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Topic:Comparative Study
Comparative studies in equine research involve the systematic analysis of different horse breeds, management practices, or physiological responses to identify variations and similarities. These studies are instrumental in understanding how different factors influence health, performance, and behavior in horses. Common areas of comparison include genetic traits, nutritional requirements, disease resistance, and response to training. By evaluating these differences, researchers can develop targeted strategies for breeding, healthcare, and training. This page aggregates peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that focus on the methodologies, findings, and implications of comparative studies in the context of equine science.
Treatment of gastric ulceration in 10 standardbred racehorses with a pectin-lecithin complex. The severity of the erosive and ulcerative lesions of the squamous gastric mucosa in 10 standardbred racehorses in training was classified according to a standard scoring system. Each horse was then treated orally for 30 days with 50 g/100 kg bodyweight daily of a pectin-lecithin complex mixed into the feed. At the end of the period of treatment, the gastric lesions were re-evaluated gastroscopically and the scores were compared with those assigned at the previous evaluation. In three of the horses the gastric ulcerations had healed completely, and in six others the lesions had improved signif...
Phylogenetic relationships of West Nile viruses isolated from birds and horses in Israel from 1997 to 2001. In November 1997, an outbreak of a neuroparalytic disease caused by West Nile (WN) virus was diagnosed in young goose flocks. Domestic geese were similarly affected in the late summer and fall of 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001. WN viruses were also isolated from migratory and wild birds and horses in 1998-2001. A 1278 bp sequence of the envelope gene of 24 Israeli WN virus isolates was compared with those of seven isolates from Africa, Europe and New York. As a result, the Israeli isolates could then be grouped into two clusters. The 15 avian and three equine from 1997-2001 in the first cluster of ...
Activities of enzymes in the malate-aspartate shuttle and the isoenzyme pattern of lactate dehydrogenase in plasma and peripheral leukocytes of lactating Holstein cows and riding horses. The activities of the enzymes involved in the malate-aspartate shuttle and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and the pattern of the isoenzymes of LDH were determined in plasma and peripheral leukocytes of lactating Holstein cows and thoroughbred riding horses as representative herbivorous animals. In the horse plasma, LDH activities were significantly lower and AST activities were significantly higher than those in the cow plasma. The specific activities of cytosolic malate dehydrogenase (MDH), LDH and AST in the horse leukocytes were higher than those in the cows. The cytosolic ratio of MDH/LDH act...
Are uniform regional safety factors an objective of adaptive modeling/remodeling in cortical bone? It has been hypothesized that a major objective of morphological adaptation in limb-bone diaphyses is the achievement of uniform regional safety factors between discrete cortical locations (e.g. between cranial and caudal cortices at mid-diaphysis). This hypothesis has been tested, and appears to be supported in the diaphyses of ovine and equine radii. The present study more rigorously examined this question using the equine third metacarpal (MC3), which has had functionally generated intracortical strains estimated by a sophisticated finite element model. Mechanical properties of multiple mid...
Aid to the antemortem diagnosis of Fell pony foal syndrome by the analysis of B lymphocytes. Fell pony foals are affected by a congenital fatal immunodeficiency that commonly leads to anaemia and lymphopenia. Previous work has shown that the foals' circulating subpopulations of CD4 and CD8 T lymphocytes are unaffected. In this study it was shown that the mean population of B lymphocytes in 10 affected foals was less than 10 per cent of that in normal foals.
Epitope-blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for detection of west nile virus antibodies in domestic mammals. We evaluated the ability of epitope-blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) to detect West Nile virus (WNV) antibodies in domestic mammals. Sera were collected from experimentally infected horses, cats, and pigs at regular intervals and screened in ELISAs and plaque reduction neutralization tests. The diagnostic efficacies of these techniques were similar.
Phylogenetic relationship of equine Actinobacillus species and distribution of RTX toxin genes among clusters. Equine Actinobacillus species were analysed phylogenetically by 16S rRNA gene (rrs) sequencing focusing on the species Actinobacillus equuli, which has recently been subdivided into the non-haemolytic A. equuli subsp. equuli and the haemolytic A. equuli subsp. haemolyticus. In parallel we determined the profile for RTX toxin genes of the sample of strains by PCR testing for the presence of the A. equuli haemolysin gene aqx, and the toxin genes apxI, apxII, apxIII and apxIV, which are known in porcine pathogens such as Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae and Actinobacillus suis. The rrs-based phylo...
