| pyogranulomatous panophthalmitis with systemic coronavirus disease in a domestic ferret (mustela putorius furo). | a 15-month-old spayed female ferret (mustela putorius furo) presented for lethargy and weight loss of 2 weeks duration. upon physical examination, a 2-mm-diameter focal area of opacity was noted in the left cornea. in addition, the ferret was quiet, in poor body condition, and dehydrated. a complete blood count and plasma biochemistry revealed a severe nonregenerative anemia, azotemia, hyperproteinemia, hypoalbuminemia, and mild hyperphosphatemia and hyperchloremia. urinalysis revealed hyposthen ... | 2016 | 25918975 |
| [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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| development of ferret as a human lung cancer model by injecting 4-(nmethyl-n-nitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (nnk). | development of new animal lung cancer models that are relevant to human lung carcino-genesis is important for lung cancer research. previously we have shown the induction of lung tumor in ferrets (mustela putorius furo) exposed to both tobacco smoke and a tobacco carcinogen (4-(n-methyl-n-nitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone, nnk). in the present study, we investigated whether nnk treatment alone induces both preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions in the lungs of ferrets. | 2013 | 24396883 |
| 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 |
| diagnosis and successful surgical treatment of an unusual inguinal liposarcoma in a pet ferret (mustela putorius furo). | a 4 1/2-year-old female spayed ferret (mustela putorius furo) was presented for a rapidly growing mass in the inguinal region. following a complete clinical evaluation, the unusual mass was surgically removed and the histopathological diagnosis was an inguinal liposarcoma. no post-operative complications were observed over a 14-month follow-up period. | 2013 | 24155472 |
| 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 genetic legacy of the 19th-century decline of the british polecat: evidence for extensive introgression from feral ferrets. | in the 19th century, the british polecat suffered a demographic contraction, as a consequence of direct persecution, reaching its lowest population in the years that preceded the first world war. the polecat is now recovering and expanding throughout britain, but introgressive hybridization with feral ferrets has been reported, which could be masking the true range of the polecat and introducing domestic genes into the species. we used a fragment of the mitochondrial dna control region and 11 mi ... | 2013 | 24050727 |
| anesthesia differentially modulates spontaneous network dynamics by cortical area and layer. | anesthesia is widely used in medicine and research to achieve altered states of consciousness and cognition. whereas changes to macroscopic cortical activity patterns by anesthesia measured at the spatial resolution of electroencephalography have been widely studied, modulation of mesoscopic and microscopic network dynamics by anesthesia remain poorly understood. to address this gap in knowledge, we recorded spontaneous mesoscopic (local field potential) and microscopic (multiunit activity) netw ... | 2013 | 24047911 |
| erythema multiforme in a ferret (mustela putorius furo). | erythema multiforme, an uncommon skin disease resulting from an aberrant immune response, was diagnosed in a domestic ferret (mustela putorius furo) based on clinical signs and skin biopsies, and this seems to be the first case report of this dermal disease in the ferret. this article discusses treatment and response, and reviews the small animal literature as it relates to disease pathophysiology and treatment. | 2013 | 24018028 |
| use of a gnrh vaccine, gonacon, for prevention and treatment of adrenocortical disease (acd) in domestic ferrets. | adrenocortical disease (acd) is a common problem in surgically sterilized, middle-aged to old ferrets (mustela putorius furo). the adrenal tissues of these ferrets develop hyperplasia, adenomas, or adenocarcinomas, which produce steroid hormones including estradiol, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, and androstenedione. major clinical signs attributable to overproduction of these hormones are alopecia (hair loss) in both sexes and a swollen vulva in females. pruritus, muscle atrophy, hind limb weakness, a ... | 2013 | 23906891 |
| transcranial alternating current stimulation modulates large-scale cortical network activity by network resonance. | transcranial direct current stimulation (tdcs) has emerged as a potentially safe and effective brain stimulation modality that alters cortical excitability by passing a small, constant electric current through the scalp. tdcs creates an electric field that weakly modulates the membrane voltage of a large number of cortical neurons. recent human studies have suggested that sine-wave stimulation waveforms [transcranial alternating current stimulation (tacs)] represent a more targeted stimulation p ... | 2013 | 23825429 |
| mri-based morphometric characterizations of sexual dimorphism of the cerebrum of ferrets (mustela putorius). | the present study aimed to characterize cerebral morphology in young adult ferrets and its sexual dimorphism using high-field mri and mri-based morphometry. ex vivo short tr/te (typical t1-weighted parameter setting for conventional mri) and t2w (long tr/te) mri with high spatial resolution at 7-tesla could visualize major subcortical and archicortical structures, i.e., the caudate nucleus, lentiform nucleus, amygdala and hippocampus. in particular, laminar organization of the olfactory bulb was ... | 2013 | 23770407 |
