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Reproductive synchrony among gregarious mammals has a strong adaptive value and may lead to cooperative behaviors aimed at maximizing offspring survival. Additionally, temporal clustering of estrus has important implications on individual mating tactics and ultimately affects the degree of polygamy in a population. Although several studies have examined the reproductive biology of wild boar (Sus scrofa), much remains to be understood about the patterns of timing and synchrony of reproduction in natural populations. We analyzed the spatiotemporal distribution of conception dates in an Italian wild boar population taking into account the effects of environmental and individual factors, in order to determine the main variables influencing the timing of reproduction and to detect the signs of a socially-driven reproductive synchrony. Specifically, for each litter belonging to 354 pregnant sows culled between 2006 and 2013 in a mountain area of Tuscany, we determined the conception date (CD) from an estimate of the mean fetal age and the culling date. We then investigated which factors drove the variation in CD, by implementing linear mixed models, Mantel tests and spatial autocorrelation analyses. The selected model showed significant effects of rainfall, temperatures, and previous and current productivity on CD, as well as a strong correlation of CDs among sows culled in close spatial and temporal proximity (i.e., in the same hunting ground and hunting season). Likewise, autocorrelation analyses and Mantel tests consistently indicated that closer sows had similar conception dates. Overall, our results confirm the effect of resource availability and climate on wild boar reproductive phenology, and suggest socially-driven reproductive patterns, in spite of a high turn-over in social groups due to hunting. Finally, possible advantages and evolutionary implications of reproductive synchrony in wild boar are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to evaluate the agreement between cytological and histological diagnosis of canine and feline mediastinal masses to assess the utility of cytological examination in accurately diagnosing and classifying mediastinal lesions. METHODS A retrospective review of 58 cases of mediastinal masses from 21 dogs and 37 cats were performed. Histopathology was used as the diagnostic reference standard. The agreement between cytological and histological diagnosis was calculated. RESULTS The complete agreement between cytological and histological classification ranged from substantial (k = 0 · 72, CI: 0 · 64 to 0 · 80) to almost perfect (k = 0 · 89, CI: 0 · 82 to 0 · 96) depending on how the cytological diagnoses classified as suspicious were used for statistical calculations. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE Cytological examination of canine and feline mediastinal masses is a relatively easy, low-cost procedure, with good agreement with final histological diagnoses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic inflammation alters lipoprotein metabolism and causes changes in the serum concentrations of lipids, C-reactive protein (CRP), and paraoxonase-1 activity (PON-1), an enzyme that may act as a local detoxifier, antioxidant, and immunomodulator in the gastrointestinal tract. Scarce information is available in dogs with protein-losing enteropathy secondary to chronic enteropathy (iPLE). The first aim was to describe and compare the lipid profiles, CRP concentrations and PON-1 activities in healthy dogs and in dogs with iPLE. The second aim was to evaluate correlations among clinicopathological, histologic data and lipid profiles in dogs with iPLE. Serum samples from 51 iPLE and 40 healthy dogs were used to study albumin, total protein, CRP, PON-1 activity, cholesterol, triglycerides and lipoprotein classes. Serum concentrations of albumin, total protein, cholesterol, PON-1 activity, and high-density and very-low-density lipoproteins were lower in iPLE dogs compared to healthy controls, while those of triglycerides, low-density lipoproteins, chylomicrons and CRP were higher. Significant correlations between the lipid profile and the existing chronic enteropathy activity index were not found. High-density and low-density lipoproteins correlated with CRP and PON-1. Triglycerides were significantly higher in dogs with both inflammation and lymphangiectasia. The results need to be confirmed in further studies.

