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The transport and sale of compromised and unfit cattle is a major welfare concern. A compromised animal is defined as having reduced capacity to withstand the stress of transport but where transport with special provisions will not result in undue suffering. Currently, there is a lack of information regarding the occurrence and conditions of compromised cattle arriving at central assembly points. A pilot study was conducted to document the incidence of cattle arriving at auctions and abattoirs in a compromised condition within Alberta (Canada) and to characterize which conditions were most prevalent. A total of 8 out of 22 auction markets and 11 out of 43 provincial abattoirs were selected based on annual sale/slaughter volumes and geographic location. Auction volumes were defined as selling =65,000 cattle/yr (large) and <65,000 cattle/yr (small). Abattoir volumes were defined as slaughtering <275 cattle/yr (low), between 276 and 543 cattle/yr (medium), or >543 cattle/yr (high). Each population was further stratified by age (80% market and 20% cull cattle) based on historical data. Over a 3 mo period, 19 sites were visited once (17 sites were visited by 2 observers and 2 sites were visited by 1 observer) to assess indicators of compromised condition in a representative proportion of cattle (n = 936; 847 auction cattle and 89 abattoir cattle). The conditions assessed included mobility (5 point scale), respiratory signs (modified DART 5 point scale), body condition (BCS; 5-point scale), and heavy lactation (yes/no) and assigned an overall score for compromised condition (5 point scale: normal [1], mild [2], moderate [3], severe [4], and unfit for transport [5]). Cattle were defined as compromised if they had a mobility or respiratory score of =3, BCS of =1.5, heavy lactation (yes), or an overall compromised condition score of >3. Data for a particular animal were removed when disagreement between observers was greater than 1 score. The percentage of cattle defined as compromised based on mobility, respiratory signs, BCS, heavy lactation, and overall compromised condition score were 1.26, 0, 0.80, 0.92, and 1.38%, respectively, for auction cattle and 15.7, 2.25, 2.25, 0, and 22.5%, respectively, at abattoirs. Mobility was the most prevalent compromised condition observed in both populations. Except for heavy lactation, the prevalence of all compromised conditions was greater in abattoirs than in auction markets. Characterizing the indicators of compromised conditions in this benchmarking study allows for the identification of important conditions to aid in the development of intervention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A total of 48 recently weaned Angus crossbred bull calves (292 ± 19.1 kg BW) were used to evaluate the effect of types of anesthesia and surgical cuts on scrotal wound healing after castration. Calves were randomly assigned to a 2 × 2 factorial design assessing surgical castration incisions (cut made with Newberry knife [K] vs. bottom cut made with scalpel [B]) and method of anesthesia injected 20 min before castration (local anesthesia injected in the spermatic cord, around the neck of the scrotum and testicles [L; lidocaine HCl 2%] vs. epidural [E; xylazine]) to yield KL, KE, BL, and BE (12 calves/group). Wound healing was assessed in all calves over a 63-d period after castration using maximum scrotal area temperature (MST; °C) assessed via infrared thermography, scrotal circumference (SC; cm), visual evaluation of swelling (SW; 5-point scale in which 0 = no swelling and 5 = increased degree of swelling with presence of pus), and healing of the incision site (HI; 5-point scale in which 1 = incision open without scabbing and 5 = incision completely healed). Data was collected 8 h after castration on d 1, 2, 4, 7, 14, 17, and 21 after castration and weekly thereafter until the end of the study. Pain sensitivity was evaluated using a Von Frey anesthesiometer (g) following the same schedule. Data was analyzed using a mixed-effect model with incision, anesthesia, time, and their interactions as fixed effects and pen within animal as a random effect. An incision × time interaction (P < 0.05) was observed for MST, HI, and SW. The MST for B calves was greater (P < 0.05) on d 35, 56, and 63 compared with K calves. In addition, B calves tended to have greater HI scores (P = 0.06) on d 21, 28, and 35 than K calves, although no differences were observed at the end of the assessment period. In addition, from d 35 to 63, B calves had greater (P = 0.01) SW than K calves. Finally, calves administered local anesthesia tended to have greater scores for HI (P = 0.06) and lower SC (P < 0.001) than calves administered epidural anesthesia. No differences in pain sensitivity were observed between types of surgical incisions or methods of anesthesia. In summary, calves castrated using a Newberry knife and anesthetized using a local anesthetic healed faster and presented less swelling consistent with improved healing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate if the timing and frequency of administration of an antibiotic (oxytetracycline; 1 mg/10 kg of