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We evaluated the health effects of GonaCon™ Immunocontraceptive Vaccine in individual white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on a fully fenced corporate office campus in suburban New Jersey, USA. We captured and vaccinated adult females, fawns of both sexes, and yearling and adult males, and evaluated their health status through field and necropsy observations, assessment of blood chemistry, and histopathological examination of selected tissues. One 1.0‐mL intramuscular injection of vaccine was delivered by hand to the hind limb of each GonaCon‐treated deer. Control deer received sham injections (ad F) or no injections (yearling and ad M). Mean body‐condition scores of GonaCon‐treated adult females and males were greater than those of corresponding control groups. No evidence of limping or impaired mobility was noted in study deer during the 2‐year study. No adverse effects of vaccination were detected in major organs, organ systems, body condition, fat deposits, or blood chemistry. Injection‐site lesions (granulomatous nodules and sterile abscesses) occurred in the deep hind‐limb musculature of >85% of GonaCon‐treated and sham‐injected deer but were not detectable externally. Reactions at injection sites and in lymph nodes were typical responses to injection of vaccines formulated as water‐in‐oil emulsions, especially those, like GonaCon, that contain mycobacteria. The formation of injection‐site lesions may be a necessary component of the immune response that causes infertility in treated animals. Natural resource managers who use GonaCon to manage deer in settings such as developed areas and public parks will ultimately determine its value and applicability. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.

Safe and effective contraceptive agents are needed to manage overabundant populations of cervids in settings where traditional management methods such as hunting are prohibited or impractical. We used GonaCon™ Immunocontraceptive Vaccine to reduce reproduction in individual white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on a fully fenced corporate‐office campus in suburban New Jersey, USA. In July–August 2005, we captured, marked, injected, and released 47 adult females and then monitored their reproductive performance for 2 years. Thirty‐two of these females each received a 1.0‐mL injection of GonaCon vaccine, and 15 control females were given sham injections. Field observations of udder condition during summers of 2006 and 2007 were used to determine which adult female deer were lactating; lactation was used as an indicator of imminent or recent parturition. During summer 2006, 8 of 24 GonaCon‐treated deer were pregnant, in contrast to 12 of 13 control deer. During summer 2007, 2 years after injections were given, 13 of 23 GonaCon‐treated and 10 of 12 control animals were pregnant. We also captured, vaccinated, and released fawns (both sexes) and yearling and adult males and then monitored their reproductive status. Immunocontraception of fawns was unsuccessful. In some GonaCon‐treated males (all age classes), serum testosterone concentrations and development of testes and antlers were reduced. Higher anti‐gonadotropin‐releasing‐hormone antibody titers were associated with greater infertility in females and with lower values for reproductive parameters in males. GonaCon reduced reproduction in wild adult female white‐tailed deer, but greater contraceptive efficacy may be required for it to gain widespread acceptance and use by natural resource managers. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.

ABSTRACT Stress hormones in Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis), produced in response to environmental changes, road development, or high population density, may impact their immune systems to a threshold level that predisposes them to periodic, large-scale mortality. We compared the stress response to a novel environmental situation and repeated handling between bighorn sheep born and raised in captivity (CR) and bighorn sheep born in the wild (WC) and brought into captivity. We measured plasma epinephrine, norepinephrine, cortisol, and fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM). Three weeks after each group's arrival we used a one-time drop-net event to elicit an acute stress response, and we collected blood samples from each sheep over 35 minutes, as well as one fecal sample. We collected blood and fecal samples from both groups on 7 other occasions over the subsequent 6 months. We also collected fecal samples from the pen at approximately 24-hour intervals for 3 days following every handling event to monitor the stress response to handling. We found that CR sheep had a stronger autonomic nervous system response than WC sheep, as measured by epinephrine and norepinephrine levels, but we found a very similar hypothalamic-pituitary–adrenal axis (HPA) response, measured by cortisol levels, to the acute stress event of a drop-net restraint. We also found that once the WC sheep had acclimated, as indicated by the return to the initial baseline FGM levels within 12 weeks, the CR and WC groups' HPA responses to sampling events were not significantly different from one another. Fecal samples can provide a noninvasive mechanism for managers to monitor baseline FGM for a given herd. Using long-term monitoring of FGM rather than values from a single point in time may allow managers to correlate these levels to outside influences on the herd and better understand the impacts of management changes, population density, or increased human developments on the health of the sheep population.

Though Freund's complete adjuvant effectively increases immune response to vaccines in various species, its potentially severe inflammatory effects have led many animal researchers to seek alternative immunological adjuvants. In a study of New Zealand white rabbits, the authors compared the immune and adverse effects of Freund's complete adjuvant with the effects of two formulations of AdjuVac, an immunological adjuvant previously developed by their group. All three adjuvants improved humoral immune response but also caused inflammation. Inflammatory reactions caused by AdjuVac, however, tended to be less severe than those caused by Freund's complete adjuvant.

