Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) emerged into Canada in January 2014, primarily affecting sow herds. Subsequent epidemiological analyses suggested contaminated feed was the most likely transmission pathway. The primary objective of this study was to describe general biosecurity and management practices implemented in PEDV-positive sow herds and matched control herds at the time the virus emerged. The secondary objective was to determine if any of these general biosecurity and farm management practices were important in explaining PEDV infection status from January 22, 2014 to March 1, 2014. A case herd was defined as a swine herd with clinical signs and a positive test result for PEDV. A questionnaire was used to a gather 30-day history of herd management practices, animal movements on/off site, feed management practices, semen deliveries and biosecurity practices for case (n = 8) and control (n = 12) herds, primarily located in Ontario. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and random forests (RFs). Case herds were larger in size than control herds. Case herds had more animal movements and non-staff movements onto the site. Also, case herds had higher quantities of pigs delivered, feed deliveries and semen deliveries on-site. The biosecurity practices of case herds were considered more rigorous based on herd management, feed deliveries, transportation and truck driver practices than control herds. The RF model found that the most important variables for predicting herd status were related to herd size and feed management variables. Nonetheless, predictive accuracy of the final RF model was 72%. © 2020 The Korean Society of Veterinary Science.The pandemic of avian influenza viruses (AIVs) in Asia has caused enormous economic loss in poultry industry and human health threat, especially clade 2.3.4.4 H5 and H7 subtypes in recent years. The endemic chicken H6 virus in Taiwan has also brought about human and dog infections. Since wild waterfowls is the major AIV reservoir, it is important to monitor the diversified subtypes in wildfowl flocks in early stage to prevent viral reassortment and transmission. To develop a more efficient and sensitive approach is a key issue in epidemic control. In this study, we integrate multiplex reverse transcription recombinase polymerase amplification (RT-RPA) and capillary electrophoresis (CE) for high-throughput detection and differentiation of AIVs in wild waterfowls in Taiwan. Four viral genes were detected simultaneously, including nucleoprotein (NP) gene of all AIVs, hemagglutinin (HA) gene of clade 2.3.4.4 H5, H6 and H7 subtypes. The detection limit of the developed detection system could achieve as low as one copy number for each of the four viral gene targets. Sixty wild waterfowl field samples were tested and all of the four gene signals were unambiguously identified within 6 h, including the initial sample processing and the final CE data analysis.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/ziritaxestat.html  The results indicated that multiplex RT-RPA combined with CE was an excellent alternative for instant simultaneous AIV detection and subtype differentiation. The high efficiency and sensitivity of the proposed method could greatly assist in wild bird monitoring and epidemic control of poultry. © 2020 The Korean Society of Veterinary Science.The identification of biomarkers that distinguish diseased from healthy individuals is of great interest in human and veterinary fields. In this research area, a metabolomic approach and its related statistical analyses can be useful for biomarker determination and allow non-invasive discrimination of healthy volunteers from breast cancer patients. In this study, we focused on the most common canine neoplasm, mammary gland tumor, and herein, we describe a simple method using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography to determine the levels of tyrosine and its metabolites (epinephrine, 3,4-dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, and vanillylmandelic acid), tryptophan and its metabolites (5-hydroxyindolacetic acid, indoxyl sulfate, serotonin, and kynurenic acid) in canine mammary cancer urine samples. Our results indicated significantly increased concentrations of three tryptophan metabolites, 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid (p less then 0.001), serotonin, indoxyl sulfate (p less then 0.01), and kynurenic acid (p less then 0.05), and 2 tyrosine metabolites, 3,4-dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine (p less then 0.001), and epinephrine (p less then 0.05) in urine samples from the mammary gland tumor group compared to concentrations in urine samples from the healthy group. The results indicate that select urinary tyrosine and tryptophan metabolites may be useful as non-invasive diagnostic markers as well as in developing a therapeutic strategy for canine mammary gland tumors. © 2020 The Korean Society of Veterinary Science.Rabid raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides koreensis) have been responsible for animal rabies in South Korea since the 1990s. A recombinant rabies vaccine strain, designated as ERAGS, was constructed for use as a bait vaccine. Therefore, new means of differentiating ERAGS from other rabies virus (RABV) strains will be required in biological manufacturing and diagnostic service centers. In this study, we designed two specific primer sets for differentiation between ERAGS and other RABVs based on mutation in the RABV glycoprotein gene. Polymerase chain reaction analysis of the glycoprotein gene revealed two DNA bands of 383 bp and 583 bp in the ERAGS strain but a single DNA band of 383 bp in the field strains. The detection limits of multiplex reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were 80 and 8 FAID50/reaction for the ERAGS and Evelyn-Rokitnicki-Abelseth strains, respectively. No cross-reactions were detected in the non-RABV reference viruses, including canine distemper virus, parvovirus, canine adenovirus type 1 and 2, and parainfluenza virus. The results of multiplex RT-PCR were 100% consistent with those of the fluorescent antibody test. Therefore, one-step multiplex RT-PCR is likely useful for differentiation between RABVs with and those without mutation at position 333 of the RABV glycoprotein gene. © 2020 The Korean Society of Veterinary Science.