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Simple Summary: In men, cigarette components have been shown to cross the blood–testis barrier, as they are detectable in the ejaculate of both active and passive smokers. However, no such data exist for dogs. To fill this gap, we investigated the presence of cotinine—a biomarker of nicotine exposure—in the ejaculate of dogs living with both smoking and non-smoking owners. Cotinine was detected in all samples, with significantly higher concentrations in dogs exposed to tobacco smoke (S) compared to non-exposed dogs (N; p = 0.0002). Moreover, seminal cotinine levels positively correlated with cotinine levels in blood and hair (p < 0.0001). We also examined the relationship between seminal cotinine concentration, total sperm concentration, and total antioxidant capacity in both blood and semen, which were similar in the two groups (S and N). The detection of cotinine in canine ejaculate confirms its utility as a biomarker of environmental tobacco smoke exposure in this species. Tobacco smoke has numerous adverse effects on both human and animal health, including impaired reproductive function. Recent research has explored environmental exposure in dogs, investigating various biological matrices. However, no data are currently available on the presence of cotinine, a nicotine metabolite, in the canine ejaculate. This study aimed to evaluate the detectability of cotinine in the semen of dogs living with smoking owners. Additionally, seminal cotinine concentrations were correlated with those in serum and hair. To further examine the potential impact of smoking on canine fertility, the relationships between seminal cotinine, total sperm concentration, and antioxidant activity in plasma and semen were analyzed in exposed and non-exposed dogs. This study is the first to demonstrate the presence of cotinine in canine ejaculate and its correlation with blood and hair concentrations. While the potential toxic effect of cotinine on seminal parameters and male fertility in dogs requires further investigation, it is crucial to raise awareness among pet owners about the risks associated with domestic smoking for their animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taurine deficiency predisposes to the development of nutritional dilated cardiomyopathy and is widespread in dogs fed with non-traditional diets. However, Golden retrievers show lower plasma taurine concentration and an impaired systolic function compared to breeds of the same size and morphotype. For these reasons, it can be difficult to classify a subject from a cardiological point of view, with the risk of considering as pathological characteristics that can be completely normal in this breed. This is a cross-sectional multicenter study. The aims were 1) to identify breed-specific range of serum taurine concentration, 2) to describe a correlation between serum taurine concentration and echocardiographic parameters of systolic function in clinically healthy Golden retrievers fed with traditional diet, 3) to identify a correlation between thyroid hormones, serum taurine concentration and echocardiographic indices. Sixty clinically healthy Golden retrievers (33% males, 67% females) were included. Fifty-three dogs were fed with traditional diets and their range of serum taurine concentration was 398.2 (31.8–430) nmol/ml. Serum taurine concentration was found to be negatively correlated to systolic internal diameter of the left ventricle and systolic and diastolic left ventricular indices and volumes obtained with different methods, whereas was positively correlated to the left ventricle ejection and shortening fractions but difference was not statistically significative. A weak but significant correlation between serum taurine and T4 was demonstrated. Serum taurine median values in dogs with normal systolic function were higher than in dogs with impaired systolic function. A cut-off of serum taurine concentration of 140.6 nmol/ml had a moderate sensitivity and specificity in the identification of an impaired left ventricular systolic function (AUC 0.6, Se 78%, Sp 44%). This study showed that the median serum taurine concentration was significantly lower in dogs with impaired systolic function. Therefore, echocardiographic monitoring is recommended in all dogs with serum taurine concentration lower than 140.6 nmol/ml. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 6-mo-old, intact male, domestic shorthair cat was referred with a history of poor growth, reluctance to move, and deformation of the nasal profile. The kitten had been fed a diet composed almost exclusively of a complementary pet food and tuna, which was similar to an all-meat diet. We detected osteopenia and hypocalcemia associated with severe parathyroid hormone (PTH) and calcitriol increases; we measured PTH concentrations with an immunoenzymatic method that has been validated in cats. Dietary correction, consisting of a complete and balanced wet pet food formulated for growth, resulted in normalization of calcium and PTH concentrations within 2 mo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Concerns about a diet-associated form of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) have recently been highlighted following an increase in cases of DCM in dog breeds not known to have a genetic predisposition for this syndrome, such as Golden Retrievers. One hypothesis is that this form of DCM might be associated with a low concentration of taurine. Furthermore, in human medicine it has been demonstrated that a low vitamin D concentration may induce a thinning of cardiomyocytes and the onset of congestive heart failure. Because taurine is involved in the digestion and absorption of fat and liposoluble vitamins, including vitamin D, the aim of this pilot study was to compare the serum levels of taurine and vitamin D and to compare echocardiographic variables in healthy dogs of two breeds, Golden Retrievers (GRs) and German Shorthaired Pointers (GSPs), with different predispositions to nutritional DCM. The preliminary findings from this small pilot study showed that GRs may present lower levels of serum taurine and more altered echocardiographic variables than GSPs. Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the most common myocardial disorder in dogs, and it is primarily considered to be an inherited or genetic disease with a higher prevalence in specific breeds such as Doberman Pinschers and Great Danes. Recently, several publications have reported concerns about cases of DCM in unusual breeds (Golden Retrievers—GRs) and associated them with specific diets (grain-free, high in pulses or potatoes, or low in taurine and amino acid precursors). Because taurine is involved in the digestion and absorption of fat and liposoluble vitamins, including vitamin D, the aims of this pilot study were: (1) to compare serum taurine and serum vitamin D (both implicated in cardiac function and absorbed from food) between healthy GRs and German Shorthaired Pointers (GSPs), breeds with different predispositions to nutritional DCM; (2) to highlight the differences between the echocardiographic variables in the two breeds; and (3) to evaluate the associations between the serum taurine and vitamin D concentrations and the echocardiographic features. Ten Golden Retrievers and twelve German Shorthaired Pointers were enrolled for complete hematobiochemical analyses, cardiac examinations, and serum taurine and vitamin D evaluations. The serum taurine concentrations were significantly lower in the GR dogs than in GSPs. All GRs were clinically healthy, but some echocardiographic variables, such as the sphericity index (related to left ventricle dilatation) as well as the end-systolic volume index and fractional shortening (both related to left ventricle systolic function), were different from the published reference ranges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of our case-control study is to evaluate the effects of a diet integrated with the probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus D2/CSL (CECT 4529) on the nutritional status and faecal consistency of healthy dogs belonging to the English Cocker Spaniel (ECS) and Labrador Retriever (LR) breeds. A total of 30 dogs were enrolled in this study, and they were randomly assigned to a Control (CTR, n = 14) and a Treated group (LACTO, n = 16). The trial consisted in a 7-days adaptation period where all the animals received the same commercial food, followed by a 35-days of data collection period where the LACTO group received the food supplemented with Lactobacillus acidophilus D2/CSL. We evaluated Body weight (BW), Body Condition Score (BCS) and Skinfold thickness, Faecal Score (FS) and Faecal Moisture (FM). All dogs in the LACTO group maintained an ideal BCS score during the whole experimental period compared to the CTR group. A significant decrease in skin thickness was found throughout the trial in the LACTO group. A significant improvement of the FM was recorded in the LACTO compared to the CTR group in the overall period for both dog breeds, and the FS significantly decreased in the LACTO group. Our results showed good maintenance of the nutritional conditions in dogs that are prone to overweight and a significant improvement of faecal parameters, meaning that even in healthy dogs with no gastrointestinal disorder the addition of this supplement to the diet helps to maintain the optimal balance of their intestinal microbiota. Probiotics help to maintain and promote the optimal gastro-intestinal health and well-being. Lactobacillus acidophilus D2/CSL (CECT 4529) improve faecal parameters and nutritional status of dogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of nucleotides in canine colostrum and milk during lactation. Colostrum and milk samples of 10 healthy bitches were collected manually from mammary glands and analysed for total milk solids, crude protein and adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP), cytidine 5'-monophosphate (CMP), guanosine 5'-monophosphate (GMP) and uridine 5'-monophosphate (UMP). We found that the total nucleotide content significantly (p < 0.05) increased during lactation, with UMP and CMP being the most abundant, while the AMP content was the lowest. The trend for CMP and UMP was opposite to that of other species, while AMP and GMP concentrations in bitch colostrum and milk were lower than those in other species. This is the first report on the presence of nucleotides in canine milk, and their occurrence could indicate a species-specific nucleotide metabolism or different secretory mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liver transplantation is an ultimate procedure in patients suffering end-stage liver diseases. In these last years the donation after cardiac death (DCD) has increased the pool of potential liver donors. Different studies and procedures are