Preclinical development and characterisation of PP353, a formulation of linezolid for intradiscal administration.

Introduction: Bacterial infection of the intervertebral disc can lead to vertebral endplate edema known as Modic changes, with associated chronic low back pain. Oral antimicrobial therapy has shown efficacy but relies on prolonged dosing and may not be optimal in terms of patient outcome, side effects, or antibiotic stewardship. There is no antibiotic formulation approved for intradiscal administration.

Dynamic primary resources, not just wild prey availability, underpin lion depredation of livestock in a savanna ecosystem.

Because it can lead to retaliatory killing, livestock depredation by large carnivores is among the foremost threats to carnivore conservation, and it severely impacts human well-being worldwide. Ongoing climate change can amplify these human-wildlife conflicts, but such issues are largely unexplored, though are becoming increasingly recognized. Here, we assessed how the availability of primary resources and wild prey interact to shape large carnivore selection for livestock rather than wild prey (i.

Determinants of Thoroughbred yearling sales price in the UK.

Background: Industry-level figures suggest that up to two-thirds of Thoroughbred breeding operations in the UK are unprofitable and that around half of sales transactions of Thoroughbred yearlings, commercial breeders' predominant income source, return a loss. The industry strategy currently endorses investment in stallion covering fee; however, to date, a comprehensive evaluation of sales price determinants in the UK setting is lacking and could better inform economic decision making to improve profitability.

Methods: Sales catalogue and Weatherbys' stud book data from all Thoroughbred yearlings sold at the 2020 Tattersalls October yearling sale in the UK were used to build a hedonic sales price model.

Proactive cursorial and ambush predation risk avoidance in four African herbivore species.

Most herbivores must balance demands to meet nutritional requirements, maintain stable thermoregulation and avoid predation. Species-specific predator and prey characteristics determine the ability of prey to avoid predation and the ability of predators to maximize hunting success. Using GPS collar data from African wild dogs, lions, impala, tsessebes, wildebeest and zebra in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, we studied proactive predation risk avoidance by herbivores.

A study of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on equine veterinary care in the UK.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, equine health care in the UK may have been adversely affected due to mandated changes in the delivery of veterinary healthcare and the potential for reduced health-seeking behaviour.

Methods: Electronic patient records (EPRs) were analysed to describe veterinary activity for all equids under the active care of 20 veterinary practices in the UK in the 12 months before and after the introduction of the first UK lockdown. Pre-pandemic and pandemic levels of clinical activity were compared.

A review of human dog-bite injuries in Kitui South subcounty, Kenya (2017-2021).

Introduction: Dog bites continue to be a serious public health issue due to their association with the transmission of rabies virus. In Kenya, there are no studies estimating dog-bite incidence. Annual mortalities resulting from dog-mediated rabies are estimated at 523 (95% confidence interval 134-1100).

Bacterial meningitis secondary to otogenic infection in 10 French bulldogs: A retrospective case series.

Background: There is limited published information to guide the clinical management of bacterial meningitis/encephalitis in dogs.

Methods: This was a retrospective case series comprising 10 French bulldogs from two referral centres. The cases were diagnosed with bacterial meningitis/encephalitis suspected secondary to otogenic infection based on detection of abnormal fluid/soft tissue opacity within the middle/inner ear, associated meningeal/intracranial involvement through MRI, the findings of cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) analysis suggestive of sepsis and/or clinical improvement following antibiosis.

Increasing flower species richness in agricultural landscapes alters insect pollinator networks: Implications for bee health and competition.

Ecological restoration programs are established to reverse land degradation, mitigate biodiversity loss, and reinstate ecosystem services. Following recent agricultural intensification that led to a decrease in flower diversity and density in rural areas and subsequently to the decline of many insects, conservation measures targeted at pollinators have been established, including sown wildflower strips (WFS) along field margins. Historically successful in establishing a high density of generalist bees and increasing pollinator diversity, the impact of enhanced flower provision on wider ecological interactions and the structure of pollinator networks has been rarely investigated.

Date of birth and purchase price as foals or yearlings are associated with Thoroughbred flat race performance in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Background: Thoroughbred breeders aim to have foals born early in the season, but scientific evidence on the advantages for race performance is scarce and contradictory.

Methods: The association between date of birth and purchase price as foal/yearling, with race performance by the end of the second and third years of life of Thoroughbreds racing in flat races in the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland (IRE) was assessed using negative binomial and zero-inflated negative binomial models on the entire 2014-2015 UK/IRE foal crops ( = 28,282).

Results: In total, 6666 and 9456 horses raced in UK/IRE flat racing by the end of their second and third years of life.

Hereditary cataract in the Bengal cat in Poland.