Abstract:Expanding populations of resident Canada geese (Branta canadensis) are resulting in increased conflicts with humans. Nonlethal and humane means are needed for managing Canada goose flocks at a variety of sites, including golf courses, industrial parks, government sites, and city parks. Decreased egg production and hatching are side effects of nicarbazin, a veterinary drug used to treat coccidiosis in chickens. Capitalizing on these effects, we developed nicarbazin as a reproductive inhibitor for Canada geese and conducted a field efficacy study. We recruited study sites in 2002 and 2003. Following laboratory testing, we conducted a field efficacy trial of nicarbazin for reducing the hatchability of Canada goose eggs in spring 2004 in Oregon, USA. The study began in February 2004 at 10 sites in Oregon, with 2 control and 3 treated sites on each side of the Cascades. We fed bait daily to resident Canada geese for approximately 6 weeks. We located and monitored nests until hatching or =5 days beyond the expected hatching date to determine hatchability. We completed data collection in May 2004. Geese consumed 8,000 kg of bait, with 5,100 kg of OvoControl G® (Innolytics, LLC, Rancho Santa Fe, CA) 2,500-ppm nicarbazin bait consumed among 6 treated sites and 2,900 kg of untreated bait consumed among 4 control sites. We monitored 63 nests at treated sites and 46 nests at control sites to determine hatching success of eggs. There was a 62% reduction in the percentage of nests with 100% hatchability at treated sites as compared to controls. There was a 93% increase in the percentage of nests at treated sites with 0% hatchability as compared to nests with no eggs hatching at control sites. Hatchability from treated sites versus control sites was reduced 36% (F= 5.72, P= 0.0622). We submitted results from this study to support Environmental Protection Agency registration of nicarbazin as a reproductive inhibitor for use in Canada geese. We have shown that treatment of resident Canada geese with OvoControl G 2,500-ppm nicarbazin bait by licensed, trained applicators immediately prior to and during the breeding season can reduce hatchability of eggs laid by treated geese, thereby reducing recruitment of goslings into problem resident Canada goose populations.

Two different temperature regimes for eliciting reproduction in male and females of the Guam form of the brown treesnake were investigated. Males and females maintained at 24°C followed by a 60‐day cool period at 19°C exhibited substantial reproductive activity, and the females that produced clutches did so during a brief period after return to 24°C. In contrast, individuals maintained at 28°C followed by an identical 19°C cooling period exhibited relatively little reproductive activity, and although some females became vitellogenic, none produced eggs. Reproductive activity was virtually absent in all individuals in both groups 7 months after the end of the cool period. Thus, a period of cool temperatures elicits reproductive activity in both sexes and the effect is transitory. Temperatures experienced during the cool period were much lower than the snakes would experience on Guam, and temperatures there are also relatively invariant. Thus, it is possible that only minor fluctuations in temperature are sufficient to elicit reproduction in the Guam population. Because the Guam form does well under, and responds reproductively to, unusually cold temperatures for a lowland tropical reptile, concern that it may have the capacity to invade extralimital temperate areas is warranted. Zoo Biol 22:227–238, 2003. Published 2003 by Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

PROBLEM: Reduction of excess numbers of white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is an example of a potential use for immunocontraception as a means of wildlife population management.
 METHOD OF STUDY: A 4 year multifaceted study was conducted to determine the long term effects of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) contraceptive vaccine on the fertility and behavior of female and male white‐tailed deer. Deer were monitored for breeding behavior, hormone levels, pregnancy, fawning and GnRH specific antibody levels.
 RESULTS: Treatment lead to reduced fawning rates, altered estrus behavior, reduced concentrations of progesterone, contraception and failure to maintain pregnancy following conception. GnRH immunized does bred to untreated bucks had an 88% reduction in fawning caused by either immunocontraception or immunocontragestion. The vaccine effect is reversible, directly related to the antibody titer. Infertility lasted up to two years without boosting. GnRH immunized bucks demonstrated no interest in sexual activity when paired with control females. Depending on the immunization schedule, antlers either dropped early or remained in velvet.
 CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study demonstrate that GnRH vaccine is effective in inducing a reversible infertility in white‐tailed deer, the infertility lasting up to two years without boosting.

PROBLEM: Reduction of excess numbers of white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is a prime example of a potential use for immunocontraception as a means of wildlife population management. Oral vaccination appears to be the most pragmatic way to deliver immunocontraceptive vaccines to free‐roaming populations of deer, but there was little, if any, prior evidence that oral vaccination is a viable concept in deer.

The clinical and morphological features in 81 cases of carcinoma of the female urethra were reviewed. The over-all 5 and 10-year survival rate for the entire group was 32 per cent. Survival expectations for patients with squamous carcinoma, transitional cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma were similar when analyzed according to stage and all cell types appeared to respond equally to irradiation. Prognosis was related directly to the clinical stage of the disease. A plea is made for more accurate assessment of the disease status. The high incidence of local recurrence noted for all forms of single modality therapy (46 to 64 per cent) suggests the need for clinical trials with combination preoperative irradiation followed by definitive surgical procedures.

