Black hole jets on the scale of the cosmic web.

When sustained for megayears (refs. ), high-power jets from supermassive black holes (SMBHs) become the largest galaxy-made structures in the Universe. By pumping electrons, atomic nuclei and magnetic fields into the intergalactic medium (IGM), these energetic flows affect the distribution of matter and magnetism in the cosmic web and could have a sweeping cosmological influence if they reached far at early epochs.

A hybrid repair strategy for full-thickness cartilage defects: Long-term experimental study in eight horses.

The objective of this study was to evaluate a non-resorbable implant for the focal repair of chondral defects in eight adult horses with 12-month follow-up. The bi-layered construct composed of a polycarbonate-urethane-urea biomaterial which was printed in 3D fashion onto a bone anchor was implanted into surgically created osteochondral defects into the femoropatellar joints of eight horses. The analysis of post-mortem outcomes were compared to defects treated with microfracture in the same animal on the contralateral femoropatellar jointfemoropatellar joint.

Revealing Detailed Cartilage Function Through Nanoparticle Diffusion Imaging: A Computed Tomography & Finite Element Study.

The ability of articular cartilage to withstand significant mechanical stresses during activities, such as walking or running, relies on its distinctive structure. Integrating detailed tissue properties into subject-specific biomechanical models is challenging due to the complexity of analyzing these characteristics. This limitation compromises the accuracy of models in replicating cartilage function and impacts predictive capabilities.

Survey-based investigation of sports and leisure horse owners' approaches to, and expectations of, equine veterinary care.

Background: Client satisfaction depends on the balance between expectations and service experience. Previous research identified seven aspects of equine veterinary professional conduct that are important for client satisfaction: quality of care, quality of service, horsemanship, transfer of knowledge, financial aspects, interpersonal skills and professionalism.

Methods: By employing a cross-sectional study design through a survey-based investigation, horse owners' initial contact preferences and their perceptions of the importance of various aspects of veterinary care in different scenarios were explored.

Cationic tantalum oxide nanoparticle contrast agent for micro computed tomography reveals articular cartilage proteoglycan distribution and collagen architecture alterations.

Objective: Cationic tantalum oxide nanoparticles (TaO-cNPs), as a newly introduced contrast agent for computed tomography of cartilage, offer quantitative evaluation of proteoglycan (PG) content and biomechanical properties. However, knowledge on the depth-wise impact of cartilage constituents on nanoparticle diffusion, particularly the influence of the collagen network, is lacking. In this study, we aim to establish the depth-dependent relationship between TaO-cNP diffusion and cartilage constituents (PG content, collagen content and network architecture).

Composition, architecture and biomechanical properties of articular cartilage in differently loaded areas of the equine stifle.

Background: Strategies for articular cartilage repair need to take into account topographical differences in tissue composition and architecture to achieve durable functional outcome. These have not yet been investigated in the equine stifle.

Objectives: To analyse the biochemical composition and architecture of three differently loaded areas of the equine stifle.

Engage and enjoy-investigating predictors of employee engagement and work satisfaction in equine veterinary professionals.

Introduction: Individuals working in the field of veterinary care are regularly affected by their profession. High levels of responsibility to often provide life-saving health care to animals combined with having to manage owners' expectations and irregular working hours can cause considerable levels of work-related stress among professionals in equine veterinary practice. On the positive side, research also shows that working in the veterinary profession can have a positive impact on personal wellbeing and feelings of fulfillment.

Magnetic fields and relativistic electrons fill entire galaxy cluster.

The hot plasma within merging galaxy clusters is predicted to be filled with shocks and turbulence that may convert part of their kinetic energy into relativistic electrons and magnetic fields generating synchrotron radiation. Analyzing Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) observations of the galaxy cluster Abell 2255, we show evidence of radio synchrotron emission distributed over very large scales of at least 5 megaparsec. The pervasive radio emission witnesses that shocks and turbulence efficiently transfer kinetic energy into relativistic particles and magnetic fields in a region that extends up to the cluster outskirts.

