Veterinary interlocking nailing and its augmentation for fracture repair

The present review informs about the current status regarding use of interlocking nailing for fracture repair in animals. The clinical limitations of interlocking nailing and its subsequent improvement by evolving novel nail design or supplementation with type I ESF using hybrid nail bolt/ESF pin has been dealt. The biomechanical and clinical evaluation of novel interlocking nail supplements and its possible clinical use is included.     

Thoracoscopic biopsy of lung tumors using a Roeder's loop in dogs

Thoracoscopic biopsies were taken from four dogs with lung tumours using a Roeder's loop. A Roeder's loop is used to collect pulmonary tissue samples for histopathological analyses. In all the animals tissue biopsy using a Roeder's loop enabled to collect a relatively large specimen of the lung tumor tissue.     

Biodiversity in Mediterranean buffalo using two microsatellite multiplexes

The present study was carried out to investigate genetic diversity in Nile-Delta and Southern-Egypt buffalo populations in comparison with the Italian buffalo utilizing two microsatellite multiplexes. A total of 104 animals classified into three groups were used, 28, 38 and 38 representing the Nile-Delta, Southern-Egypt and Italian buffalo, respectively. The 15 studied microsatellites were CSSM38, CSSM70, CYP21, CSSM42, CSSM60, MAF65, BM0922, CSSM19, INRA006, ETH02, BM1706, BMC1013, CSSM47, INRA026 and CA004. All studied microsatellites showed allelic polymorphism. Number of polymorphic alleles ranged between 4 alleles (CSSM38, CSSM70 and CYP21) and 11 alleles (CA004). Pairwise Chi-square test for Nile Delta and Southern Egypt showed significant differences in allelic distribution at five loci, CSSM70, CSSM38, BM0922, ETH02 and BM1706. Italian buffalo showed the lowest percentage of observed heterozygotes (65%), while the Southern Egypt showed the highest (71%). Both the Italian and the Delta populations deviated significantly (P < 0.05) from HW equilibrium. Italian buffalo is relatively the most inbred population while the Southern-Egypt buffalo is the only outbred population. High level of genetic differentiation (F_ST estimates) between the Italian group and each of the Delta and Southern-Egypt group (0.083 and 0.076, respectively) was observed while Southern-Egypt group showed a lower level of genetic differentiation with the Delta group (0.014). Italian buffalo had the greatest genetic distance values with the two Egyptian groups (0.25 and 0.23) while much lower values between the Southern-Egypt and the Delta groups (0.06) was observed. Genetic variation between the Italian buffalo and the Egyptian buffalo was detected in 14 (out of 15) microsatellite loci. While a lower level (than that between Egyptian and Italian) of genetic variation between Southern-Egypt and Delta buffalo populations was expressed by 5 loci. It was concluded that the Southern-Egypt buffalo could be considered as distinct population from the Delta buffalo. In addition, Southern-Egypt group, being the only group with non-significant global deviation from HW equilibrium, the most heterozygous, and the only outbred population as well, is expected to respond more favorably to selection.     

A comparative analysis of the genetic diversity between inbred lines of Zinnia elegans using morphological traits and RAPD and ISSR markers

Genetic diversity within Zinnia elegans is key to the genetic improvement of this important ornamental species. Here, morphological traits and RAPD and ISSR molecular markers were used to assess levels of polymorphism across 20 inbred lines. Thirty-four morphological traits were scored and also 147 RAPD marker-fragments, as amplified by 12 arbitrary primers, and 128 ISSR marker-fragments as generated by 9 primers. The number of polymorphic loci, the percentage of polymorphic loci, Shannon's Information index (I) and the effective number of alleles (Ne) were calculated from the RAPD data as 100, 68.03%, 0.3559 and 1.4169, respectively. From the ISSR data, these respective statistics were calculated as 97, 76.38%, 0.4013 and 1.4728. Thus, ISSR markers were considered slightly superior to RAPD markers for assessing genetic diversity between the accessions; however, Mantel's test indicated significant correlation (R = 0.733) of the RAPD and ISSR results. By contrast, the morphological matrix showed low correlation with both RAPD and ISSR data matrices (R = 0.3814 and 0.3765, respectively). Cluster analysis showed that groupings of the accessions according to all three methods correlated well with their geographic region of origin, but flower color was not strongly associated with the genetic classification of these inbred lines of Z. elegans.     

Identical genotypes of community‐associated MRSA (ST59) and livestock‐associated MRSA (ST9) in humans and pigs in rural China

This study investigated the prevalence of MRSA in samples taken in households, with and without backyard pigs in villages in a rural area of Shandong Province, China. Community‐associated MRSA and livestock‐associated MRSA, belonging to ST59 and ST9, respectively, were identified in both humans and pigs. The genotypic and phenotypic comparison of isolates indicates that bidirectional transmission of MRSA has occurred between humans and pigs in the villages.     