| imaging findings in 14 domestic ferrets (mustela putorius furo) with lymphoma. | lymphoma is the most common malignant neoplasia in domestic ferrets, mustela putorius furo. however, imaging findings in ferrets with lymphoma have primarily been described in single case reports. the purpose of this retrospective study was to describe imaging findings in a group of ferrets with confirmed lymphoma. medical records were searched between 2002 and 2012. a total of 14 ferrets were included. radiographs (n = 12), ultrasound (n = 14), computed tomography (ct; n = 1), and magnetic reso ... | 2016 | 23738830 |
| adrenohepatic fusion in domestic ferrets (mustela putorius furo). | we describe two cases of adrenohepatic fusion (ahf) in domestic ferrets (mustela putorius furo). this condition is defined as the union of hepatic tissue with the adrenal gland with close fusion of the respective parenchymal cells and lack of a fibrous capsule between the two cell populations. ahf is believed to be a congenital anomaly caused by failure of retroperitoneal mesenchyme to stimulate capsule formation, promoting the fusion of the structures. two male domestic ferrets had a mass adher ... | 2013 | 23651693 |
| epidemiological evaluation of cystine urolithiasis in domestic ferrets (mustela putorius furo): 70 cases (1992-2009). | to determine the prevalence of cystine uroliths in domestic ferrets with urolithiasis and determine whether age, breed, sex, reproductive status, anatomic location, and season are risk factors associated with cystine urolith formation. | 2013 | 23547673 |
| evaluation of intraocular pressure in conscious ferrets (mustela putorius furo) by means of rebound tonometry and comparison with applanation tonometry. | to determine normal intraocular pressure (iop) values by means of rebound tonometry in unanaesthetised ferrets, and to compare rebound and applanation tonometry, 55 clinically healthy ferrets were included in an observational, prospective, blinded study. on 52 ferrets, iop was measured by means of rebound and applanation tonometry. on 3 ferrets, rebound tonometry was performed every two hours over a 24-hour period. mean iops of the 104 eyes obtained with the rebound tonometer were 14.07±0.35 (95 ... | 2013 | 23486504 |
| diagnosis of liver disease in domestic ferrets (mustela putorius). | liver disease in ferrets is often subclinical and underdiagnosed. clinical pathology and diagnostic imaging are needed to guide clinicians but definite diagnosis is based on histopathologic lesions. inflammatory digestive conditions can lead to ascending tract infection and hepatobiliary inflammation. ferrets have a specific sensitivity to hepatic lipidosis. incidence of hepatic neoplasia is high in ferrets. after a summary of anatomy and physiology of the ferret liver, hepatic diseases known in ... | 2013 | 23347541 |
| evaluation of portable blood glucose meters for measurement of blood glucose concentration in ferrets (mustela putorius furo). | to evaluate agreement of 3 models of portable blood glucose meters (pbgms; 2 designed for use with human samples and 1 designed for veterinary use) with a laboratory analyzer for measurement of blood glucose concentrations in ferrets (mustela putorius furo). | 2013 | 23327177 |
| echocardiographic and electrocardiographic findings in client-owned ferrets: 95 cases (1994-2009). | to characterize echocardiographic and ecg findings in ferrets (mustela putorius furo) evaluated at a clinical practice. | 2012 | 23176241 |
| development of cerebral sulci and gyri in ferrets (mustela putorius). | the present study aimed to clarify sulcation and gyration patterns in the developing cerebrum of ferrets. while the brain weight and fronto-occipital length of the cerebral hemisphere reached a plateau by postnatal day (pd) 42, the cerebral width reached a plateau at the rostral region by pd 21, and subsequently at the caudal region by pd 42. the ferret cerebrum already showed a convoluted surface with indentations of coronal and rostral suprasylvian sulci on pd 4. the presylvian and cruciate su ... | 2012 | 22925218 |
| ventricular septal defect in a ferret (mustela putorius furo). | a four-year-old, castrated male ferret (mustela putorius furo) was evaluated because of a one-year history of sporadic cough. on physical examination a grade 5 of 6 holosystolic murmur was audible over the right apex of the heart. radiographic findings included the presence of air bronchograms in apical lobes accompanied by pulmonary venous congestion. colour doppler echocardiography revealed a left-to-right shunting compatible with a ventricular septal defect. medical therapy was initiated at t ... | 2012 | 22861049 |
| intramedullary lumbosacral teratoma in a domestic ferret (mustela putorius furo). | an 18-month-old, female, spayed domestic ferret (mustela putorius furo) was presented for progressive hind limb paresis of 1 week duration. the ferret was mentally appropriate but cachexic and ataxic with neurological deficits, which localized the lesion to the lumbosacral region. a depression in the lumbosacral spine was associated with discomfort on palpation. results of whole body radiographs were consistent with an abnormal angle between vertebrae l6 and s1, which resulted in hyperflexion of ... | 2012 | 22529139 |
| a new orally active, aminothiol radioprotector-free of nausea and hypotension side effects at its highest radioprotective doses. | a new aminothiol, prc-210, was tested for orally conferred radioprotection (rats, mice; 9.0 gy whole-body, which was otherwise lethal to 100% of the animals) and presence of the debilitating side effects (nausea/vomiting, hypotension/fainting) that restrict use of the current aminothiol, amifostine (ethyol, wr-2721). | 2012 | 22330992 |
