Trap-Neuter-Return : A Study of the Practice in Switzerland

Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is well-established in many countries and increasingly considered to be the most effective and humane way to manage feral and stray cat populations. Nonetheless, it confronts major challenges everywhere it is practiced. Although Switzerland has an impressive TNR system carried out mainly by private, non-profit organizations and individual citizens, the management of feline overpopulation could be strengthened by improvements on a number of fronts, including legal and governance changes, education and modifications in mentality, and operational adjustments such as data management and analysis. TNR faces a number of common challenges worldwide, and given that it is still relatively young, lessons from one country can be valuable for another. Because little has been written about TNR in Switzerland, this article seeks to fill this gap by providing a preliminary analysis of the case through the prism of existing analytical work done on TNR in other countries.El método Captura-Esterilización-Suelta (CES) está implementado en muchos países y está cada vez más considerado como la forma más eficaz y ética de gestionar las colonias de gatos callejeros y ferales. Sin embargo, todavía se enfrenta a grandes desafíos en aquellos lugares donde se practica. Aunque en Suiza se lleva a cabo un impresionante método CES por parte de la ciudadanía y de organizaciones privadas sin ánimo de lucro, dicha gestión de la sobrepoblación felina podría mejorarse con diversas modificaciones legales y políticas, educacionales y de concienciación, además de ajustes como la gestión y el análisis de los datos existentes. El método CES enfrenta una serie de desafíos comunes en todo el mundo y, dado que aún es relativamente joven, las acciones de ciertos países pueden ser ejemplo para otros. Debido a las escasas publicaciones sobre el método CES en Suiza, este artículo pretende proporcionar un análisis preliminar de la situación a través del análisis ya existente sobre el mismo en otros países

John Bradshaw. Cat Sense: The Feline Enigma Revealed. Allen Lane (London 2013) 336 p

Esta es una reseña del Cat Sense (2013) de John Bradshaw, un libro completo, accesible y bellamente escrito que explora el mundo de los gatos y su relación con los seres humanos a través de múltiples lentes, incluida la historia, la arqueología, la biología, la psicología, la ciencia del comportamiento y la política.This is a review of John Bradshaw's Cat Sense (2013), a comprehensive, accessible and beautifully written book that explores cats and their relationship to human beings through multiple lenses, including history, archaeology, biology, psychology, behavioral science and policy.Obra ressenyada: John BRADSHAW, Cat Sense: the Feline Enigma Revealed. London : Allen Lane, 2013

A Case of Severe Esophageal Intramural Pseudodiverticulosis Whose Symptoms Were Ameliorated by Oral Administration of Anti-Fungal Medicine

Esophageal intramural pseudodiverticulosis (EIPD) is a rare disease of unknown etiology that displays multiple pseudodiverticula radiologically, leading to benign esophageal stricture. Dysphagia, which sometimes slowly progresses, is the main symptom in the majority of cases. We here report a 59-year-old male EIPD patient who suffered from severe dysphagia. Radiography and endoscopy of this patient disclosed a severe constriction in the upper thoracic esophagus. Although we tried several endoscopic procedures including frequent endoscopic balloon dilatation (EBD), the effect was very limited and his dysphagia relapsed shortly after the treatments. During the procedures, we noticed some white, thick, creamy liquid emerging from the orifices of EIPD, and PAS staining of biopsy specimens revealed infection with Candida albicans. Hence, the patient was given anti-fungal medicine in addition to EBD. The additional treatment with anti-fungal medicine dramatically improved his symptoms and the esophageal constriction. This case suggests that anti-fungal treatment is an effective first-line therapy even against a severe form of esophageal constriction in EIPD

Knockout studies reveal an important role of <i>plasmodium</i> lipoic acid protein ligase a1 for asexual blood stage parasite survival

Lipoic acid (LA) is a dithiol-containing cofactor that is essential for the function of a-keto acid dehydrogenase complexes. LA acts as a reversible acyl group acceptor and 'swinging arm' during acyl-coenzyme A formation. The cofactor is post-translationally attached to the acyl-transferase subunits of the multienzyme complexes through the action of octanoyl (lipoyl): &lt;i&gt;N&lt;/i&gt;-octanoyl (lipoyl) transferase (LipB) or lipoic acid protein ligases (LplA). Remarkably, apicomplexan parasites possess LA biosynthesis as well as scavenging pathways and the two pathways are distributed between mitochondrion and a vestigial organelle, the apicoplast. The apicoplast-specific LipB is dispensable for parasite growth due to functional redundancy of the parasite's lipoic acid/octanoic acid ligases/transferases. In this study, we show that &lt;i&gt;LplA1&lt;/i&gt; plays a pivotal role during the development of the erythrocytic stages of the malaria parasite. Gene disruptions in the human malaria parasite &lt;i&gt;P.falciparum&lt;/i&gt; consistently were unsuccessful while in the rodent malaria model parasite &lt;i&gt;P. berghei&lt;/i&gt; the &lt;i&gt;LplA1&lt;/i&gt; gene locus was targeted by knock-in and knockout constructs. However, the &lt;i&gt;LplA1&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sup&gt;(-)&lt;/sup&gt; mutant could not be cloned suggesting a critical role of LplA1 for asexual parasite growth &lt;i&gt;in vitro&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;in vivo&lt;/i&gt;. These experimental genetics data suggest that lipoylation during expansion in red blood cells largely occurs through salvage from the host erythrocytes and subsequent ligation of LA to the target proteins of the malaria parasite