Background: This paper reports the significant prevalence of a presumed hereditary cataract in the Bengal cat breed in Poland. The nuclear part of the lens is affected and previous reports from Sweden and France for this type of feline cataract suggest that a recessive mode of inheritance is probably involved.

Results: Presumed congenital or neonatal cataract involving the posterior nuclear part of each lens was initially diagnosed in a 12 month old male Bengal cat.

Gearing effects of the patella (knee extensor muscle sesamoid) of the helmeted guineafowl during terrestrial locomotion.

Human patellae (kneecaps) are thought to act as gears, altering the mechanical advantage of knee extensor muscles during running. Similar sesamoids have evolved in the knee extensor tendon independently in birds, but it is unknown if these also affect the mechanical advantage of knee extensors. Here, we examine the mechanics of the patellofemoral joint in the helmeted guineafowl using a method based on muscle and tendon moment arms taken about the patella's rotation centre around the distal femur.

Terrestrial capture of prey by the reedfish, a model species for stem tetrapods.

Due to morphological resemblance, polypterid fishes are used as extant analogues of Late Devonian lobe-finned sarcopterygians to identify the features that allowed the evolution of a terrestrial lifestyle in early tetrapods. Previous studies using polypterids showed how terrestrial locomotion capacity can develop, and how air ventilation for breathing was possible in extinct tetrapodomorphs. Interestingly, one polypterid species, the reedfish , has been noted being capable of capturing prey on land.

Whole Genome Sequencing for Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance in .

The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profiles of 96 clinical isolates of , an important porcine respiratory pathogen, and the identification of AMR genes in whole genome sequence (wgs) data. Susceptibility of the isolates to nine antimicrobial agents (ampicillin, enrofloxacin, erythromycin, florfenicol, sulfisoxazole, tetracycline, tilmicosin, trimethoprim, and tylosin) was determined by agar dilution susceptibility test. Except for the macrolides tested, elevated MICs were highly correlated to the presence of AMR genes identified in wgs data using ResFinder or BLASTn.

Veterinary Medicine Needs New Green Antimicrobial Drugs.

Given that: (1) the worldwide consumption of antimicrobial drugs (AMDs) used in food-producing animals will increase over the coming decades; (2) the prudent use of AMDs will not suffice to stem the rise in human antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of animal origin; (3) alternatives to AMD use are not available or not implementable, there is an urgent need to develop novel AMDs for food-producing animals. This is not for animal health reasons, but to break the link between human and animal resistomes. In this review we establish the feasibility of developing for veterinary medicine new AMDs, termed "green antibiotics," having minimal ecological impact on the animal commensal and environmental microbiomes.

ICEApl1, an Integrative Conjugative Element Related to ICEHin1056, Identified in the Pig Pathogen Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae.

ICEApl1 was identified in the whole genome sequence of MIDG2331, a tetracycline-resistant (MIC = 8 mg/L) serovar 8 clinical isolate of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, the causative agent of porcine pleuropneumonia. PCR amplification of virB4, one of the core genes involved in conjugation, was used to identify other A. pleuropneumoniae isolates potentially carrying ICEApl1.

Clinical Features in Border Terrier Dogs with Paroxysmal Involuntary Movements.

Background: There have been anecdotal reports of episodic involuntary movements in the Border Terrier dog breed for over a decade. Recently, it has been hypothesized that this condition may be a form of paroxysmal dystonic choreoathetosis. The aim of this study was to characterize the phenomenology and clinical course of this condition and compare it to known human movement disorders.

Whole genome investigation of a divergent clade of the pathogen Streptococcus suis.

Streptococcus suis is a major porcine and zoonotic pathogen responsible for significant economic losses in the pig industry and an increasing number of human cases. Multiple isolates of S. suis show marked genomic diversity.

Two TIR-like domain containing proteins in a newly emerging zoonotic Staphylococcus aureus strain sequence type 398 are potential virulence factors by impacting on the host innate immune response.

Staphylococcus aureus, sequence type (ST) 398, is an emerging pathogen and the leading cause of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant S. aureus infections in Europe and North America. This strain is characterized by high promiscuity in terms of host-species and also lacks several traditional S.

A meta-analysis of studies of the effect of GnRH 11-14 days after insemination on pregnancy rates in cattle.

A number of studies have used GnRH between 11 and 14 days after insemination to improve pregnancy rates in cows, however published results have not been consistent. We wished to investigate whether a consolidated estimate of the response could be quantified. Therefore we conducted a meta-analysis of the available data, 19 studies from 14 published papers, on the effect of GnRH analogs on pregnancy rate when given between Days 11 and 14 after first insemination.