Erratic Movements Research Articles

Soft Release Translocation of Texas Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) on an Urban Military Installation in Oklahoma, United States.

Simple SummaryWildlife are moved (translocated) for numerous reasons, whether it is to establish a new population for conservation purposes or to move animals out of harm’s way. Unfortunately, animals that are moved often fail to survive in their new homes. Soft release is a technique of penning animals at the release site before letting them free, which allows them to become acclimated to their new surroundings and prevents them from immediately trying to return to their capture location. We soft-released Texas horned lizards at an urban military installation in Oklahoma, United States. While soft-released adults did have reduced post-release movements, they also had low survival, suggesting that they do not respond well to translocation. However, post-release survival of juveniles was high and equivalent to resident juveniles. Translocation efforts of Texas horned lizards may be most successful if they focus on relocation of juveniles rather than adults.Wildlife translocation is an often-used technique to augment populations or remove animals from harm’s way. Unfortunately, many translocation efforts fail to meet their goals for myriad reasons, particularly because translocated animals make large, erratic movements after release, which can result in high mortality rates. Soft release, holding animals in acclimation pens for some period of time at the recipient site before release, has been proposed as a technique to reduce these large movements and increase the survival of translocated animals. Here, we compared the survival and movement patterns of soft-released Texas horned lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) with resident lizards, as well as hard-released lizards from a prior study. Juvenile lizards that were soft-released had high survival rates similar to resident lizards, despite still moving more frequently and occupying larger home ranges than residents. Conversely, soft-released adult lizards had survival rates similar to those that were hard-released, and much lower rates than resident adults. Curiously, soft-released adults did not have significantly higher movement rates or home range sizes than residents. Our results suggest that caution should be used before adult Texas horned lizards are translocated. However, juveniles responded well to soft release, and future research should explore whether they are more resilient to translocation in general, or if soft release provided a specific survival advantage. Contrary to our predictions, the survival of translocated animals was not related to their post-release movement patterns, and the mechanism underlying the observed survival patterns is unclear.

Orthosiphon stamineus Proteins Alleviate Pentylenetetrazol-Induced Seizures in Zebrafish.

The anticonvulsive potential of proteins extracted from Orthosiphon stamineus leaves (OSLP) has never been elucidated in zebrafish (Danio rerio). This study thus aims to elucidate the anticonvulsive potential of OSLP in pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced seizure model. Physical changes (seizure score and seizure onset time, behavior, locomotor) and neurotransmitter analysis were elucidated to assess the pharmacological activity. The protective mechanism of OSLP on brain was also studied using mass spectrometry-based label-free proteomic quantification (LFQ) and bioinformatics. OSLP was found to be safe up to 800 µg/kg and pre-treatment with OSLP (800 µg/kg, i.p., 30 min) decreased the frequency of convulsive activities (lower seizure score and prolonged seizure onset time), improved locomotor behaviors (reduced erratic swimming movements and bottom-dwelling habit), and lowered the excitatory neurotransmitter (glutamate). Pre-treatment with OSLP increased protein Complexin 2 (Cplx 2) expression in the zebrafish brain. Cplx2 is an important regulator in the trans-SNARE complex which is required during the vesicle priming phase in the calcium-dependent synaptic vesicle exocytosis. Findings in this study collectively suggests that OSLP could be regulating the release of neurotransmitters via calcium-dependent synaptic vesicle exocytosis mediated by the “Synaptic Vesicle Cycle” pathway. OSLP’s anticonvulsive actions could be acting differently from diazepam (DZP) and with that, it might not produce the similar cognitive insults such as DZP.

