No abstract

In horses, there is an increasing interest in developing long-lasting drug formulations, with biopolymers as viable carrier alternatives in addition to their use as scaffolds, suture threads, screws, pins, and plates for orthopedic surgeries. This communication focuses on the prolonged biocompatibility and biodegradation of PLA, prepared by hot pressing at 180 °C. Six samples were implanted subcutaneously on the lateral surface of the neck of one horse. The polymers remained implanted for 24 to 57 weeks. Physical examination, plasma fibrinogen, and the mechanical nociceptive threshold (MNT) were performed. After 24, 28, 34, 38, and 57 weeks, the materials were removed for histochemical analysis using hematoxylin-eosin and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). There were no essential clinical changes. MNT decreased after the implantation procedure, returning to normal after 48 h. A foreign body response was observed by histopathologic evaluation up to 38 weeks. At 57 weeks, no polymer or fibrotic capsules were identified. SEM showed surface roughness suggesting a biodegradation process, with an increase in the median pore diameter. As in the histopathological evaluation, it was not possible to detect the polymer 57 weeks after implantation. PLA showed biocompatible degradation and these findings may contribute to future research in the biomedical area.

Facial-expression-based analysis has been widely applied as a pain coding system in horses. Herein, we aimed to identify pain in horses undergoing subcutaneously polylactide-based polymer implantation. The sham group was submitted only to surgical incision. The horses were filmed before and 24 and 48 h after implantation. Five statistical methods for evaluating their facial expressions (FEs) were tested. Primarily, three levels of scores (0, 1, and 2) were applied to the seven FEs (ear movements, eyebrow tension, orbicularis tension, dilated nostrils, eye opening, muzzle tension, and masticatory muscles tension). Subsequently, the scores of the seven FEs were added (SUM). Afterwards, principal component analysis (PCoA) was performed using the scores of the seven FEs obtained using the first method. Subsequently, weights were created for each FE, based on each variable’s contribution variability obtained from the PCoA (SUM.W). Lastly, we applied a general score (GFS) to the animal’s face (0 = without pain; 1 = moderate pain; 2 = severe pain). The mechanical nociceptive threshold (MNT) and cutaneous temperature (CT) values were collected at the same moments. The results show no intra- or intergroup differences, when evaluating each FE separately or in the GFS. In the intragroup comparison and 48 h after implantation, the control group showed higher values for SUM, PCoA, and SUM.W, although the horses implanted with polymers displayed more obvious alterations in the CT and MNT. Our findings show that the five statistical strategies used to analyze the faces of the horses were not able to detect low-grade inflammatory pain.

A atresia anal com fístula retovaginal, é considerada uma afecção congênita rara nos ovinos. Em virtude disso, buscou-se descrever o reparo cirúrgico e cuidados pós-operatórios em uma borrega que apresentava essa afecção. Nesse sentido, uma borrega, sem raça definida, de 25 dias de idade e pesando 7,2kg, apresentou sinais de distensão abdominal e defecação pela vulva. A afecção foi diagnosticada por meio do exame clínico e confirmada radiograficamente, constatando-se atresia anal do tipo III em associação com a fístula. A atresia anal ou imperfuração do ânus é uma anormalidade congênita associada aos desenvolvimentos embrionário ou fetal, passível de ser observada em todas as espécies. Pode se manifestar isoladamente ou estar associada a outras malformações congênitas, tais como fístula retovaginal, agenesia renal, rins policísticos, criptorquidismo, agenesia do cólon, disrafismo espinhal e agenesia sacral ou coccígea (Brown et al., 2007). Dentre as espécies animais, é mais comumente observada em bezerras e cabras (Johnson et al., 1980;Mattu et al., 1989 , citados por Singh, 2003.A atresia anal com fístula retovaginal, caracteriza-se pela comunicação entre a parede Recebido em 1 de dezembro de 2016 Aceito em 3 de fevereiro de 2017 E-mail: marinalansarini@hotmail.com dorsal da vagina e a porção ventral do reto, de modo que a defecação e a micção ocorrem por abertura comum na vulva (Johnson et al., 1985). Essa anormalidade pode ser classificada em quatro tipos: tipo I -estenose anal; tipo II -reto terminando como fundo (bolsa) cego, imediatamente cranial ao ânus imperfurado (membrana anal persistente); tipo IIIsemelhante ao tipo II, com localização mais oral do fundo (bolsa) retal; e tipo IV -atresia retal do segmento intestinal no canal pélvico, com agenesia da porção final do segmento retal e reto e ânus presentes (Rahal, 2007).As atresias anais tipos II e III, caracterizadas pela imperfuração do ânus, já foram reportadas em várias espécies de animais. Aparentemente, são mais observadas nos machos. A etiologia e os fatores genéticos e ambientais causais dessas http://dx