How to see stress in chickens: On the way to a Stressed Chicken Scale.

For many species, scales are used to classify discomfort and stress (e.g., facial expression/pain scales).

Assessing the Feasibility of a Two-Cohort Design to Assess the Potential of Homeopathic Medicinal Products to Reduce Antimicrobial Resistance in Turkeys (The HOMAMR Project)-Study Protocol.

Background:  Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious public health concern worldwide. The European Union requires a reduction in the use of antibiotics by 50% by 2030, with separate regulations on organic production that give preference to homeopathy and phytotherapy in organic farms before the use of conventional medicines (including antibiotics). We have therefore designed a two-phased project whose overarching aim is to investigate the potential role of homeopathic medicinal products (HMPs) in combating AMR in turkeys (the HOMAMR project): a two-cohort feasibility study using turkey-farm data that have been collected and analyzed retrospectively, followed by a prospective two-cohort study in turkey farms that would examine the impact of HMPs on changing antibiotic use.

Opportunities to Improve Animal Welfare during Transport and Slaughter of Cattle and Pigs through Staff Training-Results of a Delphi Survey.

To improve animal welfare for cattle and pigs during transport and at slaughter, online training modules for all staff including employees in the lairage pen, the slaughter line as well as animal welfare officers are developed at Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. Before starting the development of these modules, an expert elicitation survey using a modified Delphi approach was performed to identify action points considered most relevant for animal welfare during transport and slaughter, and as having the potential for improvement through training. In total, 49 participating experts rated predetermined action points of each step in the transport and slaughter process in two survey rounds.

Leveraging Accelerometer Data for Lameness Detection in Dairy Cows: A Longitudinal Study of Six Farms in Germany.

Lameness in dairy cows poses a significant challenge to improving animal well-being and optimizing economic efficiency in the dairy industry. To address this, employing automated animal surveillance for early lameness detection and prevention through activity sensors proves to be a promising strategy. In this study, we analyzed activity (accelerometer) data and additional cow-individual and farm-related data from a longitudinal study involving 4860 Holstein dairy cows on six farms in Germany during 2015-2016.

Innovative e-Learning Training Modules to Improve Animal Welfare during Transport and Slaughter of Pigs: A Pretest-Posttest Study to Pre-Evaluate the General Didactical Concept.

In addition to the information on the possession of a certificate of competence, there are no concrete obligations for repetitive training for personnel handling live animals at transport and slaughter. Deficiencies in the animal-welfare-friendly handling of pigs are known. The developed pilot modules "Handling of pigs" and "Electrical stunning" were tested in a pretest-posttest study in German and Romanian using questions of knowledge before and after the implementation of the modules.

Cross-sectional study: prevalence of oedema disease Escherichia coli (EDEC) in weaned piglets in Germany at pen and farm levels.

Background: Escherichia coli bacteria capable of producing the toxin Stx2e and possessing F18-fimbriae (edema disease E. coli, EDEC) are considered causative agents of porcine oedema disease. This disease, which usually occurs in piglets shortly after weaning, has a high lethality in affected animals and can lead to high economic losses in piglet rearing.

Safety and accuracy of blind vs. ultrasound-guided dorsal retrobulbar nerve blocks in horses-A cadaveric study.

Objective: There is limited knowledge regarding the safety and accuracy of ultrasound-guided retrobulbar nerve blocks in horses. The aim of this study was to compare these parameters between blind and ultrasound-guided injection techniques for the dorsal retrobulbar nerve block in horses.

Methods: Equine cadaver heads were used to inject the retrobulbar space with contrast medium (CM).

Sensitivity and Specificity for the Detection of Clinical Mastitis by Automatic Milking Systems in Bavarian Dairy Herds.

In automatic milking systems (AMSs), the detection of clinical mastitis (CM) and the subsequent separation of abnormal milk should be reliably performed by commercial AMSs. Therefore, the objectives of this cross-sectional study were (1) to determine the sensitivity (SN) and specificity (SP) of CM detection of AMS by the four most common manufacturers in Bavarian dairy farms, and (2) to identify routinely collected cow data (AMS and monthly test day data of the regional Dairy Herd Improvement Association (DHIA)) that could improve the SN and SP of clinical mastitis detection. Bavarian dairy farms with AMS from the manufacturers DeLaval, GEA Farm Technologies, Lely, and Lemmer-Fullwood were recruited with the aim of sampling at least 40 cows with clinical mastitis per AMS manufacturer in addition to clinically healthy ones.

Femoral and sciatic nerve blockade of the pelvic limb with and without obturator nerve block for tibial plateau levelling osteotomy surgery in dogs.

Objective: To determine the effect of blocking the obturator nerve in addition to performing femoral nerve and sciatic nerve blocks on intraoperative nociception in dogs undergoing unilateral tibial plateau levelling osteotomy (TPLO) surgery.

Study Design: Prospective, blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical comparison.

Animals: A total of 88 client-owned dogs undergoing unilateral TPLO surgery (100 procedures).

Dependence of the Ki67 Labelling Index of Selected Canine Tumours on Patient Age, Sex and Tumour Size.

Cell proliferation is a fundamental criterion in the assessment of malignant progression of many tumours and an essential parameter in several grading schemes. However, proliferation may be dependent on patient age and other variables, as shown in normal tissues, cultured cells and human neoplasms. We thus hypothesized that age or other patient or tumour-related parameters might generally affect proliferation in canine neoplasms, which might be of value for optimizing prognostic algorithms.

Assessing Coagulation Parameters in Healthy Asian Elephants () from European and Thai Populations.