Galaxy clusters enveloped by vast volumes of relativistic electrons.

The central regions of galaxy clusters are permeated by magnetic fields and filled with relativistic electrons. When clusters merge, the magnetic fields are amplified and relativistic electrons are re-accelerated by turbulence in the intracluster medium. These electrons reach energies of 1-10 GeV and, in the presence of magnetic fields, produce diffuse radio halos that typically cover an area of  around 1 Mpc.

Histological tissue healing following high-power laser treatment in a model of suspensory ligament branch injury.

Background: High-power laser therapy gained popularity recently as a regenerative treatment for tendinitis and desmitis in the horse. However, studies evaluating the effects of laser therapy on tissue repair at the histological level in large mammals are lacking.

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of high-power laser therapy on suspensory desmitis healing, using a model of suspensory ligament branch injury.

Visual lameness assessment in comparison to quantitative gait analysis data in horses.

Background: Quantitative gait analysis offers objective information to support clinical decision-making during lameness workups including advantages in terms of documentation, communication, education, and avoidance of expectation bias. Nevertheless, hardly any data exist comparing outcome of subjective scoring with the output of objective gait analysis systems.

Objectives: To investigate between- and within-veterinarian agreement on primary lame limb and lameness grade, and to determine relationships between subjective lameness grade and quantitative data, focusing on differences between (1) veterinarians, (2) live vs video assessment, (3) baseline assessment vs assessment following diagnostic analgesia.

Comparisons of historical Dutch commons inform about the long-term dynamics of social-ecological systems.

Human societies and natural ecosystems are under threat by growing populations, overexploitation of natural resources and climate change. This calls for more sustainable utilization of resources based on past experiences and insights from many different disciplines. Interdisciplinary approaches to studies of historical commons have potential to identify drivers of change and keys to success in the past, and offer advice about the management and use of shared resources in contemporary and future systems.

Client satisfaction in equine veterinary practice: A structured review and qualitative synthesis.

Background: The pressure on equine veterinarians to provide services that meet with a client's demands, that is, realizing client satisfaction, is considerable.

Aim: The aim of this paper is to analyze existing literature, with a view to distill the most relevant components for client satisfaction in equine veterinary practice.

Materials And Methods: A structured literature search was conducted.

Movement asymmetries in horses presented for prepurchase or lameness examination.

Background: The increasing popularity of objective gait analysis makes application in prepurchase examinations (PPE) a logical next step. Therefore, there is a need to have more understanding of asymmetry during a PPE in horses described on clinical evaluation as subtly lame.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to objectively compare asymmetry in horses raising minor vet concerns in a PPE and in horses raising major vet concerns with that found in horses presented with subtle single-limb lameness, and to investigate the effect of age/discipline on the clinicians' interpretation of asymmetry on the classification of minor vet concerns in a PPE.

High-Power Laser Therapy Improves Healing of the Equine Suspensory Branch in a Standardized Lesion Model.

High-power laser therapy is often used as a treatment for human sport injuries but controlled standardized studies on its efficacy are lacking. The technique has also been introduced in the equine field and recently promising results were reported in a retrospective study focusing on 150 sporthorses suffering from tendinopathy and desmopathy of the SDFT, DDFT, suspensory ligament, and suspensory branches. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the effect of high-power laser in a standardized lesion model in horses.

Rapid and cytocompatible cell-laden silk hydrogel formation riboflavin-mediated crosslinking.

Bioactive hydrogels based on naturally-derived polymers are of great interest for regenerative medicine applications. Among naturally-derived polymers, silk fibroin has been extensively explored as a biomaterial for tissue engineering due to its unique mechanical properties. Here, we demonstrate the rapid gelation of cell-laden silk fibroin hydrogels by visible light-induced crosslinking using riboflavin as a photo-initiator, in presence of an electron acceptor.

Tough magnesium phosphate-based 3D-printed implants induce bone regeneration in an equine defect model.

