Management of canine wounds using platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) biomaterial. A case series report.

Background: The increasing interest in platelet-based therapies has underwritten the development of novel veterinary regenerative treatments. The haemoderivative platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) comprises abundant concentrations of platelets and leucocytes, above the physiologic baseline, which are considered essential elements for wound regeneration, stimulating local angiogenesis, cellular migration, proliferation and differentiation, considered essential for skin repair.

Objectives: This study aimed to describe the treatment of eight dogs with naturally occurring cutaneous wounds, where autologous PRF therapy was applied, using a protocol developed by our group.

Virus as Teratogenic Agents.

Viral infectious diseases are important causes of reproductive disorders, as abortion, fetal mummification, embryonic mortality, stillbirth, and congenital abnormalities in animals and in humans. In this chapter, we provide an overview of some virus, as important agents in teratology.We begin by describing the Zika virus, whose infection in humans had a very significant impact in recent years and has been associated with major health problems worldwide.

Updating an Overview of Teratology.

In this chapter, the authors aim to update an overview of the principles of teratology, beginning with the definition of teratology, the critical point at which this process occurs, and some of the most common etiological agents that improve our understanding of teratology.Modern teratology has greatly improved in recent years with advances in new methods in molecular biology, toxicology, animal laboratory science, and genetics, increasing our knowledge of ambient influences. Nevertheless, there is a lot to do to reduce the influence of hazardous intervening agents, whether they target our genetics or not, that can negatively affect pregnancy and induce congenital development disorders, including morphological, biochemical, or behavioral defects.

Effect of Immunocastration on Culled Sows-A Preliminary Study on Reproductive Tract, Carcass Traits, and Meat Quality.

The Bísaro pig is a Portuguese autochthonous breed greatly appreciated for its meat quality and is mainly reared outdoors. Immunocastration could be a solution to avoid undesirable pregnancies and boar taint in cull sows. The present study tested three immunocastration protocols (with Improvac) according to their reproductive cycle.

Detection of Abnormal Prion Protein by Immunohistochemistry.

Abnormal prion proteins (PrP) are the disease-associated isoform of cellular prion protein and diagnostic markers of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). These neurodegenerative diseases affect humans and several animal species and include scrapie, zoonotic bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), chronic wasting disease of cervids (CWD), and the newly identified camel prion disease (CPD). Diagnosis of TSEs relies on immunodetection of PrP by application of both immunohistochemistry (IHC) and western immunoblot methods (WB) on encephalon tissues, namely, the brainstem (obex level).

Neoplasms in Domestic Ruminants and Swine: A Systematic Literature Review.

Background: Due to the limited information and lack of studies on neoplasms in domestic ruminants, i.e., cattle, sheep, and goats, and domestic swine, the objective of the present study was to systematically review the scientific literature to verify the occurrence, type, organ system, and organs most affected by neoplasms in these animals.

Feline Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Critical Review of Etiologic Factors.

Feline oral squamous cell carcinoma (FOSCC) is the most common oral neoplasia in cats. This malignant tumor is locally invasive, has a high mortality rate, and its etiology is not yet known. In humans, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is associated with tobacco smoke, alcohol consumption, and human papillomavirus infection.

Pathological Findings in African Pygmy Hedgehogs Admitted into a Portuguese Rehabilitation Center.

Most of the pathologies that affect hedgehogs are diagnosed postmortem; thus, it is essential to share knowledge between clinicians and pathologists in order to recognize predispositions to diseases and to establish adequate diagnostic and therapeutic plans. This study aimed to describe the most relevant postmortem pathological conditions in a group of six rescued African pygmy hedgehogs, performed over a period of four months. Hedgehogs were submitted to necropsy examinations and subsequent histopathological analyses.

Scrapie at Abattoir: Monitoring, Control, and Differential Diagnosis of Wasting Conditions during Meat Inspection.

Wasting disease in small ruminants is frequently detected at slaughterhouses. The wasting disorder is manifested by the deterioration of the nutritional and physiological state of the animal indicated by thinness, emaciation, and cachexia. Evidence of emaciation and cachexia, alone, are pathological conditions leading to carcass condemnation during an inspection.

Neuropathology of Animal Prion Diseases.

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs) or prion diseases are a fatal group of infectious, inherited and spontaneous neurodegenerative diseases affecting human and animals. They are caused by the conversion of cellular prion protein (PrP) into a misfolded pathological isoform (PrP or prion- proteinaceous infectious particle) that self-propagates by conformational conversion of PrP. Yet by an unknown mechanism, PrP can fold into different PrP conformers that may result in different prion strains that display specific disease phenotype (incubation time, clinical signs and lesion profile).

Evaluation of gonadal macroscopic and microscopic morphometry reveals precocious puberty in Bísaro pig.

