A male-specific mechanism of meningeal nociceptor sensitization promoting migraine headache.

BACKGROUND: We wished to explore possible sexual dimorphism in mechanisms sensitizing or activating meningeal nociceptors that can promote the headache phase of migraine. METHODS: Male and female C57BL6J mice received either supradural orexin B and an inflammatory mediator cocktail (IM) with migraine-like pain behaviors and photophobia recorded. Expression of orexin 2 receptor (OX2R) in trigeminal ganglion (TG) and phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) levels in trigeminal nucleus caudalis (TNC) were evaluated. Orexin B-induced excitability of TG cells was assessed with patch-clamp electrophysiology. Intranasal delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 plasmids was used to edit the expression of OX2R in the TG. RESULTS: Supradural orexin B induced migraine-like pain behaviors, photophobia and increased TNC ERK phosphorylation exclusively in males. Blockade of orexin signaling with supradural suvorexant, a dual orexin receptor antagonist, prevented, but did not reverse, migraine-like pain in males induced by supradural IM cocktail. OX2R expression was higher in male TG and orexin B increased TG neuron excitability in males. Intranasal OX2R CRISPR/Cas9 reduced TG receptor expression and orexin B-induced TNC ERK phosphorylation and prevented migraine-like pain induced by supradural orexin B in males. CONCLUSIONS: Our studies reveal a male-specific mechanism of TG nociceptor sensitization and migraine-like pain behavior mediated by orexin B/OX2R signaling. Sexually dimorphic mechanisms of trigeminal nociceptor sensitization and activation offer opportunities to improve patient outcomes by considering patient sex and may influence clinical trial design and interpretation.

Engineering well-expressed, V2-immunofocusing HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein membrane trimers for use in heterologous prime-boost vaccine regimens.

HIV-1 vaccine immunofocusing strategies may be able to induce broadly-reactive neutralizing antibodies (NAbs). Here, we engineered a panel of diverse, membrane-resident native HIV-1 trimers vulnerable to two broad targets-the V2 apex and fusion peptide (FP). Selection criteria included i) high expression and ii) infectious function, so that trimer neutralization sensitivity can be profiled in pseudovirus (PV) assays. Initially, we boosted the expression of 17 candidate trimers by truncating gp41 and introducing a gp120-gp41 SOS disulfide to prevent gp120 shedding. "Repairs" were made to fill glycan holes and eliminate other strain-specific aberrations. A new neutralization assay allowed PV infection when our standard assay was insufficient. Trimers with exposed V3 loops, a target of non-NAbs, were discarded. To try to increase V2-sensitivity, we removed clashing glycans and modified the C-strand. Notably, a D167N mutation improved V2-sensitivity in several cases. Glycopeptide analysis of JR-FL trimers revealed near complete sequon occupation and that filling the N197 glycan hole was well-tolerated. In contrast, sequon optimization and inserting/removing glycans at other positions frequently had global "ripple" effects on glycan maturation and sequon occupation throughout the gp120 outer domain and gp41. V2 MAb CH01 selectively bound to trimers with small high mannose glycans near the base of the V1 loop, thereby avoiding clashes. Knocking in a rare N49 glycan was found to perturb gp41 glycans, increasing FP NAb sensitivity-and sometimes improving expression. Finally, a biophysical analysis of VLPs revealed that i) ~25% of particles bear Env spikes, ii) spontaneous particle budding is high and only increases 4-fold upon Gag transfection, and iii) Env+ particles express ~30-40 spikes. Taken together, we identified 7 diverse trimers with a range of sensitivities to two targets to allow rigorous testing of immunofocusing vaccine concepts.

A Coarse-Grained Interaction Model for Sodium Dominant Montmorillonite.

Montmorillonite is the main crystalline mineral present in bentonite. It is an absorbent, swelling material; the physical chemistry underlying its ability to absorb water and swell occurs at the nanoscale, governed by electrical double-layer interactions. In turn, absorption and swelling lead to important changes in the macroscopic transport properties of the clay. Mesoscale models can help us establish a link between these nanoscale processes and macroscale properties, notably by providing a detailed description of its pore network. Models on the scale of hundreds to thousands of nanometers are required, which cannot realistically be handled using traditional all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. This work presents a coarse-grained (CG) mesoscale model of sodium montmorillonite. In our model, montmorillonite platelets are represented by two types of particles: central nonhydrogen-bonded particles and edge hydrogen-bonding particles. The particle interactions are described by two-body potentials, which were optimized based on all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. Specifically, several potential mean force calculations involving dry and hydrated montmorillonite were performed, using the ClayFF potential to calculate interatomic forces. The CG model was validated by testing the scalability of the model, testing its ability to reproduce potentials of mean force reported elsewhere in the literature, and by comparing the calculated elastic properties of a system containing 1000 Na montmorillonite platelets to experimentally measured elastic properties of bentonite. The simulated elastic properties obtained using our mesoscale model agree with these experimental values.

FLOTAC for the diagnosis of Hymenolepis spp. infection: proof-of-concept and comparing diagnostic accuracy with other methods.

Hymenolepis nana is the most common cestode parasitizing humans, yet it is under-diagnosed. We determined the optimal flotation solution (FS) for the diagnosis of this intestinal parasite with the FLOTAC method, and compared its diagnostic accuracy with an ether-concentration technique and the Kato-Katz method. Zinc sulphate (specific gravity 1.20) proved to be the best-performing FS. Using this FS, we detected 65 H. nana infections among 234 fixed fecal samples from Tajik and Sahrawi children (prevalence 27.8 %). The ether-concentration technique detected 40 infections (prevalence 17.1 %) in the same samples. Considering the combined results as a reference, the sensitivities of FLOTAC and ether-concentration were 95.6 % and 58.8 %, respectively. The Kato-Katz method resulted in a prevalence of only 8.7 %. In terms of eggs per gram of stool, a significantly (P <0.05) higher value was obtained with the FLOTAC and Kato-Katz techniques compared to ether-concentration. In another study carried out in China, the FLOTAC method detected six Hymenolepis diminuta infections in 302 fecal samples, whereas five samples were found positive with the Kato-Katz technique. We conclude that FLOTAC is an accurate coprodiagnostic technique for H. nana and H. diminuta, two species which join a growing list of intestinal parasites that can be reliably diagnosed by this technique.

How vertical oscillatory motion above a saturated sand bed leads to heap formation.

We show how oscillations in fluid flow over a fluid-saturated and porous sediment bed leads to the development of a bedform. To understand the role of pressure fluctuations on the bed associated with flow oscillations, we analyze how the flow penetrates into and through the bed. We then calculate the corresponding vertical pressure gradients within the bed that tend to expand the bed along the vertical direction. When these pressure gradients are large enough, they facilitate small irreversible rearrangements of the grains within the bed, and so cause granular creep. We conjecture that this granular creep alternates with jamming to produce a granular ratchet that slowly lifts the surface of the bed locally where pressure gradients dominate, and depresses the surface where shear stresses dominate. We observe that the shape of the resulting heap exhibits a constant characteristic width. The height of this heap evolves approximately as the square root of time, in agreement with dimensional arguments predicated on a coarse-grained viscous deformation of the bed. The surface of the heap contracts initially with the square root of time, consistent with an incompressible analysis of the flow of grains within the heap. Near its peak the heap grows due to a dilatation of the bed, to inward radial flux, or to a combination of the two.

Deficiency in the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 (ERK1) protects leptin-deficient mice from insulin resistance without affecting obesity.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activity is increased in adipose tissue in obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus and strong evidences suggests that it is implicated in the downregulation of insulin signalling and action in the insulin-resistant state. To determine the role of ERK1 in obesity-associated insulin resistance in vivo, we inactivated Erk1 (also known as Mapk3) in obese leptin-deficient mice (ob/ob). METHODS: Mice of genotype ob/ob-Erk1⁻(/)⁻ were obtained by crossing Erk1⁻(/)⁻ mice with ob/ob mice. Glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity were studied in 12-week-old mice. Tissue-specific insulin sensitivity, insulin signalling, liver steatosis and adipose tissue inflammation were determined. RESULTS: While ob/ob-Erk1⁻(/)⁻ and ob/ob mice exhibited comparable body weight and adiposity, ob/ob-Erk1⁻(/)⁻ mice did not develop hyperglycaemia and their glucose tolerance was improved. Hyperinsulinaemic-euglycaemic clamp studies demonstrated an increase in whole-body insulin sensitivity in the ob/ob-Erk1⁻(/)⁻ mice associated with an increase in both insulin-stimulated glucose disposal in skeletal muscles and adipose tissue insulin sensitivity. This occurred in parallel with improved insulin signalling in both tissues. The ob/ob-Erk1⁻(/)⁻ mice were also partially protected against hepatic steatosis with a strong reduction in acetyl-CoA carboxylase level. These metabolic improvements were associated with reduced expression of mRNA encoding inflammatory cytokine and T lymphocyte markers in the adipose tissue. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Our results demonstrate that the targeting of ERK1 could partially protect obese mice against insulin resistance and liver steatosis by decreasing adipose tissue inflammation and by increasing muscle glucose uptake. Our results indicate that deregulation of the ERK1 pathway could be an important component in obesity-associated metabolic disorders.

