Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year(sorted descending) Filter | PMID Filter |
|---|
| cross-species transmission of canine distemper virus-an update. | canine distemper virus (cdv) is a pantropic morbillivirus with a worldwide distribution, which causes fatal disease in dogs. affected animals develop dyspnea, diarrhea, neurological signs and profound immunosuppression. systemic cdv infection, resembling distemper in domestic dogs, can be found also in wild canids (e.g. wolves, foxes), procyonids (e.g. raccoons, kinkajous), ailurids (e.g. red pandas), ursids (e.g. black bears, giant pandas), mustelids (e.g. ferrets, minks), viverrids (e.g. civet ... | 2015 | 28616465 |
| histologic examination of teeth with necrotic pulps and periapical lesions treated with 2 scaffolds: an animal investigation. | traditional pulp regeneration procedures that use a blood clot as a scaffold have produced histologic evidence of bone, cementum, and connective tissue growth within the root. platelet-rich plasma (prp) is a bioactive scaffold containing growth factors that enhance wound healing. | 2015 | 25749255 |
| spatial interactions between sympatric carnivores: asymmetric avoidance of an intraguild predator. | interactions between intraguild species that act as both competitors and predator-prey can be especially complex. we studied patterns of space use by the black-footed ferret (mustela nigripes), a prairie dog (cynomys spp.) specialist, and the american badger (taxidea taxus), a larger generalist carnivore that competes for prairie dogs and is known to kill ferrets. we expected that ferrets would spatially avoid badgers because of the risk of predation, that these patterns of avoidance might diffe ... | 2015 | 26306165 |
| effect of dietary vitamin e and prey supplementation on semen quality in male black-footed ferrets (mustela nigripes). | over the recent years, the captive population of the endangered black-footed ferret (mustela nigripes; ferret) has experienced a decline in normal sperm (ns) morphology (from 50% to 16%), which may be linked to inbreeding depression or it may have been a dietary change. we examined the role of dietary vitamin e, selenium (se), and vitamin a on serum levels of vitamin e, se, and vitamin a and semen quality. ferrets (n = 55 males) were randomly assigned to one of five diet treatments (n = 11 per t ... | 2015 | 25890779 |
| flexible gastrointestinal endoscopy in ferrets (mustela putorius furo). | gastrointestinal disease is a common complaint in ferrets (mustela putorius furo). their relatively simple and short gastrointestinal tract makes them good candidates for flexible endoscopy. however, apart from a few references in biomedical research articles, there is little information on the use of flexible endoscopy in ferrets. this review describes patient preparation, equipment, and select gastrointestinal endoscopy techniques in ferrets, including esophagoscopy, gastroscopy, duodenoscopy, ... | 2015 | 26335999 |
| cervical chordoma in a domestic ferret (mustela putorius furo) with pulmonary metastasis. | a 4-year-old, male neutered domestic ferret (mustela putorius furo) was evaluated for a mass in the left cervical region. the owner elected humane euthanasia, and an autopsy was performed, revealing a neoplasm with infiltration into the left cranial articular fovea of the atlas and cervical vertebrae, with regional compression of the spinal cord. histologic evaluation was consistent with cervical chordoma. at autopsy, a left cranial lung lobe nodule was observed. additional sectioning and histol ... | 2015 | 26330397 |
| first case of systemic coronavirus infection in a domestic ferret (mustela putorius furo) in peru. | a domestic ferret from lima, peru, died after ten days of non-specific clinical signs. based on pathology, immunohistochemistry and molecular analysis, ferret systemic coronavirus (frscv)-associated disease was diagnosed for the first time in south america. this report highlights the potential spread of pathogens by the international pet trade. | 2015 | 26301572 |
| hematology of the domestic ferret (mustela putorius furo). | pet ferrets are presented to veterinary clinics for routine care and treatment of clinical diseases and female reproductive problems. in addition to obtaining clinical history, additional diagnostic testing may be required, including hematological assessments. this article describes common blood collection methods, including venipuncture sites, volume of blood that can be safely collected, and handling of the blood. hematological parameters for normal ferrets are provided along with a descriptio ... | 2015 | 26297407 |
| transient diabetes mellitus in a domestic ferret (mustela putorius furo). | a 3.5-year-old spayed female ferret, fed a diet high in refined sugar, was referred for lethargy, polyuria, polydipsia, and polyphagia. diabetic ketoacidosis was diagnosed. treatment included insulin therapy and a low carbohydrate diet. diabetes mellitus resolved 54 d later, and insulin therapy was discontinued. there has been no recurrence of the diabetes mellitus. | 2015 | 26130836 |
| is the ferret a suitable species for studying perinatal brain injury? | complications of prematurity often disrupt normal brain development and/or cause direct damage to the developing brain, resulting in poor neurodevelopmental outcomes. physiologically relevant animal models of perinatal brain injury can advance our understanding of these influences and thereby provide opportunities to develop therapies and improve long-term outcomes. while there are advantages to currently available small animal models, there are also significant drawbacks that have limited trans ... | 2015 | 26102988 |
| male prevalent enhancement of leftward asymmetric development of the cerebellar cortex in ferrets (mustela putorius). | the present study was conducted in mri-based volumetry to characterize the sexual dimorphism of the cerebellum in young adult ferrets. high spatial resolution 3d anatomical mri at 7-tesla were acquired ex vivo from fixed cerebella of 90-day-old male and female ferrets. the 3d morphology and topology of cerebellar structures were reproduced well by volume-rendered images obtained from mri. volume of the whole cerebellum was significantly larger in males than in females. the cerebellar cortex was ... | 2015 | 26102223 |
| crossmodal integration improves sensory detection thresholds in the ferret. | during the last two decades ferrets (mustela putorius) have been established as a highly efficient animal model in different fields in neuroscience. here we asked whether ferrets integrate sensory information according to the same principles established for other species. since only few methods and protocols are available for behaving ferrets we developed a head-free, body-restrained approach allowing a standardized stimulation position and the utilization of the ferret's natural response behavi ... | 2015 | 25970327 |
| systemic coronaviral disease in 5 ferrets. | the prevalence of reported systemic coronaviral disease in ferrets (mustela putorius furo), which resembles the dry form of feline infectious peritonitis, has been increasing in the literature since its initial diagnosis and characterization approximately 10 y ago. here we describe the clinical signs, pathologic findings, and diagnosis by immunohistochemistry using an fipv3-70 monoclonal antibody of systemic coronaviral disease in 5 ferrets, 2 of which were strictly laboratory-housed; the remain ... | 2015 | 26678368 |