Outlier-Aware, density-Based gaze fixation identification

Eye tracking is an advancing technology holding significant promise to improve our understanding of human behavior and decision making. Gaze data gathered by eye trackers contain events known as fixations. Fixations indicate visual attention and awareness, and are identified by algorithms that parse eye-tracking data into a sequence of gaze point clusters. While great potential exists, eye-tracker imprecision often results in noisy gaze data, such as what arises from calibration errors, erratic eye movements, or other system noise. Noise can cause inaccurate identification of fixations in eye-tracking applications, resulting in misleading behavioral interpretations and conclusions. Therefore, fixation identification algorithms should be robust against data noise. To resolve such inaccuracies, we propose FID+: outlier-aware fixation identification via fixation inner-density. We represent the problem of detecting outliers in fixation gaze data through a novel mixed-integer optimization formulation, and subsequently strengthen the formulation using two geometric arguments to provide enhanced bounds. We show that neither bound dominates the other, and that both are effective in reducing the overall solution runtime. Our experiments on real gaze recordings demonstrate that accommodating for the reality of fixation outliers enhances the ability to identify fixations with greater density in reasonable runtime.

Toward a Better Understanding of Blast Furnace Raceway Blockages

Operational data of two small size blast furnaces (BFs) with respect to the occurrence of raceway blockages are analyzed. These blockages mainly occur due to erratic movements in the burden. In a previous project, the authors have investigated the various types of raceway blockages and tested different approaches to implement a reliable way to detect such blockages at a very early stage. Early detection of severe blockage events is important to avoid tuyere damages and trigger operational reactions like, e.g., the shutdown of pulverized coal injection (PCI) branches. The most promising algorithm of the previous project has been implemented in the process control system of the BFs and enhanced with the additional calculation of a strength factor serving as an indicator for the severity of a blockage event. The system is now collecting data on raceway blockages since the beginning of 2019. As there is now a good data basis available, herein, the latest findings on blockage event statistics and the correlation with other operational data of the BF are presented.

Ingestion and effects of polystyrene nanoparticles in the silkworm Bombyx mori

Information on the occurrence and effects of nanoplastics in ecosystems worldwide currently represent one of the main challenges from the ecotoxicological point of view. This is particularly true for terrestrial environments, in which nanoplastics are released directly by human activities or derive from the fragmentation of larger plastic items incorrectly disposed. Since insects can represent a target for these emerging contaminants in land-based community, the aim of this study was the evaluation of ingestion of 0.5 μm polystyrene nanoplastics and their effects in silkworm (Bombyx mori) larvae, a useful and well-studied insect model. The ingestion of nanoplastics, the possible infiltration in the tissues and organ accumulation were checked by confocal microscopy, while we evaluated the effects due to the administered nanoplastics through a multi-tier approach based on insect development and behaviour assessment, as endpoints at organism level, and the measurements of some biochemical responses associated with the imbalance of the redox status (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione s-transferase, reactive oxygen species evaluation, lipid peroxidation) to investigate the cellular and molecular effects. We observed the presence of microplastics in the intestinal lumen, but also inside the larvae, specifically into the midgut epithelium, the Malpighian tubules and in the haemocytes. The behavioural observations revealed a significant (p < 0.05) increase of erratic movements and chemotaxis defects, potentially reflecting negative indirect effects on B. mori survival and fitness, while neither effect on insect development nor redox status imbalance were measured, with the exception of the significant (p < 0.05) inhibition of superoxide dismutase activity.

Biomarkers of the influence of pyrethroids and neonicotinoids on amphibian larvae

