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Topic Review
Analysing Hucul Horses by AI
       The neural classification system in form of a multi-layered artificial neural network suggested in this paper was implemented in the programming environment MATLAB. MATLAB is a useful tool focused mainly on scientific and technical calculations. It boasts of a wide spectrum of software solutions/libraries, the so-called Toolboxes that can be used, for example to create and optimize neural networks. It is fully compatible with other programming environments.  Matlab is a tool for rapid prototyping that enables a wide range of learning algorithms, the selection of optimal neural network architecture, the selection of the most efficient neuron activation functions as well as optimal learning parameters.          The design of the network is of key significance both for the learning process, and the quality of its operation in later stages. The set of input data, purpose, and results do have significant impact on the they configuration.  A key assumption is taking cognizance of factual links between the set of explanatory variables (input) and the output.        The artificial neural networks enable the capture of relationships and dependencies between the data in circumstances where the application of traditional analytical methods would not have yielded satisfactory solutions.         The use of ANN enables objective assessments of individual animals by taking into account only factors essential for determining horses’ performance and breeding values.         Preliminary results of the application of artificial neural networks in predicting the utility value of Hucul horses, relying on a specific set of features seem rather promising.        It offers potential possibilities of evaluation, relying on available information about the animals.
  • 818
  • 13 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Benign Prostate Hyperplasia
This entry presents B-mode and color Doppler imaging of the prostate and testes in dogs suffering from benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), and receiving Deslorelin Acetate (SuprelorinTM) or Osaterone Acetate (YpozaneTM). The study was planned as a controlled clinical trial, dogs were divided into negative control (healthy dogs, n = 10), positive control (dogs with BPH, n = 10), and study groups, III (n = 15), receiving deslorelin acetate (DA), and IV (n = 10), receiving osaterone acetate (OA). The B-mode appearance of the prostate parenchyma improved in all investigated dogs from the DA group, and in 60% of OA dogs.
  • 812
  • 30 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Global Research Trends in Odonata during 2012-2021
Among the aquatic insect orders, Odonata have stood out because of their high habitat specificity and well-resolved taxonomy. The increase in ecological studies on Odonata may reflect the dynamic characteristics of this order, and its relatively well-defined systematics, especially in the case of adults. Despite the increased number of publications in the the Web of Science (WoS) database, there are still many spatial gaps (e.g., poorly studied regions/countries), and gaps in study focus, such as basic biology (e.g., life cycle, anatomy, physiology, habitat), biogeography, parasitism, competition within and between species, evolutionary and phylogenetic relationships, and Odonata eggs. This demonstrates that some areas are seriously neglected.
  • 810
  • 16 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Novel Respirovirus in Alpine Chamois
The Alpine chamois is a free-living wild ruminant distributed across the mountainous areas of France, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia. This wide distribution favours interactions with other wild ruminants and livestock, implying the risk of cross-transmission of pathogens. Due to the impact of lung diseases on chamois populations, the investigation of respiratory pathogens is important for wildlife conservation and for the understanding of infection transmission at the livestock–wildlife interface. A novel respirovirus was isolated from a chamois with lung lesions in Italian Alps. The genome characterization of this novel virus revealed similarities to domestic ruminant respiroviruses, mainly of caprine and ovine origin. Overall, phylogenetic analyses indicated that the chamois virus is distinct from already defined species and suggested that it is a putative novel member of the genus Respirovirus. The present investigation contributes to the knowledge of respiratory infections in wild ruminants and raises questions on the epidemiological link between chamois and other animal species.
  • 809
  • 29 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Methyl Benzoate
Benzoates (naturally occurring plant toxins) produce pesticidal effects on various pest insects and mites, but their effects on non-target insects are poorly understood. In this study, we evaluate the lethal and sublethal toxicity of methyl benzoate (MB) to adults of the generalist predatory bug Nesidiocoris tenuis (Reuter) (Hemiptera: Miridae).To assess lethal effects, N. tenuis was exposed to plant surfaces treated with 0.25%, 0.5% and 1% MB, as well as negative and positive controls (water and the neonicotinoid acetamiprid, respectively). Exposure to 1% MB resulted in the highest corrected mortality of 17.8% and 13.3% under laboratory and greenhouse conditions, respectively. Thus, 1% MB can be classified as harmless to N. tenuis according to the International Organization for Biological Control rating scheme. At the sublethal level, MB exposure did not significantly affect the consumption of eggs of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci by N. tenuis relative to negative control feeding rates. In contrast, acetamiprid at the manufacturer’s recommended concentration reduced N. tenuis feeding activity by 45.4%. Furthermore, in a Y-tube olfactometer assay, there were no significant differences between the olfactory responses of N. tenuis to MB concentrations and the negative control (water). This study, therefore, suggests that MB could be used safely for pest control in combination with N. tenuis.
