chronic heart failure patients is evident, and as a unique finding, apnea/hypopnea index (AHI) Ͼ30/h alone has a preeminent predictive role in the presence of exercise oscillatory ventilation (EOV), which could be used as an argument for a reinterpretation of previous reports. 2,3 Even so, EOV contributes to a meaningful increase of risk in patients with AHI Ͼ30/h, and the fact that there were few EOV-alone patients in our population confirms the strong clinical interdependence between EOV and AHI Ͼ30/h. At the same time, as stated in the Limitations section of our article, because of the small number of EOV-alone patients, our study should not be viewed as the final word but rather as an encouragement for other centers to examine the prevalence and cardiovascular risk associated with EOV alone. Moreover, the lower mean V E/V CO 2 slope value and its reduced prognostic significance are easily explained by the characteristics of the study population: a large number of clinically stable chronic heart failure patients on ␤-blockers, who exhibit such features. 4,5 Finally, with regard to the methodological issues raised by Dr Guazzi, in our experience the influence of EOV on V E/V CO 2 slope is negligible.In conclusion, we believe that neither of these issues has an impact on the main findings of our article and our conclusions are supported by the evidence provided. DisclosuresNone.

ABSTRACT:Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), chamois (Rupicapra rupricapra rupicapra), and domestic sheep in the Orobie Alps, Italy, were serologically tested for antibodies to selected pathogens that may be transmitted across species. Antibodies against Brucella spp. and bovine herpesvirus 1 (roe deer and chamois only) were not detected in any species. In roe deer, antibodies were detected against Toxoplasma gondii (13%) and Neospora caninum (3%). Chamois tested positive for antibodies to T. gondii (5%), N. caninum (21%), bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) (41%), bovine parainfluenza type-3 virus (17%), pestiviruses (18%), and Mycoplasma conjunctivae (17%). In the sheep, particularly high antibody prevalence rates were found for T. gondii (78%), Chlamydophila spp. (20%), pestiviruses (90%), BRSV (82%), and M. conjunctivae (81%).

Genetic variability of the ovine parasite Haemonchus contortus from the Alpine area was investigated using mitochondrial DNA (nd4 gene), internal transcribed spacers 1 and 2 and microsatellites, in order to assess whether cross-transmission between domestic and wild ruminants occurs. The dataset was composed of 78 individual adult male H. contortus collected from chamois (Rupicapra r. rupicapra), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), alpine ibex (Capra ibex ibex), domestic goat (Capra hircus) and sheep (Ovis aries) from different alpine areas. The data obtained show low host specificity and high genetic variation within H. contortus populations. The analyses indicate the presence of two mitochondrial haplotype clusters among host species and the absence of cryptic parasite species, confirming H. contortus as a generalist nematode and suggesting that parasite transmission between populations of domestic and wild ruminants normally occurs.

No abstract

Secondary sexual traits, such as horns in ungulates, may be good indicators of genetic quality because they are costly to develop. Genetic effects on such traits may be revealed by examining correlations between multilocus heterozygosity (MLH) and trait value. Correlations between MLH and fitness traits, termed heterozygosity-fitness correlations (HFC), may reflect inbreeding depression or associative overdominance of neutral microsatellite loci with loci directly affecting fitness traits. We investigated HFCs for horn growth, body mass and faecal counts of nematode eggs in wild Alpine ibex (Capra ibex). We also tested if individual inbreeding coefficients (f') estimated from microsatellite data were more strongly correlated with fitness traits than MLH. MLH was more strongly associated with trait variation than f'. We found HFC for horn growth but not for body mass or faecal counts of nematode eggs. The effect of MLH on horn growth was age-specific. The slope of the correlation between MLH and yearly horn growth changed from negative to positive as males aged, in accordance with the mutation accumulation theory of the evolution of senescence. Our results suggest that the horns of ibex males are an honest signal of genetic quality.