A slowly progressive retinopathy in the Shetland Sheepdog

Objective To describe a slowly progressive retinopathy (SPR) in Shetland Sheepdogs. Animals Forty adult Shetlands Sheepdogs with ophthalmoscopic signs of SPR and six normal Shetland Sheepdogs were included in the study. Procedure Ophthalmic examination including slit‐lamp biomicroscopy and ophthalmoscopy was performed in all dogs. Electroretinograms and obstacle course‐test were performed in 13 affected and 6 normal dogs. The SPR dogs were subdivided into two groups according to their dark‐adapted b‐wave amplitudes. SPR1‐dogs had ophthalmoscopic signs of SPR, but normal dark‐adapted b‐wave amplitudes. Dogs with both ophthalmoscopic signs and subnormal, dark‐adapted b‐wave amplitudes were assigned to group SPR2. Eyes from two SPR2 dogs were obtained for microscopic examination. Results The ophthalmoscopic changes included bilateral, symmetrical, greyish discoloration in the peripheral tapetal fundus with normal or marginally attenuated vessels. Repeated examination showed that the ophthalmoscopic changes slowly spread across the central parts of the tapetal fundus, but did not progress to obvious neuroretinal thinning presenting as tapetal hyper‐reflectivity. The dogs did not appear seriously visually impaired. SPR2 showed significantly reduced b‐wave amplitudes throughout dark‐adaptation. Microscopy showed thinning of the outer nuclear layer and abnormal appearance of rod and cone outer segments. Testing for the progressive rod–cone degeneration ( prcd )‐mutation in three dogs with SPR was negative. Conclusion Slowly progressive retinopathy is a generalized rod–cone degeneration that on ophthalmoscopy looks similar to early stages of progressive retinal atrophy. The ophthalmoscopic findings are slowly progressive without tapetal hyper‐reflectivity. Visual impairment is not obvious and the electroretinogram is more subtly altered than in progressive retinal atrophy. The etiology remains unclear. SPR is not caused by the prcd‐mutation.     

Association of macrophage and lymphocyte infiltration with outcome in canine osteosarcoma

Immunotherapeutic strategies have shown promise for the treatment of canine osteosarcoma (cOSA). Very little is known about the immune microenvironment within cOSA, however, limiting our ability to identify potential immune targets and biomarkers of therapeutic response. We therefore prospectively assessed the disease‐free interval (DFI) and overall survival time (ST) of 30 dogs with cOSA treated with amputation and six doses of adjuvant carboplatin. We then quantified lymphocytic (CD3+, FOXP3+) and macrophage (CD204+) infiltrates within the primary tumours of this cohort using immunohistochemistry, and evaluated their association with outcome. Overall, the median DFI and ST were 392 and 455 days, respectively. The median number of CD3+ and FOXP3+ infiltrates were 45.8 cells/mm² (4.6‐607.6 cells/mm²) and 8.5 mm² (0‐163.1 cells/mm²), respectively. The median area of CD204+ macrophages was 4.7% (1.3%‐23.3%), and dogs with tumours containing greater than 4.7% CD204+ macrophages experienced a significantly longer DFI (P = 0.016). Interestingly, a significantly lower percentage of CD204+ macrophages was detected in cOSA arising from the proximal humerus compared to other appendicular bone locations (P = 0.016). Lymphocytic infiltrates did not appear to correlate with outcome in cOSA. Overall, our findings suggest that macrophages may play a role in inhibiting cOSA progression, as has been suggested in human osteosarcoma.     

Development of a method for Bayesian nonparametric ROC analysis with application to an ELISA for Johne's disease in dairy cattle

Six hundred and sixty-eight dairy cattle were tested for Johne's disease using a direct-fecal real-time polymerase chain reaction (rt-PCR), fecal culture, and serum enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Likelihood ratios (LRs) were estimated for five categories of sample-to-positive (S/P) values for the ELISA: <0.1, 0.1-0.249, 0.25-0.399, 0.4-0.999, > or =1.0. The statistical method assumed a single multinomial model for cross-classified rt-PCR, fecal culture results, and ELISA category strata. Conditional dependence between tests was investigated by the inclusion of all possible pairwise dependence terms. Sensitivity covariance between ELISA and fecal culture was estimated as 0.017. Estimates for the accuracy of the ELISA at the usual cutoff of 0.25S/P was 67.2% and 95.2% for sensitivity and specificity, respectively for a model that adjusted for the dependence between ELISA and fecal culture. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve (95% probability interval) for the ELISA was 0.867 (0.796, 0.928). Point estimates for likelihood ratios (95% probability intervals) were 0.24 (0.11, 0.38), 1.52 (0.48, 3.27), 2.49 (0.31, 13.4), 6.33 (2.54, 16.5), and 103 (25.0, 2412) for the categories <0.1, 0.1-0.249, 0.25-0.399, 0.4-0.999, >/=1.0, respectively. Assumptions concerning the underlying distribution of test results for infected and uninfected animals were not necessary and this model can be employed for the general estimation of LRs and ROC curves in absence of knowledge concerning true disease status.     

A design for studies on cognitive bias in the domestic pig

Studies on consequences of affect on cognitive processing (cognitive bias) seem to provide proxy measures of the valence (positive/negative) of affective states. This article presents a pilot study testing a design for studies of judgment bias we adapted to the specific needs and abilities of domestic pigs. We used a spatial judgment paradigm, in which subjects learned to discriminate a food rewarded from an unrewarded position of a goal box during a training period, and then were tested for their responses to 3 equidistant intermediate probe positions during a testing period. After the training period, half of the subjects were repeatedly isolated from their social group to manipulate their affective state. Subjects learned the required discrimination task (positive vs. negative stimulus) and showed consistent differences in approach latencies toward and exploration of stimuli of different valence. Hence, the subjects' expectations could be inferred from their behavior. However, repeated social isolation had no effect on judgment of ambiguous stimuli and on both basal and test-related cortisol levels. In conclusion, the spatial judgment approach seems to provide a useful tool to detect and discriminate diverse affective states in domestic pigs based on their responses to graded ambiguous stimuli.     

Heart Rate Variability in Horses Engaged in Equine-Assisted Activities

Although there has been a recent surge in using horses to treat mental and emotional human health issues, the consequences of horse-assisted interventions on the stress response of horses have not been well documented. Assessment of the autonomic nervous system and its regulation of cardiovascular function has been used as an indicator of acute and chronic stress in human beings and horses. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a noninvasive measurement that has been used to assess autonomic nervous system regulation of cardiovascular function. There is evidence to suggest that several factors including the genotype, behavior, environment, temperament, and nutritional status of the horse play a key role in the large inter-individual variations in basal HRV. The present study determined whether 24-hour HRV recordings in horses currently working in equine-assisted therapy (EAT) differ from those previously shown in Thoroughbred horses. Findings from the present study found that in contrast to previous studies in Thoroughbred horses, diurnal and nocturnal low frequency and high frequency powers were not significantly different in horses that are currently engaged in EAT. Future studies are needed to determine the short- and long-term consequences of horses participating in EAT programs. Findings from this study will provide the basis for the development of a physiological/behavioral assessment criteria to determine the consequences of EAT on the well-being of horses as well as to help EAT Centers to improve the beneficial effects of EAT in human beings.