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Leisure riding is a popular way of using horses however, unlike sport or racing horses, those are mostly not associated with one rider with high skills. Constant overload of equine musculoskeletal system causes pathologies, which are affecting horse mobility and decreases the horse-rider communication. The aim was to propose the new scoring system of thermograph analysis as an aspect of differences in heat distributions on horseback before and after leisure ridings. The study was conducted on sixteen Polish warmblood horses, scanned with a non-contact thermographic camera. Heat pattern of the thoracolumbar area was evaluated on thermograms taken before and after exercise. The criteria with point values for horse-rider-matching were created: heat points on the dorsal midline of saddle-back contact area and degree of muscle unit overload. The results of thermograph analysis were compared with the results of a questionnaire on horse-rider communication during riding in order to estimate the relevance of matching. The maximum score was obtained in 38.3% and 39.8% of combinations based on the thermograph analysis and questionnaire, respectively. Results of both scoring systems were strongly positive correlated (r = .937), demonstrating high sensitivity (61.72%) and specificity (90.23%) of the matching. The horse-rider matching may improve horse comfort during leisure type of work.

NEW FINDINGS What is the central question of this study? The aim of present study was to record and analyse the myoelectrical activity in the female pig reproductive tract (uterus and oviduct) during early pregnancy. What is the main finding and its importance? Understanding the contractile activity of the uterus and oviducts is indispensable for understanding the physiological mechanisms as well as all irregularities associated with the period of conception and early pregnancy. The aim of the present study was to record the myoelectrical activity of the reproductive tract in sows during the oestrous phase and early pregnancy via a telemetry recording system. In a total of eight non-pregnant pigs, the bioelectrical activity was recorded through three silicone electrodes sutured on the oviduct (isthmus and ampulla) and the uterine horn. Blood samples were collected to monitor the concentrations of progesterone (P4) and luteinizing hormone (LH). The oestrous cycle was synchronized with equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG) and human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), and the animals were subjected to artificial insemination. Analysis of the EMG activity of the oviduct and uterus in the oestrous phase and in early stages of pregnancy suggests explicitly that telemetry could enable in vivo assessment of myoelectrical activity of parts of the reproductive system in sows. Off-line analysis of the duration of EMG activity bursts in the uterus, isthmus and ampulla were significantly higher during early pregnancy (phases II and III) than in the oestrous phase. The EMG signals demonstrated low mean amplitudes of activity in the oviduct and uterus during early pregnancy (phases I-III). Significant differences between the root mean square signals were observed in the isthmus and ampulla both during oestrus and in early pregnancy (phase I; P 4 ng ml-1 . In contrast, during early pregnancy, the P4 and LH concentrations were estimated at >4 and

Cell therapy is emerging as an alternative treatment of stress urinary incontinence. However, many aspects of the procedure require further optimization. A large animal model is needed to reliably test cell delivery methods. In this study, we aim to determine suitability of the goat as an experimental animal for testing intraurethral autologous cell transplantation in terms of urethral anatomy and cell culture parameters. The experiments were performed in 12 mature/aged female goats. Isolated caprine muscle derived cells (MDC) were myogenic in vitro and mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) population was able to differentiate into adipo-, osteo- and chondrogenic lineages. The median yield of cells after 3 weeks of culture amounted 47 × 10(6) for MDC and 37 × 10(6) for MSC. Urethral pressure profile measurements revealed the mean functional urethral length of 3.75 ± 0.7 cm. The mean maximal urethral closure pressure amounted 63.5 ± 5.9 cmH2 O and the mean functional area was 123.3 ± 19.4 cm*cmH2 O. The omega- shaped striated urethral sphincter was well developed in the middle and distal third of the urethra and its mean thickness on cross section was 2.3 mm. In the proximal part of the urethra only loosely arranged smooth muscle fibers were identified. To conclude, presented data demonstrate that caprine MDC and MSC can be expanded in vitro in a repeatable manner even when mature or aged animals are cell donors. Results suggest that female caprine urethra has similar parameters to those reported in human and therefore the goat can be an appropriate experimental animal for testing intraurethral cell transplantation. Anat Rec, 00:000-000, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Anat Rec, 300:577-588, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Summary Effects of Adrenergic Stimulants and Blockers on the Electrical Activity of the Uterus in Pregnant Cows: The effects of stimulants and inhibitors of adrenergic receptors on the myoelectric activity were studied in pregnant cows at different points of the last trimester of pregnancy. The results showed that noradrenaline produced an increase of the myoelectric activity of the uterus specially at the 6th week before parturition. Furthermore i. v. infusion of propanolol potentiated and of phentolamina diminished the stimulating activity of noradrenaline. Resumen: Se han analizado electromiogramas procedentes de vacas prenadas obtenidos durante el tercer trimestre de la prenez, con el fin de determinar los efectos ocasionados por sustancias estimulantes o bloqueadoras de los receptores adrenergicos sobre la actividad electrica del miometrio. Los resultados indican que la noradrenalina produce un aumento de la actividad electrica del miometrio en especial en la sexta semana antes del parto. Ademas la administracion de propranolol aumenta el efecto estimulante de la noradrenalina en forma significativa. Esto puede indirectamente indicar la presencia de receptores betaadrenergicos en el utero de vacas. La fentolamina a su vez produce un bloqueo de la accion estimulante de la noradrenalina sobre la actividad EMG.