1,720,979 research outputs found
Characterization of Mycoplasma spp. and Salmonella spp. in griffon vultures and wild tortoises housed in a wildlife recovery centre in Sardinia
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Non-invasive Assay for Measurement of Fecal Triiodothyronine (T3) Metabolite Levels in European Mouflon (Ovis aries musimon)
Full text linkThyroid hormones (THs) are important indicators of metabolism and animal health. Traditionally, they have been determined from blood or urine samples. However, as their collection may be stressful and requires ethical approval, alternative non-invasive matrices are preferred when dealing with wild animals. Triiodothyronine (T3) is the active form of THs in blood and the major metabolite excreted in feces. This creates the ideal conditions for its assay in fecal samples. Fecal sampling eliminates the stress of the animals and the need to physically capture them. However, in wild species it is rare to find species-specific kits for the hormone assay. So, the objective of this work was to validate a method for the quantification of T3 metabolite (FTM) levels in feces of European mouflon by using an economic and easily available ELISA kit designed to quantify T3 in human plasma. Analytical and biological validations were performed in feces collected from 10 mouflons (5 ewes and 5 rams). An efficient liquid-extraction method was optimized. Precision, dilution linearity, parallelism, recovery and stability of T3 in fecal samples were calculated. Obtained data were considered acceptable according to international guidelines. The reliability of the results was verified comparing human plasma and mouflon fecal samples fortified with the same T3 standard solutions. The biological validation showed higher FTM levels in March compared to June, and no differences between mouflon ewes and rams. The validation of the present method provides a non-invasive and affordable tool for the quantification of FTM in European mouflon
Combination of retinography and RFID (Rtn+EID) for an advanced imaging identification in mouflons (Ovis orientalis musimon, Gmelin, 1774).
No full textReference about retinographic peculiarities in mouflons lack important descriptions of specific pictures normally used nowadays as a fine tool in neurophtalmic semiology in many animal species. A total of 30 mouflons, firstly electronically identified by means of transponders HDX 134.2 kHz, ISO 11784-11785 contained in endoruminal ceramic boluses (75 g. 70x21 mm RUMITAG bolus®), were investigated by 12 retinographies (Kowa RC–2 retinograph fundus camera con Kodak Elitechrome film, 100 asa) on both eyes, after 2 - 3 drops of tropicamide (Visumidriatic 0,5%) to allow adequate pupil dilation. The detection and record of transponder’s electronic code (EIC) were performed by a handy reader (static reading) and by a fixed reader (dynamic reading), together with real time download on a notebook of transponder’s electronic codes. As far as vascularization, retinographic pictures were characterized by the presence of 3 main arteries: one emerges from the papilla following a dorsal direction; 2 follow lateral directions and veins behave as satellites of arteries, often twisted to the correspondent artery. The retinographic pictures observed, as emergence, number, pathways and distribution, according to the respective topographic relationships of vessels in the fundus of the eye, allowed to recognize for each single mouflon one own individual retinographic picture as a biologically originated fingerprint for the identification of each animal. The integrated system (retinography & RFID) opens interesting fields of investigation for future chances of development of new softwares in the Advanced Imaging Technology that is increasing for human applications and that will presumably involve also the animal sector in the next years
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Genetic analysis of griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus) living in sardinia: a preliminary study
No full textSigns of Ovine Pulmonary Adenomatosis virus (JSRV) in milk and blood samples from wild mouflons
No full textImproving delivery and offspring viability of in vitro-produced and cloned sheep embryos
No full textAlthough the potential use of reproductive biotechnologies for safeguarding endangered wildlife species is undoubted, practical efforts have met with limited success to date. In those instances in which modern technologies have been adapted to rescuing rare or endangered species, procedures have been applied piecemeal, and no consistent breeding program based on reproductive biotechnologies has been undertaken. Here we describe for the first time the rescue of an endangered species, the European mouflon (Ovis orientalis musimon), by the application of an integrated package of reproductive biotechnologies. This genetic management extended from the initial collection of gametes, through the in vitro production of embryos and interspecific transfer, to the birth of healthy mouflon offspring. In addition, a genetic resource bank for the European mouflon was established, with cryopreserved sperm, embryos, and somatic cells.[...
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