The groundbreaking impact of digitalization and artificial intelligence in sheep farming.

The integration of digitalization and Artificial Intelligence (AI) has marked the onset of a new era of efficient sheep farming in multiple aspects ranging from the general well-being of sheep to advanced web-based management applications. The resultant improvement in sheep health and consequently better farming yield has already started to benefit both farmers and veterinarians. The predictive analytical models embedded with machine learning (giving sense to machines) has helped better decision-making and has enabled farmers to derive most out of their farms. This is evident in the ability of farmers to remotely monitor livestock health by wearable devices that keep track of animal vital signs and behaviour. Additionally, veterinarians now employ advanced AI-based diagnostics for efficient parasite detection and control. Overall, digitalization and AI have completely transformed traditional farming practices in livestock animals. However, there is a pressing need to optimize digital sheep farming, allowing sheep farmers to appreciate and adopt these innovative systems. To fill this gap, this review aims to provide available digital and AI-based systems designed to aid precision farming of sheep, offering an up-to-date understanding on the subject. Various contemporary techniques, such as sky shepherding, virtual fencing, advanced parasite detection, automated counting and behaviour tracking, anomaly detection, precision nutrition, breeding support, and several mobile-based management applications are currently being utilized in sheep farms and appear to be promising. Although artificial intelligence and machine learning may represent key features in the sustainable development of sheep farming, they present numerous challenges in application.

Ovine papillomaviruses: Diversity, pathogenicity, and evolution.

The family Papillomaviridae includes a plethora of viral species infecting virtually all vertebrates excluding amphibians, with astonishing impact on human and animal health. Although more than 250 species have been described in humans, the total number of papillomaviruses (PVs) discovered in animals does not reach up to this number. In animals, PV infections are mostly asymptomatic or can cause variable clinical conditions ranging from self-limiting papillomas and other cutaneous and mucosal benign lesions to cancer. Most of animal PV types have been discovered in cattle, dogs, horses, and cats with other farm host species remaining overlooked. In particular, the number of PV types so far identified in sheep is limited. This paper comprehensively reviews ovine PVs features, including viral taxonomy and evolution; genome organization; viral tropism and pathogenesis; macroscopical features and histopathological patterns, as well as available diagnostics tools. Data are critically presented and discussed in terms of impact on veterinary and public health. The development of future dedicated research is also discussed.

The Synergic Role of Emerging and Endemic Swine Virus in the Porcine Respiratory Disease Complex: Pathological and Biomolecular Analysis.

Porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC) represents a significant threat to the swine industry, causing economic losses in pigs worldwide. Recently, beyond the endemic viruses PRRSV and PCV2, emerging viruses such as TTSuV, PCV3, and PPV2, have been associated with PRDC, but their role remains unclear. This study investigates the presence of PCV2 and PRRSV and emerging viruses (PCV3, TTSuV, and PPV2) in the lungs of swine belonging to different age groups by histopathology and real-time PCR. The prevalent lung lesion was interstitial pneumonia with increased severity in post-weaning pigs. PRRSV was detected in 33% of piglets' lungs and in 20% of adults and post-weaning pigs with high Ct, while PCV2 was found in 100% of adult pigs, 33% of post-weaning pigs, and 22% of piglets, with low Ct in post-weaning pigs. PCV3 was present in all categories and coexisted with other viruses. TTSuV was detected in all swine in combination with other viruses, possibly influencing the disease dynamics, while PPV2 was detected in 100% of adults' and 90% of piglets' lungs. The detection of TTSuV, PCV3, and PPV2 in affected pigs prioritizes the need for comprehensive approaches in implementing appropriate control measures and minimizing economic losses associated with PRDC.

Exploring Immunohistochemistry in Fish: Assessment of Antibody Reactivity by Western Immunoblotting.

In recent years, research on fish has seen remarkable advancements, especially in aquaculture, ornamental fish industry, and biomedical studies. Immunohistochemistry has become crucial in fish research, aiding in physiological and pathological investigations. However, the use of antibodies originally developed for mammals has raised concerns about their cross-reactivity and specificity in fish. This study systematically evaluated the reactivity of commonly used antibodies for diagnostic purposes, especially in fish pathology, including pan-cytokeratin, vimentin, S-100, glial fibrillary acidic protein, and desmin in the tissue of Sparus aurata, Dicentrarchus labrax, Oncorhynchus mykiss, and Carassius auratus. Western immunoblotting was employed to assess antibody specificity. The results revealed that the pan-cytokeratin and glial fibrillary acidic protein antibodies cross-react with all tested fish species, while S-100 demonstrated specific staining in sea bream, goldfish, and rainbow trout tissues. Conversely, vimentin and desmin antibodies displayed no reactivity. In conclusion, the anti-cytokeratin clone AE1/AE3 and the polyclonal rabbit anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein antibody, which are extensively used in mammals, were validated for fish immunohistochemical studies. Regrettably, D33 anti-desmin and V9 anti-vimentin clones are unsuitable for immunohistochemistry in the tested fish. These findings underscore the need for species-specific antibodies and proper validation for accurate immunohistochemistry analyses in fish research.