| increasing spontaneous retinal activity before eye opening accelerates the development of geniculate receptive fields. | visually evoked activity is necessary for the normal development of the visual system. however, little is known about the capacity for patterned spontaneous activity to drive the maturation of receptive fields before visual experience. retinal waves provide instructive retinotopic information for the anatomical organization of the visual thalamus. to determine whether retinal waves also drive the maturation of functional responses, we increased the frequency of retinal waves pharmacologically in ... | 2015 | 26511250 |
| [the first report of a disseminated idiopathic myofasciitis in a ferret (mustela putorius furo) from germany]. | a 1.5 year old neutered male pet ferret (mustela putorius furo) was presented with a sudden onset of severe weakness. the ferret was kept with three healthy mates, was vaccinated against distemper regularly and was never ill before presentation. clinically, the ferret was depressed, had a hyperthermia of 40.3 degrees c, tachypnea and ocular as well as nasal discharge. blood work revealed a mild neutropenia, blood chemistry a hyperglycemia, hyperbilirubinemia, hypoproteinemia, hypoalbuminemia, hy ... | 2015 | 25876287 |
| cortico-cortical connectivity within ferret auditory cortex. | despite numerous studies of auditory cortical processing in the ferret (mustela putorius), very little is known about the connections between the different regions of the auditory cortex that have been characterized cytoarchitectonically and physiologically. we examined the distribution of retrograde and anterograde labeling after injecting tracers into one or more regions of ferret auditory cortex. injections of different tracers at frequency-matched locations in the core areas, the primary aud ... | 2015 | 25845831 |
| awake vs. anesthetized: layer-specific sensory processing in visual cortex and functional connectivity between cortical areas. | during general anesthesia, global brain activity and behavioral state are profoundly altered. yet it remains mostly unknown how anesthetics alter sensory processing across cortical layers and modulate functional cortico-cortical connectivity. to address this gap in knowledge of the micro- and mesoscale effects of anesthetics on sensory processing in the cortical microcircuit, we recorded multiunit activity and local field potential in awake and anesthetized ferrets (mustela putoris furo) during ... | 2015 | 25833839 |
| constant rate infusion of glucagon as an emergency treatment for hypoglycemia in a domestic ferret (mustela putorius furo). | a 3-year-old female domestic ferret (mustela putorius furo) with an insulinoma was treated because of a hypoglycemic crisis prior to scheduled pancreatectomy with concurrent nodulectomy. | 2015 | 25632820 |
| hematology of the domestic ferret (mustela putorius furo). | pet ferrets are presented to veterinary clinics for routine care and treatment of clinical diseases and female reproductive problems. in addition to obtaining clinical history, additional diagnostic testing may be required, including hematological assessments. this article describes common blood collection methods, including venipuncture sites, volume of blood that can be safely collected, and handling of the blood. hematological parameters for normal ferrets are provided along with a descriptio ... | 2015 | 25421021 |
| relationship between haemagglutination inhibition titre and immunity to influenza in ferrets. | our understanding of the antigenic evolution of the human influenza virus is chiefly derived from experiments in which serum from influenza infected ferrets is tested against panels of virus isolates in the haemagglutination inhibition (hi) assay. the interpretation of these results has been much aided by the development of antigenic mapping techniques, which suppose that the antigenic distance between two different influenza viruses is directly proportional to their fold-difference in titre in ... | 2015 | 26342848 |
| overexpression of serum response factor in neurons restores ocular dominance plasticity in a model of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. | deficits in neuronal plasticity underlie many neurobehavioral and cognitive problems presented in fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (fasd). our laboratory has developed a ferret model showing that early alcohol exposure leads to a persistent disruption in ocular dominance plasticity (odp). for instance, a few days of monocular deprivation results in a robust reduction of visual cortex neurons' responsiveness to stimulation of the deprived eye in normal animals, but not in ferrets with early alcoho ... | 2015 | 26342644 |
| a dunnione compound mb12662 improves cisplatin-induced tissue injury and emesis. | the present study was aimed to investigate the effects of mb12662, a synthetic dunnione compound, on cisplatin-induced vomiting reflexes and intestinal, renal, immune system, and hematopoietic toxicities in ferrets and mice, respectively. male icr mice were orally administered mb12662 (5, 10, 25 or 50 mg/kg) for 10 days, during which intraperitoneally challenged with cisplatin (3.5 mg/kg) from day 4 to 7, and sacrificed on day 10 for the pathological examination. male ferrets were orally adminis ... | 2015 | 26336585 |
| brain oxygen tension controls the expansion of outer subventricular zone-like basal progenitors in the developing mouse brain. | the mammalian neocortex shows a conserved six-layered structure that differs between species in the total number of cortical neurons produced owing to differences in the relative abundance of distinct progenitor populations. recent studies have identified a new class of proliferative neurogenic cells in the outer subventricular zone (osvz) in gyrencephalic species such as primates and ferrets. lissencephalic brains of mice possess fewer osvz-like progenitor cells and these do not constitute a di ... | 2015 | 26329599 |
| long-term contraception in a small implant: a review of suprelorin (deslorelin) studies in cats. | deslorelin (suprelorin®; virbac) is a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (gnrh) agonist licensed in select countries for the long-term suppression of fertility in adult male dogs and male ferrets. this article summarizes studies investigating the use of deslorelin implants for the long-term suppression of fertility in male and female domestic cats. | 2015 | 26323800 |
| innate immunity and the inter-exposure interval determine the dynamics of secondary influenza virus infection and explain observed viral hierarchies. | influenza is an infectious disease that primarily attacks the respiratory system. innate immunity provides both a very early defense to influenza virus invasion and an effective control of viral growth. previous modelling studies of virus-innate immune response interactions have focused on infection with a single virus and, while improving our understanding of viral and immune dynamics, have been unable to effectively evaluate the relative feasibility of different hypothesised mechanisms of anti ... | 2015 | 26284917 |