Currently, most amphibian populations in the world exist under the influence of numerous stress factors. Among them, the main factors that affect almost all terrestrial animals, namely, the fragmentation of habitats, environmental pollution and anthropic transformation of landscapes. Moreover, those factors are joined by negative causes that affect only amphibians – specific viral and fungal infections: ranaviruses (Ambystoma tigrinum virus (ATV), Bohle iridovirus (BIV), and frog virus 3) (also dangerous for some reptiles) and chytrid fungi (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and B. salamandrivorans). All these factors are one of the main reasons for the current global decline of amphibian populations in the world. In today's world, agricultural chemicals are one of the most important in terms of toxicity, environmental emissions and total area of impact. Among them, a significant proportion are formed by synthetic insecticides, which include pyrethroids and neonicotinoids. Pollution by these substances has a negative impact on amphibian populations, despite the relatively short period of their life in the environment. The vast majority of studies on the effects of pyrethroid and neonicotinoid insecticides were made in laboratory experiments with the larval stages of tailless amphibians. Tadpoles are easy to get in sufficient quantities and kept in the laboratory. Cypermethrin reduces the viability of tadpoles and causes precocious metamorphosis of survived larvae. However, in a combination with other pesticides, it delays metamorphosis. In addition, embryos were more resistant to pyrethroids than tadpoles. Pyrethroid pesticides cause spasms indicating adverse neurological effects. Formation of oral apparatus abnormalities in tadpoles, anisochromasia and increasing number of immature erythrocytes are also caused by pyrethroids. Neonicotinoids show similar effects. Under the action of imidacloprid the erythrocytes are also disturbed that is showed up in the DNA damage and micronuclei formation. Neurological disorders are manifested in the ability to perceive or respond to a predator, disorientation, erratic movement and loss of balance. Pyrethroids and neonicotinoids have been shown cause a variety of disorders: increase mortality and reduce survival of tadpoles; have a teratogenic effect and affect the metamorphosis and morphological parameters of amphibians; change many biochemical parameters that characterize the protein metabolism and oxidative stress; have genotoxic effects and affect the state of the nervous system and animal behaviour. Most of these parameters are proposed for use as biomarkers of pesticide intoxication.

Acute toxic effects of chlorpyrifos on pseudobranchial neurosecretory system, brain regions and locomotory behavior of an air-breathing catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch 1794)

In the late twentieth century, tremendous use of second-class organophosphate insecticides especially chlorpyrifos (CPF) resulting into heavy accumulation in different non-targeted aquatic species including fishes leads to apparent structural and biochemical changes in different organs and related abnormal behavioral responses. The present study has been undertaken as a pioneer attempt to assess the toxic effects of CPF on histopathological changes in pseudobranchial neurosecretory cells (PNSCs) of a neuroendocrine system of gill region, optic tectum (OT) and cerebellum, biochemical changes (acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity and antioxidant markers) in the brain and associated locomotory behavioral alterations in air-breathing catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis. The fishes were exposed to CPF concentration of 1.92 mg/l for four days and their locomotor activities were recorded by ANY-MAZE software (Stoelting, Kiel, WI), an automated behavior tracking device. The acute exposure of CPF induced pathological changes in PNSCs, subtle changes in granular cells of the cerebellum and neuroarchitectural pattern of different layers of OT as compared to control. In the CPF exposed brain, AChE activity was significantly decreased while antioxidant enzymatic activity such as SOD activity was increased but CAT activity was substantially decreased. The CPF exposed fishes displayed significantly reduced locomotory activities with symptoms of motionless, loss of equilibrium and erratic movements. This study concludes that acute exposure to CPF for short duration may induce dys-regulation of neurosecretory activity of PNSCs, altered biochemical activity of brain and reduced locomotory/swimming performances in fishes.

Acute toxicity analysis of effluent from tannery industry in Kano metropolis

The acute toxicity of tannery effluents collected from Challawa industrial estate Kano, Nigeria was assessed using Artemia salina and Clarias gariepinus. The test was done after the evaluation of range finding test before a definitive test with 3 replication of each treatment. The varying concentrations were prepared by diluting crude effluent with borehole water on V/V% in a completely randomized design. The experiment showed C. gariepinus fingerling to exhibit abnormal behavior such as initial erratic movement, skin discolouration and loss of reflex. Recorded mortality and behavioral abnormalities in both species observed were dose-time-dependent. The 96 hours LC50 estimated for C. gariepinus was 9.95% while that of A. salina after 24 hours and 48 hours were 4.63%, 0.73% respectively. Thus, the information from the study demonstrates the toxic effect of tannery effluent which requires proper management before its discharge into environment.&#x0D; Keywords: Acute toxicity, Artemia salina, Clarias gariepinus, Effluent, Tannery

