Expression of select mRNA in Thoroughbreds with catastrophic racing injuries.

BACKGROUND: The ability to identify horses at risk for catastrophic injuries continues to be a pressing issue for the racing industry, especially given recent events in North America. OBJECTIVES: Since most catastrophic injuries occur in areas of existing pathology and this pathology is likely to elicit an inflammatory response, it was hypothesised that analysis of messenger RNA (mRNA) expression would detect significant changes in select genes in horses at risk for a catastrophic injury. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. METHODS: Five racing jurisdictions across the United States participated in this study. A total of 686 Tempus® RNA Blood Tube samples were collected for mRNA analysis from 107 catastrophically injured horses, as well as from noninjured horses sampled either prerace (n = 374) or postrace (n = 205). A subset of horses (n = 37) were sampled both prerace and postrace for analysis of expression changes during the postrace period. RESULTS: Of 21 genes analysed via RT-qPCR, the expression of 12 genes (ALOX5AP, CD14, IL-10, IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-8, MMP1, PTGS2, TLR4, TNFα, TNFSF13B and VEGFA) changed significantly within 45 minutes after a race and were excluded. Of the remaining nine genes (BMP-2, IGF-1, IL1RN, MMP2, MMP9, Osteoprotegrin, RANKL, SAA1 and TGFß), three genes (IGF-1, IL1RN and MMP2) were found to be significantly different between catastrophically injured and noninjured horses using multiple logistic regression modelling. Receiver operating characteristic analysis of models, which included mRNA expression, demonstrated sensitivities from 76%-82% (95% CI: 67%-93%) and specificities from 84%-88% (95% CI: 71%-94%) at the Youden Index. MAIN LIMITATIONS: Samples were collected as soon as possible postinjury (within 30 minutes). CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of mRNA expression of specific genes in the future may be considered as an economical, accessible and noninvasive means by which horses at risk for catastrophic injury can be identified.

Reproduction in ambulatory practice.

The value of providing equine reproductive services in ambulatory setting is well established. Ambulatory practice has been, and will most likely continue to be, the primary provider of equine reproductive veterinary services. The limitations for performing various reproductive procedures in an ambulatory setting are those imposed by the amount of equipment and supplies that must be brought to the patient, as well as those imposed when procedures require additional assistance. This is analogous to human medical care: the ambulance cannot substitute for a hospital but it can certainly provide significant assistance. Similarly, although excellent reproductive service can be provided in ambulatory practice, a fair number of advanced techniques and procedures requiring laboratory conditions, equipment, and personnel are difficult to provide from the back of a vehicle.

The effect of red on avoidance behavior in achievement contexts.

This research tests whether the perception of red in an achievement context evokes avoidance behavior without conscious awareness and also examines the context specificity of the hypothesized red effect. In Experiment 1, participants were briefly shown red or green on the cover of an analogies test that they would ostensibly take (an achievement context) or rate on likability of (a nonachievement context) in an adjacent lab. Those shown red, relative to those shown green, knocked fewer times on the door of the adjacent lab in the achievement context; no red-green difference in knocking was observed in the nonachievement context. In Experiment 2, participants were briefly shown red, green, or gray on the cover of an IQ test that they would ostensibly take. Those shown red moved their body away from the test cover to a greater degree than did those shown green or gray. This research contributes to incipient work on color psychology and to the more established literature on the automatic link between evaluation and behavior.

Color and psychological functioning: the effect of red on performance attainment.

This research focuses on the relation between color and psychological functioning, specifically, that between red and performance attainment. Red is hypothesized to impair performance on achievement tasks, because red is associated with the danger of failure in achievement contexts and evokes avoidance motivation. Four experiments demonstrate that the brief perception of red prior to an important test (e.g., an IQ test) impairs performance, and this effect appears to take place outside of participants' conscious awareness. Two further experiments establish the link between red and avoidance motivation as indicated by behavioral (i.e., task choice) and psychophysiological (i.e., cortical activation) measures. The findings suggest that care must be taken in how red is used in achievement contexts and illustrate how color can act as a subtle environmental cue that has important influences on behavior.

Forgetting all else: on the antecedents and consequences of goal shielding.

Six studies explore the role of goal shielding in self-regulation by examining how the activation of focal goals to which the individual is committed inhibits the accessibility of alternative goals. Consistent evidence was found for such goal shielding, and a number of its moderators were identified: Individuals' level of commitment to the focal goal, their degree of anxiety and depression, their need for cognitive closure, and differences in their goal-related tenacity. Moreover, inhibition of alternative goals was found to be more pronounced when they serve the same overarching purpose as the focal goal, but lessened when the alternative goals facilitate focal goal attainment. Finally, goal shielding was shown to have beneficial consequences for goal pursuit and attainment.