  • 808
  • 01 Jul 2020
Topic Review
Skin Diseases in Donkeys/Mules
Equids are part of the history of many countries, including Brazil, where they were used in trade routes and expansion of the current states. Several skin diseases affect these animals; however, visibility is higher on horses than on donkeys and mules, which is linked to regional cultural and socioeconomic factors, even resulting in a decline of the world population of these animals. In this context, the objective of this study was to review which skin diseases have been reported in the scientific literature with emphasis on skin pathologies.
  • 805
  • 15 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Nutritional Value of Insects in Pet Food
Due to the increasing global population, the world cannot currently support the well-known techniques of food production due to their harmful effects on land use, water consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions. The key answer is a solution based on the use of edible insects. They have always been present in the diet of animals. They are characterized by a very good nutritional value (e.g., high protein content and contents of essential amino acids and fatty acids, including lauric acid), and products with them receive positive results in palatability tests. 
  • 795
  • 15 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Tanzania Peste des Petits Ruminants
Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is an important transboundary animal disease of domestic small ruminants, camels, and wild artiodactyls. The disease has significant socio-economic impact on communities that depend on livestock for their livelihood and is a threat to endangered susceptible wild species. 
  • 790
  • 22 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Animal to Human Efficacy Data
Reports of a reproducibility crisis combined with a high attrition rate in the pharmaceutical industry have put animal research increasingly under scrutiny in the past decade. Many researchers and the general public now question whether there is still a justification for conducting animal studies. While criticism of the current modus operandi in preclinical research is certainly warranted, the data on which these discussions are based are often unreliable. Several initiatives to address the internal validity and reporting quality of animal studies (e.g., Animals in Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE) and Planning Research and Experimental Procedures on Animals: Recommendations for Excellence (PREPARE) guidelines) have been introduced but seldom implemented. As for external validity, progress has been virtually absent. Nonetheless, the selection of optimal animal models of disease may prevent the conducting of clinical trials, based on unreliable preclinical data. Here, we discuss three contributions to tackle the evaluation of the predictive value of animal models of disease themselves. First, we developed the Framework to Identify Models of Disease (FIMD), the first step to standardise the assessment, validation and comparison of disease models. FIMD allows the identification of which aspects of the human disease are replicated in the animals, facilitating the selection of disease models more likely to predict human response. Second, we show an example of how systematic reviews and meta-analyses can provide another strategy to discriminate between disease models quantitatively. Third, we explore whether external validity is a factor in animal model selection in the Investigator’s Brochure (IB), and we use the IB-derisk tool to integrate preclinical pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data in early clinical development. Through these contributions, we show how we can address external validity to evaluate the translatability and scientific value of animal models in drug development. However, while these methods have potential, it is the extent of their adoption by the scientific community that will define their impact. By promoting and adopting high-quality study design and reporting, as well as a thorough assessment of the translatability of drug efficacy of animal models of disease, we will have robust data to challenge and improve the current animal research paradigm.
  • 782
  • 31 Jul 2020
Topic Review
Dietary Fiber Sources
Feed fiber composition is usually considered as one of the factors that have an impact on digestive tract microbiota composition. The investigations on the level of fermentation and in-vitro digestibility of different fibers are not well understood. The aim of the current entry is to determine the effect of different fiber sources on intestinal nutrient digestibility, hindgut fermentation, and microbial community composition under in vitro or in vivo conditions. For example, cornstalk treatment displayed higher digestibility compared to alfalfa hay and rice straw. Similar results were observed with in-vitro digestibility using intestinal digesta. Firmicutes were the most abundant phyla, and Lactobacillus were the prominent genera in response to alfalfa compared to rice straw and cornstalk treatments. In simulated in-vitro digestion, corn stalk fiber improved dry matter digestibility, while rice straw fiber improved volatile fatty acid content and fermentation efficiency. Alfalfa fiber improved the thickness of deposited Firmicutes and Lactobacillus.
