Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: S Jang Author-Workplace-Name: College of Veterinary Medicine and BK21 Plus Project Team, Chonnam National University, Buk-gu, Gwangju, Republic of Korea Author-Name: C Yun Author-Workplace-Name: College of Veterinary Medicine and BK21 Plus Project Team, Chonnam National University, Buk-gu, Gwangju, Republic of Korea Author-Name: B Kim Author-Workplace-Name: College of Veterinary Medicine and BK21 Plus Project Team, Chonnam National University, Buk-gu, Gwangju, Republic of Korea Author-Name: S Kang Author-Workplace-Name: College of Veterinary Medicine and BK21 Plus Project Team, Chonnam National University, Buk-gu, Gwangju, Republic of Korea Author-Name: J Lee Author-Workplace-Name: College of Veterinary Medicine and BK21 Plus Project Team, Chonnam National University, Buk-gu, Gwangju, Republic of Korea Author-Name: S Jeong Author-Workplace-Name: College of Veterinary Medicine and BK21 Plus Project Team, Chonnam National University, Buk-gu, Gwangju, Republic of Korea Author-Name: Y Cho Author-Workplace-Name: College of Veterinary Medicine and BK21 Plus Project Team, Chonnam National University, Buk-gu, Gwangju, Republic of Korea Author-Name: K Sung-Ho Author-Workplace-Name: College of Veterinary Medicine and BK21 Plus Project Team, Chonnam National University, Buk-gu, Gwangju, Republic of Korea Author-Name: L Chang-Min Author-Workplace-Name: College of Veterinary Medicine and BK21 Plus Project Team, Chonnam National University, Buk-gu, Gwangju, Republic of Korea Author-Name: C Moon Author-Workplace-Name: College of Veterinary Medicine and BK21 Plus Project Team, Chonnam National University, Buk-gu, Gwangju, Republic of Korea Author-Name: K Joong-Sun Author-Workplace-Name: College of Veterinary Medicine and BK21 Plus Project Team, Chonnam National University, Buk-gu, Gwangju, Republic of Korea Title: Immunohistochemical analysis of extracellular signal-regulated kinase expression in mature and immature bulls' testes and epididymides Abstract: Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) has been implicated in mammalian testicular and epididymal development. This study aimed to investigate ERK expression in the immature and mature testes and epididymides of bulls. We evaluated ERK expression using immunoblot analysis and immunohistochemistry. Immunoblot analysis revealed that immature bull testes and epididymides had higher phosphorylated ERK (pERK) expression than mature bull testes and epididymides. pERK immunoreactivity was higher in immature epididymides than in immature testes. pERK was localised mostly in spermatogonia, undifferentiated sustentacular (Sertoli) cells, and interstitial (Leydig) cells in immature testes, as well as in some spermatocytes and spermatids in mature testes. In immature epididymides, the body and tail had higher pERK expression than the head, whereas pERK was broadly distributed throughout the stereocilia, basal cells, and connective tissues. pERK distribution in the head of mature epididymides was similar to that in immature epididymides, whereas few connective tissue cells were expressed in the body and tail of mature epididymides. Collectively, these results suggest that ERK is expressed in the testis and epididymis of immature and mature bulls with varying intensities, and the role of ERK in male reproductive organs may include the specific function of its development. Keywords: bovine, extracellular signal-regulated kinase, histology, testis Journal: Veterinární medicína Pages: 231-237 Volume: 68 Issue: 6 Year: 2023 DOI: 10.17221/34/2023-VETMED File-URL: http://vetmed.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/34/2023-VETMED.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/vet-202306-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlvet:v:68:y:2023:i:6:id:34-2023-VETMED Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: I Ullah Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Clinical Sciences, Sub-Campus Jhang, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), Lahore, Pakistan Author-Name: A Nasir Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Clinical Sciences, Sub-Campus Jhang, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), Lahore, Pakistan Author-Name: M Kashif Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Clinical Sciences, Sub-Campus Jhang, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), Lahore, Pakistan Author-Name: A Sikandar Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Basic Sciences, Sub-Campus Jhang UVAS, Lahore, Pakistan Author-Name: M Sajid Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Pathobiology, Sub-Campus Jhang UVAS, Lahore, Pakistan Author-Name: M Adil Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Basic Sciences, Sub-Campus Jhang UVAS, Lahore, Pakistan Author-Name: A Rehman Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Pathobiology, Sub-Campus Jhang UVAS, Lahore, Pakistan Author-Name: MU Iqbal Author-Workplace-Name: Livestock and Dairy Development Department, Government of Punjab, Pakistan Author-Name: H Ullah Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Gomal University, D. I. Khan, Pakistan Title: Incidence of aflatoxin M1 in cows' milk in Pakistan, effects on milk quality and evaluation of therapeutic management in dairy animals Abstract: The present study was aimed at measuring the concentration of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in the milk of Holstein Friesian cows, its effect on the milk quality and seasonal trends, as well as to investigate the efficacy of a commercial clay-based toxin binder. For this purpose, milk samples from dairy cows (n = 72) were collected and assayed for AFM1 before employing a clay-based toxin binder. The milk samples (n = 72) were collected from selected animals, revealing that 69.4% of the milk samples had AFM1 levels above the United States permissible limit (0.5 µg/kg). The incidence of AFM1 in milk during the winter and summer was 82.5% and 53.1%, respectively. Owing to the presence of AFM1, the