Objective-To evaluate the effect of underwater treadmill exercise on static postural sway in horses with experimentally induced carpal joint osteoarthritis under various stance conditions. Animals-16 horses. Procedures-On day 0, osteoarthritis was induced arthroscopically in 1 randomly selected middle carpal joint of each horse. Beginning on day 15, horses were assigned to either underwater or overground (without water) treadmill exercise at the same speed, frequency, and duration. Two serial force platforms were used to collect postural sway data from each horse on study days −7, 14, 42, and 70. Horses were made to stand stationary on the force platforms under 3 stance conditions: normal square stance, base-narrow placement of the thoracic limbs, and removal of visual cues (blindfolded) during a normal square stance. The mean of 3 consecutive, 10-second trials in each condition was calculated and used for analysis. Results-Displacement of the center of pressure differed significantly depending on the stance condition. Among horses exercised on the underwater treadmill, postural stability in both the base-narrow and blindfolded stance conditions improved, compared with findings for horses exercised on the overground treadmill. Horses exercised on the overground treadmill were only successful at maintaining a stable center of pressure during the normal square stance position. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Variations in stance position had profound effects on the mechanics of standing balance in horses with experimentally induced carpal joint osteoarthritis. Underwater treadmill exercise significantly improved the horses’ postural stability, which is fundamental in providing evidence-based support for equine aquatic exercise.

Objective—To evaluate effects of quaternary benzo(c)phenanthridine alkaloids (QBAs) against Salmonella spp and determine effects on growth performance, organism shedding, and gastrointestinal tract integrity in pigs inoculated with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Sample—36 Salmonella isolates and twenty 5-week-old pigs. Procedures—Minimum inhibitory concentration of QBAs against the Salmonella isolates was determined. Pigs were allocated to 4 groups and inoculated with Salmonella organisms. Pigs received diets supplemented with 1.5 g of QBAs/1,000 kg of feed, 0.75 g of QBAs/1,000 kg of feed, or 59.4 g of chlortetracycline/1,000 kg of feed or a nonsupplemented (control) diet. Pigs were weighed on day 0 and then weekly for 40 days. Fecal samples were collected to quantify Salmonella organisms. Gastrointestinal tract integrity was evaluated by measuring transepithelial resistance. Results—In vitro, 9 of 36 (25%) Salmonella isolates were inhibited at 90 μg of QBAs/mL; all 36 were inhibited at 179 μg of QBAs/mL. Diets containing QBAs significantly decreased Salmonella spp shedding; shedding was lower 40 days after inoculation for pigs fed diets containing QBAs or chlortetracycline than for pigs fed the control diet. Growth performance was similar for pigs fed diets containing QBA or chlortetracycline. Gastrointestinal tract integrity was improved in pigs fed the diet containing 1.5 g of QBAs/1,000 kg of feed. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—QBAs and chlortetracycline decreased Salmonella spp shedding but did not differ with regard to growth performance. Gastrointestinal tract integrity was better, albeit not significantly, in pigs fed diets containing QBAs. Further investigation into the role of QBAs and their mechanism as an immunomodulator is necessary.

Objective—To determine an efficient method for the collection of semen samples by means of electroejaculation, characterize spermatozoa quality and quantity, and determine the effect of refrigerated storage on motility of spermatozoa obtained from green iguanas (Iguana iguana). Animals—18 adult green iguanas. Procedures—Green iguanas were anesthetized, and semen samples were obtained by means of electroejaculation. Up to 3 series of electrostimulations were performed; the procedure was stopped after a semen sample was obtained. Various semen sample variables were evaluated. Results—Semen samples were obtained from 16 iguanas; most (n = 10) iguanas produced a semen sample after the second series of electrostimulations. Median semen sample volume was 0.05 mL. Mean spermatozoa concentration was 2 69.0 × 10(6) spermatozoa/mL. Median percentage of motile spermatozoa was 78%. The only morphological abnormality of spermatozoa was bent tails (mean percentage in a semen sample, 5.7%). Spermatozoa motility decreased significantly during refrigeration (4°C); median percentage motility after 24, 48, and 72 hours of refrigeration was 60%, 33%, and 0%, respectively. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results of this study suggested electroejaculation can be performed to collect semen samples from green iguanas, characteristics of iguana semen samples are similar to those for semen samples obtained from other reptiles, and motility of iguana spermatozoa decreases during refrigeration within 48 to 72 hours.