Introduction: Canine protein-losing enteropathy (PLE) is a syndrome characterized by gastrointestinal loss of proteins. While fecal microbiome and metabolome perturbations have been reported in dogs with chronic enteropathy, they have not been widely studied in dogs with PLE. Therefore, the study aims were to investigate gut microbiome and targeted fecal metabolites in dogs with inflammatory PLE (iPLE) and evaluate whether treatment affects these changes at short-term follow-up., Methods: Thirty-eight dogs with PLE and histopathological evidence of gastrointestinal inflammation and 47 healthy dogs were enrolled. Fecal samples were collected before endoscopy (T0) and after one month of therapy (T1). Microbiome and metabolome alterations were investigated using qPCR assays (dysbiosis index, DI) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (long-chain fatty acids, sterols, unconjugated bile acids), respectively., Results: Median (min-max) DI of iPLE dogs was 0.4 (-5.9 to 7.7) and was significantly higher ( p < 0.0001) than median DI in healthy dogs [-2.0 (-6.0 to 5.3)]. No significant associations were found between DI and selected clinicopathological variables. DI did not significantly differ between T0 and T1. In iPLE dogs, at T0, myristic, palmitic, linoleic, oleic, cis-vaccenic, stearic, arachidonic, gondoic, docosanoic, erucic, and nervonic acids were significantly higher ( p < 0.0001) than healthy dogs. In iPLE dogs, oleic acid ( p = 0.044), stearic acid ( p = 0.013), erucic acid ( p = 0.018) and nervonic acid ( p = 0.002) were significantly decreased at T1. At T0, cholesterol and lathosterol ( p < 0.0001) were significantly higher in iPLE dogs compared to healthy dogs, while total measured phytosterols were significantly lower ( p = 0.001). No significant differences in total sterols, total phytosterols and total zoosterols content were found at T1, compared to T0. At T0, total primary bile acids and total secondary bile acids did not significantly differ between healthy control dogs and iPLE dogs. No significant differences in fecal bile acid content were found at T1., Discussion: Dysbiosis and lipid metabolism perturbations were observed in dogs with iPLE. Different therapeutic protocols lead to an improvement of some but not all metabolome perturbations at short-term follow-up., Competing Interests: JS, MT, C-CC, and PRG are employed by the Gastrointestinal Laboratory at Texas A&M University, which provides assays for intestinal function and microbiota analysis on a fee-for-service basis. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Cagnasso, Suchodolski, Borrelli, Borella, Bottero, Benvenuti, Ferriani, Tolbert, Chen, Giaretta and Gianella.)

Case Summary: An 11-year-old castrated male domestic shorthair cat presented with chronic regurgitation and weight loss. Despite a 2-month history of weight loss, regurgitation intensified over 4 weeks, occurring with every food intake, even on a semi-liquid diet. Physical examination revealed thinness and dehydration, and a focal oval mass was noted in the middle mediastinum on thoracic radiography. Oesophagoscopy identified a 6 cm neoformation almost completely obstructing the oesophageal lumen. Biopsies were taken and histopathology, positivity to melanoma triple cocktail and PNL-2 by immunohistochemistry led to the diagnosis of melanocytic neoplasm. Palliative debulking with argon plasma coagulation (APC) was performed, significantly improving the cat's quality of life for 2 months. The cat survived for 107 days after diagnosis., Relevance and Novel Information: This case report describes the first report of melanocytic neoplasia originating from the oesophageal mucosa in a cat. In cats, melanomas outside the eyes are exceedingly rare and oesophageal neoplasms are exceptionally rare in veterinary medicine, particularly melanomas. The diagnosis relied on positive immunohistochemistry markers aligning with previous research. Treatment with APC emerged as a novel, potentially palliative approach, successfully alleviating regurgitation for 3 months. This underscores APC's potential in feline oesophageal neoplasia palliative care, which deserves further investigation in a broader feline cohort to confirm its efficacy. Overall, this report provides valuable insights into the diagnosis and treatment of oesophageal melanoma in cats., Competing Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2024.)

Objective: To evaluate the fecal bacterial microbiota at the time of diagnosis (T0) and after 1 month of therapy (T1) in cats diagnosed with lymphoplasmacytic enteritis (LPE) or cats with low-grade intestinal T-cell lymphoma (LGITL) and to compare these findings with those of healthy cats., Animals: 5 healthy cats, 13 cats with LPE, and 7 cats with LGITL were prospectively enrolled between June 2020 and June 2021., Methods: Fecal samples were collected at T0 and T1, and DNA was extracted for 16S ribosomal amplicon sequencing. Alpha diversity and beta diversity were computed. The taxonomic assignment was performed using sequences from the Silva v138 formatted reference database. Differential abundant taxa were selected in each taxonomic level, with the P value adjusted < .05, as the cut-off., Results: No significant differences in alpha and beta diversity were found either at T0 or T1 between healthy and diseased cats or between cats with LPE and LGITL. Beta-diversity analysis showed an increase in the Fusobacteriaceae family in cats with LGITL at T0, compared to cats with LPE. Regardless of histological diagnosis, several microbiota differences were found at T0 based on serum cobalamin levels., Clinical Relevance: Fecal samples were successfully used to characterize the bacteriome of the intestinal tract in cats by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. However, results highlighted that the metagenomic evaluation was not useful to discriminate between LPE and LGITL nor to predict the therapeutic response in this study population.

