Exploring bison producers' access to veterinary services in Ontario, Canada.

Introduction: Access to veterinary services is integral for animals of all species. These services play a crucial role in maintaining their health and welfare and maintaining a healthy, safe, and sustainable food system. Research has consistently shown that rural communities face challenges accessing veterinary services, with livestock producers outlining several barriers including cost, inadequate infrastructure, and delays in receiving treatments.

Recurring incursions and dissemination of novel Eurasian-origin H5Nx avian influenza viruses in Atlantic Canada.

Wild birds are important hosts of influenza A viruses (IAVs) and play an important role in their ecology. The emergence of the A/goose/Guangdong/1/1996 H5N1 (Gs/GD) lineage marked a shift in IAV ecology, leading to recurrent outbreaks and mortality in wild birds from 2002 onwards. This lineage has evolved and diversified over time, with a recent important derivative being the 2.

Mild hypothermia is associated with altered volume kinetic parameters of an intravenous crystalloid fluid bolus in healthy isoflurane-anesthetized cats.

Objective: To assess the impact of mild hypothermia on the distribution and elimination of an IV crystalloid fluid bolus in healthy anesthetized cats using volume kinetic (VK) analysis.

Methods: 10 adult cats were anesthetized and included in a prospective, randomized, cross-over study. The subjects were maintained either normothermic (38.

Precision in Parsing: Evaluation of an Open-Source Named Entity Recognizer (NER) in Veterinary Oncology.

Integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) through Natural Language Processing (NLP) can improve veterinary medical oncology clinical record analytics. Named Entity Recognition (NER), a critical component of NLP, can facilitate efficient data extraction and automated labelling for research and clinical decision-making. This study assesses the efficacy of the Bio-Epidemiology-NER (BioEN), an open-source NER developed using human epidemiological and medical data, on veterinary medical oncology records.

Liquid-liquid phase separation in microorganisms: Insights into existence, functions, and applications.

Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) is a universal mechanism essential for maintaining cellular integrity and function in microorganisms, facilitating the organization of biomolecules into dynamic compartments. Although extensively studied in mammalian cells, research on LLPS formation and regulation in microorganisms remains limited. This review integrates insights from diverse studies exploring LLPS across microorganisms.

Integrated, Scaffolded, and Mandatory Community and Shelter Medicine Curriculum: Best Practices for Transformational Learning on Access to Veterinary Care.

Within veterinary medical education, there is increasing focus on equity and cultural competency/humility, especially within service learning in community and shelter medicine. This article reviews the current literature and draws from the experience of the Ontario Veterinary College Community Healthcare Partnership Program's development of a community and shelter medicine curriculum. We propose that to graduate veterinarians with the knowledge and skills to address inequities in access to veterinary care, a best practice is to integrate mandatory in-class and experiential learning activities, scaffolded across the curriculum.

Understanding kitten fostering and socialisation practices using mixed methods.

Many companion kittens entering shelters are fostered by volunteer community members during the sensitive period for socialisation (~2 to 9 weeks of age) when early experiences are critical to behavioural development. Using a mixed-method survey, we explored current fostering practices relevant to kitten behavioural development and welfare. Foster caretaker participants (n = 487) described their fostering practices and reported providing kittens with a majority of recommended socialisation experiences, such as handling and exposure to various toys and exploratory items.

Astrocyte neuronal metabolic coupling in the anterior cingulate cortex of mice with inflammatory pain.

Chronic pain is a major global concern, with at least 1 in 5 people suffering from chronic pain worldwide. Mounting evidence indicates that neuroplasticity of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is a critical step in the development of chronic pain. Previously, we found that chronic pain and fear learning are both associated with enhanced neuronal excitability and cause similar neuroplasticity-related gene expression changes in the ACC of male mice.

A Pilot Study to Assess the Safety and Efficacy of Umbilical Cord Blood-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells for the Treatment of Synovitis in Horses.

Synovitis is present before and during osteoarthritis in horses and can result in performance-limiting lameness. Twenty-four horses with lameness localized to the metacarpo-/metatarsophalangeal joint or a single joint of the carpus were enrolled in this study. We evaluated the response of intra-articular injection with 10 million activated (aMSC) or non-activated (naMSC) allogeneic equine umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs).

Gross target volume contouring in canine extra-axial brain tumors: Effects of magnetic resonance image slice thickness and time between subsequent image sets.

Accurate determination of the gross target volume (GTV) is critical in radiation treatment planning, as errors could result in underdosing of the tumor or overdosing of nearby organs at risk. This multicenter retrospective observational serial measurement study evaluated the effects of variations in MRI slice thickness and a time delay between the diagnostic (MRI-1) and RT planning (MRI-2) MRIs GTV contouring in dogs with presumed meningiomas. The hypothesis was that the GTV would increase in size with time on T1-weighted sequences with contrast.

The effects of rain and drought on incidence of enteric disease in Pennsylvania (2010-2019).