Articular chondrocyte apoptosis in equine osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease in horses. Chondrocyte apoptosis has been implicated as a major pathological OA change in humans and experimental animals but no studies have been performed on equine OA. Articular cartilage was collected from three normal and five OA horses. Histopathological changes were scored by a modified Mankin grading system. A terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay was performed to identify chondrocyte apoptosis. Nitric oxide (NO) production from chondrocytes was indirectly evaluated by immunohistochemistr...
Materno-foetal exchanges and utilisation of nutrients by the foetus: comparison between species. Several general features of nutrient uptake and utilisation by foetuses are similar among mammalian species. Nevertheless, there are also differences linked mainly to differences in placental permeability. Glucose and lactate are the main energetic substrates of the foetus. In normal conditions, the oxidation of carbohydrates accounts for about 75, 60 and 50% of oxygen uptake in the foetal pig, foal and lamb, respectively, and acetate accounts for about 10% in ruminants. Acidic amino acids are synthesised by the foetus, whereas neutral and basic amino acids are transported from the placenta. A...
A field evaluation of PCR for the routine detection of Babesia equi in horses. We report on a study that evaluated the usefulness of PCR for the routine detection of Babesia equi in horses. The blood from a total of 105 horses comprising both sick and apparently healthy animals were examined for the presence of B. equi using both Wright-Giemsa-stained blood smears and PCR. Microscopic analysis of Giemsa-stained blood smears revealed 10/105 animals positive for Babesia, compared to 16/105 for the primary PCR and 36/105 for the nested PCR. Three of the 10 samples positive by Wright-Giemsa-stain were negative by PCR for B. equi. However, evidence is presented that these sam...
An assessment of the terminology used by diplomates and students to describe the character of equine mitral and aortic valve regurgitant murmurs: correlations with the physical properties of the sounds. Twenty students and 16 diplomates listened to 7 recordings made from 7 horses with either aortic (n = 3) or mitral valve (n = 4) regurgitant murmurs. A total of 30 different terms were used to describe the character of these murmurs. However, only 4 terms were used in a repeatable and consistent manner. Most people described the character of a given mitral or aortic valve murmur with 1 or 2 terms. Diplomates drew from a pool of terms that was about half the size of that used by students--8.1 +/- 2.0 terms for diplomats (mean +/- 1 SD) versus 13.1 +/- 1.8 terms for students (P > .001). Only blo...
The second generation of the International Equine Gene Mapping Workshop half-sibling linkage map. A low-density, male-based linkage map was constructed as one of the objectives of the International Equine Gene Mapping Workshop. Here we report the second generation map based on testing 503 half-sibling offspring from 13 sire families for 344 informative markers using the CRIMAP program. The multipoint linkage analysis localized 310 markers (90%) with 257 markers being linearly ordered. The map included 34 linkage groups representing all 31 autosomes and spanning 2262 cM with an average interval between loci of 10.1 cM. This map is a milestone in that it is the first map with linkage groups ...
Are the material properties and matrix composition of equine flexor and extensor tendons determined by their functions? Injury to the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) is common in competition horses. The SDFT contributes to locomotory efficiency by storing energy; such tendons have low safety margins. Tendons which merely position the limb, including the opposing common digital extensor tendon (CDET), are rarely injured. The current failure of strategies to prevent or effectively treat injury to the SDFT indicates the importance of understanding how it differs from tendons which are not injury-prone. Objective: That the structural and material properties and matrix composition of the SDFT and CDET diffe...
Spectral analysis of respiratory noise in horses with upper airway disorders. It has long been recognised that the production of abnormal respiratory sounds by horses during exercise is frequently associated with upper airway obstructions. Respiratory acoustic measurements have shown promise in investigation of upper airway disorders in man and, more recently, in horses with experimentally-induced obstructions. Objective: To evaluate sounds from exercising horses with naturally occurring dynamic obstructions of the upper respiratory tract and to compare these with those from normal horses in order to determine whether different obstructions produce characteristic spectr...
The sacroiliac joints: evaluation using nuclear scintigraphy. Part 2: Lame horses. Sacroiliac (SI) joint disease is difficult to diagnose definitively on clinical grounds. Objective: Lameness not attributable to SI joint pain may result in asymmetrical uptake of radiopharmaceutical in the tubera sacrale and SI joints; and that horses with clinical signs suggestive of sacroiliac joint disease would have differences in the ratios of radiopharmaceutical uptake between the fifth lumbar vertebra (L5) and either the tubera sacrale or SI joints compared with normal horses. Objective: To determine whether differences in radiopharmaceutical activity could identify individuals with pr...