Bísaro pig (BP), like many other local breeds reared in extensive non-industrial systems, faces many constraints to comply with the EU welfare regulation, particularly regarding the restrictions to surgical castration. In order to adapt an immunocastration protocol to overtake this issue, a puberty timeline is needed. Using gonadal morphometry data from 91 young male BP, this study intended to characterize testicular development, describing the prominent cell types and structures, to ultimately assess the age at puberty in male BP through a mixed prediction model.

Co-existing monophasic teratoma and uterine adenocarcinoma in a female dog.

Ovarian teratomas are occasionally reported in dogs; the rarest type is the monophasic teratoma, composed of tissues originating from only one germ layer. Canine endometrial adenocarcinomas are also rare in dogs and mainly affect geriatric females. This report describes the case of co-existing ovarian teratoma and uterine adenocarcinoma in a 10-year-old nulliparous female Boxer presented with lethargy, anorexia and purulent vaginal discharge.

Biodentine for Furcation Perforation Repair: An Animal Study with Histological, Radiographic and Micro-Computed Tomographic Assessment.

Introduction: Biodentine has been scarcely studied as a furcation perforation (FP) repair material, mostly by methodologies. This animal study aimed to compare the histological responses, radiographic, and micro-computed tomographic (micro-CT) outcomes after FP repair with Biodentine or ProRoot MTA (MTA) in dogs' teeth.

Methods And Materials: Fifty teeth from five dogs were divided into 4 groups: MTA (=20, FP repaired with ProRoot MTA), BDT (=20, FP repaired with Biodentine), PC (=5, positive control, FP without repair) and NC (=5, negative control, without perforation).

An Overview of Teratology.

In this chapter, we provide an overview of the basic principles of teratology, beginning with its definition, the critical point for teratogenesis to occur and the most evident etiological agents to improve the understanding of this science.Teratology is a recent science that began in the early twentieth century, and has greatly improved over the recent years with the advancements in molecular biology, toxicology, animal laboratory science, and genetics, as well as the improvement on the knowledge of the environmental influences.Nevertheless, more work is required to reduce the influence of hazardous products that could be deleterious during pregnancy, thus reducing teratogenic defects in the newborn.

The eyeworm Thelazia callipaeda in Portugal: Current status of infection in pets and wild mammals and case report in a beech marten (Martes foina).

Ocular thelaziosis is caused by nematodes of the genus Thelazia (Spirurida, Thelaziidae), which inhabit the surface of the eyes and associated tissues. Thelazia callipaeda affects a range of mammal species, including humans, and in the last two decades has been reported in multiple European countries, being classified as an emergent vector-borne pathogen. In Portugal T.

Distribution of superoxide dismutase 1 and glutathione peroxidase 1 in the cyclic canine endometrium.

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) are two important antioxidant enzymes involved in tissue homeostasis by protecting cells and tissues from an accumulation of reactive oxygen species. Information concerning antioxidant enzymes in the canine uterus is almost inexistent. This work intends to establish the pattern of distribution of SOD1 and GPx1 immunoreaction in canine endometrium throughout the estrous cycle, using 46 endometrium samples of healthy dogs representing different cycle stages (anestrus-10, proestrus-10, estrus-10, early diestrus-7, and diestrus-9).

An immunohistochemical study on the expression of sex steroid receptors, Ki-67 and cytokeratins 7 and 20 in feline endometrial adenocarcinomas.

Background: Endometrial adenocarcinomas are a rare type of tumour in cats. Though different morphologies have been reported, the most frequent histological type of feline endometrial adenocarcinoma (FEA) is the papillary serous. Characterization of molecular markers expression in FEA may contribute to clarify the pathogenesis of these tumours and to assess the differences between normal endometrium and FEA regarding the expression pattern of several proteins.

Lipid digestion, absorption and uptake in Solea senegalensis.

Dietary lipids are the major energy source for metabolic purposes in most fish species, and improve dietary protein utilization for growth. In a previous study we have reported a low tolerance of Senegalese sole juveniles to dietary lipid levels and suggested a maximal dietary inclusion level of 8% lipids for both optimal growth and nutrient utilization. The mechanisms behind this apparent poor utilization of the dietary lipids are still to be elucidated.

A case of pulmonary cryptococcosis in a free-living toad (Bufo bufo).

Pulmonary cryptococcosis was observed in a free-living adult female common toad (Bufo bufo) that was killed by a vehicle. Both lungs had various eosinophilic, monomorphic, and spherical to elliptical organisms identified as Cryptoccocus spp. The yeasts were demonstrated by Grocott's silver method and the periodic acid-Schiff reaction and the capsule was positive for mucin with a mucicarmine stain.

Prenatal administration of vitamin A alters pulmonary and plasma levels of vascular endothelial growth factor in the developing mouse.

Vitamin A and the retinoids play a unique role in mammalian embryonic and foetal development and are essential for both cellular differentiation and the establishment of normal morphogenesis. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a known potent mitogenic factor that plays a key role in lung development and function maintenance. In order to contribute to a better knowledge of the modulating effects of vitamin A in lung development, we investigated the effects of the antenatal administration of vitamin A on VEGF expression in lungs and plasma from foetuses and neonates.