Key Message: T-DNA and CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of polyester synthase-like genes delays flowering time in Arabidopsis thaliana and Medicago sativa (alfalfa). Thus, we here present the first report of edited alfalfa with delayed flowering., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Few routinely available biomarkers are clinically useful in assessing dogs with inflammatory protein-losing enteropathy caused by immunosuppressive-responsive enteropathy (IRE-PLE). Only the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been studied, while no information exists on the use of the albumin to globulin ratio (AGR) and C-reactive protein to albumin ratio (CRP/ALB). We aimed to evaluate the clinical significance of the NLR, AGR and CRP/ALB in a population of dogs with IRE-PLE. The medical records of 53 IRE-PLE dogs were reviewed at the time of diagnosis (T0) and 1 month after the initiation of immunosuppressants (T1). A control group of 68 healthy dogs was used for comparison. At T0, the median values of the NLR and AGR of sick dogs were significantly higher and lower than those of healthy dogs, respectively. With the increase in the chronic enteropathy activity index, AGR and CRP/ALB significantly decreased and increased, respectively. At T1, NLR and AGR significantly increased, while CRP/ALB significantly decreased. NLR, AGR and CRP/ALB did not differ significantly between dogs classified as responders and nonresponders according to the chronic enteropathy activity index. Further studies are needed to provide more information on this subject.

Background: Epithelial cells show varying degrees of cytologic atypia in dogs with nonmalignant lesions (NML) and carcinomas (ubC) of the bladder, making histopathologic examination necessary for a definitive diagnosis., Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic performance of squash preparation cytology and identify several cytomorphologic features of ubC to assist in diagnoses., Methods: Squash preparations were made and reviewed in dogs that underwent transurethral cystoscopy. The results were compared with histopathologic diagnoses. Two cytopathologists performed blinded assessments using a scoring system established for 11 cytologic features, including the presence of macronuclei, abnormal nucleoli, atypical mitoses, signet ring cells, multinucleated cells, nuclear molding, anisokaryosis, cytoplasmatic microvacuolization, cell arrangements, and neutrophil and lymphocyte infiltrations. Based on cytologic and histopathologic diagnoses, dogs were divided into ubC and NML groups. Associations between cytologic and histopathologic diagnoses were investigated, and agreement between the cytopathologists was calculated. Cytologic features were analyzed with multivariate logistic regression models. The performance of predictors in the final model was evaluated in terms of Sensitivity (Se), Specificity (Sp), accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), likelihood ratio positive (LR+), and negative (LR-) values, and the diagnostic odds ratio (DOR)., Results: Forty-four dogs diagnosed with ubC, and 17 with NML were included in the study. Cytologic and histopathologic diagnoses were significantly associated with each cytopathologist. There was an almost perfect agreement between cytopathologists (κ = 0.88). The absence of neutrophilic infiltration, the presence of multinucleated cells, and nuclear molding were associated with ubC; using a combination of these features in parallel testing resulted in Se = 0.98, Sp = 0.65, accuracy = 0.89, PPV = 0.88, NPV = 0.92, LR + =2.77, LR- = 0.04, and DOR = 7.7., Conclusions: Squash preparation cytology could be a reliable technique to diagnose ubC in dogs. The best diagnostic combination was the absence of neutrophilic infiltration, multinucleated cells, and nuclear molding., (© 2022 American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology.)

Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe the endoscopic appearance of gastroduodenal ulcers (GDUs), and to assess the clinical, ultrasonographic and histological data, as well as long-term follow-up, in cats., Methods: The medical record databases of five veterinary endoscopists were evaluated between January 2016 and 2020, in a retrospective study. Cats with at least one gastric or duodenal ulcer detected by endoscopic examination were included. All the medical records of the selected cats were reviewed and information was collected regarding breed, age, sex, neuter status, medical history, clinical signs, and ultrasonographic, endoscopic and histological findings. The cats were evaluated at 6, 12 and 18 months., Results: Sixty-one cats with a median age of 9.0 years (range 2.0-16.0) were included in the study. The most common complaints were vomiting (n = 55; 90%) and hyporexia (n = 40; 66%); haematemesis was reported in 12 (20%) cats. Endoscopy showed GDUs in the following locations: gastric body in 28 cats (46%), antropyloric area in 34 cats (56%), fundus in 13 cats (21%) and duodenum in eight cats (13%). A single GDU was found in 42 cats (69%) and multiple GDUs were seen in 19 cats (31%). Histopathological evaluation revealed benign lesions in 33 (54%) cats and malignant lesions in 28 (46%; 24 high-grade lymphoma, one low-grade lymphoma and three carcinoma). High-grade lymphoma was detected only in the stomach. Cats diagnosed with malignant GDUs (median 10.5, range 4-16) were significantly older than cats with benign lesions ( P  = 0.002)., Conclusions and Relevance: GDUs are common and were detected in 5.1% of cats undergoing an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. The risk of a malignant ulcer increases proportionally with each year of increasing age. GDU location, number and morphological appearance do not provide any indication of the nature of the ulcer; however, duodenal ulcers are frequently benign. Endoscopic examination facilitates the early and minimally invasive detection of GDUs in cats.

Few studies have investigated total protein (TP) and serum protein electrophoresis (SPE) in cats with chronic enteropathy (CE). Cats diagnosed with CE were evaluated to investigate the relationships between TP, SPE and endoscopy, histopathology, and extraintestinal involvement. Medical records were searched for cats with a history of chronic gastrointestinal signs and a final diagnosis of CE. Information on signalment, TP, SPE, endoscopic score, histopathological diagnosis and score, and concurrent hepatic or pancreatic ultrasonographic alterations was collected. Relationships between protein profiles and other variables were investigated. Ninety-nine cats were included in the study, 63 diagnosed with various degrees of bowel inflammation and 36 with small-cell alimentary lymphoma. The most common TP alteration was hypoproteinemia (24%). No significant differences were observed between protein profiles and endoscopic and histopathological severity scores. Forty-five cats showing concurrent pancreatic and/or hepatic ultrasonographic alterations, had significantly lower albumin, lower α-globulin, and higher γ-globulin levels than cats not showing concurrent alterations. Disease severity scores did not seem to influence the protein profile in cats with CE. Extraintestinal involvement may be suspected in cats with lower albumin and α-globulins and higher γ-globulins.

Background: Antibiotic-responsive enteropathy (ARE) is diagnosed by excluding other causes of diarrhea and when there is a short-term response to administration of antibiotics., Objectives: To characterize the gut microbiota and clinical trend of dogs with suspected ARE and to evaluate the variation in microbiota before (T0), after 30 days (T30) of tylosin treatment, and 30 days after discontinuation of treatment (T60). A further objective was to evaluate whether changes in gut microbiota are related to relapses of diarrhea when the therapy is tapered., Animals: Study sample (group A) was composed of 15 dogs with chronic diarrhea, group B was composed of 15 healthy dogs. Group A was given tylosin for 30 days., Methods: A multicentric prospective study. Clinical Indexes, fecal score, and samples for microbiota analysis were collected at T0, T30, and T60 in group A and T0 and T30 in group B. The gut microbiota was analyzed via 16S ribosomal RNA gene. Qiime2 version 2020.2 was used to perform bioinformatic analyses, and Alpha- and Beta-diversity were computed., Results: Diarrhea recurred after T30 in 9 of 14 dogs, which were classified as affected by ARE. At T0, a difference was noted in the beta-diversity between groups (Bray Curtis metric P = .006). A T0-T30 difference in alpha-diversity was noted in group A (Shannon index P = .001, Faith PD P = .007)., Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Although tylosin influences the microbiota of dogs with ARE, we failed to find any specific characteristic in the microbiota of dogs with ARE., (© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.)