The sacroiliac joints: evaluation using nuclear scintigraphy. Part 1: The normal horse. Sacroiliac (SI) disease is recognised as a cause of poor hindlimb action but differential diagnosis is often difficult. Objective: That in clinically normal horses there would be a significant difference in the ratio of radiopharmaceutical uptake (RU) between the fifth lumbar vertebra (L5) and each tuber sacrale (TS) and between L5 and each SI joint; and that these ratios would alter with age, but ratios would be bilaterally symmetrical. Methods: Dorsal scintigraphic images of the SI region of 15 horses, selected randomly from the clinic database, were analysed by 2 of the authors, comparing n...
Mucin genes in horse airways: MUC5AC, but not MUC2, may play a role in recurrent airway obstruction. Increased mucin gene expression may be an important cause of mucus accumulation observed in recurrent airway obstruction (RAO)-affected horses. To date, however, no mucin gene sequences are available for the horse. Objective: To identify equine homologues of gel-forming mucins and investigate their expression at different airway generations of healthy and RAO-affected horses. Methods: Two equine homologues were identified by cloning and sequencing fragments of equine (eq)MUC5AC and eqMUC2. Results: Semiquantitative RT-PCR on RNA from airways (generations 1, 5, 10, 15; small airways and parench...
Neutrophil function and plasma opsonic capacity in colostrum-fed and colostrum-deprived neonatal kittens. To determine whether passive transfer of IgG in neonatal kittens affects plasma opsonic capacity and neutrophil phagocytic and oxidative burst responses to bacteria in vitro. Methods: 22 kittens from 6 specific pathogen-free queens. Methods: Kittens were randomized at birth into the following treatment groups: colostrum-fed, colostrum-deprived, or colostrum-deprived supplemented with feline or equine IgG. Blood samples were collected at intervals from birth to 56 days of age. Plasma IgG concentrations were determined by radial immunodiffusion assay. Neutrophil function was assessed by a flow c...
Corneal esthesiometry in the healthy horse. To determine corneal sensitivity in healthy adult horses in order to establish reference values. Methods: One hundred eyes of 50 healthy adult horses. Methods: Corneal sensitivity was determined by evaluating the corneal touch threshold (CTT) in five different corneal regions using a Cochet-Bonnet esthesiometer. Results: Comparing CTT values (in mm filament length) of the five prescribed corneal regions revealed regional variations in corneal sensitivity, with the central region (21.15 +/- 6.23 mm) being the most sensitive, followed by the nasal (20.75 +/- 5.14 mm), temporal (20.70 +/- 5.37 mm...
Testicular measurements and daily sperm output of Tori and Estonian breed stallions. Evaluation of testicular measurements and daily sperm output (DSO) yields valuable information for predicting the reproductive capacity of stallions. The present study evaluated testicular measurements (height, length, width and circumference) and DSO of eight Tori and eight Estonian breed stallions. One ejaculate of semen was collected daily for 10 subsequent days from each stallion. The gel-free volume of semen was measured with a graduated glass cylinder and the sperm concentration was assessed with a Chorjajev chamber. The volume of gel-free fraction was multiplied by the sperm concentrati...
IgA and secretory component (SC) in the third eyelid of domestic animals: a comparative study. The third eyelid of domestic animals is important for the production and distribution of tears, in removing ocular debris and in protection of the globe, and has significant immunologic functions. Although it is known that tears contain antibodies of the immunoglobulin A (IgA) isotype which are produced mainly by plasma cells of the lacrimal gland, very little is known about the antibody repertoires in the third eyelid of domestic animals. To assess whether IgA is derived from local synthesis, we analyzed the location of IgA-producing cells and the cellular distribution of secretory component ...
Presence of opioid growth factor and its receptor in the normal dog, cat and horse cornea. To determine if opioid growth factor (OGF, [Met5]enkephalin) and its specific receptor (OGFr) are present in normal cat, dog and horse cornea. Methods: Normal dog, cat and horse. Methods: Corneas were obtained from animals euthanized for reasons unrelated to this project. One cornea from each of three normal cats, dogs and horses was evaluated. The right or left cornea from each animal was chosen randomly. Corneas were harvested and placed in corneal storage media for transport to The M.S. Hershey Medical Center of The Pennsylvania State University where immunocytochemistry techniques were use...