| endogenous lentiviruses in the ferret genome. | by screening 74 chordate genomes for endogenous lentiviruses using pol sequences of exogenous lentiviruses as a reference, we identified a novel endogenous lentivirus in the genome of the ferret (mustela putorius furo). phylogenetic analysis suggested that the ferret endogenous lentivirus, denoted elvmpf, diverged early in the evolution of the mammalian lentiviruses, although with a lack of resolution at key nodes. these data support the notion that lentiviruses have evolved on timescales of mil ... | 2012 | 22238305 |
| all-trans beta-carotene is absorbed preferentially to 9-cis beta-carotene, but the latter accumulates in the tissues of domestic ferrets (mustela putorius puro). | the algae dunaliella bardawil and dunaliella salina naturally contain large concentrations of all-trans and 9-cis beta-carotene (betac). the purpose of this study was to compare the relative serum and tissue accumulation of all-trans and 9-cis betac in ferrets fed different ratios of all-trans/9-cis betac derived from two commercial sources, d. bardawil or d. salina (betatene). male ferrets (7 wk old) were fed carotene-free, pelleted diets for 27 d. beginning on d 18, groups of ferrets (n = 6 or ... | 1998 | 9808657 |
| imprinting on prey odours in ferrets (mustela putorius f. furo l. ) and its neural correlates. | the effect of different feeding conditions during ontogeny was investigated in the carnivorous ferret. behavioral tests and cardiac responses towards known and unknown odours as well as food choice tests showed that in this species olfaction plays an important role for prey recognition. yet, the knowledge of the prey odours has to be learned during a sensitive phase which was found to exist between postnatal days 60 and 90. in adult ferrets, searching for prey can be elicited reliably by familia ... | 1986 | 24924694 |
| urolithiasis in ferrets (mustela putorius). | urinary calculi was observed frequently in ferrets which were from a group used for influenza research. they were submitted for necropsy with various clinical signs. the calculi were composed of magnesium ammonium phosphate hexahydrate and were found in the pelvis of the kidney, urinary bladder and urethra. crystals of undetermined nature occasionally were observed in the kidneys. | 1979 | 459421 |
| distribution of o-acetylated sialic acids among target host tissues for influenza virus. | sialic acids (sias) are important glycans displayed on the cells and tissues of many different animals and are frequent targets for binding and modification by pathogens, including influenza viruses. influenza virus hemagglutinins bind sias during the infection of their normal hosts, while the encoded neuraminidases and/or esterases remove or modify the sia to allow virion release or to prevent rebinding. sias naturally occur in a variety of modified forms, and modified sias can alter influenza ... | 2017 | 28904995 |
| adaptive mutations of neuraminidase stalk truncation and deglycosylation confer enhanced pathogenicity of influenza a viruses. | it has been noticed that neuraminidase (na) stalk truncation has arisen from evolutionary adaptation of avian influenza a viruses (iavs) from wild aquatic birds to domestic poultry. we identified this molecular alteration after the adaptation of a 2009 pandemic h1n1 virus (ph1n1) in balb/c mice. the mouse-adapted ph1n1 lost its eight consecutive amino acids including one potential n-linked glycosite from the na stalk region. to explore the relationship of na stalk truncation or deglycosylation w ... | 2017 | 28883554 |
| molecular basis of mammalian transmissibility of avian h1n1 influenza viruses and their pandemic potential. | north american wild birds are an important reservoir of influenza a viruses, yet the potential of viruses in this reservoir to transmit and cause disease in mammals is not well understood. our surveillance of avian influenza viruses (aivs) at delaware bay, usa, revealed a group of similar h1n1 aivs isolated in 2009, some of which were airborne-transmissible in the ferret model without prior adaptation. comparison of the genomes of these viruses revealed genetic markers of airborne transmissibili ... | 2017 | 28874549 |
| altered virulence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (hpai) h5n8 reassortant viruses in mammalian models. | recently identified highly pathogenic avian influenza (hpai) h5n8 viruses (clade 2.3.4.4) are relatively low to moderately pathogenic in mammalian hosts compared to hpai h5n1 viruses. in this study, we generated reassortant viruses comprised of a/md/korea/w452/2014(h5n8) with substitution of individual genes from a/em/korea/w149/2006(h5n1) to understand the contribution of each viral gene to virulence in mammals. substituting the pb2 gene segment or the na gene segment of the h5n8 virus by that ... | 2017 | 28873012 |
| specific features of the hypothalamic leptin signaling response to cold exposure are reflected in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in rats and ferrets. | objectives: cold exposure induces hyperphagia to counteract fat loss related to lipid mobilization and thermogenic activation. the aim of this study was investigate on the molecular mechanisms involved in cold-induced compensatory hyperphagia. methods: we analyzed the effect of cold exposure on gene expression of orexigenic and anorexigenic peptides, and of leptin signaling-related genes in the hypothalamus of rats at different ages (1, 2, 4, and 6 months), as well as in ferrets. we also evaluat ... | 2017 | 28860997 |
| folding of the cerebral cortex requires cdk5 in upper-layer neurons in gyrencephalic mammals. | folds in the cerebral cortex in mammals are believed to be key structures for accommodating increased cortical neurons in the cranial cavity. however, the mechanisms underlying cortical folding remain largely unknown, mainly because genetic manipulations for the gyrencephalic brain have been unavailable. by combining in utero electroporation and the crispr/cas9 system, we succeeded in efficient gene knockout of cdk5, which is mutated in some patients with classical lissencephaly, in the gyrencep ... | 2017 | 28854363 |