level of milk fat, solids-not-fat, and protein were found to be low. Subsequently, the affected animals were divided into two groups, i.e., AFM1 positive control (n = 10) and the experimental group (n = 40). The experimental group of animals were fed the clay-based toxin binder at 25 g/animal/day. A progressive decrease of 19.8% in the AFM1 levels was observed on day 4 and on day 7 (53.6%) in the treatment group. Furthermore, the fat, solids-non-fat and protein increased significantly in the milk. In conclusion, a high level of AFM1 contamination occurs in the milk in Pakistan, affecting the quality of the milk production. Clay-based toxin binders may be used to ensure the milk quality and to protect the animal and consumer health. Keywords: dairy animals, mycotoxin, toxin binder, wholesomeness of milk season Journal: Veterinární medicína Pages: 238-245 Volume: 68 Issue: 6 Year: 2023 DOI: 10.17221/18/2023-VETMED File-URL: http://vetmed.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/18/2023-VETMED.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/vet-202306-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlvet:v:68:y:2023:i:6:id:18-2023-VETMED Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: A Rado-Blozonova Author-Workplace-Name: Small Animal Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: L Rauserova-Lexmaulova Author-Workplace-Name: Small Animal Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: L Cerna Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: M Pavlik Author-Workplace-Name: Small Animal Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: M Rado Author-Workplace-Name: Small Animal Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: M Fusek Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication, Brno University of Technology, Brno, Czech Republic Title: Continuous versus intermittent enteral nutrition in hospitalised dogs and cats using a new scoring system: A prospective clinical study Abstract: Nutrition is an important part of the critical care. The goals of this prospective clinical study were to create a scoring system for the assessment of patient nutritional status and to compare continuous and intermittent bolus feeding of enteral nutrition (EN). A total of 38 patients (21 dogs and 17 cats) were divided into Group C (continuous feeding; 23 patients) and Group I (intermittent feeding; 15 patients). The following variables were recorded for each patient in both groups: gastrointestinal (GI) complications, changes in body weight (BW), body condition score (BCS), muscle condition score (MCS), veterinary nutritional status score (VetNSS), length of hospitalisation and outcome. The normality of the data was assessed using the Shapiro-Wilk test. Fisher's exact test, Mann-Whitney, Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, and the t-test were used in statistical analyses. Significant changes were found in VetNSS and BW between the 1st and 5th day in Group C. The VetNSS seems to be useful for monitoring the nutritional status of hospitalised patients. Anorectic dogs and cats can be successfully supported with either continuous or intermittent feeding methods with a similar risk of GI complications and outcomes. Keywords: complications, nutritional score, nutritional support, outcome, tube feeding Journal: Veterinární medicína Pages: 246-252 Volume: 68 Issue: 6 Year: 2023 DOI: 10.17221/26/2023-VETMED File-URL: http://vetmed.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/26/2023-VETMED.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/vet-202306-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlvet:v:68:y:2023:i:6:id:26-2023-VETMED Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Z Knotek Author-Workplace-Name: Avian and Exotic Animal Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: M Oliveri Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Teaching Veterinary Hospital, University of Teramo, Teramo, Italy Author-Name: E Cermakova Author-Workplace-Name: Avian and Exotic Animal Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: P Sramek Author-Workplace-Name: The Brno Zoological Garden, Brno, Czech Republic Title: Sex identification in Australian skinks (Egernia stokesii, E. hosmeri, E. striolata) using cloacoscopy Abstract: Thirteen adult healthy captive skinks, six Gidgee spiny-tailed skinks (Egernia stokesii), three Hosmer's spiny-tailed skinks (Egernia hosmeri) and four tree crevice-skinks (Egernia striolata), were submitted to the study. The weight of the animals ranged from 28 g to 146 g. All skinks were explored during their putative mating season, which is December. Lizards were restrained manually and positioned in ventral recumbence. Cloacoscopy was performed with the rigid endoscope, protecting channel, endocamera and recording system Telepack-Pal (Karl Storz Endoskope, Tuttlingen, Germany). While the endoscope was gently introduced into the cloaca and advanced into the coprodeum sterile saline was flushed into the cloaca through the protecting channel. The endoscope was then slowly withdrawn to allow visualization of the main structures of the urodeum and proctodeum. Male skinks are characterized by the presence of urethral papillae and only one horizontal septum which divides the chamber of the urodeum into two subchambers. Female skinks are characterised by the presence of two septa. The central-dorsal fold that divides the urodeum into two pouches in female skinks is absent in males. Cloacoscopy proved an effective method of sex identification and can be considered a valuable method for breeding and conservation in monomorphic skink lizards. Keywords: lizard cloaca, monomorphic reptiles, urodeum, vaginal pouch Journal: Veterinární medicína Pages: 253-257 Volume: 68 Issue: 6 Year: 2023 DOI: 10.17221/3/2023-VETMED File-URL: http://vetmed.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/3/2023-VETMED.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/vet-202306-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlvet:v:68:y:2023:i:6:id:3-2023-VETMED