Enterobacteriaceae and Aeromonas hydrophila in Minnesota frogs and tadpoles (Rana pipiens).

In 222 Rana pipiens frogs and 34 tadpoles captured in and near Minnesota, Aeromonas hydrophila and 29 species of Enterobacteriaceae, including yersinia enterocolitica and Salmonella arizonae, were isolated from intestines. The prevalence of members of the family Enterobacteriaceae was lowest in frogs captured in early spring and highest in frogs captured in late summer.     

The effect of hexokinase and tricarboxylic acid-cycle intermediates on fatty acid oxidation and formation of ketone bodies by rat-liver mitochondria

1. The oxidation of butyrate, hexanoate and octanoate by rat-liver mitochondria suspended in a tris-potassium chloride medium in the presence of malate and serum albumin has been investigated. 2. The oxidation of butyrate to acetoacetate was markedly decreased by the addition of a system competitive for ATP (hexokinase-glucose). 3. Serum albumin or tricarboxylic acid-cycle intermediates prevented the inhibition by hexokinase and in their presence a greater proportion of the oxygen consumption was contributed by the tricarboxylic acid cycle. The results suggest that the energy supply for fatty acid activation is either compartmentalized in a spatial or kinetic sense or there exists a special activating mechanism not involving ATP. 4. Malate and other tricarboxylic acid-cycle intermediates caused substantial reduction (to beta-hydroxybutyrate) of the acetoacetate formed during the oxidation of butyrate, hexanoate and octanoate.     

Carryover effects from environmental change in early life: An overlooked driver of the amphibian extinction crisis?

Ecological carryover effects, or delayed effects of the environment on an organism's phenotype, are central predictors of individual fitness and a key issue in conservation biology. Climate change imposes increasingly variable environmental conditions that may be challenging to early life-history stages in animals with complex life histories, leading to detrimental physiological and fitness effects in later life. Yet, the latent nature of carryover effects, combined with the long temporal scales over which they can manifest, means that this phenomenon remains understudied and is often overlooked in short-term studies limited to single life-history stages. Herein, we review evidence for the physiological carryover effects induced by elevated ultraviolet radiation (UVR; 280–400 nm) as a potential contributor to recent amphibian population declines. UVR exposure causes a suite of molecular, cellular and physiological consequences known to underpin carryover effects in other taxa, but there is a lack of research linking embryonic and larval UVR exposures to fitness consequences post-metamorphosis in amphibians. We propose that the key impacts of UVR on disease-related amphibian declines are facilitated through carryover effects that bridge embryonic and larval UVR exposure with potential increased disease susceptibility post-metamorphosis. We conclude by identifying a practical direction for the study of ecological carryover effects in amphibians that could guide future ecological research in the broader field of conservation physiology. Only by addressing carryover effects can many of the mechanistic links between environmental change and population declines be elucidated.     

Enterobacteriaceae and Aeromonas hydrophila in Minnesota frogs and tadpoles (Rana pipiens)

In 222 Rana pipiens frogs and 34 tadpoles captured in and near Minnesota, Aeromonas hydrophila and 29 species of Enterobacteriaceae, including yersinia enterocolitica and Salmonella arizonae, were isolated from intestines. The prevalence of members of the family Enterobacteriaceae was lowest in frogs captured in early spring and highest in frogs captured in late summer.     

Burkholderia pseudomultivorans sp. nov., a novel Burkholderia cepacia complex species from human respiratory samples and the rhizosphere

Eleven Burkholderia cepacia-like isolates of human clinical and environmental origin were examined by a polyphasic approach including recA and 16S rRNA sequence analysis, multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA), DNA base content determination, fatty acid methyl ester analysis, and biochemical characterization. The results of this study demonstrate that these isolates represent a novel species within the B. cepacia complex (Bcc) for which we propose the name Burkholderia pseudomultivorans. The type strain is strain LMG 26883^T (=CCUG 62895^T). B. pseudomultivorans can be differentiated from other Bcc species by recA gene sequence analysis, MLSA, and several biochemical tests including growth at 42 °C, acidification of sucrose and adonitol, lysine decarboxylase and β-galactosidase activity, and esculin hydrolysis.     

Effect of weaning time and associated management practices on postweaning chronic diarrhea in captive rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta)

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to assess the extent to which early weaning and other weaning-management factors affect development of postweaning chronic diarrhea in captive rhesus monkeys at the California Regional Primate Research Center between 1992 and 1995. METHODS: Data for weaning, management, and onset of diarrhea were obtained from daily records. The Cox proportional hazard model was used to assess whether the risk of chronic diarrhea was related to early weaning. RESULTS: Monkeys that were lighter at weaning had a threefold increase in risk of postweaning chronic diarrhea (P = 0.07), compared with that in heavier monkeys. An episode of preweaning diarrhea increased the risk of postweaning chronic diarrhea twofold (P = 0.08). Relocation of monkeys to outdoor facilities in the fall was associated with a fivefold decrease in risk (P < 0.001), compared with that of other seasons, and weaning in 1993 was associated with a twofold decrease in risk, compared with that of other years (P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Multiple factors need to be considered for prevention of postweaning chronic diarrhea, including weaning weight, preweaning diarrhea, season weaned, and weaning conditions that change from year to year.     

Influenza vaccination for immunocompromised patients: systematic review and meta-analysis from a public health policy perspective

Background

Immunocompromised patients are vulnerable to severe or complicated influenza infection. Vaccination is widely recommended for this group. This systematic review and meta-analysis assesses influenza vaccination for immunocompromised patients in terms of preventing influenza-like illness and laboratory confirmed influenza, serological response and adverse events.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Electronic databases and grey literature were searched and records were screened against eligibility criteria. Data extraction and risk of bias assessments were performed in duplicate. Results were synthesised narratively and meta-analyses were conducted where feasible. Heterogeneity was assessed using I² and publication bias was assessed using Begg''s funnel plot and Egger''s regression test. Many of the 209 eligible studies included an unclear or high risk of bias. Meta-analyses showed a significant effect of preventing influenza-like illness (odds ratio [OR] = 0.23; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.16–0.34; p<0.001) and laboratory confirmed influenza infection (OR = 0.15; 95% CI = 0.03–0.63; p = 0.01) through vaccinating immunocompromised patie nts compared to placebo or unvaccinated controls. We found no difference in the odds of influenza-like illness compared to vaccinated immunocompetent controls. The pooled odds of seroconversion were lower in vaccinated patients compared to immunocompetent controls for seasonal influenza A(H1N1), A(H3N2) and B. A similar trend was identified for seroprotection. Meta-analyses of seroconversion showed higher odds in vaccinated patients compared to placebo or unvaccinated controls, although this reached significance for influenza B only. Publication bias was not detected and narrative synthesis supported our findings. No consistent evidence of safety concerns was identified.

Conclusions/Significance

Infection prevention and control strategies should recommend vaccinating immunocompromised patients. Potential for bias and confounding and the presence of heterogeneity mean the evidence reviewed is generally weak, although the directions of effects are consistent. Areas for further research are identified.