Objective—To determine the effects of advanced age on whole-body protein synthesis and activation of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway in skeletal muscle of horses Animals—Six 22- to 26-year-old (aged) and six 7- to 14-year-old (mature) horses. Procedures—Whole-body protein synthesis was measured with a 2-hour primed constant infusion of 13C sodium bicarbonate, followed by a 4-hour primed constant infusion of 1-13C phenylalanine. After the infusions, a biopsy specimen was obtained from a gluteus medius muscle and activation of protein kinase B (Akt), p70 riboprotein S6 kinase (S6K1), riboprotein S6 (rpS6), and eukaryotic initiation factor 4E binding protein 1 (4EBP1) was determined with western immunoblot analysis. For all horses, inflammatory cytokine expression in muscle and blood samples was measured with quantitative real-time PCR analysis. Results—Advanced age had no effect on whole-body protein synthesis or the phosphorylation of Akt, rpS6, and 4EBP1; however, muscle specimens of aged horses had 42% lower phosphorylation of S6K1 than did those of mature horses. Aged and mature horses had similar inflammatory cytokine expression in muscle and blood samples. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—The lower S6K1 activation for aged horses, compared with that for mature horses, could be indicative of low rates of muscle protein synthesis in aged horses. However, advanced age had no effect on any other indicators of whole-body or muscle protein synthesis or on measures of systemic or muscle inflammation, which suggested that protein metabolism and subsequently requirements may not differ between healthy mature and aged horses.

Objective-To assess the feasibility of measuring cord dorsum potentials (CDPs) in anesthetized clinically normal dogs after caudal nerve stimulation, determine the intervertebral site of maximum amplitude and best waveform of the CDP, and evaluate the effects of neuromuscular blockade. Animals-8 male and 4 female dogs (age, 1 to 5 years). Procedures-Dogs were anesthetized, and CDPs were recorded via needles placed on the dorsal lamina at intervertebral spaces L1-2 through L7-S1. Caudal nerves were stimulated with monopolar electrodes inserted laterally to the level of the caudal vertebrae. Dogs were tested without and during neuromuscular blockade induced with atracurium besylate. The CDP latency and amplitude were determined from the largest amplitude tracings. Results-CDPs were recorded in 11 of 12 dogs without neuromuscular blockade and in all dogs during neuromuscular blockade. The CDP was largest and most isolated at the L4-5 intervertebral space (3 dogs) or the L5-6 intervertebral space (9 dogs); this site corresponded to the segment of insertion of the first caudal nerve. Onset latencies ranged from 2.0 to 4.7 milliseconds, and there was no effect of neuromuscular blockade on latencies. Amplitudes of the CDPs were highly variable for both experimental conditions. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-CDPs were recorded from all dogs tested in the study; neuromuscular blockade was not critical for successful CDP recording but reduced muscle artifact. This technique may be useful as a tool to assess the caudal nerve roots in dogs suspected of having compressive lumbosacral disease or myelopathies affecting the lumbar intumescence.

Objective-To compare presumed fatty acid content in natural diets of feral domestic cats (inferred from body fat polyunsatrated fatty acids content) with polyunsaturated fatty acid content of commercial feline extruded diets. Sample-Subcutaneous and intra-abdominal adipose tissue samples (approx 1 g) from previously frozen cadavers of 7 adult feral domestic cats trapped in habitats remote from human activity and triplicate samples (200 g each) of 7 commercial extruded diets representing 68% of market share obtained from retail stores. Procedures-Lipid, triacylglycerol, and phospholipid fractions in adipose tissue samples and ether extracts of diet samples were determined by gas chromatography of methyl esters. Triacylglycerol and phospholipid fractions in the adipose tissue were isolated by thin-layer chromatography. Diet samples were also analyzed for proximate contents. Results-For the adipose tissue samples, with few exceptions, fatty acids fractions varied only moderately with lipid fraction and site from which tissue samples were obtained. Linoleic, α-linolenic, arachidonic, eicosapentaenoic, and docosahexaenoic acid fractions were 15.0% to 28.2%, 4.5% to 18.7%, 0.9% to 5.0%, < 0.1% to 0.2%, and 0.6% to 1.7%, respectively. As inferred from the adipose findings, dietary fractions of docosahexaenoic and α-linolenic acid were significantly greater than those in the commercial feline diets, but those for linoleic and eicosapentaenoic acids were not significantly different. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-The fatty acid content of commercial extruded feline diets differed from the inferred content of natural feral cat diets, in which dietary n-3 and possibly n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids were more abundant. The impact of this difference on the health of pet cats is not known.