involved in the prevention of the main ischemic problems during the reconditioning and resuscitation of the marginal livers. Normothermic extracorporeal liver perfusion (NELP) avoids prolonged cold storage damage that is the main cause of steatosis and biliary tract ischemia in transplanted patiens. Different porcine models have been studied and developed to understand the ischemia mechanism and to select the better technique for NELP (Bellomo et al., 2012). We conducted our study using a DCD pig liver model collected from slaughterhouse (Grosse-Siestrup et al., 2002). Using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, 2000 ml of total fluid containing autologous blood, lidocaine, heparin, antibiotics, glucose 10 % solution and flunixin, the NELP was achieved (Guibert et al., 2011). The liver was perfused over 7 hours after 48 hours of cold storage (4C°), using Eurocollins solution. During the liver withdrawal in the slaughterhouse 20 minutes were waited to simulate the warm ischemia (WI) time. Histological samples, swab for bacterial grow, blood sample from venous drainage line, temperature and pulse oximetry saturation were collected to assess the liver viability and function. Liver function, reflected by urea, albumin, total cholesterol, total bilirubin was seen during NELP. Biochemical and microscopic assessment and an improved oxygen uptake revealed minimal injury sustained during perfusion. These analyses revealed stable metabolism throughout perfusion identifying a cycles 2 hours length, coinciding with recovery of oxygen uptake rates to fresh liver, as described in literature. In summary the preliminary established model of isolated hemoperfused slatherhouse liver reveals the important role of the relation between cold storage and normothermic perfusion. Moreover this preliminary study justifies further investigation of the optimization of the treatment protocols and perfusion media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential use of an e-nose in combination with lateral flow immunoassays for rapid aflatoxin and fumonisin occurrence/co-occurrence detection in maize samples. For this purpose, 161 samples of corn have been used. Below the regulatory limits, single-contaminated, and co-contaminated samples were classified according to the detection ranges established for commercial lateral flow immunoassays (LFIAs) for mycotoxin determination. Correspondence between methods was evaluated by discriminant function analysis (DFA) procedures using IBM SPSS Statistics 22. Stepwise variable selection was done to select the e-nose sensors for classifying samples by DFA. The overall leave-out-one cross-validated percentage of samples correctly classified by the eight-variate DFA model for aflatoxin was 81%. The overall leave-out-one cross-validated percentage of samples correctly classified by the seven-variate DFA model for fumonisin was 85%. The overall leave-out-one cross-validated percentage of samples correctly classified by the nine-variate DFA model for the three classes of contamination (below the regulatory limits, single-contaminated, co-contaminated) was 65%. Therefore, even though an exhaustive evaluation will require a larger dataset to perform a validation procedure, an electronic nose (e-nose) seems to be a promising rapid/screening method to detect contamination by aflatoxin, fumonisin, or both in maize kernel stocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effects of two natural (retinol and retinoic acid, RA) and one synthetic N-(4-hydroxyphenyl) retinamide (4-HPR) retinoids on proliferation and expression of urokinase-plasminogen activator (u-PA) by bovine mammary epithelial cells were examined. The BME-UV1 established bovine mammary epithelial cell line was used as a model system. All retinoids tested (retinol, RA and 4-HPR) were effective inhibitors of cell proliferation. When cells were cultured in the absence of fetal bovine calf serum (FBCS), inhibition occurred at concentrations as low as 1 nM for all retinoids tested. The effect of retinoids on cell proliferation was not dose-related when cells were cultured in the absence of FBCS. All retinoids (retinol, RA, 4-HPR), when used in the range 1 nM-10 microM (noncytotoxic concentrations), were equally effective and had identical inhibition patterns. Inhibition of cell proliferation by RA was apparent by 6 h and was higher after 24 h in culture. In contrast, when cells were cultured in the presence of FBCS, the effect of RA and retinol on cell proliferation was dose-related. RA and retinol inhibited cell proliferation (P<0.01) when added to the culture medium in concentrations as low as 10 nM and 100 nM, respectively. 4-HPR was inhibitory (P<0.01) in concentrations as low as 1 nM. Higher concentrations of 4-HPR in the range 1 nM-1 microM had no further effect on cell proliferation. None of the retinoids tested, when added to cultures in the presence or absence of FBCS, could completely arrest cell proliferation at noncytotoxic concentrations. RA at 1 microM inhibited (P<0.05) insulin or IGF-I-induced cell proliferation but had no effect (P>0.05) on u-PA mRNA levels or u-PA activity. Furthermore, RA inhibited cell proliferation in the presence of FBCS but had no effect (P>0.05) on u-PA mRNA levels. Thus, retinoids are effective inhibitors of bovine mammary epithelial cell proliferation and this growth inhibition does not seem to correlate with any changes in u-PA mRNA or u-PA activity.