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase dentified as a key enzyme in erythrocytic Plasmodium falciparum carbon metabolism

Phospoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) is absent from humans but encoded in thePlasmodium falciparum genome, suggesting that PEPC has a parasite-specific function. To investigate its importance in P. falciparum, we generated a pepc null mutant (D10Δpepc), which was only achievable when malate, a reduction product of oxaloacetate, was added to the growth medium. D10Δpepc had a severe growth defect in vitro, which was partially reversed by addition of malate or fumarate, suggesting that pepc may be essential in vivo. Targeted metabolomics using 13C-U-D-glucose and 13C-bicarbonate showed that the conversion of glycolytically-derived PEP into malate, fumarate, aspartate and citrate was abolished in D10Δpepc and that pentose phosphate pathway metabolites and glycerol 3-phosphate were present at increased levels. In contrast, metabolism of the carbon skeleton of 13C,15N-U-glutamine was similar in both parasite lines, although the flux was lower in D10Δpepc; it also confirmed the operation of a complete forward TCA cycle in the wild type parasite. Overall, these data confirm the CO2 fixing activity of PEPC and suggest that it provides metabolites essential for TCA cycle anaplerosis and the maintenance of cytosolic and mitochondrial redox balance. Moreover, these findings imply that PEPC may be an exploitable target for future drug discovery

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of epididymis: a case report and review of literature

Background Epididymal inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor, also known by various other synonyms is a rare benign disease. Only eight cases have been reported to date. The most common presentation is a scrotal mass of variable duration. For a scrotal mass it is difficult to distinguish a benign or malignant etiology, in addition to the origin whether from testis or epididymis. As a result the definitive diagnosis can only be established by surgical exploration. Case presentation We report the ninth case of epididymal IMT who based on clinical and radiological findings underwent radical orchidectomy, with the histology suggestive of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor. At 4 years follow up the patient is free of disease recurrence. Conclusion IMT though rare should be considered in the differential diagnosis of epididymal mass. Clinically it is often difficult to distinguish the origin of mass and even though the disease has benign nature and course it is crucial to counsel patients for orchidectomy as definitive diagnosis is established on surgical exploration

Clinicopathological findings in female‐to‐male gender‐affirming breast surgery

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/139962/1/his13299.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/139962/2/his13299_am.pd

Food waste diversion in food service enterprises : an analysis of organics diversion plans in Austin, Texas

As a major component of municipal landfills, food waste produces greenhouse gases which contribute to climate change; food waste is the largest component of Austin’s municipal waste. Food waste diversion can impact a range of public health concerns including food insecurity and climate change mitigation. Reducing food waste is a critical goal under Austin’s Universal Recycling Ordinance (URO), which requires all food service enterprises to implement a food waste diversion plan and file an annual Organics Diversion Plan (ODP). The purpose of this study was to identify trends in the diversion efforts of businesses of different sectors and sizes and to develop baseline adoption rates for each strategy by sector by analyzing the ODPs filed in 2017 and 2018. A second purpose was to study the real-world implementation of organics diversion strategies among Austin’s food service enterprises using a interviews with business operators. The study utilized mixed methods, including statistical methods such as the chi-square text, z-test and two-sample test of proportions to analyze the ODP data sets, and qualitative, semi-structured interviews with business managers and owners to better understand ODP implementation. The study confirmed that larger businesses were more likely to adopt organics diversion strategies than smaller businesses. The study also found a statistical increase in the adoption of waste prevention and recovery strategies among businesses that filed ODP information with the city of Austin for both 2017 and 2018. The interviews revealed that businesses were using novel service providers such as diversion management companies to meet the diversion requirements. These emerging business opportunities have the potential to benefit economically-insecure communities. Quantitative research was limited by a small sample size, an incomplete data set and a lack of granular data; future surveys should collect more detailed information for further statistical analyses. The results of this study can inform future research and help improve outreach efforts to encourage organics diversion among Austin’s food service enterprises.Public Affair

John Bradshaw. Cat Sense: The Feline Enigma Revealed. Allen Lane (London 2013) 336 p

Esta es una reseña del Cat Sense (2013) de John Bradshaw, un libro completo, accesible y bellamente escrito que explora el mundo de los gatos y su relación con los seres humanos a través de múltiples lentes, incluida la historia, la arqueología, la biología, la psicología, la ciencia del comportamiento y la política.This is a review of John Bradshaw's Cat Sense (2013), a comprehensive, accessible and beautifully written book that explores cats and their relationship to human beings through multiple lenses, including history, archaeology, biology, psychology, behavioral science and policy.Obra ressenyada: John BRADSHAW, Cat Sense: the Feline Enigma Revealed. London : Allen Lane, 2013