Lactobacillus reuteri som probiotisk terapi mot bakteriell vaginit hos avelsråttor

Lactobacillus reuteri has been used as probiotics in piglet and chicken feedings as well as in different diary products for humans. In this EEF-work I have shown that L. reuteri can be an alternative for treatment of vaginitis in laboratory rats used for breeding. In a breeding stock with 3000 animals some animals had a vaginal infection with β−haemolytic streptococci group G. The infection was spread among the animals when their heat statuses were checked intra vaginally with an impedance meter. After treatment with L. reuteri both intra vaginally and supplied in the drinking water no animal has been found to carry the infection. I have also shown by in vitro studies that L. reuteri has an inhibitory effect on growth of Streptococcus canis in liquid medium. Furthermore L. reuteri had the ability to adhere to human intestinal cells INT-407 in vitro.Lactobacillus reuteri har tidigare använts som probiotika i foder till smågrisar och kycklingar och även som tillsats i olika mejeriprodukter. Jag har i detta EEF-arbete visat att L. reuteri kan vara ett behandlingsalternativ vid vaginit bland avelsråttor. En besättning med ca 3000 avelsråttor hade drabbats av vaginala infektioner med β-hemolyserande streptokocker grupp G. Smittan spreds mellan djuren vid brunstkontroll med vaginal impedansmätning. Efter behandling med L. reuteri vaginalt och som tillsats i dricksvattnet har ingen växt av streptokockerna kunnat påvisas. Jag har även vid uppföljande in vitro försök visat att L. reuteri har en tillväxthämmande effekt på Streptococcus canis i flytande medium. Vidare hade L. reuteri förmågan att adherera till humana intestinalceller INT-407 in vitro

Probiotic Biotherapy for Eradication of a Potential Pathogen in a Commercial Rat Breeding Facility

This study defined a model for biotherapeutic eradication of beta-haemolytic streptococci, group G, in a rat  breeding unit (3100 rats) by use of a strain of Lactobacillus reuteri. The microbe was added to the rats’  drinking water and the genitals of all rats were swabbed three times with a solution of the microbe. After this  procedure undesirable streptococci were not recognized in any animal of this breeding farm.

Multi-decadal changes in tundra environments and ecosystems: Synthesis of the International Polar Year-Back to the Future Project (IPY-BTF).

Understanding the responses of tundra systems to global change has global implications. Most tundra regions lack sustained environmental monitoring and one of the only ways to document multi-decadal change is to resample historic research sites. The International Polar Year (IPY) provided a unique opportunity for such research through the Back to the Future (BTF) project (IPY project #512). This article synthesizes the results from 13 papers within this Ambio Special Issue. Abiotic changes include glacial recession in the Altai Mountains, Russia; increased snow depth and hardness, permafrost warming, and increased growing season length in sub-arctic Sweden; drying of ponds in Greenland; increased nutrient availability in Alaskan tundra ponds, and warming at most locations studied. Biotic changes ranged from relatively minor plant community change at two sites in Greenland to moderate change in the Yukon, and to dramatic increases in shrub and tree density on Herschel Island, and in sub-arctic Sweden. The population of geese tripled at one site in northeast Greenland where biomass in non-grazed plots doubled. A model parameterized using results from a BTF study forecasts substantial declines in all snowbeds and increases in shrub tundra on Niwot Ridge, Colorado over the next century. In general, results support and provide improved capacities for validating experimental manipulation, remote sensing, and modeling studies

Movements of marine fish and decapod crustaceans: Process, theory and application

Many marine species have a multi-phase ontogeny, with each phase usually associated with a spatially and temporally discrete set of movements. For many fish and decapod crustaceans that live inshore, a tri-phasic life cycle is widespread, involving: (1) the movement of planktonic eggs and larvae to nursery areas; (2) a range of routine shelter and foraging movements that maintain a home range; and (3) spawning migrations away from the home range to close the life cycle. Additional complexity is found in migrations that are not for the purpose of spawning and movements that result in a relocation of the home range of an individual that cannot be defined as an ontogenetic shift. Tracking and tagging studies confirm that life cycle movements occur across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. This dynamic multi-scale complexity presents a significant problem in selecting appropriate scales for studying highly mobile marine animals. We address this problem by first comprehensively reviewing the movement patterns of fish and decapod crustaceans that use inshore areas and present a synthesis of life cycle strategies, together with five categories of movement. We then examine the scale-related limitations of traditional approaches to studies of animal-environment relationships. We demonstrate that studies of marine animals have rarely been undertaken at scales appropriate to the way animals use their environment and argue that future studies must incorporate animal movement into the design of sampling strategies. A major limitation of many studies is that they have focused on: (1) a single scale for animals that respond to their environment at multiple scales or (2) a single habitat type for animals that use multiple habitat types. We develop a hierarchical conceptual framework that deals with the problem of scale and environmental heterogeneity and we offer a new definition of 'habitat' from an organism-based perspective. To demonstrate that the conceptual framework can be applied, we explore the range of tools that are currently available for both measuring animal movement patterns and for mapping and quantifying marine environments at multiple scales. The application of a hierarchical approach, together with the coordinated integration of spatial technologies offers an unprecedented opportunity for researchers to tackle a range of animal-environment questions for highly mobile marine animals. Without scale-explicit information on animal movements many marine conservation and resource management strategies are less likely to achieve their primary objectives