Border Collies are the most common breed in agility and their reported injury rate is much higher than that of other breeds. We aimed to identify demographic, training, and competition variables associated with the injury risk for this breed. We hypothesized that higher jump heights and competition at national/international levels would increase the injury risk. Data were collected from an internet-based survey. A logistic regression model was built using backward selection. There were 934 Border Collies in the sample, with 488 reporting an injury. The jump height relative to the shoulder height was associated with injury, with dogs jumping noticeably above or below shoulder height more likely to report a history of injury. Other identified risk factors included the number of weekends spent competing/year, the number of competitions at the national level, the age when starting elbow height jumps and backside jumps, the acquisition of the dog from a breeder, and the age of the handler. Factors associated with prolonged injury (>3-month duration) were the age when starting elbow height jumps and having a veterinary assistant as a handler. Border Collies jumping above shoulder height had an increased risk of injury. However, those jumping below shoulder height were also at a higher risk, which could have been due to reverse causality. Similarly, the observed associations regarding differences based on the number of trial weekends/year may have been impacted by reverse causality as well. The increased risk of injury with elbow height jump training at <10 months of age may indicate that the repetitive impact of jump training prior to skeletal maturity negatively influences musculoskeletal development. These data provide valuable information for further prospective studies.

UNASSIGNED: The understanding of epileptic seizure pathogenesis has evolved over time, and it is now generally accepted that not only are cortical and subcortical areas involved but also the connection of these regions in the white matter (WM). Recent human neuroimaging studies confirmed the involvement of the WM in several epilepsy syndromes. Neuroimaging studies investigating WM integrity with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in canine idiopathic epilepsy are lacking. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that WM diffusion changes can be found in dogs affected by idiopathic epilepsy.
UNASSIGNED: Twenty-six dogs with idiopathic epilepsy (15 Border Collies and 11 Greater Swiss Mountain dogs) and 24 healthy controls (11 Beagle dogs, 5 Border Collies, and 8 Greater Swiss Mountain dogs) were prospectively enrolled. Most dogs with idiopathic epilepsy (17/26) were enrolled within 3 months after seizure onset. Diffusion tensor imaging of the brain with 32 diffusion directions (low b value = 0 s/mm2; maximal b value = 800 s/mm2) was performed in a 3 Tesla scanner. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS), a voxel-based approach, was used to investigate changes in fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) in the idiopathic epilepsy group compared to the healthy control group. Additionally, FA and MD were investigated in the region of corpus callosum and cingulate white matter in both groups.
UNASSIGNED: We observed subtle changes in WM DTI between the idiopathic epilepsy group and the healthy control group limited to cingulate WM, with a significantly lower FA in the idiopathic epilepsy group compared to the healthy control group in the region of interest (ROI) approach (p = 0.027). No significant changes were found between the idiopathic epilepsy group and the healthy control group in the TBSS analysis and in the corpus callosum in the ROI approach.
UNASSIGNED: This study supports the cingulate area as a target structure in canine epilepsy. The subtle changes only might be explained by the short duration of epilepsy, small sample sizes, and the higher variability in canine brain anatomy. Furthermore, all included dogs showed generalized tonic-clonic seizures, possibly affected by generalized epilepsy syndrome, which are also associated with less pronounced DTI changes in humans than focal epilepsy syndromes.

UNASSIGNED: Trapped neutrophil syndrome (TNS) is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder found in Border Collies and is characterized by peripheral neutropenia and myeloid hyperplasia of bone marrow. The underlying cause of TNS is associated with a 4-base pair deletion mutation in the vacuolar protein sorting 13 homolog B (VPS13B) gene. In this study, we proposed and validated a novel multiplex allele specific-polymerase chain reaction (MAS-PCR) technique to assess the prevalence of TNS using VPS13B genotypes of Border Collies and Thai Ridgebacks in Thailand.
UNASSIGNED: We assessed the prevalence of TNS in 100 Border Collies and 30 Thai Ridgebacks using MAS-PCR-based allelic discrimination technique of the VPS13B gene. We then confirmed the VPS13B genotypes by direct DNA sequencing.
UNASSIGNED: A total of 130 samples were successfully genotyped using MAS-PCR assays. Of the two dog breeds examined, the VPS13B mutation was present in Border Collies, whereas Thai Ridgebacks were unaffected by this mutation. In Border Collies, 96% of dogs tested had an intact VPS13B genotype, whereas the remaining individuals had a heterozygous mutation genotype, with prevalence and mutated VPS13B allele frequencies of 4% and 2%, respectively.
UNASSIGNED: Using a novel MAS-PCR assay targeting the VPS13B gene, this study demonstrates for the first time that carriers of TNS exist in Border Collies in Thailand. This assay is a reliable and cost-effective tool for diagnosing TNS based on VPS13B genotypes and is suitable for routine clinical practice.

