Targeted screening of inflammatory mediators in spontaneous degenerative disc disease in dogs reveals an upregulation of the tumor necrosis superfamily.

Background: The regulation of inflammatory mediators in the degenerating intervertebral disc (IVD) and corresponding ligamentum flavum (LF) is a topic of emerging interest. The study aimed to investigate the expression of a broad array of inflammatory mediators in the degenerated LF and IVD using a dog model of spontaneous degenerative disc disease (DDD) to determine potential treatment targets.

Methods: LF and IVD tissues were collected from 22 normal dogs (Pfirrmann grades I and II) and 18 dogs affected by DDD (Pfirrmann grades III and IV).

Nutrient intake and its possible drivers in free-ranging European brown bears ().

The dietary nutrient profile has metabolic significance and possibly contributes to species' foraging behavior. The brown bear () was used as a model species for which dietary ingredient and nutrient concentrations as well as nutrient ratios were determined annually, seasonally and per reproductive class. Brown bears had a vertebrate- and ant-dominated diet in spring and early summer and a berry-dominated diet in fall, which translated into protein-rich and carbohydrate-rich diets, respectively.

A retrospective review of small intestinal intussusception in 126 cattle in Switzerland.

Background: Intussusception is a form of ileus of the intestines in which an oral intestinal segment slides into the adjacent aboral intestinal segment, causing obstruction of the bowel.

Methods: We analysed the medical records of 126 cattle with intussusception of the small intestine.

Results: Demeanour and appetite were abnormal in 123 cattle.

Survey of occurrence in meat-producing rabbitries in Switzerland.

Background: An outbreak of salmonellosis due to Typhimurium was detected coincidentally in a Swiss meat rabbitry, given that surveillance of in rabbits is not mandatory in Switzerland.

Methods: To assess the extent of potentially subclinical carriage in meat rabbits, faecal pool samples of 50 farms (90% of Swiss commercial rabbitries) with ground covering litter and group housing were bacteriologically tested. Additionally, 236 rabbits showing clinical signs compatible with intestinal diseases, such as salmonellosis, were examined postmortem and analysed bacteriologically.

Optimizing large-scale autologous human keratinocyte sheets for major burns-Toward an animal-free production and a more accessible clinical application.

Background And Aims: Autologous keratinocyte sheets constitute an important component of the burn wound treatment toolbox available to a surgeon and can be considered a life-saving procedure for patients with severe burns over 50% of their total body surface area. Large-scale keratinocyte sheet cultivation still fundamentally relies on the use of animal components such as inactivated murine 3T3 fibroblasts as feeders, animal-derived enzymes such as trypsin, as well as media components such as fetal bovine serum (FBS). This study was therefore aimed to optimize autologous keratinocyte sheets by comparing various alternatives to critical components in their production.

Camera-trap data do not indicate scaling of diel activity and cathemerality with body mass in an East African mammal assemblage.

Diel activity patterns of animal species reflect constraints imposed by morphological, physiological, and behavioral trade-offs, but these trade-offs are rarely quantified for multispecies assemblages. Based on a systematic year-long camera-trap study in the species-rich mammal assemblage of Lake Manyara National Park (Tanzania), we estimated activity levels (hours active per day) and circadian rhythms of 17 herbivore and 11 faunivore species to determine the effects of body mass and trophic level on activity levels and cathemerality (the degree to which species are active throughout the day and night). Using generalized least squares and phylogenetic generalized least squares analyses, we found no support for the hypothesis that trophic level is positively associated with activity levels.

TRPV4 mediates cell damage induced by hyperphysiological compression and regulates COX2/PGE2 in intervertebral discs.

Background: Aberrant mechanical loading of the spine causes intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration and low back pain. Current therapies do not target the mediators of the underlying mechanosensing and mechanotransduction pathways, as these are poorly understood. This study investigated the role of the mechanosensitive transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) ion channel in dynamic compression of bovine nucleus pulposus (NP) cells in vitro and mouse IVDs in vivo.

Bio- and paleoreconstructions: Correlates and proxies.

In paleontology and biology, measures that correlate with specific traits are often used as proxies for these traits without a clear concept of how their discriminatory power is assessed. This note warns about this practice.

Low occurrence of spp. in wild birds from a Swiss rehabilitation centre.

Background: are bacteria of the family with a wide host range. Infection in birds causes subclinical disease to mass mortality events. Wild birds may act as healthy carriers posing a hazard to livestock and humans.

A pilot clinical phase II trial MemSID: Acute and durable changes of red blood cells of sickle cell disease patients on memantine treatment.

An increase in abundance and activity of N-methyl D-aspartate receptors (NMDAR) was previously reported for red blood cells (RBCs) of sickle cell disease (SCD) patients. Increased Ca uptake through the receptor supported dehydration and RBC damage. In a pilot phase IIa-b clinical trial MemSID, memantine, a blocker of NMDAR, was used for treatment of four patients for 12 months.

Corneal cross-linking as a treatment for corneal dystrophy with secondary bacterial infection in a Friesian horse.

Corneal cross-linking should be considered as treatment option in Friesian horses with infectious keratitis and corneal dystrophy. Optical coherence tomography, giving information of corneal structure, can help for diagnosis and monitoring.

Phylogenetic signal in tooth wear? A question that can be answered-By testing.

Do all teeth show the same wear traces when processing the same diet, or do the wear traces of the same diet differ between species, maybe due to differences in tooth morphology or chewing physiology? Questions like this one can be tested using appropriate biological and statistical methods. Without such tests, claiming that a certain proxy of tooth wear represents a "taxon-free" signal remains a hypothesis.

Within trophic level shifts in collagen-carbonate stable carbon isotope spacing are propagated by diet and digestive physiology in large mammal herbivores.

Stable carbon isotope analyses of vertebrate hard tissues such as bones, teeth, and tusks provide information about animal diets in ecological, archeological, and paleontological contexts. There is debate about how carbon isotope compositions of collagen and apatite carbonate differ in terms of their relationship to diet, and to each other. We evaluated relationships between δC and δC among free-ranging southern African mammals to test predictions about the influences of dietary and physiological differences between species.

Patterns of activity and body temperature of Aldabra giant tortoises in relation to environmental temperature.

We studied the temperature relations of wild and zoo Aldabra giant tortoises () focusing on (1) the relationship between environmental temperature and tortoise activity patterns ( = 8 wild individuals) and (2) on tortoise body temperature fluctuations, including how their core and external body temperatures vary in relation to different environmental temperature ranges (seasons;  = 4 wild and  = 5 zoo individuals). In addition, we surveyed the literature to review the effect of body mass on core body temperature range in relation to environmental temperature in the Testudinidae. Diurnal activity of tortoises was bimodally distributed and influenced by environmental temperature and season.