Guaiphenesin-ketamine-xylazine infusion to maintain anesthesia in mules undergoing field castration.

Abstract Background: In order to determine whether a combination of guaiphenesin, ketamine and xylazine can induce safe and satisfactory anaesthesia in mules undergoing field castration, eight healthy adult intact male mules were employed. They were premedicated with intravenous (IV) xylazine (1.3 mg/kg); an additional dose of xylazine (0.3 mg/ kg IV) was administered in case of inadequate depth of sedation. Anaesthesia was induced with IV thiopental (6 mg/ kg). The quality of sedation and induction was recorded. Anaesthesia was maintained with an infusion of guaiphenesin (50 mg/mL), ketamine (2 mg/mL) and xylazine (1 mg/mL) (GKX). The spermatic cord of each testis was infiltrated with 5 mL of 2% lidocaine. During anaesthesia heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), rectal temperature (RT) and haemoglobin oxygen saturation ( SpO2) were measured every 5 min. The data were analysed with simple one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). A P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Time of anesthesia, time of surgery and time of recovery were recorded. Results: Only one mule required an additional dose of xylazine to achieve a satisfactory depth of sedation. Thiopental at the dose of 6 mg/kg IV resulted in smooth induction and lateral recumbency in all animals. GKX provided adequate anaesthesia to perform castration in all mules. Muscle relaxation was deemed adequate and physiological variables remained stable and within references values during the anaesthesia and did not change in response to surgical stimulation. Time (mean ± standard deviation) from the end of the infusion to sternal recumbency and time from sternal recumbency to standing were 27.7 ± 4.6 and 30.1 ± 7.7 min, respectively. Conclusions: The combination of xylazine, thiopental and GKX provides satisfactory short-term anaesthesia in mules undergoing field castration

Laparoscopic drainage of an ovarian haematoma in a Martina Franca jenny (Equus asinus)

An 11-year-old Martina Franca jenny (Equus Asinus), involved in a breed recovery programme organised by the Puglia Region, was referred to the University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital for a mass formation detected on the surface of the right ovary. The subject had regular oestrous cycles, but gestation loss was reported in the anamnesis. The ovarian mass was monitored by transrectal palpation and ultrasonography. In the differential diagnosis, an ovarian haematoma, a haemorrhagic anovulatory follicle and a granulosa cell tumour were hypothesised; a surgical resolution with laparoscopic access was chosen. During surgery, about 750 ml of haemorrhagic fluid was drained, confirming the suspect of the ovarian haematoma. After resolution, the jenny was inseminated, eventually giving birth to a live and viable foal. Usually, an ovarian haematoma spontaneously regresses, but, in this report, the lesion remained stable for more than two months, leading to the decision of the surgical resolution. Furthermore, to the authors’ knowledge, this lesion has never been reported in donkeys

Immature ovarian teratoma in two heifers

A 15 months-old Simmental heifer (SH) and a 18 months-old Marchigiana heifer (MH) were referred to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Teramo (Italy). In the first heifer, clinical examination of the vulva, vestibulum, and vagina showed no signs of disease and no discharge was detected. Palpation per rectum revealed a mass in the left portion of the abdominal cavity, closely attached to the tip of the left uterine horn. The mass was mainly firm and fibrous and its surface was slightly lobulated. The second heifer had a history of a regular cycle from the 11thto the 14thmonth of age followed by an anoestrus state. Gynecological examination revealed the presence of a large and firm mass in the caudal left region of the abdomen, soon over the edge of the pelvis floor. In both cases, the histologica examination of the mass revealed an immature ovarian teratoma

Analgesic Effect of Butorphanol during Castration in Donkeys under Total Intravenous Anaesthesia

Pain management is necessary for all surgical procedures. Little scientific evidence about drug efficacy in donkeys is available. The aim of this study was to evaluate the analgesic ef- fect of butorphanol in donkeys undergoing orchiectomy under total intravenous anaesthesia with guaifenesin-ketamine-detomidine. A randomized blinded prospective clinical trial (Protocol n. 2021/0000338), was carried out on 18 clinically healthy donkeys undergoing bilateral orchiectomy. Patients were assigned to Group D (n = 8) or Group DB (n = 10) if receiving intravenous detomidine or detomidine-butorphanol respectively, before induction of general anaesthesia with ketamine- diazepam. Intraoperative muscle relaxation, nystagmus, palpebral reflex, heart and respiratory rate, and non-invasive blood pressure were evaluated every 2 min; time to prepare the patient, duration of surgery and anaesthesia and recovery score were recorded. Group D had significantly longer surgical time, higher heart rate, higher systolic and mean blood pressure (p &lt; 0.05; repeated measure ANOVA), increased muscle rigidity and expression of palpebral reflex (p &lt; 0.05; Mann–Whitney U test) than group DB. Top-ups with thiopental were statistically higher in Group D. Butorphanol and detomidine together produced a more stable anaesthetic plan. The low dosage of opioid and alpha-2-agonists and reduced rescue anaesthesia are responsible for a safer and more superficial anaesthesia, which is mandatory under field conditions

Maternal Phylogenetic Relationships and Genetic Variation among Rare, Phenotypically Similar Donkey Breeds

