Welfare Implications of Low-Dose Atipamezole Reversal of Tiletamine/Zolazepam/Xylazine Anaesthesia in Pigs.

Anaesthesia is sometimes required for the effective restraint of laboratory pigs for sample collection. Yet, anaesthesia can initiate a range of physiological disruptions that can increase variability in study data and lead to poorer animal welfare. Judicious use of anaesthesia can mitigate experimental, human safety, and animal welfare concerns, but it does not eliminate the potential for adverse effects.

Retrospective analysis of custom 3D-printed drill guides and titanium plate use in spinal stabilization of eleven dogs.

Introduction: Congenital vertebral malformations are common developmental abnormalities in screw-tailed brachycephalic dog breeds. Subsequent vertebral instability and/or vertebral canal stenosis caused by these malformations can lead to spinal cord compression manifesting in pain, paraparesis, ataxia and/or paralysis. Various methods for spinal stabilization are in common use.

Faecal egg counts in Australian pasture-based dairy herds.

In Australian pastoral dairy systems, a variety of 'routine' anthelmintic programs are used in lactating cows varying from nil anthelmintic use to bi-annual application. Anthelmintic resistance has been repeatedly diagnosed on dairy farms and studies have indicated variable milk production benefits from anthelmintics internationally. We aimed to identify the predominant gastrointestinal parasites in recently calved dairy cows in south-west Victoria and examined the relationship between individual faecal egg counts (FEC) and other cow and management factors such as body condition score, age, and historical anthelmintic use.

Sociobiome - Individual and neighborhood socioeconomic status influence the gut microbiome in a multi-ethnic population in the US.

Lower socioeconomic status (SES) is related to increased incidence and mortality due to chronic diseases in adults. Association between SES variables and gut microbiome variation has been observed in adults at the population level, suggesting that biological mechanisms may underlie the SES associations; however, there is a need for larger studies that consider individual- and neighborhood-level measures of SES in racially diverse populations. In 825 participants from a multi-ethnic cohort, we investigated how SES shapes the gut microbiome.

Beta-lactam comprehensive allergy management program in a community medical center.

Objective: The Beta-lactam Comprehensive Allergy Management Program (CAMP) was implemented to facilitate complete beta-lactam allergy history documentation in the electronic medical record (EMR) and increase beta-lactam utilization. The study objective was to assess the rate of complete allergy histories and days of antimicrobial therapy (DOT) before versus after CAMP implementation.

Design: Quasi-experimental study with interrupted time-series analysis.

Sociobiome - Individual and neighborhood socioeconomic status influence the gut microbiome in a multi-ethnic population in the US.

Lower socioeconomic status (SES) is related to increased incidence and mortality due to chronic diseases in adults. Association between SES variables and gut microbiome variation has been observed in adults at the population level, suggesting that biological mechanisms may underlie the SES associations; however, there is a need for larger U.S.

Validating the female fertility estimated breeding value in Australian commercial dairy herds.

We conducted a retrospective cohort study to validate the efficacy of the Australian multitrait fertility estimated breeding value (EBV). We did this by determining its associations with phenotypic measures of reproductive performance (i.e.

The impact of stress and anesthesia on animal models of infectious disease.

Stress and general anesthesia have an impact on the functional response of the organism due to the detrimental effects on cardiovascular, immunological, and metabolic function, which could limit the organism's response to an infectious event. Animal studies have formed an essential step in understanding and mitigating infectious diseases, as the complexities of physiology and immunity cannot yet be replicated . Using animals in research continues to come under increasing societal scrutiny, and it is therefore crucial that the welfare of animals used in disease research is optimized to meet both societal expectations and improve scientific outcomes.

Antibiotic Misuse in Wound Care: Can Bacterial Localization through Fluorescence Imaging Help?

(1) Background: Systemic antibiotic use in chronic wounds is alarmingly high worldwide. Between 53% to 71% of patients are prescribed at least one course per chronic wound. Systemic antibiotic use should follow antibiotic stewardship guidelines and ought to be reserved for situations where their use is deemed supported by clinical indications.

Antimicrobial use on Australian dairy cattle farms - A survey of veterinarians.

Aims: The aims of this study were to determine antimicrobial prescription patterns and the factors affecting antimicrobial selection amongst Australian dairy veterinarians.

Methods: A structured questionnaire was administered to Australian dairy cattle veterinarians using the Qualtrics online survey platform. Questions focused on their (1) demographics; (2) opinions surrounding antimicrobial use, resistance, and stewardship; (3) decision-making drivers of both prescription and selection of commonly prescribed antimicrobials; (4) awareness on the guidelines for antimicrobial usage and sources of information concerning antimicrobials.

Asymmetric, mixed-valence molecules for spectroscopic readout of quantum-dot cellular automata.

Mixed-valence compounds may provide molecular devices for an energy-efficient, low-power, general-purpose computing paradigm known as quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA). Multiple redox centers on mixed-valence molecules provide a system of coupled quantum dots. The configuration of mobile charge on a double-quantum-dot (DQD) molecule encodes a bit of classical information robust at room temperature.

