Volume 61 (2017): Edizione 4 (December 2017)

As a sequel to the current advancement in ethology, this study was designed to provide information on the brain size of the African grasscutter at specific postnatal periods and to extrapolate these findings to the behaviour of the rodent in its natural habitat. Brain samples were extracted from African grasscutter neonates on postnatal day 6, juveniles on postnatal day 72 and adults on postnatal day 450 by basic neuro-anatomical techniques. The weight, volume and dimensions of the brain samples were determined in absolute and relative terms. Their encephalisation quotient was also computed. There was a very strong positive correlation between nose-rump length and brain length in the neonates. The relative brain weight of neonates, juveniles and adults were 3.84 ± 0.12 %, 2.49 ± 0.07 % and 0.44 ± 0.03 %, respectively. The differences were significant (P < 0.05). The encephalisation quotient of juveniles was 1.62 ± 0.03 while that of the adult was 0.49 ± 0.02. The difference was significant (P < 0.05). The results were extrapolated to the animal’s cognitive ability, and compared with other rodents. It was concluded that the juvenile African grasscutter may have higher cognitive ability than the adult rodent, thus, juveniles should be preferred in physiological studies of memory and cognition.

The aim of this paper was to compare the level of origin of the renal arteries in the rabbit and hare. The study was carried out on ten adult rabbits and ten adult European hares using the corrosion cast technique. After the euthanasia, the vascular network was perfused with saline. Batson’s corrosion casting kit No. 17 was used as a casting medium. After polymerization of the medium, the maceration was carried out in KOH solution. We found variable levels of the origin of renal arteries in the rabbit, in the hare and between both species. In the rabbit, the right renal artery originated at the level of the second lumbar vertebra in 70 % of the cases and at the level of the first lumbar vertebra in 30 % of the cases, and the left-sided renal artery originated in 60 % of the cases at the level of the second lumbar vertebra and at the level of the third lumbar vertebra in 40 % of the cases. In the hare, the bilateral renal arteries originated at the level of the second lumbar vertebra. According to the results, it can be concluded that the origin level of the renal arteries from the abdominal aorta is more variable in the domesticated rabbit in comparison with the hare.

Equine distal limbs have evolved to have long tendons coupled with strong, tendinous muscles positioned proximally on the leg, thus enabling the horse to achieve highly efficient locomotion. The tradeoff is, that the tendons are left unprotected and prone to injuries, therefore they are often protected by various boots and bandages, which may insulate the limbs and cause hyperthermia in the underlying tendons. The actual mechanism for the degeneration of tendons is currently unknown, but damaging temperature increases due to hysteresis in hardworking horses has been suggested as a possible cause. This study compared the skin temperature of the palmar/ plantar metacarpal/metatarsal regions of the limbs after exercise with various types of boots and bandages - primarily tendon boots, leather boots and fleece bandages. Several horses were measured before and after the completion of a standard exercise test. The boots or bandages were removed immediately after the exercise and the temperature was measured at 3 separate places with A Testo 850i infrared thermometer. The differences in temperature increases between the various kinds of boots were compared. The results showed a significantly higher average temperature increase in horses wearing boots or bandages compared to the bare limb. The fleece bandages seemed to accumulate the highest amount of heat, followed by the tendon boots.

The aim of this study was to compare the anatomical arrangements of the branches arising from the subclavian arteries in the domesticated rabbit and hare. The study was carried out on ten adult rabbits and ten adult European hares using the corrosion cast technique. After the euthanasia, the vascular network was perfused with saline. The arterial system of the entire body was injected by Batson’s corrosion casting kit No. 17. After polymerization of the medium, the maceration was carried out in KOH solution. The arrangement of the origins of the branches of the bilateral subclavian arteries were more variable in the hare. The number of branches arising from the subclavian artery were more regular in the rabbit on the right side and in the hare on the left side. In the rabbit, we found in two cases, the origins of the branches of the left subclavian artery from the aortic arch. The anatomical found between the rabbit and the hare may possibly be associated with their different ways of life.

This study investigated the potential genotoxic effects of the fungicide Tango^® Super using methods of conventional cytogenetic analysis, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and detection of DNA fragmentation in bovine lymphocytes. After exposure of two donor cell cultures to several concentrations of fungicide (0.5, 3.0 and 15.0 mg.ml^-1 for conventional cytogenetic analysis; 0.5 and 3.0 mg.ml^-1 for FISH) we detected the insignificant occurrence of chromosome and chromatid breakages. In both donors we observed a significant decrease in mitotic index (MI) percentage with increasing concentrations of fungicide (P < 0.01; P < 0.001), which indicated a cytotoxic effect of the preparation. Electrophoretic analysis of DNA fragmentation in lymphocytes exposed to increasing concentrations (0.5; 1.5; 3.0; 6.0 and 15.0 mg.ml^-1) of this preparation showed its ability to induce formation of fragments, which is a characteristic manifestation of the last stage of apoptosis.

