Вплив різних факторів на соматотипологічні ознаки

To determine which species of Culicoides biting midges carry Schmallenberg virus (SBV), we assayed midges collected in the Netherlands during autumn 2011. SBV RNA was found in C. scoticus, C. obsoletus sensu stricto, and C. chiopterus. The high proportion of infected midges might explain the rapid spread of SBV throughout Europe

Збереження шахтного фонду і проблеми реструктуризації вугільної галузі: ретроспектива та перспективи

Розглянуто стан шахтного фонду вугільної галузі в цілому та вугільного району Донбасу в ретроспективі та окреслено перспективи його збереження та відтворення. Ключові слова: шахтний фонд, реструктуризація, технічний рівень, відтворення, інновації.Рассмотрено состояние шахтного фонда угольной отрасли в целом и угольного района Донбасса в ретроспективе и очерчены перспективы его сохранения и воссоздания. Ключевые слова: шахтный фонд, реструктуризация, технический уровень, воссоздание, инновации.The state of mine fund of coal industry is considered on the whole and coal district of Donbassa in a retrospective view and the prospects of his maintainance and recreation are outlined. Key words: mine fund, restructurisation, technical level, re-creation, innovations

A prospective cohort study on the acute:chronic workload ratio in relation to injuries in high level eventing horses:A comprehensive 3-year study

In human sport science, the acute:chronic workload (ACWR) ratio is used to monitor an athlete's preparedness for competition and to assess injury risks. The aim of this study was to investigate whether acute and chronic workload calculations for external and internal loads (e.g. high-speed work distance and associated exertional effort) were associated with injury risk in elite eventing horses and to identify workloads performed by horses competing in different competition and at different fitness levels. Training load and injury data were collected from 58 international eventing horses (CCI2*–CCI5* level) over 1–3 years. A total of 94 individual competition seasons were monitored. During this period, heart rate (HR; beat/min) and GPS data were collected of all their conditional training sessions and competitions. External load was determined as the distance (m) covered at high speed (HS1; velocity between 6.6 and 9.5 m/s), and sprint speed (SS2; velocity>9.5 m/s). Internal load was calculated for HS and SS, using individualized training impulses (TRIMP3; AU). For internal and external workload HS and SS the acute (1-week) and chronic (4-week) workloads were calculated and ACWR4 determined. The injury data in relation to ACWR was modelled with a multilevel logistic regression. Akaike's information criterion was used for model reduction. Sixty-four soft tissue injuries were registered from a total of 2300 training sessions and competitions. External and internal workload at HS and SS were significantly affected by the year and fitness level of horses. Competition level and year significantly affected the distances covered at SS. The ACWR of high-speed distance of the present week (OR; 0.133, 95 % CI; 0.032, 0.484) and the previous week (OR 3.951, 95 % CI; 1.390, 12.498) were significantly associated with injury risk. Competition level and chronic workload had no significant effect on injuries. In agreement with findings in human athletes, acute spikes of workload in eventing horses increased the risk of injury. Evaluation of horses’ workload can be used to design and effectively monitor training programs and can help to improve equine welfare by reducing injury risk

The Equine Faecal Microbiota of Healthy Horses and Ponies in The Netherlands:Impact of Host and Environmental Factors

Several studies have described the faecal microbiota of horses and the factors that influence its composition, but the variation in results is substantial. This study aimed to investigate the microbiota composition in healthy equids in The Netherlands under standard housing and management conditions and to evaluate the effect of age, gender, horse type, diet, pasture access, the season of sampling and location on it. Spontaneously produced faecal samples were collected from the stall floor of 79 healthy horses and ponies at two farms. The validity of this sampling technique was evaluated in a small pilot study including five ponies showing that the microbiota composition of faecal samples collected up to 6 h after spontaneous defaecation was similar to that of the samples collected rectally. After DNA extraction, Illumina Miseq 16S rRNA sequencing was performed to determine microbiota composition. The effect of host and environmental factors on microbiota composition were determined using several techniques (NMDS, PERMANOVA, DESeq2). Bacteroidetes was the largest phylum found in the faecal microbiota (50.1%), followed by Firmicutes (28.4%). Alpha-diversity and richness decreased significantly with increasing age. Location, age, season, horse type and pasture access had a significant effect on beta-diversity. The current study provides important baseline information on variation in faecal microbiota in healthy horses and ponies under standard housing and management conditions. These results indicate that faecal microbiota composition is affected by several horse-related and environment-related factors, and these factors should be considered in future studies of the equine faecal microbiota

Estimation of the basic reproduction number for Streptococcus equi spp. equi outbreaks by meta-analysis of strangles outbreak reports

BACKGROUND: Streptococcus equi spp. equi (S. equi), the cause of strangles in horses, is considered a highly contagious pathogen affecting equines and the equine industry worldwide. Fundamental epidemiological characteristics of outbreaks, such as the basic reproduction number (R0 ), are not well described. OBJECTIVES: Estimate R0 for S. equi in equine populations from outbreak data. STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis of published and unpublished data. METHODS: A literature search for outbreak reports was carried out. Depending on data available in the reports, the early epidemic growth rate or final attack rate (AR) approach was used to estimate the basic reproduction number for that outbreak. Other recorded outbreak characteristics were the type of housing (group vs. individual). An overall estimate for R0 was computed by meta-analysis. RESULTS: Data from eight outbreaks were extracted from peer-reviewed publications. Data from two additional, non-published outbreaks was also included in the meta-analysis. A conservative estimate for R0 was 2.2 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.9-2.5). A less conservative estimate, including outbreaks with a 100% AR for which a lower limit R0 was estimated, was 2.7 (95% CI 2.1-3.3). MAIN LIMITATIONS: Few papers describing longitudinal incidence data were found so most estimates were based on the outbreaks' final size. Several outbreaks had a 100% attack rate and could therefore only be included as a lower limit estimate in the meta-analysis. The reported result therefore may be an underestimation. CONCLUSIONS: This estimate for R0 for S. equi informs parameters for future mathematical modelling, quantifies desired preventive vaccine coverage and helps evaluate the effect of prevention strategies through future modelling studies