| imaging the dynamics of mammalian neocortical population activity in-vivo. | neural computations underlying sensory perception, cognition and motor control are performed by populations of neurons at different anatomical and temporal scales. few techniques are currently available for exploring dynamics of local and large range populations. voltage-sensitive dye imaging (vsdi) reveals neural population activity in areas ranging from a few tens of microns to a couple of centimeters, or two areas up to ~10 cm apart. vsdi provides a sub-millisecond temporal resolution, and a ... | 2015 | 26238056 |
| oseltamivir inhibits influenza virus replication and transmission following ocular-only aerosol inoculation of ferrets. | ocular exposure to influenza virus represents an alternate route of virus entry capable of establishing a respiratory infection in mammals, but the effectiveness of currently available antiviral treatments to limit virus replication within ocular tissue or inhibit virus spread from ocular sites to the respiratory tract is poorly understood. using an inoculation method that delivers an aerosol inoculum exclusively to the ocular surface, we demonstrate that oral oseltamivir administration followin ... | 2015 | 26142497 |
| computer-aided pulmonary image analysis in small animal models. | to develop an automated pulmonary image analysis framework for infectious lung diseases in small animal models. | 2015 | 26133591 |
| animal models for influenza virus transmission studies: a historical perspective. | animal models are used to simulate, under experimental conditions, the complex interactions among host, virus, and environment that affect the person-to-person spread of influenza viruses. the three species that have been most frequently employed, both past and present, as influenza virus transmission models-ferrets, mice, and guinea pigs-have each provided unique insights into the factors governing the efficiency with which these viruses pass from an infected host to a susceptible one. this rev ... | 2015 | 26126082 |
| video otoscopy in exotic companion mammals. | ear disease is a common disorder seen in exotic companion mammals, especially in ferrets, rabbits, and rats. this article describes patient preparation, equipment, and video otoscopy technique in exotic companion mammals. this noninvasive technique facilitates accurate diagnosis of diseases affecting the external ear canal or middle ear. moreover, therapeutic otoscopic evaluation of the external ear facilitates foreign body removal, external ear canal flushing, intralesional drug administration, ... | 2015 | 26117517 |
| multi-dimensional measurement of antibody-mediated heterosubtypic immunity to influenza. | the human immune response to influenza vaccination depends in part on preexisting cross-reactive (heterosubtypic) immunity from previous infection by, and/or vaccination with, influenza strains that share antigenic determinants with the vaccine strains. however, current methods for assessing heterosubtypic antibody responses against influenza, including the hemagglutination-inhibition (hai) assay and elisa, are time and labor intensive, and require moderate amounts of serum and reagents. to addr ... | 2015 | 26103163 |
| auditory gap-in-noise detection behavior in ferrets and humans. | the precise encoding of temporal features of auditory stimuli by the mammalian auditory system is critical to the perception of biologically important sounds, including vocalizations, speech, and music. in this study, auditory gap-detection behavior was evaluated in adult pigmented ferrets (mustelid putorius furo) using bandpassed stimuli designed to widely sample the ferret's behavioral and physiological audiogram. animals were tested under positive operant conditioning, with psychometric funct ... | 2015 | 26052794 |
| rapid task-related plasticity of spectrotemporal receptive fields in the auditory midbrain. | previous research has demonstrated that auditory cortical neurons can modify their receptive fields when animals engage in auditory detection tasks. we tested for this form of task-related plasticity in the inferior colliculus (ic) of ferrets trained to detect a pure tone target in a sequence of noise distractors that did not overlap in time. during behavior, responses were suppressed at the target tone frequency in approximately half of ic neurons relative to the passive state. this suppression ... | 2015 | 26400939 |
| a modern syllogistic method in intuitionistic fuzzy logic with realistic tautology. | the modern syllogistic method (msm) of propositional logic ferrets out from a set of premises all that can be concluded from it in the most compact form. the msm combines the premises into a single function equated to 1 and then produces the complete product of this function. two fuzzy versions of msm are developed in ordinary fuzzy logic (ofl) and in intuitionistic fuzzy logic (ifl) with these logics augmented by the concept of realistic fuzzy tautology (rft) which is a variable whose truth exc ... | 2015 | 26380357 |
| the essential complexity of auditory receptive fields. | encoding properties of sensory neurons are commonly modeled using linear finite impulse response (fir) filters. for the auditory system, the fir filter is instantiated in the spectro-temporal receptive field (strf), often in the framework of the generalized linear model. despite widespread use of the fir strf, numerous formulations for linear filters are possible that require many fewer parameters, potentially permitting more efficient and accurate model estimates. to explore these alternative s ... | 2015 | 26683490 |
| modular representation of luminance polarity in the superficial layers of primary visual cortex. | the spatial arrangement of luminance increments (on) and decrements (off) falling on the retina provides a wealth of information used by central visual pathways to construct coherent representations of visual scenes. but how the polarity of luminance change is represented in the activity of cortical circuits remains unclear. using wide-field epifluorescence and two-photon imaging we demonstrate a robust modular representation of luminance polarity (on or off) in the superficial layers of ferret ... | 2015 | 26590348 |
| a division of light and dark in the visual cortex. | the fate of on-off receptive field segregation in the visual cortex has long eluded scrutiny. in this issue of neuron, smith et al. (2015) now reveal the intricate relationship between luminance polarity and orientation selectivity in the upper layers of ferret visual cortex. | 2015 | 26590338 |
| crispr/cas9-mediated genome engineering of the ferret. | 2015 | 26565559 | |
| civility in scientific publishing: the glyphosate paper. | in recent years, we have witnessed a decline in civility in the public arena when various socially sensitive issues are being presented. those of us engaged in the publishing of scientific papers and in our comments on these papers, need to be cognizant of the social graces, courteous demeanor, and chivalry. debates are essential to our learning and in being able to ferret out the essentials of various scientific issues that are of value. because of the amount of time and effort connected with a ... | 2015 | 26543672 |
