Administration of S. boulardii may help decrease the severity and duration of clinical signs in horses with acute enterocolitis.

A 5-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding was referred to the University of Pennsylvania George D. Widener Hospital for the evaluation of abdominal discomfort and acute onset of neurologic deficits. The horse was imported from Holland 10 days before admission and was intended to be used for dressage. Vaccination for rhinopneumonitis, influenza, and tetanus was performed 11 months before importation, and the horse had no medical history that was relevant to this study. The day before presentation, the horse was depressed, febrile, and anorexic and showed mild abdominal discomfort. Treatment with 500 mg of flunixin meglumine IV and 2 g of phenylbutazone PO improved the horse's clinical signs. The following day, the horse became increasingly depressed and tachycardic and showed signs of abdominal discomfort. Progressive development of ataxia was also reported by the referring veterinarian. The horse received an additional 500 mg of flunixin meglumine IV and was referred for further medical evaluation and treatment.Upon arrival, the gelding was very depressed and showed signs of severe symmetric ataxia in all 4 limbs with hindlimb extensor rigidity. The horse was head pressing, leaning against walls, and propulsively circling. Rectal temperature, heart rate, and respiratory rate were 99.8ЊF, 60 beats/min, and 24 breaths/min, respectively. His mucus membranes were hyperemic and tacky with a capillary refill time of 1.5 seconds. The peripheral pulses were weak, the distal extremities were cold, and hypalgesia was present. No menace response was obtained in either eye, and pupillary light response was slow bilaterally. Cardiac and thoracic auscultation were normal. Borborygmi were decreased, and abdominal distention was present bilaterally. The horse showed intermittent signs of mild abdominal discomfort characterized by a regular pawing and looking at his flanks. Rectal palpation revealed a gas-distended large colon. Nasogastric intubation did not yield marked reflux. Abdominocentesis yielded grossly and cytologically normal peritoneal fluid. Urinalysis was unremarkable. Attempts to perform a sonographic evaluation of the abdomen were unsuccessful because of the horse's behavior. A CBC showed a PCV of 61% (reference range, 32-52%), a total protein concentration of 7.4 g/dL (reference range, 4.6-6.9 g/dL), and a white blood cell count of 1.39 ϫ 10 3 cells/L (ref-Medicine 0891-6640/03/1702-0019/$3.00/0 erence range, 5.5-12.5 ϫ 10 3 cells/L) with 26% segmented neutrophils (reference range, 30-65%) and 6% band cells (reference range, 0-2%) with toxic changes. Hypochloremia (91 mg/dL; reference range, 94-102 mg/dL), hypocalcemia (9.99 mg/dL; reference range, 10.7-13.4 mg/ dL), hypomagnesemia (0.91 mg/dL; reference range, 1.6-2.5 mg/dL), and hyperglycemia (191 mg/dL; reference range, 72-114 mg/dL) were shown on clinical chemistry evaluation. The plasma creatinine concentration was increased at 2.23 mg/dL (reference range, 0.6-1.8 mg/dL), and the lactate concentration was 13.6 mol/L (reference range, Ͻ2 mol/L). Because the horse's...

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Over the last decade, the Caribbean has seen massive, episodic influxes of pelagic sargassum negatively impacting coastal ecosystems, people’s livelihoods and climate-sensitive sectors. Addressing this issue solely as a hazard has proven extremely costly and attention is slowly turning towards the potential opportunities for sargassum reuse and valorization. However, turning the ‘sargassum crisis into gold’ is not easy. In this study we use a multi-method approach to learn from sargassum stakeholders (researchers, entrepreneurs and established businesses) across the Caribbean about the constraints and challenges they are facing. These can be grouped into five broad categories: (1) unpredictable supply of sargassum; (2) issues related with the chemical composition of the seaweed; (3) harvest, transport and storage; (4) governance; and (5) funding. Specific issues and potential solutions associated with each of these categories are reviewed in detail and recommended actions are mapped to five entry points along a generalized value chain to demonstrate how these actions can contribute to the development of sustainable sargassum value chains that promote economic opportunities and could help alleviate impacts of massive influxes. This paper offers guidance to policy makers and funding agencies on existing gaps and challenges that need to be addressed in order to scale-up successful and sustainable solutions to the sargassum crisis.

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