The obligatory intracellular protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii is a major world wide cause of infectious ovine abortion. In some different diagnostic techniques that are being used to detect this pathogen in ovine fetuses, immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a very sensitive and expensive one. Histopathology is not truly a specific and sensitive test for Toxoplasma infection but it can be helpful to choose some suspected tissues for IHC. In this study 9.5% of 200 samples (aborted ovine fetuses internal organs such as brain, liver, heart, lung, kidney, spleen) (4.6~14.4% with 95% CI) were positive in IHC with a very good logical agreement among different diagnostic techniques (κ = 0.73, 0.8) and with no significant difference among different fetal age groups (p 0.05).

To develop a live vaccine candidate using an attenuated strain of Salmonella Typhimurium (ST), biochemical properties, plasmid profile, PFGE patterns and pathogenic analysis of the ST isolate were carried out after sequential passage of the ST isolate in porcine neutrophils. By the passage, the ability of the neutrophil-adapted isolate to utilize d-xylose was lost, while the ability of the strain to ferment trehalose was delayed after 2 or more days of the culture. Also, changes including deletion of the gene fragments were observed in PFGE analysis of the neutrophil-adapted isolates. Two plasmids, 105kb and 50kb, were cured in the strain passaged over 15 times in porcine neutrophils. The 50% of lethal dose (LD50) of the parent strain was changed from 1 × 105 LD50 to 6 × 106 LD50 by the passage in intraperitoneal injection of the strains into mice. These results suggested that bacterial genotypic and phenotypic responses might be globally altered depending on the inside environment of neutrophils.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have ability to differentiate into multi-lineage cells, which confer a great promise for regenerative medicine to the cells. The aim of this study was to establish a method for isolation and characterization of adipose tissue-derived MSC (pAD-MSC) and bone marrow-derived MSC (pBM-MSC) in pigs. Isolated cells from all tissues were positive for CD29, CD44, CD90 and CD105, but negative for hematopoietic stem cell associated markers, CD45. In addition, the cells expressed the transcription factors, such as Oct4, Sox2, and Nanog by RT-PCR. pAD-MSC and pBM-MSC at early passage successfully differentiated into chondrocytes, osteocytes and adipocytes. Collectively, pig AD-MSC and BM-MSC with multipotency were optimized in our study.

Commercial bivalent killed Salmonella vaccine Salenvac-T has been used in several countries in order to prevent salmonellosis with Salmonella enterica serovars Enteritidis (SE) and Typhimurium (ST) in poultry. However, this vaccine has not been used in poultry farms in South Korea. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of Salenvac- T vaccine to protect against the challenge of virulent SE and ST, and the effect of the vaccine on egg production and mortality in layer hens. The colonization of liver, spleen and cecum with challenged SE and ST was reduced in vaccinated chickens compared with that of unvaccinated control group. The twice vaccination with Salenvac-T induced elevated antibody responses against both SE and ST detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The higher average hen-day production was observed in the vaccinated layer hens than in the unvaccinated layer hens without significance. The average mortality was lower in the vaccinated layer hens during the experiment period. The antibody responses to both SE and ST were persistently detected in the vaccinated layers. In summary, vaccination with Salenvac-T reduces colonization of internal organs and induces good antibody responses, thereby results in higher performance and lower egg contamination with SE and ST in layer hens.