The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop of endangered and critically endangered breeds has been studied to identify maternal lineages, characterize genetic inheritance, reconstruct phylogenetic relations among breeds, and develop biodiversity conservation and breeding programs. The aim of the study was to determine the variability remaining and the phylogenetic relationship of Martina Franca (MF, with total population of 160 females and 36 males), Ragusano (RG, 344 females and 30 males), Pantesco (PT, 47 females and 15 males), and Catalonian (CT) donkeys by collecting genetic data from maternal lineages. Genetic material was collected from saliva, and a 350 bp fragment of D-loop mtDNA was amplified and sequenced. Sequences were aligned and evaluated using standard bioinformatics software. A total of 56 haplotypes including 33 polymorphic sites were found in 77 samples (27 MF, 22 RG, 8 PT, 19 CT, 1 crossbred). The breed nucleotide diversity value (π) for all the breeds was 0.128 (MF: 0.162, RG: 0.132, PT: 0.025, CT: 0.038). Principal components analysis grouped most of the haplogroups into two different clusters, I (including all haplotypes from PT and CT, together with haplotypes from MF and RG) and II (including haplotypes from MF and RG only). In conclusion, we found that the primeval haplotypes, haplogroup variability, and a large number of maternal lineages were preserved in MF and RG; thus, these breeds play putative pivotal roles in the phyletic relationships of donkey breeds. Maternal inheritance is indispensable genetic information required to evaluate inheritance, variability, and breeding programs

Maternal Phylogenetic Relationships and Genetic Variation among Rare, Phenotypically Similar Donkey Breeds

The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop of endangered and critically endangered breeds has been studied to identify maternal lineages, characterize genetic inheritance, reconstruct phylogenetic relations among breeds, and develop biodiversity conservation and breeding programs. The aim of the study was to determine the variability remaining and the phylogenetic relationship of Martina Franca (MF, with total population of 160 females and 36 males), Ragusano (RG, 344 females and 30 males), Pantesco (PT, 47 females and 15 males), and Catalonian (CT) donkeys by collecting genetic data from maternal lineages. Genetic material was collected from saliva, and a 350 bp fragment of D-loop mtDNA was amplified and sequenced. Sequences were aligned and evaluated using standard bioinformatics software. A total of 56 haplotypes including 33 polymorphic sites were found in 77 samples (27 MF, 22 RG, 8 PT, 19 CT, 1 crossbred). The breed nucleotide diversity value (π) for all the breeds was 0.128 (MF: 0.162, RG: 0.132, PT: 0.025, CT: 0.038). Principal components analysis grouped most of the haplogroups into two different clusters, I (including all haplotypes from PT and CT, together with haplotypes from MF and RG) and II (including haplotypes from MF and RG only). In conclusion, we found that the primeval haplotypes, haplogroup variability, and a large number of maternal lineages were preserved in MF and RG; thus, these breeds play putative pivotal roles in the phyletic relationships of donkey breeds. Maternal inheritance is indispensable genetic information required to evaluate inheritance, variability, and breeding programs

Observation of two new Ξb−\Xi_b^- baryon resonances

Two structures are observed close to the kinematic threshold in the $\Xi_b^0 \pi^-$ mass spectrum in a sample of proton-proton collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb$^{-1}$ recorded by the LHCb experiment. In the quark model, two baryonic resonances with quark content $bds$ are expected in this mass region: the spin-parity $J^P = \frac{1}{2}^+$ and $J^P=\frac{3}{2}^+$ states, denoted $\Xi_b^{\prime -}$ and $\Xi_b^{*-}$. Interpreting the structures as these resonances, we measure the mass differences and the width of the heavier state to be $m(\Xi_b^{\prime -}) - m(\Xi_b^0) - m(\pi^{-}) = 3.653 \pm 0.018 \pm 0.006$ MeV$/c^2$, $m(\Xi_b^{*-}) - m(\Xi_b^0) - m(\pi^{-}) = 23.96 \pm 0.12 \pm 0.06$ MeV$/c^2$, $\Gamma(\Xi_b^{*-}) = 1.65 \pm 0.31 \pm 0.10$ MeV, where the first and second uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. The width of the lighter state is consistent with zero, and we place an upper limit of $\Gamma(\Xi_b^{\prime -}) < 0.08$ MeV at 95% confidence level. Relative production rates of these states are also reported.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figure

Quantum numbers of the X(3872)X(3872) state and orbital angular momentum in its ρ0Jψ\rho^0 J\psi decay

Angular correlations in $B^+\to X(3872) K^+$ decays, with $X(3872)\to \rho^0 J/\psi$, $\rho^0\to\pi^+\pi^-$ and $J/\psi \to\mu^+\mu^-$, are used to measure orbital angular momentum contributions and to determine the $J^{PC}$ value of the $X(3872)$ meson. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions collected with the LHCb detector. This determination, for the first time performed without assuming a value for the orbital angular momentum, confirms the quantum numbers to be $J^{PC}=1^{++}$. The $X(3872)$ is found to decay predominantly through S wave and an upper limit of $4\%$ at $95\%$ C.L. is set on the fraction of D wave.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure