Clinical diagnosis and treatment of suspected neuropathic pain in three dogs

Three dogs were referred to The Queen's Veterinary School Hospital at University of Cambridge for chronic behavioural or locomotor disorders associated with pain. All three had been unsuccessfully treated with conventional analgesics, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, glucocorticoids and opiate agonists, prior to referral, with minimal or no response. They were investigated by neurological examination plus conventional ancillary diagnostic tests and therapeutic drug trials. Ruling out other causes of pain and applying previously well-described criteria, each case was diagnosed as consistent with neuropathic pain, a poorly recognised condition in domestic dogs. Treatment with the tricyclic antidepressant drug, amitriptyline, or the antiepileptic drug, gabapentin, resulted in either a dramatic improvement or full resolution of clinical signs in all cases.     

Systemic Concentrations of Endogenous and Exogenous FSH in Anoestrous Ewes Superstimulated with Folltropin®-V

The synchronization of follicular waves with medroxyprogesterone acetate (MAP) and oestradiol‐17β (E₂‐17β) prior to ovarian superstimilation in anoestrous ewes reduces the variability in superovulatory responses by an unknown mechanism. Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) is a primary promoter of antral follicular development, but the relevance of circulating FSH concentrations to the superovulation performance in ewes has not been examined. Eighteen anoestrous Rideau Arcott ewes (May–June) were superovulated with Folltropin^®‐V (porcine FSH), with (n = 8; treated ewes) or without (n = 10; control ewes) a single i.m. dose of 350 μg of E₂‐17β, given on the sixth day of a 14‐day treatment with MAP‐releasing intravaginal sponges (60 mg). The superovulatory treatment, begun 6 days after E₂‐17β injection, consisted of six i.m. applications of Folltropin^®‐V given twice daily (at 08:00 and 16:00 h), followed by an i.m. injection of GnRH (50 μg). Blood samples collected every 8 h throughout the 3‐day treatment, were analysed by radioimmunoassays for concentrations of ovine and porcine FSH, using species‐specific standards and primary antibodies. Serum concentrations of oFSH were greater (p < 0.05) in the controls compared to treated ewes at 40, 64 and 72 h and the variability in mean oFSH concentrations was greater (p < 0.05) in control ewes at 40, 48, 64 and 72 h after the 1^st Folltropin^®‐V injection. There were no differences (p > 0.05) between the two groups in serum concentrations of pFSH. Significant correlations were recorded between the number of corpora lutea (CL) and oFSH concentrations at 8 h (r = 0.72, p < 0.05), 16 h (r=0.63, p < 0.05) and 64 h (r = 0.84, p < 0.01) after the 1^st Folltropin^®‐V injection. The total number of recovered embryos was positively correlated to oFSH concentrations at 56 h (r = 0.69, p < 0.05). We concluded that changes in endogenous FSH concentrations during ovarian superstimulation with pFSH might contribute to the variability in superovulatory responses in ewes.     

Occurrence and distribution of cis-7-icosenoic acid in the lipids of Japanese marine fish,shellfish, and crustaceans

This article reports the concentration and composition of the isomers of cis-icosenoic acid (20:1) in the fatty acids of various species of Japanese marine animals. The main purpose of this study is to reveal the distribution of a positional isomer, cis-7-20:1 (c7-20:1), in marine animals. Because this isomer overlaps with the c9-20:1 isomer in gas chromatography (GC) on the commonly used polar capillary columns, less information is available on its occurrence and distribution. In this study, the monounsaturated fatty acids isolated by argentation thin-layer chromatography were analyzed by GC using a highly polar capillary column, SLB-IL111 (100 m long), with the highest polarity among the commercially available GC columns. A clear separation between the c7-20:1 and c9-20:1 isomers enabled the analysis of all the isomers of 20:1 present in marine animals. The results confirmed that the c7 isomer was a minor component in the 20:1 in the pelagic fish, which is rich in the c9 and/or c11 isomers as reported previously. In contrast, the c7 isomer was one of the major isomers in flatfish, shellfish, crabs, and brittle stars. In these samples, the c13 isomer also occurred at higher concentrations rather than the c9 isomer. Because such a specific pattern of the 20:1 positional isomers was generally observed in both benthic fish and its dietary animals, the c7 isomer in the benthic fish probably originated from its diet. These marine animals are used as food in Japan, and therefore the c7-20:1 isomer is consumed by humans.     

