during the Startle Response in Larval Medaka

In teleosts, a startle response occurs when one of a pair of Mauthner cells (Mcells) originating in the fish hindbrain is excited by sensory afferents and fires a single action potential. This action potential propagates caudally along the M-axon, which crosses the midline and continues tailward within the spinal cord. In passage, the M-spike excites (via collaterals) primary motor neurons within the spinal cord which, in turn, activate nearby axial musculature. The most obvious behavioral result of this highly conserved (at least in teleosts) and stereotypic sequence is a fast body bend toward the side of the active M-axon such that the fish forms the shape of the letter C. This is stage 1 of the teleost 'C-start', also previously called the M-reflex (for reviews, see Nissanov and Eaton, 1989; Eaton and DiDomenico, 1986; Eaton and Nissanov, 1985; Eaton and Hackett, 1984; Eaton and Bombardieri, 1978; Diamond, 1971).This article is from Journal of Experimental Biology, 1991, 158(1); 583-589. Posted with permission.</p

SHORT COMMUNICATION NONINVASIVE DETECTION OF ELECTRICAL EVENTS DURING THE STARTLE RESPONSE IN LARVAL MEDAKA

In teleosts, a startle response occurs when one of a pair of Mauthner cells (Mcells) originating in the fish hindbrain is excited by sensory afferents and fires a single action potential. This action potential propagates caudally along the M-axon, which crosses the midline and continues tailward within the spinal cord. In passage, the M-spike excites (via collaterals) primary motor neurons within the spinal cord which, in turn, activate nearby axial musculature. The most obvious behavioral result of this highly conserved (at least in teleosts) and stereotypic sequence is a fast body bend toward the side of the active M-axon such that the fish forms the shape of the letter C. This is stage 1 of the teleost &apos;C-start&apos;, also previously called the M-reflex (for reviews, see Nissanov and Eaton, 1989; Eato

Long-term effects of immunocontraception on wild boar fertility, physiology and behaviour

Context. Fertility control appears as a publicly acceptable alternative to lethal methods for limiting population growth in wildlife. Recently developed single-dose immune-contraceptive vaccines have induced infertility in several mammals. However, the potential side-effects and the long-term effectiveness of these contraceptives have been poorly investigated. Aims. We tested the long-term effectiveness and potential side-effects of the single-dose gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) vaccine GonaCon™ on captive female wild boar. Methods. We carried out two sequential trials: Trial 1 (n = 6 GonaCon™-treated and 6 control wild boar) and Trial 2 which started two years later and replicated Trial 1. We assessed the effectiveness of GonaConto cause infertility by measuring GnRH antibody titres, by monitoring the oestrous cycle through the concentration of faecal progesterone and by recording the sows’ reproductive output in the 4–6 years following treatment. We evaluated the potential side-effects by monitoring behaviour, bodyweight and haematological and biochemical variables. Key results. GnRH-antibody titres decreased with time but were still detectable in all females six years after vaccination with a single dose of GonaCon™. In Trial 1 none of the treated females gave birth in the six years after vaccination. In Trial 2, progesterone indicated that two of the six treated females were cycling. One of the cycling treated females gave birth one year after vaccination; the other five, including the second cycling sow, did not reproduce in the four years following vaccination. We found no differences in bodyweight, haematology, biochemistry and behaviour and no obvious sign of injection site reaction. Conclusions. GonaCon™can suppress reproduction in wild boar with no long-term effects on behaviour and physiology. Therefore, GonaCon™ can be regarded as an effective and safe contraceptive for this species. Implications. The lack of evidence of adverse effects and the longevity of effect of GonaCon™ suggest that this contraceptive could be now tested in field trials and in contexts where culling of overabundant populations of wild boar is unfeasible, illegal or unacceptable. These instances include urban areas, parks, and management of diseases where culling might cause social perturbation and result in increased disease transmission rates

Seasonal variation in effectiveness of the boar-operated system to deliver baits to wild boar

BACKGROUND: Wild boar and feral pig numbers are growing worldwide and have substantial economic and environmental impacts. Bait-delivered pharmaceuticals such as disease vaccines, toxicants and contraceptives are advocated to mitigate these impacts. Effective campaigns based on these pharmaceuticals rely on optimising the target species' bait uptake, which may differ between seasons. We investigated seasonal differences in the use of Boar-Operated Systems (BOSs) by wild boar and non-target species in an English woodland. RESULTS: In a pre-trial phase (BOS left open), wild boar, wild mammals, birds, livestock and companion animals fed on the peanuts and maize used as bait in the BOS. During the trial (BOS closed), only wild boar consumed the baits. Wild boar visited and fed from a larger number of BOSs in spring than in summer or winter. No aggressive intra-group interactions were recorded when wild boar fed from the BOSs but adult males were observed to monopolise two BOSs. Group size was highest in spring and bait uptake was lowest in winter. CONCLUSION: The study confirmed the species-specificity of the BOS throughout the year and highlighted that, at least in this area, bait uptake by wild boar for baits delivered through the BOS would be maximised in spring. © 2017 Crown copyright. Pest Management Science © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry