Browsing by Author "Mota-Rojas, Daniel"
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Item Allonursing in Wild and Farm Animals: Biological and Physiological Foundations and Explanatory Hypotheses(MDPI, 2021-10-29) Mota-Rojas, Daniel; Marcet-Rius, Míriam; Freitas-de-Melo, Aline; Muns, Ramon; Mora-Medina, Patricia; Domínguez-Oliva, Adriana; Orihuela, AgustínThe dams of gregarious animals must develop a close bond with their newborns to provide them with maternal care, including protection against predators, immunological transference, and nutrition. Even though lactation demands high energy expenditures, behaviors known as allonursing (the nursing of non-descendant infants) and allosuckling (suckling from any female other than the mother) have been reported in various species of wild or domestic, and terrestrial or aquatic animals. These behaviors seem to be elements of a multifactorial strategy, since reports suggest that they depend on the following: species, living conditions, social stability, and kinship relations, among other group factors. Despite their potential benefits, allonursing and allosuckling can place the health and welfare of both non-filial dams and alien offspring at risk, as it augments the probability of pathogen transmission. This review aims to analyze the biological and physiological foundations and bioenergetic costs of these behaviors, analyzing the individual and collective advantages and disadvantages for the dams’ own offspring(s) and alien neonate(s). We also include information on the animal species in which these behaviors occur and their implications on animal welfare.Item Assessment of Pain and Inflammation in Domestic Animals Using Infrared Thermography: A Narrative Review(MDPI, 2023-06-22) Whittaker, Alexandra L.; Muns, Ramon; Wang, Dehua; Martínez-Burnes, Julio; Hernández-Ávalos, Ismael; Casas-Alvarado, Alejandro; Domínguez-Oliva, Adriana; Mota-Rojas, DanielPain assessment in domestic animals has gained importance in recent years due to the recognition of the physiological, behavioral, and endocrine consequences of acute pain on animal production, welfare, and animal model validity. Current approaches to identifying acute pain mainly rely on behavioral-based scales, quantifying pain-related biomarkers, and the use of devices monitoring sympathetic activity. Infrared thermography is an alternative that could be used to correlate the changes in the superficial temperature with other tools and thus be an additional or alternate acute pain assessment marker. Moreover, its non-invasiveness and the objective nature of its readout make it potentially very valuable. However, at the current time, it is not in widespread use as an assessment strategy. The present review discusses scientific evidence for infrared thermography as a tool to evaluate pain, limiting its use to monitor acute pain in pathological processes and invasive procedures, as well as its use for perioperative monitoring in domestic animals.Item Parturition in mammals: animal models, pain, and distres(MDPI, 2021-10-14) Martinez-Burnes, Julio; Muns Vila, Ramon; Barrios-Garcia, Hugo; Villanueva-Garcia, Dina; Dominguez-Oliva, Adriana; Mota-Rojas, DanielParturition is a complex physiological process and involves many hormonal, morphological, physiological, and behavioural changes. Labour is a crucial moment for numerous species and is usually the most painful experience in females. Contrary to the extensive research in humans, there are limited pain studies associated with the birth process in domestic animals. Nonetheless, awareness of parturition has increased among the public, owners, and the scientific community during recent years. Dystocia is a significant factor that increases the level of parturition pain. It is considered less common in polytocous species because newborns’ number and small size might lead to the belief that the parturition process is less painful than in monotocous animal species and humans. This review aims to provide elements of the current knowledge about human labour pain (monotocous species), the relevant contribution of the rat model to human labour pain, and the current clinical and experimental knowledge of parturition pain mechanisms in domestic animals that support the fact that domestic polytocous species also experience pain. Moreover, both for women and domestic animal species, parturition’s pain represents a potential welfare concern, and information on pain indicators and the appropriate analgesic therapy are discussedItem Pathophysiology of Perinatal Asphyxia in Humans and Animal Models(MDPI, 2022-02-01) Mota-Rojas, Daniel; Villanueva-Garcia, Dina; Solimano, Alfonso; Muns