Production and clearance of plasma triacylglycerols in ponies fed diets containing either medium-chain triacylglycerols or soya bean oil. The hypothesis was tested that feeding ponies a diet containing medium-chain triacylglcyerols (MCT) instead of soya bean oil causes an increase in the production of plasma triacylglycerols, which, under steady-state conditions, is associated with an increased clearance of triacylglycerols. Six ponies were fed rations containing either MCT or an isoenergetic amount of soya bean oil according to a cross-over design. The concentration of MCT in the total dietary dry matter was about 13%. When the ponies were fed the diets for 3 weeks, plasma triacylglycerol concentrations were 0.42 +/- 0.09 and 0...
Development and comparison of in vivo and in vitro models for endometritis in cows and mares. In order to investigate pathogenic mechanisms of acute endometritis in cows and mares, we established an in vivo model in both species. Based on the results of an in vitro transmigration system, human recombinant interleukin-8 (rhIL-8; 1.25 microg per mare and 5 microg per cow in 50 ml phosphate-buffered saline) was used to attract polymorphonuclear neutrophil granulocytes (PMNs) into the uteri. Peak numbers of uterine neutrophils were attracted after 6h, in both cows and mares. On average, mares responded more sensitively than cows, with 15 times higher numbers of rhIL-8-attracted uterine neu...
Cloning and nucleotide sequence of the equine and elk pituitary pre-prolactin cDNA. We report the equine (Equs equs) and elk (Cervus elaphus) pituitary pre-prolactin (PRL) cDNA cloning, and their nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences. Pre-PRL cDNA was obtained by RNA ligation mediated-rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RLM-RACE) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The elk pre-PRL cDNA exhibits two polymorphisms at positions 96 and 672, which are silent since they encode for the same amino acids, proline and isoleucine, respectively. We found no polymorphisms in the equine pre-PRL cDNA. The deduced amino acid sequence of the equine pre-PRL is 99% identical to the previou...
Comparison of methods for the diagnosis of equine herpesvirus type 1 infection. The objective of the investigations was to study the occurrence of the equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) infection in aborted equine fetuses and in newborn foals and to compare the sensitivity of virus isolation, immunohistochemistry and histology in 101 cases and of fetal serology in 68 cases in the diagnosis of the infection. Out of the 93 aborted equine fetuses and 8 weak foals, 15 (14.9%) (14 fetuses and 1 foal) proved to be EHV-1 infected by immunohistochemical and 13 (12.9%) by virological investigation. Characteristic microscopic changes were seen in several organs in all cases, while i...
Free amino-acid concentrations in the equine placenta: relationship to maternal and fetal plasma concentrations. Free amino-acid concentrations were measured in maternal venous and fetal umbilical vein plasma, and in the allantochorion, of Thoroughbred mares at term. Concentrations in maternal and fetal plasma were similar to those reported previously in equids. The concentrations of free amino-acids in the allantochorion were higher than those in the maternal and fetal plasmas and were characterised by high levels of the nonessential amino-acids as observed in other species. Fourteen of the 20 amino-acids measured had similar allantochorion/umbilical vein concentration ratios suggesting that simple grad...
[Reliability of the glutaraldehyde test to measure gamma-globulin levels in foals and the use of this test to check colostrum intake of foals]. The glutaraldehyde coagulation test is a semi-quantitative test used to determine the gammaglobulin concentration in serum. The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability of the different modifications of this test by determining the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value, and the prevalence of hypogammaglobulinemia in foals. The results of the glutaraldehyde coagulation test were compared with the serum gammaglobulin concentration as a reference value, determined by measuring total serum protein and the serum protein spectrum. It was concluded that the glut...
Design and evaluation of group-specific oligonucleotide probes for quantitative analysis of intestinal ecosystems: their application to assessment of equine colonic microflora. Nine oligonucleotide probes complementary to conserved regions of small subunit rRNA from phylogenetically defined clusters of intestinal anaerobic bacteria were designed and evaluated for use in quantitative analysis of intestinal microflora. Optimum wash temperatures (T(w)) were determined according to the temperature of dissociation (T(d)) of each probe and target group specificity was demonstrated by comparing hybridisation to target and non-target rRNA immobilised on nylon membranes. Three probes are targeted to phylogenetic clusters of Clostridiaceae, clusters III, IV and IX, with three ...
