Intervertebral disc disease in Dachshunds radiographically screened for intervertebral disc calcifications

Background

Intervertebral disc disease (IDD) is a very common neurological disease, Dachshunds being the breed most often affected. In this breed, IDD has a hereditary background and is associated with intervertebral disc calcification (IDC), an indicator of severe intervertebral disc degeneration. In Finland, spinal radiography is used, when screening for IDC before breeding Dachshunds. We evaluated the association between IDC and IDD in Finnish Dachshunds radiographically screened for IDC.A questionnaire was sent to owners of 193 radiographically screened Dachshunds aged at least ten years. Clinical signs indicative of IDD were compared with IDC grade (grade 0 = no calcifications, grade 1 = 1 – 2 calcifications, grade 2 = 3 – 4 calcifications and grade 3 = 5 or more calcifications) and with age at the time of the radiographic examination. The diagnosis of IDD was confirmed by a veterinarian.

Results

IDD was common in the study population with 31% of dogs being affected. IDD and IDC were clearly connected (P < 0.001); IDD was rare in dogs with no calcifications (grade 0) and common in dogs with severe IDC (grade 3). The IDC grade was strongly positively associated with frequency of back pain periods (P < 0.001), and dogs with IDC grade 3 had frequent periods of pain. Reluctance to jump onto a sofa had a strong positive association with back pain. No association existed between age of the dog at the time of the radiographic examination and clinical signs indicative of IDD.

Conclusions

Radiographically detected IDC and IDD are common in Finnish Dachshunds and are strongly associated with one another. Spinal radiography is an appropriate screening tool for breeders attempting to diminish IDC and IDD in Dachshunds. A breeding program that screens dogs and selects against IDC can be expected to reduce the occurrence of IDD in future. Twenty-four to 48 months of age is a suitable age for screening.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13028-014-0089-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Dormancy and viability of Phalaris minor seed in a rice–wheat cropping system

Seed placement, soil temperature and soil moisture content influenced the process of after-ripening in Phalaris minor seeds. Seeds of P. minor collected from the soil just after wheat harvesting exhibited higher germination than seeds from P. minor threshed directly. There was a pronounced impact of periodic inhabitation of seed into the soil on germination after its dispersal. Germination was strongly inhibited when the seed was kept in soil at more than field capacity (FC) or in water. Maximum germination of seed incubated in soil at FC occurred at 30°C while a temperature of 40°C favoured after-ripening of seed when mixed with dry soil or kept dry without any medium. Release from conditional dormancy was quicker in the seed retrieved from the soil kept at 20°C than at 10°C. Seed release from conditional dormancy and germination increased with a rise in temperature from 30 to 40°C when the seed was retrieved from incubation in soil at FC for 70 days. The seed kept immersed in water was least responsive to a rise in temperature. Seed recovered from dry soil, or kept without any medium, responded quickly at both temperatures. Light enhanced the germination of Phalaris minor seed. The seedbank subjected to rice (Oryza sativa) field management conditions lost vigour in comparison with the seed stored in laboratory. There was significant variability in seed viability when exposed to differential water management conditions in rice.     

Morphology of Dromedary Camel Oocytes and their Ability to Spontaneous and Chemical Parthenogenetic Activation

The present work was conducted to examine (1) the morphology of dromedary cumulus‐oocytes complexes (COCs), (2) to study the incidence of spontaneous development of oocytes in vivo and (3) to assess the ability of in vitro matured dromedary oocytes to chemical parthenogenetic activation compared with in vitro fertilized (IVF) oocytes. COCs were recovered from dromedary ovaries classified according to their morphology into six categories. Oocyte diameter was measured using eye piece micrometer. For chemical activation, COCs with at least three layers of cumulus‐cells were in vitro matured (IVM) in TCM 199 + 10 μg/ml FSH + 10 IU hCG/ml + 10% FCS + 50 μg/ml gentamycin. COCs were incubated for 40 h at 38.5°C under 5% CO₂ in humidified air. After IVM, matured oocytes with first polar body (first Pb) were divided into two groups. Group 1: activated in 7% ethanol (E) for 5 min followed by culture in 2 mM 6‐dimethylaminopurin (6‐DMAP, E D, subgroup 1) or 10 μg/ml cycloheximide (CHX, E CHX, subgroup 2) for 3.5 h at 38.5°C under 5% CO₂. In group 2, oocytes were activated using 50 μM Ca A23187 (Ca A) for 5 min followed by culture in 2 mM 6‐DMAP (Ca D, subgroup 3) or 10 μg/ml CHX(Ca CHX, subgroup 4) for 3.5 h at 38.5°C under 5% CO₂. For control group, IVM oocytes were fertilized using frozen‐thawed camel spermatozoa separated by swim‐up method then suspended in Fert‐TALP medium supplemented with 6 mg/ml BSA (FAF) + 10 μg/ml heparin. In all groups, oocytes were in vitro cultured in SOFaa medium + 5% FCS and 5 μg/ml insulin + 50 μg/ml gentamycin. Cleavage rate and embryo development were checked on Days 2, 5 and 8. An average of 11.3 ± 0.3 COCs were recovered/dromedary ovary. Categories 1 and 2 represented 33.1% and 34.8%, respectively, and were significantly higher (p < 0.01) than the other categories (19.1, 9.2 and 2.6% for categories 3–5, respectively). Category 6 (embryo‐like structures) represented 1.2% of the recovered oocytes, staining of these embryo‐like structures with orcien dye indicated the presence of divided cells with condensed nuclei. Dromedary oocytes averaged 166.2 ± 2.6 μm in diameter with black cytoplasm. Chemical activation of IVM dromedary oocyte with first Pb in 7% ethanol or 50 μM Ca A followed by culture in 2 mM 6‐DMAP showed significantly higher (p < 0.01) cleavage and developmental rates to the morula stage than oocytes activated using 7% ethanol or 50 μM Ca A followed by 10 μg/ml CHX or in vitro fertilized control group. Higher (p < 0.01) proportion of oocytes sequentially cultured in 10 μg/ml CHX or that in vitro fertilized were arrested at the 2–4‐cell stage compared with that cultured in 6‐DMAP.     

Effect of dietary ascorbate fortification on lipolysis activity of juvenile black sea bream Acanthopagrus schlegeli

ABSTRACT:   Hatchery-reared black sea bream Acanthopagrus schlegeli juveniles averaging 0.05 g in body weight were fed either a control diet (commercial diet) or an experimental diet in which the commercial diet was fortified with 50 mg l -ascorbyl 2-monophosphate Mg (APM)/100 g diet for 50 days. Calcium ascorbate supplemented as a vitamin mixture in the control diet was completely destroyed during storage. Fortification with APM significantly increased the ascorbic acid levels in the muscle, liver, brain and eye. Although APM fortification did not influence growth, survival or fish body composition, adipocyte diameter in the intraperitoneal fat body (IPF) was significantly reduced. After the feeding experiment, the fish were kept for 39 days without feeding. Fortification with APM resulted in high survival, high muscle protein retention and low body weight loss. The results suggested the necessity of fortification with an adequate amount of ascorbate in the diet. While fatty acid compositions of the IPF, muscle and liver were not significantly influenced by APM fortification, characteristic changes in the fatty acid profile were found after starvation. Vitamin C and highly unsaturated fatty acids seemed crossly interactive in relation to lipolysis activity in black sea bream juveniles.