Behavior assessment and applications for BRD diagnosis: preweaned dairy calves

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Catie Cramer ◽  
Theresa L. Ollivett

Abstract Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is an important disease in dairy calves due to its long-lasting effects. Early identification results in better outcomes for the animal, but producers struggle to identify all calves with BRD. Sickness behavior, or the behavioral changes that accompany illness, has been investigated for its usefulness as a disease detection tool. Behavioral changes associated with BRD include decreased milk intake and drinking speed, depressed attitude, and less likelihood of approaching a novel object or stationary human. Behavioral measurements are useful, as they can be collected automatically or with little financial input. However, one limitation of many BRD behavioral studies includes the use of either lung auscultation or clinical signs as reference methods, which are imperfect. Additionally, external factors may influence the expression of sickness behavior, which can affect if and when behavior can be used to identify calves with BRD. Behavioral measures available to detect BRD lack adequate sensitivity and specificity to be the sole means of disease detection, especially when detection tools, such as calf lung ultrasound, have better test characteristics. However, using behavioral assessments in addition to other detection methods can allow for a robust BRD detection program that can ameliorate the consequences of BRD.

2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Inmaculada Cuevas-Gómez ◽  
Mark McGee ◽  
José María Sánchez ◽  
Edward O’Riordan ◽  
Nicky Byrne ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is the main cause of mortality among 1-to-5 month old calves in Ireland, accounting for approximately one-third of deaths. Despite widespread use of clinical respiratory signs for diagnosing BRD, lung lesions are detected, using thoracic ultrasonography (TUS) or following post-mortem, in calves showing no clinical signs. This highlights the limitation of clinical respiratory signs as a method of detecting sub-clinical BRD. Using 53 purchased artificially-reared male dairy calves, the objectives of this study were to: (i) characterise the BRD incidence detected by clinical respiratory signs and/or TUS, (ii) investigate the association between clinical respiratory signs and lung lesions detected by TUS, and (iii) assess the effect of BRD on pre-weaning growth. Results Clinical BRD (based on Wisconsin clinical respiratory score and/or rectal temperature > 39.6 ºC) was detected in 43 % and sonographic changes (lung lesions) were detected in 64 % of calves from purchase (23 (SD; 6.2) days of age) until weaning, 53 days post-arrival. Calves with clinical BRD were treated. Sixty-one per cent calves affected with clinical BRD had lung lesions 10.5 days (median) before detection of clinical signs. Moderate correlations (rsp 0.70; P < 0.05) were found between cough and severe lung lesions on arrival day, and between rectal temperature > 39.6 ºC and lung lesions ≥ 2 cm2 on day 7 (rsp 0.40; P < 0.05) post-arrival. Mean average daily live weight gain (ADG) of calves from purchase to weaning was 0.75 (SD; 0.10) kg; calves with or without clinical BRD did not differ in ADG (P > 0.05), whereas ADG of those with severe lung lesions (lung lobe completely consolidated or pulmonary emphysema) was 0.12 kg/d less (P < 0.05) than calves without lung lesions. Conclusions Thoracic ultrasonography detected lung consolidation in calves that did not show signs of respiratory disease. The presence of severe lung lesions was associated with reduced pre-weaning growth. These findings emphasise the importance of using TUS in addition to clinical respiratory scoring of calves for an early and accurate detection of clinical and sub-clinical BRD.


Plant Disease ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 83 (12) ◽  
pp. 1170-1175 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Hoy ◽  
M. P. Grisham ◽  
K. E. Damann

The spread and increase of ratoon stunting disease (RSD) resulting from two mechanical harvests were compared in eight sugarcane cultivars at two locations. RSD spread and increase were detected in the ratoon crops grown after each harvest and varied among cultivars and locations. Disease spread and increase were greater in plants grown from stalks collected at the first harvest than in the first ratoon growth from the harvested field. RSD infection was determined using five disease detection methods: alkaline-induced metaxylem autofluorescence; microscopic examination of xylem sap; and dot blot, evaporative-binding, and tissue blot enzyme immunoassays. The tissue blot enzyme immunoassay was the most accurate RSD detection method. The dot blot and evaporative-binding enzyme immunoassays were the least sensitive for detection of RSD-infected stalks, and alkaline-induced metaxylem autofluorescence was least accurate for correct identification of noninfected stalks. The results indicate that disease spread and increase are variable even among cultivars susceptible to yield loss due to RSD, and the greatest threat of disease spread and increase occurs at planting.


