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Among the phytocomplex components of Cannabis sativa L., cannabidiol (CBD) has a recognised therapeutic effect on chronic pain. Little is known about the veterinary use of CBD in dogs. Even less is known on the effects of CBD on dog behaviour, especially in shelters. The purpose of this study was to determine if CBD affects stress related behaviour in shelter dogs. The sample consisted of 24 dogs divided into two groups that were created by assigning the dogs alternately: 12 dogs were assigned to the treatment group and 12 to the control group. Extra virgin olive oil, titrated to 5% in CBD was given to treated group; the placebo consisted of olive oil only, dispensed daily for 45 days. Behavioural data were collected using the 'focal animal' sampling method with 'all occurrences' and '1/0' methods for 3 h: before (T

Mast cell tumor (MCT) is the most common malignant skin tumor in dogs. In order to gain more information on the prognostic markers in MCT, the role of the eosinophil granulocytes infiltrates was investigated and assessed by the evaluation of tumor-associated tissue eosinophilia (TATE) in 87 canine cutaneous MCTs. In human medicine, high TATE are often described in highly angiogenic tumors: we therefore assessed the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in neoplastic mast cells. TATE and VEGF expression were compared between themselves, with histological grading, immunohistochemical expression of KIT and Ki-67, and with the recurrence. We found a statistically significant correlation between TATE and Patnaik grading (p = 0.041), Kiupel grading (p = 0.022), immunohistochemical KIT expression (p = 0.015), and tumor recurrence (p = 0.000). No associations were observed with Ki-67 and VEGF expression. This is the first evaluation of TATE and its prognostic value in canine MCTs in veterinary oncology. This study suggest that this investigation could be an important source of information for this tumor and for other neoplasms.

Among the phytocomplex components of Cannabis sativa L., cannabidiol (CBD) has a recognised therapeutic effect on chronic pain. Little is known about the veterinary use of CBD in dogs. Even less is known on the effects of CBD on dog behaviour, especially in shelters. The purpose of this study was to determine if CBD affects stress related behaviour in shelter dogs. The sample consisted of 24 dogs divided into two groups that were created by assigning the dogs alternately: 12 dogs were assigned to the treatment group and 12 to the control group. Extra virgin olive oil, titrated to 5% in CBD was given to treated group; the placebo consisted of olive oil only, dispensed daily for 45 days. Behavioural data were collected using the ‘focal animal’ sampling method with ‘all occurrences’ and ‘1/0’ methods for 3 h: before (T0), after 15 days (T1), after 45 days of treatment (T2) and after 15 days from the end of the treatment (T3). Treated dogs showed reduced aggressive behaviour toward humans following the treatment (Friedman Test: χ2 = 13.300; df = 3; N = 12; p = .004; adj. sig. p = 0.027), but the difference in the decrease of aggressive behaviour between the two groups was not significant (Mann–Whitney U test, T2–T0: Z = − 1.81; N = 24; p = 0.078). Other behaviours indicative of stress, such as displacing activities and stereotypes, did not decrease. Despite some non-significant results, our findings suggest that it is worth doing more research to further investigate the effect of CBD on dog behaviour; this would be certainly valuable because the potential for improving the welfare of dogs in shelters is priceless.

