Clinical effect of probiotics in prevention or treatment of gastrointestinal disease in dogs: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal diseases are prevalent in dogs, and probiotics could provide safe alternatives to conventional treatments. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical effects of probiotics when used in the prevention or treatment of gastrointestinal disease in dogs compared with no treatment, only symptomatic treatment, or conventional treatment. METHODS: A systematic review was preformed searching AGRICOLA, AGRIS, CAB Abstracts, Embase, Ovid MEDLINE, and Web of Science to identify articles published before April 1, 2017. Selection criteria were original research report, those published in peer reviewed journal, and study investigating in vivo use of probiotic for prevention or treatment of gastrointestinal disease in dogs. Studies were rated based on the level of evidence, and methodological quality was evaluated by the following variables: similarities between groups at baseline, risk of bias, and study group size. RESULTS: One hundred sixty-five studies were identified, of which 17 met the inclusion criteria-12 concerned acute gastrointestinal disease and 5 concerned chronic gastrointestinal disease. The level of evidence ranged between randomized controlled studies and crossover uncontrolled trials; estimated risk of bias was generally moderate to high; and sample sizes were small. Feces consistency was the most frequently evaluated clinical variable. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: The current data point toward a very limited and possibly clinically unimportant effect for prevention or treatment of acute gastrointestinal disease. For chronic gastrointestinal disease, dietary intervention remains the major key in treatment, whereas probiotic supplement seems not to add significant improvement. However, studies were often underpowered, underscoring the need for future larger, preferably multicenter studies.

Cardiac troponin I in cats with compromised renal function.

OBJECTIVES: Cardiac troponins are sensitive and specific markers of myocardial injury. However, their reliability in renal disease has been questioned owing to possible renal involvement in troponin elimination. The primary objective of the present study was to examine whether serum cardiac troponin I is elevated in cats with compromised renal function and no clinically relevant structural cardiac disease. A secondary objective was to examine whether cardiac troponin I is measurable in the urine of cats with normal and compromised renal function. METHODS: This prospective case-control study included 52 cats (19 with compromised renal function, 19 with primary cardiac disease and 14 healthy controls). For all cats, clinical examination, echocardiography, electrocardiography, blood pressure, complete blood count, biochemistry, serum thyroxine and urinalysis were performed. Cardiac troponin I was measured in the serum and urine of each cat. RESULTS: Median (range) serum cardiac troponin I concentrations were 0.052 ng/ml (0.015-0.78 ng/ml) for the renal group, 0.083 ng/ml (0.003-3.27 ng/ml) for the cardiac group and 0.012 ng/ml (0.003-0.14 ng/ml) for the control group. The renal and cardiac groups both had significantly higher serum cardiac troponin I concentrations than the control group, whereas no difference could be detected between the renal and cardiac groups. In the renal group 7/19 cats had measurable urine cardiac troponin I, whereas cardiac troponin I was measurable in the urine of one cat in the cardiac group and two healthy controls. There was no significant correlation between serum and urine cardiac troponin I. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Elevated serum cardiac troponin I in cats with compromised renal function may occur without evidence of clinically relevant structural cardiac disease. Moreover, detecting cardiac troponin I in urine is most likely in cats with compromised renal function.

Real time monitoring of a biogas digester with gas chromatography, near-infrared spectroscopy, and membrane-inlet mass spectrometry.

Four methods of monitoring the anaerobic digestion process were studied at pilot scale. The methods employed were Micro Gas Chromatography (µ-GC) and Membrane Inlet Mass Spectrometry (MIMS) for measurements in the gas phase, Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) and pH in the liquid phase. Micro Gas Chromatography accurately measured H(2), CH(4), H(2)S, N(2) and O(2) in the headspace whereas the MIMS accurately measured CH(4), CO(2), H(2)S, reduced organic sulfur compounds and p-cresol, also in the headspace. In the liquid phase, NIRS was found to be suitable for estimating the concentrations of acetate, propionate and total volatile fatty acids (VFA) but the error of prediction was too large for accurate quantification. Both the µ-GC and NIRS were low maintenance methods whereas the MIMS required frequent cleaning and background measurements.