| dynamic reconfiguration of cortical functional connectivity across brain states. | throughout each day, the brain displays transient changes in state, as evidenced by shifts in behavior and vigilance. while the electrophysiological correlates of brain states have been studied for some time, it remains unclear how large-scale cortico-cortical functional connectivity systematically reconfigures across states. here, we investigate state-dependent shifts in cortical functional connectivity by recording local field potentials (lfps) during spontaneous behavioral transitions in the ... | 2017 | 28821753 |
| determination of ferret enteric coronavirus genome in laboratory ferrets. | ferret enteric coronavirus (frecv) rna was detected in laboratory ferrets. analysis of the complete genome sequence of 2 strains, frcov4370 and frcov063, revealed that frecv shared 49.9%-68.9% nucleotide sequence identity with known coronaviruses. these results suggest that frecv might be classified as a new species in the genus alphacoronavirus. | 2017 | 28820366 |
| evidence-based advances in ferret medicine. | this literature review covers approximately 35 years of veterinary medicine. this article develops the current state of knowledge in pet ferret medicine regarding the most common diseases according to evidence-based data and gives insight into further axis of research. literature review was conducted through identification of keywords (title + ferret) with web-based database searching. to appreciate the methodological quality and the level of evidence of each article included in the review, full ... | 2017 | 28781033 |
| retrospective investigation of cardiopulmonary resuscitation outcome in 146 exotic animals. | the outcomes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (cpr) were retrospectively evaluated in 146 exotic animals including 20 pet birds, 47 rabbits, 34 hamsters, 18 ferrets, 7 turtles, and 20 other small mammals in cardiopulmonary arrest (cpa) at presentation or during hospitalization at an animal clinic. the rates of return of spontaneous circulation, survival after cpr, and discharge were 9.3%, 2.3%, and 1.2%, respectively. the mean success rate of cpr in animals included in this study was lower than ... | 2017 | 28757521 |
| effect of the camelid's seminal plasma ovulation-inducing factor/β-ngf: a kisspeptin target hypothesis. | female mammals are classified into spontaneous and induced ovulators based on the mechanism eliciting ovulation. ovulation in spontaneous species (e.g., human, sheep, cattle, horse, pigs, and most rodents) occurs at regular intervals and depends upon the circulating estradiol. however, in induced ovulators (e.g., rabbits, ferrets, cats, and camelids), ovulation is associated with coitus. in the later, various factors have been proposed to trigger ovulation, including auditory, visual, olfactory, ... | 2017 | 28713816 |
| ultrasonographic features of insulinoma in six ferrets. | insulinoma is a functional, insulin-secreting tumor, arising from the beta islet cells of the pancreas. it is one of the most common neoplasms in ferrets and has been associated with clinical signs of hypoglycemia, such as ptyalism, pawing at the mouth, seizures, lethargy, and coma. the ultrasonographic features of insulinoma in ferrets have not been previously reported. the purpose of this retrospective case series study was to describe the ultrasonographic features of confirmed insulinoma in a ... | 2017 | 28699200 |
| corticogeniculate feedback sharpens the temporal precision and spatial resolution of visual signals in the ferret. | the corticogeniculate (cg) pathway connects the visual cortex with the visual thalamus (lgn) in the feedback direction and enables the cortex to directly influence its own input. despite numerous investigations, the role of this feedback circuit in visual perception remained elusive. to probe the function of cg feedback in a causal manner, we selectively and reversibly manipulated the activity of cg neurons in anesthetized ferrets in vivo using a combined viral-infection and optogenetics approac ... | 2017 | 28698363 |
| expanding access to care: scope of practice laws. | allied health professionals play an integral role in providing safe, affordable care to communities in need. laws that define the permissible scope of practice for these professionals may take full advantage of these providers and may unnecessarily restrict safe and effective care. nurse practitioners in many states may provide care independent of a physician; research reveals that this care is safe, affordable and accessible. yet hurdles exist that prevent communities from securing the full ben ... | 2017 | 28661304 |
| improved growth patterns in cystic fibrosis mice after loss of histone deacetylase 6. | growth failure in cystic fibrosis (cf) patients has been well-documented and shown to correlate with poorer disease outcomes. this observation is also true in cf animal models, including mouse, pig, rat, and ferret. the etiology underlying growth deficits is unknown, and our previous work demonstrated reduced tubulin acetylation in cf cell models and tissue that is correctable by inhibition of histone deacetylase-6 (hdac6). here, we hypothesize that loss of hdac6 will improve growth phenotype in ... | 2017 | 28623308 |
| egocentric and allocentric representations in auditory cortex. | a key function of the brain is to provide a stable representation of an object's location in the world. in hearing, sound azimuth and elevation are encoded by neurons throughout the auditory system, and auditory cortex is necessary for sound localization. however, the coordinate frame in which neurons represent sound space remains undefined: classical spatial receptive fields in head-fixed subjects can be explained either by sensitivity to sound source location relative to the head (egocentric) ... | 2017 | 28617796 |
