Harmful effect of feeding dogs a raw-meat diet.

Pet owners need to be informed of risks, otherwise there becomes room for potentially harmful pet food diet beliefs if knowledge is not shared on the issue. Many pet owners believe giving a raw-meat diet to dogs is safe and in the best interest of the dogs,however this is not the case as some fatal cases have been linked to this practice. Food poisoning is the major risk here,dogs are usually ill from consuming spoilt,rancid ,tainted or contaminated meat leading to vomiting,diarrhoea and in severe cases death from dehydration. Raw meat also acts as host of certain parasite thus causing severe infection.Feeding raw meat also alters the behavioral pattern of most pets as experienced has shown that they tend to be more aggressive an vicious ready to attack and bite. Feeding raw meat to pets not only has health implication for the pets but the owner as well.The nutritional requirements of pets cannot be fully supplied by giving raw meat diet,thus nutritional deficiencies are common in such pets. A balanced diet is essential for growth ,development and effective functioning of systems in the body.

3D Printing Technology As Treatment Protocol For Arthritis.

Arthritis is becoming more rampant than ever, listed as the number one cause of disability and affecting over 50 million Americans, which is project to grow to around 67 million by 2030. The word arthritis is essentially defined as ‘joint inflammation’, and is an overarching medical term that describes around 200 rheumatic diseases that negatively impact the joints, surrounding cartilage, and connective tissues. 3D printing technology is helping patients to overcome it,as 3D printing has been used on numerous occasions to help enhance arthritis treatment.A 3D printing expert from the University of Waterloo produced a printer capable of 3D printing bone-like structures from calcium polyphosphate and last year, a number of assistive arthritis tools were 3D printed to ease certain tasks for those with the disease. Randy Clark, a doctor from the Utah-based Coral Desert Orthopaedics of St. George, detailed how improved 3D printing technology has led to better treatment methods for arthritis. Thus far, 3D printing is already capable of assisting in treating the most common form of the disease, which is osteoarthritis in the knee, generally caused by worn-down joints from overuse or abuse. There are a number of self-prescribed treatments to help alleviate this type of arthritis, such as exercise, staying healthy, and keeping the muscles around the joint strong. But some may require surgery at some point, which is where 3D printing technology has started to come into play. The use of patient-specific 3D printed implants help and surgeons believe that those suffering from arthritis could have more joint motion, less overall pain, and maybe even a quicker recovery. All of these benefits come at about the same cost as traditional implant methods, but did require a fair amount of trial-and-error to get right.

Arthritis becoming more prevalent with age, but technology keeps up from KCSG.com on Vimeo.

3D Scanning and 3D Printing Reveal the Evolutionary Roots of Joint Pain.

A study in University of Oxford by researchers shows how evolution may be responsible for some painful and aggravating conditions many of us currently face, especially as we get older. The Oxford Orthopedic Evolutionary Group was formed by Clinical Lecturer Dr. Paul Monk, Zoology Professor Fritz Vollrath, and Professor of Orthopedic Surgery and Musculoskeletal Science Dr. Jonathan Rees. The group’s research studies the evolutionary origins of human bones, how they turned into the skeletal structure we have now, and the ways in which they may be responsible for orthopedic problems today. According to the researchers recurring or chronic joint pain that seems to come from nowhere such as back problems and knee issues are everywhere, afflicting people seemingly without regard to size, diet or level of physical activity. The reason for this, according to the Oxford researchers, may go all the way back to when humans began walking on two legs – apparently our bodies didn’t adapt to it as well as they should have. Looking backwards involved taking CT scans of 224 ancient bone specimens located at the University of Oxford, London’s Natural History Museum, and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Those scans, which were taken not only from humans and hominids but primates, dinosaurs and other animals, were used to create a library of 3D models, which the researchers studied and compared to track the changes in the shapes and structures of single bones over the course of millions of years. One thing that they discovered was that the “neck” of the human thigh bone appears to have started growing thicker around the time humans started standing on two legs, which makes sense as the thigh bones would need to adapt to support the extra weight. Unfortunately, the thicker the femoral neck bone, the likelier it is that arthritis will develop – a good explanation for why so many adults suffer from hip pain. If the human body continues to evolve in the same trajectory as it has for millions of years, the femoral neck bone will continue to get thicker, leading to more cases of arthritis. The researchers used the 3D models to 3D print the “skeleton of the future,” using a mathematical algorithm to predict how human bones will continue to change shape, and if their predictions are correct, it’s not just the hips that will develop worsening problems. The study also found that a gap in the shoulder, which allows tendons and blood vessels to pass through, has been growing narrower over time, which would account for the pain that some people have when they lift their arms over their heads. source

How to use data to breed and promote disease resistance in ruminants.