Carbofuran induces increased anxiety-like behaviors in female zebrafish (Danio rerio) through disturbing dopaminergic/norepinephrinergic system

Carbofuran, a carbamate pesticide, is widely used in developing countries to manage insect pests. Studies have found that carbofuran posed potential risks for the neurotransmitter systems of non-target species, we speculated that these disruptive effects on the neurotransmitter systems could trigger anxiety-like behaviors. In this study, female zebrafish were exposed to environmental levels (5, 50, and 500 μg/L) of carbofuran for 48 h to evaluate the effects of carbofuran on anxiety-like behaviors. Results showed that zebrafish exhibited more anxiety-like behaviors which proved by the observed higher bottom trend and more erratic movements in the novel tank after carbofuran treatment. In order to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms of carbofuran-induced anxiety-promoting effects, we measured the levels of neurotransmitters, precursors, and major metabolites, along with the level of gene expression and the enzyme activities involved in neurotransmitter synthesis and metabolism. The results demonstrated that acute carbofuran exposure stimulated the mRNA expression and enzyme activity of tyrosine hydroxylase, which sequentially induced the increased levels of dopamine and norepinephrine. Tyrosine hydroxylase inhibitor relieved the anxiety-related changes induced by carbofuran, confirming the overactive tyrosine hydroxylase-mediated accumulation of dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain was one of the main reasons for carbofuran-induced anxiety-like behaviors in the female zebrafish. Overall, our study indicated the environmental health risks of carbamate pesticide in inducing neurobehavioral disorders and provided novel insights into the investigation of the relevant underlying mechanisms.

Tranquilizer effect on the Lyapunov exponents of lame horses

Tranquilization of horses with acepromazine has been used to suppress erratic head movements and increase the accuracy of a lameness examination. Some equine clinicians believe that tranquilization with acepromazine will make lameness more evident by causing the horse to focus on adjusting its gait to avoid limb pain rather than its surroundings. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of acepromazine on the Lyapunov exponents of lame horses. Ten lame horses were trotted in a straight line for a minimum of 25 strides. Kinematic data created by head movement were analyzed. Nonlinear analysis methods were applied to lame horse locomotion. The effect of acepromazine on the largest Lyapunov exponents of the lame horses were investigated. There was no statistically significant effect of acepromazine on the maximum value of Lyapunov exponents. The nonlinear dynamic methods can be used to analyze the gait in horses. Local stability of horse gait remains unchanged after the administration of acepromazine.

IMIDACLOPRID TOXICITY AND ITS ATTENUATION BY AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF MORINGA OLEIFERA LEAF IN ZEBRA FISH, DANIO RERIO

Objective: Imidacloprid (IMC) is a systemic chloro-nicotinyl insecticide that is applied in crop fields to control a wide variety of harmful insects and pests. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the mitigating effects of Moringa leaf extract (MLE) against Imidacloprid (IMC) induced mortality after acute toxicity bioassay in zebrafish, Danio rerio.&#x0D; Methods: The fishes were exposed to various concentrations of IMC to estimate the LC50 values at different exposure periods using the probit analysis.&#x0D; To assess the attenuating effect on mortality fishes were exposed to different concentrations of MLE along with 24 and 96 h LC50 of IMC. Mortality rate of fishes was recorded during all experimental periods.&#x0D; Results: The LC50 values were found to be 0.423, 0.352, 0.297 and 0.270 ml/l after 24, 48, 72 and 96 h respectively. The upper confidence limits were 0.491, 0.408, 0.334 and 0.302 ml/l and lower confidence limits were 0.355, 0.296, 0.260 and 0.238 ml/l for 24, 48, 72 and 96 h respectively.&#x0D; The fishes remain alive at 12 ml/l and 10 ml/l of MLE against 24 and 96 h LC50 respectively. Some behavioral responses such as violent, sluggish and erratic movement, respiratory distress, mucous secretion all over the body, discoloration were also observed in IMC treated fishes in comparison to MLE treated fishes.&#x0D; Conclusion: These findings demonstrated that MLE has mitigating effects against the toxic influence of IMC on mortality in zebra fishes which is attributed to its antioxidant effects.