The Asian elephant population is continuously declining due to several extrinsic reasons in their range countries, but also due to diseases in captive populations worldwide. One of these diseases, the elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) hemorrhagic disease, is very impactful because it particularly affects Asian elephant calves. It is commonly fatal and presents as an acute and generalized hemorrhagic syndrome.

Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus Impact in the European Asian Elephant () Population: Are Hereditability and Zoo-Associated Factors Linked with Mortality?

EEHV is a ubiquitous virus, which most likely has co-evolved with elephants and is shed by healthy individuals and maintained in the herds. Yet, the factors determining calf susceptibility to the virus remain unknown. Here, we explored the impact of EEHV-HD in the European captive Asian elephant population in a retrospective statistical study spanning the last 35 years.

Students' acceptance of case-based blended learning in mandatory interdisciplinary lectures for clinical medicine and veterinary public health.

Background: In German veterinary education interdisciplinary lectures (ILs) are an important and mandatory part of the curriculum as their merging character builds a useful preparation for the future profession as a veterinarian. These lectures should enable students to work on practically-relevant and interdisciplinary cases, which should ideally be defined jointly by lecturers from different disciplines.

Methods: In order to give students the opportunity to work on these cases and at the same time have contact with their lecturers and fellow students, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, has converted its former in-class ILs (face-to-face delivery format) into a blended learning format.

Teaching Outbreak Investigations with an Interactive Blended Learning Approach.

Public health is a central but often neglected component of veterinary education. German veterinary public health (VPH) education includes substantial theory-focused lectures, but practical case studies are often missing. To change this, we combined the advantages of case-based teaching and blended learning to teach these topics in a more practical and interactive way.

Creating Veterinary Public Health Online Cases by Students for Students.

Online-based processing of case reports is often used and well accepted in veterinary medical education. However, lecturers usually develop cases from their own point of view, without input from students. In order to give students the chance to create online cases for students, an elective course Creative Workshop Case Creation, was held three times between 2017 and 2019 at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin.

From Stable to Table: Determination of German Consumer Perceptions of the Role of Multiple Aspects of Poultry Production on Meat Quality and Safety.

Abstract: Contamination with potentially pathogenic microorganisms may occur at all stages of the food chain. We conducted a representative cross-sectional survey of 1,008 consumers aged 16 years and older in Germany via an online panel. The aim was to assess the perception of consumers regarding the influence of aspects of meat production on the safety and quality of meat.

Teaching small animal reproduction via virtual patients.

Virtual patients have become an interesting alternative in medical education. Due to increasing demands regarding theoretical and clinical teaching and to improve an interdisciplinary approach, a new blended learning concept including virtual patients was developed and implemented in the veterinary curriculum of the Freie Universität Berlin. In the presented project, three virtual patients from the field of canine reproduction were developed.

Influence of protein concentration and quality in a canned diet on urine composition, apparent nutrient digestibility and energy supply in adult cats.

Background: Protein concentration and quality in cat food can vary considerably, and the impact on feline urine composition and nutrient supply is of high practical relevance. In the present study, 6 canned diets with varying protein concentrations and qualities were fed to 10 healthy adult cats. Protein quality in the diet differed depending on the amount of collagen-rich ingredients.

Influence of bronchoalveolar lavage on thoracic radiography in the horse.

Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and thoracic radiography are routinely performed diagnostic procedures. We hypothesized that BAL increases the interstitial opacity of caudoventral and caudodorsal thoracic radiographs. Fifty-three horses, including 8 clinic owned and 45 from a referral hospital population, were classified as healthy controls (n = 12), severe equine asthma (recurrent airway obstruction, n = 12) or mild-to-moderate equine asthma (inflammatory airway disease, n = 21) based on the results of a clinical scoring system.

Impact of Dietary Protein Concentration and Quality on Immune Function of Cats.

Protein levels and quality in cat food can vary significantly and might affect immune function in various ways. In the present study, 3 diets with a low protein quality (LQ) and 3 diets with a high protein quality (HQ) were offered to 10 healthy adult cats for 6 weeks each, using a randomized cross-over design. The LQ and HQ diets differed in the collagen content and had low (36.

Effects of free amino acids on cytokine secretion and proliferative activity of feline T cells in an in vitro study using the cell line MYA-1.

In vitro studies might be an interesting screening method for targeted in vivo studies in the field of immunonutrition and help to reduce and refine animal studies. As the role of amino acids for immune function of cats has not been evaluated in detail so far, the present study aimed at investigating the effects of eight different amino acids (arginine, leucine, isoleucine, valine, glutamine, lysine, threonine and tryptophan) in six concentrations each (0, 0.25, 0.

Approaches to Teaching Biometry and Epidemiology at Two Veterinary Schools in Germany.

In a thematically broad and highly condensed curriculum like veterinary medicine, it is essential to pay close attention to the didactic and methodical approaches used to deliver that content. The course topics ideally should be selected for their relevance but also for the target audience and their previous knowledge. The overall objective is to improve the long-term availability of what has been learned.

Spatial Distribution of Stem Cell-Like Keratinocytes in Dissected Compound Hair Follicles of the Dog.

Hair cycle disturbances are common in dogs and comparable to some alopecic disorders in humans. A normal hair cycle is maintained by follicular stem cells which are predominately found in an area known as the bulge. Due to similar morphological characteristics of the bulge area in humans and dogs, the shared particularity of compound hair follicles as well as similarities in follicular biomarker expression, the dog is a promising model to study human hair cycle and stem cell disorders.