Using bioelectrical impedance analysis for modeling regression and predicting body fat accumulation in dogs in East Thailand.

Background and Aim: Obesity in dogs leads to several health problems, such as premature death, and contributes to other diseases. Recently, body fat percentage has been considered to represent the body condition of dogs, and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is the most effective method for accurately measuring body fat in dogs. In Thailand, information on the body condition of dogs is limited, and there is no standard body fat level for Thai or mongrel dogs. This study was designed to evaluate and analyze the body fat percentage in dogs through BIA using a handheld instrument. The results of this study can help enhance the quality of life and health of dogs and aid in setting a standard body fat level for Thai or mongrel dogs. Materials and Methods: The body fat percentage of 340 Thai and mongrel dogs in East Thailand was measured in the standing position, and the body condition score (BCS) (range, 1-5), sex, sterilization status, age, type of diet, and lifestyle were recorded. A linear regression model was developed to compare the variables and the predicted body fat percentage, and multiple linear regressions were used to analyze the factors for body fat increment. Results: The linear regression model used to estimate the percentage of body fat (y) for each BCS (x) was y = 0.84 + 8.36x (R2 = 0.7219; p < 0.0001); the average body fat percentage was 27.52% for all studied dogs; specifically, 24.83% for the Thai Bangkaew, 26.42% for the Thai Ridgeback, and 27.65% for mongrels. The median body fat percentage was significantly higher in female than in male dogs. We found that as age increases, body fat percentage also increases; this increasing trend begins at the age of 5 years. However, increasing the level of activity and decreasing meal frequency leads to an increase in body fat percentage in neutered male dogs. Conclusion: The average body fat percentage of dogs in East Thailand is 27.52% and this value is expected to increase when these dogs reach the age of 5 years. BIA is a valid and effective measurement tool for detecting the body fat percentage in dogs.

Seasonal variation in the number of deaths in Pteropus lylei at Wat Pho Bang Khla temple, Thailand.

Flying foxes have been widely studied as they are well-known reservoirs of infectious agents. Understanding their population dynamics might help to explain seasonal patterns of disease prevalence, and contribute towards the conservation of flying fox populations. Therefore, this study explored the annual variation in the number of deaths in P. lylei. The study was conducted from 2015-2017, at a Buddhist temple in Thailand, which is the roosting site of P. lylei. The average total number of bat deaths in a month significantly varied between times of a year. A peak was observed during March and May, which ranged in the period of birthing and lactating. There were no significant differences in the average total number of bat deaths in a month between sexes or age classes across times of a years.

Diurnal behavior and activity budget of the golden-crowned flying fox (Acerodon jubatus) in the Subic bay forest reserve area, the Philippines.

Acerodon jubatus (the Golden-Crowned flying fox) is an endemic species in the Philippines, which was suspected to be a host of the Reston strain of the Ebola virus. As nocturnal animals, the flying foxes spend daytime at the roosting site, which they use for self-maintenance and reproduction. To understand the variation in diurnal behavior and time allocation for various activities in the Golden-Crowned flying fox, we investigated their daytime behavior and activity budget using instantaneous scan sampling and all occurrence focal sampling. Data collection was performed from 07:00 to 18:00 hr during January 8-17, 2017. The most frequent activity was sleeping (76.3%). The remaining activities were wing flapping (5.0%), self-grooming (4.2%), hanging relaxation (3.4%), wing spread (2.9%), movement (2.4%), mating/courtship (2.4%), aggression (1.9%), hanging alert (1.2%), excretion (0.1%) and scent marks (0.05%). The frequency of sleeping, wing flapping, self-grooming, hanging relaxation, aggression, mating/courtship and movement behaviors changed with the time of the day. Females allocated more time for resting than males, while males spent more time on the activities that helped enhance their mating opportunities, for example, movement, sexual activity and territorial behavior.

Reproductive performance in diabetes mice with a special reference to uterine natural killer cells and placental growth factor.

To determine the effect of diabetes on reproductive performance, two kinds of diabetes mice, i.e., KK/TaJcl mice with Type-II diabetes and Streptozotocin-induced diabetes mice with Type-I diabetes, were used in this study. Particular attention was paid to uterine natural killer (uNK) cells and placental growth factor (PlGF). The number of fetuses, the fetal and placental weights in both diabetes mice were significantly decreased when compared to controls. Surprisingly, uNK cells in both diabetes mice persisted in the metrial gland even at the term of pregnancy. Although PlGF expression in both diabetes mice was significantly decreased, PlGF protein did not change. These results show that diabetes condition affects reproductive performance, particularly uNK cell behavior, but not PlGF production.

Uterine natural killer cells in perforin and beta(2)-microglobulin deficient mice.

Uterine natural killer (uNK) cells have roles for immune responses at the feto-maternal interface in mice. We studied the effects of beta(2)-microglobulin (beta(2)m) and perforin on proliferation and differentiation of uNK cells in pregnancy, using beta(2)-microglobulin-deficient (beta(2)m(-/-)) mice and perforin-deficient (P(-/-)) mice. The cell population of uNK cells in the metrial gland of P(-/-) mice was tended to be higher than the control B6 mice. The cell population of uNK cells in the metrial gland of beta(2)m(-/-) mice was significantly increased at Day 12 of pregnancy comparing to B6 and P(-/-) mice. On the other hand, the cell population of uNK cells in the decidua basalis of beta(2)m(-/-) mice was tended to be lower than B6 and P(-/-) mice. These results indicate that beta(2)m may be involved in proliferation of uNK cells in the metrial gland, and that beta(2)m may affect the maturation of uNK cells in the decidua basalis.

Immunization with tick salivary gland extracts.

Tick burdens cause direct damage to hosts and transmit several disease agents, the majority of which are secreted into feeding lesions through tick salivary glands. Reduced incidence of naturally transmitted tick-borne diseases was recently observed among cattle immunized with tick salivary gland extracts (TSGE). The aim of this work was to compare the ultrastructure of salivary glands from Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus removed from cattle that were immunized with TSGE to those from control cattle injected with saline. Partially fed female ticks that infested these cattle were collected, and their salivary glands were removed and compared with light microscopy. More extensive salivary gland damage was observed in ticks collected from cattle immunized with TSGE than those from saline controls. Salivary glands from immunized cattle had extensive necrosis in agranular c and f cells; partial necrosis in granular b, c, and e cells; and slight necrosis in a and d cells. These results indicated that host immunization with TSGE causes detrimental effects to female tick salivary glands and correlated with the reduced incidence of naturally transmitted tick-borne diseases observed among these cattle.