Pregnancy Loss in Dairy Cattle: Relationship of Ultrasound,Blood Pregnancy‐Specific Protein B,Progesterone and Production Variables

Objectives were to determine associations between percentage pregnancy loss (PPL) in dairy cattle and: (i) pregnancy diagnosis by ultrasonography; (ii) pregnancy diagnosis by serum pregnancy‐specific protein B (PSPB) concentrations, with or without serum progesterone concentrations; and (iii) production and environmental factors. This study included 149 822 pregnancy diagnoses conducted over 13 years in Holstein‐Friesian cows in Hungarian dairy herds. The following were determined: PPL in cows diagnosed pregnant by transrectal ultrasonography 29–42 days after artificial insemination (AI; n = 11 457); PPL in cows diagnosed pregnant by serum PSPB 29–35 days after AI (n = 138 365); and PPL and its association with serum progesterone concentrations, PSPB and production/environmental variables. The definition of PPL was percentage of cows initially diagnosed pregnant based on ultrasonography or PSPB, but not pregnant when examined by transrectal palpation 60 –70 days after AI. The PPL was lower (p < 0.001) in cows following ultrasonographic vs PSPB diagnosis of pregnancy at 29–35 days (8.1 vs 19.3%, respectively), but was higher in cows following ultrasonographic pregnancy diagnosis on 29–35 vs 36–42 days (8.1 vs 7.1%, respectively, P < 0.05). Furthermore, 72.9% of pregnancies with ultrasound‐detected morphological abnormalities resulted in pregnancy loss. As a subset of PSPB data, a fully quantitative PSPB assay was used for 20 430 samples; PPL in cows with a high PSPB concentration (>1.1 ng/ml) was lowest (15.0%), whereas cows with low concentrations of both PSPB and progesterone (0.6–1.1 and <2 ng/ml, respectively) had the highest PPL (76.3%; p < 0.0001). Furthermore, PPL was higher in cows with advanced parity and with high milk production, when ambient temperatures were high, although body condition score (BCS) had no effect on PPL. Finally, there were no significant associations between serum PSPB and environmental temperatures or number of post‐partum uterine treatments.     

Inhibition of FGF Signalling Pathway Augments the Expression of Pluripotency and Trophoblast Lineage Marker Genes in Porcine Parthenogenetic Blastocyst

The consistent failure to isolate bona fide pluripotent cell lines from livestock indicates that the underlying mechanisms of early lineage specification are poorly defined. Unlike other species, the contrivances of segregation have been comprehensively studied in the mouse. In mouse, FGF/MAPK signalling pathway dictates the segregation of hypoblast (primitive endoderm). However, it is not evident whether this mechanism is also conserved in livestock. Here, in this study, we examined the roles of FGF/MAP kinase signalling pathways in porcine parthenogenetic embryos during the early development. Porcine parthenogenetic embryos were cultured in the medium addition with FGFR inhibitor BGJ398 (10 μm ) or DEMOS. Pluripotency‐ and lineage‐related gene expressions in the early porcine embryos were determined. Compared to control, total cell numbers on day 7 were significantly higher (55 ± 5.96 vs 47 ± 1.97, p < 0.05) in embryos cultured in the presence of BGJ398, but had no significant effect on the rate of blastocyst development (47% vs 44%, p > 0.05). Nonetheless, BGJ398 treatment significantly augmented the expression of pluripotency and trophoblast marker genes (SOX2, OCT4, KLF4 and CDX2), but did not significantly change the expression of NANOG and hypoblast marker gene (GATA4). Furthermore, the addition of FGF signalling agonist (FGF2) during the embryo development significantly decreased the expression of pluripotency and trophoblast marker genes (SOX2, NANOG, KLF4 and CDX2), but no significant effect on the expression of OCT4 and GATA4 was observed. Here, we exhibit that inhibition of FGF signalling could improve the quality of the porcine embryo and escalate the chance to capture pluripotency. Besides, it also promotes the trophoblast development of porcine parthenogenetic embryo. In addition, the data suggested that FGF signalling pathway is dispensable for the segregation of hypoblast and epiblast lineages in porcine embryo during the early development.     

Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number in Spermatozoa of Fertile Stallions

Predicting male fertility on non‐invasive sperm traits is of big importance to human and animal reproduction strategies. Combining the wide range of parameters monitored by computer‐assisted sperm analysis (CASA) with some molecular traits (e.g. mtDNA content) may help to identify markers of the male fertility. The aim of this study was to characterize variation in the mtDNA copy number in equine sperm and to investigate whether mtDNA content is correlated with quality traits of stallion spermatozoa and the age of the male. Ejaculates collected from 53 fertile stallions were divided into four age groups (3–5, 6–10, 11–14 and >15 years) and were subjected to a complex investigation including conventional analysis, CASA, flow cytometry and mtDNA content (real‐time PCR). The mean (±SD) number of mtDNA copies equalled 14 ± 9 and varied from 3 to 64. Considering the great number of sperm parameters monitored in this study, only few of them were correlated with the mtDNA content: ejaculate volume (a positive correlation), the amplitude of lateral head displacement (ALH; a negative correlation) and the high mitochondrial activity index (a negative correlation). The stallion age was not correlated with the mtDNA copy number. This study provides the first set of data on mtDNA content in equine sperm and confirms phenomena previously described for humans and dog on associations between sperm mtDNA content and selected motility parameters monitored by the CASA. Basing our study on spermatozoa from fertile stallions could however limit the extent of detected associations.     

Case series: Persistent dorsal displacement of the soft palate in eight horses

Persistent dorsal displacement of the soft palate (pDDSP) is a relatively rare equine disorder. This case series reports histories and clinical findings in 8 cases of pDDSP, and outcome after treatment of concurrent epiglottic entrapment (n = 3), laryngeal tie‐forward (n = 6) ± laser staphylectomy (n = 2), and/or sectioning of mucosa ventral to the epiglottis and the hyoepiglotticus muscles (n = 2). Four of 6 horses that underwent tie‐forward ± laser staphylectomy had complete resolution of pDDSP and returned to their previous level of work, as did one horse that had a subepiglottic releasing incision. Correction of concurrent epiglottic entrapment in 3 horses with pDDSP did not result in resolution of pDDSP in any case. Previous laryngeal surgery including laryngoplasty and ventriculocordectomy appear to be risk factors for the development of pDDSP.