  • 780
  • 30 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Circadian Physiological Actions in Pigs
Circadian rhythms exist in almost all types of cells in mammals. Thousands of genes exhibit approximately 24-h oscillations in their expression levels, making the circadian clock a crucial regulator of their normal functioning. Identification of environmental and physiological inputs that affect circadian gene expressions will help development of novel targets and the corresponding approaches to optimize production efficiency in pigs.
  • 770
  • 20 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Acid-Sensing Ion Channels in Zebrafish
Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) are Na+channels gated by extracellular H+and are widely expressed in the mammalian central and peripheral nervous systems. ASICs are part of the degenerin/epithelial sodium (Na) channel (DEG/ENaC) superfamily whose feature is high permeability to Na that could be blocked by amiloride. Structurally, ASICs consist of two hydrophobic transmembrane domains (TMD) of 20 amino acids approximately, TMD1 and TMD2, a large domain of around 370 amino acids forming an extracellular loop of 14 conserved cysteines, and a kind of short cytoplasmic amino and carboxyl termini of 35–90 amino acids.
  • 768
  • 01 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Ovine Paratuberculosis Control
Ovine paratuberculosis due to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) is no longer the serious agripolitical animal health issue that it was for many Australian rural communities a decade and a half ago. However, the disease continues to spread, with both OJD extension and funded research programs required to address remaining knowledge gaps, the challenging issues of promulgated misinformation, and the need for continual improvement of diagnostic and disease control tools, respectively. Improved regional and on-farm biosecurity, including the introduction of a risk-based trading system, may have contributed to changing attitudes to OJD control, although decreasing on-farm OJD prevalence is almost certainly attributable mostly to the uptake of persistent vaccination programs with Gudair. Although encouraging the ongoing use of vaccination and improved biosecurity when OJD mortalities disappear remains challenging, vaccination has provided a robust strategy for managing OJD on-farm and contributed significantly to both the health of Australian sheep and the lives of producers with affected properties. As vaccination offers a pathway to reduce the risk of MAP infection entering the human food chain from ruminant products, it should be more widely adopted globally.
  • 762
  • 16 Sep 2020
Topic Review
PCV-2: Genetics and Immunity
Porcine circovirus 2 (PCV-2) is a member of the family Circoviridae, genus Circovirus, featured by a remarkable evolutionary capability and genetic heterogenicity. Although an overall cross-protection among strains seems to occur, some epidemiological evidence suggests that some differences might be in place among strains, with potential consequences on vaccine efficacy also.
  • 761
  • 15 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Open Questions in Comparative Nutrition
Achieving a better understanding of the consequences of nutrition to animal fitness and human health is a major challenge of our century. Nutritional ecology studies increasingly use nutritional landscapes to map the complex interacting effects of nutrient intake on animal performances, in a wide range of species and ecological contexts. Here, we argue that opening access to these hard-to-obtain, yet considerably insightful, data is fundamental to develop a comparative framework for nutrition research and offer new quantitative means to address open questions about the ecology and evolution of nutritional processes
  • 752
  • 29 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Assessing working equid welfare
Animal welfare is a multifaceted concept influenced by a variety of factors. As a consequence, its assessment is a complex process that, in order to be successful, must take these factors into account. However, in the past, a focus on biological functioning in welfare evaluations, while neglecting animals’ emotional state or consciousness, was commonly seen. For working animals worldwide, understanding the social and cultural context of the role that they fulfil is key to improving their welfare. This is especially pertinent in the case of working equids (donkeys, horses, and mules), which are often overlooked in higher level policy and agricultural interventions. Incorporating insights provided by local perspectives and understanding social networks of information is crucial in ensuring the success of community participation programmes to improve working equid welfare. A more holistic approach to assessing working equid welfare would allow for appraisal, not just of the current welfare state of working equids studied, but also the contextual background needed in order to understand the prevailing influences upon equid welfare within study communities.