The present paper assesses the multi-observer evaluation of ultrasonographic response of horses with superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) damage to the inoculation of autologous adipose mesenchymal stem cells (AMSCs). The study included 15 horses recruited at an equine hospital following a SDFT damage diagnosis. Horses were implanted with AMSCs obtained from the paracaudal region. Treatment efficacy, in terms of morphological recovery of SDTF considered as degree of echogenicity (TS) and percentage of fibres alignment (FAS), was evaluated using four experts. Inter-observer agreement of experts’ judgements on ultrasonographic examinations in different stages of recovery was calculated. The classification of the intra-observer agreement was defined as good for both TS and FAS while the inter-observer agreement was good for TS and moderate for FAS. Ultrasonographic images judged as having a higher TS showed 95 times greater chance of belonging to the final recovery stage than the first and a 50 times greater chance resulted for FAS. This study provided evidence that the inter-observer agreement of ultrasonographic images is a reliable and valid method to evaluate the morphological recovery of injured tendons. In addition, the study demonstrated the morphological recovery of SDFT in horses following AMSCs injection through an independent evaluation system. Key words: multi-observer agreement; ultrasonographic diagnosis; adipose mesenchymal stem cells; equine tendon desmopathy  PRESOJA OCEN OPAZOVANJA VEAŒ STROKOVNJAKOV IN VEAŒKRATNIH PREGLEDOV ULTRAZVOAŒNIH UGOTOVITEV PO ZDRAVLJENJU POA KODBE POVRA INSKE UPOGIBOVALKE PRSTOV PRI KONJIH Z MEZENHIMSKIMI MATIAŒNIMI CELICAMI, PRIDOBLJENIMI IZ MAA AŒOBNEGA TKIVA Povzetek : V Alanku so obravnavane ocene opazovanj veA opazovalcev, ki so z ultrazvokom spremljali celjenje poAikodovane tetive povrAiinske upogibovalke prstov (SDFT) po zdravljenju z avtolognimi maAiAobnih matiAnimi celicami (AMSC). V raziskavo je bilo vkljuAenih 15 konjev, ki so bili napoteni na Kliniko za zdravstveno varstvo kopitarjev po diagnozi poAikodbe SDFT. Konji so bili zdravljeni z vsadki AMSC, pridobljenimi iz parakavdalnega podroAja. UAinkovitost zdravljenja v smislu morfoloAike obnove SDTF, ki je bila obravnavana kot stopnja ehogenosti (TS) in odstotka poravnave vlaken (FAS), je bila ovrednotena s pomoAjo Aitirih strokovnjakov. IzraAunana je bila klasifikacija ocen strokovnjakov o opazovanju izsledkov ultrazvoAnih pregledov v razliAnih fazah okrevanja A¾ivali. Razvrstitev ocen znotraj posameznega opazovalca je bila znaAilno enotna za TS in FAS, medtem ko je bila podobnost ocen med opazovalci znaAilno enotna za TS in zmerno enotna za FAS. UltrazvoAne slike, za katere je bilo ocenjeno, da imajo viAijo TS, so pokazale 95-krat veAjo moA¾nost za doseganje konAne faze okrevanja in 50-krat veAjo moA¾nost za FAS. Ta Aitudija dokazuje, da je enotnost ocen, ki izhaja iz ocen ultrazvoAnih slik veA neodvisnih ocenjevalcev zanesljiva in uporabna metoda za oceno morfoloAike ozdravitve poAikodovanih tetiv. Poleg tega je Aitudija s pomoAjo opisanega neodvisnega sistema ocenjevanja pokazala morfoloAiko okrevanje SDFT pri konjih po aplikaciji AMSC. KljuAne besede: dogovor ocenjevanja veA opazovalcev; ultrazvoAna diagnoza; mezenhimske maAiAobne matiAne celice; dezmopatija tetive konjev

The health status of the honey bee populations has attracted a great amount of interest in recent years. We investigated honey bee health in five natural protected areas in Italy from October 2009 to December 2010. Areas were selected to represent a wide range of bio‑geographical zones including alpine, continental, and Mediterranean. Within each of these natural protected areas, one apiary of 20 colonies near potential pollution sources (e.g., agricultural areas, industrial areas, or urban settlements) and another apiary of 20 colonies far from possible sources of pollutants have been placed. To monitor honey bee health, colony mortality was related to: honey bee pathologies, environment (Naturality Index, plant protection products and heavy metal exposure), and apiary management. Anthropogenic pollutants and pathogens did not have significant effects on colony mortality while environment and the poor colony management skills of the beekeepers did.

