Procedures that increase foraging and exploratory behaviours are generally accepted as effective at improving welfare and reducing stereotypies in captive animals. To determine the effect of food and toy enrichment on the behaviour and hormonal levels of maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus), 11 wolves were submitted to a baseline-enrichment-baseline schedule with four enrichment conditions: food scattering, toy presentation, edible toy presentation, and a combination of food and toy conditions. Behaviour and glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations (GCM) were assessed throughout the experiment. Our hypotheses were that enrichment procedures would lead to an increase in activity in the short and long term, a decrease in pacing, and a reduction in GCM concentrations. We also hypothesised that the concentrations of GCM would show a correlation with behaviour. Enrichment conditions increased immediate locomotion but did not produce long-term changes of activity nor reduced pacing. The procedures had a clear effect on individual behaviour and induced, under food enrichment conditions, an increased interest in food. Enrichment did not lead to decreased GCM concentration in the group as a whole, but there was a tendency for male and female animals to differ in hormonal reactions to environmental change. A positive correlation between GCM concentrations and pacing behaviour and a negative correlation between GCM concentrations and social behaviour were found. Results suggest that food scattering as an enrichment procedure may be used with maned wolves to enhance welfare, whilst also revealing the importance of taking individual and gender differences into account when planning enrichment techniques.

Captive bolts or firearms are unsuitable for euthanasia of livestock when an intact brain is required for diagnostics. Injectable barbiturates can be used, but this method carries risk of poisoning animals eating the carcase. Intravenous saturated salt solutions have been used to euthanase heavily sedated ruminants and are cheap, readily available and not a risk to scavenging animals. However, there is concern that they may be painful or cause distress to animals that are not unconscious. This study aimed to determine the suitability of saturated salt solutions, in combination with xylazine, as a method of euthanasia of ruminants using a sheep model. Thirty-two sheep were sedated with xylazine (0.4 mg kg-1 IM) and euthanased with an intravenous overdose of pentobarbitone (PENT; n = 10), saturated potassium chloride (KCL; n = 11) or saturated magnesium sulphate (MGS; n = 10). Time until end of rhythmic breathing and cardiac arrest, and movement events were recorded. Conscious perception of pain was evaluated by measuring cortical brain activity by electroencephalography (EEG). There was no evidence of perceived pain or unpleasant sensory experience for any treatment as indicated by P50, P95 and Ptot and so all methods were deemed humane. Time until transient EEG was comparable for all treatments. Time until onset of isoelectric EEG was prolonged for KCL. Animals euthanased with KCL consistently exhibited severe reflex movements during infusion (eg kicking, convulsion). No severe movement events were observed in animals euthanased with MGS, hence, physiological and movement data support the preferential use of MGS over KCL.

Background: In 2016, the WHO Classification of Brain Tumors included brain invasion as a standalone diagnostic criterion for grade 2 meningioma diagnosis. In this study we explored the impact of this change on the incidence and distribution of meningioma grades. Methods: All cases of meningiomas diagnosed from 2007-2020 at a tertiary care hospital were identified. The distribution of meningioma grades before (WHO 2007) and after (WHO 2016) the introduction of the 2016 WHO criteria were compared. Each case in the 2007 cohort was re-graded according to the 2016 criteria to determine the intra-class correlation (ICC) between grading criteria. Results: Of 814 cases, 532 (65.4%) were in the 2007 WHO cohort and 282 (34.6%) were in the 2016 WHO cohort. There were no differences in the distribution of meningioma grades between cohorts (p=0.11). Upon re-grading, 21 cases (3.9%) were changed. ICC between original and revised grade was 0.92 (95% CIs: 0.91-0.93). Amongst Grade 2 meningiomas with brain invasion, 75.8% had three or more atypical histologic features or an elevated mitotic index. Conclusions: Brain invasion alone has minimal impact on the incidence or distribution of specific meningioma grade tumors, likely due to cosegregation of grade elevating features.

Pathological gambling is characterized in DSM IV-TR as one of the disorders of impulse control. Problem gambling is also part of what is considered behavioural addictions with intrusive thoughts about the game, are spending more and more important to play etc.

The A allele of the 5-HT2A gene (–1438A/G polymorphism) has been associated with anorexia nervosa in four studies, but not in three others. One possibility to explain such a discrepancy is that the A allele acts as a modifying rather than a vulnerability allele. To test this hypothesis, we increased our initial sample of 102 trios [Mol. Psychiatry 7 (2002) 90] with 43 new patients with anorexia nervosa and 98 healthy controls. In addition to confirming the absence of association on the global sample of 145 patients, we found that patients with the A allele had a significantly later age at onset of the disease (P = 0.032). Furthermore, the A allele was also transmitted with an older age at onset (P = 0.023) using a quantitative-trait TDT approach. The A allele may thus act as a modifying factor (delaying onset), potentially explaining variations of allele frequency across samples, in which differences in average age at onset are not only possible, but also expected. Taking into account vulnerability genes, but also genes modifying the expression of the disorder, will help to disentangle the complexity of the etiological factors involved in anorexia nervosa.

