Immunophenotype of the inflammatory response in the central and enteric nervous systems of cockatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus) experimentally infected with parrot bornavirus 2.

Proventricular dilatation disease is a lethal disease of psittacine birds. In this study, we characterized the local cellular immune response in the brain, proventriculus, and small intestine of 27 cockatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus) experimentally infected with parrot bornavirus 2 (PaBV-2). Perivascular cuffs in the brain were composed of CD3+ T-lymphocytes and Iba1+ macrophages/microglia in most cockatiels (n = 26). In the ganglia of the proventriculus, CD3+ T-lymphocytes (n = 17) and Iba1+ macrophages (n = 13) prevailed. The ganglia of the small intestine had a more homogeneous distribution of these leukocytes, including PAX5+ B-lymphocytes (n = 9), CD3+ T-lymphocytes (n = 8), and Iba1+ macrophages (n = 8). Our results indicate that perivascular cuffs in the brain and the inflammatory infiltrate in the proventriculus of PaBV-2-infected cockatiels is predominately composed of T-lymphocytes, while the inflammatory infiltrates in the ganglia of the small intestine are characterized by a mixed infiltrate composed of T-lymphocytes, B-lymphocytes, and macrophages.

Hematological and histopathological evaluation of meat-type quails fed Madagascar cockroach meal.

Aiming at the sustainability of meat production, insects can replace traditional ingredients in the diet of poultry. Studies evaluating performance in birds have emerged to ensure this ability, but few address the health parameters of animals. This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of the inclusion of Madagascar cockroach meal in traditional diets on hematological and histopathological traits of meat-type quails. The inclusion of Madagascar cockroach meal in the diet was evaluated in four levels: 0%, 6%, 12%, and 18%. Observations for hematological and histopathological traits from 6 repetitions on each group were recorded for both sexes at 35 days of age. Hematological parameters were not influenced by Madagascar cockroach inclusion on diet and quail's sex. Red and white blood cells count were within the normal range for poultry. No significant findings were observed during the histopathological evaluation of the pancreas, duodenum, jejunum, and ileum. Liver fatty degeneration was visualized in all treatments in the same intensity. Quail's diets containing up to 18% insect meal during the growth period did not affect the studied health parameters, so the Madagascar cockroach meal could be considered as an alternative to a protein ingredient for poultry production.

Addition of caffeine to equine thawed sperm increases motility and decreases nitrite concentration.

The aim of this study was to improve the quality of frozen-thawed equine sperm by the addition of caffeine to it. Semen from nine stallions was frozen and different concentrations of caffeine (3, 5 and 7.5 mM) were added to frozen-thawed semen. The sperm kinetic parameters, membrane functionality and integrity, and acrosome integrity and spontaneous acrosome reacted sperm were evaluated with a computer-assisted sperm analysis, a hypoosmotic swelling test and epifluorescent microscopy, respectively. Nitrite and hydroperoxide concentrations of frozen-thawed semen were measured using spectrophotometry. Sperm fertility was evaluated by artificial insemination (AI) of 16 mares with thawed ejaculates (control and 5 mM caffeine-treated groups). Compared to that in the control, the addition of 5 mM caffeine induced an increase in sperm motility (38.9 ± 2.8 versus 32.6 ± 3.4%), and a decrease in nitrite concentration (11.4 ± 2.1 versus 12.8 ± 2.9 µM/µg protein, p < .05). Moreover, the pregnancy rate from AI in the caffeine group was significantly higher (62.5%) than that in the control group (12.5%). These data suggest that caffeine reduced the nitrite concentration and enhanced sperm motility in thawed equine sperm, thus increasing the fertility rate in mares inseminated with caffeine-treated equine semen.

The clinical effect of intravenous lipid emulsion on rabbits medicated with diazepam.

