The horizontal ladder test (HLT) protocol: a novel, optimized, and reliable means of assessing motor coordination in Sus scrofa domesticus.

Pigs can be an important model for preclinical biological research, including neurological diseases such as Alcohol Use Disorder. Such research often involves longitudinal assessment of changes in motor coordination as the disease or disorder progresses. Current motor coordination tests in pigs are derived from behavioral assessments in rodents and lack critical aspects of face and construct validity. While such tests may permit for the comparison of experimental results to rodents, a lack of validation studies of such tests in the pig itself may preclude the drawing of meaningful conclusions. To address this knowledge gap, an apparatus modeled after a horizontally placed ladder and where the height of the rungs could be adjusted was developed. The protocol that was employed within the apparatus mimicked the walk and turn test of the human standardized field sobriety test. Here, five Sinclair miniature pigs were trained to cross the horizontally placed ladder, starting at a rung height of six inches and decreasing to three inches in one-inch increments. It was demonstrated that pigs can reliably learn to cross the ladder, with few errors, under baseline/unimpaired conditions. These animals were then involved in a voluntary consumption of ethanol study where animals were longitudinally evaluated for motor coordination changes at baseline, 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10% ethanol concentrations subsequently to consuming ethanol. Consistent with our predictions, relative to baseline performance, motor incoordination increased as voluntary consumption of escalating concentrations of ethanol increased. Together these data highlight that the horizontal ladder test (HLT) test protocol is a novel, optimized and reliable test for evaluating motor coordination as well as changes in motor coordination in pigs.

The Horizontal Ladder Test (HLT) protocol: A novel, optimized, and reliable means of assessing motor coordination in Sus scrofa domesticus.

Pigs can be an important model for preclinical biological research, including neurological diseases such as Alcohol Use Disorder. Such research often involves longitudinal assessment of changes in motor coordination as the disease or disorder progresses. Current motor coordination tests in pigs are derived from behavioral assessments in rodents and lack critical aspects of face and construct validity. While such tests may permit for the comparison of experimental results to rodents, a lack of validation studies of such tests in the pig itself may preclude the drawing of meaningful conclusions. Here, we present a novel, optimized, and reliable horizontal ladder test (HLT) test protocol for evaluating motor coordination in pigs and an initial validation of its construct validity using voluntary alcohol consumption as an experimental manipulation.

Microsecond Electrical Breakdown in Water: Advances Using Emission Analysis and Cavitation Bubble Theory.

Electrical discharges in water are a subject of major interest because of both the wide range of potential applications and the complexity of the processes. This paper aimed to provide significant insights to better understand processes involved during a microsecond electrical discharge in water, especially during the propagation and the breakdown phases. Two different approaches were considered. The first analysis focused on the emission produced by the discharge during the propagation using fast imaging measurements and spatially resolved optical emission spectroscopy. The excited species H, O, and OH were monitored in the whole interelectrode gap. The second analysis concerned the thermodynamic conditions induced by the breakdown of the discharge. The time evolution of the bubble radius was simulated and estimation of the initial pressure of the cavitation bubble was performed using the Rayleigh-Plesset model. Values of about 1.7 × 107 Pa and 1.2 × 108 Pa were reported for the cathode and anode regimes, respectively. This multidisciplinary approach constitutes a new step to obtain an accurate physical and chemical description of pin-to-pin electrical discharges in water.

Characterization of azacytidine/poly(L-lactic) acid particles prepared by supercritical antisolvent precipitation.

A controlled azacytidine release system based on drug encapsulation with a polymer material has been prepared and characterized. The drug systems were prepared by precipitation from solutions, using supercritical CO2 antisolvent technique operating in a semi-continuous mode. Azacytidine was dissolved in dimethylsulfoxide and poly-lactic acid in methylene chloride. The two solutions were mixed before being sprayed into the supercritical reactor. Experimental conditions were 40 degrees C for temperature, 11 MPa for pressure, and a CO2 flow rate of 30 ml min(-1). The precipitated drug-polymer particles were further characterized to determine the percentage of encapsulated drug and establish the delivery kinetics under various release conditions. A sustained delivery of the drug over a period of various hours was obtained. Besides, an improved stability of the coated drug with respect to the pure azacytidine was found, thus proving the suitability of this approach for dealing with unstable compounds.