There has been considerable interest in studying cancer in dogs and its potential as a model system for humans. One area of research has been the search for genetic risk variants in canine lymphoma, which is amongst the most common canine cancers. Previous studies have focused on a limited number of breeds, but none have included Border Collies. The aims of this study were to identify relationships between Border Collie lymphoma cases through an extensive pedigree investigation and to utilise relationship information to conduct genome-wide association study (GWAS) analyses to identify risk regions associated with lymphoma. The expanded pedigree analysis included 83,000 Border Collies, with 71 identified lymphoma cases. The analysis identified affected close relatives, and a common ancestor was identified for 54 cases. For the genomic study, a GWAS was designed to incorporate lymphoma cases, putative \"carriers\", and controls. A case-control GWAS was also conducted as a comparison. Both analyses showed significant SNPs in regions on chromosomes 18 and 27. Putative top candidate genes from these regions included DLA-79, WNT10B, LMBR1L, KMT2D, and CCNT1.

UNASSIGNED: The thickness accuracy of strip is an important indicator to measure the quality of strip, and the control of the thickness accuracy of strip is the key for the high-quality strip products in the rolling industry.
UNASSIGNED: A thickness prediction method of strip based on Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) optimized by improved border collie optimization (IBCO) algorithm is proposed. First, chaotic mapping and dynamic weighting strategy are introduced into IBCO to overcome the shortcomings of uneven initial population distribution and inaccurate optimization states of some individuals in Border Collie Optimization (BCO). Second, Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) which can effectively deal with time series data and alleviate long-term dependencies is adopted. What\'s more, IBCO is utilized to optimize parameters to mitigate the influence of hyperparameters such as the number of hidden neurons and learning rate on the prediction accuracy of LSTM, so IBCO-LSTM is established.
UNASSIGNED: The experiments are carried out on the measured strip data, which proves the excellent prediction performance of IBCO-LSTM. The experiments are carried out on the actual strip data, which prove that IBCO-LSTM has excellent capability of prediction.

Recent literature has demonstrated that high-resolution ultrasonographic anatomy of the canine carpus is possible; however, only the structures of the dorsal face were described. The aims of this prospective study were: (1) to describe the normal ultrasonographic appearance of the carpal tendons in sporting Border Collies; (2) to measure the height, length, and thickness of the tendon at the radial ulnar notch level in order to create a baseline reference for the breed, and (3) to describe a standardised protocol to ultrasonographically evaluate the carpal faces and visible tendinous structures. A pilot study based on ten cadaveric front limbs was used to identify the structures. A subsequent clinical phase of the study using twenty-six Border Collies was recorded. The tendons of the Extensor Carpi Radialis, Extensor Digitorum Communis, and Extensor Digitorum Lateralis were identified and followed from the tenomuscular junction to the distal insertion on the dorsal face of the digits. On the lateral face, the tendon of the Extensor Carpi Ulnaris was recognised and followed. On the palmar face, the two heads of the Flexor Carpi Ulnaris tendon ending on the accessory carpal bone, the adjacent Flexor Digitorum Superficialis tendon, and the deep and medially located Flexor Digitorum Profundus tendon were seen and followed. The Flexor Carpi Radialis and the Abductor Pollicis Longus tendons were seen in the medial carpal face. The ulnar notch of the radius was used as the measurement and starting point of the ultrasonography. These data could be used as a standard reference in the case of chronic overuse and trauma-induced changes in the canine carpus.