Intravenous lipid emulsions (ILE) have been increasingly used to reverse a wide range of lipophilic drug intoxications. However, it is still unknown if these emulsions interfere with other lipophilic drugs routinely used while treating intoxicated patients, such as diazepam, one of the main antiepileptic drugs. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to evaluate whether the administration of a 20% ILE interferes with diazepam's clinical effect. We randomly allocated thirty rabbits to five groups. Three of those groups received diazepam (1.0 mg/kg, IV), one of which did not receive any additional treatment, while the two remaining groups were treated with ILE or lactated ringer solution (1.5 mL/kg followed by 0.25 mL/kg/min for 30 min). The fourth group only received lipid emulsion, and the fifth only lactated ringer. Successive neurological exams at 20 min intervals for a total of 100 min were performed to assess the rabbits' neurological state. We concluded that the ILE did not interfere with diazepam's clinical effect but, although unlikely, the possibility of recurrence of a sedative effect should be considered.

Effect of Dexmedetomidine Low Doses with or without Midazolam in Cats: Clinical, Hemodynamic, Blood Gas Analysis, and Echocardiographic Effects.

Objectives: The aim of the study is to compare the sedative, cardiorespiratory, echocardiographic, and blood gas effects of dexmedetomidine and methadone associated or not with midazolam for restraint chemistry in cats. Methods: Eighteen healthy young cats (4.06 ± 0.48 kg) were randomly sedated with two protocols, through the intramuscular route: dexmedetomidine (5 µg.kg-1), methadone (0.3 mg. kg-1) and midazolam (0.3 mg. kg-1) (DMTM, n = 9), or dexmedetomidine (7.5 µg.kg-1) and methadone (0.3 mg. kg-1) (DMT, n = 9). The cardiorespiratory parameters were measured at baseline, 5 and 10 minutes after pharmacological latency. The sedation, analgesia, and muscle relaxation scores were assessed before and 5 minutes after pharmacological latency, while arterial blood gas analysis and echocardiography were assessed before and after 10 or 15 minutes, respectively. Results: There was no difference between the protocols regarding the cardiorespiratory, blood gas, and echocardiographic parameters used. The scores for sedation, analgesia, and muscle relaxation also did not differ between the protocols, with the degree of sedation, analgesia, and myorelaxation considered satisfactory in both groups. A significant decrease in heart rate (HR) was observed after administration of the sedative protocols, reaching a maximum reduction at T10 (46% and 53% reduction in the DMT and DMTM groups, respectively). The reduction in HR had an impact on echocardiographic parameters such as CO, which decreased 53% and 56% in the DMT and DMTM groups, respectively. There was a significant reduction in PaO2, SaO2, ejection fraction, and fractional shortening in both protocols. SpO2 decreased significantly after 5 minutes of sedation in the DMT group, but with a minimum mean SpO2 of 92% in T5. The respiratory rate decreased significantly at 5 and 10 minutes in the DMTM group, while PaCO2 increased in both groups, indicating respiratory depression caused by the drugs. Conclusions and Relevance. The study pointed out that both sedative protocols can be recommended for clinical sedation of young and healthy cats in the doses used. However, both protocols resulted in cardiorespiratory depression in cats and also the particularities of the animals should be evaluated regarding reducing cardiac output by more than 50%.

Erratum to: Daily vaginal temperature in Girolando cows from three different genetic composition under natural heat stress.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1093/tas/txab138.].

Daily vaginal temperature in Girolando cows from three different genetic composition under natural heat stress.

