Modification of O-ring intrauterine devices (IUDs) in mares: Contraception without estrus suppression.

A significant welfare concern for those within the horse industry is that of the overpopulation in free-roaming horses in the western US. The goal of the present study was to identify a humane and inexpensive means of providing contraception and reducing pregnancy rates in a way that could be applied to free-roaming horses on the western U.S. open range lands. A series of studies was conducted utilizing the previously-described silastic O-ring intrauterine devices (IUDs). Throughout these studies pregnancy was successfully prevented in mares with an O-ring IUD, but collective retention rates failed to exceed 50% regardless of size or durometer (material hardness/malleability). When the O-ring IUDs were compared to the recently-described Y-design IUDs (Holyoak et al., 2021) the Y-design IUDs had a markedly greater rate of retention; therefore, the Y-design IUDs would be most appropriate for potential use in free-roaming horses. Assessment of mare records revealed that the vast majority of mares continued to have ovulations and mating continued to occur while the IUDs were in place. A few mares had multiple small ovarian follicles when the IUD was in utero. Findings indicate that utilizing an IUD with the expectation of estrus suppression in mares would fail to be fruitful.

Treatments for Endometritis in Mares Caused by Streptococcus equi Subspecies zooepidemicus: A Structured Literature Review.

Bacterial infections are the main causes of endometritis in mares. It is well known that the most common bacterial pathogen is Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus (SEZ). This structured review was completed according to the PRISMA procedure to search endometritis treatment protocols published between 1990 and 2020 it was our intent to evaluate the actual effects of different treatment protocols for endometritis caused by SEZ. The trials included were collected from Pubmed, CAB and Agricola. Ten articles with 116 horses and 17 different interventions were identified. The results of this structured review indicated that the reported antibiotics, immunomodulatory agents and fresh white blood cell treatments were superior for treating SEZ caused endometritis in mares, whereas oxytocin and uterine lavage alone may not be as effective as presumed. The inclusion and evaluation of more randomized controlled trials may be helpful for further elucidation of the differences.

Acupuncture combined with Chinese herbs for the treatment in hemivertebral French bulldogs with emergent paraparesis.

This study follows the treatment of six French bulldogs with paraparesis caused by congenital hemivertebra which were structurally mild but clinically severe. A standardized acupuncture ( zhen jiǔ) treatment using Hua-Tuo-Jiaji (HTJJ) as local points and other distant points combined with Chinese herbs improved the clinical signs. Few, if any, published papers mention Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM) for treatment of hemivertebral paraparesis in French bulldogs. Based on the rapid treatment outcome, we encourage practitioners to integrate this form of conservative management into emergency treatment.

In vivo assessment of diet-induced rat hepatic steatosis development by percutaneous single-fiber spectroscopy detects scattering spectral changes due to fatty infiltration.

This study explores percutaneous single-fiber spectroscopy (SfS) of rat livers undergoing fatty infiltration. Eight test rats were fed a methionine-choline-deficient (MCD) diet, and four control rats were fed a normal diet. Two test rats and one control rat were euthanized on days 12, 28, 49, and 77 following initiation of the diet, after percutaneous SfS of the liver under transabdominal ultrasound guidance. Histology of each set of the two euthanized test rats showed mild and mild hepatic lipid accumulations on day 12, moderate and severe on day 28, severe and mild on day 49, and moderate and mild on day 77. Livers with moderate or higher lipid accumulation generally presented higher spectral reflectance intensity when compared to lean livers. Livers of the eight test rats on day 12, two of which had mild lipid accumulation, revealed an average scattering power of 0.37±0.14 in comparison to 0.07±0.14 for the four control rats (p<0.01 ). When livers of the test rats with various levels of fatty infiltration were combined, the average scattering power was 0.36±0.15 0.36±0.15 in comparison to 0.14±0.24 of the control rats (0.05

Toward transduodenal diffuse optical tomography of proximal pancreas.

We demonstrate the feasibility of diffuse optical tomography (DOT) of the proximal pancreas by using optical applicator channels deployed longitudinally along the exterior surface of a duodenoscope. As the duodenum that nearly encircles the proximal pancreas forms a natural "C-loop" that is approximately three-quarters of a circle of 5-6 cm in diameter, a multichannel optical applicator attached to a duodenoscope has the potential to perform transduodenal DOT sampling of the bulk proximal pancreas wherein most cancers and many cystic lesions occur. The feasibility of transduodenal DOT is demonstrated on normal porcine pancreas tissues containing an introduced gelatinous inclusion of approximately 3 cm in diameter, by using nine source channels and six detector channels attached to a duodenoscope. Concurrent ultrasonography of the gelatinous inclusion in the porcine pancreas parenchyma provided a coarse, albeit indispensable, anatomic prior to transduodenal DOT in reconstructing a contrast of optical properties in the pancreas.

Evaluation of the safety of vaccinating mares against equine viral arteritis during mid or late gestation or during the immediate postpartum period.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether it is safe to vaccinate pregnant or postpartum mares with a commercial modified-live virus vaccine against equine viral arteritis (EVA). Design-Randomized controlled study. Animals-73 mares and their foals. PROCEDURES: Mares were vaccinated during mid gestation, during late gestation, or 2 or 3 days after parturition with a commercial modified-live virus vaccine or were not vaccinated. Foaling outcomes were recorded, and serum, blood, milk, and nasopharyngeal samples were obtained. RESULTS: All mares vaccinated during mid gestation foaled without any problems; 21 of 22 mares in this group had antibody titers against EAV at the time of foaling. Of the 19 mares vaccinated during late gestation, 3 aborted; antibody titers against EAV were detected in 13 of 15 mares from which serum was obtained at the time of foaling. All postparturient vaccinates were seronegative at foaling; all of them seroconverted after vaccination. No adverse effects were detected in any of their foals. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: When faced with a substantial risk of natural exposure to EAV, it would appear to be safe to vaccinate healthy pregnant mares up to 3 months before foaling and during the immediate postpartum period. Vaccinating mares during the last 2 months of gestation was associated with a risk of abortion; this risk must be weighed against the much greater risk of widespread abortions in unprotected populations of pregnant mares naturally infected with EAV.