Long-term exposure of zebrafish to bisphenol S impairs stress function of hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal axis and causes anxiety-like behavioral responses to novelty.

Bisphenol S (BPS), a main substitute of bisphenol A, has been reported to induce multiple endocrine disrupting effects on animals, however, whether it can interfere with the corticosteroid-endocrine system still remains unknown. Furthermore, previous studies mainly investigated the influences of environmental pollutants on corticosteroid levels and gene expressions of hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal/adrenal (HPI/A) axis, while the downstream toxic effects caused thereafter have not yet been fully elucidated. Considering the key role of cortisol, a primary corticosteroid hormone in teleost, in mediating stress adaptation and the highly positive correlation between cortisol level and anxious phenotype in the novel environment, we hypothesized that an imbalanced cortisol homeostasis due to environmental pollutant exposure may further affect the behavioral responses to novelty stress. In the present study, zebrafish, a valuable model in studying human stress physiology and anxiety behavior, were exposed to BPS from embryos to adults (120days) at environmentally relevant concentrations (1 and 10μg/L) and 100μg/L. Results found that long-term exposure to BPS increased whole-body cortisol levels and caused abnormal expressions of HPI axis genes. Moreover, the excessive cortisol levels may be due to the inhibition of cortisol catabolism and excretion, as evidenced by the down-regulated expressions of hydroxysteroid 11-beta dehydrogenase 2 and hydroxysteroid 20-beta dehydrogenase 2 genes. More importantly, as we speculated, excessive cortisol levels may be responsible for the occurrence of anxiety-like behavioral responses indicated by longer latency, fewer time spent in the upper half, and more erratic movements in a 6-min novel tank test. Overall, our study provides basic data for the comprehensive understanding of BPS toxicity, and emphasizes environmental health risks of BPS in inducing anxiety syndrome at environmentally realistic concentrations.

Forest structure and snow depth alter the movement patterns and subsequent expenditures of a forest carnivore, the Pacific marten

Energetic balance is central to the survival and persistence of free‐ranging animals. Quantifying expenditures and identifying factors that drive energetics informs our understanding of species' ecology and their responses to shifting environmental conditions. Approaches used to estimate energetic expenditures of free‐ranging species, such as doubly‐labelled water (DLW), are precise but difficult to implement. Global positioning system (GPS) collars and accelerometers have emerged as alternatives for estimating expenditures, but these techniques have few applications in terrestrial species and no applications in small‐bodied (&lt;5 kg) terrestrial animals. Here, we estimated movement characteristics and field metabolic rates (FMR) of Pacific martens Martes caurina, a small‐bodied carnivore with relatively high energetic costs, in a heterogeneous landscape to explore the role of movement and landscape characteristics in energetics. We concurrently used DLW and GPS collars to investigate the relationship between movement characteristics and FMR. Movement velocity explained the greatest amount of variation in mass‐specific FMR and we used this relationship to predict expenditures of previously collared martens. We found that predicted mass‐specific FMR was highest among males and increased in open patches primarily as a result of increased velocity and more erratic movements. Additionally, martens moving through deep snow also exhibited increased FMR. Our work shows movement metrics can effectively explain variation in FMR and identify landscape features, like forest structure and snow depth, that influence movements with cascading effects on energetics for free‐ranging mammals in rapidly changing systems.

