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Brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) is well documented in the three most popular brachycephalic dog breeds of the UK and several other countries: French Bulldogs, Pugs and Bulldogs. More extreme conformation has been found to be associated with increased risk of BOAS and other brachycephalic disease in these breeds, such as ocular, neurological, and dental disease. Less is known about how BOAS and other brachycephalic conformation-related disease affects other breeds such as the Boston Terrier. In this study, one-hundred and seven Boston Terriers were prospectively recruited from the UK dog population and underwent clinical assessment, respiratory function grading and conformational measurements. Whole-body barometric plethysmography was used in a smaller cohort of dogs to compare the quantitative differences in respiratory parameters between both affected and unaffected Boston Terriers, and control mesocephalic dogs. When compared to an equivalent study population of French Bulldogs and Bulldogs, it was found that Boston Terriers have a significantly higher proportion of BOAS Grade 0 dogs at 37.5% compared to 10% and 15.2% respectively (p<0.01). Within the breed, more extreme brachycephalic conformation was found to be associated with an increased risk of BOAS: specifically, nostril stenosis, facial foreshortening, abnormal scleral show, and higher neck to chest girth ratio. However, there is considerable overlap between measurements of affected and unaffected dogs in these variables. Therefore, the use of respiratory function grading is likely to be more advantageous for owners, breeders, and veterinary surgeons in accurately selecting unaffected dogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Soft tissue injuries and joint disease are the predominate causes of lameness in the equine athlete and these pathologies carry a guarded prognosis for a return to previous performance. Recently the use of autologous products has become more widespread as a treatment in equine sports medicine. However, the efficacy of these products is yet to be fully established. Objective: To evaluate the current published evidence base regarding the efficacy of autologous products in soft tissue injuries and joint disease. Methods: A systematic review of English articles using MEDLINE, EMBASE and Web of Science databases from 1980 to 2017. The search strategy identified 1594 papers for review. Results: Fifty‐eight papers were included in this review, 28 of which were randomised controlled trials. Significant benefit was reported under several parameters, most notably in the use of autologous chondrocytes in artificially induced cartilage defects on histology. One paper documented a significant clinical response under lameness examination. Conclusion: The current literature shows that the treatment of soft tissue injury and cartilage disease with autologous products is safe and that the use of some products can give significant benefit on some outcome measures. True clinical significance is yet to be demonstrated with any product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Avian and swine influenza viruses circulate worldwide and pose threats to both animal and human health. The design of global surveillance strategies is hindered by information gaps on the geospatial variation in virus emergence potential and existing surveillance efforts. Methods We developed a spatial framework to quantify the geographic variation in outbreak emergence potential based on indices of potential for animal-to-human and secondary human-to-human transmission. We then compared our resultant raster model of variation in emergence potential with the global distribution of recent surveillance efforts from 359105 reports of surveillance activities. Results Our framework identified regions of Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Central America, and sub-Saharan Africa with high potential for influenza virus spillover. In the last 15 years, however, we found that 78.43% and 49.01% of high-risk areas lacked evidence of influenza virus surveillance in swine and domestic poultry, respectively. Conclusions Our work highlights priority areas where improved surveillance and outbreak mitigation could enhance pandemic preparedness strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]