| reconstruction of audio waveforms from spike trains of artificial cochlea models. | spiking cochlea models describe the analog processing and spike generation process within the biological cochlea. reconstructing the audio input from the artificial cochlea spikes is therefore useful for understanding the fidelity of the information preserved in the spikes. the reconstruction process is challenging particularly for spikes from the mixed signal (analog/digital) integrated circuit (ic) cochleas because of multiple non-linearities in the model and the additional variance caused by ... | 2015 | 26528113 |
| neuronal migration dynamics in the developing ferret cortex. | during mammalian neocortical development, newborn excitatory and inhibitory neurons must migrate over long distances to reach their final positions within the cortical plate. in the lissencephalic rodent brain, pyramidal neurons are born in the ventricular and subventricular zones of the pallium and migrate along radial glia fibers to reach the appropriate cortical layer. although much less is known about neuronal migration in species with a gyrencephalic cortex, retroviral studies in the ferret ... | 2015 | 26490868 |
| pathophysiological analyses of cortical malformation using gyrencephalic mammals. | one of the most prominent features of the cerebral cortex of higher mammals is the presence of gyri. because malformations of the cortical gyri are associated with severe disability in brain function, the mechanisms underlying malformations of the cortical gyri have been of great interest. combining gyrencephalic carnivore ferrets and genetic manipulations using in utero electroporation, here we successfully recapitulated the cortical phenotypes of thanatophoric dysplasia (td) by expressing fibr ... | 2015 | 26482531 |
| visually evoked spiking evolves while spontaneous ongoing dynamics persist. | neurons in the primary visual cortex spontaneously spike even when there are no visual stimuli. it is unknown whether the spiking evoked by visual stimuli is just a modification of the spontaneous ongoing cortical spiking dynamics or whether the spontaneous spiking state disappears and is replaced by evoked spiking. this study of laminar recordings of spontaneous spiking and visually evoked spiking of neurons in the ferret primary visual cortex shows that the spiking dynamics does not change: th ... | 2015 | 26778982 |
| statistical frequency-dependent analysis of trial-to-trial variability in single time series by recurrence plots. | for decades, research in neuroscience has supported the hypothesis that brain dynamics exhibits recurrent metastable states connected by transients, which together encode fundamental neural information processing. to understand the system's dynamics it is important to detect such recurrence domains, but it is challenging to extract them from experimental neuroscience datasets due to the large trial-to-trial variability. the proposed methodology extracts recurrent metastable states in univariate ... | 2015 | 26834580 |
| initiation of teeth from the dental lamina in the ferret. | mammalian tooth development is characterized by formation of primary teeth that belong to different tooth classes and are later replaced by a single set of permanent teeth. the first primary teeth are initiated from the primary dental lamina, and the replacement teeth from the successional dental lamina at the lingual side of the primary teeth. an interdental lamina connects the primary tooth germs together. most mammalian tooth development research is done on mouse, which does not have teeth in ... | 2014 | 24393477 |
| organization and cellular arrangement of two neurogenic regions in the adult ferret (mustela putorius furo) brain. | in the adult mammalian brain, two neurogenic regions have been characterized, the subventricular zone (svz) of the lateral ventricle (lv) and the subgranular zone (sgz) of the dentate gyrus (dg). despite remarkable knowledge of rodents, the detailed arrangement of neurogenic regions in most mammals is poorly understood. in this study, we used immunohistochemistry and cell type-specific antibodies to investigate the organization of two germinal regions in the adult ferret, which belongs to the or ... | 2014 | 24214369 |
| the draft genome sequence of the ferret (mustela putorius furo) facilitates study of human respiratory disease. | the domestic ferret (mustela putorius furo) is an important animal model for multiple human respiratory diseases. it is considered the 'gold standard' for modeling human influenza virus infection and transmission. here we describe the 2.41 gb draft genome assembly of the domestic ferret, constituting 2.28 gb of sequence plus gaps. we annotated 19,910 protein-coding genes on this assembly using rna-seq data from 21 ferret tissues. we characterized the ferret host response to two influenza virus i ... | 2014 | 25402615 |
| comparison of a human portable glucometer and an automated chemistry analyzer for measurement of blood glucose concentration in pet ferrets (mustela putorius furo). | this study compared blood glucose concentrations measured with a portable blood glucometer and a validated laboratory analyzer in venous blood samples of 20 pet ferrets (mustela putorius furo). correlation and agreement were evaluated with a bland-altman plot method and lin's concordance correlation coefficient. blood glucose concentrations measured with the laboratory analyzer and the glucometer ranged from 1.9 to 8.6 mmol/l and from 0.9 to 9.2 mmol/l, respectively. the glucometer had a poor ag ... | 2014 | 25183894 |
| ferret nutrition. | the domestic ferret (mustela putorious furo) is a strict carnivore, also referred to as an obligate carnivore. its dentition and gastrointestinal tract are adapted to a carnivorous diet. its ancestor, the european polecat (mustela putorius), feeds on birds and other small vertebrates. domesticated ferrets have been fed mink feeds, cat foods, and now mostly subsist on commercial ferret diets formulated specifically to meet their needs. | 2014 | 25155665 |
| suspected primary hypoparathyroidism in a domestic ferret (mustela putorius furo). | a 4-year-old castrated male domestic ferret (mustela putorius furo) was examined because of a 3-week history of intermittent seizures, signs of depression, hypocalcemia, and hyperphosphatemia. | 2014 | 25075826 |
| molecular investigations of the brain of higher mammals using gyrencephalic carnivore ferrets. | the brains of mammals such as carnivores and primates contain developed structures not found in the brains of mice. uncovering the physiological importance, developmental mechanisms and evolution of these structures using carnivores and primates would greatly contribute to our understanding of the human brain and its diseases. although the anatomical and physiological properties of the brains of carnivores and primates have been intensively examined, molecular investigations are still limited. r ... | 2014 | 24983876 |