Breed structures in Australian dairy herds.

Breed structures of Australian dairy herds over time were described for a large subset of milk-recording herds. The focus for this study was to describe the use of crossbreeding by dairy farmers, specifically proportions of herds using crossbreeding, whether they were using two-breed or three-breed crossbreeding systems, and how herd-breed structures changed over time. The most common breed structure in Australian milk-recording herds between 2000 and 2013 was two-breed crossbreeding (39% of herd-years).

Impact of Tocilizumab on Clinical Outcomes in COVID-19-Associated Cytokine Release Syndrome: A Single-Center Experience.

Background: Tocilizumab is an interleukin-6 receptor antagonist hypothesized to blunt the uncontrolled immune response, cytokine release syndrome, in severe COVID-19 and prevent attributable morbidity and mortality. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the impact of tocilizumab on clinical outcomes in COVID-19-associated cytokine release syndrome.

Methods: Single-center, retrospective cohort study assessing sixty-nine adult patients receiving tocilizumab for suspected COVID-19 cytokine release syndrome.

Tobacco Smoking and the Fecal Microbiome in a Large, Multi-ethnic Cohort.

Background: Increasing evidence suggests that tobacco smoking, a well-known driver of carcinogenesis, influences the gut microbiome; however, these relationships remain understudied in diverse populations. Thus, we performed an analysis of smoking and the gut microbiome in a subset of 803 adults from the multi-ethnic NYU FAMiLI study.

Methods: We assessed fecal microbiota using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and clustered samples into Amplicon Sequence Variants using QIIME2.

The Impact of Bushfire Smoke on Cattle-A Review.

In 2019-2020, a particularly bad bushfire season in Australia resulted in cattle being exposed to prolonged periods of smoke haze and reduced air quality. Bushfire smoke contains many harmful pollutants, and impacts on regions far from the fire front, with smoke haze persisting for weeks. Particulate matter (PM) is one of the major components of bushfire smoke known to have a negative impact on human health.

Herd manager attitudes and intentions regarding the selection of high-fertility EBV sires in Australia.

Reproductive performance in dairy cattle has declined over the last 50 years as an unintended consequence of selection for high milk yield. Since the early 2000s, dairy geneticists have released successive versions of fertility estimated breeding values (EBV) to assist in reversing this trend. At the herd level, fertility EBV can help managers accelerate improvements in reproductive performance by acting as a second selection criteria when used in tandem with a breeding index.

A cross-sectional pilot study to estimate the prevalence of and risk factors for leptospirosis in South-Western Victorian dairy herds, 2017.

Leptospirosis is a zoonosis, found worldwide, affecting many species of animals. We conducted a cross-sectional study to estimate the prevalence of Leptospira borgpetersenii sv Hardjo and Leptospira interrogans sv Pomona in cattle in dairy herds in South-Western Victoria, Australia. Fifty-three herds were enrolled in the study.

US nativity and dietary acculturation impact the gut microbiome in a diverse US population.

Little is known regarding the impact of immigrant acculturation on the gut microbiome. We characterized differences in the gut microbiome between racially/ethnically diverse US immigrant and US-born groups, and determined the impact of dietary acculturation on the microbiome. Stool samples were collected from 863 US residents, including US-born (315 White, 93 Black, 40 Hispanic) and foreign-born (105 Hispanic, 264 Korean) groups.

Effect of a second treatment of prostaglandin F during the Ovsynch program on fixed-time artificial insemination conception rates and luteolysis in split-calving, pasture-fed dairy cows.

Objective: To compare fixed-time artificial insemination (FTAI) conception rates and serum progesterone concentrations at the time of FTAI for cows treated with the original Ovsynch program (OV) with those treated with a modified Ovsynch (MO) program.

Design: This was a randomised clinical trial.

Methods: The study used five split-calving, pasture-based dairy herds in Southwest Victoria, Australia.

The effects of herd size on the welfare of dairy cows in a pasture-based system using animal- and resource-based indicators.

Animal welfare assessments were conducted on 50 Australian pasture-based dairy farms of varying herd sizes: 16 small (<300 cows), 15 medium-sized (300-500 cows), 11 large (501-750 cows), and 10 very large (751+ cows). A protocol based on elements of Welfare Quality adapted for Australian conditions was developed to assess the broad categories of good feeding, housing, health, and appropriate behavior. Farm records, body condition scores, integument injuries, fecal plaques, avoidance distance of humans, and fecal pat scoring for acidosis assessment were undertaken.

Scrotal circumference, bodyweight and semen characteristics in growing dairy-breed natural-service bulls in Tasmania, Australia.

Aims: To provide herd managers with a set of decision rules allowing them to predict the likelihood that a juvenile bull is ready for Bull Breeding Soundness Evaluation (BBSE), or breeding, if bodyweight and scrotal circumference are known.

Methods: This was a longitudinal study following two groups of young pasture-fed Holstein and Jersey bulls from northwest Tasmania, Australia. Individual scrotal circumference, bodyweight and semen characteristics were recorded at 6-8 weekly intervals, from 6-18 months of age.