Prevalence of common oral conditions in dogs and cats attending a veterinary teaching hospital in Spain

Our aim is to provide a look into the typical clinical caseload from odontology primary care, based on dogs and cats treated at a veterinary teaching hospital. From 2013 to 2019, 468 dogs and 139 cats were treated. Data come from primary care practice; no referral cases were considered. The most frequently detected conditions in dogs were periodontal disease (59.6%), oral tumors (11.3%), dental fractures (7.7%), class 1 malocclusion (7.1%), dental fistulas (5.8%), class 3 malocclusion (3.4%), gingivitis (1.7%), periodontal disease with tooth resorption (0.4%), class 2 malocclusion (0.2%) and others (2.8%). Different distributions of main conditions were found when considering age and weight/breed (p  0.05). No significant temporal trends were detected. These prevalence estimations can be useful in the diagnosis and establishment of preventive measures. Attention could be focused on different oral conditions depending on breed (dogs) and on age (both dogs and cats)

Surgical treatment of theintersex condition in the dog

Intersexuality is a rare congenital condition that leads to the development of an ambiguous urogenital tract. Removal of the reproductive tract is recommended to avoid genital diseases; however there is scant information about the procedure. The objective of this report is to describe the surgical procedure used to treat the canine intersex condition. Surgical corrections were performed on four intersex dogs: three 78 XX SRY-negative (one bilateral ovotestis, two sertolicell-only syndrome) and one 78 XX SRY-positive (sertolicell-only syndrome). Despite the different genetic and histological features, the anatomical characteristics were similar. The patients presented a vulva that lacked of dorsal fold placed ventrocranially to its anatomically normal position, a hypertrophied os clitoris protruding from the vulva and a urinary opening near to its normal position in the bitch..

Phylogeny, genetic relationships and population structure of five Italian local chicken breeds

Number and population size of local chicken breeds in Italy is considered to be critical. Molecular data can be used to provide reliable insight into the diversity of chicken breeds. The first aim of this study was to investigate the maternal genetic origin of five Italian local chicken breeds (Ancona, Livorno, Modenese, Romagnola and Valdarnese bianca) based on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) information. Secondly, the extent of the genetic diversity, population structure and the genetic relationships among these chicken populations, by using 27 microsatellite markers, were assessed. To achieve these targets, a 506 bp fragment of the D-loop region was sequenced in 50 chickens of the five breeds. Eighteen variable sites were observed which defined 12 haplotypes. They were assigned to three clades and two maternal lineages. Results indicated that 90% of the haplotypes are related to clade E, which has been described to originate from the Indian subcontinent. For the microsatellite analysis, 137 individual blood samples from the five Italian breeds were included. A total of 147 alleles were detected at 27 microsatellite loci. The five Italian breeds showed a slightly higher degree of inbreeding (FIS=0.08) than the commercial populations that served as reference. Structure analysis showed a separation of the Italian breeds from the reference populations. A further sub-clustering allowed discriminating among the five different Italian breeds. This research provides insight into population structure, relatedness and variability of the five studied breeds

Evolución de la fertilidad en inseminación artificial en explotaciones pertenecientes a Angra. Medidas de mejora aplicadas (I)

En la primera parte de este artículo se describen los factores ambientales que afectan al éxito de la inseminación artificial con semen refrigerado y la influencia en este éxito de un nuevo dispositivo antirreflujo para la inseminación artificial ovina

Physico-Chemical and structural interpretation of discrete derivative indices on N-tuples atoms