Chemosensors ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alphus Dan Wilson

The development of electronic-nose (e-nose) technologies for disease diagnostics was initiated in the biomedical field for detection of biotic (microbial) causes of human diseases during the mid-1980s. The use of e-nose devices for disease-diagnostic applications subsequently was extended to plant and animal hosts through the invention of new gas-sensing instrument types and disease-detection methods with sensor arrays developed and adapted for additional host types and chemical classes of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) closely associated with individual diseases. Considerable progress in animal disease detection using e-noses in combination with metabolomics has been accomplished in the field of veterinary medicine with new important discoveries of biomarker metabolites and aroma profiles for major infectious diseases of livestock, wildlife, and fish from both terrestrial and aquaculture pathology research. Progress in the discovery of new e-nose technologies developed for biomedical applications has exploded with new information and methods for diagnostic sampling and disease detection, identification of key chemical disease biomarkers, improvements in sensor designs, algorithms for discriminant analysis, and greater, more widespread testing of efficacy in clinical trials. This review summarizes progressive advancements in utilizing these specialized gas-sensing devices for numerous diagnostic applications involving noninvasive early detections of plant, animal, and human diseases.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 251-264
Author(s):  
Radhika Bhagwat ◽  
Yogesh Dandawate

Plant diseases cause major yield and economic losses. To detect plant disease at early stages, selecting appropriate techniques is imperative as it affects the cost, diagnosis time, and accuracy. This research gives a comprehensive review of various plant disease detection methods based on the images used and processing algorithms applied. It systematically analyzes various traditional machine learning and deep learning algorithms used for processing visible and spectral range images, and comparatively evaluates the work done in literature in terms of datasets used, various image processing techniques employed, models utilized, and efficiency achieved. The study discusses the benefits and restrictions of each method along with the challenges to be addressed for rapid and accurate plant disease detection. Results show that for plant disease detection, deep learning outperforms traditional machine learning algorithms while visible range images are more widely used compared to spectral images.


1995 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 289-298
Author(s):  
R.V. Kenyon ◽  
R. Kerschmann ◽  
R. Sgarioto ◽  
S. Jun ◽  
J. Vellinger

Sixty-four fertilized chicken eggs, half at developmental Day 2 and half at Day 9, were exposed to micro-gravity for 5 days aboard the shuttle. Postflight examination showed that none of the Day 2 flight embryos had survived, whereas the Day 9 flight group and both groups of synchronous ground control embryos appeared viable. One-half of the Day 9 flight and ground control embryos were dissected and the temporal bones preserved in acetone for morphological examination. The other half was allowed to hatch to examine vestibularly related behavioral changes. Morphology of the lagenar otoconia was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. Behavioral changes were accessed by a battery of reflex tests and recordings of spontaneous and vestibularly driven head movements. The results from both the morphological and behavioral studies showed no consistent difference between the flight and the control animals. Several hypotheses may account for this negative result. Because all the Day 2 embryos failed to survive, the remaining Day 9 chicks may have passed the critical developmental period of the chick’s vestibular system. Also, the reexposure of the developing chick embryo to earth’s 1-g environment may have masked any adverse behavioral effects that exposure to Microgravity may have caused.


2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Asmaa H A Mahmoud ◽  
Jamison R Slate ◽  
Suyeon Hong ◽  
Ilkyu Yoon ◽  
Jodi L McGill

Abstract The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of oral supplementation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation products (SCFP; SmartCare and NutriTek; Diamond V, Cedar Rapids, IA) on immune function and bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) infection in preweaned dairy calves. Twenty-four Holstein × Angus, 1- to 2-d-old calves (38.46 ± 0.91 kg initial body weight [BW]) were assigned two treatment groups: control or SCFP treated, milk replacer with 1 g/d SCFP (SmartCare) and calf starter top-dressed with 5 g/d SCFP (NutriTek). The study consisted of one 31-d period. On days 19 to 21 of the supplementation period, calves were challenged via aerosol inoculation with BRSV strain 375. Calves were monitored twice daily for clinical signs, including rectal temperature, cough, nasal and ocular discharge, respiration effort, and lung auscultation. Calves were euthanized on day 10 postinfection (days 29 to 31 of the supplementation period) to evaluate gross lung pathology and pathogen load. Supplementation with SCFP did not affect BW (P = 0.762) or average daily gain (P = 0.750), percentages of circulating white blood cells (P &lt; 0.05), phagocytic (P = 0.427 for neutrophils and P = 0.460 for monocytes) or respiratory burst (P = 0.119 for neutrophils and P = 0.414 for monocytes) activity by circulating leukocytes either before or following BRSV infection, or serum cortisol concentrations (P = 0.321) after BRSV infection. Calves receiving SCFP had reduced clinical disease scores compared with control calves (P = 0.030), reduced airway neutrophil recruitment (P &lt; 0.002), reduced lung pathology (P = 0.031), and a reduced incidence of secondary bacterial infection. Calves receiving SCFP shed reduced virus compared with control calves (P = 0.049) and tended toward lower viral loads in the lungs (P = 0.051). Immune cells from the peripheral blood of SCFP-treated calves produced increased (P &lt; 0.05) quantities of interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in response to toll-like receptor stimulation, while cells from the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) of SCFP-treated calves secreted less (P &lt; 0.05) proinflammatory cytokines in response to the same stimuli. Treatment with SCFP had no effect on virus-specific T cell responses in the blood but resulted in reduced (P = 0.045) virus-specific IL-17 secretion by T cells in the BAL. Supplementing with SCFP modulates both systemic and mucosal immune responses and may improve the outcome of an acute respiratory viral infection in preweaned dairy calves.


