Disease is a major constraint in small ruminant production systems in lesser-developed countries throughout the world. Animal health projects have been an integral part of the Small Ruminant Collaborative Research Support Program (SR-CRSP) from its inception. At the onset, these projects were oriented toward herd health care and veterinary extension activities. Later, all the projects developed...

Because of the development of gene knockout and transgenic technologies, small animals, such as mice and rats, have become the most widely used animals for cardiovascular imaging studies. Imaging can provide a method to serially evaluate the effect of a particular genetic mutation or pharmacologic therapy (1). In addition, imaging can be used as a noninvasive screening tool for particular cardi...

We demonstrate the ability to image multiple nanoparticle-based contrast agents simultaneously using a nanophosphor platform excited by either radiopharmaceutical or X-ray irradiation. These radioluminescent nanoparticles emit optical light at unique wavelengths depending on their lanthanide dopant, enabling multiplexed imaging. This study demonstrates the separation of two distinct nanophospho...

Rats at various ages were observed to present with different radiosensitivity and bioavailability for radiotracers commonly used in preclinical research. We evaluated the effect of age-induced changes in body weight on radiation dose calculations. A series of rat models at different age periods were constructed based on the realistic four-dimensional digital rat whole-body (ROBY) computational ...

Sutures role in wound repair process is to provide hemostasis and support for healing tissue [1-6]. Different tissues have differing requirements for suture support because they heal at different rates. Some tissues need support for only a few days (e.g. muscle, subcutaneous tissue, skin), whereas others require weeks (fascia) or even months (tendon) to heal. Patient variations further affect s...

Thoracic surgery in small animals is considered a painful procedure, resulting in alterations in pulmonary function and respiratory mechanics. Modifications in surgical approach and technique and selection of the appropriate analgesic protocol may improve outcomes in dogs and cats after thoracic surgery. Systemic administration of opioids and other agents, intercostal and intrapleural blocks, a...

Today the majority of clinical molecular imaging procedures are carried out with single photon emitters and gamma cameras, in planar mode and Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) mode. Thanks to the development of advanced multi-pinhole collimation technologies, SPECT imaging of small experimental animals is rapidly gaining in popularity. Whereas resolutions in routine clinical SP...

UNLABELLED The objective of the work reported here was to develop and test automated methods to calculate biodistribution of PET tracers using small-animal PET images. METHODS After developing software that uses visually distinguishable organs and other landmarks on a scan to semiautomatically coregister a digital mouse phantom with a small-animal PET scan, we elastically transformed the phan...

Red blood cell transfusions in veterinary medicine have become increasingly more common and are an integral part of lifesaving and advanced treatment of the critically ill. Common situations involving transfusions are life-threatening anemia from acute hemorrhage or surgical blood loss, hemolysis from drugs or toxins, immune-mediated diseases, severe nonregenerative conditions, and neonatal iso...

The general veterinary practitioner has the difficult task of identifying, managing and advising on prognosis of heart disease, often with limited access to diagnostic equipment, or with limited experience in performing diagnostic procedures such as echocardiography. Financial resources are often limited. Furthermore pet owners may be reluctant to allow diagnostic investigation of animals they ...