Triclosan alters adult zebrafish behavior and targets acetylcholinesterase activity and expression

Triclosan is widely used in consumer products as an antimicrobial agent. Epidemiological studies have reported the association of triclosan with adverse birth outcomes. The toxic effects of triclosan on the developing stages of zebrafish are reported, however, its role as behavioral modifier is limited. In the present study, adult zebrafish were exposed to triclosan (0.3 and 0.6 mg/L) for 48 h and the exploratory behavior was analyzed using ZebraTrack. Triclosan exposed group showed significantly reduced locomotion concomitant with increased freezing duration. They also showed erratic movements suggesting that triclosan induced anxiety-like behavior in adult zebrafish. Next, we tested the hypothesis that the anxiety-like behavior is linked to altered acetylcholinesterase activity. We found that the triclosan exposure decreased acetylcholinesterase activity in the brain and skeletal muscle but acetylcholinesterase (ache) gene was significantly down-regulated only in the skeletal muscle of the adult zebrafish exposed to triclosan. In addition, we also observed a down-regulation of myelin basic protein (mbp) gene in the skeletal muscle of adult zebrafish treated with triclosan. Thus, our data indicates that even short exposure of triclosan is potent enough to induce behavioral anomalies in adult zebrafish that appear to involve acetylcholinesterase and other structural proteins especially in the skeletal muscle.

Joan Cuscó. Subjectivitat i Creativitat. Temps, memòria i creació. Barcelona: Publicia, 2018, 392 p.

Joan Cusco’s work Subjectivitat i Creativitat. Temps, memoria i creacio (Subjectivity and Creativity. Time, memory and creation) is an attempt to comprehend creativity thruough the filter of subjectivity. The epigraph of the book already anticipates the trajectory and logic of the research presented by the author, who, in the form of an erratic movement—various authors, apparently heterogeneous—explores and discovers, as an explorer in an unknown land, a clear image, elaborated in a solid and disciplined project: the nature of human subjectivity. As the author tells us, subjectivity will be the way to approach or try to understand human creativity; and this approach will be done—as if it were a composition of a musical chord, constituted by four notes—through the comprehension and mutual relationship between mind, brain, consciousness and language. The research presented by Cusco is based on a plural and multifocal approach between scientific knowledge, philosophy and art, always avoiding reductionists views and encouraging unconditional dialogue between these disciplines or perspectives. Throughout his composition, the author progressively reveals a certain conception of human thought or of human nature in general terms. Human nature, Cusco defends, must be understood from the dialectic between necessity and possibility, that is, from the double perspective of understanding our existence as organisms attached to certain necessities and possibilities open up by our symbolic capacity. It is in this manner that the author tries to capture the space that separates biology from artistic creation; and he does this by avoiding at all times to fall into any kind of reductionism, mainly in the idealism that considers humans as singular beings in the bosom of creation; and also avoiding various forms of dualism, such as the one between biology and culture, between body and mind, and ultimately between philosophy and science. The whole work shows an extraordinary mastery of specialised literature on the issues addressed, from biology to philosophy, through art and artistic creation. Especially noteworthy is the attention to Catalan thinkers and scientists, often neglected by the academic research done in Spain itself—an element that shows how Cusco’s work has a clear international aspiration and remains rooted in the fruitful production of his homeland.

Toxicidad en Xiphophorus maculatus por cipermetrina

El Arrivo®6EC es un insecticida utilizado para el control de plagas, como hormigas y garrapatas. Su ingrediente activo es la cipermetrina, en este caso como agente contaminante que emulsifica en el agua. Este ingrediente presenta un riesgo ambiental de alta toxicidad en peces y organismos acuáticos. El objetivo de este experimento fue evaluar la toxicidad de peces platy Xiphophorus maculatus al ser expuestos a la cipermetrina. Dado que el Arrivo®6EC es utilizado comúnmente en Panamá, se realizó este estudio para comprobar las afectaciones causadas en los peces platys. Las pruebas se realizaron de manera duplicada para dos concentraciones de cipermetrina, las cuales fueron 1 mg/L y 2.5 mg/L. Los peces presentaban un tamaño y peso promedio de 28.5 cm y 0.33g respectivamente, y una edad de dos a tres semanas aproximadamente. En las observaciones realizadas en las diferentes horas, los síntomas en los peces variaban desde: poca habilidad para nadar, movimiento errático, movimiento solo con estimulación, disnea, natación erguida y en espiral, hasta la muerte. Después de morir, los aspectos más notados fueron: degeneración de tejidos superficiales y colas, lesiones hiperémicas, signos hemorrágicos y pigmentación en la superficie corporal. Se comprobó que incluso en concentraciones de 1 mg/L resultan en una alta tasa de mortalidad de este contaminante letal para la especie Xiphophorus maculatus. Se recomienda iniciar con valores de concentraciones por debajo de 1 mg/L, para obtener mejores resultados, y tomándose en cuenta la edad, el tamaño y el peso, pues de esto depende los efectos toxicológicos.