Comparison of the Flotac-400 dual technique and the formalin-ether concentration technique for diagnosis of human intestinal protozoon infection.

There is a need for accurate diagnosis of intestinal parasite infections in humans, but currently available copromicroscopic techniques have shortcomings, such as low sensitivity. We compared the diagnostic accuracy of a further modified version of the recently developed Flotac technique with that of the widely used formalin-ether concentration technique (FECT) for the detection of intestinal protozoa in human stool samples. Formaldehyde-preserved stool samples from 108 individuals in Côte d'Ivoire were subjected to the Flotac-400 dual technique, using two different flotation solutions (FS), and to the FECT. Stool samples were examined according to computer-generated random lists by an experienced laboratory technician blinded for the results of each method. Both methods detected the same eight intestinal protozoon species. While the Flotac-400 dual technique (results from both FS combined) found higher prevalences of Entamoeba coli (77.8% versus 71.3%, P < 0.001), Blastocystis hominis (20.4% versus 13.0%, P = 0.458), and Giardia intestinalis (8.3% versus 6.5%, P < 0.001), the FECT detected higher prevalences of Entamoeba histolytica/Entamoeba dispar (27.8% versus 20.4%, P = 0.019) and four species of nonpathogenic intestinal protozoa. The diagnostic agreement between the two methods differed considerably depending on the intestinal protozoon investigated (Cohen's kappa measures; range, 0.01 to 0.46). Our study confirmed that the Flotac-400 dual technique can be utilized for the diagnosis of intestinal protozoon infections in humans. Since Flotac is a sensitive technique for the detection of soil-transmitted helminths and Schistosoma mansoni, it might become a viable copromicroscopic technique for the concurrent diagnosis of helminths and intestinal protozoon infections.

Electrical and photoresponse properties of an intramolecular p-n homojunction in single phosphorus-doped ZnO nanowires.

The single-crystal n-type and p-type ZnO nanowires (NWs) were synthesized via a chemical vapor deposition method, where phosphorus pentoxide was used as the dopant source. The electrical and photoluminescence studies reveal that phosphorus-doped ZnO NWs (ZnO:P NWs) can be changed from n-type to p-type with increasing P concentration. Furthermore, we report for the first time the formation of an intramolecular p-n homojunction in a single ZnO:P NW. The p-n junction diode has a high on/off current ratio of 2.5 x 10(3) and a low forward turn-on voltage of approximately 1.37 V. Finally, the photoresponse properties of the diode were investigated under UV (325 nm) excitation in air at room temperature. The high photocurrent/dark current ratio (3.2 x 10(4)) reveals that the diode has a potential as extreme sensitive UV photodetectors.

FLOTAC: a new sensitive technique for the diagnosis of hookworm infections in humans.

Hookworms infect more than 10% of the world's population, but current diagnostic tools have drawbacks. Our objective was to compare the diagnostic performance of three methods (Kato-Katz, ether concentration and FLOTAC techniques) for hookworm diagnosis. Stool samples were obtained from 102 schoolchildren in Côte d'Ivoire. First, a duplicate 41.7mg Kato-Katz thick smear was prepared. Next, a small portion of stool (mean weight 1.8g) was preserved in sodium acetate-acetic acid-formalin and forwarded to a European laboratory. These samples were split in three parts, one processed by an ether concentration technique and two by the FLOTAC technique. All samples were examined by experienced technicians for hookworm eggs using light microscopy. The observed hookworm prevalences as assessed by the FLOTAC, Kato-Katz and ether concentration techniques were 65.7%, 51.0% and 28.4%, respectively. Considering the combined results as the diagnostic 'gold' standard, the FLOTAC technique had a sensitivity of 88.2% compared with 68.4% for the Kato-Katz and 38.2% for the ether concentration techniques. The Kato-Katz method resulted in a significantly higher mean number of eggs per gram of stool (155.8 EPG) compared with the FLOTAC (37.7 EPG) and ether concentration (5.7 EPG) methods. The FLOTAC method shows promise as an important new tool for individual hookworm diagnosis and for rigorous monitoring of helminth control programmes. [Clinical Trial No. ISRCTN21782274].

p38MAP Kinase activity is required for human primary adipocyte differentiation.