Keymessage: We present the first report on base editing in alfalfa. Specifically, we showed edited alfalfa with tolerance to both sulfonylurea- and imidazolinone-type herbicides., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Objective: To describe the association between a diagnosis of eosinophilic lung disease (ELD) in dogs with signalment and bronchoscopic features and evaluate the accuracy of visualization of nodules for the diagnosis of ELD., Animals: 781 dogs with cough that underwent bronchoscopy between 2014 and 2016., Procedures: Data were extracted from the medical records of each included dog. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to investigate associations between ELD and patient characteristics., Results: ELD was diagnosed in 113 (14.5%) dogs. More than 3 nodular lesions of the bronchial mucosa were detected in 64 (8.2%) dogs. The odds of having ELD were greater in dogs with nodules (adjusted OR [aOR], 26.0; 95% CI, 13.0 to 52.0) and static bronchial collapse (aOR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.1 to 4.6), and lower in dogs having focal versus diffuse inflammation (aOR, 0.05; 95% CI, 0.01 to 0.37). The odds of having ELD decreased for each 1-year increase in age (aOR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.80 to 0.92), and increased for each 1-kg increase in weight (aOR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.06). Visualization of nodules during bronchoscopy had a overall accuracy of 89.4% (95% CI, 87.0% to 91.4%), sensitivity of 41.6% (32.4% to 51.2%), and specificity of 97.5% (96.0% to 98.5%) for a diagnosis of ELD., Clinical Relevance: On the basis of high specificity and negative predictive value, lack of visualization of bronchial nodules during bronchoscopy can be used to preliminarily rule out ELD. However, visualization of bronchial nodules does not imply presence of ELD. This could be especially relevant when results of BAL cytology are available several days after the actual bronchoscopy.

On a population level, individual plasticity in reproductive phenology can provoke either anticipations or delays in the average reproductive timing in response to environmental changes. However, a rigid reliance on photoperiodism can constraint such plastic responses in populations inhabiting temperate latitudes. The regulation of breeding season length may represent a further tool for populations facing changing environments. Nonetheless, this skill was reported only for equatorial, nonphotoperiodic populations. Our goal was to evaluate whether species living in temperate regions and relying on photoperiodism to trigger their reproduction may also be able to regulate breeding season length. During 10 years, we collected 2,500 female reproductive traits of a mammal model species (wild boar Sus scrofa ) and applied a novel analytical approach to reproductive patterns in order to observe population-level variations of reproductive timing and synchrony under different weather and resources availability conditions. Under favorable conditions, breeding seasons were anticipated and population synchrony increased (i.e., shorter breeding seasons). Conversely, poor conditions induced delayed and less synchronous (i.e., longer) breeding seasons. The potential to regulate breeding season length depending on environmental conditions may entail a high resilience of the population reproductive patterns against environmental changes, as highlighted by the fact that almost all mature females were reproductive every year., (© The Author(s) (2021). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Editorial Office, Current Zoology.)

A multicentre prospective study was performed to assess whether clinical, hematobiochemical, endoscopic and histopathological parameters were associated with mortality, clinical response and relapse of disease in short- and long-term follow-up of a total of 165 dogs with chronic inflammatory enteropathy, of which 150 had immunosuppressant responsive enteropathy (IRE), and 15 had non-responsive enteropathy (NRE) dogs. Clinical severity (CCECAI) was evaluated from presentation (T0) to 18 months (T18) from diagnosis. T0 body condition score (BCS), selected haematological parameters and endoscopic and histopathological scores were evaluated. Presence/absence of histopathological duodenal lesions was recorded. Responders were evaluated using CCECAI at T1. Relapse was evaluated from T3 to T18. Long-term responders included dogs who responded at T1 and showed no relapse. Dogs were divided into responders/non-responders, survivors/non-survivors and relapsed/non-relapsed. At T1, 15/165 dogs (9%) were considered NRE. Sixteen dogs (11%) were considered relapsed at T3, 8% at T6 and 10% at T12, and none of 96 dogs relapsed at T18. NREs showed significantly lower BCS than IREs. Non-survivors showed a significantly lower serum albumin concentration and BCS than survivors. Non-responders, relapsed or non-survivors had higher presence of lacteal dilatation compared to long-term responders. Dogs with IRE showed a good clinical course with a low relapse rate, with only a few dogs in the NRE group. Reduction of BCS, albumin and lacteal dilatation at diagnosis may be considered negative prognostic factors for response, mortality and long-term disease remission.