Impaired driving: A case report. Pickup truck centerline crossover collision with medium-size bus on U.S. Highway 83, Concan, Texas, United States

Objective: The objective of this communication is to describe a crash involving an impaired pickup truck driver who crossed the centerline and struck a medium-size bus carrying senior adults restrained with lap-only belts that resulted in 13 fatalities.Methods: Document review of the National Transportation Safety Board investigation was performed. Documents are available at: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms/search/hitlist.cfm?docketID=61581&CFID=2452299&CFTOKEN=9e7f5cd49ac23dc3-47A7BE1A-B81A-1A8F-7B1554A90617B722.Results: Prior to the crash, the erratic movement of the pickup truck being driven by a 20-year-old man was videotaped by witnesses in a following vehicle (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsGsbYTwWbM). The 14.5-min cell phone recording demonstrated the pickup truck swerving repeatedly over the double yellow center line and onto the shoulder. The recording ended before the crash. While rounding a curve in the roadway, the pickup crossed the centerline and struck a medium-size bus with 14 occupants. All but one of the rearmost bus occupants were fatally injured in the collision. The pickup driver survived with serious injuries. Following the crash, toxicology testing found that the pickup truck driver had used marijuana in combination with a prescription benzodiazepine, clonazepam. The bus occupants ranged in age from 64 to 87 years old and all were wearing the available restraints, which included lap–shoulder belts and air bags (both of which deployed) for the driver and front seat passenger. Of the 12 rear passenger seats, 8 were equipped with traveling retractor lap belt assemblies and the 2-person bench seats in the last row on each side of the bus were equipped with manually adjustable lap belt assemblies.Conclusions: The failure of the truck driver to maintain control of his vehicle was due to impairment stemming from his use of marijuana in combination with misuse of a prescribed medication, clonazepam. Following the crash, the pickup driver was sentenced to 55 years in prison. Improved countermeasures including guidance and access to improved roadside testing methods, expanded law enforcement training to detect impaired drivers, enhanced enforcement regarding impairment by combinations of drugs or drugs and alcohol, as well an evaluation and implementation of data-driven strategies are needed to reduce fatalities, injuries, and crashes involving drivers impaired by alcohol and other drugs. The lap belts provided insufficient protection for the passengers seated in the rear of the bus aft of the intrusion zone; standard installation by vehicle manufacturers of lap–shoulder belts on medium-size as well as larger buses (now required) could mitigate the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Comparison between two- and three-dimensional scoring of zebrafish response to psychoactive drugs: identifying when three-dimensional analysis is needed.

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) have recently emerged as a valuable laboratory species in the field of behavioral pharmacology, where they afford rapid and precise high-throughput drug screening. Although the behavioral repertoire of this species manifests along three-dimensional (3D), most of the efforts in behavioral pharmacology rely on two-dimensional (2D) projections acquired from a single overhead or front camera. We recently showed that, compared to a 3D scoring approach, 2D analyses could lead to inaccurate claims regarding individual and social behavior of drug-free experimental subjects. Here, we examined whether this conclusion extended to the field of behavioral pharmacology by phenotyping adult zebrafish, acutely exposed to citalopram (30, 50, and 100 mg/L) or ethanol (0.25%, 0.50%, and 1.00%), in the novel tank diving test over a 6-min experimental session. We observed that both compounds modulated the time course of general locomotion and anxiety-related profiles, the latter being represented by specific behaviors (erratic movements and freezing) and avoidance of anxiety-eliciting areas of the test tank (top half and distance from the side walls). We observed that 2D projections of 3D trajectories (ground truth data) may introduce a source of unwanted variation in zebrafish behavioral phenotyping. Predictably, both 2D views underestimate absolute levels of general locomotion. Additionally, while data obtained from a camera positioned on top of the experimental tank are similar to those obtained from a 3D reconstruction, 2D front view data yield false negative findings.