The uses of data in agriculture and agribusiness is growing by the day from normal monitoring of animal production,to epidemiology,to animal tracing and product tracking to now disease resistance.Breeding programmes for ruminant benefit largely from data,data analysis and interpretation as this gives an accurate projection of production status and hence profitability of venture. Food security can be achieved if modern techniques are injected into agriculture with respect to breeding genetically superior breeds and species. Data analysis not only simplifies the work of the farmer it also cuts costs and extends productivity of animals on the farm. The use of data on farms has gone a step further by promoting health and productivity of farm animals. Parasites in farm animals are a major cause of of losses and farmers strive to keep internal and external parasites at bay,now farmers are using Estimated Breeding Values (EBV) data generated through the National Sheep Improvement Program, to help promote genetic resistance to parasites. EBVs are calculated by making comparisons, or rather genetic linkages, between not only related animals in one flock, but also by looking at those genetic linkages with related animals in other flocks. Through these linkages, producers can then make selection decisions for a number of different traits. This multi-trait selection can often include traits that may or may not be visually evaluated. Parasite resistance would be one of those traits that would incorporate both visual and non-visual appraisal. When selecting breeding animals, the goal is to select those genetics to be passed to the next generation of the sheep flock. When you only select on phenotypic traits, those you can visually assess, you are not able sort out the difference between how much of this trait is affected by genetics compared to how much of this trait is affected by the environment now the, EBVs can take the guesswork out of the visual appraisal. The most accurate method to assess parasite resistance in an individual sheep is through the use of an EBV for worm egg count.The EBV for parasite resistance is based on worm egg counts (WEC) that are recorded at weaning, early post-weaning or late post-weaning time-frames. Animals that have a low or negative WEC EBV can be expected to have more resistance to parasites than animals with higher EBVs for WEC e.g if you want to choose between a ram with an EBV of -20 and one with an EBV of 2 for worm egg count, you should consider the ram with the -20 EBV over the other ram. Producers who raise sheep in temperate climates where internal parasites have a large effect on growth and performance can find this EBV very beneficial. According to NSIP’s fact sheet “NSIP EBV Notebook” research suggests that post-weaning WEC EBVs are the most useful genetic indicator of parasite resistance, although studies with Katahdin sheep show that weaning worm egg counts provide useful information on parasite resistance in young lambs. Weaning and post-weaning WEC EBVs are strongly, but not perfectly, correlated. Learn more here and lets start breeding ;see

Antivenom made from nanoparticles could eventually treat bites from any snake.

Different types of snakes produce different types of toxins which means snake bite victims not only need to get a dose of antivenom as soon as possible, but they have to get the right one. Now, researchers report that they have devised nanoparticles that sop up a variety of common venom toxins in test tube studies, a key stride in coming up with the first ever broad-spectrum snake antivenom. The strategy could eventually be used to combat toxins from scorpions, spiders, bees, and other venomous creatures.The lack of such a therapeutic is part of the reason that more than 100,000 people a year die from snake bites, mostly in Africa and Southeast Asia. That’s not the only danger, venomous snakes bite an estimated 4.5 million people every year, nearly 3 million of whom suffer serious injuries, such as the loss of a limb. This is because almost all snake bites occur in rural areas where people lack ready access to a clinic stocked with antivenom and in many cases, victims receive the incorrect antivenom. Producing conventional antivenom isn’t easy. The process starts by injecting an animal, often a horse, with a small amount of diluted venom from a particular snake. The animal’s immune system produces a mixture of antibodies capable of binding to and inactivating the toxins. Blood is then extracted from the animal, and the antibodies are purified and formulated for injecting into bite victims. Conventional antivenoms have several problems, as producing antibody-based antivenoms is time consuming and expensive, making it difficult for drug companies to make money on their sale, says Ken Shea, a chemist at the University of California, Irvine, who led the new work. That has contributed to a recent worldwide shortage. The antibody formulations must also be refrigerated, making them less accessible in the poorest parts of the developing world where they are often needed most.continue

A new vaccine for E.coli in cattle.

A brand new vaccine which is effective at controlling e.coli 0157 – the cattle disease which can prove fatal in humans – has been developed by a team of Scottish scientists. E.coli 0157 is endemic in around 20% of Scottish cattle herds at any one time but does not appear to have any impact on health or productivity of animals. However people who are infected through direct contact with cattle faeces or indirect contact with contaminated water, food or the environment, can suffer severe diarrhoea and in some cases fatal renal failure as a result of toxins the bacteria produce. After a decade of collaboration, staff at the Moredun Institute, the Roslin Institute and Scotland’s Rural College have developed the vaccine which is capable of controlling e.coli 0157 in cattle under experimental conditions. It remains to be seen how it will perform in the field where various strains of the disease may be present. The Moredun is now looking for commercial partners to exploit the vaccine but lead scientist, Tom McNeilly, acknowledges there will be debate over who should be responsible for paying for it.continue

Tech Start-up Designs Solar Tablet for Rural Mozambicans.

Mozambican technology start-up company Kamaleon, has designed a solar-powered mobile computer with touch screen displays and virtual keyboards built on a trailer to provide Internet access to remote areas. Internet access remains very low in Africa, especially in rural communities, inhibiting access to much-needed health education and counselling platforms for health organizations and schools.The Community Tablet is an innovative and engaging way that promotes digital literacy to solve these problems. The Community Tablet offers training on how to use the Internet and its features to community members and the local workforce; the technology and digital literacy contributing to greater effectiveness of civic education campaigns in various communities. It was first launched in Mozambique which has 24 million people without Internet access in November 2016 to support campaigns on various Health and Education initiatives in partnership with governmental and private organisations. It will spread up-to-date messages and interactive lessons that showcase symptoms, prevention and treatment options- replacing the need for leaflet distributions to convey life saving information.more