This report examines the interpretation of the Graph Derivative Indices (GDIs) from three different perspectives (i.e., in structural, steric and electronic terms). It is found that the individual vertex frequencies may be expressed in terms of the geometrical and electronic reactivity of the atoms and bonds, respectively. On the other hand, it is demonstrated that the GDIs are sensitive to progressive structural modifications in terms of: size, ramifications, electronic richness, conjugation effects and molecular symmetry. Moreover, it is observed that the GDIs quantify the interaction capacity among molecules and codify information on the activation entropy. A structure property relationship study reveals that there exists a direct correspondence between the individual frequencies of atoms and Hückel’s Free Valence, as well as between the atomic GDIs and the chemical shift in NMR, which collectively validates the theory that these indices codify steric and electronic information of the atoms in a molecule. Taking in consideration the regularity and coherence found in experiments performed with the GDIs, it is possible to say that GDIs possess plausible interpretation in structural and physicochemical terms. © 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Pharmaceutical Preparation

Mapping density, diversity and species-richness of the Amazon tree flora

Using 2.046 botanically-inventoried tree plots across the largest tropical forest on Earth, we mapped tree species-diversity and tree species-richness at 0.1-degree resolution, and investigated drivers for diversity and richness. Using only location, stratified by forest type, as predictor, our spatial model, to the best of our knowledge, provides the most accurate map of tree diversity in Amazonia to date, explaining approximately 70% of the tree diversity and species-richness. Large soil-forest combinations determine a significant percentage of the variation in tree species-richness and tree alpha-diversity in Amazonian forest-plots. We suggest that the size and fragmentation of these systems drive their large-scale diversity patterns and hence local diversity. A model not using location but cumulative water deficit, tree density, and temperature seasonality explains 47% of the tree species-richness in the terra-firme forest in Amazonia. Over large areas across Amazonia, residuals of this relationship are small and poorly spatially structured, suggesting that much of the residual variation may be local. The Guyana Shield area has consistently negative residuals, showing that this area has lower tree species-richness than expected by our models. We provide extensive plot meta-data, including tree density, tree alpha-diversity and tree species-richness results and gridded maps at 0.1-degree resolution

One sixth of Amazonian tree diversity is dependent on river floodplains

Amazonia's floodplain system is the largest and most biodiverse on Earth. Although forests are crucial to the ecological integrity of floodplains, our understanding of their species composition and how this may differ from surrounding forest types is still far too limited, particularly as changing inundation regimes begin to reshape floodplain tree communities and the critical ecosystem functions they underpin. Here we address this gap by taking a spatially explicit look at Amazonia-wide patterns of tree-species turnover and ecological specialization of the region's floodplain forests. We show that the majority of Amazonian tree species can inhabit floodplains, and about a sixth of Amazonian tree diversity is ecologically specialized on floodplains. The degree of specialization in floodplain communities is driven by regional flood patterns, with the most compositionally differentiated floodplain forests located centrally within the fluvial network and contingent on the most extraordinary flood magnitudes regionally. Our results provide a spatially explicit view of ecological specialization of floodplain forest communities and expose the need for whole-basin hydrological integrity to protect the Amazon's tree diversity and its function.Naturali

Integrated global assessment of the natural forest carbon potential

Forests are a substantial terrestrial carbon sink, but anthropogenic changes in land use and climate have considerably reduced the scale of this system1. Remote-sensing estimates to quantify carbon losses from global forests2,3,4,5 are characterized by considerable uncertainty and we lack a comprehensive ground-sourced evaluation to benchmark these estimates. Here we combine several ground-sourced6 and satellite-derived approaches2,7,8 to evaluate the scale of the global forest carbon potential outside agricultural and urban lands. Despite regional variation, the predictions demonstrated remarkable consistency at a global scale, with only a 12% difference between the ground-sourced and satellite-derived estimates. At present, global forest carbon storage is markedly under the natural potential, with a total deficit of 226 Gt (model range = 151–363 Gt) in areas with low human footprint. Most (61%, 139 Gt C) of this potential is in areas with existing forests, in which ecosystem protection can allow forests to recover to maturity. The remaining 39% (87 Gt C) of potential lies in regions in which forests have been removed or fragmented. Although forests cannot be a substitute for emissions reductions, our results support the idea2,3,9 that the conservation, restoration and sustainable management of diverse forests offer valuable contributions to meeting global climate and biodiversity targets