Objective: To compare effects of 3 methods of topically applied cold treatment (cryotherapy) on digital laminar and venous temperatures in horses. Animals: 9 healthy adult Thoroughbreds. Procedures: Thermocouples were placed in palmar digital veins and digital laminae of both forelimbs of horses. Three methods of cryotherapy were applied to the distal aspects of the limbs: wader boot (63-cm-tall vinyl boot filled with ice and water [ice slurry]), ice bag (5-L fluid bag filled with ice slurry), and a gel pack boot (boot containing frozen gel packs). Gel packs and ice slurries were replenished every hour during cryotherapy. The forelimb that received the first treatment was randomly assigned; thereafter, control and treated forelimbs were alternated for each treatment. For each treatment, temperatures were recorded every minute during 15-minute pretreatment, 2-hour treatment, and ≥ 30 minute rewarming periods. Once temperatures had returned to within 3°C below pretreatment values, the experiment was repeated in a similar manner for other cryotherapy methods. Results: Digital venous temperatures were similar to laminar temperatures during each treatment. Ice bag and wader boot treatments caused similar cooling of digits. Gel boot treatment did not cause substantial cooling of digits. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Ice bag treatment caused laminar and digital venous cooling equivalent to that of wader boot treatment. Cryotherapy by use of 5-L fluid bags with an ice slurry may be a readily available, practical, and efficient method for prevention of laminitis in horses. Digital laminar and venous temperatures were similar in forelimbs of horses before and during cryotherapy.

The objective of this study was to determine the association between space allowance and in-transit loss of finishing pigs going to select abattoirs in Ontario during summer weather conditions. The study included data from 2- or 3-tiered trailers transporting >or= 130 pigs in June, July, and August 2003 to 3 packers that processed 76% of Ontario market pigs. Daily in-transit loss data were merged with packer data to determine the number of pigs on each trailer. Space allowance (in square meters per pig) was estimated from the percentage of each trailer’s capacity that was filled by the load size. Actual pig weights were not available. Hourly temperature and relative humidity were obtained from 2 local Ontario weather stations. In-transit loss increased with environmental temperature, by 6.6 times at temperatures between 28°C and 34.2°C compared with < 17°C. At space allowances between 0.44 and 0.43 m2/pig compared with >or= 0.515 m2/pig, in-transit losses increased 2.12 times when environmental temperatures were < 21°C. Temperature is likely a more important determinant of in-transit loss than space allowance. However, in-transit losses in hot weather are likely to be reduced by increasing space allowance or by adding a cooling device.

We evaluated the deformability of bovine platelets and contrasted the effects of pharmacologic and thermal perturbations on cytoskeletal structure of human and bovine platelets. Platelets were aspirated into micropipettes (0.7 to 0.8 micromoles in diameter) by stepwise increments in tension. The resulting lengths of the cell extensions were recorded. The cell extensions aspirated from bovine platelets were shorter than the extensions drawn from human platelets. Disassembly of the circumferential microtubule coil allowed human platelets to pass through the pipette, but the same treatments only slightly increased the deformability of bovine platelets. Alteration of the actin filament cytoskeleton caused increased mechanical fragility of human platelets. In contrast, even the combined use of microtubule and actin filament-disrupting agents only modestly increased the deformability of bovine platelets and did not cause premature fragmentation of the cells. Unusual cytoskeletal structure, absence of an open canalicular system, and disparity in granule size may all contribute to the variance in deformability between the platelets of the 2 species. Reduced cell deformability may impair bovine platelet surface interactions by diminishing the ease of cell spreading and formation of areas of contact between the platelet and other cell surfaces.

Objective: To measure the effect of cold compress application on tissue temperature in healthy dogs. Animals: 10 healthy mixed-breed dogs. Procedures: Dogs were sedated with hydromorphone (0.1 mg/kg, IV) and diazepam (0.25 mg/kg, IV). Three 24-gauge thermocouple needles were inserted to a depth of 0.5 (superficial), 1.0 (middle), and 1.5 (deep) cm into a shaved, lumbar, epaxial region to measure tissue temperature. Cold (–16.8°C) compresses were applied with gravity dependence for periods of 5, 10, and 20 minutes. Tissue temperature was recorded before compress application and at intervals for up to 80 minutes after application. Control data were collected while dogs received identical sedation but with no cold compress. Results: Mean temperature associated with 5 minutes of application at the superficial depth was significantly decreased, compared with control temperatures. Application for 10 and 20 minutes significantly reduced the temperature at all depths, compared with controls and 5 minutes of application. Twenty minutes of application significantly decreased temperature at only the middle depth, compared with 10 minutes of application. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: With this method of cold treatment, increasing application time from 10 to 20 minutes caused a further significant temperature change at only the middle tissue depth; however, for maximal cooling, the minimum time of application should be 20 minutes. Possible changes in tissue temperature and adverse effects of application > 20 minutes require further evaluation.