Cephalalgia ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (11) ◽  
pp. 1017-1025 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Zhao ◽  
Dara Bree ◽  
Michael G Harrington ◽  
Andrew M Strassman ◽  
Dan Levy

Background Application of inflammatory mediators to the cranial dura has been used as a method to activate and sensitize neurons in the meningeal sensory pathway in preclinical behavioral studies of headache mechanisms. However, the relatively high concentrations and volumes used in these studies raise the question of whether the applied agents might pass through the dura to act directly on central neurons, thus bypassing the dural afferent pathway. Methods We used a radiolabeling approach to quantify the meningeal permeability of two of the inflammatory mediators, 5-HT and PGE2, when applied to the cranial dura as part of an inflammatory mixture used in preclinical headache models. Results Both agents could be detected in samples taken four hours after dural application in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and, in measurements made only for PGE2, in the central nervous system (CNS) as well. Based on our measurements, we made estimates of the CSF and CNS levels that would be attained with the higher concentrations and volumes of 5HT and PGE2 that were exogenously applied in previous pre-clinical headache studies. These estimated levels were comparable to or larger than normal endogenous levels, potentially large enough to have physiological effects. Conclusions The finding that the cranial meninges are permeable to the two tested inflammatory mediators PGE2 and 5-HT raises some uncertainty about whether the behavioral changes observed in prior pre-clinical headache studies with these as well as other agents can be attributed entirely to the activation of dural nociceptors, particularly when the agents are applied at concentrations several orders of magnitude above physiological levels.


1997 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 250-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul H. Walz ◽  
Thomas P. Mullaney ◽  
James A. Render ◽  
Robert D. Walker ◽  
Theresa Mosser ◽  
...  

Mycoplasma bovis was isolated from the tympanic bullae of dairy calves with an exudative otitis media. The history, clinical signs, gross and histologic lesions, and bacteriologic findings are described for 5 preweaned Holstein calves with otitis media from a 600-cow dairy in Michigan. Clinical findings consisted of unilateral or bilateral ear droop, epiphora, head tilt, and recumbency in severely affected calves. Postmortem examination revealed unilateral or bilateral fibrinosuppurative to caseous exudate in the tympanic bullae. Histologically, a marked fibrinosuppurative to caseous exudate filled the tympanic air spaces. The partially ulcerated tympanic mucosa was markedly thickened with mononuclear cell infiltration and proliferation of fibrous connective tissue. Bone remodeling and periosteal hyperostosis were present in some osseous septa. Mycoplasma bovis was isolated from the tympanic bullae of all 5 calves and from the lungs of 2 calves and the frontal sinus of 1 calf. Mycoplasma bovis was isolated at > 100,000 colony forming units/ml from the bulk milk tank of the farm of origin. The isolation of M. bovis from the bulk milk tank, indicating subclinical mycoplasmal mastitis coupled with the feeding of waste milk from mastitic cows to calves is suggestive of a possible source of the infection resulting in otitis media in preweaned dairy calves.


Author(s):  
Gretchen N. Neigh ◽  
Mandakh Bekhbat ◽  
Sydney A. Rowson

Bidirectional interactions between the immune system and central nervous system have been acknowledged for centuries. Over the past 100 years, pioneering studies in both animal models and humans have delineated the behavioral consequences of neuroimmune activation, including the different facets of sickness behavior. Rodent studies have uncovered multiple neural pathways and mechanisms that mediate anorexia, fever, sleep alterations, and social withdrawal following immune activation. Furthermore, work conducted in human patients receiving interferon treatment has elucidated some of the mechanisms underlying immune-induced behavioral changes such as malaise, depressive symptoms, and cognitive deficits. These findings have provided the foundation for development of treatment interventions for conditions in which dysfunction of immune-brain interactions leads to behavioral pathology. Rodent models of neuroimmune activation frequently utilize endotoxins and cytokines to directly stimulate the immune system. In the absence of pathogen-induced inflammation, a variety of environmental stressors, including psychosocial stressors, also lead to neuroimmune alterations and concurrent behavioral changes. These behavioral alterations can be assessed using a battery of behavioral paradigms while distinguishing acute sickness behavior from the type of behavioral outcome being assessed. Animal studies have also been useful in delineating the role of microglia, the neuroendocrine system, neurotransmitters, and neurotrophins in mediating the behavioral implications of altered neuroimmune activity. Furthermore, the timing and duration of neuroimmune challenge as well as the sex of the organism can impact the behavioral manifestations of altered neuroimmune activity. Finally, neuroimmune modulation through pharmacological or psychosocial approaches has potential for modulating behavior.


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