This study describes the clinical, diagnostic, and pathological characteristics of canine nasal polyps and how they responded to medical, endoscopic, and surgical treatments. The database of a multi-center veterinary endoscopy group was searched from 2010 to 2018. All dogs with a histological diagnosis of nasal polyposis that were undergoing endoscopic investigation (N = 23), were included. Clinical signs at presentation were sneezing (91%), nasal discharge (83%), stertor (74%), and frontonasal deformation (17%). Skull radiography on 13 dogs had alterations in 77% of cases, including turbinate lysis (6/13), increased radiopacity of one (4/13) or both (6/13) nasal cavities, and lysis of the nasal vomer bone (3/13). Nasal polyposis had a characteristic endoscopic appearance. There were clinical and diagnostic similarities between this cohort of dogs and dogs with nasal neoplasia, although dogs with nasal polyps were often younger and polypoid tissue was external to the nose. Steroid therapy alone was not effective in treating polyposis in dogs; however, endoscopic debulking with a laser and forceps was more effective., (Copyright and/or publishing rights held by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association.)

Objectives: In the absence of sample validity testing, a healthcare provider may fail to identify a patient's adulteration of their urine sample. This study compared different methods for specific gravity (SG), pH, TECO™ Drug Adulteration Test Strip (dipstick) and oxidant assay to explain the differences and also make an informative decision on method selection., Methods: Creatinine, SG and pH measurements are essential in sample validity testing. SG and pH automated chemical methods are compared against pH meter method, SG refractometer and dipstick method. Also, oxidant assay was compared against dipstick method., Results: SG chemical method agreement with refractometer is 81.9% and with dipstick method is 64.7%. The refractometer method agreement with dipstick method is 66.1%. pH chemical method agreement with pH Meter method is 74.3% and with dipstick method is 81.4%. pH meter method agreement is 85.7% with dipstick method. Results were analysed using Deming regression analysis and F-test. SG chemical method correlated better with refractometer than the dipstick method. Oxidant assay correlated well with dipstick method in detecting adulterants such as pyridinium chlorochromate, nitrite and bleach., Conclusions: Varying degrees of differences were seen in the SG and pH measurements. These differences were both method and instrument dependent. The automated chemical methods are recommended alongside oxidant assay for consistency, accuracy and faster turn-around time as part of sample validity testing for drugs of abuse., Competing Interests: Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest., (© 2021 Ashraf Mina et al., published by De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston.)

Objective: To prospectively evaluate the clinical and prognostic importance of duodenal endoscopic and histologic findings, including duodenal mucosal counts of forkhead box P3-positive regulatory T cells (Foxp3+ Tregs), in dogs with immunosuppressant-responsive enteropathy (IRE)., Animals: 57 client-owned dogs with IRE., Procedures: The canine chronic enteropathy clinical activity index (CCECAI) was used to assess each dog when IRE was diagnosed (T0) and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months later. Dogs were grouped on the basis of clinical response (responder group vs nonresponder group) and 12-month long-term outcome (responded to treatment and did not relapse [good outcome group] vs did not respond to treatment or had relapsed [bad outcome group]). At T0, dogs underwent gastrointestinal endoscopy and endoscopic biopsy, with results for variables of duodenal endoscopic and histologic evaluations scored and compared across groups., Results: At T0, the overall median CCECAI score was 7; CCECAI score was not associated with clinical response or relapse. Dogs had significantly greater odds of being in the bad outcome group (vs the good outcome group) if they had a histologic score of 3 (OR, 3.5; 95% CI, 1.09 to 11.3). No differences in the counts of Foxp3+ Tregs were detected between groups., Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: In dogs with IRE, results indicated that evaluation of Foxp3+ Tregs did not have prognostic value, whereas a duodenal histologic score of 3 could be a negative prognostic factor for response and relapse, and higher severity scores for intraepithelial lymphocytes and lamina propria lymphocytes and plasma cells in duodenal biopsy samples may be negatively associated with response.