Vila, Ramon; Ibarra-Ross, Daniel; Mota-Reyes, AndreaPerinatal asphyxia is caused by lack of oxygen delivery (hypoxia) to end organs due to an hypoxemic or ischemic insult occurring in temporal proximity to labor (peripartum) or delivery (intrapartum). Hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy is the clinical manifestation of hypoxic injury to the brain and is usually graded as mild, moderate, or severe. The search for useful biomarkers to precisely predict the severity of lesions in perinatal asphyxia and hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a field of increasing interest. As pathophysiology is not fully comprehended, the gold standard for treatment remains an active area of research. Hypothermia has proven to be an effective neuroprotective strategy and has been implemented in clinical routine. Current studies are exploring various add-on therapies, including erythropoietin, xenon, topiramate, melatonin, and stem cells. This review aims to perform an updated integration of the pathophysiological processes after perinatal asphyxia in humans and animal models to allow us to answer some questions and provide an interim update on progress in this field.Item Strategies for Hypothermia Compensation in Altricial and Precocial Newborn Mammals and Their Monitoring by Infrared Thermography(MDPI, 2022-05-23) Lezama-García, Karina; Mota-Rojas, Daniel; Martínez-Burnes, Julio; Villanueva-García, Dina; Domínguez-Oliva, Adriana; Gómez-Prado, Jocelyn; Mora-Medina, Patricia; Casas-Alvarado, Alejandro; Olmos-Hernández, Adriana; Soto, Paola; Muns, RamonThermoregulation in newborn mammals is an essential species-specific mechanism of the nervous system that contributes to their survival during the first hours and days of their life. When exposed to cold weather, which is a risk factor associated with mortality in neonates, pathways such as the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis (HPA) are activated to achieve temperature control, increasing the circulating levels of catecholamine and cortisol. Consequently, alterations in blood circulation and mechanisms to produce or to retain heat (e.g., vasoconstriction, piloerection, shivering, brown adipocyte tissue activation, and huddling) begin to prevent hypothermia. This study aimed to discuss the mechanisms of thermoregulation in newborn domestic mammals, highlighting the differences between altricial and precocial species. The processes that employ brown adipocyte tissue, shivering, thermoregulatory behaviors, and dermal vasomotor control will be analyzed to understand the physiology and the importance of implementing techniques to promote thermoregulation and survival in the critical post-birth period of mammals. Also, infrared thermography as a helpful method to perform thermal measurements without animal interactions does not affect these parameters.Item Vitality in Newborn Farm Animals: Adverse Factors, Physiological Responses, Pharmacological Therapies, and Physical Methods to Increase Neonate Vigor(MDPI, 2023-04-04) Bienboire-Frosini, Cécile; Muns, Ramon; Marcet-Rius, Míriam; Gazzano, Angelo; Villanueva-García, Dina; Martínez-Burnes, Julio; Domínguez-Oliva, Adriana; Lezama-García, Karina; Casas-Alvarado, Alejandro; Mota-Rojas, DanielVitality is the vigor newborn animals exhibit during the first hours of life. It can be assessed by a numerical score, in which variables, such as heart rate, respiratory rate, mucous membranes’ coloration, time the offspring took to stand up, and meconium staining, are monitored. Vitality can be affected by several factors, and therapies are used to increase it. This manuscript aims to review and analyze pharmacological and physical therapies used to increase vitality in newborn farm animals, as well as to understand the factors affecting this vitality, such as hypoxia, depletion of glycogen, birth weight, dystocia, neurodevelopment, hypothermia, and finally, the physiological mechanism to achieve thermostability. It has been concluded that assessing vitality immediately after birth is essential to determine the newborn’s health and identify those that need medical intervention to minimize the deleterious effect of intrapartum asphyxia. Vitality assessment should be conducted by trained personnel and adequate equipment. Evaluating vitality could reduce long-term neonatal morbidity and mortality in domestic animals, even if it is sometimes difficult with the current organization of some farms. This review highlights the importance of increasing the number of stock people during the expected days of parturitions to reduce long-term neonatal morbidity and mortality, and thus, improve the farm’s performance.