Canine Mammary Tumor Histopathological Image Classification via Computer-Aided Pathology: An Available Dataset for Imaging Analysis.

Histopathology, the gold-standard technique in classifying canine mammary tumors (CMTs), is a time-consuming process, affected by high inter-observer variability. Digital (DP) and Computer-aided pathology (CAD) are emergent fields that will improve overall classification accuracy. In this study, the ability of the CAD systems to distinguish benign from malignant CMTs has been explored on a dataset-namely CMTD-of 1056 hematoxylin and eosin JPEG images from 20 benign and 24 malignant CMTs, with three different CAD systems based on the combination of a convolutional neural network (VGG16, Inception v3, EfficientNet), which acts as a feature extractor, and a classifier (support vector machines (SVM) or stochastic gradient boosting (SGB)), placed on top of the neural net. Based on a human breast cancer dataset (i.e., BreakHis) (accuracy from 0.86 to 0.91), our models were applied to the CMT dataset, showing accuracy from 0.63 to 0.85 across all architectures. The EfficientNet framework coupled with SVM resulted in the best performances with an accuracy from 0.82 to 0.85. The encouraging results obtained by the use of DP and CAD systems in CMTs provide an interesting perspective on the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies in cancer-related research.

Coagulation Abnormalities in Dogs with Parvoviral Enteritis.

Hemostatic alterations have been documented in dogs with canine parvoviral enteritis. This study's aims were to measure the standard coagulation parameters, and to assess the relationship between them and the clinical variables in dogs with canine parvoviral enteritis. Nine client-owned dogs with a canine parvoviral infection were included in a prospective, observational clinical study. Clinical score and coagulation status were assessed at admission. All nine dogs showed alterations of three or more standard coagulation variables. A correlation analysis evidenced a significantly high positive correlation between the activated partial thromboplastin time and clinical score. The present study concurs that dogs with canine parvoviral enteritis have coagulation disorders that are detectable by measuring the standard coagulation parameters.

A Review on Pathological and Diagnostic Aspects of Emerging Viruses-Senecavirus A, Torque teno sus virus and Linda Virus-In Swine.

Swine production represents a significant component in agricultural economies as it occupies over 30% of global meat demand. Infectious diseases could constrain the swine health and productivity of the global swine industry. In particular, emerging swine viral diseases are omnipresent in swine populations, but the limited knowledge of the pathogenesis and the scarce information related to associated lesions restrict the development of data-based control strategies aimed to reduce the potentially great impact on the swine industry. In this paper, we reviewed and summarized the main pathological findings related to emerging viruses, such as Senecavirus A, Torque teno sus virus, and Linda virus, suggesting a call for further multidisciplinary studies aimed to fill this lack of knowledge and better clarify the potential role of those viral diseases in swine pathology.

Isolation and Genetic Characterization of Streptococcus iniae Virulence Factors in Adriatic Sturgeon (Acipenser naccarii).

The first case of infection of Streptococcus iniae in Adriatic sturgeon (Acipenser naccarii) was recently reported in a raceway system located in Northern Italy. A second episode of infection in sturgeons with absence of mortality and evident clinical signs, was registered in November 2020 in the same farm and is reported in this study. Histopathological changes observed in infected organs are described. The strains isolated in the two episodes were compared using molecular analysis based on PCR, phylogeny and virulence factors analysis. Not all the major virulence factors were detected for the two strains; in particular the strains 78697, isolated in November, lacks cpsD, compared to the strains 64844, isolated in September. Moreover, genetic variations were reported for lctO and pmg genes. These findings let us hypothesize a different virulence of the strains in accordance with clinical findings related to the sturgeons.

Stages of Granulomatous Response Against Histozoic Metazoan Parasites in Mullets (Osteichthyes: Mugilidae).

