Surveillance for Toxoplasma gondii in the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Ohio

Author Institution: Department of Entomology, The Ohio State UniversitySerum samples from 147 white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus, were collected at deer-check stations and Columbus area metropolitan park deer hunts during November and December of Ohio's 1996-97 and 97-98 hunting seasons. These samples were tested for Toxoplasma gondii antibodies using a modified direct agglutination assay. Forty-four percent (65/147) of the samples tested positive. Sixteen percent had a titer of 25, 16% had a titer of 50, 3% had a titer of 250 and 9% had a titer of >500. Percentage of positive deer varied greatly between geographical locations. Fifty-five percent of 45 serum samples collected from Hocking County were positive while only 6% of the 18 deer sampled from Franklin County tested positive. No significant differences in infection rates were observed between sexes. This is the first report of T. gondii antibodies from a game animal in Ohio. Pregnant women should thoroughly cook venison before it is consumed to avoid complications from this pathogen

Communications Biophysics

Contains research objectives and reports on three research projects.National Science Foundation (Grant G-16526)National Institutes of Health (Grant MH-04737-02

Synergies for Improving Oil Palm Production and Forest Conservation in Floodplain Landscapes

Lowland tropical forests are increasingly threatened with conversion to oil palm as global demand and high profit drives crop expansion throughout the world’s tropical regions. Yet, landscapes are not homogeneous and regional constraints dictate land suitability for this crop. We conducted a regional study to investigate spatial and economic components of forest conversion to oil palm within a tropical floodplain in the Lower Kinabatangan, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. The Kinabatangan ecosystem harbours significant biodiversity with globally threatened species but has suffered forest loss and fragmentation. We mapped the oil palm and forested landscapes (using object-based-image analysis, classification and regression tree analysis and on-screen digitising of high-resolution imagery) and undertook economic modelling. Within the study region (520,269 ha), 250,617 ha is cultivated with oil palm with 77% having high Net-Present-Value (NPV) estimates ($413/ha?yr–$637/ha?yr); but 20.5% is under-producing. In fact 6.3% (15,810 ha) of oil palm is commercially redundant (with negative NPV of $-299/ha?yr-$-65/ha?yr) due to palm mortality from flood inundation. These areas would have been important riparian or flooded forest types. Moreover, 30,173 ha of unprotected forest remain and despite its value for connectivity and biodiversity 64% is allocated for future oil palm. However, we estimate that at minimum 54% of these forests are unsuitable for this crop due to inundation events. If conversion to oil palm occurs, we predict a further 16,207 ha will become commercially redundant. This means that over 32,000 ha of forest within the floodplain would have been converted for little or no financial gain yet with significant cost to the ecosystem. Our findings have globally relevant implications for similar floodplain landscapes undergoing forest transformation to agriculture such as oil palm. Understanding landscape level constraints to this crop, and transferring these into policy and practice, may provide conservation and economic opportunities within these seemingly high opportunity cost landscapes

Detection of the PAX3-FKHR fusion gene in paediatric rhabdomyosarcoma: a reproducible predictor of outcome?

Rhabdomyosarcoma has 2 major histological subtypes, embryonal and alveolar. Alveolar histology is associated with the fusion genes PAX3-FKHR and PAX7-FKHR. Definition of alveolar has been complicated by changes in terminology and subjectivity. It is currently unclear whether adverse clinical behaviour is better predicted by the presence of these fusion genes or by alveolar histology. We have determined the presence of the PAX3/7-FKHR fusion genes in 91 primary rhabdomyosarcoma tumours using a combination of classical cytogenetics, FISH and RT-PCR, with a view to determining the clinical characteristics of tumours with and without the characteristic translocations. There were 37 patients with t(2;13)/PAX3-FKHR, 8 with t(1;13) PAX7-FKHR and 46 with neither translocation. One or other of the characteristic translocations was found in 31/38 (82%) of alveolar cases. Univariate survival analysis revealed the presence of the translocation t(2;13)/PAX3-FKHR to be an adverse prognostic factor. With the difficulties in morphological diagnosis of alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma on increasingly used small needle biopsy specimens, these data suggest that molecular analysis for PAX3-FKHR will be a clinically useful tool in treatment stratification in the future. This hypothesis requires testing in a prospective study. Variant t(1;13)/PAX7-FKHR appears biologically different, occurring in younger patients with more localised disease. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaignhttp://www.bjcancer.co

Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) and Fractionated Stereotactic Radiotherapy (FSRT) for children with head-and-neck-rhabdomyosarcoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The present study evaluates the outcome of 19 children with rhabdomyosarcoma of the head-and-neck region treated with Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) or Fractionated Stereotactic Radiotherapy (FSRT) between August 1995 and November 2005.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We treated 19 children with head-and-neck rhabdomyosarcoma with FSRT (n = 14) or IMRT (n = 5) as a part of multimodal therapy. Median age at the time of radiation therapy was 5 years (range 2–15 years). All children received systemic chemotherapy according to the German Soft Tissue Sarcoma Study protocols.</p> <p>Median size of treatment volume for RT was 93,4 ml. We applied a median total dose of 45 Gy (range 32 Gy – 54 Gy) using a median fractionation of 5 × 1,8 Gy/week (range 1,6 Gy – 1,8 Gy).</p> <p>The median time interval between primary diagnosis and radiation therapy was 5 months (range 3–9 months).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After RT, the 3- and 5-year survival rate was 94%. The 3- and 5-year actuarial local control rate after RT was 89%.</p> <p>The actuarial freedom of distant metastases rate at 3- and 5-years was 89% for all patients.</p> <p>Radiotherapy was well tolerated in all children and could be completed without interruptions > 4 days. No toxicities >CTC grade 2 were observed. The median follow-up time after RT was 17 months.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>IMRT and FSRT lead to excellent outcome in children with head-and-neck RMS with a low incidence of treatment-related side effects.</p

Clostridium difficile ribotype diversity at six health care institutions in the United States

Capillary-based PCR ribotyping was used to quantify the presence/absence and relative abundance of 98 Clostridium difficile ribotypes from clinical cases of disease at health care institutions in six states of the United States. Regionally important ribotypes were identified, and institutions in close proximity did not necessarily share more ribotype diversity than institutions that were farther apart

Imaging of Nitric Oxide in Nitrergic Neuromuscular Neurotransmission in the Gut

Background: Numerous functional studies have shown that nitrergic neurotransmission plays a central role in peristalsis and sphincter relaxation throughout the gut and impaired nitrergic neurotransmission has been implicated in clinical disorders of all parts of the gut. However, the role of nitric oxide (NO) as a neurotransmitter continues to be controversial because: 1) the cellular site of production during neurotransmission is not well established; 2) NO may interacts with other inhibitory neurotransmitter candidates, making it difficult to understand its precise role. Methodology/Principal Findings: Imaging NO can help resolve many of the controversies regarding the role of NO in nitrergic neurotransmission. Imaging of NO and its cellular site of production is now possible. NO forms quantifiable fluorescent compound with diaminofluorescein (DAF) and allows imaging of NO with good specificity and sensitivity in living cells. In this report we describe visualization and regulation of NO and calcium ($Ca^{2+}$) in the myenteric nerve varicosities during neurotransmission using multiphoton microscopy. Our results in mice gastric muscle strips provide visual proof that NO is produced de novo in the nitrergic nerve varicosities upon nonadrenergic noncholinergic (NANC) nerve stimulation. These studies show that NO is a neurotransmitter rather than a mediator. Changes in NO production in response to various pharmacological treatments correlated well with changes in slow inhibitory junction potential of smooth muscles. Conclusions/Significance: Dual imaging and electrophysiologic studies provide visual proof that during nitrergic neurotransmission NO is produced in the nerve terminals. Such studies may help define whether NO production or its signaling pathway is responsible for impaired nitrergic neurotransmission in pathological states

Diversity Partitioning of Stony Corals Across Multiple Spatial Scales Around Zanzibar Island, Tanzania

The coral reefs of Zanzibar Island (Unguja, Tanzania) encompass a considerable proportion of the global coral-reef diversity and are representative of the western Indian Ocean region. Unfortunately, these reefs have been recently subjected to local and regional disturbances. The objectives of this study were to determine whether there are potentially non-random processes forcing the observed coral diversity patterns, and highlight where and at which spatial scales these processes might be most influential.A hierarchical (nested) sampling design was employed across three spatial scales, ranging from transects (<or=20 m), stations (<100 m), to sites (<1000 m), to examine coral diversity patterns. Two of the four sites, Chumbe and Mnemba, were located within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), while the other two sites, Changuu and Bawe, were not protected. Additive partitioning of coral diversity was used to separate regional (total) diversity (gamma) into local alpha diversity and among-sample beta diversity components. Individual-based null models were used to identify deviations from random distribution across the three spatial scales. We found that Chumbe and Mnemba had similar diversity components to those predicted by the null models. However, the diversity at Changuu and Bawe was lower than expected at all three spatial scales tested. Consequently, the relative contribution of the among-site diversity component was significantly greater than expected. Applying partitioning analysis for each site separately revealed that the within-transect diversity component in Changuu was significantly lower than the null expectation.The non-random outcome of the partitioning analyses helped to identify the among-sites scale (i.e., 10's of kilometers) and the within-transects scale (i.e., a few meters; especially at Changuu) as spatial boundaries within which to examine the processes that may interact and disproportionately differentiate coral diversity. In light of coral community compositions and diversity patterns we strongly recommend that Bawe be declared a MPA