Computed tomography of the equine caudal spine and pelvis. Pathological findings in 56 clinical cases (2018-2023).

Background: Computed tomography (CT) of the axial skeleton is increasing across many equine hospitals. CT of the pelvis and caudal spine in a large group of clinical cases has not been reported previously.

Objective: To describe the pathological lesions identified in the caudal spine/pelvis in horses and ponies undergoing CT spine of this region.

Outcome of tenoscopically guided palmar/plantar annular ligament desmotomy for the treatment of palmar/plantar annular ligament constriction without concurrent intrathecal soft-tissue injury in a UK horse population.

Objective: To determine the outcome of tenoscopically guided palmar/plantar annular ligament (PAL) desmotomy to treat PAL constriction without concurrent intrathecal soft-tissue injury, notably of the digital flexor tendons and manica flexoria.

Study Design: Retrospective multicenter cohort study.

Animals: Sixty-five horses.

Review of the clinical diagnosis of sacroiliac dysfunction in horses - Challenges and limitations.

Sacroiliac dysfunction (SID) is a condition seen in horses associated with poor performance that affects hind limb gait and impulsion. The condition comprises pain and dysfunction but there lacks clarity around the aetiopathogenesis and whether SID encompasses abnormal joint pathology, abnormal joint movement, abnormal regional biomechanical function, joint laxity and pain, or various combinations of these that may vary over time. Clinical assessment remains challenging for equine clinicians due to the deep location of the sacroiliac joint (SIJ) and surrounding structures which limits access for palpation, diagnostic imaging and joint-specific injection.

Successful total hip arthroplasty in a miniature horse.

Objective: To describe the surgical treatment, postoperative management, and outcome of a miniature horse undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA).

Study Design: Case report.

Animals: A 4-year-old miniature horse stallion weighing 85 kg.

Forecasting and modeling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA with a timed intervention model.

We propose a novel Timed Intervention S, P, E, I, Q, R, D model for projecting the possible futures of the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA. The proposed model introduces a series of timed interventions that can account for the influence of real time changes in government policy and social norms. We consider three separate types of interventions: (i) Protective interventions: Where population moves from susceptible to protected corresponding to mask mandates, stay-at-home orders and/or social distancing.

Evaluation of the Feasibility, Reliability, and Repeatability of Welfare Indicators in Free-Roaming Horses: A Pilot Study.

Validated assessment protocols have been developed to quantify welfare states for intensively managed sport, pleasure, and working horses. There are few protocols for extensively managed or free-roaming populations. Here, we trialed welfare indicators to ascertain their feasibility, reliability, and repeatability using free-roaming Carneddau Mountain ponies as an example population.

CT more accurately detects foreign bodies within the equine foot than MRI or digital radiography.

Identification and characterization of foreign bodies in the distal limb of horses poses a diagnostic challenge. The aims of this prospective experimental cadaver study were to describe the appearance of five foreign body materials within the equine hoof using CT, MRI, and digital radiography (DR) and to compare interrater agreement among three reviewers. Fifty foreign bodies consisting of five materials were implanted at a solar location or a coronary location in 25 equine cadaver feet.

Assessment of intrasynovial injection in horses by contrast-enhanced ultrasonography using air bubbles created by agitation of solution.

Background: Accuracy of intrasynovial injections can be challenging to assess in a clinical setting in horses. Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) using injectate agitated with air has been used to determine the success rates of synovial injections in human rheumatology.

Objectives: To assess the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of CEUS and to describe its clinical use.

Comparison of Serum Amyloid A Measurements in Equine Synovial Fluid With Routine Diagnostic Methods to Detect Synovial Infection in a Clinical Environment.

Synovial fluid analysis is utilized to diagnose septic synovitis. However, not all cases are clearly and rapidly discernible with the diagnostic tools available in the laboratory. Serum amyloid A (SAA), an acute phase protein, has been shown to be elevated in synovial fluid from inflamed synovial structures.