| breakdown of local information processing may underlie isoflurane anesthesia effects. | the disruption of coupling between brain areas has been suggested as the mechanism underlying loss of consciousness in anesthesia. this hypothesis has been tested previously by measuring the information transfer between brain areas, and by taking reduced information transfer as a proxy for decoupling. yet, information transfer is a function of the amount of information available in the information source-such that transfer decreases even for unchanged coupling when less source information is ava ... | 2017 | 28570661 |
| a role for auditory corticothalamic feedback in the perception of complex sounds. | feedback signals from the primary auditory cortex (a1) can shape the receptive field properties of neurons in the ventral division of the medial geniculate body (mgbv). however, the behavioral significance of corticothalamic modulation is unknown. the aim of this study was to elucidate the role of this descending pathway in the perception of complex sounds. we tested the ability of adult female ferrets to detect the presence of a mistuned harmonic in a complex tone using a positive conditioned g ... | 2017 | 28559384 |
| hesperetin-5,7,3'-o-triacetate suppresses airway hyperresponsiveness in ovalbumin-sensitized and challenged mice without reversing xylazine/ketamine-induced anesthesia in normal mice. | we recently reported that hesperetin-5,7,3'-o-triacetate (hta) dually inhibited phosphodiesterase (pde)3/4 with a therapeutic ratio of 20.8. the application and development of pde4 inhibitors for treating asthma or copd are limited by their side effects, such as nausea, vomiting and gastric hypersecretion. pde4 inhibitors were reported to reverse xylazine/ketamine-induced anesthesia in rats and triggered vomiting in ferrets. thus the reversing effect of hta on xylazine/ketamine-induced anesthesi ... | 2017 | 28558784 |
| development and application of synthetic affinity ligands for the purification of ferritin-based influenza antigens. | a recently developed novel recombinant influenza antigen vaccine has shown great success in preclinical studies in ferrets and mice. it provides broader protection, and is efficient to manufacture compared to the conventional trivalent influenza vaccines (tiv). each strain of the recombinant antigen has a constant self-assembled bacterial ferritin core which, if used as a target for affinity chromatography, could lead to a universal purification method. ferritin in silico models were used to exp ... | 2017 | 28558204 |
| demodicosis in a ferret caused by demodex canis. | | 2017 | 28543828 |
| learned response sequences in cerebellar purkinje cells. | associative learning in the cerebellum has previously focused on single movements. in eyeblink conditioning, for instance, a subject learns to blink at the right time in response to a conditional stimulus (cs), such as a tone that is repeatedly followed by an unconditional corneal stimulus (us). during conditioning, the cs and us are transmitted by mossy/parallel fibers and climbing fibers to cerebellar purkinje cells that acquire a precisely timed pause response that drives the overt blink resp ... | 2017 | 28533379 |
| establishing the ferret as a gyrencephalic animal model of traumatic brain injury: optimization of controlled cortical impact procedures. | although rodent tbi studies provide valuable information regarding the effects of injury and recovery, an animal model with neuroanatomical characteristics closer to humans may provide a more meaningful basis for clinical translation. the ferret has a high white/gray matter ratio, gyrencephalic neocortex, and ventral hippocampal location. furthermore, ferrets are amenable to behavioral training, have a body size compatible with pre-clinical mri, and are cost-effective. | 2017 | 28499842 |
| indigenous wildlife rabies in taiwan: ferret badgers, a long term terrestrial reservoir. | the emerging disease of rabies was confirmed in taiwan ferret badgers (fbs) and reported to the world organization for animal health (oie) on july 17, 2013. the spread of wildlife rabies can be related to neighborhood countries in asia. the phylogenetic analysis was conducted by maximum likelihood (ml) methods and the bayesian coalescent approach based on the glycoprotein (g) and nucleoprotein (n) genes. the phylogeographic and spatial temporal dynamics of viral transmission were determined by u ... | 2017 | 28497055 |
| investigating multi-objective fluence and beam orientation imrt optimization. | radiation oncology treatment planning requires compromises to be made between clinical objectives that are invariably in conflict. it would be beneficial to have a 'bird's-eye-view' perspective of the full spectrum of treatment plans that represent the possible trade-offs between delivering the intended dose to the planning target volume (ptv) while optimally sparing the organs-at-risk (oars). in this work, the authors demonstrate pareto-aware radiotherapy evolutionary treatment optimization (pa ... | 2017 | 28493848 |
| human bocavirus type-1 capsid facilitates the transduction of ferret airways by adeno-associated virus genomes. | human bocavirus type-1 (hbov1) has a high tropism for the apical membrane of human airway epithelia. the packaging of a recombinant adeno-associated virus 2 (raav2) genome into hbov1 capsid produces a chimeric vector (raav2/hbov1) that also efficiently transduces human airway epithelia. as such, this vector is attractive for use in gene therapies to treat lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis. however, preclinical development of raav2/hbov1 vectors has been hindered by the fact that humans are t ... | 2017 | 28490200 |