The genetic and breed susceptibility of visceral hemangiosarcoma in dogs has been studied, but there is no evidence of environmental risk factors as reported in human medicine. We conducted a case-control study in which the sampling population was the list of canine oncology cases of the Animal Tumour Registry of Lazio region, Italy (2009-2017). We defined cases as dogs with visceral hemangiosarcoma and controls as dogs affected by another neoplasm. The ratio between controls and cases was 3:1. Analysed variables were: age, weight, sex, reproductive status, size, breed, nutrition habit, living environment and location of the house. We performed a preliminary univariate analysis to select potential risk factors (p-value0.2) then entered in a forward stepwise logistic regression model. Ninety-three cases enrolled in the study were compared with 279 controls. The multivariable logistic regression identified age, reproductive status and breed as significant risk factors. Results showed an increasing risk with increasing age for age classes 6-10 and10 years old (OR = 9.69, 95 % CI: 1.21-77.62; OR = 14.01, 95 % CI: 1.65-119.03). Neutered animals (male and female) were at greater risk compared to intact ones. The breeds at greatest risk were German shepherd (OR = 4.17, 95 % CI: 1.25-13.86) and mixed breed (OR = 3.50, 95 % CI: 1.44-8.51). The last finding could be explained by the genetic origin of the animals, which may include German shepherd or another possible breed at risk. No other individual or environmental variables were identified as risk factors. The findings of this work indicate that genetic predisposition is the key element in visceral hemangiosarcoma development.

Bats are particularly suited as bioindicators of trace element pollution due to their longevity and their position in the trophic chain. In this study, the concentrations of ten non-essential trace elements (Al, As, Ba, Cd, Hg, Pb, Sb, Sr, Th, Tl) were determined in the tissues (whole body, skin-fur, skinned body, liver, kidney and bone) of lactant Tadarida teniotis from a nursery colony in Rome. A large number of bats from this nursery died before fledging and had bone deformities and fractures. The concentrations of non-essential trace elements in bone and whole body were also analysed in adult specimens of Miniopterus schreibersii from a colony located in a natural park in Northern Italy. In lactant T.teniotis, the Pb concentration decreased in the following order: bone>liver>skinned body>whole body>skin-fur>kidney, and exceeded the toxic threshold associated with negative effects reported for different mammalian species. The levels of the other non-essential trace elements were within a range indicative of low environmental contamination in both species. Significant interspecies differences (P

In Italy, food-borne outbreaks of opisthorchiasis have occurred since 2003, all of them originating from some lakes in Central Italy where the only European liver fluke, Opisthorchis felineus (Rivolta, 1884) is endemic. The aim of the present study is to investigate the factors that may facilitate the life cycle of O. felineus in the area of Bolsena Lake, the knowledge of the local population about opisthorchiasis, and preventative healthcare measures. We performed a descriptive observational study through the submission of questionnaires to three target populations: fishermen who fish exclusively in Bolsena Lake, restaurateurs whose businesses are close to the lake and general population living in the province of Viterbo. Results showed hazardous behaviours and eating habits in the three target populations, as well as a poor knowledge of opisthorchiasis and preventative healthcare measures.

The health status of the honey bee populations has attracted a great amount of interest in recent years. We investigated honey bee health in five natural protected areas in Italy from October 2009 to December 2010. Areas were selected to represent a wide range of bio‑geographical zones including alpine, continental, and Mediterranean. Within each of these natural protected areas, one apiary of 20 colonies near potential pollution sources (e.g., agricultural areas, industrial areas, or urban settlements) and another apiary of 20 colonies far from possible sources of pollutants have been placed. To monitor honey bee health, colony mortality was related to: honey bee pathologies, environment (Naturality Index, plant protection products and heavy metal exposure), and apiary management. Anthropogenic pollutants and pathogens did not have significant effects on colony mortality while environment and the poor colony management skills of the beekeepers did.

In most European countries, registration and identification of dogs is compulsory. In Italy, the national dog registry is composed of regional dog registries. Although dog registries have been established for many years, the issue related to completeness of data has not been addressed so far. The objective of this study was twofold: first to assess the completeness of data of the dog registry through telephone interview of a sample of dog owners drawn from the dog registry, then to estimate the total owned dog population in 4 boroughs of Rome. For the second objective, a capture–recapture method was applied using data from the dog registry and data from a face-to-face questionnaire submitted to people waiting in the sitting room of 5 points of access for booking and payment of primary and specialist care. Different scenarios are proposed to verify the assumptions of the estimation procedure and potential biases are discussed. The completeness of data of the dog registry was 88.9% (95% CI: 85.8–91.9%) and the owned-dog population was estimated at 26,244 dogs (95% CI: 24,110–28,383). The dog registry is an important source of information especially when it is properly updated and completeness of data is known.