BW) and a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID; meloxicam, 0.5 mg/kg of BW) improved wound healing in band castrated calves. Drugs were administered as a combination. Twenty-four recently weaned Angus crossbred bull calves (292 ± 19.1 kg of BW) were randomly assigned to 1 application of antibiotic and NSAID at the time of banding (CTR); 2 applications, at banding and when the band broke through the skin (SKB); 2 applications, at banding and when the scrotum sloughed off (SSO); or 3 applications, at banding, when the band broke through the skin, and when the scrotum sloughed off (SKSO). Wound healing was assessed in all calves over a 69-d period after band placement. Indicators of wound healing included maximum scrotal area temperature (°C) assessed via infrared thermography, scrotal circumference (cm), visual evaluation of swelling (6-point scale, in which 0 = no swelling and 5 = increased degree of swelling with presence of pus), healing of the wound site (5-point scale in which 1 = incision open without scabbing and 5 = incision completely healed), and pain sensitivity (g) using a Von Frey anesthesiometer. In addition, BW (kg), ADG, and rectal temperature (°C) were recorded. Data was collected the day prior to castration; immediately before castration; 8 h after castration; on d 1, 3, 6, 13, 20, and 27; and weekly thereafter until the end of the study. Data were analyzed using a mixed-effects model, where application of antibiotic and NSAID, time, and their interactions were used as fixed effects and animal within pen was used as a random effect. On d 41 after castration, 100% of the scrotums had sloughed off. However, no differences among treatments were observed for when sloughing occurred. No differences in wound healing (P = 0.72) or swelling (P = 0.13) were observed among treatments. In addition, no treatment differences were observed for pain sensitivity (P = 0.71) after loss of the scrotum (489, 389, 366, and 380 g for CTR, SKB, SSO, and SKSO, respectively), growth (P = 0.96), or rectal temperature (P = 0.91). Repeated applications of antibiotic and NSAID after band castration did not improve healing or reduce inflammation or pain sensitivity in recently weaned beef calves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mammalian virome has been linked to health and disease but our understanding of how it is structured along the longitudinal axis of the mammalian gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and other organs is limited. Here, we report a metagenomic analysis of the prokaryotic and eukaryotic virome occupying luminal and mucosa-associated habitats along the GIT, as well as parenchymal organs (liver, lung and spleen), in two representative mammalian species, the domestic pig and rhesus macaque (six animals per species). Luminal samples from the large intestine of both mammals harboured the highest loads and diversity of bacteriophages (class Caudoviricetes, family Microviridae and others). Mucosal samples contained much lower viral loads but a higher proportion of eukaryotic viruses (families Astroviridae, Caliciviridae, Parvoviridae). Parenchymal organs contained bacteriophages of gut origin, in addition to some eukaryotic viruses. Overall, GIT virome composition was specific to anatomical region and host species. Upper GIT and mucosa-specific viruses were greatly under-represented in distal colon samples (a proxy for faeces). Nonetheless, certain viral and phage species were ubiquitous in all samples from the oral cavity to the distal colon. The dataset and its accompanying methodology may provide an important resource for future work investigating the biogeography of the mammalian gut virome., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

The recent identification of the potential for clonal replication in patients with unexplained cytopenias, resulting in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) or myeloid malignancies, has opened the way to identifying a new precursor entity: clonal cytopenia of undetermined significance (CCUS). CCUS has come into the spotlight in recent years with the detection of molecular abnormalities in cytogenetic studies, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and next-generation sequencing. Several clinical trials and retrospective studies are underway to examine further the associated mutation profiles, study the progression of CCUS to MDS or myeloid neoplasm, and investigate potential treatment options. In this review, we discuss CCUS-related mutations in genes such as DNMT3A, TET2, IDH1/2, ASXL1, KDM6A, PHF6, SF3B1, SRSF2, U2AF1, ZRSR2, RUNX1, BCOR, NRAS, KRAS, KIT, PTEN, CBL, TP53, and ATM. We highlight the most common mutations in CCUS, including those in DNMT3A, TET2, ASXL1, SRSF2, and SF3B1, and high-risk mutations, including those in U2AF1, ZRSR2, SRSF2, JAK2, RUNX1, and TP53. Cognizance of these mutations can guide surveillance and heighten awareness of the need to screen patients with unexplained cytopenia as a means of primary prevention in the realm of MDS and AML. Knowledge of mutation profiles, prognostic risk factors, treatment, and follow-up strategies is evolving, and prospective studies are warranted.

