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Mitochondrial DNA is commonly used in population genetic studies to investigate spatial structure, intraspecific variation, and phylogenetic relationships. The control region is the most rapidly evolving and largest non-coding region, but its analysis can be complicated by heteroplasmic signals of genome duplication in many mammals, including felids. Here, we describe the presence of heteroplasmy in the control region of Canada lynx ( Lynx canadensis ) through intra-individual sequence variation. Our results demonstrate multiple haplotypes of varying length in each lynx, resulting from different copy numbers of the repetitive sequence RS-2 and suggest possible heteroplasmic single nucleotide polymorphisms in both repetitive sequences RS-2 and RS-3. Intra-individual variation was only observed in the repetitive sequences while inter-individual variation was detected in the flanking regions outside of the repetitive sequences, indicating that heteroplasmic mutations are restricted to these repeat regions. Although each lynx displayed multiple haplotypes of varying length, we found the most common variant contained three complete copies of the RS-2 repeat unit, suggesting copy number is regulated by stabilizing selection. While genome duplication offers potential for increased diversity, heteroplasmy may lead to a selective advantage or detriment in the face of mitochondrial function and disease, which could have significant implications for wildlife populations experiencing decline (e.g., bottlenecks) as a result of habitat modification or climate change., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests.

Background: Providing intercultural learning experiences that assist students to develop cultural awareness and culturally safe nursing care is an important part of nursing education in Canada and Denmark. However, providing opportunities for students to study and travel to another country can be challenging given the strict requirements to meet entry-to-practice competencies and the timing of clinical placement courses. In an attempt to increase opportunities for students, an innovative strategy called Globally Networked Learning (GNL) that uses the internet and social media, was developed to enable Canadian and Danish nursing students to collaborate and complete a clinically oriented assignment., Objectives: This study aims to explore three research questions. What are the students' experiences with GNL? How did GNL influence understanding of how culture, nursing care and health systems influence health outcomes? Can GNL support students to develop a global understanding of health and nursing?, Design: A qualitative study was conducted to explore the students' experiences and learning from their participation in GNL., Setting: A school of nursing in Canada and one in Denmark were used as sites for this study, although the collaborative learning experience occurred online., Participants: In total, 24 BScN nursing students completed GNL projects (12 from Canada and 12 from Denmark) and 15 students (six Canadian and nine Danish) participated in this study., Results: Students reported very positive experiences with using GNL to complete an assignment that was structured to support inter-cultural learning. Completing the GNL assignment enhanced students' understanding of the global reach of nursing, how culture influences nursing practice and how considering cultural differences enabled them to learn from each other to improve their nursing practice at home., Conclusions: GNL is a promising education strategy and plans for expanding GNL in nursing education are proposed., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Pyoderma in dogs is most commonly caused by Staphylococcus spp., and significant emergence of methicillin resistance in staphylococcal pyoderma has been reported. This preliminary study of the prevalence of methicillin resistance in canine pyoderma cases in Canadian primary care veterinary practices revealed that methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus spp. were present in 12.1% of 149 staphylococcal positive skin culture cases.

Novel strains of Brucella recently have been discovered in marine mammals. To investigate Brucella exposure and infection in a general population of cetaceans, blood and tissue samples were collected and analyzed from wild harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) incidentally caught in fishing gear in the Bay of Fundy, Canada. Two of 170 (1.2%) animals had detectable antibodies against Brucella, but no organisms were isolated from genital swabs or tissues from 22 and 8 porpoises, respectively. Genetic analysis of inflamed testes from 20 animals yielded no amplification of Brucella DNA. This is the first evidence of exposure to Brucella in porpoises from the western North Atlantic, and the prevalence is much lower than documented for conspecifics from the eastern North Atlantic.

An indirect enzyme immunoassay (IELISA) for detection of bovine antibody activity to Anaplasma marginale was developed. This assay used a crude antigen prepared from erythrocytes of infected calves, immobilized in a polystyrene matrix and a mouse monoclonal antibody to bovine IgG1, conjugated with horseradish peroxidase. Negative sera (n = 1842) were tested and the diagnostic specificity was 98.4 +/- 0.6% before retesting 29 positive samples. After retesting, eight samples remained positive and the specificity was calculated to be 99.6 +/- 0.3%. The diagnostic sensitivity, using 831 serum samples collected from naturally or experimentally infected cattle in Argentina, 370 from Mexico and 525 sera from experimentally vaccinated or infected cattle from Texas, was 87.3 +/- 1.6%.