| focal thoracolumbar spinal cord lymphosarcoma in a ferret (mustela putorius furo). | a 6-year-old, castrated male domestic ferret (mustela putorius furo) was euthanized following progressive hind limb paresis and atonia of the bladder of 1-year duration. neurological evaluation localized the lesion to the thoracolumbar spinal region, and magnetic resonance imaging showed a focal intramedullary spinal cord lesion. histopathology revealed an extensive, unencapsulated, poorly demarcated mass within the thoracolumbar spinal cord, diagnosed as lymphosarcoma. | 2014 | 24982519 |
| anaesthetic effects in the ferret of alfaxalone alone and in combination with medetomidine or tramadol: a pilot study. | alfaxalone is a neurosteroid with anaesthetic effects and it has been used successfully in several animal species. however, there are no data, to our knowledge, about its efficacy and safety in ferrets (mustela putorius furo). we evaluated a variety of anaesthetic regimens in ferrets, namely, alfaxalone at 20, 10 and 5 mg/kg (n = 1, 10 and 9, respectively; intravenously); medetomidine at 20 µg/kg (n = 3; intramuscularly); medetomidine (20 µg/kg, intramuscularly) plus alfaxalone (2.5 mg/kg, intra ... | 2014 | 24939905 |
| tetralogy of fallot in a 6-year-old albino ferret (mustela putorius furo). | tetralogy of fallot associated with bidirectional shunting across a large ventricular septal defect, was found in a 6-year-old ferret. the prognosis associated with tetralogy of fallot is usually poor. this case is interesting given the advanced age of the ferret. the bidirectional shunting, responsible for an acyanotic disease, may explain the unexpected prolonged survival in this ferret. | 2014 | 24790231 |
| fecal microbiota and antibiotic resistance in ferrets (mustela putorius furo) from two captive breeding facilities in italy. | the microbiota of the intestinal tract plays important roles in the overall health, productivity and well-being of the animals. we have characterized the intestinal microbiota of the ferret because its human cohabitation may increase the possibility of new zoonosis. the presence of anaerobic and microaerophilic bacteria has been evaluated in fresh fecal specimens of 40 ferrets in apparently good health. the bacteria most frequently isolated were clostridium acetobutylicum (25/40 samples, 62.5%; ... | 2014 | 24709054 |
| rapid spectrotemporal plasticity in primary auditory cortex during behavior. | complex natural and environmental sounds, such as speech and music, convey information along both spectral and temporal dimensions. the cortical representation of such stimuli rapidly adapts when animals become actively engaged in discriminating them. in this study, we examine the nature of these changes using simplified spectrotemporal versions (upward vs downward shifting tone sequences) with domestic ferrets (mustela putorius). cortical processing rapidly adapted to enhance the contrast betwe ... | 2014 | 24647959 |
| mycobacteriosis in a domestic ferret (mustela putorius furo). | a 4-year-old spayed female ferret presented with a 2-month history of anorexia, vomiting and occasional diarrhea. abdominal ultrasonography revealed thickening of the gastric wall and enlarged abdominal lymph nodes. biopsy samples from the thickened gastric wall, enlarged abdominal lymph nodes and liver were taken during an exploratory laparotomy. based on the histopathological examination, mycobacterium infection was diagnosed. the bacterial species could not be identified by additional diagnos ... | 2014 | 24419874 |
| testicular leiomyosarcoma and marked alopecia in a cryptorchid ferret (mustela putorius furo). | a 3.5-year-old male ferret, bought as male castrated, was presented to the veterinarian with marked alopecia of back, neck, abdomen and tail, a pronounced sexual behaviour and weight loss. an inguinal mass of about 2.5 cm in diameter was diagnosed as potentially tumorous inguinal testicle by ultrasound and fine-needle aspiration. adrenal glands and prostate were ultrasonographically unremarkable. the surgically removed cryptorchid testicle contained a greyish tumour that was histologically compo ... | 2014 | 25423575 |
| distichiasis in a ferret (mustela putorius furo). | a 4-year-old intact male ferret was presented to the ophthalmology service of the department of clinical sciences of companion animals of utrecht university with chronic blepharospasm, epiphora, and conjunctivitis of the right eye. examination of the eye revealed mild conjunctivitis and three hairs protruding from the openings of meibomian glands in the upper eyelid, providing the clinical diagnosis of distichiasis. the distichia were removed by transconjunctival unipolar electrocautery. recover ... | 2014 | 24118780 |
| the black-footed ferret: on the brink of recovery? | in an attempt to save the species from extinction, the last remaining 18 black-footed ferrets (mustela nigripes) were trapped up from the wild to initiate a captive breeding program. nearly 30 years later more than 8,000 black-footed ferrets have been produced in captivity and approximately 4,100 animals have been reintroduced into 20 sites in eight us states (arizona, new mexico, utah, colorado, kansas, wyoming, south dakota and montana), mexico and canada. however, full recovery of the species ... | 2014 | 25091909 |
| benefits of a ball and chain: simple environmental enrichments improve welfare and reproductive success in farmed american mink (neovison vison). | can simple enrichments enhance caged mink welfare? pilot data from 756 sub-adults spanning three colour-types (strains) identified potentially practical enrichments, and suggested beneficial effects on temperament and fur-chewing. our main experiment started with 2032 black mink on three farms: from each of 508 families, one juvenile male-female pair was enriched (e) with two balls and a hanging plastic chain or length of hose, while a second pair was left as a non-enriched (ne) control. at 8 mo ... | 2014 | 25386726 |
| notes from the field: wildlife rabies on an island free from canine rabies for 52 years--taiwan, 2013. | dog-to-dog transmission of rabies in taiwan was eliminated in 1961; the island was considered canine rabies-free for 52 years. on july 16, 2013, three ferret-badgers (melogale moschata) tested positive for rabies by fluorescent antibody testing at the animal health research institute, council of agriculture of taiwan. this was the first time wild animals other than bats were tested. during 1999-2012, a total of 6,841 clinically healthy dogs and five apparently normal cats from shelters were test ... | 2014 | 24572614 |
| transduction of ferret airway epithelia using a pre-treatment and lentiviral gene vector. | the safety and efficiency of gene therapies for cystic fibrosis (cf) need to be assessed in pre-clinical models. using the normal ferret, this study sought to determine whether ferret airway epithelia could be transduced with a lysophosphatidylcholine (lpc) pre-treatment followed by a vsv-g pseudotyped hiv-1 based lentiviral (lv) vector, in preparation for future studies in cf ferrets. | 2014 | 25413892 |
