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Item Comparison of atlantoaxial and lumbosacral cerebrospinal fluid centesis techniques in South American camelids(Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 2024-03-01) Malmström E; Cole RC; Hofmeister EH; Stern JK; Passler TBackground: Iatrogenic blood contamination during cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) centesis is common, which can limit the diagnostic usefulness of the sample. A novel ultrasound-guided CSF collection technique is described in horses, by which CSF is obtained from the atlantoaxial (AA) space. Hypothesis/Objectives: To compare ultrasound-guided AA centesis with lumbosacral (LS) centesis in South American camelids (SAC). The hypotheses were that AA centesis would yield samples with less blood contamination although being technically more challenging than LS centesis. Animals: Eight clinically healthy adult SAC from a university-owned teaching herd. Methods: Single-blinded, randomized, 4-way, 4-period crossover study in which 2 veterinarians each performed both centesis techniques on each animal once. Cytological sample analysis was performed, and the technical difficulty of sample acquisition was assessed. Results: The CSF was collected successfully and without complications by either technique during all collection attempts. Aspects of technical difficulty and concentrations of CSF analytes did not vary significantly between techniques. Median total nucleated cell and red blood cell counts were 1/μL and 0.5/μL and 167.5/μL and 155/μL for AA and LS techniques, respectively. The median total protein concentration was 32.9 mg/dL and 38 mg/dL for AA and LS centeses. A median of 1 attempt was necessary for both centesis techniques and the median number of needle repositioning events was 1 for AA and 0 for LS. Conclusion and Clinical Importance: Depending on clinical circumstances, ultrasound-guided AA centesis appears to be an acceptable alternative to other techniques for collection of CSF from SAC.Item Ultrasonographic features of the regressing yolk sac of normal captive Brown kiwi chicks (Apteryx mantelli) vary with age.(John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2023-09-01) Short E; Owen M; Vallee E; Bolwell C; Morgan KJBrown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) are a culturally significant ratite species endemic to New Zealand. Chicks can develop diseases of the yolk sac which can be fatal if not promptly recognized and treated. Ultrasound examination of the yolk sac is an important component in the evaluation of chicks with suspected yolk sac disease. However, there are currently no reports of the normal ultrasonographic appearance of the regressing yolk sac in this species. The objective of this prospective reference interval study was to describe the normal ultrasonographic appearance of the yolk sac in brown kiwi chicks. Focused coelomic sonographic examinations were performed on 29 healthy chicks from >1 day of age until the yolk sac was completely absorbed or was <1 mL in volume. 41.6% (57/137) of yolks were round/ovoid in shape and 58.6% (80/137) had lobulated margins with invaginations. All yolks (137/137) were hyperechoic relative to adjacent coelomic structures. The heterogeneity of the echogenicity of the yolk was significantly associated with age (increased heterogeneity in younger birds) and was homogeneous, mildly heterogeneous, and moderately heterogeneous in 33% (46/138), 46% (63/138), and 21% (29/138) of all examinations respectively. Intrasac anechoic pockets were seen in 14% (20/139) of yolk sacs. The rate of yolk sac resorption slowed with age. In all examinations identifying a completely absorbed yolk sac or a yolk sac <1 mL in volume, chicks were less than 21 days old. The results of this study provide a reference of normal for the sonographic appearance of the yolk sac in captive brown kiwi chicks.Item Effects of Increased Growth Rates Prior to the First Breeding as Ewe Lambs and Pregnancy Rank on Mammary Glands of Two-Year-Old Ewes(MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2021-12-01) Haslin E; Corner-Thomas RA; Kenyon PR; Morris ST; Blair HT; Ispierto IGThis study investigated potential carry-over effects of increased growth rates prior to breeding at seven months of age on mammary glands of two-year-old ewes bearing one or two lambs, and examined the association between ewe mammary structures and the growth of their progeny. Ewe live weight and mammary ultrasound measures were recorded at 119 days of pregnancy, 29 days of lactation (L29), and weaning of the progeny (L79) in 64 two-year-old ewes selected from two treatments. The heavy group (n = 32) was preferentially fed prior to their first breeding at seven months of age, achieving an average live weight of 47.9 ± 0.38 kg. The control group (n = 32) weighed an average of 44.9 ± 0.49 kg at breeding. Lambs (n = 74) were weighed at birth, L29 and L79. Udder ultrasound measures did not differ (p > 0.10) between treatments, indicating no carry-over effects of treatments on mammary glands of two-year-old ewes. The association between ultrasound measures and lamb growth seemed to differ depending on lamb birth rank. More research is needed to further investigate these associations and determine whether ultrasonography could be used to identify ewes whose progeny would have greater growth rates based on birth rank.Item Genetic Parameters for Growth, Ultrasound and Carcass Traits in New Zealand Beef Cattle and Their Correlations with Maternal Performance(MDPI, (Basel, Switzerland), 2021-12-23) Weik F; Hickson RE; Morris ST; Garrick DJ; Archer JAResearch has shown that enhancing finishing performance in beef cows is feasible; however, any adverse impact of selection strategies for finishing performance on the performance of the maternal herd should be taken into account. The aim of this research was to examine the inheritance of growth, ultrasound and carcass traits in finishing beef cattle and to evaluate their correlations with maternal performance traits. Data were collected from a nationwide progeny test on commercial New Zealand hill country farms comprising a total of 4473 beef cows and their progeny. Most finishing traits were moderately to highly heritable (0.28-0.58) with the exception of meat or fat colour and ossification (0.00-0.12). Ultrasound scan traits had high genetic correlations with corresponding traits measured at slaughter (rg = 0.53-0.95) and may be used as a selection tool for improved genetic merit of the beef carcass. Fat content determined via ultrasound scanning in the live animal or at slaughter in finishing cattle is positively genetically correlated with rebreeding performance (rg = 0.22-0.39) in female herd replacements and negatively correlated with mature cow live weight (rg = -0.40 to -0.19). Low-magnitude associations were observed between the genetic merit for carcass fat traits with body condition in mature cows.Item Occluded Grape Cluster Detection and Vine Canopy Visualisation Using an Ultrasonic Phased Array(MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 20/03/2021) Parr B; Legg M; Bradley S; Alam FGrape yield estimation has traditionally been performed using manual techniques. However, these tend to be labour intensive and can be inaccurate. Computer vision techniques have therefore been developed for automated grape yield estimation. However, errors occur when grapes are occluded by leaves, other bunches, etc. Synthetic aperture radar has been investigated to allow imaging through leaves to detect occluded grapes. However, such equipment can be expensive. This paper investigates the potential for using ultrasound to image through leaves and identify occluded grapes. A highly directional low frequency ultrasonic array composed of ultrasonic air-coupled transducers and microphones is used to image grapes through leaves. A fan is used to help differentiate between ultrasonic reflections from grapes and leaves. Improved resolution and detail are achieved with chirp excitation waveforms and near-field focusing of the array. The overestimation in grape volume estimation using ultrasound reduced from 222% to 112% compared to the 3D scan obtained using photogrammetry or from 56% to 2.5% compared to a convex hull of this 3D scan. This also has the added benefit of producing more accurate canopy volume estimations which are important for common precision viticulture management processes such as variable rate applications.