A 4-bp deletion in the ATP-binding cassette subfamily B member 1 (ABCB1) gene, also referred to as the multidrug resistance gene (MDR1), produces stop codons that cause premature termination of P-glycoprotein 1 (P-gp) synthesis. Dogs with the homozygous mutation do not express functional P-gp, which increases their sensitivity markedly to many common veterinary drugs. We detected the nt230 (del4) ABCB1 mutation in Border Collie dogs in western Mexico with a simple and affordable primer-introduced restriction analysis PCR (PIRA-PCR). PIRA-PCR clearly identified all genotypes in our sample of 104 dogs. Genotype frequencies were 0.952 (wild/wild), 0.029 (wild/mut) and 0.019 (mut/mut). Allele frequencies were 0.033 (mutant alleles) and 0.966 (wild-type alleles). In this small subset of the Mexican dog population, we found a higher prevalence of the nt230 (del4) MDR1/ABCB1 gene mutation than reported in other countries.

Genotype imputation using a reference panel that combines high-density array data and publicly available whole genome sequence consortium variant data is potentially a cost-effective method to increase the density of extant lower-density array datasets. In this study, three datasets (two Border Collie; one Italian Spinone) generated using a legacy array (Illumina CanineHD, 173 662 SNPs) were utilised to assess the feasibility and accuracy of this approach and to gather additional evidence for the efficacy of canine genotype imputation. The cosmopolitan reference panels used to impute genotypes comprised dogs of 158 breeds, mixed breed dogs, wolves and Chinese indigenous dogs, as well as breed-specific individuals genotyped using the Axiom Canine HD array. The two Border Collie reference panels comprised 808 individuals including 79 Border Collies and 426 326 or 426 332 SNPs; and the Italian Spinone reference panel comprised 807 individuals including 38 Italian Spinoni and 476 313 SNPs. A high accuracy for imputation was observed, with the lowest accuracy observed for one of the Border Collie datasets (mean R2  = 0.94) and the highest for the Italian Spinone dataset (mean R2  = 0.97). This study\'s findings demonstrate that imputation of a legacy array study set using a reference panel comprising both breed-specific array data and multi-breed variant data derived from whole genomes is effective and accurate. The process of canine genotype imputation, using the valuable growing resource of publicly available canine genome variant datasets alongside breed-specific data, is described in detail to facilitate and encourage use of this technique in canine genetics.

Herding is done predominantly by breeds developed over centuries to millennia specifically for that purpose. Working-level herding breed dogs are intense, high-drive dogs that will work despite severe illness or pain, thereby masking clues that they are ailing or the nature of their problem. The handler should recognize subtle changes that might signal ill health, and veterinarians should take an active role in training handlers on essential skills. Herding dogs typically work entirely outdoors in rural to wilderness environments with continuous exposure to other domestic animals and wildlife and may be affected by trauma, toxin exposure, infectious diseases, and parasitic infections.

Pedigree data of 13,339 border collie dog was collected along with canine hip dysplasia (CHD) and canine elbow dysplasia (CED) records (1352 CHD and 524 CED), and an inbreeding-purging (IP) model was created. Ancestral inbreeding coefficients were calculated by using a gene dropping simulation method with GRain 2.2 software. Cumulative logit models (CLM) for CHD and CED were fitted using a logit-link Poisson distribution and the classical (F_W), and ancestral inbreeding (F_BAL, F_KAL, and F_KAL_NEW) coefficients as linear regression coefficients. The effective population size was calculated from F_W and decreased in the examined period along with an increase of F_W; however, slight differences were found as a consequence of breeding dog imports. CHD values were lowered by the expansion of F_BAL, as the alleles had been inbred in the past. For CHD, signs of purging were obtained. There was a positive trend regarding the breeding activity (both sire and dam of the future litters should be screened and certified free from CHD and CED), as years of selection increased the frequency of alleles with favorable hip and elbow conformation. Division of the ancestral inbreeding coefficient showed that alleles that had been identical by descent (IBD) for the first time (F_KAL_NEW) had a negative effect on both traits, while F_KAL has shown favorable results for alleles IBD in past generations. Some authors had proven this phenomenon in captive populations or experimental conditions; however, no evidence of inbreeding purge has ever been described in dog populations. Despite the various breeding practices, it seems that alleles of these polygenic disorders could be successfully purged out of the population with long-term selection.