Pathological classification of equine recurrent laryngeal neuropathy

Recurrent Laryngeal Neuropathy (RLN) is a highly prevalent and predominantly left‐sided, degenerative disorder of the recurrent laryngeal nerves (RLn) of tall horses, that causes inspiratory stridor at exercise because of intrinsic laryngeal muscle paresis. The associated laryngeal dysfunction and exercise intolerance in athletic horses commonly leads to surgical intervention, retirement or euthanasia with associated financial and welfare implications. Despite speculation, there is a lack of consensus and conflicting evidence supporting the primary classification of RLN, as either a distal (“dying back”) axonopathy or as a primary myelinopathy and as either a (bilateral) mononeuropathy or a polyneuropathy; this uncertainty hinders etiological and pathophysiological research. In this review, we discuss the neuropathological changes and electrophysiological deficits reported in the RLn of affected horses, and the evidence for correct classification of the disorder. In so doing, we summarize and reveal the limitations of much historical research on RLN and propose future directions that might best help identify the etiology and pathophysiology of this enigmatic disorder

Detection of equine atypical myopathy-associated hypoglycin A in plant material: Optimisation and validation of a novel LC-MS based method without derivatisation

Hypoglycin A (HGA) toxicity, following ingestion of material from certain plants, is linked to an acquired multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency known as atypical myopathy, a commonly fatal form of equine rhabdomyolysis seen worldwide. Whilst some plants are known to contain this toxin, little is known about its function or the mechanisms that lead to varied HGA concentrations between plants. Consequently, reliable tools to detect this amino acid in plant samples are needed. Analytical methods for HGA detection have previously been validated for the food industry, however, these techniques rely on chemical derivatisation to obtain accurate results at low HGA concentrations. In this work, we describe and validate a novel method, without need for chemical derivatisation (accuracy = 84–94%; precision = 3–16%; reproducibility = 3–6%; mean linear range R2 = 0.999). The current limit of quantitation for HGA in plant material was halved (from 1μg/g in previous studies) to 0.5μg/g. The method was tested in Acer pseudoplatanus material and other tree and plant species. We confirm that A. pseudoplatanus is most likely the only source of HGA in trees found within European pastures

Composite engines for application to a single-stage-to-orbit vehicle

Seven composite engines were designed for application to a reusable single-stage-to-orbit vehicle. The engine designs were variations of the supercharged ejector ramjet engine. The resulting performance, weight, and drawings of each engine form a data base for establishing a potential of this class of composite engine to various missions, including the single-stage-to-orbit application. The impact of advanced technology in the design of the critical fan turbine was established

Defining true propagation patterns of underwater noise produced by stationary vessels

The study of underwater vessel noise over the past sixty years has predominantly focused upon the increase in ambient noise caused by the propulsion mechanisms of large commercial vessels. Studies have identified that the continuous rise of ambient noise levels in open waters is linked to the increase in size and strength of anthropogenic sound sources. Few studies have investigated the noise contribution of smaller vessels or ambient noise levels present in coastal and in-shore waters. This study aimed to identify the level of noise common to non-commercial harbors by studying the noise emissions of a diesel generator on board a 70m long sailing vessel. Propagation patterns revealed an unconventional shape (specific to the precise location of the noise source on board the vessel), unlike those of standard geometric spreading models, as typically assumed when predicting vessel noise emission. Harbor attributes (including water depth, ground sediment and structural material components) caused for altered level and frequency characteristics of the recorded underwater noise, and were correlated to the sound measurements made. The measurements (taken in eight harbors around Northern Europe) were statistically analyzed to identify the primary factors influencing near-field sound propagation around a stationary vessel

A profile of arguing behaviors on Facebook

This study explored how people argue on social-networking sites. Specifically, participants (N = 170) responded to open and closed-ended questions about the most recent argument they had engaged in on Facebook. Results of a content analysis of participants' answers revealed individuals tended to argue mostly about public issues, in somewhat complex arguments that involved a median of six people and with about 30 comments exchanged. Individuals often pursued multiple goals, with persuasion and defending themselves or others also reported by some. Arguments tended to end without resolution, and most had no effects on arguers' relationships; however, for 20% of the sample, arguments permanently damaged their relationships. Although the number of friends participants had did not have a substantial effect on their frequency of arguing, the frequency with which one's friends argued on Facebook was positively related to one's own arguing frequency. These results are interpreted in connection to argumentation and computer-mediated-communication literature. Limitations of the study as well as directions for future research are also discussed

Breed-specific SNP and genomic regions associated with equine recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis susceptibility overlapping withup- and down-regulatory histone modifications

Recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis (RER) is a myopathy characterised by episodes of exercise-induced myofibre necrosis, muscle stiffness and fasciculations, with extreme cases resulting in kidney failure or death. There is a genetic component attributed to RER1-3, but specific causative genes and mutations have not been identified. Due to the disease’s metabolic nature, we hypothesised that regulatory regions of the genome may be implicated4. We aimed to identify genetic markers for RER in Thoroughbreds (TB), Warmbloods (WB) and Connemara ponies (CP). Since many of these were located in non-coding regions we compared their location with peaks in the publicly-available equine ChIP-seq data obtained from the FAANG portal5.33 CP (17 cases, 16 controls) and 94 WB (50 cases, 44 controls) were genotyped using a 670k genotyping array. GWAS, regional heritability mapping (RHM) and FST analyses were thenrun both across and within breeds. Various window sizes around significant and suggestive markers from these analyses, and 26 previously-identified US TB RER markers2 re-mapped to EquCab3.0, were compared to locations of histone markers identified in longissimus dorsi samples from two horses in the FAANG data using bedtools. No ChIP-seq peaks directly overlapped TB QTLs, but 6 in CPs and 2 in WBs overlapped with significant and suggestive significant SNPs for RER susceptibility. Within 10 kb of TB QTLs there were significantly fewer H3K27me3 and more H3K4me3 peaks than expected, whilst WB RHM regions contained significantly more H3K27me3 peaks and fewer H3K4me1 peaks than expected. No Bonferroni-corrected significant differences were identified in CP alone. <br/