Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Evaluation Of Several Pre-Clinical Tools For Identifying Characteristics Associated With Limb Bone Fracture In Thoroughbred Racehorses, Anthony Nicholas Corsten

Open Access Theses

Catastrophic skeletal fractures in racehorses are devastating not only to the animals, owners and trainers, but also to the perception of the sport in the public eye. The majority of these fatal accidents are unlikely to be due to chance, but are rather an end result failure from stress fractures. Stress fractures are overuse injuries resulting from an accumulation of bone tissue damage over time. Because stress fractures are pathological, it is possible that overt fractures can be predicted and prevented. In this study, third metacarpals (MC3) from 33 thoroughbred racehorse comprised of 8 non-fractured controls and 25 horses that …

The Impact Of Tickling Rats On Human-Animal Interactions And Rat Welfare, Megan Renee Lafollette

Open Access Theses

Rats initially fear humans which can lead to negative affect, poor welfare, and difficult handling. Also, modeling and measuring positive affect states in rats can pose an additional challenge. Heterospecific play, or “tickling,” is a handling habituation technique that mimics rat rough-and-tumble play that is being used to study positive affect. It can also be used to reduce fear of human, improve welfare, and elicit a positive affect state. However, current studies implementing the technique in laboratory rats use a wide variety of protocols to achieve differential results. Unlike in laboratory environment, pet store rats experience high levels of novelty …

Evaluating The Physical Welfare Of Dogs In Commercial Breeding Facilities In The United States, Moriah J. Hurt

Open Access Theses

Despite high levels of public concern, the state of commercial breeding (CB) dog welfare is largely unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize the physical welfare of dogs in CB facilities and their environment in Indiana. This study specifically aimed 1) to characterize dog foot health in CB facilities as a function of the length of time dogs were housed on a given flooring substrate, 2) to characterize visual dog body cleanliness and visual kennel cleanliness as a function of the flooring substrate, 3) to determine the efficacy of kennel cleaning procedures and 4) to characterize the dog dental and …

Influence Of Dietary Component Manipulation And Feed Management Strategies On Growth And Rumen Development Of Weaned Dairy Heifers, Tana Shea Dennis

Open Access Dissertations

Well-developed replacement heifers provide a central foundation for the continued success of the dairy industry. Emphasis on improving pre-weaned calf nutrition has predominated in the industry, but opportunities exist to improve post-weaning heifer nutrition and management. We aimed to evaluate common feed management strategies seen in the industry and their effects on growth, feed efficiency (G:F), and rumen development of calves from birth to 8 mo of age using pen- and individually-fed animal trials. Little information exists regarding post-weaning performance and rumen development of calves fed conventional or high planes of nutrition pre-weaning; therefore, we evaluated two milk replacer feeding …

Evaluating The Prevalence And Effectiveness Of Breed-Specific Legislation, Felicia E. Trembath

Open Access Dissertations

Dog bites pose a persistent public health problem, which some jurisdictions pass breed-specific legislation (BSL) to address. However, very little non-anecdotal evidence regarding the efficacy of BSL has been presented. Currently, BSL research is hampered by the absence of standard terminology, an established prevalence, or a scientific consensus on its effectiveness. The purpose of this study is to propose standardized terminology for BSL, establish the prevalence of each type of BSL in the USA, and conduct a systematic review of the effectiveness of BSL.

After review of terminology currently in use, as well as review of the regulatory actions of …

Evaluation Of Negative Energy And Mineral Balance In Periparturient Holstein-Friesian Cattle, Ameer Ahmed Abdelhameed

Open Access Dissertations

Most cows experience a state of negative energy and mineral balance during the periparturient period. This imbalance is a major problem in the dairy industry and it is more frequently seen in multiparous cattle due to their high milk production. A large amount of fat and protein is mobilized in order to address the energy deficit during the periparturient period. The ability to accurately monitor energetics and electrolytes status using accurate, rapid, and low cost point-of-care instruments will assist in optimizing animal health and productivity.

This dissertation contains three studies that evaluated point-of-care instruments for measuring blood and plasma glucose, …

The Effects Of Acidified Pepsin On Porcine Vocal Fold Tissue: Developing A Porcine Model Of Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Disease, Abigail Cox Durkes

Open Access Dissertations

Approximately 7.5 million Americans are affected by a voice disorder. In the last year, 7.2% of people missed one or more days of work due to a voice problem. For professional voice users, such as teachers, the rate increases to 20% and an annual cost of $2.5 billion. Voice disorders are complex and multi-faceted, as well as difficult to diagnose and treat. Prospective animal studies are necessary to study the pathophysiology of voice disorders, optimize our understanding of laryngeal pathology, and improve treatment outcomes. The pig provides a unique opportunity to test hypotheses relating to laryngeal disease because porcine vocal …