Organisms differ in the strategy adopted to fuel reproduction by using resources either previously acquired and stored in body reserves (capital breeding) or, conversely, acquired during their reproductive activity (income breeding). The choice of one or the other strategy is related to several internal and external factors which are counteractive in wild boar. Based on a large dataset of culled wild boar, we investigated individual body weight variability throughout the period of 1st September-31st January, which included the main part of the mating season, among different sex and age classes to determine their position along the capital-income breeding continuum. Though food resources were abundant during the rut, adult males lost body weight suggesting they adopted a predominantly capital breeding strategy, likely owing to the high intra-sexual competition entailed by the peculiar mating system of the species. On the contrary, subadult males seemed to behave as income breeders, likely enhancing the reproductive flexibility of wild boar populations. During the rut, females stored reserves, thus suggesting that they substantially relied on them to cover future reproductive costs.

Background: Chronic idiopathic lymphoplasmacytic rhinitis (CILPR) is a common inflammatory disorder of unknown etiology affecting the nasal cavity of dogs. The diagnosis is made by exclusion of other causes of nasal disease and specific therapeutic protocols are lacking. In human medicine, a relationship between CILPR and gastrointestinal clinical signs has been postulated, and remission of respiratory signs after clinical trials with medications for gastrointestinal disorders has been observed., Objectives: To describe history, clinical presentation, endoscopic and histopathologic concurrent respiratory and digestive tract abnormalities, and to evaluate improvement of respiratory signs after treatment for gastrointestinal signs., Animals: Twenty-five dogs with CILPR., Methods: Prospective study. For inclusion, following information had to be available: respiratory and digestive clinical signs, airway and digestive tract endoscopic abnormalities, histologic evaluation of respiratory and gastrointestinal tract biopsy specimens, and clinical response to different treatment strategies., Results: Twenty-two dogs had endoscopic gastrointestinal lesions, whereas 13 dogs had concurrent gastrointestinal signs. Most esophageal and duodenal endoscopic abnormalities were classified as moderate or severe. Respiratory and gastrointestinal tract histologic evaluation identified mostly chronic inflammation. Remission or marked improvement of respiratory signs was observed in the majority of dogs treated only for gastrointestinal signs up to 12 months after endoscopy. No significant associations between treatments and follow-up information were found., Conclusion and Clinical Importance: Nasal and upper digestive tract abnormalities coexist in some dogs with CILPR. Lack of standardized therapeutic protocols suggests caution when interpreting improvement in nasal clinical signs. Additional studies are needed to explore the possibility of a cause-effect relationship between the 2 processes., (© 2020 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.)

Background: Homocysteine (HCY) was evaluated in healthy and chronic enteropathic dogs, however no studies on dogs with immunosuppressant-responsive enteropathy are available., Objectives: The aim was to evaluate serum HCY concentrations and its prognostic role in dogs with immunosuppressant-responsive enteropathy compared to healthy dogs., Methods: Serum HCY concentration was statistically compared between 24 healthy dogs and 29 dogs with immunosuppressant-responsive enteropathy. Correlation analyses between serum total protein, albumin (ALB), C-reactive protein (CRP), folate and cobalamin, and serum HCY concentration were performed in immunosuppressant-responsive enteropathic dogs., Results: The associations between serum HCY concentration and clinical, histological, endoscopic scores and follow-up were evaluated. Mean serum HCY concentration was higher in immunosuppressant-responsive enteropathic dogs compared to control dogs (30.22 ± 8.67 μmol/L vs. 5.26 ± 2.78 μmol/L; p < 0.0001). No association between serum HCY concentration and total protein, ALB, CRP, folate concentration as well as, clinical score, histological and endoscopic scores was found. A negative correlation between serum HCY concentration and cobalamin was noted ( p = 0.0025, r = -0.54). No significant difference in HCY was found between responsive and non-responsive dogs or between survivors and non-survivors., Conclusions: Although, serum HCY concentration was higher in immunosuppressant-responsive enteropathy, its prognostic value remains unclear. However, further prospective, large-scale studies are warranted to better investigate the possible prognostic role of HCY in immunosuppressant-responsive enteropathic dogs., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest. No third-party funding or support was received in association with the present study or the writing or publication of the manuscript., (© 2020 The Korean Society of Veterinary Science.)