Detection of Intraspinal Spirocerca lupi in Canine Cerebrospinal Fluid by Polymerase Chain Reaction.

Aberrant migration of Spirocerca lupi into the spinal cord is an important cause of severe progressive neurological dysfunction in dogs. Although early diagnosis is essential to prevent deterioration, ante-mortem diagnosis of this condition remains challenging. The aim of this study was to evaluate the detection of the 18S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) S. lupi gene in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of presumptively-affected dogs using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Dogs with a non-compressive spinal cord lesion, pleocytosis with presence of eosinophils in the CSF and a characteristic clinical presentation were included. CSF samples from eight dogs were available for the study, of which seven were definitively diagnosed with intraspinal spirocercosis by PCR of either the CSF samples (6/7) or tissue samples obtained at necropsy examination (3/7), or both (2/7). Of these seven positive cases, only one dog had a negative CSF PCR, indicating a sensitivity of 86% for detecting nematode DNA in the CSF of infected dogs using this PCR protocol. The nematode DNA sequences obtained from the CSF of six dogs and the spinal cord tissue of three dogs were 98-100% identical to the publicly available sequences of S. lupi, confirming the diagnosis. These findings indicate that PCR targeting the 18S rDNA of S. lupi in CSF is useful for the ante-mortem diagnosis of canine intraspinal spirocercosis.

Differences in exterior conformation between primitive, Half-bred, and Thoroughbred horses: anatomic-breeding approach.

The study included 249 horses belonging to 3 horse breeds. Konik horses, comprising the first group, is an example of a breed similar to the extinct Tarpan. In our study, these horses were taken to be a primitive anatomical model of the horse body. The other groups comprised the Polish Half-bred horse and Thoroughbred horse. The biometric characteristics of the horses were compared based on 24 indices. The aim of the paper was to find a reduced set of indices that can be used to determine group membership of the horses. To do this, we used statistical methods to find the most important indices that best discriminate breeds from each other. Chi-squared statistics, linear discriminant analysis, logistic regression, and 1-way ANOVA showed that the discrimination among groups of horses is connected with these 5 indices: scapula, smaller trunk (distance between tubercle of humerus and coxal tuber), greater trunk (distance between tubercle of humerus and ischial tuberosity), metacarpus circumference, and hind autopodium-smaller trunk. Thoroughbred and Half-bred horses are clearly different in exterior conformation from Konik horses. The differences between Thoroughbred and Half-bred horses are more subtle. The conformation of Thoroughbreds is jointly determined by relatively small differences in a range of features.

Sexual dimorphism in Hucul horses using discriminant analysis.

The purpose of this study has been to evaluate the applicability of discriminant function analysis to determine gender dimorphism in Hucul horses, based on morphological indices obtained in different stages of life. A total of 243 horses, divided into six age groups, have been examined in its course. For each horse we have measured 12 metric traits, which were then used to calculate 13 biometric indices commonly used in horse breeding in Poland. These have become the basis for defining functions classifying the animals by gender in each of the six age groups. This study answers the question of what parameters play the greatest role in the course of shaping of body proportions of male and female horses in post-foetal development. The following indices have been found to significantly contribute in discriminant models: boniness, smaller trunk length, height at the croup, pelvis width and width of chest.

Konik and Hucul horses: a comparative study of exterior measurements.

An exterior comparison was made between 2 primitive horse breeds: the Konik and the Hucul breeds. Each animal was characterized using 25 measurements and 24 indices. Statistical methods employed in this study were principal components analysis and the Student's t-test. It was found that in spite of both breeds being included in the group of horses with a primitive exterior, the Konik and the Hucul possess completely different metric properties of their body conformations. Although the mean height for the Hucul breed slightly exceeds that of the Konik, the latter has longer scapulae and metacarpi. The hind limb also features different proportions among its segments in the 2 breeds. The observed differences seem to be connected with different habitats for these breeds. In particular, mountainous conditions may have had an effect on the specific body conformation of the Hucul breed.