The present trial evaluated the effect of crossbred composition and Temperature and Humidity Index (THI) on vaginal temperature (VT) of Girolando dairy cows maintained under tropical pasture during warm seasons. The VT was monitored along 41 to 96 h in 615 Girolando cows with different Holstein (H) × Gir genetic composition (1/2 H = 284, 3/4 H = 248, and 7/8 H = 83) from six Brazilian farms in the summer of 2016 and 2017. VT of each cow at each hour of the day and the respective THI were averaged per hour across all monitoring days to generate an averaged value for VT and THI during 24 h. A linear mixed model with repeated measures using restricted maximum likelihood (REML) method for (co)variance components estimation procedure was employed. The final model adjusted the VT for the effects of cow, time, THI, farm, year, pregnancy status, body condition score (BCS), milk yield, genetic composition, and genetic composition*time interaction. Fixed effects were evaluated by ANOVA and tested with Tukey test in R software version 3.6.1 (R Core Team, 2019). Overall mean of VT, air temperature (AT), and THI were 39.06 ± 0.52 °C, 25.63 ± 0.40 °C, and 75.06 ± 3.96, respectively. VT had moderate positive correlation with THI (r² = 0.45, P < 0.001) and AT (r² = 0.46, P < 0.001). The VT had estimated linear increase of 0.05 °C for each THI unit increase (P < 0.001). Least square mean of VT varied among the farms (P < 0.001), pregnancy status (P < 0.001), and BCS (P < 0.05) but not for Milk yield (P > 0.05). The daily average VT was affected by genetic composition (P < 0.001) with highest temperature for 3/4 H (39.08 ± 0.06 °C a) and 7/8 H (39.09 ± 0.06 °C a) and lowest temperature for 1/2 H (38.95 ± 0.06 °C b). The difference of VT among the three crossbred groups varied in function of the time of the day, from 12:00 to 20:00 h (P < 0.001), with 3/4 Holstein and 7/8 Holstein cows reaching similar VT, above to the upper limit 39.1 °C and higher than 1/2 Holstein cows during all this period. In conclusion, Girolando cows are sensitive to heat stress in tropical condition during warm seasons. Moreover, Girolando cows with genetic composition higher than 3/4 Holstein display reduced thermoregulatory efficiency. Therefore, Girolando cows in tropical dairy farms require strategies to mitigate heat stress according to their genetic composition.

Effects of Equine Chorionic Gonadotropin on Ovulatory and Luteal Characteristics of Mares Submitted to an P4-Based Protocol of Ovulation Induction With hCG.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) at the end of progesterone (P4) treatment on follicular and luteal characteristics during transition period (TP) and reproductive breeding season (RP). A total of 13 crossbred mares were distributed in two experimental groups in the spring and summer (n = 26). The animals received intravaginal P4 (1.9 g) releasing device from D0 to D10. On removal of P4 device, the mares received 400 IU of eCG (eCG group) or saline solution (control group). Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG; 1.750 IU) was administered (DhCG) as soon as ovulatory follicle (OF) ≥35 mm was detected. Ovarian ultrasonography was performed from D0 until 15 days after ovulation. Blood samples were collected on D0, D5, D10, DhCG, 9 days after ovulation (CL9D), and 13 days after ovulation (CL13D). P4 and estradiol concentrations were assessed by chemiluminescence. Data were compared by Tukey test at P < .05. Ovulation rate was similar (P = .096) between seasons (RP = 100%; TP = 70%) but occurred earlier (P = .015) in RP (34.8 ± 10.1 hours) compared with TP (42.0 ± 10.4 hours). Interactions between season and treatment were observed for OF diameter (mm) (RP/control = 36.2 ± 1.8ab; RP/eCG = 32.9 ± 2.8 b; TP/control = 32.2 ± 1.2 b; TP/eCG = 37.2 ± 1.9a; P = .004) and for corpus luteum (CL) diameter (mm) on CL13D (RP/control = 25.4 ± 3.5a; RP/eCG = 22.5 ± 1.8ab; TP/control = 21.6 ± 4.9 b; TP/eCG = 27.4 ± 4.3a; P = .023), although no differences were observed for serum P4 on CL13D (RP/control = 6.0 ± 3.1 ng/mL; RP/eCG = 5.8 ± 0.9 ng/mL; TP/control = 3.6 ± 2.7 ng/mL; TP/eCG = 5.1 ± 2.3 ng/mL; P = .429) or for day of structural CL regression (RP/control = 12.8 ± 1.9; RP/eCG = 12.1 ± 1.1; TP/control = 11.0 ± 1.7; TP/eCG = 13.2 ± 2.0; P = .102). The application of eCG at the moment of P4 implant removal seemed to increase the capacity of luteal maintenance during spring TP. However, eCG treatment was worthless during the breeding season.

Does Coenzyme Q10 Exert Antioxidant Effect on Frozen Equine Sperm?