The gene coding for the dopamine receptor D3 (DRD3) is considered as a major candidate gene in various addictive disorders. Association studies in alcohol-dependence for this gene are nevertheless controversial. We made the hypothesis that phenotypical heterogeneity of alcohol-dependence (i.e. the DRD3 gene is a vulnerability gene in a specific subgroup of patients only) could explain these spurious findings, focusing on a core dimension of addictive disorders, namely impulsiveness. In our sample of 108 French alcohol-dependent patients, patients above the median value for cognitive impulsiveness (one of the three dimensions of the Barratt scale) were more frequently heterozygous than both alcohol-dependent patients with lower impulsiveness (OR = 2.51, P = 0.019) and than 71 healthy controls (OR = 2.32, P = 0.025). Age at interview, antisocial personality disorder, other comorbid addictive disorder, age at onset of alcohol-dependence, and lifetime mood disorders did not constitute confusing intermediate factors.

Background: Calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) are crucial in metabolism, excitability and neuroglial plasticity. Our aim was to evaluate whether Mg (20 mg/kg) or Ca (100 mg/kg) could improve the memory prognosis in the kainic model of mesial temporal epilepsy. Methods: Seizures were induced by systemic injection of kainate (8mg/kg) and mice were then treated by ions every 48 hours. A placebo (physiological solution) replaced kainate or ions in specific groups. Six cohorts were studied for seven weeks: control group (G0: no kainate and no ion, only placebo); untreated reference group (GR: kainate and then placebo); G1 groups were treated from the third day (G1m, G1c: kainate and then Mg/Ca); G2 groups were treated from the third week (G2m, G2c: kainate and then Mg/Ca). Radial maze and a classic maze were used for cognition evaluation. Results: The memory (short/long term) was differently affected by kainate or improved by Mg/Ca. The treated groups performed better than GR mice, but Mg was more effective. In addition, Mg demonstrated an increasing therapeutic effect over time while Ca showed an acute and apparently decreasing action in the G1c group. Conclusions: Mg should be considered for a clinical evaluation of its effect on epileptic disorders.

Tricuspid valvectomy is a rare surgical intervention, and knowledge regarding long-term outcome in children is lacking. We report a favourable outcome 11 years after tricuspid valvectomy in early infancy without subsequent surgery or other cardiac interventions. Specific criteria for timing of re-intervention are lacking. Application of adult tricuspid and pulmonary regurgitation recommendations is helpful but has limitations.

We evaluate the utility of the National Surveys of Attitudes and Sexual Lifestyles (Natsal) undertaken in 2000 and 2010, before and after the introduction of the National Chlamydia Screening Programme, as an evidence source for estimating the change in prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) in England, Scotland and Wales. Both the 2000 and 2010 surveys tested urine samples for CT by Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests (NAATs). We examined the sources of uncertainty in estimates of CT prevalence change, including sample size and adjustments for test sensitivity and specificity, survey non-response and informative non-response. In 2000, the unadjusted CT prevalence was 4.22% in women aged 18–24 years; in 2010, CT prevalence was 3.92%, a non-significant absolute difference of 0.30 percentage points (95% credible interval −2.8 to 2.0). In addition to uncertainty due to small sample size, estimates were sensitive to specificity, survey non-response or informative non-response, such that plausible changes in any one of these would be enough to either reverse or double any likely change in prevalence. Alternative ways of monitoring changes in CT incidence and prevalence over time are discussed.

In this paper, a finite difference algorithm using a three-layer approximation for the vertical flow region to solve the 2D Euler equations is considered. In this algorithm, the pressure is split into hydrostatic and hydrodynamic parts, and the predictor-corrector procedure is applied. In the predictor step, the momentum hydrostatic model is formulated. In the corrector step, the hydrodynamic pressure is accommodated after solving the Laplace equation using the Successive Over Relaxation (SOR) iteration method. The resulting algorithm is first tested to simulate a standing wave over an intermediate constant depth. Dispersion relation of the scheme is derived, and it is shown to agree with the analytical dispersion relation for kd < π with 94% accuracy. The second test case is a solitary wave simulation. Our computed solitary wave propagates with constant velocity, undisturbed in shape, and confirm the analytical solitary wave. Finally, the scheme is tested to simulate the appearance of the undular bore. The result shows a good agreement with the result from the finite volume scheme for the Boussinesq-type model by Soares-Frazão and Guinot (2008).

Maser observations of both linearly and circularly polarized emission have provided unique information on the magnetic field in the densest parts of star forming regions, where non-maser magnetic field tracers are scarce. While linear polarization observations provide morphological constraints, magnetic field strengths are determined by measuring the Zeeman splitting in circularly polarized emission. Methanol is of special interest as it is one of the most abundant maser species and its different transitions probe unique areas around the protostar. However, its precise Zeeman-parameters are unknown. Experimental efforts to determine these Zeeman-parameters have failed. Here we present quantum-chemical calculations of the Zeeman-parameters of methanol, along with calculations of the hyperfine structure that are necessary to interpret the Zeeman effect in methanol. We use this model in re-analyzing methanol maser polarization observations. We discuss different mechanisms for hyperfine-state preference in the pumping of torsion-rotation transitions involved in the maser-action.