Abstract
The native red squirrel
S
ciurus vulgaris
population in
B
ritain has been on the decline for many years. A poxvirus associated with the introduced American grey squirrel
S
. carolinensis
has ...been recognized as having a major role in the reduction of red squirrel numbers by causing a deleterious disease, known as squirrelpox, from which they seldom recover. In
I
reland, red squirrel numbers have also been reducing while the grey squirrel population, first introduced in 1911, has been expanding. Until now, no poxvirus‐associated disease had been found in
I
rish red squirrels and therefore, the role of squirrelpox in the displacement of red squirrels by grey squirrels in
I
reland has been questioned. Here we report, for the first time, confirmed squirrelpox disease in two populations of red squirrels in
N
orthern
I
reland. In addition, we present serological evidence of the extent of poxvirus infection in the grey squirrels from both the
R
epublic of
I
reland and
N
orthern
I
reland, including an apparent increase in the seroprevalence of antibodies against the virus in grey squirrels over the period of the study, and discuss the implications of our findings for the conservation tactics employed to protect red squirrels.
This study investigated the influence of early spontaneous intermittent reperfusion on the extent of myocardial damage and its relation to endogenous hemostatic activity.
In the early phase of acute ...myocardial infarction coronary occlusion is often intermittent, even before thrombolytic therapy is administered. The relation between this phenomenon, myocardial damage and hemostatic activity is unknown.
Holter ST segment recording and pretreatment plasma tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) antigen, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) antigen, prothrombin fragment F1 + 2 and soluble fibrin levels were measured in 57 patients with acute evolving myocardial infarction. Spontaneous intermittent myocardial reperfusion, defined as two or more episodes of transient resolution of ST segment elevation to within 0.05 mV of baseline, lasting ≥1 min, before the start of recombinant t-PA (rt-PA) treatment was present in 28 patients (group 1) and absent in 29 (group 2). Left ventriculography and coronary angiography were performed 90 min after intravenous rt-PA administration. Plasma creatine kinase-MB fraction (CK-MB) levels were measured every 6 h for 24 h, and C-reactive protein levels were measured daily for 3 days.
Group 1 had lower peak plasma CK-MB (141.9 ± 28.3 vs. 203.8 ± 23.3 IU/liter mean ± SEM, p < 0.014) and C-reactive protein levels (16 ± 4 vs. 28 ± 4 mg/liter on day 1; 26.6 ± 5.5 vs. 61.8 ± 14.4 mg/liter on day 2; 19.6 ± 4.2 vs. 40.6 ± 6.5 mg/liter on day 3, p < 0.012) and a higher left ventricular ejection fraction (62.9 ± 4 vs. 51.1 ± 5%, p < 0.04) than group 2. Group 1 had lower plasma t-PA antigen levels (15.6 vs. 27 μ/liter, p < 0.006) but higher prothrombin fragment F1 + 2 (1.8 vs. 1.1 nmol/liter, p < 0.003) and soluble fibrin levels (66.8 vs. 31 nmol/liter, p < 0.01). Coronary patency at 90 min was similar.
Early spontaneous intermittent reperfusion during acute myocardial infarction is associated with augmented thrombogenic activity and less subsequent myocardial damage. This finding is consistent with a protective effect of intermittency on the myocardium and a procoagulant effect of spontaneous lysis on blood. It may also reflect a different rate of evolution of coronary thrombosis and myocardial infarction in patients with and those without spontaneous intermittent myocardial reperfusion.
: There is much to be gained from examining human diseases within the expanding framework of Darwinian medicine. This is particularly true of those conditions that change in frequency as populations ...develop from the human "environment of evolutionary adaptedness" to the living conditions of the rich industrialized countries. This development entails major changes in lifestyle, leading to reductions in contact with environmental microorganisms and helminths that have evolved a physiologic role as drivers of immunoregulatory circuits. It is suggested that a deficit in immunoregulation in rich countries is contributing not only to increases in the incidence of allergic disorders but also to increases in other chronic inflammatory conditions that are exacerbated by a failure to terminate inappropriate inflammatory reponses. These include autoimmunity, neuroinflammatory disorders, atherosclerosis, depression associated with raised inflammatory cytokines, and some cancers.
An overview of the regional water quality of rivers draining into the North Sea, based on the first findings of the Land Ocean Interaction Study (LOIS), sets the findings within a contemporary and ...historical setting. Attention is focused on future avenues of enquiry linking scientific research and environmental management within a framework for safeguarding and improving UK rivers and coastal environments.
Prior upper body exercise reduces the curvature constant (W') of the hyperbolic power-duration relationship without affecting critical power. This study tested the hypothesis that prior upper body ...exercise reduces the work done over the end-test power (WEP; analog of W') during a 3-min all-out cycling test (3MT) without affecting the end-test power (EP; analog of critical power).
Ten endurance-trained men (V˙O2max = 62 ± 5 mL·kg·min) performed a 3MT without (CYC) and with (ARM-CYC) prior severe-intensity, intermittent upper body exercise. EP was calculated as the mean power output over the last 30 s of the 3MT, whereas WEP was calculated as the power-time integral above EP.
At the start of the 3MT, plasma La (1.8 ± 0.4 vs 14.1 ± 3.4 mmol·L) and H (42.8 ± 3.1 vs 58.6 ± 5.5 nmol·L) were higher, whereas the strong ion difference (41.4 ± 2.2 vs 30.9 ± 4.6 mmol·L) and HCO3 (27.0 ± 1.9 vs 16.9 ± 3.2 mmol·L) were lower during ARM-CYC than CYC (P < 0.010). EP was 12% lower during the 3MT of ARM-CYC (298 ± 52 W) than CYC (338 ± 60 W; P < 0.001), whereas WEP was not different (CYC: 12.8 ± 3.3 kJ vs ARM-CYC: 13.5 ± 4.1 kJ, P = 0.312). EP in CYC was positively correlated with the peak H (r = 0.78, P = 0008) and negatively correlated with the lowest HCO3 (r = -0.74, P = 0.015).
These results suggest that EP during a 3MT in endurance-trained men is sensitive to fatigue-related ionic perturbation.
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