Genotyping‐by‐sequencing for construction of a new genetic linkage map and QTL analysis of growth‐related traits in Pacific bluefin tuna

Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) has high market value, but its wild populations have decreased in recent years. The broodstock of Pacific bluefin tuna that were hatched artificially and reared under aquaculture conditions is beginning to be used for production. The creation of broodstock with commercially valuable traits, such as rapid growth, is therefore of great interest. Genetic linkage map‐based identification of markers associated with quantitative trait loci (QTLs) facilitates marker‐assisted selection (MAS) breeding and allows efficient genetic improvement of broodstock. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)‐based genetic linkage map construction using the genotyping‐by‐sequencing method can expand the number of mapped markers and help identify growth‐related QTLs. In this study, we constructed sex‐specific maps for 24 linkage groups consisting of 677 SNP and 651 microsatellite markers. The total lengths of 93 progenies in the mapping population followed normal distribution, with an average length of 9.4 mm. We performed composite interval mapping in the mapping population. QTL analysis revealed one significant QTL in LG10 on the female linkage map. The genetic linkage map—the second such map generated for Pacific bluefin tuna—and the growth‐related QTLs detected in this study will be useful for tuna aquaculture MAS programs.     

Migration and spawning behavior of the greater amberjack Seriola dumerili in eastern Taiwan

Greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili) is an important fishery resource with a circumglobal distribution from tropical to temperate waters. Here, we investigated the spawning migration and habitat utilization of S. dumerili in the East China Sea (ECS). Archival tags were attached to 22 adult fish to examine their horizontal and vertical movements and estimate the spawning ground. S. dumerili were captured and released in the coastal waters of eastern Taiwan on November of 2016 and 2017. Information from seven pop-up satellite archival tags and seven depth–temperature recorders was recovered. Almost all of the fish stayed in the Taiwanese exclusive economic zone. Most individuals moved from released site to the southern edge of the ECS and showed behavior associated with the topographic features in winter (November to December). These phenomena may be related to foraging and be driven by oceanographic features such as the seasonal monsoon and the Kuroshio. The fish then migrated to the south offshore area of Taiwan in January and February. During their southward migration, the fish experienced a slowly elevated water temperature regime (SETR), which is one of the environmental factors that induce final oocyte maturation. In the spawning season (February to April), tagged females exhibited continuous diel vertical movements (DVMs) after experiencing the SETR. These continuous DVMs were observed over a wide geographic range from north to south in the Kuroshio off eastern Taiwan. Our study demonstrated that the putative spawning ground of S. dumerili must extend further in a north–south direction than predicted in a previous study.     

Food habits of small fishes in seagrass habitats in Trang,southern Thailand

To clarify the feeding habits of seagrass fishes, we examined the gut contents from 42 fish species collected in seagrass habitats in Trang. Thirteen species showed ontogenetic and/or seasonal changes in food-use patterns. Smaller individuals generally preyed on small planktonic items (e.g., copepod larvae) or small benthic/epiphytic crustaceans (e.g., harpacticoid copepods), with subsequent changes to other prey items (e.g., shrimps, crabs, detritus and filamentous algae) with growth. The most important dietary items for the seagrass fish assemblages comprised benthic/epiphytic crustaceans, detritus, and planktonic copepods. Cluster analysis based on dietary overlaps showed that the seagrass fishes comprised eight feeding guilds (large benthic/epiphytic crustacean, detritus, planktonic animal, small benthic/epiphytic crustacean, mollusc, invertebrate egg, polychaete, and fish feeders). Of these, the first three guilds were the most abundantly represented, whereas the last three were each represented by only a single species.     

In vitro induction of oocyte maturation in the Japanese sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus by cubifrin and the developmental ability of the eggs

We describe the process of cubifrin-induced in vitro oocyte maturation in the Japanese sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus, and we propose a procedure for practical hatchery application. Oocyte maturation occurred 40–50 min after stimulation of the ovaries by cubifrin. Concurrently, eggs were released from the ovarian tubules, initially by slow peristalsis, followed by active release after about 60 min. The first and second polar bodies were released from the eggs at 90–100 min and about 140 min, respectively. Cubifrin was more effective in inducing oocyte maturation at 1–100 nM than at 100 pM. Cubifrin at 1 pM–10 nM in rearing seawater had no effect on larval development. Delayed fertilization reduced the developmental ability of eggs. Broodstock could be maintained at 15–16 °C for up to about 50 days without affecting the developmental ability of eggs. Eggs matured in vitro and in vivo were similar in their developmental ability. In conclusion, the in vitro induction of oocyte maturation is effective in Japanese sea cucumber and represents a viable alternative to the induction of spawning by cubifrin injection.     

Novel reovirus isolation from an Ostrich (Struthio camelus) in Japan

An orthoreovirus was isolated from an Ostrich (Struthio camelus) and rapidly identified as orthoreovirus by the rapid determination of viral RNA sequences (RDV) system and electron microscopy. Phylogenetic analysis of the sigma A protein indicated that the isolate belonged to avian species and was closely related to chicken orthoreovirus strain 138. The results of the present study indicated that an ostrich orthoreovirus is slight different from other chicken orthoreoviruses and provided evidence of diversity among avian orthoreoviruses. To our knowledge, this is the first genetic report of an orthoreovirus isolated from an ostrich.