| recent developments in experimental animal models of henipavirus infection. | hendra (hev) and nipah (niv) viruses (genus henipavirus (hnv; family paramyxoviridae) are emerging zoonotic agents that can cause severe respiratory distress and acute encephalitis in humans. given the lack of effective therapeutics and vaccines for human use, these viruses are considered as public health concerns. several experimental animal models of hnv infection have been developed in recent years. here, we review the current status of four of the most promising experimental animal models (m ... | 2014 | 24488776 |
| the in vivo efficacy and side effect pharmacology of gs-5759, a novel bifunctional phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitor and long-acting β 2-adrenoceptor agonist in preclinical animal species. | bronchodilators are a central therapy for symptom relief in respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (copd) and asthma, with inhaled β 2-adrenoceptor agonists and anticholinergics being the primary treatments available. the present studies evaluated the in vivo pharmacology of (r)-6-[[3-[[4-[5-[[2-hydroxy-2-(8-hydroxy-2-oxo-1,2-dihydroquinolin-5-yl)ethyl]amino]pent-1-ynyl]phenyl]carbamoyl]phenyl]sulfonyl]-4-[(3-methoxyphenyl)amino]-8-methylquinoline-3-carboxamide (gs-57 ... | 2014 | 25505595 |
| reproduction and advances in reproductive studies in carnivores. | reproductive mechanisms are extraordinarily diverse among species, even within the same phylogenetic clade. due to this, it has been difficult to directly apply reproductive technologies developed in human and livestock to genetically manage ex situ wildlife, including carnivores. to date, more common, closely related species, e.g., domestic cats, dogs and ferrets have served as valuable models for developing reproductive technologies for managing rare, endangered carnivores. artificial insemina ... | 2014 | 25091912 |
| adjuvanted inactivated influenza a(h3n2) vaccines induce stronger immunogenicity in mice and confer higher protection in ferrets than unadjuvanted inactivated vaccines. | influenza viruses are major respiratory pathogens and the development of improved vaccines to prevent these infections is of high priority. here, we evaluated split inactivated a(h3n2) vaccines (a/uruguay/716/2007) combined or not with adjuvants (as03, as25 and protollin) and administered by three different routes, intramuscular (i.m.), intranasal (i.n.) or intradermal (i.d.), both in balb/c mice and in ferrets. ferrets were challenged with the homologous strain a/uruguay/716/2007 (h3n2) or the ... | 2014 | 25173481 |
| next-generation sequencing and bioinformatic approaches to detect and analyze influenza virus in ferrets. | conventional methods used to detect and characterize influenza viruses in biological samples face multiple challenges due to the diversity of subtypes and high dissimilarity of emerging strains. next-generation sequencing (ngs) is a powerful technique that can facilitate the detection and characterization of influenza, however, the sequencing strategy and the procedures of data analysis possess different aspects that require careful consideration. | 2014 | 24727517 |
| zanamivir conjugated to poly-l-glutamine is much more active against influenza viruses in mice and ferrets than the drug itself. | previously, polymer-attached zanamivir had been found to inhibit influenza a viruses in vitro far better than did small-molecule zanamivir (1) itself. the aim of this study was to identify in vitro-using the plaque reduction assay-a highly potent 1-polymer conjugate, and subsequently test its antiviral efficacy in vivo. | 2014 | 24065587 |
| adenosine deaminase acts as a natural antagonist for dipeptidyl peptidase 4-mediated entry of the middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus. | middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus (mers-cov) replicates in cells of different species using dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (dpp4) as a functional receptor. here we show the resistance of ferrets to mers-cov infection and inability of ferret ddp4 to bind mers-cov. site-directed mutagenesis of amino acids variable in ferret dpp4 thus revealed the functional human dpp4 virus binding site. adenosine deaminase (ada), a dpp4 binding protein, competed for virus binding, acting as a natural antagonis ... | 2014 | 24257613 |
| ectoparasites in black-footed ferrets (mustela nigripes) from the largest reintroduced population of the conata basin, south dakota, usa. | the black-footed ferret, mustela nigripes, is an endangered carnivore endemic to the grasslands of north america. we present the first investigation of ectoparasites associated with black-footed ferrets since reintroduction. we sampled more than 200 individuals from one of the largest and most successful reintroduced populations located in the conata basin of south dakota, usa. we compared our findings with ectoparasite assemblages of sympatric carnivores and historic ferret records. we collecte ... | 2014 | 24499333 |
| hemagglutinin receptor specificity and structural analyses of respiratory droplet-transmissible h5n1 viruses. | two ferret-adapted h5n1 viruses capable of respiratory droplet transmission have been reported with mutations in the hemagglutinin receptor-binding site and stalk domains. glycan microarray analysis reveals that both viruses exhibit a strong shift toward binding to "human-type" α2-6 sialosides but with notable differences in fine specificity. crystal structure analysis further shows that the stalk mutation causes no obvious perturbation of the receptor-binding pocket, consistent with its impact ... | 2014 | 24173215 |
| pandemic potential of avian influenza a (h7n9) viruses. | avian influenza viruses rarely infect humans, but the recently emerged avian h7n9 influenza viruses have caused sporadic infections in humans in china, resulting in 440 confirmed cases with 122 fatalities as of 16 may 2014. in addition, epidemiologic surveys suggest that there have been asymptomatic or mild human infections with h7n9 viruses. these viruses replicate efficiently in mammals, show limited transmissibility in ferrets and guinea pigs, and possess mammalian-adapting amino acid changes ... | 2014 | 25264312 |
| glycomic characterization of respiratory tract tissues of ferrets: implications for its use in influenza virus infection studies. | the initial recognition between influenza virus and the host cell is mediated by interactions between the viral surface protein hemagglutinin and sialic acid-terminated glycoconjugates on the host cell surface. the sialic acid residues can be linked to the adjacent monosaccharide by α2-3- or α2-6-type glycosidic bonds. it is this linkage difference that primarily defines the species barrier of the influenza virus infection with α2-3 binding being associated with avian influenza viruses and α2-6 ... | 2014 | 25135641 |
| circulating avian influenza viruses closely related to the 1918 virus have pandemic potential. | wild birds harbor a large gene pool of influenza a viruses that have the potential to cause influenza pandemics. foreseeing and understanding this potential is important for effective surveillance. our phylogenetic and geographic analyses revealed the global prevalence of avian influenza virus genes whose proteins differ only a few amino acids from the 1918 pandemic influenza virus, suggesting that 1918-like pandemic viruses may emerge in the future. to assess this risk, we generated and charact ... | 2014 | 24922572 |