Herzgeräusche als Zufallsbefunde bei tierärztlichen Kauf- oder Verfassungsuntersuchungen : Befundung und Verlauf bei 77 klinisch gesunden Pferden

Seventy-seven horses referred to the Utrecht university clinic for accidentally found heart murmurs, were examined clinically and ultrasonographically. In a follow-up, the influence of these findings on later performance and sale value was evaluated. The 77 horses referred between January 1997 and February 2002 were divided into 2 groups. In the horses of group A, murmurs were found during pre-purchase examination (n=62) and in the horses of group B, during equestrian events (n=15). Twenty-four horses were between I and 5 years old and 53 horses were 5 years or older (48% of the latter group performed at a moderate to high level). In 62 (80%) horses, murmurs were found on the left side, in 12 (16%) on both sides and in 3 (4%) on the right side. In 7% of the horses, the intensity of the murmurs was "loud" (grade V or VI), in 53% "moderate" (grade III and IV) and in 40% "minor" (grade I or 11). In 63 horses, mitral insufficiency (MI) was found: in 12 only MI, in 14 MI + tricuspid insufficiency (TI), in 14 MI + aortic insufficiency (AI), in 20 MI + TI + AI, and in 3 MI + other problems. Six horses also showed atrial fibrillation (AF), Fifteen horses with MI showed increased left atrial diameter (14 cm or more). In most cases, auscultation and echocardiographical findings correlated well. Telephone questionnaires were obtained from 71 owners, while 10 owners could not give any information on present performance of the horse. Five owners of horses with severe alterations reported decreased performance and 1 horse had died. Twenty owners mentioned that their horse was not sold, while 12 horses were sold for a lower price. It is concluded that cardiac murmurs in Warmblood horses found during pre-purchase examination or veterinary control are often not related to decreased performance but may have significant influence on sale value

Young Friesian horses show familial aggregation in fitness response to a 7-week performance test

The aim of this study was to monitor the fitness level of young Friesian horses and to assess whether fitness data are predictive for final performance score and whether familial aggregation of response to training could be detected. Sixty-six young Friesian horses, the offspring of six different stallions (A, B, C, D, E and F), underwent a 7-week performance test. The horses were given a performance score for their ability for dressage (in weeks 5 and 7; 0-110 points) and were evaluated for fitness using standardised exercise tests (SETs) at the beginning (week 2, SET-I) and the end (week 6, SET-II) of the period. Heart rate (HR, beats/min) was measured in both SETs, and plasma lactate concentration (LA, mmol/L) was measured only in SET-II. Fitness of the horses improved moderately but significantly between SET-I and SET-II (P=0.015). There was a large heterogeneity in responsiveness to training; some horses were high responders, whereas others were non- or low responders. There was a familial aggregation of HR canter-1 response to training (P=0.039), while the HR of stallion C's offspring decreased significantly more than those of stallions A (P=0.09), D (P=0.013) and F (P=0.009). Horses that were reluctant to exercise did not differ in HR or LA concentrations compared to those that completed the SET, which may have been a sign of overreaching. HR had no predictive value for the performance score, but horses that did not reach the anaerobic threshold in SET-II scored significantly better (73.8 ± 5.6 points) than horses that did not (69.9 ± 5.9 points, P=0.025). The findings demonstrate for the first time in the horse a familial aggregation of HR response to training, as has been reported previously in humans. Familial aggregation suggests a genetic influence on the effect of training on fitness in horses. HR could not predict final performance score, but LA concentrations during SET-II were predictive

Skin disease in donkeys (Equus asinus): a retrospective study from 4 veterinary schools

Background Donkeys are important throughout the world as work animals and occasionally as pets or a meat source. Most descriptions of skin disease in donkeys are reported in small case series, textbooks or review articles. Hypothesis/Objectives To document skin diseases and their prevalence in donkeys and to investigate predilections for the most common conditions. Animals Case populations at four veterinary schools totalling 156 donkeys. Methods and materials A retrospective study was performed by searching computerized medical records, using the key word “donkey”, at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis (UCD). Records of donkeys from the veterinary schools in Nantes, France; Utrecht, Netherlands and Ghent, Belgium were searched in a similar manner. The time periods included in the searches varied by institution. Results At UCD, 83 of 346 (24%) of donkeys had skin disease noted in their records. The most common diagnoses were insect bite hypersensitivity, sarcoid and habronemiasis. At Nantes, 36 of 144 (25%) had skin disease and the most common diagnoses were sarcoid and superficial pyoderma. At Utrecht 23 of 143 (16%) had skin disease and the most common diagnosis was dermatophytosis. At Ghent, 14 of 320 (4%) had skin disease and the most common diagnosis was sarcoid. Conclusions and clinical importance Cutaneous conditions in donkeys are common. Age, sex and breed predisposition and the most common diagnoses varied with geographical location. Clinicians should include a dermatological examination regardless of the reason for presentation