Lymphomas belong among the most frequently diagnosed tumours of the haematopoietic system in dogs. The clinical manifestations and genetic and molecular basis of canine lymphoma resembles those of human non-Hodgkin lymphoma and therefore it can serve as a suitable model for the study of this disease. Neoplastic diseases are the consequence of a number of genetic and epigenetic changes in somatic cells. One of such changes are gene mutations that can subsequently cause changes in the activity of proto-oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes. The aim of our study was to detect potential mutations in selected exons of proto-oncogenes in DNA isolated from samples of lymphoma obtained from two donors - a Bernese Mountain Dog and a female mongrel. On the basis of literary data descriptions of human and canine haematopoietic neoplastic diseases, our investigations of potential changes in DNA focused on proto- oncogenes C-KIT - exons 8, 17; NRAS - exons 1, 2;FLT3 - exons 14, 15 and 20. The investigated samples were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and subjected to sequencing. The DNA sequences were compared with reference sequences in the database Ensembl. The comparison of sequences of the C-KIT gene revealed an A/G transition at the 35th nucleotide of exon 8 in the mongrel. It involved a synonymous exchange of the nucleotide in the codon that did not cause a change in the amino acid. In the same sample we recorded several point mutations in the intron regions surrounding the exons 14 and 20 of the FLT3 gene. Changes in the intron regions can affect the expression of genes and thus can play an important role in the origin and development of tumours. No genetic mutations were detected in any gene regions of the Bernese Mountain Dog. In the case of the NRAS gene, no changes were observed in any sample collected from the donors.

Giardiasis and cryptosporidiosis are protozoan infections of the digestive tract and one of the most frequent causes of enteritis in dogs and cats, associated with acute and chronic diarrhoea. Generally, the risk of infection is higher for younger individuals in which the overall clinical picture and the course of disease are more serious. In this study we investigated the prevalence of giardiasis and cryptosporidiosis in dogs in Košice district of eastern Slovakia. From September 2015 until November 2016, we examined samples of faeces from 100 dogs from two shelters. Giardia duodenalis was diagnosed by the flotation method according to Faust, and by the molecular biologic method (Nested PCR). For the diagnosis of cryptosporidium oocysts, we used a staining method according to Kinyoun, and for detection of the presence of Cryptosporidium spp. a sandwich ELISA method. The total prevalence of these protozoan infections were 22 % (22/100), and of that, 19 % of the samples (19/100) were positive for Giardia duodenalis and 3 % (3/100) for the Cryptosporidium spp. In the shelter in Haniska, the giardia cysts were present in 9/54 samples (16.6 %) and cryptosporidia oocysts in 1/54 (1.85 %) samples of the faeces. In the Malá Farma shelter, 10/46 (21.73 %) samples were positive for G. duodenalis and 2/46 (4.34 %) showed positivity for Cryptosporidium spp.

The examination by Doppler ultrasonography provides haemodynamic information about blood flow velocity in a respective vessel. It specifies high- and lowresistance flow patterns. The aim of our study was to record the flow in a. carotis communis, a. femoralis and aa. renales in 16 adult clinically healthy dogs of small and medium size; characterize the types of vessels and also determine the pulsatility index (PI) and the resistive index (RI) of these vessels. The a. femoralis is a high-resistance vessel with a pronounced three-peak waveform. The aa. renales gives a typical picture of a low-resistance flow pattern. The characteristics of a. carotis communis involves different images of its branches a. carotis interna and a. carotis externa. In the investigated groups we observed a medium degree of pulsatility (atypical highresistance flow pattern with an absence of reverse flow). The mean measured values of indices for a. carotis communis were: left side PI 1.824 and RI 0.742; right side PI 1.891 and RI 0.746, and for aa. renales: PI 1.366 ± 0.04 and RI 0.684 ± 0.05.

Extracts of the fruiting bodies of the Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) grown on wood substrates (beech, oak, linden, walnut, poplar) and extracts of the fruiting bodies of the Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus pulmonarius) grown in nature on aspen wood were used to determine the total phenols, total flavonoids, lycopene and β-carotene. The content of individual antioxidants varies considerably depending, not only on the substrate, but also on the extracting agents. The highest content of total phenols and total flavonoids was found in methanol and water extracts of the fruiting bodies of the Oyster mushrooms grown on oak and linden substrates. The maximum content of lycopene and β-carotene was determined in acetone and n-hexane (ratio 4 : 6) extracts of the fruiting bodies of the Oyster mushroom grown on an oak block. The results obtained in this study demonstrated that the quantitative and also probably the qualitative composition of the antioxidants in the fruiting bodies of Oyster mushrooms depended considerably on the substrate composition.

A relatively large part of the Slovak territory consists of the “marginal regions”, which in terms of the economy of ruminants keeping can efficiently produce animal commodities only occasionally. The geographic, social and economic stability of these regions is strongly influenced by the rearing of ruminants and the associated market milk production. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and aetiological agents of mastitis in two herds of dairy cows situated in the marginal parts of Slovakia. In total, 530 of the Slovak spotted breed and Holstein cows were involved in the study. The diagnosis of mastitis was performed on the basis of the clinical examination of the udder, macroscopic evaluation of the milk, determination of somatic cell count (SCC), and the bacteriological examination of the milk. The prevalence of mastitis in the two herds of dairy cows ranged from 34.7 % to 18.8 %, respectively. From the total of 2120 quarter milk samples, 36.3 % were positive to the California mastitis test (CMT). Also, pathogenic microorganisms causing intramammary infection (IMI) were isolated from 25.6 % of the samples, which accounted for most subclinical mastitis forms (23.3 %), with the SCC under 400 000, mainly caused by coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) and coliform bacteria E. coli and Enterobacter aerogenes. The clinical forms of mastitis accounted for 13.0 % of all infected cows and were caused mainly by the bacteria: Streptococcus uberis, Streptococcus agalactiae, Staphylococcus aureus and coagulasenegative staphylococci.