| impaired heterologous immunity in aged ferrets during sequential influenza a h1n1 infection. | the major burden of influenza morbidity resides within the elderly population. the challenge managing influenza-associated illness in the elderly is the decline of immune function, where mechanisms leading to immunological senescence have not been elucidated. to better represent the immune environment, we investigated clinical morbidity and immune function during sequential homologous and heterologous h1n1 influenza infection in an aged ferret model. our findings demonstrated experimentally that ... | 2014 | 25086242 |
| multisensory training improves auditory spatial processing following bilateral cochlear implantation. | cochlear implants (cis) partially restore hearing to the deaf by directly stimulating the inner ear. in individuals fitted with cis, lack of auditory experience due to loss of hearing before language acquisition can adversely impact outcomes. for example, adults with early-onset hearing loss generally do not integrate inputs from both ears effectively when fitted with bilateral cis (bicis). here, we used an animal model to investigate the effects of long-term deafness on auditory localization wi ... | 2014 | 25122908 |
| molecular detection and characterization of human gyroviruses identified in the ferret fecal virome. | the recently described novel gyroviruses may infect chickens and/or humans; however, their pathogenic potential is unknown. in our metagenomic investigation, we detected many of the novel gyroviruses in the fecal viromes of ferrets with lymph node and organ enlargement. the complete genomic sequences of selected gyrovirus strains showed 90.7-99.4 % similarity to homologous reference gyrovirus strains. this study did not demonstrate an association between gyrovirus shedding from ferrets and the o ... | 2014 | 25119678 |
| development and matching of binocular orientation preference in mouse v1. | eye-specific thalamic inputs converge in the primary visual cortex (v1) and form the basis of binocular vision. for normal binocular perceptions, such as depth and stereopsis, binocularly matched orientation preference between the two eyes is required. a critical period of binocular matching of orientation preference in mice during normal development is reported in literature. using a reaction diffusion model we present the development of rf and orientation selectivity in mouse v1 and investigat ... | 2014 | 25104927 |
| envelope enhancement increases cortical sensitivity to interaural envelope delays with acoustic and electric hearing. | evidence from human psychophysical and animal electrophysiological studies suggests that sensitivity to interaural time delay (itd) in the modulating envelope of a high-frequency carrier can be enhanced using half-wave rectified stimuli. recent evidence has shown potential benefits of equivalent electrical stimuli to deaf individuals with bilateral cochlear implants (cis). in the current study we assessed the effects of envelope shape on itd sensitivity in the primary auditory cortex of normal-h ... | 2014 | 25093417 |
| chimeric antibodies with extended half-life in ferrets. | ferrets have long been used as a disease model for the study of influenza vaccines, but a more recent use has been for the study of human monoclonal antibodies directed against influenza viruses. published data suggest that human antibodies are cleared unusually quickly from the ferret and that immune responses may be partially responsible. this immunogenicity increases variability within groups and may present an obstacle to long-term studies. | 2014 | 25074755 |
| an alternative to surgical desexing in ferrets. | 2014 | 25034682 | |
| the melanin-concentrating hormone receptors: neuronal and non-neuronal functions. | melanin-concentrating hormone (mch) is a cyclic peptide highly conserved in vertebrates and was originally identified as a skin-paling factor in teleosts. in fishes, mch also participates in the regulation of the stress-response and feeding behaviour. mammalian mch is a hypothalamic neuropeptide that displays multiple functions, mostly controlling feeding behaviour and energy homeostasis. transgenic mouse models and pharmacological studies have shown the importance of the mch system as a potenti ... | 2014 | 27152164 |
| histone-modifying genes as biomarkers in hepatocellular carcinoma. | hepatocellular carcinoma (hcc) is the world's fifth most common cancer and second leading cause of cancer-related death in taiwan. over 600,000 hcc patients die each year worldwide despite recent advances in surgical techniques and medical treatments. epigenetic regulations including dna methylation and histone modification control gene expressions and play important roles during tumorigenesis. this study evaluates association between histone-modifying genes and prognosis of hcc to ferret out ne ... | 2014 | 24966962 |
| prepuce and partial penile amputation for treatment of preputial gland neoplasia in two ferrets. | preputial tumours in ferrets are frequently malignant and therefore warrant prompt investigation. as many cases do not respond favourably to surgery, even in combination with radiation therapy, wide surgical resection has been recommended. such a procedure may necessitate partial or total penile resection but outcomes have thus far not been well described. the current case series describes two ferrets in which surgical resection, including penile amputation, was performed using 10 and 5 mm margi ... | 2014 | 24962052 |
| control of reproduction in ferrets, rabbits and rodents. | reproduction control of small mammals is challenging. the purposes are the control of fertility and the reduction of sexual behaviour, aggressiveness and odour. moreover, some species like ferret females need to be neutered to prevent bone marrow suppression caused by hyperoestrogenism. many methods of sterilization have been reported, including surgical and chemical techniques. this article describes the reproductive physiology of ferrets and the techniques used to control their reproduction. s ... | 2014 | 24947865 |
| the cholinergic basal forebrain in the ferret and its inputs to the auditory cortex. | cholinergic inputs to the auditory cortex can modulate sensory processing and regulate stimulus-specific plasticity according to the behavioural state of the subject. in order to understand how acetylcholine achieves this, it is essential to elucidate the circuitry by which cholinergic inputs influence the cortex. in this study, we described the distribution of cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain and their inputs to the auditory cortex of the ferret, a species used increasingly in studies ... | 2014 | 24945075 |
| hearing in noisy environments: noise invariance and contrast gain control. | contrast gain control has recently been identified as a fundamental property of the auditory system. electrophysiological recordings in ferrets have shown that neurons continuously adjust their gain (their sensitivity to change in sound level) in response to the contrast of sounds that are heard. at the level of the auditory cortex, these gain changes partly compensate for changes in sound contrast. this means that sounds which are structurally similar, but have different contrasts, have similar ... | 2014 | 24907308 |