Investigation of the efficacy of the GnRH agonist deslorelin in mitigating intraspecific aggression in captive male Amur leopards (Panthera pardus orientalis).

Housing bachelor groups is a necessary aspect of the care and husbandry of non-breeding individuals in zoological collections. Intraspecific aggressive behaviors may occur in this setting despite management strategies designed to mitigate these behaviors. Androgens (including testosterone) are associated with aggression in male species and interventional techniques to alter the animals' physiology to modify aggressive behavior are sometimes required.

Ultrasound-guided approach to the cervical articular process joints in horses: a validation of the technique in cadavers.

Objectives: To compare accuracy of the ultrasound-guided craniodorsal (CrD) approach with the dorsal (D) approach to the cervical articular process joints, and to evaluate the effect of the transducer, needle gauge, and operator experience.

Methods: Cervical articular process joints from 14 cadaveric neck specimens were injected using either a D or CrD approach, a linear (13 MHx) or microconvex transducer (10 MHz), and an 18 or 20 gauge needle, by an experienced or inexperienced operator. Injectate consisted of an iodinated contrast material solution.

Techniques and Indications for Intraoperative Ultrasound in Horses.

Objective: To describe our experience using intraoperative ultrasound for various conditions in horses.

Study Design: Retrospective case series.

Sample Population: Horses (n=113).

Comparison of two ultrasound-guided injection techniques targeting the sacroiliac joint region in equine cadavers.

Objectives: To compare the accuracy and distribution of injectate for cranial (CR) and caudomedial (CM) ultrasound-guided injections of equine sacroiliac joints.

Methods: Both sacroiliac joints from 10 lumbosacropelvic specimens were injected using cranial parasagittal (CR; curved 18 gauge, 25 cm spinal needles) and caudomedial (CM; straight 18 gauge, 15 cm spinal needles) ultrasound-guided approaches. Injectate consisted of 4 ml iodinated contrast and 2 ml methylene blue.

Repair of large osteochondritis dissecans lesions using a novel multilayered tissue engineered construct in an equine athlete.

Osteochondral lesions resulting from osteochondritis dissecans are problematic to treat and present a significant challenge for clinicians. The aims of this study were to investigate the use of a scaffold-assisted microfracture approach, employing a novel, multilayered, collagen-based, osteochondral graft substitute in the treatment of severe osteochondritis dissecans of both lateral femoral trochlear ridges in an equine athlete, and to assess the potential of this novel scaffold to enhance repair of the osteochondral unit. A 15 month-old female filly presented with large osteochondritis dissecans lesions involving both femoral lateral trochlear ridges.

Regulation by interdomain communication of a headful packaging nuclease from bacteriophage T4.

In genome packaging by tailed bacteriophages and herpesviruses, a concatemeric DNA is cut and inserted into an empty procapsid. A series of cuts follow the encapsidation of each unit-length 'headful' genome, but the mechanisms by which cutting is coupled to packaging are not understood. Here we report the first biochemical characterization of a headful nuclease from bacteriophage T4.

Membrane curvature induced by aggregates of LH2s and monomeric LH1s.

The photosynthetic apparatus of purple bacteria is contained within organelles called chromatophores, which form as extensions of the cytoplasmic membrane. The shape of these chromatophores can be spherical (as in Rhodobacter sphaeroides), lamellar (as in Rhodopseudomonas acidophila and Phaeospirillum molischianum), or tubular (as in certain Rb. sphaeroides mutants).

Recursive mean-squared-error algorithm for iterative discrete on-axis encoded holograms.

A hybrid-algorithm has been developed that uses the concept of a rapid recursive mean-squared-error (RMSE) function combined with the annealed, multiphase, on-axis capabilities of iterative discrete on-axis (IDO) encoding. High diffraction efficiency and computational speed are obtained through the use of the RMSE algorithm with a constant weighting coefficient in the error function and an iterative initial process for determining phase codes in the output plane. Results for large even spot arrays are presented, and comparisons are made for diffraction efficiency, spot uniformity, and computation speed between the original IDO and the RMSE-based IDO encoding.