Relationship between biomarkers of cartilage in serum and degenerative joint disease in lusitanian horses

Cartilage degradation biomarkers are a potential tool for early diagnosis of degen- erative joint disease (DJD). In young horses, Coll2-1 and Coll2-1NO2 have been studied in serum and reported to be useful in the assessment of joint disease. Fib3-2 has been described to be higher in serum of humans with osteoarthritis but has not been assessed in horses. The aim of the current study was to evaluate biomarkers’ changes with age, sex, and exercise and correlate them with DJD. Blood collection and radiographic examination were performed in 51 Lusitanian horses. Moreover, inertial sensor-based detection of lameness was used to assess pain together with sub- jective examination. Females presented significantly higher concentrations of Coll2- 1 (P5.015) and Coll2-1NO2 (P5.014) compared to males. We found significant influence of high level of work in lower concentration of Coll2-1 (P5.001) and sig- nificant influence of sex in concentration of Coll2-1NO2 (P5.030). There was no influence of sex, age and work on Fib3-2. All biomarkers were increased in the DJD group (n535) compared to healthy controls (n516). This difference was significant for Coll2-1 (P5.015). When sorted by sex and age groups, significant difference in Coll2-1 between disease and healthy controls disappeared in old horses and females. Coll2-1 is a good marker of cartilage degradation in horses with DJD, being more specific in young horses and males. Fib3-2 may be further explored to help identify disease in particular cases.

Proposal and Validation of a Scale of Composite Measure Reactivity Score to Characterize the Reactivity in Horses During Handling

This study aimed to identify the parameters related to the expression of the reactivity in horses during handling and based on that proposed and validated a scale of composite measure reactivity score to characterize horse's reactivity. To this end, the first stage (S1) proposed the scale and the second (S2) validated it. In S1, 364 Lusitano horses were evaluated, 188 were adult breeding mares (4–12 years old), and 176 were foals (males/females, aged from 2 months to 2 years). During hooves trimming, vermifuge application, palpation scores were assigned to behaviors of movement, ears and eyes position, breathing, vocalization, and urination. A response parameter called reactivity was attributed to each animal, ranging from score 1 (nonreactive/calm) to score 4 (very reactive/aggressive). The verification of the possible parameters (age, behavior), which explains the response parameter (reactivity), was taken using ordinal proportional odds model. Movement, breathing, ears and eyes position, vocalization, and age appear to explain the reactivity of horses during handling (P < .01). Therefore, based on these parameters, it was possible to propose two scales of composite measure reactivity score: one to characterize the mares and another the foals. On S2, the proposed scale was validated by the simultaneous application of Forced Human Approach Test, another commonly used test to evaluate the reactivity in horses, with a correlation of 0.97 (P < .05). The assessment of the reactivity of horses during handling by a composite measure reactivity score scale is valid, and easy to apply, without disrupting daily routine and override the impact of individual differences.

Relationship between biomarkers of cartilage in serum and degenerative joint disease in Lusitano horses

Introduction: Cartilage degradation biomarkers are a potential tool for early diagnosis of degenerative joint disease (DJD). In young horses, Coll2-1 and Coll2-1NO2 have been studied in serum and reported to be useful in the assessment of joint disease. Fib3-2 has been described to be higher in serum of humans with osteoarthritis but was never assessed in horses. The aim of the current study was to evaluate biomarkers’ changes with age, sex and exercise and correlate them with DJD. Material and Methods: Blood collection and radiographic examination were performed in 51 Lusitanian horses. Moreover, inertial sensor-based detection of lameness was used to assess pain together with subjective examination. Results: Females presented significantly higher concentrations of Coll2-1 (p = 0.015) and Coll2-1NO2 (p = 0.014) compared to males. We have found significant influence of high level of work in lower concentration of Coll2-1 (p = 0.001) and significant influence of sex in concentration of Coll2-1NO2 (p = 0.030). There was no influence of sex, age and work on Fib3-2. All biomarkers were increased in the DJD group (n= 35) compared to healthy controls (n = 16). This difference was significant for Coll2-1 (p = 0.015). When sorted by sex and age groups, significant difference in Coll2-1 between disease and healthy controls disappeared in old horses and females. Discussion/ Conclusion: Coll2-1 is a good marker of cartilage degradation in horses with DJD, being more specific in young horses and males. Fib3-2 may be further explored to help identify disease in particular cases.

Physicochemical and microbial analysis of feces from horses fed diets containing citrus pulp.

This study aimed to evaluate the e ect of diets containing increasing levels of citrus pulp on the physic-chemical and microbiological characteristics of horses feces. Five mares, at an average age of 3.5 years old and body weight of 492 ± 44.5 kg were arranged in a 5 x 5 Latin Square. The experimental diet consisted of 60% coast-cross hay and 40 % of concentrate with increasing levels of citrus pulp (0, 7, 14, 21, and 28 %). To determine the fecal pH, samples were collected directly from the oor, immediately after defecation, in the rst feces the day at 07:00 a.m., and color and fecal consistency were evaluated. For microbiological analysis, an aliquot was reserved in plastic bags, frozen, and sent to the microbiological laboratory for further analysis. Lactic acid bacteria were counted for Lactobacillus spp. and Streptococcus spp. from fecal samples under anaerobic conditions. The diet produced di erences (P<0.05) in feces consistency 98% had normal and rm stools, while 2% had loose ruminant-type feces. We observed no di erence (P<0.05) for color, verifying 100% of greenish feces, normal for equines. There was no e ect (P>0.05) on pH and on the number of Lactobacillus spp. and Streptococcus spp. The inclusion of up to 28% citrus pulp concentrates for horses did not promote change in the physio-chemical characteristics and on the population of lactic acid-producing bacteria in feces.

Do Global CO2 Emissions from Fossil-Fuel Consumption Exhibit Long Memory? A Fractional Integration Analysis

In this article we use an autoregressive fractionally integrated moving average approach to measure the degree of fractional integration of aggregate world CO2 emissions and its five components – coal, oil, gas, cement, and gas flaring. We find that all variables are stationary and mean reverting, but exhibit long-term memory. Our results suggest that both coal and oil combustion emissions have the weakest degree of long-range dependence, while emissions from gas and gas flaring have the strongest. With evidence of long memory, we conclude that transitory policy shocks are likely to have long-lasting effects, but not permanent effects. Accordingly, permanent effects on CO2 emissions require a more permanent policy stance. In this context, if one were to rely only on testing for stationarity and non-stationarity, one would likely conclude in favour of non-stationarity, and therefore that even transitory policy shocks