| gonadectomy-related adrenocortical tumors in ferrets demonstrate increased expression of androgen and estrogen synthesizing enzymes together with high inhibin expression. | the 2 objectives of this study were to (1) measure by quantitative polymerase chain reaction the expression of genes involved in steroid and inhibin synthesis in adrenocortical tumors of gonadectomized ferrets and (2) localize by immunohistochemistry several proteins that are key to adrenal steroidogenesis. relative to the control adrenals, expression of the messenger rnas encoding star (steroidogenic acute regulatory protein; p = 0.039), cyp11a (p = 0.019), cyp21 (p = 0.01), and 3β-hsd (p = 0.0 ... | 2014 | 24906927 |
| apremilast is a selective pde4 inhibitor with regulatory effects on innate immunity. | apremilast, an oral small molecule inhibitor of phosphodiesterase 4 (pde4), is in development for chronic inflammatory disorders, and has shown efficacy in psoriasis, psoriatic arthropathies, and behçet's syndrome. in march 2014, the us food and drug administration approved apremilast for the treatment of adult patients with active psoriatic arthritis. the properties of apremilast were evaluated to determine its specificity, effects on intracellular signaling, gene and protein expression, and in ... | 2014 | 24882690 |
| taqman real time rt-pcr assays for detecting ferret innate and adaptive immune responses. | the ferret is an excellent model for many human infectious diseases including influenza, sars-cov, henipavirus and pneumococcal infections. the ferret is also used to study cystic fibrosis and various cancers, as well as reproductive biology and physiology. however, the range of reagents available to measure the ferret immune response is very limited. to address this deficiency, high-throughput real time rt-pcr taqman assays were developed to measure the expression of fifteen immune mediators as ... | 2014 | 24797460 |
| mucociliary clearance and submucosal gland secretion in the ex vivo ferret trachea. | in many species submucosal glands are an important source of tracheal mucus, but the extent to which mucociliary clearance (mcc) depends on gland secretion is unknown. to explore this relationship, we measured basal and agonist-stimulated mcc velocities in ex vivo tracheas from adult ferrets and compared the velocities with previously measured rates of ferret glandular mucus secretion (cho hj, joo ns, wine jj. am j physiol lung cell mol physiol 299: l124-l136, 2010). stimulated mcc velocities (m ... | 2014 | 24793168 |
| use of a gnrh agonist implant as alternative for surgical neutering in pet ferrets. | in the current study, the duration of effectiveness, owner satisfaction and side effects of a gonadotrophin releasing hormone-agonist (deslorelin) implant were investigated during a two-year follow-up study in which 61 male and 69 female entire pet ferrets were given a 4.7 mg deslorelin implant as alternative to surgical neutering. in 27 participating non-oestrous jills, a double-blind placebo controlled study was performed to investigate whether a single low dose of medroxyprogesterone (2 mg or ... | 2014 | 24789851 |
| ferret-mouse differences in interkinetic nuclear migration and cellular densification in the neocortical ventricular zone. | the thick outer subventricular zone (osvz) is characteristic of the development of human neocortex. how this region originates from the ventricular zone (vz) is largely unknown. recently, we showed that over-proliferation-induced acute nuclear densification and thickening of the vz in neocortical walls of mice, which lack an osvz, causes reactive delamination of undifferentiated progenitors and invasion by these cells of basal areas outside the vz. in this study, we sought to determine how vz ce ... | 2014 | 24780233 |
| first survey of endoparasites in pet ferrets in italy. | endoparasites are infrequently reported in ferrets. a cross-sectional survey was conducted to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites in pet ferrets in southern italy. fresh fecal samples were randomly collected from 50 ferrets housed in pet shops or privately owned. all fecal samples were processed using the flotac pellet technique to identify and count helminthic eggs/larvae and protozoan cysts/oocysts. in addition, the samples were analyzed also by the remel xpectgiardia/cryptosporid ... | 2014 | 24768317 |
| microinjection of membrane-impermeable molecules into single neural stem cells in brain tissue. | this microinjection protocol allows the manipulation and tracking of neural stem and progenitor cells in tissue at single-cell resolution. we demonstrate how to apply microinjection to organotypic brain slices obtained from mice and ferrets; however, our technique is not limited to mouse and ferret embryos, but provides a means of introducing a wide variety of membrane-impermeable molecules (e.g., nucleic acids, proteins, hydrophilic compounds) into neural stem and progenitor cells of any develo ... | 2014 | 24762784 |
| mechanisms of noise robust representation of speech in primary auditory cortex. | humans and animals can reliably perceive behaviorally relevant sounds in noisy and reverberant environments, yet the neural mechanisms behind this phenomenon are largely unknown. to understand how neural circuits represent degraded auditory stimuli with additive and reverberant distortions, we compared single-neuron responses in ferret primary auditory cortex to speech and vocalizations in four conditions: clean, additive white and pink (1/f) noise, and reverberation. despite substantial distort ... | 2014 | 24753585 |
| automated analysis of delayed emesis in the telemetered ferret: detection of synergistic effects of aprepitant and ondansetron. | nausea and vomiting are common side effects of cancer chemotherapy. we have previously described a model in the ferret where delayed emesis can be measured automatically using telemetry. this study was designed to examine the sensitivity of this automated emesis model for detecting moderate and/or additive pharmacological effects by investigating low-dose effects of aprepitant alone or in combination with ondansetron. ferrets implanted with telemetry devices (data sciences international) were or ... | 2014 | 24750138 |
| emergent selectivity for task-relevant stimuli in higher-order auditory cortex. | a variety of attention-related effects have been demonstrated in primary auditory cortex (a1). however, an understanding of the functional role of higher auditory cortical areas in guiding attention to acoustic stimuli has been elusive. we recorded from neurons in two tonotopic cortical belt areas in the dorsal posterior ectosylvian gyrus (dpeg) of ferrets trained on a simple auditory discrimination task. neurons in dpeg showed similar basic auditory tuning properties to a1, but during behavior ... | 2014 | 24742467 |
| prevalence of deafness and association with coat variations in client-owned ferrets. | to evaluate the prevalence of congenital sensorineural deafness (csd) and its association with phenotypic markers in client-owned ferrets. | 2014 | 24739114 |