Little is known about the role of p38MAPK in human adipocyte differentiation. Here we showed that p38MAPK activity increases during human preadipocytes differentiation. Pharmacological inhibition of p38MAPK during adipocyte differentiation of primary human preadipocytes markedly reduced triglycerides accumulation and adipocyte markers expression. Cell cycle arrest or proliferation was not affected by p38MAPK inhibition. Although induction of C/EBPbeta was not altered by the p38MAPK inhibitor, its phosphorylation on Threonine(188) was decreased as well as PPARgamma expression. These results indicate that p38MAPK plays a positive role in human adipogenesis through regulation of C/EBPbeta and PPARgamma factors.

The scope of receptor editing and its association with autoimmunity.

Random assembly of antibody variable (V), diversity (D) and joining (J) gene segments creates a vast repertoire of antigen receptors, including autoreactive ones. Three ways that are known to reduce autoreactivity in the B-cell compartment include clonal deletion, functional inactivation and receptor editing, a mechanism involving a change in antigen receptor specificity through continued V(D)J recombination. New data suggest that editing can efficiently eliminate autoreactivity, yet, in an autoimmune context, secondary antibody gene rearrangements might also contribute to autoimmunity.

Adrenal lymphoma: presentation, management and prognosis.

AIM: This study aimed to identify the clinical, radiological and prognostic features of primary adrenal lymphoma (PAL) in order to diagnose the disease more accurately. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective multi-centre study was conducted on the clinical, biological and radiological features as well as the treatment and overall survival outcomes in PAL. RESULTS: Between 1994 and 2014, 28 patients from five regions of eastern France were diagnosed with primary adrenal lymphoma. The revealing symptoms were a worsening general state (77%), weight loss (77%) and abdominal pain (42%). Biological features of PAL were almost omnipresent: increased LDH, ß2 microglobulin, CRP or ferritinaemia levels. The PAL was bilateral in 20 cases (71%), adrenal insufficiency was searched for in 11 patients and found in eight (73%). CT scans showed masses of various sizes measuring up to 180 mm. On MRI, the lesions were hypointense in T1 and hyperintense in T2. When done, positron emission tomography with fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG-PET) showed locations not seen on the CT and revealed extra-adrenal locations in 70% of examinations. Adrenalectomy brought no benefit. The overall survival rate was poor (61.9% at 2 years) despite polychemotherapy. CONCLUSION: The clinical presentation of PAL comprised major general symptoms. Adrenal insufficiency was very common in patients with bilateral involvement but was not systematically tested. PET was an efficient examination to visualize extra-adrenal locations. The preliminary results of MRI to distinguish between PAL and adrenocortical carcinoma should be confirmed. Further studies are needed to establish an optimal strategy for the management of these primary adrenal lymphomas.

Vaccine Induction of Heterologous Tier 2 HIV-1 Neutralizing Antibodies in Animal Models.

The events required for the induction of broad neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) following HIV-1 envelope (Env) vaccination are unknown, and their induction in animal models as proof of concept would be critical. Here, we describe the induction of plasma antibodies capable of neutralizing heterologous primary (tier 2) HIV-1 strains in one macaque and two rabbits. Env immunogens were designed to induce CD4 binding site (CD4bs) bnAbs, but surprisingly, the macaque developed V1V2-glycan bnAbs. Env immunization of CD4bs bnAb heavy chain rearrangement (VHDJH) knockin mice similarly induced V1V2-glycan neutralizing antibodies (nAbs), wherein the human CD4bs VH chains were replaced with mouse rearrangements bearing diversity region (D)-D fusions, creating antibodies with long, tyrosine-rich HCDR3s. Our results show that Env vaccination can elicit broad neutralization of tier 2 HIV-1, demonstrate that V1V2-glycan bnAbs are more readily induced than CD4bs bnAbs, and define VH replacement and diversity region fusion as potential mechanisms for generating V1V2-glycan bnAb site antibodies.

Direct Observation of Defect Range and Evolution in Ion-Irradiated Single Crystalline Ni and Ni Binary Alloys.