Histozoic parasite-fish host interaction is a dynamic process that leads to the formation of a granuloma, a specific chronic inflammatory response with discernible histological features. Mullets (Osteichthyes: Mugilidae) represent a suitable model concerning the development of such lesions in the host-parasite interface. The present work aimed to identify granuloma developmental stages from the early to the late phase of the infection and to characterize the immune cells and non-inflammatory components of the granuloma in different stages. For this purpose, 239 mullets were collected from 4 Sardinian lagoons, and several organs were examined by combining histopathological, bacteriological, and immunohistochemical methods. Granulomas associated with trematode metacercariae and myxozoan parasites were classified into three developmental stages: (1) pre-granuloma stage, characterized by intact encysted parasite and with no or mild tissue reaction; (2) intermediate stage, with partially degenerated parasites, necrosis, and a moderate number of epithelioid cells (ECs); and (3) late stage, with a necrotic core and no detectable parasite with a high number of ECs and fibroblasts. The three-tier staging and the proposed morphological diagnosis make it conceivable that histopathology could be an essential tool to evaluate the granulomas associated with histozoic parasitic infection in fish.

Histological and Immunohistochemical Features of Trichoblastoma in a Sarda Breed Sheep.

Skin tumors with adnexal differentiation are commonly reported in dogs and cats, while only anecdotal evidence is available in sheep. Here we illustrate the macroscopic, histologic, and immunohistochemical features of a cutaneous lesion with adnexal differentiation in a 6-year-old female Sarda breed sheep, surgically treated for a horn-like mass located in the left pinna. Additionally, we investigate a possible contribution of Ovine Papillomaviruses (OaPVs). Histologically, the dermis was expanded by an expansive and unencapsulated multilobulated nodule composed of cuboidal to spindle basaloid cells arranged in variably-sized cytokeratins (CK) AE1-AE3, CK 5/6 and CK 34 beta E12, p63-positive winding cords with a characteristic palisade arrangement of neoplastic cells in the periphery of the tumor. Based on these results, the cutaneous neoplasm was diagnosed as a trabecular trichoblastoma with spindle cells and rare structures resembling papillary mesenchymal bodies. Additionally, multiple enlarged sebaceous lobules clustered around dilated ducts suggestive of sebaceous gland hyperplasia were detected near the trichoblastoma. No PV DNA was found in the examined tissues, suggesting that ovine PVs are not involved in the pathogenesis of the present skin tumors with adnexal differentiation. Further investigations and efforts are required to elucidate the prevalence of skin tumors with adnexal differentiation in this species.

A Statistical Analysis of Risk Factors and Biological Behavior in Canine Mammary Tumors: A Multicenter Study.

Canine mammary tumors (CMTs) represent a serious issue in worldwide veterinary practice and several risk factors are variably implicated in the biology of CMTs. The present study examines the relationship between risk factors and histological diagnosis of a large CMT dataset from three academic institutions by classical statistical analysis and supervised machine learning methods. Epidemiological, clinical, and histopathological data of 1866 CMTs were included. Dogs with malignant tumors were significantly older than dogs with benign tumors (9.6 versus 8.7 years, P < 0.001). Malignant tumors were significantly larger than benign counterparts (2.69 versus 1.7 cm, P < 0.001). Interestingly, 18% of malignant tumors were smaller than 1 cm in diameter, providing compelling evidence that the size of the tumor should be reconsidered during the assessment of the TNM-WHO clinical staging. The application of the logistic regression and the machine learning model identified the age and the tumor's size as the best predictors with an overall diagnostic accuracy of 0.63, suggesting that these risk factors are sufficient but not exhaustive indicators of the malignancy of CMTs. This multicenter study increases the general knowledge of the main epidemiologica-clinical risk factors involved in the onset of CMTs and paves the way for further investigations of these factors in association with CMTs and in the application of machine learning technology.

Histopathological and Molecular Study of Pacific Oyster Tissues Provides Insights into V. aestuarianus Infection Related to Oyster Mortality.

Consumer preference for healthy and sustainable food products has been steadily increasing in recent years. Bivalve mollusks satisfy these characteristics and have captured ever-increasing market shares. However, the expansion of molluscan culture in worldwide and global trade have favored the spread of pathogens around the world. Combined with environmental changes and intensive production systems this has contributed to the occurrence of mass mortality episodes, thus posing a threat to the production of different species, including the Pacific oyster Crassotrea gigas. In the San Teodoro lagoon, one of the most devoted lagoons to extensive Pacific oyster aquaculture in Sardinia, a mortality outbreak was observed with an estimated 80% final loss of animal production. A study combining cultural, biomolecular and histopathological methods was conducted: (1) to investigate the presence of different Vibrio species and OsHV-1 in selected oyster tissues (digestive gland, gills, and mantle); (2) to quantify Vibrio aestuarianus and to evaluate the severity of hemocyte infiltration in infected tissues; (3) to produce post-amplification data and evaluating ToxR gene as a target for phylogenetic analyses. Results provide new insights into V. aestuarianus infection related to oyster mortality outbreaks and pave the way to the development of tools for oyster management.