During semen cryopreservation, the sensitivity of equine sperm to oxidative stress is increased by the eliminated seminal plasma. Thus, antioxidant addition to the semen extender can be helpful to the sperm survival after freezing and thawing. This work aimed to test whether coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) added in different concentrations to the INRA 82 freezing extender has antioxidant function on equine sperm to improve its fertilizing ability. Semen samples from five stallions were frozen with the extenders: (T1) INRA 82, control, (T2) T1+ 5 µM CoQ10, (T3) T1+ 25 µM CoQ10, and (T4) T1+ 50 µM CoQ10. After sample thawing, sperm motility and kinetics characteristics were evaluated using a computer-assisted sperm analysis and sperm membrane functionality and integrity were evaluated with a hypo-osmotic swelling test and an epifluorescence microscopy, respectively. The nitrite (NO2-) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concentrations of the semen samples were measured with spectrophotometry. There was no difference on the sperm characteristics among all treatments (P > .05). However, the 25 µM CoQ10 (T3) decreased NO2- concentration (6.7 ± 2.2 µM/µg protein) compared with the treatments T1, T2, and T4 (64.3 ± 3.7, 59.4 ± 5.3, 45.1 ± 8.6 µM/µg protein), respectively, as well H2O2 concentration (1.8 ± 0.3 µM/µg protein) compared with the control (4.6 ± 0.4 µM/µg protein) and 5 µM CoQ10 treatments (4.8 ± 0.2 µM/µg protein, P < .05). In conclusion, 25 µM CoQ10 plays a significant role as antioxidant to the frozen equine sperm, decreasing NO2- and H2O2 concentrations. Thus, its addition to the INRA 82 freezing extender may be beneficial to the fertilizing ability of equine semen.

Maternal age, paternal age, and litter size interact to affect the offspring sex ratio of German Shepherd dogs.

Several factors influence mammalian sex ratio. In this study, the effects of parental age and litter size on the offspring sex ratio in dogs were evaluated in 602 puppies born from 101 German Shepherd litters from a breeding facility. The data was obtained from recordings of the kennel and Studbook from 1996 to 2016. A linear mixed-model analysis was performed using dam age, sire age and litter size as predictors of the percentage of males in litter. Dam age and litter size has direct effect on sex ratio. Dam age * sire age and dam age * litter size interactions are significant. When evaluating dam age by sire age, the expected male percentage in the litter is higher for old dams mated with young sires and young dams mated with old sires. Smaller percentage of males is expected for young dams mated with young sires and old dams mated with old sires. When evaluating dam age by litter size, the expected percentage of males in the litter is higher for young dams delivering big litters and old dams delivering small litters. Smaller percentage of males is expected for young dams delivering small litters and old dams delivering big litters. Dam aging increased proportion of males in litters. We concluded that offspring sex ratio is determined partially by the dam age, sire age and litter size interactions in German Shepherd dogs.

Multi-Trait GWAS and New Candidate Genes Annotation for Growth Curve Parameters in Brahman Cattle.

Understanding the genetic architecture of beef cattle growth cannot be limited simply to the genome-wide association study (GWAS) for body weight at any specific ages, but should be extended to a more general purpose by considering the whole growth trajectory over time using a growth curve approach. For such an approach, the parameters that are used to describe growth curves were treated as phenotypes under a GWAS model. Data from 1,255 Brahman cattle that were weighed at birth, 6, 12, 15, 18, and 24 months of age were analyzed. Parameter estimates, such as mature weight (A) and maturity rate (K) from nonlinear models are utilized as substitutes for the original body weights for the GWAS analysis. We chose the best nonlinear model to describe the weight-age data, and the estimated parameters were used as phenotypes in a multi-trait GWAS. Our aims were to identify and characterize associated SNP markers to indicate SNP-derived candidate genes and annotate their function as related to growth processes in beef cattle. The Brody model presented the best goodness of fit, and the heritability values for the parameter estimates for mature weight (A) and maturity rate (K) were 0.23 and 0.32, respectively, proving that these traits can be a feasible alternative when the objective is to change the shape of growth curves within genetic improvement programs. The genetic correlation between A and K was -0.84, indicating that animals with lower mature body weights reached that weight at younger ages. One hundred and sixty seven (167) and two hundred and sixty two (262) significant SNPs were associated with A and K, respectively. The annotated genes closest to the most significant SNPs for A had direct biological functions related to muscle development (RAB28), myogenic induction (BTG1), fetal growth (IL2), and body weights (APEX2); K genes were functionally associated with body weight, body height, average daily gain (TMEM18), and skeletal muscle development (SMN1). Candidate genes emerging from this GWAS may inform the search for causative mutations that could underpin genomic breeding for improved growth rates.