Energetic ions have been widely used to evaluate the irradiation tolerance of structural materials for nuclear power applications and to modify material properties. It is important to understand the defect production, annihilation and migration mechanisms during and after collision cascades. In this study, single crystalline pure nickel metal and single-phase concentrated solid solution alloys of 50%Ni50%Co (NiCo) and 50%Ni50%Fe (NiFe) without apparent preexisting defect sinks were employed to study defect dynamics under ion irradiation. Both cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy characterization (TEM) and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry channeling (RBS-C) spectra show that the range of radiation-induced defect clusters far exceed the theoretically predicted depth in all materials after high-dose irradiation. Defects in nickel migrate faster than in NiCo and NiFe. Both vacancy-type stacking fault tetrahedra (SFT) and interstitial loops coexist in the same region, which is consistent with molecular dynamics simulations. Kinetic activation relaxation technique (k-ART) simulations for nickel showed that small vacancy clusters, such as di-vacancies and tri-vacancies, created by collision cascades are highly mobile, even at room temperature. The slower migration of defects in the alloy along with more localized energy dissipation of the displacement cascade may lead to enhanced radiation tolerance.

Decreased frequency and highly aberrant spectrum of ultraviolet-induced mutations in the hprt gene of mouse fibroblasts expressing antisense RNA to DNA polymerase zeta.

In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, DNA polymerase zeta (pol zeta) is responsible for the great majority of mutations generated during error-prone translesion replication of DNA that contains UV-induced lesions. The catalytic subunit of pol zeta is encoded by the Rev3 gene. The orthologue of Rev3 has been cloned from higher eukaryotic cells, including human, but its role in mutagenesis and carcinogenesis remains obscure. Investigation into the cellular function of pol zeta has been hindered by the fact that Rev3 knockout mice do not survive beyond midgestation, and embryonic stem cells used to derive these mice are not genetically stable. We have generated a transgenic mouse that expresses antisense RNA transcripts to mRev3 endogeneous RNA. These mice are viable, have greatly reduced levels of Rev3 transcript, and have reduced levels of B cells and impaired development of high-affinity memory B cells. Here, we report that exposure of fibroblasts derived from these mice to UV resulted in a 4-5-fold reduction in mutant frequency at the hprt locus at every dose examined, and the mutation spectrum was highly aberrant compared with the control cells. In the control cells, 80% of the mutations were transitions and approximately 75% of these arose from photoproducts in the putative leading strand template. Strikingly, in transgenic cells, most of the mutations were transversions and there was a complete loss of strand bias. This mutation spectrum is highly aberrant and is similar to that induced by UV in human xeroderma pigmentosum variant cells, which lack polymerase eta. These data indicate that most UV-induced mutations are dependent on DNA pol zeta, a function that has been conserved from yeast to higher eukaryotic cells. However, in mammalian cells, other DNA polymerase(s) may accomplish error-prone translesion replication and are responsible for residual UV mutagenesis observed in the absence of pol zeta. Further, these data support a central role for DNA polymerase eta in the error-free bypass of UV photoproducts. The antisense Rev3 mice should be a useful model to study mutagenic lesion bypass by pol zeta in mammalian cells and to investigate the role this polymerase plays in carcinogenesis.

Electrophysiologic characteristics of cells spanning the left ventricular wall of human heart: evidence for presence of M cells.

OBJECTIVES: The present work was designed to provide an initial characterization of M cells in the normal human heart. BACKGROUND: Recent studies have uncovered a unique population of cells in the midmyocardial region of the canine ventricle. These cells, named M cells, were found to possess electrophysiologic features and a pharmacologic responsiveness different from those of other myocardial cells. Although well characterized in the dog, their presence or absence in the human heart is unknown. METHODS: Standard microelectrode techniques were used to map slices of ventricular free wall obtained from normal human hearts (n = 4). Preparations were paced at cycle lengths ranging from 1 to 10 s. RESULTS: We identified three cell subtypes: endocardial, subepicardial (M cells) and epicardial cells. The principal features differentiating M cells from the other cell subtypes were their longer action potential duration, more accentuated action potential duration rate relations and greater maximal rate of increase in action potential upstroke (Vmax). Our findings suggest that M cells represent approximately 30% of the cellular mass of the left ventricular wall. Concordance between changes in their repolarization and changes in QTU interval provide support for the role of M cells in the generation of the electrocardiographic (ECG) U wave. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence for the existence of M cells in the human heart that contribute to heterogeneity of repolarization within the ventricular wall. Our findings provide strong support for the hypothesis that M cells contribute importantly to the manifestation of the U wave on the ECG.

Mutagenesis by AID, a molecule critical to immunoglobulin hypermutation, is not caused by an alteration of the precursor nucleotide pool.