Background: Campylobacter, nontyphoidal Salmonella, Cryptosporidium, and Giardia cause an estimated 1 million cases of domestically acquired waterborne diseases annually in the United States. Acute symptoms can include diarrhea and vomiting; however, these illnesses can result in longer term complications such as reactive arthritis, Guillan Barré syndrome and death, particularly in immunocompromised individuals. Precipitation and drought can plausibly increase the risk of enteric infections, but consensus in the literature is lacking.

Curriculum Hours and Approaches to Instruction in Veterinary Ophthalmology: A Global Survey of Veterinary Schools.

Reports regarding curricula in ophthalmology across veterinary schools are not currently available. The objective of this study was therefore to investigate the number of contact hours and approaches to teaching ophthalmology in the curriculum of English-speaking veterinary schools worldwide. An online survey was distributed to 51 veterinary colleges in North America, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and the Caribbean.

Acute gastrointestinal illness burden associated with water recreation in high-income countries: A scoping review.

Objectives: The burden of acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) attributable to natural water recreation in Canada is unknown. Understanding the burden can help prioritize public health interventions and resource allocation for reduction of disease. Our objectives were to compile estimates of AGI burden associated with natural water recreation, identify knowledge gaps in water recreation epidemiology, and evaluate methods applicable for developing a burden estimate for Canada.

Quantitative microbial risk assessment of acute gastrointestinal illness attributable to freshwater recreation in Ontario.

Objectives: The burden of disease associated with acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) in Canada is estimated to be ~ 20 million cases/year. One known risk factor for developing AGI is recreation in freshwater bodies such as lakes. The proportion of cases attributable to freshwater recreation in Canada, however, is currently unknown.

Do Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and Cannabidiol have opposed effects on male fertility?

Cannabis sativa is a complex plant, renowned for its diverse array of bioactive compounds, the most prominent of which are delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). These compounds exhibit markedly opposing pharmacological effects, with THC being primarily psychoactive and CBD known for its non-psychoactive properties. In recent years, there has been growing interest in the potential health implications of these compounds, particularly concerning male reproductive health.

Estimation of the onset of exposure risk for (heartworm) in selected cities in Ontario from 1996 to 2023.

Background: (causative agent of heartworm disease) is a mosquito-borne parasite that is endemic in canids internationally and can cause serious disease in dogs.

Objective: The objective of this study was to predict the earliest time for infective exposure risk in multiple cities in Ontario. In addition, the potential impact of an increase in the daily mean temperature was evaluated.

Subclinical bacteriuria and surgical-site infection in 140 dogs with orthopedic and neurological conditions.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the prevalence, risk factors, and types of bacterial isolates associated with subclinical bacteriuria (SBU) in dogs with reduced mobility; and to explore the influence of SBU on surgical-site infection (SSI) in dogs treated surgically for their conditions.

Animals: We studied 140 client-owned dogs.

Procedure: Medical records of dogs with orthopedic and neurological conditions from 3 academic referral hospitals were reviewed.

Transmission dynamics of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus at the wildlife-poultry-environmental interface: A case study.

Avian influenza viruses (AIVs) regularly circulate between wild and domestic bird populations. Following several high-profile outbreaks, highly pathogenic AIVs (HPAIV) with zoonotic potential have been the subject of increasing attention. While we know that HPAIV is transmitted between domestic birds, wildlife, and the environment, little is known about persistence and spillover/back at these interfaces.

Electroencephalography: electrode arrays in dogs.

Electroencephalography (EEG) is the gold standard for confirming epileptic seizures in both human and veterinary patients. Despite idiopathic epilepsy being one of the most common neurological conditions in dogs, our understanding of it in veterinary medicine lags that in human medicine. The relative underuse of EEG in dogs with seizures has potential causes including practical issues, financial concerns, lack of training/equipment, and questions of clinical value.

Rapid Development of Small Rodent Animal Models for Infectious Disease Research Through Vectorized Receptor Molecule Expression.

The emergence and re-emergence of pathogens with pandemic potential has been a persistent issue throughout history. Recent decades have seen significant outbreaks of zoonotic viruses from members of the , , , , and families, resulting in widespread infections. The continual emergence of zoonotic viral pathogens and associated infections highlights the need for prevention strategies and effective treatments.

Longitudinal Study of Transcriptomic Changes Occurring over Six Weeks of CHOP Treatment in Canine Lymphoma Identifies Prognostic Subtypes.

The majority of canine lymphoma patients treated with the standard of care, the CHOP chemotherapy protocol, initially achieve remission but eventually relapse with a multi-drug-resistant phenotype. This study assesses gene expression profiles of canine lymphoma tumor cell populations using RNA-Seq data from 15 matched patient samples taken prior to treatment and again six weeks into treatment with CHOP. Two distinct clusters were present in the t-SNE dimensionality reduction of the gene expression profiles.