The emergence of zoonotic Fusarium oxysporum infection in captive-reared fingerlings of golden mahseer, Tor putitora (Hamilton, 1822) from the central Himalayan region of India.

Zoonotic Fusarium oxysporum infection was identified in captive-reared fingerlings of golden mahseer, Tor putitora (Hamilton, 1822) from the central Himalayan regions, India. Initially, fingerlings of T.putitora (mean length 10.8±0.002 and weight 18.58±0.054g) were observed with cottony mass like growth completely covering the dorsal and caudal fins. The infected fingerlings were showing clinical signs such as sluggish, erratic movement, gasping, flared operculum and settling at one corner of the rearing tanks. The microscopic observation of 8-day old culture of cottony mass like growth showed the presence of septate macroconidia, randomly spread microconidia and chlamydospores in short-chain. From sequence analysis of ITS amplified fragment, the isolate was identified as Fusarium oxysporum, TPFCF 214 (MH464266.1) and clustered with F.oxysporum, strain NRRL 43504 (EF453107.1) and F. oxysporum, strain 20736 (JX 270150.1) isolated from the human in phylogenetic tree. An experimental infection of healthy golden mahseer fingerlings with 20µl of F.oxysporum spore suspension (2.5×109 spore ml-1 ) showed the development of lesion 6-dpi at the site of injection. Experimental trial on EPC-2 cell culture recorded detachment in the monolayer, clumping and shrinking of the cell line 6-8dpi with a spore suspension of F.oxysporum, TPFCF 214 (5.68×102 cell/ml). From the severity of its infection, there is a chance that F.oxysporum may emerge as pathogenically and pose a significant health risk on captive-reared golden mahseer in other Asian countries and world. As Fusarium solani and F.oxysporum are known to cause invasive fusariosis in human especially in immunocompromised patients, localized infection in immunocompetent individuals as well as osteomyelitis, arthritis, otitis, sinusitis and brain abscess, the global fish farmers, handlers and aquaculturist need to be aware of possible health hazards caused by Fusarium spp. and should adopt proper fish health management and animal husbandry practice to control the infection of Fusarium in culture environment.

Do you smell the danger? Effects of three commonly used pesticides on the olfactory-mediated antipredator response of zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Fish are warned about the presence of predators via an alarm cue released from the skin of injured conspecifics. The detection of this odor inherently initiates an antipredator response, which increases the chance of survival for the individual. In the present study, we assessed the effect of three commonly used pesticides on the antipredator response of zebrafish (Danio rerio). For this, we analyzed the behavioral response of zebrafish to a conspecific skin extract following 24 h of exposure to the respective contaminants. Results demonstrate that fish exposed to 20 μg/L of the organophosphate insecticide chlorpyrifos significantly reduced bottom-dwelling and freezing behavior, suggesting an impairment of the antipredator response. For the urea-herbicide linuron and the pyrethroid insecticide permethrin, no statistically significant effects could be detected. However, linuron-exposed fish appeared to respond in an altered manner to the skin extract; some individuals failed to perform the inherent behaviors such as erratic movements and instead merely increased their velocity. Furthermore, we determined whether zebrafish would avoid the pesticides in a choice maze. While fish avoided permethrin, they behaved indifferently to chlorpyrifos and linuron. The study demonstrates that pesticides may alter the olfactory-mediated antipredator response of zebrafish in distinct ways, revealing that particularly fish exposed to chlorpyrifos may be more prone to predation.