Although the internal circuitry of the cerebellum is highly conserved across vertebrate species, the size and shape of the cerebellum varies considerably. Recent comparative studies have examined the allometric rules between cerebellar mass and number of neurons, but data are lacking on the numbers and sizes of Purkinje and granule cells or scaling of cerebellar foliation. Here, we investigate the allometric rules that govern variation in the volumes of the layers of the cerebellum, the numbers and sizes of Purkinje cells and granule cells and the degree of the cerebellar foliation across 7 species of galliform birds. We selected Galliformes because they vary greatly in body and brain sizes. Our results show that the molecular, granule and white matter layers all increase in volume at the same rate relative to total cerebellum volume. Both numbers and sizes of Purkinje cells increased with cerebellar volume, but numbers of Purkinje cells increased at a much faster rate than size. Granule cell numbers increased with cerebellar volume, but size did not. Sizes and numbers of Purkinje cells as well as numbers of granule cells were positively correlated with the degree of cerebellar foliation, but granule cell size decreased with higher degrees of foliation. The concerted changes among the volumes of cerebellar layers likely reflects the conserved neural circuitry of the cerebellum. Also, our data indicate that the scaling of cell sizes can vary markedly across neuronal populations, suggesting that evolutionary changes in cell sizes might be more complex than what is often assumed., (© 2020 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

A comprehensive gene-based map of a genome is a powerful tool for genetic studies and is especially useful for the positional cloning and positional candidate approaches. The availability of gene maps for multiple organisms provides the foundation for detailed conserved-orthology maps showing the correspondence between conserved genomic segments. These maps make it possible to use cross-species information in gene hunts and shed light on the evolutionary forces that shape the genome. Here we report a radiation hybrid map of mouse genes, a combined project of the Whitehead Institute/Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Genome Research, the Medical Research Council UK Mouse Genome Centre, and the National Center for Biotechnology Information. The map contains 11,109 genes, screened against the T31 RH panel and positioned relative to a reference map containing 2,280 mouse genetic markers. It includes 3,658 genes homologous to the human genome sequence and provides a framework for overlaying the human genome sequence to the mouse and for sequencing the mouse genome.

A physical map of the mouse genome is an essential tool for both positional cloning and genomic sequencing in this key model system for biomedical research. Indeed, the construction of a mouse physical map with markers spaced at an average interval of 300 kb is one of the stated goals of the Human Genome Project. Here we report the results of a project at the Whitehead Institute/MIT Center for Genome Research to construct such a physical map of the mouse. We built the map by screening sequenced-tagged sites (STSs) against a large-insert yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) library and then integrating the STS-content information with a dense genetic map. The integrated map shows the location of 9,787 loci, providing landmarks with an average spacing of approximately 300 kb and affording YAC coverage of approximately 92% of the mouse genome. We also report the results of a project at the MRC UK Mouse Genome Centre targeted at chromosome X. The project produced a YAC-based map containing 619 loci (with 121 loci in common with the Whitehead map and 498 additional loci), providing especially dense coverage of this sex chromosome. The YAC-based physical map directly facilitates positional cloning of mouse mutations by providing ready access to most of the genome. More generally, use of this map in addition to a newly constructed radiation hybrid (RH) map provides a comprehensive framework for mouse genomic studies.