  • 739
  • 29 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Medicinal Mushrooms
The extensive use of antibiotics in the poultry industry with the purpose of increasing production performance has led to human health hazards. A driving force for the interest of using natural herbs is to establish antibiotic alternatives in poultry production have been reported in the research literature. Therefore, the objective of this review study was to determine the effect of different levels of mushrooms and their extract in diet on layer performance, and health status. Based on previous findings, dietary supplementation using mushrooms, as natural feed supplement, sustained the laying performance and improved the immunity in laying hens.
  • 733
  • 28 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Methane Emissions from Beef Cattle
Methane is a potent greenhouse (GHG) gas 28 times more potent than CO2 in producing global warming. Methane (CH4) is produced naturally by beef cattle during the fermentation and digestion of their diet, and most of it is belched to the atmosphere. In 2005 cattle emitted 4.6 gigatonnes CO2 equivalent, from which 2.5 gigatonnes originated from beef and 2.1 gigatonnes from dairy cattle, whereas small ruminants and buffalos emitted 0.47 and 0.62 gigatonnes CO2 equivalents, respectively. Thus, cattle contributed about 9.4% of the total global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, methane included, in 2005. Ruminant nutritionists have developed different strategies, which include the use of antibiotics, plant secondary metabolites such as tannins, and other chemical compounds, like nitrate, to manipulate rumen fermentation and reduce CH4 emissions and climate change. Mitigating GHGs such as methane (CH4) originating from the beef cattle industry, offers an opportunity to reduce GHG emissions and climate change over the short term.  Further, for the last two decades, scientists have been evaluating the potential of natural feed additives such as herbs and plant extracts, which have also been used for centuries for various purposes in human diets. So, the purpose of this entry is to demonstrate the in vivo the antimethanogenic effects of Cymbopogon citratus, Matricaria chamomilla and Cosmos bipinnatus in beef cattle fed a finishing diet high in concentrates (forage:concentrate (F:C) ratio of 19.4:80.6) and the effects of increasing supplementation levels of C. citratus, i.e., 0%, 2%, 3% and 4% of the daily DMI, on enteric CH4 emissions from beef cattle fed a total mixed ration (TMR) with an F:C ratio of 50.7:49.3. 
  • 729
  • 16 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Metarhizium brunneum-7 with Phytophagous Mites
We investigated Metarhizium brunneum-7 interactions in three systems of phytophagous mites and their respective plant hosts: Volkamer lemon (Citrus volkameriana) and the citrus rust mite Phyllocoptruta oleivora, common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae, and spring onion (Allium cepa) and the bulb mite Rhizoglyphus robini. All three mite species were susceptible to directly applied M. brunneum-7 conidia. Results obtained using the standard method for studying endophytic colonization vs. live confocal imaging of plant tissues using the GFP-transformed fungus differed markedly, demonstrating that microscopy validation was more definite than the standard process of recovery from plant tissue. Endophytic colonization was observed in conidium-infiltrated citrus leaves and in roots of onion plants treated with soil-drenched conidia, but not in common bean treated by either spray or drench of conidia. Endophytic colonization of citrus leaves did not affect the citrus mite population. Drench application in common bean reduced two-spotted mite population. Similarly, drench application in onion reduced bulb mite population. This study demonstrates M. brunneum-7 interactions with citrus, onion and their mite pests, and the importance of live-imaging techniques in studying endophytic interaction.
  • 728
  • 20 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Black Rhinoceros
Black rhinoceros under human care are predisposed to Iron Overload Disorder that is unlike the hereditary condition seen in humans. We aim to address the black rhino caretaker community at multiple perspectives (keeper, curator, veterinarian, nutritionist, veterinary technician, and researcher) to describe approaches to Iron Overload Disorder in black rhinos and share learnings. This report includes sections on (1) background on how iron functions in comparative species and how Iron Overload Disorder appears to work in black rhinos, (2) practical recommendations for known diagnostics, (3) a brief review of current investigations on inflammatory and other potential biomarkers, (4) nutrition knowledge and advice as prevention, and (5) an overview of treatment options including information on chelation and details on performing large volume voluntary phlebotomy. The aim is to use evidence to support the successful management of this disorder to ensure optimal animal health, welfare, and longevity for a sustainable black rhinoceros population.
  • 728
  • 17 Nov 2020
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