One of the important challenges in bone tissue engineering is the development of biodegradable bone substitutes with appropriate mechanical and biological properties for the treatment of larger defects and those with complex shapes. Recently, magnesium phosphate (MgP) doped with biologically active ions like strontium (Sr) have shown to significantly enhance bone formation when compared with the standard calcium phosphate-based ceramics. However, such materials can hardly be shaped into large and complex geometries and more importantly lack the adequate mechanical properties for the treatment of load-bearing bone defects.

Eco-evolutionary perspectives on emergence, dispersion and dissolution of historical Dutch commons.

Historical commons represent self-governed governance regimes that regulate the use and management of natural and man-made shared resources. Despite growing scientific interests, analyses of commons evolution and temporal dynamics are rare and drivers of change (birth, adaptation, dissolution) remain obscure. We apply an interdisciplinary approach and address these issues from an eco-evolutionary perspective.

T2* mapping in an equine articular groove model: Visualizing changes in collagen orientation.

T2* mapping is promising for the evaluation of articular cartilage collagen. In this work, a groove model in a large animal is used as a model for posttraumatic arthritis. We hypothesized that T2* mapping could be employed to differentiate between healthy and (subtly) damaged cartilage.

Bone Morphogenetic Protein-9 Is a Potent Chondrogenic and Morphogenic Factor for Articular Cartilage Chondroprogenitors.

Articular cartilage contains a subpopulation of tissue-specific progenitors that are an ideal cell type for cell therapies and generating neocartilage for tissue engineering applications. However, it is unclear whether the standard chondrogenic medium using transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) isoforms is optimal to differentiate these cells. We therefore used pellet culture to screen progenitors from immature bovine articular cartilage with a number of chondrogenic factors and discovered that bone morphogenetic protein-9 (BMP9) precociously induces their differentiation.

Orthotopic Bone Regeneration within 3D Printed Bioceramic Scaffolds with Region-Dependent Porosity Gradients in an Equine Model.

The clinical translation of three-dimensionally printed bioceramic scaffolds with tailored architectures holds great promise toward the regeneration of bone to heal critical-size defects. Herein, the long-term in vivo performance of printed hydrogel-ceramic composites made of methacrylated-oligocaprolactone-poloxamer and low-temperature self-setting calcium-phosphates is assessed in a large animal model. Scaffolds printed with different internal architectures, displaying either a designed porosity gradient or a constant pore distribution, are implanted in equine tuber coxae critical size defects.

Asymmetries of horses walking and trotting on treadmill with and without rider.

Background: Left-right movement symmetry is a highly desirable characteristic in sport horses.

Objectives: This study compared movement symmetry in well-trained dressage horses in unridden and unrestrained position and ridden in a dressage frame, and investigated possible associations between gaits.

Study Design: Experimental study.

Extended long-term radiographic and functional comparison of tibial plateau leveling osteotomy vs tibial tuberosity advancement for cranial cruciate ligament rupture in the dog.

Objective: To report extended long-term outcomes of dogs with cranial cruciate ligament rupture treated by tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) or tibial tuberosity advancement (TTA).

Study Design: Retrospective clinical cohort study.

Animals: Client-owned dogs with ≥3 years follow-up (118 dogs, 166 stifles).

A radio ridge connecting two galaxy clusters in a filament of the cosmic web.

Galaxy clusters are the most massive gravitationally bound structures in the Universe. They grow by accreting smaller structures in a merging process that produces shocks and turbulence in the intracluster gas. We observed a ridge of radio emission connecting the merging galaxy clusters Abell 0399 and Abell 0401 with the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) telescope network at 140 megahertz.

Mimicking the Articular Joint with In Vitro Models.

Treating joint diseases remains a significant clinical challenge. Conventional in vitro cultures and animal models have been helpful, but suffer from limited predictive power for the human response. Advanced models are therefore required to mimic the complex biological interactions within the human joint.