Examination of the published results of selected major studies of radiotherapy for T3bladder cancer strengthens two convictions: 1) that incidence and degree of radiation‐induced stage reduction are dose‐dependent and 2) that higher rates and greater degrees of tumor regression preoperatively are associated with higher rates of survival, i.e. high preoperative radiation doses are more effective than low ones.

Conscious dogs were given diltiazem hydrochloride (DTZ) orally for 5 successive days at doses of 1, 3, and 10 mg/kg/day. During the 5th day, cardiovascular responses were monitored at various timed intervals after dosing. Arterial blood was sampled concomitantly for drug analysis. DTZ produced a dose-related decrease in blood pressure. The maximum reduction amounted to −30/-33 mm Hg in systolic/diastolic pressure, which occurred 90–150 min after the dose of 10 mg/kg. Heart rate and respiration were not significantly changed. There were dose-related alterations in the electrocardiogram tracing components, ranging from PR interval prolongation to junctional rhythms and ectopic beats. No overt physical responses were apparent. The mean DTZ peak plasma levels were approximately 708 ng/ml after 10 mg/kg, 224 ng/ml after 3 mg/kg, and 98 ng/ml after 1 mg/kg. The estimated t1/2values for the 3− and 10-mg/kg/day dosings were 142 and 150 min, respectively. Correlations between the DTZ plasma level and the magnitude of the cardiovascular responses were highly significant in terms of blood pressure and PR interval changes. Low levels of DTZ were found 23 h after dosing. These levels were not associated with any meaningful cardiovascular activity.

Urinary excretion of drug after oral dosage of chlorpheniramine as maleate salt and in an oral sustained release formulation was studied, and the urinary excretion and plasma levels of tritium radioactivity obtained after crossover administration of tritium-tagged phenylephrine as hydrochloride and in sustained release formulation were compared. The urinary excretion of both drugs varied widely among individuals, indicating that this parameter is limited in value as a reflection of oral absorption. No relation between blood level and excretion of tritiated phenylephrine was apparent.

In the conscious dog, the most apparent oxybutynin effect was a dose-related tachycardia. Associated with this heart rate increase were a very slight, sometimes significant, elevation in diastolic pressure and an insignificant increase in systolic pressure. Under pentobarbital anesthesia, the systolic/diastolic arterial pressure oxybutynin responses were reversed and showed a dose-related systolic and diastolic hypotension. However, the tachycardie response to oxybutynin still appeared. The arterial pressure and heart rate responses produced by the autonomic agents were altered by the oxybutynin treatment in a pattern indicative of an anticholinergic mechanism of action. Differences in many response profiles were observed with either conscious or anesthetized dogs, but the statistically significant inhibition of the acetylcholine-induced systolic and diastolic arterial pressure and bradycardic responses were constant in both conditions. Oxybutynin is an anticholinergic agent with mild to moderate cardiovascular activity.

• Angiography is useful in following selected patients with chemodectoma of the head and neck treated by radiotherapy. Comparison of preradiotherapy and post radiotherapy angiograms in three patients revealed a decrease in the following: size of feeding arteries, size of tumor, intensity of tumor opacification, and degree of venous shunting. When chemodectomas are not amenable to physical examination and when the question of radiotherapy complication vs further growth of tumor arises, postradiotherapy angiography may be of particular value.(Arch Otolaryngol 103:87-89, 1977)

The influence of body position change on the arterial pressure and heart rate responses produced by acute short‐acting and sustained‐release dosage forms of nitroglycerin was evaluated in a series of chronically prepared, conscious beagle dogs. The upright repositioning of the dog to 60° from horizontal markedly enhanced the hypotensive and bradycardic responses produced by both dosage forms. Since it has been suggested that the lowering of arterial pressure is an essential component resulting in the therapeutic usefulness of nitroglycerin in angina pectoris, the experimental orthostatic model could be a sensitive procedure for the laboratory assessment of drugs of this class.

The article offers information on the recent carbon pollution standards provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which is acting as an opportunity for New York for accelerating its investments in a clean energy future and combat climate change. It discusses several facts which includes need of supporting common-sense legislation and standards for innovating and growing the clean energy sector, additional risk for investors due to climatic changes and green job employment.

THE twenty-one subjects participating in this study were serial admissions to the St Louis Detoxification Center during the period of December 2–21, 1971. Their ages ranged from 29 to 72 yr and they comprised twenty males and one female. A blood sample (10 ml) was obtained from the patient on admission, when a symptom intensity rating evaluation was carried out1,2. Blood concentrations of ethanol, methanol, acetaldehyde and formaldehyde-formate were determined by gas-liquid chromatography3,4. This procedure was repeated on four consecutive days (total of five samples), after which the patient was discharged from the Center.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Creating SafetyCultures in Academic Institutions" in June 11, 2012 issue of the periodical is presented.