Ecological and histopathological aspects of Didymodiclinus sp. (Trematoda: Didymozoidae) parasite of the dusky grouper, Epinephelus marginatus (Osteichthyes: Serranidae), from the western Mediterranean Sea.

The dusky grouper Epinephelus marginatus (Lowe) is an ecologically and commercially important fish species of the Atlantic and Mediterranean coastal rocky habitats. Despite records of didymozoid infections in several grouper species, the identification and pathogenesis of these parasites in E. marginatus are lacking. The aim of this study is to characterize the didymozoids of E. marginatus, particularly their mechanisms of infection and histopathological features. Dusky groupers (n = 205) were caught off Majorca Island (western Mediterranean Sea) and examined for parasites. Of the fish sampled, 45% were infected with white and yellow didymozoid capsules and brown nodules, found on the gills and pseudobranchs. Parasite abundance had a strong positive relationship with the fish length; only fish larger than 20 cm were infected, suggesting infection via consumption of an intermediate host, for which E. marginatus size was a limiting factor. The capsules contained two convoluted viable adult trematodes, identified as Didymodiclinus sp., in close contact with host capillary vessels, with no evidence of the tissue inflammatory response. Conversely, nodules containing degraded parasites were surrounded by an intense inflammatory infiltrate. The findings suggest that Didymodiclinus sp. have the potential to evade the host's immune system by inhibiting the inflammatory response.

A first immunohistochemistry study of transketolase and transketolase-like 1 expression in canine hyperplastic and neoplastic mammary lesions.

BACKGROUND: Canine mammary tumors represent the most common neoplasm in female dogs, and the discovery of cancer biomarkers and their translation to clinical relevant assays is a key requirement in the war on cancer. Since the description of the 'Warburg effect', the reprogramming of metabolic pathways is considered a hallmark of pathological changes in cancer cells. In this study, we investigate the expression of two cancer-related metabolic enzymes, transketolase (TKT) and transketolase-like 1 (TKTL1), involved in the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), an alternative metabolic pathway for glucose breakdown that could promote cancer by providing the precursors and energy required for rapidly growing cells. RESULTS: TKT and TKTL1 protein expression was investigated by immunohistochemistry in canine normal (N = 6) and hyperplastic glands (N = 3), as well as in benign (N = 11) and malignant mammary tumors (N = 17). TKT expression was higher in hyperplastic lesions and in both benign and malignant tumors compared to the normal mammary gland, while TKTL1 levels were remarkably higher in hyperplastic lesions, simple adenomas and simple carcinomas than in the normal mammary glands (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals that the expression of a key PPP enzyme varies along the evolution of canine mammary neoplastic lesions, and supports a role of metabolic changes in the development of canine mammary tumors.

Comparability of differential proteomics data generated from paired archival fresh-frozen and formalin-fixed samples by GeLC-MS/MS and spectral counting.

In this study, a Veterinary Department repository composed by paired formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) and fresh-frozen (FrFr) sets of the same tissues, routinely archived in the typical conditions of a clinical setting, was exploited to perform a comparative evaluation of the results generated by GeLC-MS/MS (1-DE followed by in-gel digestion and LC-MS/MS) and spectral counting with the two types of archival samples. Therefore, two parallel differential proteomic studies were performed using 3 canine mammary carcinomas and 3 normal controls in a paired fashion (6 FrFr and 6 FFPE in total). As a result, the FrFr and FFPE differential proteomic datasets exhibited fair consistency in differential expression trends, according to protein molecular function, cellular localization, networks, and pathways. However, FFPE samples were globally slightly less informative, especially concerning the high-MW subproteome. As a further investigation, new insights into the molecular aspects of protein fixation and retrieval were obtained. In conclusion, archival FFPE samples can be reliably used for differential proteomics studies employing a spectral counting GeLC-MS/MS approach, although some typical biases need to be taken into account, and FrFr specimens (when available) should still be considered as the gold standard for clinical proteomics.