The novel cytidine deaminase, AID, plays a critical role in immunoglobulin (Ig) hypermutation. Its possible modes of action include deamination of an RNA transcript that encodes a molecule involved in these processes, deamination of the DNA encoding the variable regions of immunoglobulin genes, or deamination of monomeric cytidine or deoxycytidine (dC) nucleotide generating a mutagenic imbalanced nucleotide pool. We transformed AID into Escherichia coli cells and measured the nucleotide pools at 2 and 6h following induction of expression. Although the majority of the cells expressed AID at the relevant time points, the nucleotide pools were unaltered. In addition, mutagenesis by AID expression in E. coli was not synergistically enhanced in a bacterial strain defective in dUTPase, an enzyme that prevents accumulation of dUTP in the nucleotide pool. Finally, while some AID-GFP fused molecules localized to nucleoids, and a significant portion appears to be distributed throughout the bacterial cell, the highest concentration seemed to localize to the cell poles. Chloramphenicol treatment, which detaches the nucleoids from the membrane, caused a further disassociation of AID-GFP from nucleoids suggesting that AID does not intrinsically bind DNA. These results strongly argue against a role for AID in mutagenesis by deamination of cytosine in the nucleotide pool, and suggest that while AID probably acts by deaminating cytosine in the DNA, it requires a protein partner for efficient localization to DNA.

Influence of chemical disorder on energy dissipation and defect evolution in concentrated solid solution alloys.

A grand challenge in materials research is to understand complex electronic correlation and non-equilibrium atomic interactions, and how such intrinsic properties and dynamic processes affect energy transfer and defect evolution in irradiated materials. Here we report that chemical disorder, with an increasing number of principal elements and/or altered concentrations of specific elements, in single-phase concentrated solid solution alloys can lead to substantial reduction in electron mean free path and orders of magnitude decrease in electrical and thermal conductivity. The subsequently slow energy dissipation affects defect dynamics at the early stages, and consequentially may result in less deleterious defects. Suppressed damage accumulation with increasing chemical disorder from pure nickel to binary and to more complex quaternary solid solutions is observed. Understanding and controlling energy dissipation and defect dynamics by altering alloy complexity may pave the way for new design principles of radiation-tolerant structural alloys for energy applications.

Soybean meal from roundup ready or conventional soybeans in diets for growing-finishing swine.

Dehulled soybean meal prepared from genetically modified, herbicide (glyphosate)-tolerant Roundup Ready soybeans containing the CP4 EPSPS protein and near-isogenic conventional soybeans were assessed in an experiment with growing-finishing pigs. The soybeans were grown in the yr 2000 under similar agronomic conditions except that the Roundup Ready soybeans were sprayed with Roundup herbicide. Both were processed at the same plant. The composition of the two types of soybeans and the processed soybean meal were similar. Corn-soybean meal diets containing conventional or Roundup Ready soybean meal and fortified with minerals and vitamins were fed to 100 cross-bred pigs from 24 to 111 kg BW. Diets contained approximately 0.95% lysine initially and were reduced to 0.80 and 0.65% lysine when pigs reached 55 and 87 kg BW, respectively. There were 10 pens (five pens of barrows and five pens of gilts) per treatment with five pigs per pen. All pigs were scanned at 107 kg mean BW and all barrows were killed at the end of the test for carcass measurements and tissue collection. Rate and efficiency of weight gain, scanned backfat and longissimus area, and calculated carcass lean percentage were not different (P > 0.05) for pigs fed diets containing conventional or Roundup Ready soybean meal. Gilts gained slower, but they were more efficient and leaner (P < 0.05) than barrows. Responses to the type of soybean meal were similar for the two sexes with no evidence of a diet x sex interaction for any of the traits. In most instances, carcass traits of barrows were similar for the two types of soybean meal. Longissimus muscle samples from barrows fed conventional soybean meal tended (P = 0.06) to have less fat than those fed Roundup Ready soybean meal, but water, protein, and ash were similar. Sensory scores of cooked longissimus muscles were not influenced (P > 0.05) by diet. The results indicate that Roundup Ready soybean meal is essentially equivalent in composition and nutritional value to conventional soybean meal for growing-finishing pigs.

[A new case of hypersensitivity pneumopathy caused by salazopyrine?]. / Un nouveau cas de pneumopathie d'hypersensibilité à la Salazopyrine?

On the basis of a new case of Salazopyrine hypersensitivity pneumonitis, the authors describe the value of bronchoalveolar lavage and of the lymphoblast transformation test. They also describe the difficulties in making the diagnosis of such pathology and review the various possible differential diagnoses in their patient.