| regulation of cerebral cortex folding by controlling neuronal migration via flrt adhesion molecules. | the folding of the mammalian cerebral cortex into sulci and gyri is thought to be favored by the amplification of basal progenitor cells and their tangential migration. here, we provide a molecular mechanism for the role of migration in this process by showing that changes in intercellular adhesion of migrating cortical neurons result in cortical folding. mice with deletions of flrt1 and flrt3 adhesion molecules develop macroscopic sulci with preserved layered organization and radial glial morph ... | 2017 | 28475893 |
| centrally located glp-1 receptors modulate gastric slow waves and cardiovascular function in ferrets consistent with the induction of nausea. | glucagon-like peptide-1 (glp-1) receptor agonists are indicated for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity, but can cause nausea and emesis in some patients. glp-1 receptors are distributed widely in the brain, where they contribute to mechanisms of emesis, reduced appetite and aversion, but it is not known if these centrally located receptors also contribute to a modulation of gastric slow wave activity, which is linked causally to nausea. our aim was to investigate the potential of the g ... | 2017 | 28456436 |
| the impact of bilateral vagotomy on the physostigmine-induced airway constriction in ferrets. | vagal innervations have a great role in the respiratory function and are the main route of signal transmission from respiratory neural centers into the trachea and others conducting airways. we have investigated the role of central mechanisms related to vagal neural pathways and the cholinergic outflow in tracheobronchial smooth muscle tone and lung mechanics parameters. parameters of lung mechanics such as lung resistance (rl), dynamic compliance (cdyn) and pressure in bypassed tracheal segment ... | 2017 | 28445778 |
| repeated threat (without direct harm) alters metabolic capacity in select regions that drive defensive behavior. | to understand the behavioral consequences of intermittent anticipatory stress resulting from threats without accompanying physiological challenges, we developed a semi-naturalistic rodent housing and foraging environment that can include threats that are unpredictable in timing. behavior is automatically recorded while rats forage for food or water. over three weeks, the threats have been shown to elicit risk assessment behaviors, increase defensive burying and increase adrenal gland weight. to ... | 2017 | 28433648 |
| radiographic and ultrasonographic findings of the spleen and abdominal lymph nodes in healthy domestic ferrets. | to describe the radiographic and ultrasonographic characteristics of the spleen and abdominal lymph nodes in clinically healthy ferrets. | 2017 | 28414856 |
| breaking the excitation-inhibition balance makes the cortical network's space-time dynamics distinguish simple visual scenes. | brain dynamics are often taken to be temporal dynamics of spiking and membrane potentials in a balanced network. almost all evidence for a balanced network comes from recordings of cell bodies of few single neurons, neglecting more than 99% of the cortical network. we examined the space-time dynamics of excitation and inhibition simultaneously in dendrites and axons over four visual areas of ferrets exposed to visual scenes with stationary and moving objects. the visual stimuli broke the tight b ... | 2017 | 28377701 |
| what is your diagnosis? cystic prostatic lesion in a domestic ferret. | | 2017 | 28370271 |
| comparison of a novel microcrystalline tyrosine adjuvant with aluminium hydroxide for enhancing vaccination against seasonal influenza. | vaccination against seasonal influenza strains is recommended for "high risk" patient groups such as infants, elderly and those with respiratory or circulatory diseases. however, efficacy of the trivalent influenza vaccine (tiv) is poor in many cases and in the event of an influenza pandemic, mono-valent vaccines have been rapidly developed and deployed. one of the main issues with use of vaccine in pandemic situations is the lack of a suitable quantity of vaccine early enough during the pandemi ... | 2017 | 28347293 |
| reproductive medicine in ferrets. | in the united states, desexing is performed routinely in ferrets at the age of 6 weeks, therefore reproductive tract diseases are not so common. however, in europe most ferrets are desexed when they are several months old, or they are kept as intact animals. for this reason, diseases of the reproductive organs and a prolonged estrus are far more frequent in europe than in the united states. this article summarizes and reviews the anatomy, reproductive physiology, management of reproduction (incl ... | 2017 | 28340892 |
| characterization of white matter tracts by diffusion mr tractography in cat and ferret that have similar gyral patterns. | the developmental relationships between gyral structures and white matter tracts have long been debated, but it is still difficult to discern whether they influence each other's development or are causally related. to explore this topic, this study used cats and ferrets as models for species that share similar gyral folding patterns and imaged with diffusion magnetic resonance imaging to compare white matter innervations in homologous gyri and other brain regions. adult cat and ferret brains wer ... | 2017 | 28334159 |
| architecture and mechanism of the central gear in an ancient molecular timer. | molecular clocks are the product of natural selection in organisms from bacteria to human and their appearance early in evolution such as in the prokaryotic cyanobacterium synechococcus elongatus suggests that these timers served a crucial role in genetic fitness. thus, a clock allows cyanobacteria relying on photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation to temporally space the two processes and avoid exposure of nitrogenase carrying out fixation to high levels of oxygen produced during photosynthesis. f ... | 2017 | 28330987 |
| role of prostanoid ep3/1 receptors in mechanisms of emesis and defaecation in ferrets. | prostanoid ep receptor agonists are used for a number of clinical indications but may be associated with gastric disturbance. in the present studies we used the ferret and sulprostone (30µg/kg, i.p.) to investigate the role of ep3/1 receptors in mechanisms of emesis and defaecation. the emetic response was antagonized significantly by (+)-(2s,3s)-3-(2-methoxybenzylamino)-2-phenlypiperidine hydrochloride (cp-99,994; 10mg/kg, i.p.; p<0.05), but not by metoclopramide (0.3 and 3mg/kg), ondansetron ( ... | 2017 | 28322837 |
| population based mri and dti templates of the adult ferret brain and tools for voxelwise analysis. | non-invasive imaging has the potential to play a crucial role in the characterization and translation of experimental animal models to investigate human brain development and disorders, especially when employed to study animal models that more accurately represent features of human neuroanatomy. the purpose of this study was to build and make available mri and dti templates and analysis tools for the ferret brain as the ferret is a well-suited species for pre-clinical mri studies with folded cor ... | 2017 | 28315740 |
| ferret interneurons defy expectations. | parvalbumin interneurons in the cortex are believed to pool inputs from most surrounding excitatory cells independent of their functional properties. response properties of interneurons in columnar visual cortex of ferrets, described by wilson et al. (2017) in this issue of neuron, challenge this view. | 2017 | 28279359 |
| gabaergic neurons in ferret visual cortex participate in functionally specific networks. | functional circuits in the visual cortex require the coordinated activity of excitatory and inhibitory neurons. molecular genetic approaches in the mouse have led to the "local non-specific pooling principle" of inhibitory connectivity, in which inhibitory neurons are untuned for stimulus features due to the random pooling of local inputs. however, it remains unclear whether this principle generalizes to species with a columnar organization of feature selectivity such as carnivores, primates, an ... | 2017 | 28279352 |
| video-rate volumetric functional imaging of the brain at synaptic resolution. | neurons and neural networks often extend hundreds of micrometers in three dimensions. capturing the calcium transients associated with their activity requires volume imaging methods with subsecond temporal resolution. such speed is a challenge for conventional two-photon laser-scanning microscopy, because it depends on serial focal scanning in 3d and indicators with limited brightness. here we present an optical module that is easily integrated into standard two-photon laser-scanning microscopes ... | 2017 | 28250408 |
| study of nuclear morphometry on cytology specimens of benign and malignant breast lesions: a study of 122 cases. | breast cancer has emerged as a leading site of cancer among women in india. fine needle aspiration cytology (fnac) has been routinely applied in assessment of breast lesions. cytological evaluation in breast lesions is subjective with a "gray zone" of 6.9-20%. quantitative evaluation of nuclear size, shape, texture, and density parameters by morphometry can be of diagnostic help in breast tumor. | 2017 | 28182052 |
| pathophysiological analyses of periventricular nodular heterotopia using gyrencephalic mammals. | although periventricular nodular heterotopia (pnh) is often found in the cerebral cortex of people with thanatophoric dysplasia (td), the pathophysiology of pnh in td is largely unknown. this is mainly because of difficulties in obtaining brain samples of td patients and a lack of appropriate animal models for analyzing the pathophysiology of pnh in td. here we investigate the pathophysiological mechanisms of pnh in the cerebral cortex of td by utilizing a ferret td model which we recently devel ... | 2017 | 28158406 |
| acute inactivation of primary auditory cortex causes a sound localisation deficit in ferrets. | the objective of this study was to demonstrate the efficacy of acute inactivation of brain areas by cooling in the behaving ferret and to demonstrate that cooling auditory cortex produced a localisation deficit that was specific to auditory stimuli. the effect of cooling on neural activity was measured in anesthetized ferret cortex. the behavioural effect of cooling was determined in a benchmark sound localisation task in which inactivation of primary auditory cortex (a1) is known to impair perf ... | 2017 | 28099489 |
| [pain therapy in small pets]. | although many advances in pain therapy have been made in recent years, pain therapy is more difficult in the small domestic animal than in cats and dogs. however, there is the ethical obligation that these animals also receive adequate pain therapy. an analgesic is rarely authorized for use in small pets, with pharmacological investigations often lacking and dosages frequently only determined empirically. the small size of the animals often requires a higher dose per kilogram bodyweight compared ... | 2017 | 28097286 |
| visual stimulus speed does not influence the rapid emergence of direction selectivity in ferret visual cortex. | sensory experience is necessary for the development of some receptive field properties of neurons in primary sensory cortical areas. however, it remains unclear whether the parameters of an individual animal's experience play an instructive role and influence the tuning parameters of cortical sensory neurons as selectivity emerges, or rather whether experience merely permits the completion of processes that are fully seeded at the onset of experience. here we have examined whether the speed of v ... | 2017 | 28069921 |
