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      Radiographic analysis of the thickness of the cranial bones in captive compared to wild-living cheetahs and in cheetahs with hypovitaminosis A

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          Abstract

          Captive cheetahs often demonstrate a high incidence of diseases in which vitamin A imbalances are implicated. These can occur even under controlled and optimised feeding regimens, which is why surveillance of vitamin A status is mandatory in the successful health management of cheetahs. Serum levels of the vitamin do not reflect the true vitamin A status and liver tissue analysis is rather impractical for routine application in large felids. A biomarker for evaluating overt and subclinical vitamin A deficiency in cheetahs is needed. This study evaluates whether increased calvarial bone thickness can be detected on routine skull radiographs of vitamin A deficient cheetahs compared to unaffected animals, and secondly, evaluates whether there is increased bone thickness in clinically sound captive cheetahs in general compared to wild-living controls. Bone thickness in the neuro- and splanchnocranium was measured in 138 skull radiographs. Significant thickening of the parietal bones was found in latero-lateral radiographs of immature cheetahs (< 12 months) with vitamin A deficiency. This finding may allow a presumptive diagnosis of hypovitaminosis A in immature cheetahs. A general difference in skull thickness between free-living and captive cheetahs was not found.

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          Extrinsic factors significantly affect patterns of disease in free-ranging and captive cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) populations.

          The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) has been considered a paradigm for disease vulnerability due to loss of genetic diversity. This species monomorphism has been suspected to be the basis for their general poor health and dwindling populations in captivity. North American and South African captive populations have high prevalences of hepatic veno-occlusive disease, glomerulosclerosis, gastritis, and systemic amyloidosis, diseases that are rare in other species. Unusually severe inflammatory reactions to common infectious agents have also been documented in captive cheetahs. The current study compared disease prevalences in free-ranging Namibian cheetahs with those in two captive populations of similar ages. The occurrence of diseases in the free-ranging population was determined from 49 necropsies and 27 gastric biopsies obtained between 1986 and 2003 and compared with prevalences in 147 North American and 80 South African captive cheetahs. Except for two cheetahs, the free-ranging population was in robust health with only mild lesions present, in contrast with significantly higher prevalences in the captive populations. Despite widespread heavy Helicobacter colonization in wild cheetahs, only 3% of the free-ranging population had moderate to severe gastritis, in contrast with 64% of captive cheetahs. No severe inflammatory reactions to viral infections were detected in the free-ranging animals. Because free-ranging Namibian cheetahs are as genetically impoverished as captive cheetahs, these findings caution against attributing loss of fitness solely to genetic factors and attest to the fundamental importance of extrinsic factors in wildlife health.
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            Strain in the braincase and its sutures during function.

            The skull is distinguished from other parts of the skeleton by its composite construction. The sutures between bony elements provide for interstitial growth of the cranium, but at the same time they alter the transmission of stress and strain through the skull. Strain gages were bonded to the frontal and parietal bones of miniature pigs and across the interfrontal, interparietal and coronal sutures. Strains were recorded 1) during natural mastication in conjunction with electromyographic activity from the jaw muscles and 2) during stimulation of various cranial muscles in anesthetized animals. Vault sutures exhibited vastly higher strains than did the adjoining bones. Further, bone strain primarily reflected torsion of the braincase set up by asymmetrical muscle contraction; the tensile axis alternated between +45 degrees and -45 degrees depending on which diagonal masseter/temporalis pair was most active. However, suture strains were not related to overall torsion but instead were responses to local muscle actions. Only the coronal suture showed significant strain (tension) during jaw opening; this was caused by the contraction of neck muscles. All sutures showed strain during jaw closing, but polarity depended on the pattern of muscle usage. For example, masseter contraction tensed the coronal suture and the anterior part of the interfrontal suture, whereas the temporalis caused compression in these locations. Peak tensile strains were larger than peak compressive strains. Histology suggested that the skull is bent at the sutures, with the ectocranial surface tensed and the endocranial surface predominantly compressed. Collectively, these results indicate that skulls with patent sutures should be analyzed as complexes of independent parts rather than solid structures. Copyright 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
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              Diseases of captive cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus): Results of the cheetah research council pathology survey, 1989-1992

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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Role: ConceptualizationRole: Formal analysisRole: MethodologyRole: Writing – original draft
                Role: ConceptualizationRole: Formal analysisRole: Resources
                Role: ResourcesRole: Validation
                Role: Data curationRole: Methodology
                Role: ConceptualizationRole: Formal analysisRole: MethodologyRole: ResourcesRole: SupervisionRole: Writing – review & editing
                Role: Editor
                Journal
                PLoS One
                PLoS One
                plos
                PLoS ONE
                Public Library of Science (San Francisco, CA USA )
                1932-6203
                10 August 2021
                2021
                : 16
                : 8
                : e0255924
                Affiliations
                [1 ] Faculty of Veterinary Science, Department of Companion Animal Clinical Studies, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
                [2 ] Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Small Animal Clinic, Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany
                [3 ] Old Chapel Veterinary Clinic, Pretoria, South Africa
                [4 ] Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Unit for Biomathematics and Data Processing, Justus Liebig-University-Giessen, Giessen, Germany
                University of Naples Federico II, ITALY
                Author notes

                Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

                Author information
                https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3481-4737
                https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8428-7309
                Article
                PONE-D-21-16179
                10.1371/journal.pone.0255924
                8354437
                34375363
                69661b67-58b0-444b-b08d-1ff862584d87
                © 2021 Schmidt et al

                This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

                History
                : 17 May 2021
                : 26 July 2021
                Page count
                Figures: 3, Tables: 2, Pages: 15
                Funding
                The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.
                Categories
                Research Article
                Biology and Life Sciences
                Organisms
                Eukaryota
                Animals
                Vertebrates
                Amniotes
                Mammals
                Cats
                Cheetahs
                Biology and Life Sciences
                Zoology
                Animals
                Vertebrates
                Amniotes
                Mammals
                Cats
                Cheetahs
                Physical sciences
                Chemistry
                Chemical compounds
                Organic compounds
                Vitamins
                Vitamin A
                Physical sciences
                Chemistry
                Organic chemistry
                Organic compounds
                Vitamins
                Vitamin A
                Biology and Life Sciences
                Anatomy
                Musculoskeletal System
                Skeleton
                Skull
                Medicine and Health Sciences
                Anatomy
                Musculoskeletal System
                Skeleton
                Skull
                Biology and Life Sciences
                Nutrition
                Nutritional Deficiencies
                Micronutrient Deficiencies
                Medicine and Health Sciences
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                Nutritional Deficiencies
                Micronutrient Deficiencies
                Biology and Life Sciences
                Organisms
                Eukaryota
                Animals
                Vertebrates
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                Biology and Life Sciences
                Organisms
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                Mammals
                Cats
                Biology and Life Sciences
                Zoology
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                Research and Analysis Methods
                Imaging Techniques
                Neuroimaging
                Computed Axial Tomography
                Biology and Life Sciences
                Neuroscience
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                Computed Axial Tomography
                Medicine and Health Sciences
                Diagnostic Medicine
                Diagnostic Radiology
                Tomography
                Computed Axial Tomography
                Research and Analysis Methods
                Imaging Techniques
                Diagnostic Radiology
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                Medicine and Health Sciences
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                Diagnostic Radiology
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                Biology and Life Sciences
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