In vivo trans-rectal ultrasound-coupled optical tomography of a transmissible venereal tumor model in the canine pelvic canal.

In vivo trans-rectal near-infrared (NIR) optical tomography was performed concurrently with, albeit reconstructed without spatial a prior of, trans-rectal ultrasound (US) on transmissible venereal tumor (TVT) developed as a model in the canine pelvic canal. Studies were taken longitudinally at prior to, 14 days after, and 35 days after the TVT injection. As the tumor grew, the nodules became increasingly hyperabsorptive and moderately hyperscattering on NIR. The regions of strong NIR contrast, especially on absorption images, correlated well with those of US hypoechoic masses indicative of tumors. Combining the information of trans-rectal NIR and US detected the tumor more accurately than did the US alone at 14 days postinjection.

Trans-rectal ultrasound-coupled near-infrared optical tomography of the prostate, part II: experimental demonstration.

We demonstrate trans-rectal optical tomography of the prostate using an endo-rectal near-infrared (NIR) applicator integrated with a transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) probe. The endo-rectal NIR applicator incorporated a design presented in our previously reported work. A continuous-wave NIR optical tomography system is combined with a commercial US scanner to form the dual-modality imager. Sagittal transrectal imaging is performed concurrently by endo-rectal NIR and TRUS. The TRUS ensures accurate positioning of the NIR applicator as well as guides NIR image reconstruction using the spatial prior of the target. The use of a condom, which is standard for TRUS, is found to have minimal effect on trans-rectal NIR imaging. Tests on avian tissues validates that NIR imaging can recover the absorption contrast of a target, and its accuracy is improved when the TRUS spatial prior is incorporated. Trans-rectal NIR/US imaging of a healthy canine prostate in situ is reported.

Amyloid A in equine colostrum and early milk.

The objective of this study was to investigate the protein, amyloid A3 (AA3), in equine colostrum and early milk. We hypothesized that AA3 was consistently present in equine colostrum and early milk, that no correlation existed between serum and colostrum concentrations of this protein in individual mares at parturition and that colostrum/milk concentrations of this mammary protein may be affected by age, breed, length of gestation and/or induction of parturition. Thirty-eight peripartum mares and seven non-pregnant, non-lactating mares were included in the study. Mean serum concentrations of this protein in the pregnant and non-pregnant mares were consistent with previous reports. Amyloid A3 was found in all colostrum and early milk samples at consistently higher concentrations than in peripartum maternal serum. There was no correlation between serum AA and colostrum AA3 concentrations at parturition. Age and breed effects were not significant. Increased gestation length and induction of parturition were associated with decreased colostrum and milk AA3 concentrations. We conclude that AA3 is consistently present in equine colostrum and early milk. The production of this protein in the mammary gland is likely to be under different stimulus to the production of serum AA, and may have protective effects in the neonatal intestine.

Transmission of bovine viral diarrhea virus to adult goats from persistently infected cattle.

The transmission of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) from persistently infected (PI) heifers to adult seronegative goats was examined in this study. Ten seronegative adult goats were exposed to 4 PI heifers. None of the goats developed any clinical signs but all goats seroconverted by 42 days after exposure to the PI cattle. Results indicate that goats are susceptible to BVDV infection when housed with PI cattle.

Influence of induction of parturition on the neonatal acute phase response in foals.

The objectives of the present study were to determine whether induction of parturition in mares at term with low doses of oxytocin (2.5 i.u. i.v. every 20 min) affected the incidence of peri-partum complications or inflammatory responses in the neonatal foal. Parturition was induced in 11 of 26 mares and the remainder foaled spontaneously. Serum concentrations of amyloid A (AA; an acute phase protein) were measured (with a commercial ELISA) from 0 to 72 h postpartum in 18 of the neonatal foals. The incidence of dystocia and premature placental separation was higher in induced mares (2 of 11 and 1 of 11 versus 0 of 15 and 0 of 15, respectively), whereas retained fetal membranes were more common in spontaneous foalings (2 of 15 versus 0 of 11). When abnormal foals were excluded (to decrease the influence of endogenous serum AA elevations), serum concentrations of AA increased to the same extent over time in foals with induced versus spontaneous parturition; foals with spontaneous parturition had a mean serum AA concentration of 7.8 microg/mL at birth that increased to a maximum of 58.9 microg/mL at 36 h; foals with induced parturition had a mean serum AA concentration of 5.4 microg/mL at birth that increased to a maximum of 41.4 microg/mL at 48 h. Baseline serum AA concentrations were lower in induced foals. We concluded that inducing parturition with low doses of oxytocin in mares at term did not affect (relative to spontaneous parturition) the temporal dynamics of serum AA concentrations in the normal foal in the first 72 h of life. However, the induction procedure may lead to complications during parturition that, if not detected early, could result in the development of an inflammatory response in the neonate.