| relative salience of spectral and temporal features in auditory long-term memory. | in order to explore the representation of sound features in auditory long-term memory, two groups of ferrets were trained on go vs nogo, 3-zone classification tasks. the sound stimuli differed primarily along the spectral and temporal dimensions. in group 1, two ferrets were trained to (i) classify tones based on their frequency (tone-task), and subsequently learned to (ii) classify white noise based on its amplitude modulation rate (am-task). in group 2, two ferrets were trained to classify ton ... | 2016 | 28040019 |
| differences in the mechanical properties of the developing cerebral cortical proliferative zone between mice and ferrets at both the tissue and single-cell levels. | cell-producing events in developing tissues are mechanically dynamic throughout the cell cycle. in many epithelial systems, cells are apicobasally tall, with nuclei and somata that adopt different apicobasal positions because nuclei and somata move in a cell cycle-dependent manner. this movement is apical during g2 phase and basal during g1 phase, whereas mitosis occurs at the apical surface. these movements are collectively referred to as interkinetic nuclear migration, and such epithelia are c ... | 2016 | 27933293 |
| predictive ensemble decoding of acoustical features explains context-dependent receptive fields. | a primary goal of auditory neuroscience is to identify the sound features extracted and represented by auditory neurons. linear encoding models, which describe neural responses as a function of the stimulus, have been primarily used for this purpose. here, we provide theoretical arguments and experimental evidence in support of an alternative approach, based on decoding the stimulus from the neural response. we used a bayesian normative approach to predict the responses of neurons detecting rele ... | 2016 | 27927954 |
| cell type-specific expression of foxp2 in the ferret and mouse retina. | although the anatomical and physiological properties of subtypes of retinal ganglion cells (rgcs) have been extensively investigated, their molecular properties are still unclear. here, we examined the expression patterns of foxp2 in the retina of ferrets and mice. we found that foxp2 was expressed in small subsets of neurons in the adult ferret retina. foxp2-positive neurons in the ganglion cell layer were divided into two groups. large foxp2-positive neurons expressed brn3a and were retrograde ... | 2017 | 27888071 |
| repeated unpredictable threats without harm impair spatial working memory in the barnes maze. | psychological stressors elicit the anticipation of homeostatic challenge, whereas physical stressors are direct threats to homeostasis. many rodent models of stress include both types of stressors, yet deficits, like those reported for working memory, are often attributed to psychological stress. to empirically test whether intermittent psychological stressors, such as repeated threats, are solely sufficient to impair spatial working memory, we developed a novel rodent model of stress that is re ... | 2017 | 27884756 |
| research on reproduction is essential for captive breeding of endangered carnivore species. | assisted reproductive technology (art) has great potential for conservation, but its successful application in captive breeding programmes of endangered species is often compromised by limited background on species' biology. although carnivore species benefit from knowledge obtained in domesticated species (dogs, cats and ferrets), the focus of research is different. in pet animals, research in reproduction has mainly been focused on ovarian function and contraception, although substantial progr ... | 2017 | 27862396 |
| involvement of the different lung compartments in the pathogenesis of ph1n1 influenza virus infection in ferrets. | severe cases after ph1n1 infection are consequence of interstitial pneumonia triggered by alveolar viral replication and an exacerbated host immune response, characterized by the up-regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and the influx of inflammatory leukocytes to the lungs. different lung cell populations have been suggested as culprits in the unregulated innate immune responses observed in these cases. this study aims to clarify this question by studying the different induction of innate im ... | 2016 | 27825367 |
| behavioural benefits of multisensory processing in ferrets. | enhanced detection and discrimination, along with faster reaction times, are the most typical behavioural manifestations of the brain's capacity to integrate multisensory signals arising from the same object. in this study, we examined whether multisensory behavioural gains are observable across different components of the localization response that are potentially under the command of distinct brain regions. we measured the ability of ferrets to localize unisensory (auditory or visual) and spat ... | 2017 | 27740711 |
| crouching to fit in: the energetic cost of locomotion in tunnels. | animals that are specialized for a particular habitat or mode of locomotion often demonstrate locomotor efficiency in a focal environment when compared to a generalist species. however, measurements of these focal habitats or behaviors are often difficult or impossible to do in the field. in this study, the energetics and kinematics of simulated tunnel locomotion by two unrelated semi-fossorial mammals, the ferret and degu, were analyzed using open-flow respirometry and digital video. animals we ... | 2016 | 27591314 |